A Big Problem

Li Dayong was one of the Gao Family's old guards.

"Old" didn't mean old in age, but in seniority.

He wasn't even thirty yet, but he'd already been with the Gao Family for over ten years. He'd entered the estate around the same time as Zhang Tieyi.

At first, he'd worked his way up from the outermost gatekeeper post.

After two heads of the guard team had come and gone, he'd finally learned one thing.

In the Gao Family, loyalty wasn't worth much, and martial talent wasn't the most important thing, either.

Picking sides and backing the right person—that was what mattered.

Unfortunately, he'd realized it too late.

By the time he'd figured that out, Zhang Tieyi had already secured his position as head of the guards and won the master's favor and trust.

Zou Rong had started currying favor with him earlier and more diligently. He'd attached himself to Zhang Tieyi before Zhang had even risen to prominence.

And so, despite his seniority, Li Dayong could only step aside and get assigned to guard this remote courtyard.

It was called a guard post, but in truth, it was an easy job.

There were two shifts a night.

Apart from pacing the alley, all he had to do was squat in a corner and count bricks.

Once in a while, he might get some work carrying rice or firewood.

There was no extra income to be had, and he never got credit for anything.

But today was different.

Yesterday, in the kitchen, he'd heard Zou Rong mention it in passing.

The Eldest Young Master was personally overseeing Zhang Tieyi's assignment today. If it went well, Zhang might get a chance to enter the Academy Bureau and establish his family standing.

Li Dayong had been itching with excitement ever since he heard.

If Zhang Tieyi was promoted, wouldn't he need people under him?

If Li Dayong went over to lend a hand at this crucial moment—even if all he did was lead Zhang's horse or bring him water—he might at least get his face known.

At a quarter past the hour of the Rabbit, dawn was just breaking.

Li Dayong hurried to the mouth of the alley and found the guards he was relieving.

They reeked of smoke and were yawning nonstop.

He asked in a low voice, "Has Master Zhang arrived?"

"He has. He's still inside!"

Li Dayong was delighted, though he kept it off his face. He only said, "You've all worked hard. Head back first; I'll watch this place."

The two men didn't say much. They handed him their waist tokens.

"Oh, right. Master Zhang said not to mind it if anything strange happens inside."

"Got it."

Li Dayong stood in the alley for another quarter of an hour.

The morning wind blew down his collar, and he hunched his shoulders against the cold.

A quarter hour had passed since the hour of the Dragon, but the guard who was supposed to relieve him still hadn't shown up.

Li Dayong cursed him silently. He'd probably overslept again.

That was fine.

With the man gone, no one would be competing with him for a chance to make a good impression.

Li Dayong waited a little longer. Seeing that all was quiet, he decided to wait by the back courtyard gate, hoping to make a good impression.

He went to the courtyard entrance, straightened his collar, adjusted his waist token, then lowered his head to smell his sleeve and make sure it didn't stink. Then he waited patiently.

At the same time, he made up his mind: as soon as Zhang Tieyi came out, he'd go up to greet him.

He waited at the courtyard gate a little longer. The sun had already risen, but there was still no movement inside.

Zhang Tieyi was taking a long time to come out.

Li Dayong began to feel that something was wrong.

Summoning his courage, he pushed open the courtyard gate and leaned halfway inside.

The moment he saw what was in the courtyard, his mind went blank with a buzz.

There was someone in the courtyard.

It was none other than Zhang Tieyi.

The bald giant lay flat on his back, his face so battered it was unrecognizable. His right arm was pinned beneath him at an unnatural angle.

Blood had run from his face into the cracks between the bricks, spreading into a dark red web that had already begun to dry.

Li Dayong's mind was completely blank.

He stumbled back, his heel catching on the threshold. He nearly fell.

Li Dayong bellowed toward the alley, "Someone, help! Guard Zhang's been attacked!"

Before long, footsteps sounded outside the courtyard.

When Gao Boyan walked in, the guards automatically parted to either side. They held their breath and didn't dare make a sound.

He entered the remote courtyard, glanced at Zhang Tieyi lying in a pool of blood, then looked at Gao Qiaoniang, who was unconscious in the side room with an injury on her forehead.

His expression darkened by degrees.

"Where's the person who was in the courtyard?"

Li Dayong trembled like a leaf. "I... I don't know..."

"So someone killed Guard Zhang right under your noses, then vanished into thin air?"

Gao Boyan's voice grew colder and colder.

Li Dayong didn't dare answer. He could only kowtow over and over, his forehead striking the blue bricks with dull thuds.

Gao Boyan glanced at him.

He casually drew the saber from the waist of a nearby guard and flicked his wrist.

A thin line of blood appeared on Li Dayong's neck, and beads of blood began to seep out.

Pfft... splurt...

The next moment,

the head he'd carefully groomed that morning rolled off his body.

A column of blood burst from his neck, soaring two meters into the air and splattering across the boots of several guards in the courtyard.

The guards went rigid. None dared dodge or even look down at their own feet.

"Everyone who stood guard here last night—leave not one alive."

No one in the courtyard dared answer.

Only after Gao Boyan tossed the saber back to the guard still standing there in a daze did someone scramble out, rolling and crawling.

Gao Boyan crouched down and examined the injury to Zhang Tieyi's right arm.

The broken bone was crushed and sunken, as if it had been struck by a blunt object.

But it hadn't been a weapon.

It had been a fist.

The punch had carried at least three hundred jin of force.

In other words, the attacker's cultivation was roughly at the second Mortal Shedding stage.

He fell silent for several breaths, slowly rubbing his fingers together inside his sleeve.

He'd looked into that servant's background. It was utterly ordinary.

He'd only been practicing martial arts for less than a month.

Two stages of Mortal Shedding in a month.

Even the scions of Aristocratic Clans, whose families could pile resources on them, would find that difficult to achieve.

Gao Boyan rose to his feet, his eyes darkening.

This time, it seemed they'd brought the Gao Family a huge problem.

"Gather everyone in the estate and all the spirit hounds. Find this person at all costs. Once you do, try to take him alive."

He paused, then swept his gaze over all the guards present. "Saddle the horses. I'm going out to meet someone from the Xie Family."

The Gao Family's Back Courtyard was where its descendants and female relatives lived.

By the hour of the Rabbit and the hour of the Dragon, the servants were already hard at work, while most of the masters had only just risen.

Chen Ye emerged from the alley at the busiest time of day in the estate.

Three or four generations of the Gao Family—fifty or sixty people in all—lived in this courtyard. Including the servants, there were several hundred people.

Most of the sweeping servants and rough-duty maids moved about the central and outer courtyards.

Chen Ye had just killed Zhang Tieyi in the courtyard. He was covered in blood and looked a complete mess.

Anyone who saw him would grow suspicious.

If someone with ill intent reported him to Gao Yunheng, he'd never get away. He had to take a route with as few people as possible.

In that regard, Chen Ye was rather fortunate.

His predecessor had worked as a servant in the Gao Family's estate for several years and knew the central and outer courtyards very well.

His memories included a hidden path that led outside.

Without delay, Chen Ye made it through the inner courtyard without incident. Guided by his memories, he slipped onto a narrow path where few people ever ventured.