Leaving the City

Dugu Bo jumped out of the car, stood at the crossroads, and looked down at the dirt on the ground.

"Master?" Lin Chen lifted the carriage curtain.

Dugu Bo didn't answer. He led the horse, straightened the carriage towards the south road, slapped the horse's rump, spurred the carriage forward about ten steps, and then pulled it back.

After two rounds, the wheels left two deep ruts in the loose soil, and the horses' hooves left a series of clear tracks.

Xiao Wu peeked out. "Senior, what's going on...?"

"Leave some traces so they can track us down." Dugu Bo patted the dirt off his hands.

Xiao Wu poked her head out. "Senior, were you deliberately leading them south?"

"Little girl, you're not entirely stupid." Dugu Bo climbed onto the carriage shaft, cracked his whip, and said, "Let's go."

With a crack of the whip, the carriage sped up, heading south and leaving Suotuo City behind.

Half an hour ago, at the prison magistrate's office in the west of Suotuo City.

Ma Ang entered the courtyard clutching his lower back, his brocade robe still stained with dust from the bluestone slabs, his jade pendant askew, and he walked with a limp.

Two thugs followed behind him, limping, while several others were carried back and laid haphazardly on the stone steps in the courtyard, groaning incessantly.

Ma Ding was drinking tea in the hall. He looked to be under fifty, with a thin face, a neatly trimmed mustache, and his official robes were not fully fastened, with the collar open.

"Uncle! Ouch!" Ma Ang cried out, tripping and stumbling. "You have to help me, Uncle!"

"Ma Ang? What happened to you?"

"Three out-of-towners beat me up." Ma Ang was about to sit down when he jumped up in pain. "Right on East Street, in front of everyone on the street, they beat us up!"

Ma Ding put down his teacup. "Didn't you bring seven or eight thugs? You couldn't even beat three of them? Are they Soul Master?"

"Oh, Uncle, you know they don't have any real fighting skills, they're just good at bluffing."

Ma Ang's voice grew louder and louder, "They're either Soul Master or ordinary people, not very old, just a little skilled. That brat took down four thugs and two girls. One kicked one of them away, and the other tripped him, knocking out his front teeth. Uncle, quickly seal the city gate, don't let them escape, help me get revenge!"

Ma Ding didn't reply, and slowly turned the teacup.

"You're closing the city gates over something so trivial?" He finally spoke after a while. "If the gates are closed, the city garrison will question you tomorrow, saying that your Ma family dared to cut off a city's trade route with just a word. Even if your father is a baron, he can't suppress that argument."

"Uncle! My father is still on the estate outside the city. By the time he gets back, it'll be too late!"

"Tell me the truth first." Ma Ding raised his eyes, "Did those three people show their Soul Ring or not?"

"No! Not a single one lit up." Ma Ang shrugged. "They're just ordinary people, with ordinary martial arts skills. I saw it clearly."

"You're not Soul Master, yet you still managed to take down seven of you armed men?"

"Why would I lie to you!" Ma Ang stamped his foot in frustration, then pulled at his lower back and gasped. "There are people all over the street watching! Go ask them if you don't believe me!"

Ma Ding tapped his fingers twice on the armrest and slowly smiled.

"No Soul Ring is good. No Soul Ring, just a few skilled outsiders, not disciples of any sect. I can't afford to mess with sect disciples, and outsiders are..."

Ma Ang took a half step closer and lowered his voice.

"Uncle, they're rich. I had someone ask at the teahouse, and there was an old man with them. They didn't even blink at a pot of good tea, two plates of snacks, or a few side dishes. They have their own carriage with two top-quality horses. And those two girls, needless to say, are as beautiful as if they stepped out of a painting."

Ma Ding stopped turning the teacup.

"You're rich, huh...?"

"But sealing off the city gates is not an option; that would be overstepping our authority."

Ma Ding put down his teacup, stood up, and started buttoning his collar as he walked out.

"However, it is my duty to investigate the fact that an outsider committed violence in the street, injuring the baron's son."

Ma Ang's eyes lit up. "Uncle agreed?"

"Someone, summon Commander He and Commander Qian."

"Bring both commanders along?" Ma Ang chuckled. "Two Soul Grandmaster, dealing with a few ordinary people will be a piece of cake."

"Hmph, they're careful with their actions; they won't let the Spirit Hall hear about it." Ma Ding walked to the corridor. "Gather another twenty brothers, bring some weapons, don't carry banners, all in civilian clothes. Line up outside the city."

"Yes!"

Half an hour later, a crowd gathered at the gate of the mansion.

Commander He was a dark-faced man in his thirties, with a sword at his waist. He was a Soul Grandmaster with a Soul Power of Level 26. Behind him was a tall, thin man named Qian Qi, who was also Soul Grandmaster. Both of the guard commanders were Soul Master hired by Ma Ding.

Further back, there were more than twenty ordinary soldiers, all wearing rough cloth and wearing scarves on their heads. They looked just like escorts or chariot drivers. They didn't have long guns in their hands, and their knives were hidden behind their backs.

Ma Ding was the last to emerge, having changed into a dark casual robe, his boots clicking twice on the stone steps.

"Let's go to the shop first."

The group passed through the East Market. It was getting dark, and the shops were closing one after another. No one on the street dared to give them a second glance when they saw that it was a group of men in short clothes walking together.

We arrived at the door of Chen Family Tailor.

Ma Ding stopped, his brow furrowing.

The shop door was wide open, and it was pitch black inside. Commander He rushed forward, kicked the door, and the door bounced back against the wall.

Ma Ding raised his hand to shield his nose from the dust. "Search."

The two commanders led their men inside and ransacked the three rooms.

"Reporting to you, sir, the person is gone. It seems they left in a great hurry, leaving behind many belongings."

Ma Ang followed them inside, looked around, and his face grew increasingly grim. "Damn it, that old man ran fast! No, Uncle, it must have been those outsiders who took him away!"

Ma Ding didn't reply, but turned and walked towards the city gate, his boots clattering on the bluestone with each step.

At the south gate, he grabbed the captain guarding the gate and pulled him close.

"Has anyone from out of town left the city more than half an hour ago? Think carefully before you speak. If you miss a detail, you'll be treated as illegally releasing a suspect."

"Yes, yes," the team leader stammered, his neck hunched over. "There's a carriage. In the front are two old men and a teenage girl, and inside the carriage are three teenagers. They seem to be in a bit of a hurry."

Which way are you going?

"Southwards, the official road."

"Chase."

The group exited through the south gate, where the horses were being led out of the post station outside the city. They mounted them immediately.

More than twenty horses thundered as their hooves rolled over the bluestone beneath the city gate.

Ma Ang also mounted his horse and gritted his teeth to stay at the back of the group.

You damned bastards, wait till I catch you, I'll teach you a lesson!

After leaving the city, it was already dark. The official road looked grayish-white in the moonlight, and there was dew on the grass by the roadside.

After riding for about ten miles, Qian Qi suddenly reined in his horse. "Sir, look!"

On the road, the tire tracks were clearly visible, two deep imprints, and the hoofprints were densely arranged in a row, pointing straight south.

"They ran fast, the tracks are fresh." Commander He dismounted, felt the tracks, and then pinched the soil in the hoofprints. "Less than half an hour."