Meanwhile, at the Sun Family estate, the family head, Sun Gan, sat in the main hall. His third son had been killed.
He had lost a son in his old age, and in an instant, countless more white hairs appeared atop his head.
His face was visibly haggard, and malice spread through his cloudy eyes.
"Have you found the killer? In Ice Plain City, you can't even find a mere City Guard soldier? Drop everything else and send everyone out to search!" the old man rasped.
Below him, a middle-aged man said grimly, "Father, the Zhou Family isn't cooperating. They just keep saying the City Guard has to defend the city. We don't have enough men. Should we recall the people secretly investigating Lu Yuan, too?"
Ever since Lu Yuan had joined the Zhou Family, he had accomplished one major thing after another. The Sun Family had naturally taken notice.
Besides, Zhou Hongling had given Lu Yuan far more than the treatment a Squad Leader should receive.
The Sun Family had been investigating this matter all along, waiting for a good opportunity to file a report against him.
But who could have expected something this serious to happen now?
"Keep the evidence we already have, but suspend the investigation into him for now. Recall everyone, and we'll deal with it after this is over. Your third brother can't have died for nothing." Sun Gan's voice trembled.
He had three sons, all serving in the army as Centurions.
Between them, they commanded only a few hundred soldiers.
Now his youngest son had been killed.
His influence had weakened even further.
The fury in his heart was impossible to swallow.
"I'll take care of it right away." The eldest son of the Sun Family answered and left.
Elsewhere, Zhou He glanced at Lu Yuan. Though anxious, he still said, "I only just found out myself. That damned Sun the Third—wasn't he Wu Han's Centurion?
"I don't know when he started fooling around with Wu Han's new wife.
"Every time Wu Han was on night watch, Sun the Third would climb over the wall and sneak into Wu Han's house in the middle of the night.
"This time, Wu Han's younger brother caught him. When they started arguing, Sun the Third not only killed Wu Han's brother, he kicked his mother to death, too.
"That's what enraged Wu Han. He grabbed his blade and went straight to the house where Sun the Third kept his mistress. He happened to find Sun the Third and his Squad Leader plotting how to frame him.
"He killed them both in one go."
Hearing Zhou He's account, Lu Yuan nodded.
"Brother, a man needs a few brothers he can count on with his life if he wants to walk steadily through this world. Wu Han is someone I've taken under my wing, and I'm going to save him.
"I know you're new here and have your own concerns. Truthfully, I shouldn't have come today."
When Lu Yuan didn't respond, disappointment flashed in Zhou He's eyes.
He turned and walked out.
After Zhou He left, Lu Yuan didn't go back to rest. Instead, he changed into a night outfit, put on a face covering, and leaped out through the window behind the house.
Over the past few days, he had noticed people watching and following him in secret. He hadn't called them out, because their methods told him they were certainly agents of Great Yong's authorities.
Without certainty, he didn't want to act hastily.
That was why he couldn't agree rashly in front of Zhou He just now. He didn't want the people spying on him to notice anything amiss.
But Wu Han aside, Zhou He was someone he couldn't just abandon.
So he planned to slip out, deal with his pursuers, and then go after Zhou He.
But to Lu Yuan's surprise, when he came outside, those people were nowhere to be seen.
Though puzzled, Lu Yuan didn't hesitate.
With a light tap of his right foot, he leaped onto the roof. After a few bounds, he had cleared the alley.
Ice Plain City wasn't especially large, but it wasn't small, either. If something happened...
You could still see the commotion from a high vantage point.
At that moment, Wu Han was hiding beneath a pile of firewood in an unknown alley. A blade had pierced his abdomen, and the wound in his shoulder was deep enough to show bone.
He had managed to kill Sun the Third at great cost, but he was no monster like Lu Yuan, who could chase down and fight someone in the Tendon-Refining stage while still in the Body Tempering Realm. Now he was badly wounded.
Listening to the chaotic footsteps outside, he knew he was probably about to be caught.
But he refused to be captured.
He tightened his grip on his blade, a grim look rising on his usually handsome face.
"There's blood over there! He's over there!"
"Clop, clop..."
Someone shouted, and the footsteps grew denser.
It sounded as if everyone was charging this way.
"Bang!"
Wu Han knew he had been discovered. He threw off the firewood and stood up.
The long blade gripped tightly in his hand was stained with blood.
Leading the group was the Sun Family's second son. He was burly, with a huge head and a face full of coarse flesh, pitted with bumps. His expression was vicious.
He fixed his strange eyes on Wu Han. "I never thought a spineless coward like you would dare kill my third brother. Today, I'm taking you back and grinding your bones to dust!"
"Ha! I'm a spineless coward? And yet this spineless coward killed your brother. If I've got any strength left today, I'll kill you, too. If I didn't have people I cared about, what would you lot be?"
As he spoke, Wu Han charged straight at Sun the Second. He was clearly going all in.
Flustered, Sun the Second raised his blade and swung.
But Wu Han didn't dodge. His hand moved even faster, and as the blade came down, he changed its course and slashed across Sun the Second's waist.
"Shhk!"
Sun the Second wore iron armor. The blade scraped across it, scattering sparks.
"Shhk!"
At the same time, Sun the Second's blade struck Wu Han's shoulder. Blood sprayed across Wu Han's face, but he showed no intention of dodging. He seized the back of the blade with one hand and raised his own weapon with the other, hacking at Sun the Second's head.
He was utterly fearless in the face of death.
"Bang!"
Sun the Second didn't dare risk his life. He let go of the hilt and kicked at Wu Han, trying to create some distance.
But Wu Han yanked the blade from his shoulder and brought it crashing down on Sun the Second's leg.
Blood spurted as the blade pierced straight through his calf.
"Ah!" A shrill scream rang out.
Blood ran from Wu Han's mouth. "Am I a coward?"
His fighting style was utterly reckless. He didn't care whether he lived or died. He had only one goal: kill his opponent.
Sun the Second roared, "Are you all blind? Get him!"
Only then did the surrounding men react. They raised their weapons and charged at Wu Han.
There were too many of them, and he was nearly spent. He no longer had the strength to fight back.
But Wu Han didn't give up. Instead, he tightened his grip on his blade. The moment his family died, he had sworn that from then on, no one would ever make him put down his weapon.
"Whoosh!"
Just then, a rope shot over the wall and looped around him, yanking him upward. Once Wu Han had been hauled up onto the wall, a figure with his face covered hissed, "It's me. Hurry, let's go."
Then he pulled Wu Han along and ran toward another alley.
The City Guard soldiers' swinging weapons struck empty air.
Furious, Sun the Second shouted, "Go around! Chase them! Bring back the person who rescued him, too. I want to see who dares oppose my Sun Family!"
Zhou He knew he had been careless. He had seized the chance to rescue Wu Han from the crowd, but the City Guard had surrounded them too quickly.
In less than the time it took to drink a cup of tea, the two of them were surrounded.
His palms were slick with sweat.
Wu Han felt a pang of guilt as he looked at the brother who had always looked after him. Once again, he had dragged him into trouble.
He would have ripped out his own heart for him.
"I'll hold them off. You go," he said hoarsely.
"Look at that spineless face of yours. You're just asking to be scolded. Why are your eyes red? So what if we die? We'll be heroes again eighteen years from now. Can you really hold off all these men?" Zhou He muttered, scolding him as he always did.
But beads of sweat already covered his forehead.
Sun the Second didn't come closer this time. He stood behind the others, limping, and watched the two surrounded men with venom in his eyes. Then he gritted his teeth and said, "Wu Han, I've been to your house, too. Hahaha!"
He waved his hand, ordering his men to seize them.
By now, Zhou He and Wu Han both knew they were finished.
But at that very moment—
A figure came up from behind and clamped a hand around Sun the Second's skull, yanking hard.
"Rrrip!"
His head was torn off.
Then, without a trace of flashy moves, the figure used punches and kicks to knock all ten-odd City Guard soldiers on the outskirts to the ground.
The attacks were fast and vicious.
"Boom!"
At the sight, the rest of the City Guard scattered in a panic. The men who had just been beaten were Sun the Second's trusted followers; the rest were merely ordinary City Guard soldiers. With those men dead, who would risk their lives charging in?
Besides, everyone had sympathized with Wu Han from the start.
"Come with me!" Lu Yuan said, his voice low, once everyone had left.
Zhou He's eyes lit up. Carrying Wu Han, who was nearly unconscious, he followed.