The Army Surrounds the Manor

"Young Master, where have you been these past two days? How did you get into such a state? Did you perhaps encounter bandits?" Yu Yan saw Ning Xiaochuan's tattered clothes, messy hair, blackened face, and injuries all over his body, and thought he was returning from a desperate escape.

To be precise, he really was returning from a desperate escape.

"You could say I encountered bandits! It's hard to explain in a few words, I'll tell you later. Right! Yu Yan, this time I lost all my possessions, I don't have a single coin left on me. How long can the manor's funds last?" Ning Xiaochuan asked a rather crucial question.

When he left, he took all the money from the manor. Such a large estate, just feeding hundreds of servants, was a huge expense.

Could Begonia Manor still be maintained? Yu Yan gently pursed her lips and said, "It's alright, Young Master, don't worry about such trivial matters."

Ning Xiaochuan's eyes narrowed slightly, and he said, "Yu Yan, where's your Butterfly Hairpin? Where's the Azure Gold bracelet on your wrist? Where's the jade pendant on your waist? Where are all your ornaments?"

Yu Yan used to be a Silver-Ranked Music Courtesan of Jade Viewing Pavilion, worth millions, and possessed many priceless ornaments, but now all those ornaments were gone.

There was no way all of this could escape Ning Xiaochuan's keen observation.

Yu Yan gently lowered her head and said, "I don't rely on my looks to make a living anymore, so I naturally don't need those ornaments. Young Master asked me to be the little steward of Begonia Manor, so naturally I have to consider the manor more and not let Young Master worry about mundane things like money. Those ornaments… those ornaments… I sold them all to supplement the household."

Ning Xiaochuan took Yu Yan's small hand in his own, "Silly girl! What girl doesn't want to dress up beautifully? Making money isn't difficult, is it?"

Ning Xiaochuan walked into Purple Qi Garden, chopped off a thirty-odd-pound piece of wood from the Blood Toad Wood, and then drove to the Imperial City to sell the Blood Toad Wood.

When he returned at noon, he purchased more than a hundred Profound Medicines and brought back a large amount of money.

"Yu Yan, come here."

Ning Xiaochuan took out a pendant from his bosom. The thread was made of polished Azure Gold, and the pendant was a pure white Spirit Communication Jade, shaped like a crystal-clear little seashell.

Spirit Communication Jade generally grows inside Mystic Beasts, hidden in their bones. It is a jade stone formed by the condensation of Profound Qi and bone, and is very rare and precious.

This seashell necklace was specially selected by Ning Xiaochuan for Yu Yan, costing 1.2 million small coins.

Even the favored daughters of princes and nobles might not be able to afford such an expensive necklace.

Ning Xiaochuan put the necklace around Yu Yan's neck, a smile appearing on the corner of his mouth, "That's more like it! So beautiful, do you like it?"

Yu Yan's fingers kept stroking the little seashell, nodding vigorously, like a chick pecking at rice, tears streaming from her eyes.

"Why are you crying?" Ning Xiaochuan said.

Yu Yan knelt on the ground and said, "Before, in Jade Viewing Pavilion, although some people also gave Yu Yan ornaments, Yu Yan always felt that they were other people's charity, and that I was more lowly than even a little beggar. But when Young Master gives Yu Yan ornaments, there is not a trace of ulterior motives in his eyes, nor a look of charity, so the meaning is completely different. Yu Yan is moved in her heart, so she can't help but want to cry."

Ning Xiaochuan helped her up, and wiped the tears from under her eyelids with his fingers, "It's just a necklace, go! Tell someone to move all these coins into the vault, and you can allocate them as you please in the future."

"Mm!"

Yu Yan nodded gently, then turned and left, her fingers tightly clutching the little seashell hanging around her neck, her heart as sweet as if she had eaten honey.

Just then, the newly promoted steward of Begonia Manor rushed in, knelt on the ground, "Manor Lord, something terrible has happened, the garrison of Nanshan Village has surrounded Begonia Manor."

Ning Xiaochuan frowned deeply. The garrison of Nanshan Village actually dared to surround Begonia Manor. Did they not know that this was the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion's manor?

An ominous premonition arose in his heart!

Troop movements and surrounding the manor were no small matter in Border District near the Imperial City, it was practically a major upheaval, something big must have happened.

However, Ning Xiaochuan was not yet clear about why these troops were surrounding Begonia Manor, so he immediately rushed out of the manor.

"Bang!"

Two soldiers wearing heavy armor, each two meters tall, with broad backs and thick waists, simultaneously struck out with their palms, their palms wrapped in thick Profound Qi, bombarding the gate of Begonia Manor, shattering the half-meter-thick iron gate into pieces.

These two soldiers were both Martial Dao experts, well-known fierce men in the army, each commanding hundreds of squads.

"What are you doing? This is Begonia Manor, not a place you can barge into at will!"

A group of guards from Begonia Manor blocked them, but how could their cultivation compare with these two military experts? After a few exchanges, they were all knocked to the ground, unable to get up.

The guards of Begonia Manor generally had low cultivation levels. Apart from the former leader, Ye Chenglong, who was a Profound Qi Ninth Level expert, most of the other guards' cultivation levels were below Profound Qi Sixth Level.

Among them, a military expert with a face full of beard stepped on a guard's chest and sneered, "What bullshit Begonia Manor? You dare to harbor important criminals of the imperial court, do you believe that everyone here will have their heads chopped off?"

"I really don't believe you have the guts!"

Ning Xiaochuan walked out of the manor, looking at the broken manor gate and the dozens of guards lying on the ground, barely alive, his eyes turning cold and deep, "Who are you? Do you know that this is the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion's manor? You smashed the gate of the Marquis's Mansion's manor, you have quite the nerve! Someone, go and tie these two up and chop off their hands."

Outside the gate, everywhere were soldiers wearing heavy armor, their eyes fierce and cold, their killing intent surging, their momentum surging. Some of them were even riding fierce Mystic Beasts, surrounding the entire manor so tightly that not even water could leak through.

The army's formation was neatly arranged.

This was a true army, well-trained and ruthlessly iron-blooded. Although their Martial Dao cultivation was similar to the guards of Begonia Manor, once arrayed in formation, a hundred soldiers were enough to slaughter five hundred guards, leaving none alive.

The entire Begonia Manor was filled with a chilling aura, scaring the servants in the manor until their faces turned pale and bloodless.

How could the guards of Begonia Manor have ever seen such a formation? Forget about rescuing anyone; they didn't even dare to move a foot.

"This is a real army!"

Ning Xiaochuan also sighed inwardly. If this army were to invade Begonia Manor, in an instant, the manor would be razed to the ground, littered with corpses.

The burly man with a beard in the army lightly glanced at Ning Xiaochuan, his foot still on the chest of the guard on the ground, and coldly said, "Boy, who are you?"

"I am the master of Begonia Manor." Ning Xiaochuan appeared very calm, but didn't even glance at the burly man, his gaze fixed on a woman.

This woman stood in the open space between the army and Begonia Manor, her figure tall and slender, her waist delicate. She faced away from Begonia Manor, her arms crossed in front of her chest, her body standing as straight as the Dragon Elephant Halberd planted beside her.

The three thousand soldiers surrounding Begonia Manor, although full of momentum, were a fierce and formidable force, but when their gazes fell on this woman, they all carried a look of awe.

She was like a mountain, making all martial artists feel unreachable and icily unapproachable.

Ning Xiaochuan had a feeling that if this woman was willing, her power could kill all three thousand soldiers present, leaving none alive.

Not only did Ning Xiaochuan have this feeling, but all the soldiers present had this feeling, so they were filled with awe towards her.

"You are the master of Begonia Manor!"

Ji Hanxing suddenly turned around, her azure hair fluttering, her gaze icy, her pupils emitting a three-foot-long Profound glow. She stared at the footprints Ning Xiaochuan had left behind, and nodded slightly, saying, "That's right, it's you!"

Ning Xiaochuan felt her gaze was incomparably sharp, as if it could see through his flesh and blood. His whole body felt frozen, and it was extremely difficult to even move.

So strong! The Profound Qi Ninth Level cultivation was like the difference between fireflies and the bright moon in front of her.

Ning Xiaochuan quickly used the power of the Demon Sword to conceal the aura within his body, pretending to be an ordinary person who didn't understand cultivation, and cautiously said, "Are you here to find me?"

Ning Xiaochuan had some impression of this woman. He had met her once at the Nanshan Village market. At that time, she was sitting on the back of a Dragon Elephant, a Dragon Elephant Divine Martial that everyone revered.

Ji Hanxing had followed Ning Xiaochuan's footprints to Begonia Manor, and immediately dispatched three thousand soldiers to surround Begonia Manor to prevent Minister Tian from escaping again.

Ji Hanxing frowned slightly. What was going on? There was actually no Martial Dao Profound Qi in his body? The "Azure Radiance Glazed Eyes" that Ji Hanxing cultivated could see through martial artists with higher cultivation than herself, but she couldn't find any Martial Dao Profound Qi in Ning Xiaochuan's body at all, which immediately made her suspicious.

A young man without Martial Dao cultivation was able to rescue Minister Tian?

A young man without Martial Dao cultivation had cultivated the Blood Devouring Demon Art and almost killed a Divine Body Realm genius? What was going on?

Ji Hanxing walked up to Ning Xiaochuan, her waist slender, her figure tall, her curves graceful, but she carried a coldness that rejected people. She took out a token and said imposingly, "The Dragon Elephant Divine Martial is here to capture an important criminal of the imperial court. We hope you will cooperate!"

Ning Xiaochuan finally understood the reason why the army surrounded Begonia Manor. It turned out they were here to capture Minister Tian!

This was a big trouble!