Was That Really Necessary?

The youth believed that as long as he ran a few more paces, he could vanish into the crowd in the very next moment. Unfortunately, a massive force slammed into him from behind, hitting between his shoulder blades like a hurtling boulder. He stumbled seven or eight steps forward and crashed onto the street. Blood gushed from his back, a bewildered thought surfacing in his mind: *I was just trying to steal a little something. Was that really necessary?* At the same time, gunfire rang out a third time, though only a single shot. It turned out the uninjured man had seen which way the wind was blowing and bolted. A bullet grazed his thigh, throwing up a spray of blood. The man froze instantly, and the hands that had been reaching toward his waist shot high into the air. "Try taking another step," a woman's voice came from behind him. Turning around, he saw that the woman had already holstered her gun and drawn the long saber from her back, a blade glow flickering along the edge. "A knight..." The man smiled bitterly. Running into a knight was not terrifying; what was terrifying was a knight who dared to open fire in a bustling market street! He immediately stated, "I run with Third Master." "Mhm, and he won't get away either," the female knight scoffed coldly, pressing her communication wristwatch. "Requesting backup, requesting backup. Oil Market intersection. Suspected insurgents spotted." "Wait, no!" The man panicked at once. "Big sister, we're just scrounging a living on the streets!" The female knight gave him a cold look. The saber in her hand gave a slight tremor, blade glow flickering. "Say one more word, and I'll consider it resisting arrest!" *Tsk!* The man nearly ground his teeth to dust. Which noble house did this damn lordling come from? On a rainy day like this, was it easy for the brothers to grind out a living on the streets doing petty business? Did you high-and-mighty big shots really need to take things so damn seriously? Calling for backup, calling it resisting arrest... And worse yet, how the hell were they insurgents? Backup arrived faster than he expected. Five minutes later, two large off-road vehicles bearing New Army insignia pulled up. Just then, officers from the constabulary also arrived, and the two sides came face-to-face. A shooting in a bustling market was unquestionably a major incident; they naturally had to rush over as fast as possible. The street hustlers recognized the constabulary officers and immediately began crying out in protest, begging for mercy. Seeing that it was the New Army, the responding constable frowned with distaste. "The guy's half-dead. Was there any need to be this vicious?" One of the male knights who had just arrived spoke coldly. "Suspected insurgency. You, come with us." "Quit joking around," the constable protested anxiously. "Someone reported a crime and we came to handle it!" The New Army's discipline was somewhat better than most, but when they truly decided to play for keeps, no one could stop them. The male knight gave him zero face. "If you refuse, we will treat it as resisting arrest!" "Holy shit..." The constable wanted to weep without tears. "Is that really necessary?" It was just a few petty street thieves—how could they blow it up into such a massive incident? Meanwhile, the female knight was on the line with Commander Jeff. "...He refused to accept the transit pass, so this was the only way to show goodwill. Besides, these people might well have been put up to this." Her unyielding stance was not just baseless framing, because the youth's identity was indeed sensitive. This was the very person who had pitched a proposal for the court. The New Army was pushing it behind the scenes, but the opposing forces were exceptionally powerful. Under such circumstances, if something happened to the boy, guess whether it would be purely by chance? His identity as a Jin hostage was well-hidden, but the New Army's adversaries possessed formidable intelligence networks as well. Conveniently, she could also use this matter to smooth relations with the boy—wouldn't that kill two birds with one stone? As for whether the attackers were truly just street hoodlums... then consider it their bad luck. "You've improved," Jeff commended. "What was his reaction?" "He..." The female knight froze, glancing around. "Where did he go? He was only a few steps away. That doesn't make any sense." "Ah, you." Even through the communication wristwatch, the commander sounded caught between tears and laughter. "Forget it. He probably doesn't want any further entanglement with the New Army. Anyway, what you did today wasn't bad!" His words were spot on; Wu Youren truly did not want anything more to do with the New Army. Hong Da had already agreed to protect him. Once he made it through this period peacefully and hung on until returning to Red Pine, things would be much easier. Still, the sheer ruthlessness of her methods surprised even him, sparking the exact same question in his mind: *Was that really necessary?* Killing those thugs wouldn't have been excessive, but the New Army... did they have nothing better to do? Were they trying to intimidate him, showing off their savagery? The boy could hardly help thinking so. Only after hurrying down the street did it occur to him: *Maybe there was another motive?* Still, he couldn't be bothered to dwell on it. Once a decision was made, there was no need to waver. Focusing his perception, he made a surprising discovery: had Instructor Hong's watchful eye disappeared? Could it be related to the skirmish just now? Wu Youren could guess at a possibility. Yet he couldn't be sure, so... he would just take things one step at a time. In any case, Hong Da had made her stance clear. Whatever happened next, as long as he hadn't initiated it himself, he would have a chance to explain. In all honesty, being completely unmonitored felt wonderful, making his entire body feel several shades lighter. He even drifted into a daydream: *If I just ran away right now, could I make it back to Jin?* *Forget it, I'm getting ahead of myself. If I truly wanted to try, I had plenty of opportunities while hunting solo on the mountain ridge...* Yet in the end, he couldn't completely suppress the thought, absurd as it was. He raised a hand to stroke Xiao Ha on his shoulder. Was it this little fellow that had drawn the thieves' attention? Otherwise, he was carrying bladed weapons, long and short, clearly marking him as someone not to be trifled with. Why would anyone look for trouble? Someone who could afford such a high-end pet would likely have valuable goods on them. Still, if only he had a pair of wings like Xiao Ha... As his mind wandered, a thin, faint voice suddenly reached his ears, feeling similar to Hong Da's secret voice transmission. "A rare thing, finding you unattended." *Hm?* Wu Youren quietly heightened his vigilance. *Has trouble arrived after all?* His hands dropped imperceptibly to his waist, fingers twitching slightly to ensure he could draw his weapons and fight at a moment's notice. Yet glancing left and right, there was nobody around. The rain hadn't been falling long, but the streets were already damp, and the occasional passerby hurried along in haste. "Look down, beneath the red house," the thin voice came again. Wu Youren lowered his gaze and peered beneath the red building, freezing instantly. A rat was poking its head out from a hole in the wall, looking this way and that. So... a rat could use secret voice transmission? The youth felt his worldview trembling violently. "Surprised?" The rat's whiskers twitched. "If cats can talk, naturally rats can too." "Right." Wu Youren looked up at the sky and let out a long breath. *It's fine. My nerves are built of solid steel!* He lifted his feet and continued walking, still at a slow, leisurely pace, as if enjoying the pleasure of a stroll in the rain. "Cautious enough," the thin voice came. "There is a reason a Jin hostage managed to grow this far, it seems." Wu Youren extended his perception and could sense a small creature scurrying along the base of the wall behind him. "I don't care who you are," he muttered under his breath as if talking to himself. "You'd better cherish your companion beast!" "You actually know about companion beasts?" The thin voice sounded somewhat surprised. "Unfortunately, you guessed wrong!" "Leave," the boy continued muttering under his breath, naturally looking left and right. "I refuse to get involved in anything!" "I am Chen Quanxu," the thin voice continued, the rat scurrying behind him. "Ever heard of me?" Wu Youren simply stopped in his tracks, gazing at the spotlights sweeping through the rain in the distance, where the strands of falling rain stood out starkly against the light. White Horse Club... that was probably an entertainment venue? "Never heard of you. Are you famous?" "I escaped from Hostage Manor," the rat behind him also stopped scurrying. "They never mentioned me to you?" A flash of inspiration struck Wu Youren's mind. He remembered what Shi Linyuan had once said—someone had successfully escaped in the past. He simply found a step to sit down on, staring blankly at the rain. Not far away, other people were taking shelter under the eaves. A bit farther off, there were tents pitched by vagrants. "Vagrants eat rats, don't they?" In the corner of the wall, the rat gave its whiskers a natural twitch. "What they eat are rats, not me." Such an absurd scene... Wu Youren gave a silent sigh. "A hostage?" "A guard," the thin voice answered. "I was too old to be a hostage." The boy was utterly speechless. Whether the person was real or fake, having a chat wasn't against the law, was it? "An ability master guard?" "I used a knight's identity as cover," the other party answered. All right, Wu Youren was completely at a loss for words. "With such outstanding talent, why didn't you go back after escaping?" The rat answered nonchalantly, "My fiefdom was extinguished." "Extinguished... fiefdom?" Wu Youren nearly lost his composure. A dual-discipline talent—both a knight and an ability master—and your family's fiefdom was extinguished? He genuinely couldn't wrap his head around it! The person's family had to be nobles to suffer having their fiefdom extinguished—to put it simply, stripped of their title and realm. The rat... Chen Quanxu saying he had been too old to serve as a hostage also indicated he was indeed from a noble household. Yet whether this fellow was favored at home or not, he was a dual talent! He couldn't help curling his lip. "Great Jin lost that war... no wonder." "It had nothing to do with that," the rat said in an even, steady tone. "A struggle over interests. We couldn't beat the other side." *Who knows what title your family held,* Wu Youren wanted to ask, but ultimately held his tongue. This guy had rattled off a whole bunch of claims; only the ghosts knew if it was true. Even if he really was on the same side, there was no need to be overly curious about certain things. Looking at it from an outsider's perspective, he thought carefully before asking, "What help do you need from me? Let me state upfront... as you probably know, I've always been dirt poor." They were both from Jin and shared a common plight, so lending a modest hand was only natural, wasn't it? "I'm wealthier than you imagine," the rat answered languidly. "My only regret is being unable to return to Jin." Hearing this, Wu Youren couldn't resist asking, "Is the border locked down that tightly?" For even an ability master to be unable to return to Jin—how hopeless was that?