Parading hostages through the streets in open-top convertibles had felt fine enough, but doing so on a rainy day was miserable.
Fortunately, this cluster of abandoned factory buildings offered no shortage of shelter from the downpour.
Even so, the guard leader did not let everyone scatter haphazardly; instead, he chose an especially large workshop.
The cavernous room covered nearly a thousand square meters and reached over ten meters high. There was no telling what kind of manufacturing plant it had once been.
Remarkably, though part of the roof had collapsed, all four walls were mostly intact, which at least kept out drafts.
Outside, the wind had already picked up, whipping clouds of dust into the air.
The workshop was simply too vast to form a single draft corridor, yet leaks and whistling breezes were unavoidable.
Everyone had no choice but to huddle in the corners, using the three vehicles to wall off three relatively enclosed spaces.
Gathering closely to share warmth would have been better, but guards from the capital of Liang never lacked a basic sense of wariness.
Ultimately, a place like the imperial capital was fraught with far too many conflicting interests; anything bizarre or treacherous could happen.
They did not need to hold out for long—only until the escort from Red Pine Martial Academy arrived. Why bother playing nice and bonding?
Dark storm clouds rolled over swiftly, plunging the interior into deeper gloom.
"Boss, is it still in time to turn back now?" someone asked.
"Over such a trivial thing?" the leader scoffed. "Turn on the headlights!"
They belonged to the guard corps and had close ties to the military, making them Great Liang's primary force against the Guizu.
If even they had to flee at the first sign of Guizu, Great Liang would have fallen long ago.
The headlights clicked on, forming three luminous focal points. As the incandescent beams swept across the space, everyone's tension eased considerably.
Just as they breathed a sigh of relief, a silhouette darted into motion.
It was Wu Youren, scouring every corner to see what tools or implements he could salvage.
He had already snapped that scrap of rebar into pieces, and now he was combing the ground for loose nails, ball bearings, and similar scraps.
He even gathered up several shards of broken glass... along with fibrous cords drifting in the wind.
He used a faded, washed-out bedsheet to bundle all these items together.
He Wenhao touched the long row of throwing knives at his waist and couldn't help shaking his head. "He really is flat broke."
Among the crowd, Wu Youren was the only one bustling about. The others looked at him as if watching a farce.
"Go gather some dry firewood," the guard leader ordered. "There's no telling how long we'll be waiting."
It was late spring turning to early summer, but a heavy downpour was bound to bring biting damp and cold.
More importantly, the air here carried a grim, eerie chill; lighting a fire would also deter Guizu from drawing near to some degree.
Several guards moved into action, while the hostages, knowing their place, stood quietly where they were.
The factory grounds were not only choked with weeds but also dotted with low shrubs. Before long, the guards returned with armfuls of firewood.
Three bonfires were lit. While they hardly warmed the immense factory, they provided a reassuring sense of security.
Wu Youren had collected a substantial pile of debris. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, he began setting up tripwires and mechanisms around the perimeter.
The hostages might not have had an eye for it, but the guards were experienced men of the world.
At a glance, they recognized that he was laying out crude early-warning devices and exceedingly rudimentary traps.
Because these materials were practically garbage, the resulting contraptions looked utterly pitiful.
For instance, he jammed a few shards of glass into the dirt, sharp edges pointing up—could that even be called a trap?
An apprentice knight could stomp on them barefoot without taking harm; an ordinary person in boots would just crush them into powder.
Still, everyone watched him fuss about in silence, and no one stepped in to stop him.
After a long while, one guard remarked, "Whatever... better than nothing, I suppose."
He spoke casually, but anyone who had never experienced war would likely fail to appreciate the weight of those three words.
On a battlefield, any action that could increase one's chances of survival—even by the faintest sliver—was invaluable!
Even so, nobody offered a helping hand. This was the outskirts of Great Liang's capital; even if stray Guizu appeared, how strong could they possibly be?
Setting up grand defenses would not only feel like using a slaughtering cleaver to kill a chicken, but it would also make them look like cowards.
One guard sneered in disdain. "Is this all the guts people from Jin have?"
"Forget it," the guard leader said with a slight shake of his head. Since it worked to their advantage and only made the hostage look foolish, why make a fuss?
He also thought the young man cowardly, but found some merit in him. "His technique... actually shows some skill."
"His family boasts a quasi-builder as well," said a guard who had overheard the hostages' earlier chatter.
"Heh," the leader chuckled softly, offering no further comment. In his heart, however, he thought: *This isn't the craft of a builder at all.*
He kept his thoughts to himself only because he saw no reason to enlighten enemy hostages with his insights.
Hearing the praise, Feng Qianjun quietly made a mental note: *This man can be put in charge of related matters in the future.*
Before long, a flash of lightning illuminated the sky, dazzlingly bright even inside the workshop.
Several more flashes followed in rapid succession, trailed by the rumbling boom of thunder.
As heavy raindrops began pattering against the roof, Wu Youren was still tinkering with his mechanisms.
"All right," He Wenhao called out to him. "Come over and wait."
The rain was pouring now, and the noise would soon impair their hearing.
He did not believe any Guizu would show up here; the fellow had labored long enough and ought to rest.
Even if one did appear... it would be a cruel joke to set so many traps only to be ambushed by a Guizu anyway.
Behind their vehicle, the three Liang guards assigned to their group sat in relaxed postures.
The one acting as the driver seemed the most at ease, dangling a cigarette from his mouth as he lounged comfortably on the hood.
Compared to the guards' laxity, He Wenhao remained relatively cautious. Crossing his arms, he rested his right hand on his hip, ready to draw a dagger at a moment's notice.
Within a dozen seconds, the rain intensified, the downpour drumming into a continuous roar outside, sounding as if a rushing river were sweeping past.
The workshop roof was battered and cracked, riddled with several gaping holes that let steady sheets of rain cascade through.
Ten minutes later, actual streams were coursing across the floor, the runoff pooling into miniature rivers.
"Damn it," one guard muttered. "Now those Red Pine bastards have an excuse to show up late."
"We could still head back," another replied, "though we'd have to wade through the water."
"No sense in turning back now. We wait out the rain," the leader said sourly. "Those Red Pine bastards... how dare they treat important diplomatic affairs so lightly!"
Another ten minutes passed. The drumming of the rain diminished considerably, though it continued to fall steadily.
An hour went by, and the rain still showed no sign of stopping. Their firewood supply was running low.
"Damned weather," the leader grumbled. "Turn off the headlights to save power."
Going out to gather more firewood was no longer feasible, and it was wise to conserve the off-road vehicles' fuel and battery.
Two more hours slipped past. The rain dwindled to a drizzle, but lingered on. The last bonfire gradually died down.
"Damn, we might have to freeze tonight," a guard muttered. "It'd be best not to spend the night here."
Passing through such an area during the day was fine, but in the dead of night... aside from poor sleep, real trouble might come knocking.
More than a dozen vigorous men radiating abundant vitality would act like a beacon; even if no Guizu were nearby, they might lure some in from the distance.
Near Tianjing, that possibility was exceedingly slim, yet it remained an objective risk.
The driver had long since climbed down from the hood. He muttered under his breath, "Even if the rain stopped, night would be falling soon."
Then he looked toward Wu Youren. "Go check those contraptions of yours and see if any have been ruined."
Back at Hostage Manor, guards had no right to order hostages around; they only had the authority to forbid specific actions.
Out here in the field, however, he barked commands without hesitation.
Wu Youren didn't argue. He stepped forward to inspect his perimeter.
Sure enough, one mechanism had been disturbed by the runoff. A slight adjustment was all it took to fix.
Just as he was completing his final check, a sudden, inexplicable tremor seized his heart.
In the next instant, he noticed that all three guards assigned to his group had turned their eyes toward him.
The light in the storehouse was dim, the vehicles idling with only their small parking lights on, yet his sharp senses caught their gaze immediately.
The guards' eyes betrayed nothing unusual, but the fact that all three turned their heads in unison was telling.
Among the three guards, there was one knight and two apprentice knights. The knight in particular was far too disciplined to stare out of idle boredom.
Whether psychological or instinctive, an icy chill suddenly crept up Wu Youren's spine.
Against his skin, the biguijue hanging at his waist vibrated faintly.
Without a second thought, he flicked the two iron nails in his hand behind him and darted toward the front flank.
His movement was astonishingly nimble and noiseless, like a stalking civet cat launching an ambush.
He then pivoted into another leap, his footsteps barely whispering against the floor. As he moved, his foot intentionally brushed against a small stone, kicking it into the air.
The pebble silently struck a sheet of scrap metal he had placed earlier as an alarm.
The iron sheet was paper-thin and heavily corroded, yet the pebble did not pierce through; it merely produced a dull thud.
The noise was faint, barely louder than the patter of the drizzle, but it was enough.
In the next second, he darted in the opposite direction from the metal sheet, spinning around as he landed.
To his astonishment, a faint, twisted dark shadow was vaguely writhing behind where he had just stood.
The silhouette was extremely pale, and in the dim gloom of the warehouse, it could easily be overlooked or dismissed as a trick of the light.
Strangely, the shadow resembled drifting mist, yet also looked like a fluttering swarm of locusts, its shape shifting erratically.
"What is that?" The two nails Wu Youren had hurled earlier had already clattered uselessly to the floor; they could never damage an ethereal form like this.
Without hesitation, he drew his wooden sword, channeled his inner breath, and dropped to the ground, rolling several times backward.
This was one of the clear paths he had mapped out beforehand, entirely free of traps.
"Just a night-wanderer rank qi ghost," the guard driver scoffed, raising his hand and firing two shots.
Chapter 10