The moment that muffled sob came from inside the carriage, the air grew tense.
The wind howled at the mouth of Desolate Ditch. The low-roofed carriage was wedged beside a pile of rocks, its front wheel sunk into a muddy rut and its shafts crooked. White breath steamed from the horse's nostrils as it pawed the ground in agitation.
Two men stood beside the carriage. One was cursing, while the other desperately tugged at the reins.
"Damn it, hurry up!"
"If they catch up, we're both dead!"
"Dead, my ass! Get the carriage out first!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, a dark figure cut through the night.
It wasn't Su Chen.
It was Xiao Wu.
She had already been seething, and the moment she heard the muffled, tearful sound from inside the carriage, her gaze turned icy. She pushed off with her toes, her entire body skimming low across the ground like a pink shadow as she charged straight at the man holding the reins.
The man saw a blur before his eyes. He hadn't even had time to draw his knife when Xiao Wu slammed into him.
Shoulder low.
Close in.
Hook the leg.
Throw.
Thud!
The man flew sideways, his back crashing against the hard rocks beside the ditch. His chest caved inward. He barely managed half a scream before spitting up blood.
The other man reacted quickly. He flicked his wrist, and a flash of cold steel slipped from his sleeve, stabbing straight toward Xiao Wu's side.
"You're asking to die!"
Xiao Wu twisted at the waist and shifted half a step aside. The blade grazed her skirt, slicing off half a flap of fabric.
Her eyes grew even fiercer.
If that blade had struck her squarely, it wouldn't have ended with a little blood.
The man's first slash missed, and he raised his hand to strike again. He was clearly an experienced fighter, his knife work vicious and his angles treacherous, aimed straight for joints and vital points.
But Su Chen was faster.
A golden streak descended from the night.
The Judgment Holy Sword made no flashy horizontal sweep. It simply struck the short knife.
Clang—
The knife snapped.
It broke cleanly in half.
The broken blade spun into the mud. The man stared blankly, still gripping half the hilt.
In the next instant, Su Chen was already in front of him.
No words.
One kick.
Straight to the chest.
Thud!
The man was kicked into the air, flipped backward, and slammed into the side of the low-roofed carriage. The whole vehicle lurched, and another muffled burst of struggling and crying rose from within.
"Don't be afraid!"
Xiao Wu turned and called to the people inside, her voice much gentler than before.
She was just about to rush over and lift the curtain when the man who had spat blood on the ground suddenly raised his hand. A short arrow shot from his sleeve with a hiss.
Black.
Thin as a wasp's stinger.
It came from an insidious angle, aimed not at Su Chen, but at Xiao Wu's back.
Xu Tinglan's expression changed. She was just about to warn Xiao Wu when Su Chen had already moved.
He didn't even turn around. He simply reached back and caught it.
Two fingers clamped firmly around the black arrow.
Its tip was only three inches from Xiao Wu's back.
Xiao Wu turned and saw it. A cold sweat broke out across her back.
It wasn't fear.
It was rage.
She hated this kind of sneak attack.
"You're still not done?!"
Xiao Wu's eyes reddened slightly. She spun around and charged, not even bothering with a proper move. She simply raised her leg and brought it down in a clean, forceful stomp, striking the man's shoulder.
Crack.
This time, the bone really broke.
The man screamed and rolled in the mud, one shoulder caved in. He couldn't get back up.
Su Chen glanced down at the black arrow in his hand. The tip gleamed blue—it was poisoned.
"Same old recipe."
He rubbed it between his fingers, and the arrow shaft crumbled into dust.
By then, Xu Tinglan had hurried over and pulled open the carriage curtain.
Sure enough, two children were curled up inside.
A boy and a girl, both quite young. Their hands and feet were bound with hemp rope, and cloth had been stuffed into their mouths. Their eyes were full of terror. When they saw the light outside, the little girl burst into tears.
"It's all right, it's all right."
Xiao Wu immediately climbed into the carriage, her movements suddenly gentle.
She first pulled the cloth from the little girl's mouth, then started untying the ropes around her wrists. The ropes were so tight that the girl's wrists had already been rubbed raw, bright red and alarming.
Xiao Wu clenched her teeth and grew even gentler.
"Tell me if it hurts. I'll go slower."
The little girl was trembling badly, tears streaming down her face as she spoke in a quavering voice.
"Sis... Sister..."
"I'm here."
Xiao Wu hugged her, making the rabbit-ear hair ornament on her head bob.
"Don't cry. No one can take you away now."
Su Chen stood outside the carriage, his gaze fixed on the two men lying on the ground.
Xu Tinglan searched through the small box at the back of the carriage, her expression growing colder by the second.
"There aren't just two children."
She pulled a stack of thin papers from the bottom of the box. They were freshly forged identity documents, with blank spaces for official seals.
"They planned to make one trip, then come back for the next batch."
Shen Zhi had just caught up with his men. He swung down from his horse, took in the scene, and his face darkened at once.
"Those animals."
He waved a hand. The Legal Department's men behind him immediately rushed forward, pinned the two men to the ground, and even gagged them.
"Take them back. Interrogate them separately."
"Yes!"
Su Chen left the cleanup to the others and turned his gaze to the carriage.
Xiao Wu had already untied both children.
The boy was a little older. Though pale, he was holding himself together, teeth clenched and not crying, but his eyes were vacant. The drugs clearly hadn't worn off yet. The girl was different. As soon as she was untied, she clung desperately to Xiao Wu, as if she'd grabbed the last lifeline in the world.
Xiao Wu had always been soft-hearted with the vulnerable. The girl's embrace made her heart tighten.
"All right, all right. You're safe now."
As she patted the girl's back, she looked up at Su Chen.
"They need to get back and find a healing Soul Master as soon as possible."
"Mm."
Su Chen walked over, bent down, and picked up the boy who was still trying to stay strong.
The boy instinctively shrank back, as if afraid.
Su Chen's voice was much softer than usual.
"Don't move. I'm taking you home."
The boy froze. He looked at Su Chen's calm face, still composed in the night, and his tense shoulders slowly relaxed. His eyes reddened at once.
Xu Tinglan watched them, her fingertips curling slightly.
She had seen plenty of people wield knives.
She had also seen plenty of people wield power.
But she had never seen anyone like Su Chen, who could trample Han Su into the dirt one moment, then gently lift a terrified child into his arms the next.
Shen Zhi had already ordered his men to clear out the carriage.
"Get the children back to the city first."
"I'll keep an eye on the branch. Han Su won't get away tonight."
Su Chen nodded. After setting the boy in the light carriage, he turned to take the little girl from Xiao Wu.
But just as he reached out, the girl clung to Xiao Wu's neck and refused to let go.
Xiao Wu felt helpless, but her heart softened too.
"She's terrified."
"Then take her with you in the carriage," Su Chen said.
Xiao Wu had just nodded and taken one step when her calf suddenly cramped.
She'd spent the day at the tournament, then chased the carriage at night, and just now fought hard. She'd been running on sheer willpower. Now that she had relaxed, all the aches and numbness rushed in at once.
Her body swayed, and she nearly fell with the little girl in her arms.
In the next instant, a strong hand caught her firmly around the waist.
Xiao Wu looked up.
Su Chen was standing very close, his gaze dark.
"You still going to say you're not tired?"
Xiao Wu opened her mouth and instinctively tried to put on a brave face.
"I—"
"Quiet."
Su Chen didn't give her the chance to tough it out. He took the little girl from her and handed her to a nearby female Deacon, then turned and swept Xiao Wu up into his arms.
Even more practiced than before.
Xiao Wu went stiff all over.
"Su Chen!"
Even Xu Tinglan was taken aback.
Shen Zhi instinctively turned his head, pretending to look toward the ditch.
Xiao Wu's face burned, but with so many people around, she couldn't even struggle free.
"Put me down!"
"If you squirm again, I'll make you walk."
Su Chen's voice was level, but his hold was firm.
"Your choice."
Xiao Wu was instantly speechless.
If she walked on her own, her legs would probably give out and expose her.
In the end, she could only bite her lip and lower her voice.
"You'll pay for this when we get back."
"We'll talk when we get back."
Su Chen carried her toward the carriage.
Xiao Wu wanted to bite him, but had nowhere to sink her teeth. All she could do was lower her face, her ears red as if they were burning.
Now that her arms were free, the little girl wasn't having it. She reached toward Xiao Wu, crying for her to hold her.
Xiao Wu's heart melted. She hurriedly reached out.
"Give her to me, give her to me. I'll hold her."
Su Chen glanced at her. He didn't call her out for simply wanting to use the child as an excuse to catch her breath. He just put the girl back in her arms.
That did it.
Now Xiao Wu was being carried by him while holding a child, and she was even less able to move.
She glared up at Su Chen, her eyes moist. There wasn't much anger in them; instead, they held a hard-to-describe, embarrassed annoyance.
"You did that on purpose."
Su Chen raised an eyebrow.
"I'm rescuing someone."
"You did it on purpose."
"Then remember that."
Xiao Wu ground her teeth in frustration, but the flustered warmth stirring inside her simply wouldn't go away.
Standing by the carriage, Xu Tinglan watched them, then suddenly looked away.
She thought she understood why Xiao Wu hadn't truly panicked once, from beginning to end.
Because Su Chen was there.
As long as he stood by her side, she knew nothing behind them could collapse.
The carriage turned around.
The two children were settled safely. The Legal Department escorted the prisoners behind them, and at last, the bitterly cold wind in Desolate Ditch began to let up.
Before getting into the carriage, Su Chen glanced back at the dark mouth of the ditch.
"This isn't over yet."
Shen Zhi nodded.
"Han Su has already started sealing off the branch hall."
"But he won't make it in time."
Xu Tinglan handed over the External Transfer Original Ledger.
"With this, we can flip his whole table over."
Su Chen took the ledger and casually flipped to the last few pages.
The names on them were packed tightly together.
Beyond the two children they had rescued tonight, there were many more.
One page wasn't enough.
Two pages weren't enough, either.
The last trace of warmth in his eyes slowly faded.
"Back to the city."
"First, raid the branch hall."
"Then pull this whole network out, root by root."
Holding the little girl, Xiao Wu heard him and looked up.
The night wind stirred the carriage curtain. Light and shadow fell across Su Chen's profile, sharp as a blade.
She suddenly reached out and gently tugged at the edge of his sleeve.
Su Chen lowered his gaze.
Xiao Wu spoke in a low voice.
"Su Chen."
"Mm?"
"Tonight... thank you."
She spoke softly, without her usual brash, claw-baring force.
Su Chen looked at her and lifted a hand to tuck the stray strands of hair at her temple behind her ear.
His touch was gentle.
"What are you thanking me for?"
"Didn't you say this afternoon that as long as you were with me, you wouldn't let us suffer?"
Xiao Wu's lashes trembled.
She said nothing more, only tightened her grip on his sleeve.
The carriage sped all the way back to Suotuo City.
The lights at the city gate had already blazed bright.
And the real reckoning tonight had only just begun.
Before you continue