"Who's back?"
"Chen... Chen Zhuo..."
The White-Uniform Runner was gasping for breath.
"Let's go."
The fat on Sun Fei's face trembled. Without a second thought, he hurried outside.
Where had all that blood come from?
Fifth Master pondered for a moment, then hurried after him.
A mere White-Uniform Runner wasn't worth his attention, but he couldn't ignore Sun Fei's reaction.
The Swift Squad was only a short distance from the main gate. With Fifth Master close behind him, Sun Fei soon reached the entrance.
By then, quite a few people had stopped to watch, crowding the gate until it was completely blocked.
"Make way."
Fifth Master stepped forward first, using both arms to push the crowd aside and clear a path for Sun Fei.
Sun Fei had barely stepped outside when he seemed to see something unbelievable. He froze in place, staring blankly.
"Bray~ Bray~"
Fifth Master hadn't been interested, but the donkey's bray and Sun Fei's reaction stirred his curiosity.
He poked his head out through the crowd and looked ahead.
In an instant, his body shook violently three times, as though he'd been struck by lightning.
At the Yamen entrance stood a black donkey, blinking its big eyes as it pulled a small cart behind it.
A mountain of human bodies was piled on the cart.
Covered in blood, Chen Zhuo sat firmly atop the heap, holding his long saber upside down.
The blood on his face completely obscured his handsome features.
The sun was just about to set. Its dim rays fell upon Chen Zhuo, making him look like a blood-red clay statue.
"Why are you bleeding so much?"
Sun Fei's face darkened.
Chen Zhuo wiped his face with one hand and forced out a hoarse reply. "They're all superficial wounds. It's nothing."
Since all the Swift Squad's Yamen Runners had gone out to search for Qiu Laojiu, none had returned to the Yamen.
Apart from Fifth Master, only a crowd of White-Uniform Runners remained at the gate, watching the commotion. There was no one in charge.
Sun Fei turned to Fifth Master. "Fifth Master, send someone to fetch Doctor Zhang... no, go to the kitchen and ask Master Chef Yan to come over."
Fifth Master hesitated briefly, then turned aside and hurriedly told a White-Uniform Runner to go to the kitchen.
Still, he couldn't quite understand.
The kid was so badly injured that there wasn't a single unmarked spot on him. Why call for a chef instead of a doctor?
And not just any chef, but one with a foul, stubborn temper.
"I'll take a look first."
Sun Fei walked up to the donkey cart, leaned in, and carefully examined Chen Zhuo from head to toe. Only then did he slowly let out a breath.
He looked utterly miserable, but the wounds really were only superficial.
"You went to put up a wanted poster. How did you end up like this?"
Sun Fei's gaze drifted downward. His pupils suddenly contracted.
There were six people beneath Chen Zhuo. Apart from a Fat Old Man with his hands and feet bound and a man whose hand had been severed, the rest were all dead.
How had putting up a wanted poster turned into a bloody fight?
"What happened?"
Sun Fei's eyes darkened.
"I was set up."
Chen Zhuo slowly sheathed his long saber, then patted the Fat Old Man on the back. "They're all scum from the Long River Gang. They laid a trap for me. I was this close to falling for it completely."
"Brazen beyond belief."
Sun Fei seemed to think of something, and a vicious glint flashed in his eyes.
He glanced at the Fat Old Man again. Blood covered his face, and a wad of cloth was stuffed in his mouth, making him impossible to identify.
Then his gaze fell on the man with the severed hand.
At the sight, his eyes nearly jumped out of their sockets.
The cut at the wrist was clean, severing the hand at the root.
One slash.
It had taken at most a single slash to cut off the entire hand.
Sun Fei abruptly looked up at Chen Zhuo's saber. The bloodstains on the blade said it all.
At that thought, his whole body went rigid.
This kid...
Could his cultivation have improved again?
He could make a wound like that, too.
But how long had he been practicing martial arts?
And how long had Chen Zhuo?
Besides, Sun Fei had studied under a famous master since childhood and had the support of medicinal food.
Suppressing the sourness in his heart, Sun Fei beckoned to the people behind him. "A few of you, come help Brother Chen down."
"Thank you, Brother Sun."
Chen Zhuo nodded in thanks, then continued, "I'll also have to trouble you to keep a close eye on the man beneath me."
"Who is he?"
Sun Fei looked the Fat Old Man over, still completely at a loss.
"I don't know either. I only suspect he might be connected to Qiu Laojiu. Once Squad Leader Yao and the others return to the Yamen, we must question him properly."
With a few White-Uniform Runners supporting him, Chen Zhuo climbed down from the cart.
His strength was so depleted that even lifting his leg was a struggle, but his eyes stayed fixed on the Fat Old Man. He didn't dare look away for even a moment.
He wasn't foolish enough to think a few scraps of cloth could hold the man. Making him tie up his own hands and feet had only been a show of attitude.
Even so, the Fat Old Man had tried to coax him with words the whole way back. Only after Chen Zhuo stuffed a wad of cloth into his mouth had the man finally gone quiet, and they'd made it back to the Yamen without incident.
Whether the Fat Old Man had anything to do with Qiu Laojiu didn't matter.
What mattered was the credit.
He'd put up Qiu Laojiu's wanted poster, and the very next moment, this man had led others in ambushing him.
The story made perfect sense.
Thirty taels of silver might be hard to claim, but ten taels ought to be within reach.
"Mmph, mmph..."
The Fat Old Man struggled to make a sound, but when he saw Chen Zhuo silently rest a hand on the saber at his waist, he immediately quieted down.
Sun Fei glanced at Chen Zhuo in confusion, then waved his hand. "Take him inside and keep a close watch on him."
"I'll watch this criminal myself. I'll make sure nothing goes wrong."
Fifth Master, who'd barely said a word until now, suddenly sprang forward.
Thinking back to how he'd just let his mouth run, he wondered if he might have offended Young Master Sun. He had to find some way to make up for it.
Before Sun Fei could even nod, he was already at the donkey cart, reaching out and pulling the cloth from the Fat Old Man's mouth.
"You lot, take the man with the severed hand to the interrogation room. As for the other dead ones, you, you, and you—take them outside the city and dump them at the Mass Grave. Move quickly, before they start to stink."
Fifth Master gave orders to the White-Uniform Runners behind him, then turned to escort the Fat Old Man to the interrogation room himself.
But when he got a proper look at the Fat Old Man's face, he shuddered and cried out involuntarily, "Huang Sanyou?!"
"Ptooey!"
The Fat Old Man spat out a mouthful of bloody spittle and glared viciously. "Little Fifth, it's been a while."
Fifth Master smiled awkwardly. "Third Master Huang, what happened to you...?"
Huang Sanyou said nothing, merely turning his fierce gaze on Chen Zhuo as he started to speak.
"Smack!"
Chen Zhuo struck him with the edge of his hand, giving him no chance to get a word out before knocking him unconscious.
"Call yourself Huang Three or Huang Four, I don't care. You talk too much."
Chen Zhuo withdrew his hand and looked at Fifth Master, who stood frozen. "Fifth Master, are you close to him?"
Fifth Master blinked, then shook his head like a rattle-drum.
"Not at all. We're not close in the slightest."
"Then what are you waiting for? Take him away."
"Yes, yes, yes."
Fifth Master nodded like a pecking chicken, hoisted the unconscious Huang Sanyou onto his shoulder, and turned to leave.
But when he reached the gate, he realized something was wrong.
Damn it, are you the White-Uniform Runner or am I?
He only thought it. He didn't dare say it aloud.
Anyone who dared lay hands on Huang Sanyou was someone not to be trifled with.
Fifth Master glanced back at Chen Zhuo, then hurried straight to the interrogation room without stopping.
Watching the Fat Old Man being carried into the Yamen, Chen Zhuo quietly let out a breath of relief.
Remembering Fifth Master's reaction just now, he turned and asked Sun Fei, "What's the story with this Huang Sanyou?"
Sun Fei pondered for a moment, then looked at Chen Zhuo with a complicated expression. "Let's go inside first."
Before you continue