The Broad Road to Rank and Riches!

"..."

As he read that sentence in the letter, the officer's pupils widened, and he stared, dumbstruck.

His throat worked repeatedly. He wanted to speak, but not a single word came out.

"This... this is far too brazen! Provincial Governor, they actually dared to threaten you openly?"

"Who are these people?"

The letter bore neither a signature nor an address. They did not even know how it had been delivered to the governor's residence.

Zhuge Jingcheng offered no explanation. He merely waved a hand. "Don't ask what you shouldn't. You only need to do one thing—no matter what happens, the city gates must not be thrown open!"

"But what if those kidnappers threaten the young lady's life?"

"Kill them all, her included!"

Thud!

At Zhuge Jingcheng's words, the officer's eyes widened further, and his heart gave a violent shudder.

"I am Zhuge Jingcheng, the Provincial Governor of Qingzhou! I have fought countless battles, great and small, throughout my life. And I wagered on the right side, throwing my lot in with the reigning Empress! How could I submit to threats from a pack of rebels?"

Zhuge Jingcheng roared on, a murderous aura swirling around him.

"Must I let them lead me by the nose simply because my daughter is in their hands? What dignity would I have left as Provincial Governor?"

"The greater cause must not be swayed by a single life! Even if that life belongs to my daughter!"

At those words, the officer's heart shuddered violently again.

Not daring to ask anything more, he hurried away.

Zhuge Jingcheng returned to his room. Looking at the letter from Capital City on his desk, he drew a deep breath, both hands trembling despite himself.

He had delayed taking action against those rebels.

That was because he had wanted to settle his daughter's affairs first.

He had never expected his daughter to fall into the rebels' hands.

The two matters had finally become one...

"Phew..."

Slowly exhaling a stale breath, Zhuge Jingcheng held both letters over the candle.

He let the flame burn the secret letters to ashes.

As he stared at the candle flame, unease showed in his eyes, along with something twisted and savage.

Was Provincial Governor the end of his career?

Of course not.

He wanted to go to Lizhou City, somewhere closer to the Empress.

These rebels were his ticket there!

They had been in Qingzhou City for three days now. Today was the last day.

On this final day, Qingzhou City was utterly peaceful.

Life seemed to have returned to the way it had been before, untouched by the bloody fighting of the previous two nights.

But the observant had already sensed the greater currents surging beneath that calm.

The Escort Guild.

The heads of every escort agency had gathered at Qingzhou City's largest, the Dragon Gate Escort Bureau.

Tong Chengkun, chief of the Dragon Gate Escort Bureau, occupied the seat of honor. Seated from left to right were Mo Zhaoyun, chief of the Star Sea Escort Agency, and Chai Feiying, chief of the Flying Eagle Escort Agency.

Along with the chiefs and deputy chiefs of the other escort agencies... nearly a hundred people in all.

Qingzhou City's escort trade had developed over nearly a century, with deep foundations, numerous schools, and a long, rich history.

It was no exaggeration to say that every pillar of Qingzhou City's escort trade was here!

Tong Chengkun swept his keen gaze over the gathering and said with a chuckle, "Everyone, I am Tong Chengkun. How many years has it been since our agencies sat together so amicably to discuss anything?"

"Tong Chengkun, spare us the nonsense! Get to the point!"

Chai Feiying slammed the table, his powerful aura making the wooden surface rattle violently.

The Flying Eagle Escort Agency ranked among the Escort Guild's three greatest agencies. But after its deputy chief, Lei Qiandong, had unexpectedly met a violent death a few days earlier, it had lost a supreme expert, and its strength had plummeted.

Before long, it would likely fall out of the ranks of the three greatest agencies.

Precisely for that reason, Chai Feiying had spent the past two days in a fury, swearing to find Lei Qiandong's killer!

"Chief Chai, please be patient. I know the Flying Eagle Escort Agency has lost a deputy chief and is being tossed about by wind and rain."

"But the reason I gathered everyone here today is partly to address that matter—and, while we're at it, to give you all a path to rank and riches."

A faint smile rested on Tong Chengkun's face.

At those words, the gathering instantly erupted into an uproar.

Everyone wore a look of astonishment.

"What path to rank and riches?"

Mo Zhaoyun, chief of the Star Sea Escort Agency, asked eagerly.

"The Provincial Governor himself said that a band of rebels is hiding within Qingzhou City. Whoever kills them all will receive ten thousand taels of fine silver!"

"Ten thousand taels..."

Sharp intakes of breath kept breaking the silence inside the escort bureau.

Men died for wealth, as birds died for food.

That was all the more true for escorts who traveled far and wide.

Yet even Mo Zhaoyun and Chai Feiying had never seen so much money.

"Not only that, but the Provincial Governor's daughter, whom we have been searching so hard for, is also in those rebels' hands."

Tong Chengkun continued, "If, while exterminating the rebels, we happen to kill Miss Zhuge as well, we will receive every last coin of the previous bounty."

"Huff, huff, huff..."

At that moment, every chief's breathing quickened, and greed surfaced in everyone's eyes.

That meant the bounty on the governor's daughter's head would be added to the ten thousand taels of fine silver for exterminating the rebels!

Who would ever complain about having too much money?

"If Miss Zhuge is in those rebels' hands, then they must have killed Old Lei too..."

Chai Feiying's eyes brimmed with murderous intent.

Downstream from Qingzhou Lake, in the Cave of No Worries.

The annual Yin Lotus Gathering had begun.

All the bandits of the Cave of No Worries had assembled, kneeling in devout worship with their foreheads pressed firmly to the ground.

A towering platform stood above a fiercely blazing fire.

Yet two women sat cross-legged atop it, facing each other.

One was Liu Ningzhi, the reigning courtesan of the Flower Delight House, though she had now changed into black.

Black robes, a black skirt, black hair, and black eyes. A pale black veil covered her incomparably beautiful face, lending her a hazy beauty that flickered in and out of view.

Seated opposite her was another alluring woman, though she was slightly older than Liu Ningzhi, around thirty.

She was the Holy Mother of the Yin Lotus Cult.

Now, she looked at Liu Ningzhi and said, "The moment that will decide whether our Yin Lotus Cult can flourish has arrived. You can also break free of your inner demon."

Liu Ningzhi's expression was utterly solemn. "Yes, Mother. I will settle every old grudge and new hatred between that man and me!"

A cold gleam flashed through Liu Ningzhi's eyes.

She had to avenge the killing at the Flower Delight House that night!

A peaceful day passed.

Soon, night would fall.

Mu Yuwei approached Ning Que and said softly, "Little Juzi, Juzi Mu and the main force will reach Qingzhou City very soon..."

Ning Que did not respond.

Instead, he stood by the window for a long time before finally drawing back his gaze.

"Let's go."

Ning Que walked up to Zhuge Qing and looked at her quietly, his voice low. "I may... have to send you back."

Clatter!

As his words fell, the bowl and chopsticks in Zhuge Qing's hands dropped straight to the floor.