There Really Was Someone Behind the Door-Xiao Wu Almost Got Robbed Blind

The sword light fell.

The half-open inner door exploded on the spot.

Wood splinters, the latch, and flakes of paint all flew inward in one burst.

Xiao Wu was just about to charge forward when Su Chen grabbed her and yanked her back.

"Don't get too close."

The words had barely left his mouth.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

A shower of black needles burst from behind the door, thick as black rain.

"I knew there'd be something sneaky!"

Xiao Wu cursed, but she reacted without missing a beat. She tapped the ground with her toes and had already retreated half a step thanks to Su Chen's pull.

Su Chen swept the Judgment Holy Sword in his hand sideways.

Clang, clang, clang, clang.

A string of sharp impacts rang out.

Every black needle struck the sword and ricocheted all over the walls.

Several embedded themselves in a wooden pillar. Gray smoke billowed from the wood as its edges sizzled and turned black.

Xiao Wu glanced at them, and a chill ran down her back.

"They're poisoned, too?"

"What else would you call a backup plan?"

Su Chen stepped through the doorway.

There was no dark room behind it.

Just a narrower corridor stretching deeper inside.

At the far end stood a shadowy figure. He held a palm-sized black case in one hand and a fire striker in the other, poised to set a thin ledger alight.

"Who are you burning it for?"

As soon as Su Chen spoke, he was already charging forward.

The man evidently hadn't expected the first wave of needles behind the door to fail to hold them back. His expression changed, and he flicked his wrist, sending the fire striker straight at the ledger.

Xiao Wu was faster.

She shot forward almost skimming the floor, twisted in midair, and kicked the fire striker with a sharp smack.

The spark flew off and struck the wall, going out.

"Trying to destroy the ledger?"

Xiao Wu landed and lifted her chin.

"Did you ask me first?"

The shadow didn't answer.

He abruptly retreated, a short blade sliding from his sleeve into his palm. Like a snake, he pressed himself against the wall and darted away.

His movements were underhanded and slippery.

Xiao Wu was just about to pursue him when Su Chen warned her.

"He's got a second blade in his right hand."

Xiao Wu heard him and wrenched herself to one side.

Sure enough.

The man flipped back his left sleeve, and a shorter, slender blade skimmed past her cheek.

If Su Chen hadn't warned her in time, that wouldn't have just grazed her face—it would have slit her throat.

"Do people in Suotuo City all love keeping a trick or two up their sleeves?"

Xiao Wu was genuinely furious now.

She hated this kind of thing most.

They were too cowardly to fight fair, and every move they made in secret was dirty.

The man still didn't make a sound.

His blade missed, and he retreated again—but his target wasn't Xiao Wu or Su Chen.

It was Xu Tinglan.

Xu Tinglan stood on the outer side of the corridor, still holding the ledger. When she saw the man charging at her, her expression didn't waver; she simply stepped back.

She wasn't especially fast.

She couldn't outrun him.

But she didn't panic.

Because Su Chen was already there.

Thud.

The man had barely made it halfway when Su Chen kicked him hard in the side.

The kick hit hard.

So hard that the man's whole face twisted as he slammed sideways into the wall, shaking the narrow corridor.

The black case slipped from his grasp and hit the floor.

The ledger fell, too.

Xiao Wu's eyes lit up.

"Nice!"

She didn't waste a moment. She was already pouncing on him to finish the job.

She was really getting the hang of this now.

Shoulder low, close in, twist at the waist, sweep the legs.

The man had just braced himself against the wall to get up when Xiao Wu closed in, drove her right arm upward, hooked her left leg around his, and flipped him straight over.

Crash.

He hit the floor.

The impact landed with a dull thud, shaking the corridor.

"Go on, run."

Xiao Wu pinned down his shoulder, eyes shining.

"Weren't you so good at darting around?"

The man finally spoke.

He didn't cry out in pain. He gritted his teeth.

"Get off me!"

His voice sounded like sand grinding in his throat.

Su Chen walked over and looked down at him.

His face was familiar.

He was one of the two transfer deacons on tonight's list.

He'd shown up in the Banquet Hall earlier, keeping his distance and drawing little attention.

But with his face pressed to the floor now, there was no mistaking him.

The moment Han Su saw him, the last trace of color drained from his face.

"Chen Sun."

The name was forced through his teeth, as if ground out between them.

Xiao Wu heard it and grinned.

"You know him?"

"Then you can't say you don't know him this time, right?"

When Chen Sun heard Han Su call his name, his gaze instantly turned vicious.

He didn't look at Su Chen or Xiao Wu. Instead, he fixed his eyes on Han Su.

"Useless."

The flesh on Han Su's face twitched violently.

"You—"

"Shut up."

Su Chen stepped on Chen Sun's wrist.

Crack.

The bone didn't break.

But the slender blade hidden in his sleeve dropped straight to the floor.

Xiao Wu looked down at it and clicked her tongue.

"So he really did have a second blade."

"No, counting the one from just now, that makes three."

"Were you reincarnated from a weapon shop or something?"

Chen Sun's forehead was beaded with sweat from the pain, but he still didn't groan.

This wasn't the grit of an ordinary deacon.

He was more like a desperado.

Xu Tinglan came over, bent down, picked up the black case from the floor, then gathered the thin ledger that had almost been burned and tucked it against her chest.

She skimmed through it, her expression finally turning grave.

"This is the one."

Xiao Wu tilted her head.

"What?"

"The External Transfer Original Ledger."

Xu Tinglan looked up at Su Chen.

"He didn't just take the accounts."

"He took the names, too."

Lu Ming had still been kneeling on the floor, trembling. At the words "the names," his face turned deathly pale.

"Don't, don't look at the back."

Xiao Wu immediately turned around.

"What, there really are ghosts in there?"

Lu Ming's lips trembled.

"That's not a list of goods."

"It's people."

Even Shen Zhi's expression changed.

He hurried in, took the External Transfer Original Ledger from Xu Tinglan, and turned to the last two pages. After reading just a few lines, his breathing grew heavy.

"Han Su."

His voice was cold.

"You used the branch's transfer quotas to smuggle people?"

Han Su opened his mouth, about to speak, but Chen Sun laughed first.

The laugh was trapped in his throat, harsh enough to make one's skin crawl.

"You only figured it out now?"

"Too late."

Su Chen's gaze turned cold.

"What do you mean?"

Chen Sun looked up. Blood stained the corner of his mouth, but his eyes were sinister enough to make one's hair stand on end.

"Tonight, more than one set of accounts was sent out."

"Two children went with them."

The corridor fell silent.

Xiao Wu's eyes turned ice-cold in an instant.

She hated this kind of thing most.

It was even more disgusting than underhanded tricks.

"Children?"

"You even sell kids?"

Han Su finally panicked.

"Don't you dare make things up!"

"I was only transferring people, I wasn't—"

Smack.

Su Chen backhanded Han Su across the face.

There was nothing fancy about the slap. It was a solid hit.

Han Su's face snapped to one side, and blood seeped from his gums.

The whole room fell silent.

Han Su himself was stunned for a moment.

He had probably never imagined in his life that one day he'd be slapped in front of so many people like a dog.

Su Chen stared at him, his voice low.

"You'd better think carefully before you speak."

"Every extra word you say now adds another debt to your name."

Han Su's chest heaved. His face turned red, then white, but he still didn't dare talk back.

Xiao Wu watched, thoroughly satisfied, and nearly applauded.

"He should've been slapped a long time ago."

By then, Xu Tinglan had already flipped to the last few pages of the ledger. Her finger stopped on one line, and her expression grew colder by the second.

"Two slots."

"One man and one woman."

"They're listed as temporary transfer attendants, but their actual destination is blank."

Shen Zhi snatched the ledger from her and skimmed a few lines. His voice darkened.

"They're leaving the city at dusk."

"They're taking the cargo road west of the branch hall."

Xiao Wu immediately looked at Su Chen.

"Can we catch up?"

Su Chen didn't answer right away.

First, he lowered his gaze to Chen Sun.

Chen Sun's mouth twitched as if he wanted to laugh.

"Going after them now?"

"There are three carts leaving the city."

"And three roads."

"Take a guess—"

He didn't get to finish.

Su Chen kicked him in the chin.

Thud.

Chen Sun's head slammed against the ground, and his vision went black. The rest of his words were kicked to pieces.

Xiao Wu found it deeply satisfying.

"That's what you get for dragging it out."

Su Chen crouched and fished a thin wooden token out of Chen Sun's robes.

A little blood stained the edge of the token. A tiny "West" was carved on the front, and a faint black line marked the back.

The moment Xu Tinglan saw the token, she spoke up.

"A Black Cargo Route Branch Token."

"If he had this, then he was in charge of the western route."

Shen Zhi added,

"The western route leads to the Old Salt Road. Ten li down, it forks toward the courier road and Desolate Ditch."

"If we go after them now—"

"No 'if.'"

Su Chen stood and handed the token straight to Shen Zhi.

"Take the Legal Department's people, seal off the branch hall, and keep searching."

"Xu Tinglan, leave the ledger here and come with us."

"Xiao Wu."

Xiao Wu immediately stood at attention.

"Here."

"Come with me to catch them."

"Okay!"

She answered quickly, her eyes shining.

But she had only taken one step when a wave of soreness surged through her thighs, making her sway slightly.

Only a little.

So little that someone else might not have noticed.

But Su Chen did.

He reached out to stop her, catching her in his arms.

Xiao Wu's lower back hit his palm, and her breathing faltered.

"Still going to pretend you're fine?"

Su Chen looked down at her.

The tips of Xiao Wu's ears turned red.

"I-I'm not pretending."

"Your legs are wobbling, and you're still talking tough."

"I can still fight."

"Fight what?"

With Su Chen looking down at her like that, Xiao Wu's heart thumped wildly.

The corridor was full of people.

And Su Chen still hadn't loosened his hold on her.

She'd meant to snap back at him, but when she remembered how he'd just said, "Come with me to catch them," all that irritation and urgency suddenly tangled into a different kind of flustered heat.

She bit her lip and murmured,

"Then carry me."

The words had barely left her mouth when—

The corridor fell silent.

Even Xu Tinglan looked up.

Xiao Wu realized what she'd said.

She'd only meant to blurt it out and shut him up.

But as soon as the words were out, she realized they'd sounded all wrong.

Her ears burned instantly, and she hurried to add,

"I-I was joking."

Su Chen looked at her and didn't respond.

The next second—

He bent down, scooped one arm beneath her knees, wrapped the other around her waist, and lifted her into his arms.

Xiao Wu went rigid.

"Su Chen!"

"What are you doing?"

"Saving time."

Su Chen carried her toward the exit, his tone absurdly calm.

"Didn't you say you wanted to catch them?"

"Then keep quiet."

Xiao Wu's whole face flushed, heat spreading down her neck.

She'd wanted to struggle.

But Su Chen's arms were as steady as iron, and he held her so naturally that fighting back would only make it look like she was making a scene.

There were people lining both sides of the corridor.

If she really started squirming, that would be mortifying.

In the end, she could only bury her face and grit out,

"Just you wait."

Su Chen glanced down at her.

"For what?"

"For me to hold a grudge."

"Take your time."

Xiao Wu nearly laughed in exasperation.

Honestly, this guy.

He was infuriating.

And... he made her heart race like crazy.

Xu Tinglan stood where she was, watching their backs disappear at the end of the corridor. She lightly pressed her fingers against the edge of the External Transfer Original Ledger, then finally turned to Shen Zhi.

"Are you going?"

Shen Zhi put away the Western Front Wooden Token, his expression now utterly cold.

"I can't."

"I need to lock this place down first."

He glanced at Han Su, then at Chen Sun, who was unconscious on the ground.

"But the two of them will be enough."

Outside the corridor, the night wind rushed at them.

The lights of the Suotuo Branch Hall shimmered across the steps like trembling gold.

Su Chen carried Xiao Wu down the steps and headed straight for the stables.

Xiao Wu finally couldn't take it anymore. She looked up and glared at him.

"You really don't plan on putting me down?"

"Once we're on the horse."

"I can get on by myself."

"Your legs are still wobbly."

"Who's wobbling—"

She'd barely started speaking when Su Chen stopped.

At the stable entrance stood a moon-white figure holding a black horse.

Xu Tinglan had somehow gotten there ahead of them.

She had more than one horse.

There was also a light carriage with its harness already fastened.

She glanced at Xiao Wu in Su Chen's arms. Her gaze paused for a moment before she spoke softly.

"The West Salt Road is rough going."

"If you ride horses, you won't catch the cargo cart once it changes roads."

"Take this."