I Don't Think You Need to Go Back!

The woman beckoned a maid over to lead the two men to a private room on the third floor.

An exquisite spread of food and wine already awaited them. When Bai Zhixing saw them arrive, he rose to greet them, cupping his fists in welcome.

Chen Jing briefly introduced Cheng Qingshi and Bai Zhixing, and the two exchanged a few pleasantries.

Bai Zhixing brought up how Chen Jing and Wang Chong had saved him in the mountain ravine, and sighed over it once more.

The three shared a drink. Chen Jing set down his cup and got to the point.

"Brother Bai, there's something that's been troubling me."

"When Clear Wind Stronghold ambushed you last month, did White Horse Pharmacy investigate afterward? Was it really a coincidence?"

The smile vanished from Bai Zhixing's face.

He fell silent for a moment. "To be frank, Brother Chen, the arrangements for that shipment of medicinal herbs were kept strictly secret. What we were transporting, which road we'd take, and when we'd leave—only people inside the pharmacy knew."

"Clear Wind Stronghold couldn't have known in advance that the herbs would pass along that road unless someone tipped them off."

He smiled bitterly. "Unfortunately, my father investigated several times. He turned the ledgers, letters, and records of everyone's comings and goings upside down, but never found the person who leaked it."

"Did he investigate Manager Zhou Yunhan?"

Chen Jing looked Bai Zhixing straight in the eye.

Bai Zhixing froze, then his expression shifted.

Chen Jing held nothing back.

He recounted last night's ambush, what everyone at Lianshan Martial Arts Hall suspected, his feud with Zhou Fan, and the fact that Zhou Yunhan was Zhou Fan's father.

By the time Bai Zhixing had heard it all, his face had turned livid.

He slammed a fist onto the table, setting the cups and plates rattling.

"Manager Zhou has worked for my father for over ten years. My father trusts him completely and leaves many important affairs of the pharmacy in his hands."

"Why would he do this?"

Chen Jing and Cheng Qingshi exchanged a glance. It seemed all but certain now.

"That's a question for you, Brother Bai."

Bai Zhixing raised his cup and took a sip. "Zhou Yunhan has been chief manager for over ten years. At the pharmacy, there's one man above him and ten thousand below."

"Perhaps he's grown used to being the one who calls the shots. Now my father intends to have me gradually take over the pharmacy's affairs."

"That means taking back some of the authority Zhou Yunhan once held alone and putting it in my hands."

"He's afraid he'll be pushed aside, reduced from a chief manager whose word was law to a decoration no one needs."

Chen Jing nodded.

"That motive makes perfect sense. If you die, White Horse Pharmacy has no heir, and he can keep calling the wind and rain as he pleases."

Bai Zhixing remained silent for a long time.

The anger on his face slowly gave way to weariness and disappointment.

He picked up his cup, drained the last of his wine in one swallow, and let out a long breath.

"Thank you for telling me, Brother Chen."

"I'll discuss this with my father when I get back."

Suddenly, the private room's door opened.

Zhou Yunhan stood in the doorway in a brocade robe, his face dark.

Beside him were two burly men with bulging temples and thick arms.

Dense footsteps sounded in the corridor outside. Shadowy figures flickered across the doors and windows like a tangle of ghostly shapes.

"Nephew Bai, I don't think you need to go back."

"Come with me to Clear Wind Stronghold."

Bai Zhixing sprang to his feet, his face draining of color. "Zhou Yunhan! This is the Hundred Flowers Pavilion. You dare make a move here?"

Zhou Yunhan gave a cold laugh, his mouth curling with disdain.

"Nephew, you seem to forget that I've spent more than ten years building my position in Green Mountain City. I'm the chief manager of White Horse Pharmacy."

"Our young master is discussing important business on the third floor, and no outsiders are allowed in. The manager of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion wouldn't deny me that much."

"The entire third floor is filled with my men now."

"You three..."

"Are you still going to fight like cornered beasts?"

His gaze swept slowly over Chen Jing and Cheng Qingshi, as though they were already dead. Then he roared:

"Seize them!"

The words had barely left his mouth.

The two burly men beside Zhou Yunhan lunged forward.

Cheng Qingshi held his ground. His spine snapped straight, his whole body sprang up, and he drove out a punch!

Chen Jing stayed where he was. His hand reached behind his waist, and his Butcher Knife flashed from its sheath with a clang.

One of the men staggered backward and struck the wall. Staring at Cheng Qingshi, horror flashed in his eyes.

"What a heavy punch... You've reached Blood Exchange!"

The other man screamed, clutching his blood-soaked wrist. He had left a hand behind.

The composure on Zhou Yunhan's face shattered.

He instinctively retreated half a step. Only then did he take a proper look at the two young men standing before Bai Zhixing.

One struck with fists as fierce as a tiger; the other wielded a blade so fast he could barely see it. Fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, and his voice rose despite himself.

"Who... who are you?"

Bai Zhixing had been so frightened he'd ducked halfway under the table. Seeing Cheng Qingshi and Chen Jing display such fearsome skill, he crawled back out, wiped away his sweat, and straightened his back again.

Chen Jing grinned. The blood on his Butcher Knife had yet to dry, and drops fell from its edge onto the blue bricks.

"Manager Zhou, didn't Zhou Fan tell you about me?"

"I'm Chen Jing of Lianshan Martial Arts Hall."

"And this is my fourth senior brother, Cheng Qingshi."

Zhou Yunhan stared in shock.

Of course he had heard that name!

Chen Jing—the butcher who had gotten his son thrown out of Lianshan Martial Arts Hall! The muscles in his face twitched twice, and he roared:

"It's all because of you! Everything I've built over more than ten years is going up in flames! Get him! Kill him!"

With a clatter, more than a dozen swordsmen swarmed in.

The private room was cramped to begin with. In an instant, it was packed with gleaming steel blades, while still more men blocked the doorway.

They sealed off every avenue of escape.

Footsteps kept multiplying in the corridor outside. There were at least several dozen shadowy figures.

Chen Jing and Cheng Qingshi exchanged a glance.

Each saw the same gravity in the other's eyes.

Though both were skilled fighters, they were surrounded by more than a dozen men in this cramped room and had to protect Bai Zhixing, who could not fight at all. One wrong move, and all three would die here.

But their enemies gave them no time to think.

The swordsmen surged forward like a tide.

Cheng Qingshi struck the edge of the round table with his palm. The pearwood table, weighing over a hundred jin, flew sideways with a crash.

Its cups, plates, and bowls hurtled into the men at the front, knocking them head over heels.

Chen Jing grabbed a pearwood armchair, twisted at the waist, and poured all his Inner Force into hurling it at the window.

With a thunderous crash, the carved lattice shattered. Wood splinters flew, and cold wind poured through the opening.

"Out the window! Follow the eaves!"

Chen Jing was practically roaring. With a backhand thrust, he drove his Butcher Knife into a man's chest.

Bai Zhixing knew their lives hung in the balance.

Though his legs trembled, he gritted his teeth and stumbled out the window. On all fours, he inched along the sloping glazed-tile eaves.