Chapter 39 - Crimson

On the ground, Wu Changfeng broke into a series of coughs.

Wu Changfeng had somehow regained consciousness at some point, and stammered as he said, "Our-our Changfeng Escort Agency... has no such person."

"Did I ask you?!" the phoenix-eyed man shouted. Infuriated, he plunged a blade into Master Wu’s belly and skewered him to the ground.

Urgh!

Blood gushed continuously from Master Wu’s mouth.

"Hmph, 'Iron Spear Suppressor of Shu' so what? You're just another paper tiger!" The phoenix-eyed man spat on Master Wu, "Your death will not be lamented."

Having said that, he pulled the blade out of Master Wu's stomach, prepared to deliver the fatal blow.

"Lo... lord..." A miserable figure stumbled out from among the escort agency members.

It was Zhao Feihu.

His face was very pale, and his eyes were wild with panic and despair.

"Lord, this isn't what we discussed—"

"Who are you?" The phoenix-eyed man frowned as he asked impatiently.

Zhao Feihu stumbled before the phoenix-eyed man and knelt with a thud.

"I'm, I'm the one who reported the fugitive—"

"Oh? You are part of the Changfeng Escort Agency?"

Zhao Feihu hurriedly nodded.

"You are the one who reported the case?"

Zhao Feihu nodded again.

"You reported that your escort agency is harboring an imperial fugitive?"

Zhao Feihu's back was drenched with cold sweat. He felt that, in that moment, everyone from the Imperial Guardians to the members of the Changfeng Escort Agency put aside their differences to look at him judgmentally.

"Hahaha... this is hilarious!" The phoenix-eyed man wiped his eyes, laughing so hard that tears came out. "Wu Changfeng, are you seeing this?"

Zhao Feihu surreptitiously raised his head to see how Master Wu was doing and found that Master Wu had raised his head to look back. The fallen old man's expression had no hint of blame or hatred; it contained nothing but deep disappointment.

Zhao Feihu could not meet Master Wu’s gaze anymore.

"Lord! Lord!" Zhao Feihu looked at The phoenix-eyed man, "This isn't what was discussed doing before—"

"Why shouldn't it be like this?" The phoenix-eyed man looked at Zhao Feihu and asked with disdain.

Zhao Feihu's emotions were in shambles as he clung pathetically to the phoenix-eyed man’s leg. "When we discussed it! It was said that only fugitives were to be captured—"

"Get lost!"

The phoenix-eyed man kicked Zhao Feihu away and dusted off his trouser leg with a look of disgust.

"You." The phoenix-eyed man casually pointed to an Imperial Guardian. "Tell him what it means to harbor an imperial fugitive."

"Harboring an imperial fugitive is punishable by the complete extermination of the family!"

Complete extermination of the family.

Zhao Feihu’s mouth dropped open, his mind buzzing. All he could hear was the term: complete extermination.

"Do you understand?"

The phoenix-eyed man approached, looked down at Zhao Feihu, and sneered, "Today, everyone here... must die."

The phoenix-eyed man smiled and said, "But we have to thank you. Without your help, we would not be able to track that fugitive so quickly. We are truly... very grateful."

"Now then... let’s start with you."

Start? Start what?

Zhao Feihu looked confused, nothing was going as he had planned. When he heard the phoenix-eyed man say this, he raised his head to look.

The phoenix-eyed man held out his blade and grinned ferociously at him.

Whoosh

The sound of wind breaking followed the dazzling flash of the blade.

Zhao Feihu felt like he was floating, the world spinning around him.

Then, he saw his own body, with a gaping wound gushing blood. He saw Guo Xiaoliu nearby screaming something at him, but he could not quite make out what was being said.

He also saw the escort agency members on the other side looking at him, some were crying, some had downcast eyes, and some turned their heads away. Sunlight shone on his face, but Zhao Feihu found the harsh exposure blinding.

He wanted to close his eyes.

A pretty face flashed through his mind, and Zhao Feihu suddenly remembered Xiao Tao from Evergreen Pavilion. He had not redeemed her yet.

Is she still waiting for me?

Zhao Feihu wondered.

Zhao Feihu suddenly felt a bit of regret. He realized that his true love was that girl from the Evergreen Pavilion all along.

His head fell onto the ground.

Bang!

The phoenix-eyed man kicked the head to a corner.

The phoenix-eyed man’s gaze was sharp as he looked around at the members of the escort agency.

"I will ask one more time... Where is Ye Beizhi?!"

***

Outside Jiading Prefecture, a fast horse was galloping away, leading a cloud of dust.

Ye Beizhi had been riding nonstop for two days. His mount was not a particularly fine steed, so it was gasping heavily now and foaming at the mouth.

Few people came in or out of the city. The freezing weather kept people out of the streets.

The City Guardian was dozing at the city gate, enjoying the rare sunlight.

"Sir, wake up, sir!"

Suddenly, a subordinate shook the City Guardian awake and gestured towards an approaching figure.

"Look! Isn’t that the person from the day of the refugee riot?"

The City Guardian woke up groggily, rubbed his eyes, and took a closer look. He saw a fast horse racing towards the city gate and immediately shouted, "Guards! Come quickly! Guards!"

The City Guardian’s eyes were now wide open, his lips trembling with excitement. He felt his luck had finally turned. If he could capture an imperial fugitive, he didn't even know how many merits or how to calculate how great a reward he would be able to receive.

The City Guardian sprang up from his recliner as he saw Ye Beizhi was about to arrive. He hoarsely shouted, "Capture this person dead or alive! No, he must be captured alive! Everyone who helps capture him will be rewarded!"

The city gate instantly became lively as the city guards took up their weapons and descended from the city walls. Some even brought out and set up rows of rarely used horse barricades to block the gate.

Ye Beizhi saw the commotion at the city wall and felt a sinking sensation in his heart. He was increasingly certain that something terrible had happened to the escort agency.

Ye Beizhi narrowed his eyes as aggravation began to take root in his heart.

He was only fifty zhang away, yet Ye Beizhi showed no signs of slowing down, charging straight toward the horse barricades!

Crash!

The horse barricades were knocked askew and slid back several meters. Already completely exhausted from riding nonstop, the gray horse let out a painful neigh as it sprawled among the barricades. It struggled but failed to get back up.

At the moment of impact, Ye Beizhi leaped from the back of his horse, his wide white sleeves unfurled like the wings of a soaring crane taking flight.

While airborne, Ye Beizhi saw that he was surrounded by the city guards, who had their weapons trained on him!

Ye Beizhi twisted in the air, and with a slight effort, avoided a blade aimed for his chest and took it for himself.

With his newfound blade, he made a horizontal slash that cleanly severed the spearheads of the surrounding guards. They stood there, now holding blunt sticks of wood, dumbstruck.

"Quickly engage! Keep him surrounded!" The City Guardian, hiding behind the crowd, urged the city guards around him forward.

Blam!

A fierce gust of wind blew towards him, causing the City Guardian to close his eyes, interrupting his words.

When the City Guardian opened his eyes again, Ye Beizhi was at the city gate. He stood with his head lowered, and body bowed over the blade in his hand.

His face was hidden in shadows, making his expression indistinct.

Within a five-zhang radius around him, all the city guards had been rendered unconscious.

The remaining city guards encircled Ye Beizhi, but none of them dared to make a move.

Ye Beizhi raised the blade in his hand, holding it horizontally in front of him. The blade was covered with numerous nicks, and there were a few cracks in the body as well.

Ye Beizhi shook his head, throwing away the shoddy weapon, and walked toward the city gate. The first city guard blocking his way was holding a blade with trembling legs.

Ye Beizhi reached out and gently removed the blade from the city guard's hand. Then he shooed the guard away and said, "Move aside."

The officer gasped and collapsed on the ground in fear, looking for support from the city guards around him.

"He's the imperial fugitive!" The City Guardian shouted loudly from behind the guards, "Capture him and you’ll be richly rewarded!"

The lure of money is never weak in any era.

The guards gritted their teeth and raised their weapons once again.

"Capture him!" The City Guardian’s voice was like the opening of floodgates, releasing a surge of guards.

"Kill!"

Nearly a hundred city guards, emboldened by greed, charged at Ye Beizhi.

Ye Beizhi lowered his head, his brow furrowing even deeper.

"This is really..."

He rubbed his forehead with his left hand in exasperation, but whatever he was saying was lost in the din of rushing guards.

From a distance, the City Guardian asked those around him with confusion, "What is he mumbling about?"

"It's hard to hear clearly—"

Clang!

The sound of a slash seemed to silence the world.

"... frustrating," Ye Beizhi finished. The blade in his hand shattered into pieces.

From north to south, a deep scar ran along the entire city wall,

The City Guardian watched helplessly as the city guards in front of him fell to the ground one by one, all severed at the waist.

He felt himself falling too. He tried looking around, but everything he saw was the same. His world was bloodred.