A Meritorious Hero

Yang Yuchun sat calmly in the carriage, turning over his upcoming meeting with Shui Ziyi in his mind.

He had originally come to Jincheng Prefecture with Li Changgeng, one operating in the open and the other in secret, hoping only to find an opportunity to eliminate Qiao Weisheng and cause the Investigation of Things School some trouble.

But who would have thought that fortune would smile on them? First, Qiao Weisheng had been mysteriously assassinated; then Qiao Jisheng had come to them of his own accord. Zhong'an Bank had thus become an aide to the crown prince.

Even Shui Ziyi, the renowned General Fubo, had sent an invitation, hoping to make his acquaintance.

If, when he met Shui Ziyi shortly, he could seize the opportunity to persuade him to join the crown prince, then Jincheng Prefecture would follow the crown prince's lead, thanks to General Fubo's prestige. It would also open a channel into the navy. That would be another great achievement.

The crown prince was in a difficult position. This contribution would be like sending coal in a snowstorm.

Although the process had hit a few snags, the attempt to surround and kill Jin Shiyi had fallen short of complete success, and Li Changgeng had lost his prospects in the martial arts. But compared with their achievement, this small sacrifice was hardly worth mentioning.

At the thought of earning great merit before the crown prince and securing a bright future for himself, even the level-headed Yang Yuchun could not help feeling a little smug.

He had come up through the military examinations and, thanks to his battle record and cultivation, had been appointed a secretary by the crown prince. But the Eastern Palace was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, and countless people had powerful backgrounds. As a down-and-out nobody from Sichuan Province, he had found it quite difficult to establish himself.

Fortunately, he was about to break through. After all these years, he would finally rise to great heights!

"My lord, we've arrived—"

The carriage jolted and stopped outside the River-Viewing Tower.

Chen Wu had entered a strange state. His entire body felt as it had during the medicinal bath: something like medicinal energy surged toward his limbs, bones, dantian, and meridians from every direction, from the boundless void.

A bizarre illusion arose in Chen Wu's mind, as though he were about to dissolve into this boundless sea of energy.

It was no illusion!

The bones and muscles throughout his body rang in unison, jolting Chen Wu out of that sensation.

Chen Wu understood that if he continued to lose himself in that feeling, he would likely explode.

No wonder even the author of the Heaven-Intercepting Dao-Exposition Method, outrageous as he was, had stressed that one must first cultivate the body to its utmost limits before practicing the second stage, Borrowing from the Mystic Realm. It truly was fraught with danger.

With the power of heaven and earth upon him, Chen Wu felt his meridians brimming and his body light and nimble. He wanted nothing more than to vent his energy.

Vrrm—

With a sword's hum, Chen Wu pushed open the window facing the street and stared straight at the carriage across the road.

Yang Yuchun had just climbed down from the carriage. He gave the driver a silver coin and told him to wait in the rear courtyard.

Suddenly, Yang Yuchun's senses flared. He looked up and saw the second-floor window of the building across the street thrown wide open. A figure shot straight toward him.

The man held a sword in his right hand and a revolver in his left. Still airborne, he had already aimed the gun at Yang Yuchun.

Yang Yuchun's hair stood on end. His true qi surged through his body and rushed to his feet as he launched himself into the air.

"Bang, bang, bang, bang, bang, bang—"

In that brief instant, Chen Wu fired six shots, emptying the revolver's cylinder. He then hurled the empty gun at Yang Yuchun, who had flipped up onto the second-floor eaves of the River-Viewing Tower.

Yang Yuchun steadied himself on the second floor and drew the Judge's Pen from his waist, lightly dodging the gun hurled at him.

Just then, a stabbing pain shot through his leg. Two bullets had struck his left leg, and blood poured from the wounds. Fortunately, they had missed the bone and tendons, passing only through the flesh. He could still fight.

The street was in chaos. Chen Wu lightly tapped the carriage roof with his foot, using it to launch himself into the air. He swung the treasured sword in his right hand and charged straight at Yang Yuchun on the eaves.

Vrrm—

The sword's hum clung to him like a shadow, sounding like the toll of death and forcing Yang Yuchun to focus all his attention.

Bang—

At that moment, another gunshot rang out. Yang Yuchun's body shuddered as a lead bullet struck him in the right chest!

This was the real killing move Chen Wu had set up!

Yang Yuchun endured the agony and retreated lightly, evading Chen Wu's flying thrust.

The killing move had succeeded. Chen Wu did not press the attack. He merely pointed the sword's tip at Yang Yuchun, waiting for him to bleed a little more.

Only then did Yang Yuchun have a chance to sense the bullet's trajectory. Across the street, on the roof of another building, a masked man was putting away a standard-issue musket and turning to leave.

That was Gao Xiwen, who had agreed to help!

Chen Wu had made a grand show of assassinating Yang Yuchun precisely to draw his attention and give Gao Xiwen the chance to snipe him.

Because Yang Yuchun might sense his surroundings with Concentrated Spirit, Chen Wu needed a Micro-Perception Realm expert like Gao Xiwen to conceal his aura, lie in wait, and personally operate the musket to take the shot.

Unfortunately, in the rush, they had been unable to find a rifled gun and had settled for a smoothbore musket. Its accuracy was lacking, and it had struck Yang Yuchun in the left chest instead.

Still, that was enough!

"Your methods have none of a martial artist's bearing," Yang Yuchun rasped, blood and froth spilling from the corner of his mouth.

"Take that up with Old Jin!" As soon as Chen Wu finished speaking, he launched himself forward with a thrust.

With the power of heaven and earth bolstering him, Chen Wu could now use the techniques of the Nine Evolutions Dragon-Expelling Art with ease—moves he had never been able to perform before.

A Spiral Qi Force surged up along Chen Wu's treasured sword and met Yang Yuchun's Judge's Pen.

Daya Hall.

More than three quarters of an hour had passed since Yang Yuchun left. With nothing to do, Li Changgeng gently twisted his body in the rear courtyard, practicing Thunder-Sound True Qi.

But his wounds had yet to heal, so he did not dare practice for long. After moving around a little, he stopped.

Li Changgeng clapped twice, intending to call in a servant to bring him a change of clothes.

The servant who would normally rush in to flatter him did not appear, even after a long while.

Li Changgeng suddenly grew alert and shouted, "Where is everyone?"

His voice rang out like a great bell, echoing throughout the clinic.

The entire clinic erupted into chaos. Constables guarding various spots rushed out all at once.

A trespasser could no longer stay hidden. He was spotted.

"On the eaves! On the eaves! It's Wu Chengyi!" a constable shouted.

Wu Chengyi cursed his rotten luck. He had only just knocked out the servant carrying water when his hiding place was exposed. What terrible luck!

He had meant to show Little Brother Chen what he could do by personally assassinating the wounded Li Changgeng, then bragging about it afterward. He had never expected his first move to go awry and so many constables to be alerted.

Bang, bang, bang—

Scattered gunshots rang out. Many constables opened fire on Wu Chengyi as he darted across the eaves, but he was too far away, and the single-shot handguns were too inaccurate. They did not even graze a hair on his head.

Wu Chengyi broke out in a cold sweat.

Damn it, why did these bastards have so many guns?

Wu Chengyi was rather glad he had failed to sneak in. If things had gone as he had planned, even if he had killed Li Changgeng, he would not have escaped alive.

With that thought, Wu Chengyi decided to proceed with his original plan. He burst out laughing. "You bastards! If you've got the guts, come catch your old pal Wu!"

The constables below knew that Zhang Iron Ruler was frantic with worry over Wu Chengyi's prison break. Whoever brought Wu Chengyi back would earn an enormous reward. Their eyes reddened as they chased after him, surging forward in a swarm.