Disasters Came One After Another

Duan Xuan was wondering who could be looking for him when, before he even reached the door, a thick stench of blood slipped through the crack and into his nostrils.

A disciple was bracing the gate shut, refusing to let the bloodstained figure outside enter.

"Please wait a little longer. This is a martial arts hall—we can't take in a vagrant.

"Senior Brother Duan will be here soon, but let me make this clear first: if he doesn't know you—

"I'll definitely break one of your legs... Senior Brother Duan!" Only when Duan Xuan came over did the disciple finally open the door.

The next instant, a familiar face entered Duan Xuan's sight.

His eyes widened abruptly as he caught the man who was about to collapse. "Brother Zhao, why is it you? What happened? Get inside, quickly!"

"Senior Brother Duan, he..."

Duan Xuan waved a hand. "Quick, shut the door."

The disciple reacted swiftly, peering left and right through the crack at the street several times before slamming the gate shut and dropping the bar into place.

Duan Xuan pulled Zhao Rui to a spot where he could catch his breath, then brought over a basin, towels, and medicine for dressing wounds.

"Brother Liu, hurry to the kitchen and get me two steamed buns."

"Right, understood!"

In just a few minutes, Duan Xuan had dressed Zhao Rui's wounds and wiped away the bloodstains on his body. His expression was utterly serious. "Brother Zhao, what happened?

"Aren't you an official in the inner city? How did you get blade wounds?"

Zhao Rui panted harshly, gulped down several mouthfuls of plain water, and shoved an entire steamed bun into his mouth.

Had Duan Xuan not pinched his mouth and made him spit out more than half of it, Zhao Rui might very well have choked to death.

"Eat slowly. There's plenty more!"

After a while, Zhao Rui finally recovered a little strength. "Chunmei... The Wang family is about to have the sky turn over."

"The Wang family's sky is turning over? What does that have to do with Chunmei? Where is she now?"

Duan Xuan remembered clearly that Liu Chunmei worked as a maid in the Wang family.

The last time she had come, Liu Chunmei had brought them pastries bestowed by her young mistress. Duan Xuan had been reluctant to eat them and had taken them home for his mother.

In any case, Zhou Fang had said those pastries were truly delicacies of the human world, melting the instant they touched the tongue—entirely unlike the coarse food common folk ate.

Not even a month had passed since they had separated, yet such a thing had already happened.

"It's a long story. We have to start from more than two months ago..."

Over the time it took an incense stick to burn, Zhao Rui explained the cause and effect, as well as everything that had happened in between.

The Wang family had many small courtyards, each representing a different branch of the household. To obtain the Wang family's various businesses and power, those branches had to fight one another.

Open strife and hidden struggles were a cruel reality every child of a great family had to endure.

Normally, however, the family did not permit direct use of force to wipe out one another.

Thus, framing others, planting false accusations, and killing with a borrowed blade became the chief methods. Liu Chunmei's young mistress was a child of the Fourth Branch.

The Fourth Branch had long been at odds with the wives of the Third and Seventh Branches. Half a year ago, over the Wang family business dealing in martial-combat qi-and-blood pills, the Fourth Branch had carefully laid a trap for the other two branches.

Finally, two months ago, they had driven both sides into a corner and forced them to abandon the competition.

Yet it was precisely for this reason that they had enraged the wives of the Third and Seventh Branches. Both sides had been waiting for an opportunity to deal the Fourth Branch a fatal blow, until the martial examinations began and gave them their chance.

Every branch wife had children, and once those children had entered Bright Force or Hidden Force at an early age, they would have to compete for favor by taking part in the examinations.

If they earned a title, the family head would attach even greater importance to them within the Wang family.

During this period, experts from every side naturally protected the children in secret throughout the whole process, and the Fourth Branch's martial artists had all been pulled away at once.

Moreover, the Wang family's stewards and masters had all been away from the residence these past days, so the Third and Seventh Branches had developed murderous intent.

Liu Chunmei had a close relationship with her young mistress, and under her mistress's mother's arrangements, the two had left the Wang family overnight.

They had originally planned to hide out at another Wang family residence in a different county until the storm passed. Who would have thought that the Third and Seventh Branches had already stationed men at every major route? Even if they wanted to flee, they could not escape.

With no other choice, Liu Chunmei could only turn to Zhao Rui. Yet neither Zhao Rui nor his wife's elder brother possessed power that reached the heavens.

Though Zhao Rui had been full of drive these past few months and had repeatedly caught his superiors' attention, receiving minor promotions,

his official rank was still too low. Once a great family's internal struggle was involved, at best he would be swept out by the authorities; at worst, the Wang family would throw him into prison to rot until the bottom wore through.

But because the two had grown up together, Zhao Rui still used his personal status to help one or two people evade pursuit.

Zhao Rui had also intended to use his connections to send Liu Chunmei and her young mistress out of the city. But today, this happened—they had sent people to hunt him down in secret.

Fortunately, an idea flashed through his mind, and he ran to Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall.

Duan Xuan gripped Zhao Rui's hand tightly. "Brother Zhao, rest and recover properly. Leave Chunmei to me. I'll definitely bring her back to you safe and sound."

He then rose to his feet. "Junior Brother Liu, I'll leave my brother in your care for now. I'm counting on you!"

With Duan Xuan's temperament, when it came to the struggles of great families, he would hide as far away as he possibly could.

But Zhao Rui, Liu Chunmei, and even Zhang Chen lying in bed were all as close to him as family.

He did not know how many enemies there were or how strong they were. But he knew very clearly that these fists of his had to do something.

Liu Tie patted his chest. "Don't worry, Senior Brother. I'll look after Senior Brother Zhou, Senior Brother Zhang, and your brother all together. Just give me a few pointers when you get back!"

Duan Xuan did not waste another word. He quietly left through the rear gate of Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall.

First, he circled around Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall and, sure enough, spotted someone secretly keeping watch.

The hidden hands of the Wang family's Third and Seventh Branches were staring fixedly at the entrance to Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall, while Duan Xuan watched every one of their movements just as closely.

He waited like that for an entire hour.

At last, Duan Xuan got his chance.

Another Wang family thug arrived. The two sat down at a tea stall and began exchanging information.

"What's going on? Have you found Fourth Miss? She's just a little girl. If she hasn't left the city, where could she possibly run to?"

"I don't know. Others are after her, so don't worry. I nearly killed the person who helped her escape, but unfortunately, he ran into Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall."

"What? He ran into a martial arts hall? Then what the hell are we waiting for?"

"I don't believe he can hide in the martial arts hall for the rest of his life. Keep your eyes glued to this place while I report back to the masters.

"Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall's main force has gone to take the martial examinations. The ones left to guard the place are just some useless disciples and servants.

"If they won't hand him over, we'll smash our way in and drag that person out. The masters will cover for us afterward."

"Fine. Hey? Where are you going?"

"Didn't you see just now? That kid I chased ran out through the front gate. Hurry, after him!"

It turned out that, just as the two were exchanging information, the man who had been staring fixedly at Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall's entrance

saw a heavily wounded figure, blood soaking through his clothes, hurrying off in another direction. By the time the two gave chase, that person had already turned into an old alley between residences.

Both were Bright Force martial artists and moved with astonishing speed, entering the alley right on the heels of "Zhao Rui."

"Hey? We clearly saw him run in here. Where did he go?"

"That fellow covered in blood just now—I saw him too. He must have gone farther in. Hurry and chase him! If we catch him, the masters will surely reward us handsomely!"

Among the retainers raised by great families, some were honored guests, while others were trusted lackeys and slaves.

Clearly, these two were slaves secretly raised by the wives of the Wang family's Third and Seventh Branches, fiercely loyal to them.

Yet even after the two had walked all the way to the end of the alley, they did not see another trace of anyone.

Just as they were about to climb the wall to see whether Zhao Rui had leapt over it and escaped to the other side,

a fierce iron-like claw struck first. With three swift flashes, it tore out the eyes of the thug who had been clinging to the wall and searching.

"Ah! I can't see! He's hiding on this side of the wall!"

The other lookout froze for a moment, then prepared to leap onto the wall from his side.

But the instant he got up there, he went dumb.

Because someone below was staring straight into his eyes.

And that person had a cylinder strapped to his arm, aimed precisely at his forehead.

He was just about to move.

Whoosh! A whistling arrow shot out with savage force, instantly piercing the Bright Force lookout's forehead.

Duan Xuan took the money from the two lookouts and also removed a waist token bearing the words "Wang family."

Only after dragging the two corpses into an abandoned alley nearly a thousand meters from Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall did he finally leave.