Just as he was about to bolt, the sound of tearing air suddenly whistled ahead.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—three arrows came flying at him in a triangular spread.
Dong Rui twisted aside to let two pass, while the berserk ape snatched the third out of the air and snapped it in two with a sharp crack.
Yet that brief delay gave their pursuer time to close the distance. A heavy iron mace weighing over a hundred jin smashed down straight toward Dong Rui's crown, without the slightest care whether it dashed his brains out.
To murder someone in the street without a second thought!
Just as the berserk ape was about to enlarge itself to protect its master, a streak of bright light flashed in first, clanging loud as it deflected the heavy mace.
The metallic crash was shrill and lingering, ringing in the ears of bystanders so harshly that they clapped their hands over them.
Dong Rui, standing closest, saw stars dancing before his eyes and could not help shaking his head.
Damn it, his ears were buzzing like mad.
The object that parried the heavy mace spun through an arc and returned to its owner's hand.
It was He Lingchuan, who had stepped out.
The mace's wielder staggered back two paces, raised his weapon for a look, and his face instantly darkened:
A grain-of-rice-sized notch had been chipped into the mace.
This weapon was forged primarily from black gold and cold iron. Usually, he was the one snapping other people's weapons; when had his heavy mace ever taken damage?
Furious, he glared at the saber in He Lingchuan's hand.
What was so special about this blade? Should he seize it and inspect it?
The forty or fifty men following him immediately heard their superior roar, "Take them all down!"
They surged forward at once, joining up with the other bailiffs to arrest He Lingchuan and Dong Rui.
The head bailiff hurried forward and bowed respectfully. "Lord Nangong! These two criminals were fleeing and resisting arrest. Fortunately, your Lordship lent a hand!"
Lord Nangong? How many Lords Nangong were there in Xun City? Dong Rui was slightly surprised. When strolling through Xun City last night, he had heard the common folk mention "Nangong" more than once, always in hushed, hesitant whispers.
He Lingchuan called out, "We are traveling merchants who just entered the city, completely innocent! You officers have the wrong men!"
Before resorting to violence, it was always worth trying to reason first.
Meanwhile, the divine bone necklace around his neck grew warm.
What fine material had caught its fancy this time?
He Lingchuan gave the necklace a gentle pat.
Read the room, will you? Don't try to devour everything you see!
Still, what treasure was hidden on this newly arrived official?
The head bailiff held up a wanted poster, pointing to the portrait on it and then at Dong Rui. "Lord Nangong, look here."
He Lingchuan glanced over—well, look at that. It was halfway a match for Dong Rui.
Such portraits were notoriously abstract and imprecise to begin with; if it was even half-similar, no wonder the bailiffs took Dong Rui for the fugitive.
Yet Lord Nangong did not even glance at it, simply declaring, "Identical. Take him down!"
Fighting was inevitable; both He Lingchuan and Dong Rui understood that now.
This Lord Nangong across from them was domineering and could not care less about some fugitive. What he cared about was the offense of He Lingchuan nicking his weapon—and perhaps he harbored designs on the Fusheng blade as well.
They had barely arrived in Bodu, before their heels had even grown warm, yet trouble had already come knocking.
While they had no fear of ordinary bailiffs or this "Lord Nangong," He Lingchuan had a mission in Bodu and did not want to court unnecessary trouble just now.
A mighty dragon does not crush a local snake on its home turf.
As the bailiffs swung their gleaming sabers, He Lingchuan slipped aside, grabbed two men by the scruff of their necks, and hurled them like sandbags straight at "Lord Nangong."
Wind whistled behind his head, and the soul-snatching mirror in his robes yelped, "Behind you!"
Without thinking, He Lingchuan shifted the mirror into a shield and blocked behind him.
With a dull thud, something slammed into the rectangular greatshield with tremendous force.
Whoosh, whoosh—two razor claws raked forward, attempting to claw through the shield and maul him.
He Lingchuan did not meet it head-on. Planting the shield on the ground and angling it slightly, he deflected the momentum and threw the beast off balance.
This move was something he had learned in the Panlong World from Door Plank, who had exceptional insights into shield techniques.
At the same time, the Soul-Snatching Shield's counter-shock took effect, jolting the ambushing beast severely and loosening the claws that had clamped firmly onto the rim.
Passersby cried out in alarm and scattered.
It was a monster resembling a ferocious tiger, nearly five feet tall at the shoulder, but with long forelimbs and short hind legs. Its chest and limbs were extraordinarily muscular and developed, clearly adapted for wrestling, crushing, and grappling. It had stripes along its back, though its coat was far duller than Jiao Yu's.
A pseudotiger.
He Lingchuan had seen such beasts back in Beijia's Jeweled Tree Kingdom, where they served as executioners by devouring for condemned criminals, eating two convicts alive before the entire town. They were exceptionally savage.
The pseudotiger before him was even larger than the ones he had seen before, its eyes glinting with murderous light and its fangs like daggers.
The instant it loosened its grip, He Lingchuan raised his shield and dealt it a vicious backhand strike, the corner slamming into its jaw. The impact sent the pseudotiger tumbling ten feet away; it rolled across the ground before scrambling back up.
A bloody tiger tooth lay left on the cobblestones.
Shaking its head, its eyes flickered, and it decided against attacking He Lingchuan again—spinning instead toward Dong Rui.
The beast certainly knew how to pick the softer target.
The berserk ape bristled all over under its glare, itching to fight. Had Dong Rui not held it back, it would have transformed and charged already.
Taking advantage of this pause, the guards encircled He Lingchuan and Dong Rui, apparently forming a tactical formation.
He Lingchuan exchanged a glance with Dong Rui, signaling him to retreat into the dark alley behind them.
He had scouted the surrounding terrain yesterday. At the end of that alley stood two collapsed, dilapidated houses, where he and Dong Rui could shake off their pursuers.
Just as the pseudotiger was about to pounce again, a woman's voice rang out from behind and to the side:
"Stop! All of you, stop!"
He Lingchuan looked back amidst the chaos. Three women were hurrying over, followed by dozens of guards.
The leading woman was graceful and slender, elegant and lovely—and surprisingly familiar.
Dong Rui also let out a surprised murmur. Wasn't this the beauty distributing alms to refugees beneath the city walls yesterday?
Was the capital of the Bo Kingdom really so small?
She shouted twice in succession, her voice somewhat lacking in breath, yet she walked right toward the guards and the pseudotiger, demanding, "What are you doing?"
The guards parted immediately. The pseudotiger glared at her with savage eyes, defiant, and suddenly let out a roar, tensing to leap.
Facing such ferocity at close quarters, the maidservants behind her shrank back two steps in fright, but she remained rooted where she stood, delicate brows furrowed.
The pseudotiger's savagery stood in sharp contrast to her frailty, wringing the hearts of every onlooker.
Only when Lord Nangong barked an order did the pseudotiger reluctantly back away to his side.
The head bailiff bowed to her at once, just as deferentially: "Greetings, Consort Mei! Your humble servant is apprehending fugitives!"
Consort Mei? Dong Rui thought. It felt like he had heard that name somewhere else too.
"It's not them," Consort Mei said briskly. "You have the wrong men."
The head bailiff froze. Consort Mei pointed toward an alley diagonally opposite them. "The man in the portrait—I saw him dash into that alley with my own eyes."
Hearing this, the bailiffs all turned to look at Lord Nangong, who kept his gaze fixed on He Lingchuan. "Perhaps Consort Mei is mistaken?"
He had no intention of letting off someone who had damaged his treasured mace and injured his spirit pet.
The two bailiffs whom He Lingchuan had sent flying were only just clambering up, clutching their hips and backs. He had not pulled his punches; the two had nearly been shattered to pieces.
"Is Supervisor Nangong suggesting my eyesight is poor?" Consort Mei brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "It only happened a few breaths ago, and everyone around saw it. Feel free to pick anyone here and ask."
Supervisor Nangong stared intently at He Lingchuan for a long moment before saying, "No need. If Consort Mei says it wasn't him, then it wasn't him."
"What are you standing around for?" He jerked his chin toward the alley, snapping at the bailiffs, "Pursue!"
"Y-yes, sir!" The head bailiff shuddered, then led his men charging into the alley.
"Kid, having Consort Mei vouch for you means smoke is rising from your ancestral graves," Lord Nangong said to He Lingchuan in a snide, sinister tone. Then, with a curt salute toward Consort Mei, he strode away.
His dozens of men followed closely behind him, departing in an imposing sweep.
Only after they had gone did the crowd dare gather round again.
He Lingchuan and Dong Rui stepped forward to thank Consort Mei.
Consort Mei's gaze swept over the two. "You are from out of town?"
"We are traveling merchants from the Yangshan Archipelago to the west."
Yet she remarked, "Merchants who can fight like that—no wonder Supervisor Nangong was suspicious."
He Lingchuan raised an eyebrow.
"Forgive the unpleasantness," Consort Mei said, waving a hand. "You are innocent folk who shouldn't be dragged into this mess. As for you—"
She pointed at Dong Rui. "You truly do resemble that fugitive. You had best veil your face when going out. If you run into bailiffs next time, you may not have such good luck."
Her voice was gentle and even, but He Lingchuan could sense the distant detachment veiled behind her smile.
With that, she turned and walked away, followed by a large entourage of palace maids and bodyguards.
The watching commoners quickly parted to make way for them.
He Lingchuan recalled that there seemed to be a temple in the direction she had come from earlier; now she was returning there.
Dong Rui touched his own cheeks, cursing his rotten luck repeatedly.
This face had been given to him by National Preceptor Shuangye; who could have imagined that ten thousand li away, it would share a likeness with a wanted criminal?
He also caught the hushed murmurs of the crowd:
"Not this again."
"Those two are so lucky to have Consort Mei testify for them! They must have burned high incense before leaving home."
"The outsiders taken away a few days ago didn't have their luck. By now..."
"Shh, keep your voice down."
The spectacle having concluded, the crowd dispersed.
He Lingchuan locked eyes with A-Hao in the crowd. Seeing him turn to slip away, He Lingchuan crooked a finger at him, then turned and walked back toward the inn.
A good while later, A-Hao slipped into He Lingchuan's guest room.
Dong Rui closed the door and erected a ward. "Sit. Tell us about that... Consort Mei just now."
"Consort Mei is the King's most favored consort. Word is she was originally a common girl living near the horse pastures to the west. After our King brought her back, she was quickly made a consort. She's only in her teens right now," A-Hao answered readily. "She's very gentle, always providing relief to refugees and alms to the poor, saying she wants to accumulate merit for our King. Almost every refugee and beggar in the capital has received cornmeal buns and coins from her hands, and some have even received winter clothes."
"When did she enter the palace?"
"Just about two years ago, I think."
Dong Rui clicked his tongue. "A pear blossom pressing down on a begonia."
The King of Bo was over sixty this year, while this little consort was only in her teens. What a waste, what a pity.
A-Hao suddenly lowered his voice. "I heard from people in the palace that because Consort Mei was so favored, she drew the jealousy of the other consorts as soon as she entered. They banded together to torment her and nearly got her killed."
He Lingchuan took a seat. "If even you know about this, the King of Bo couldn't possibly have been kept in the dark, could he?"
A-Hao scratched his head. "Heh, our King flew into a rage, severely punishing the consorts responsible. After that, he doted on Consort Mei even more. Whenever he goes out hunting or traveling for pleasure, he always brings her along. She seems to be the only consort allowed to leave the palace frequently. Even Lord Nangong has to treat her with polite respect."
Dong Rui let out an 'oh'. "That arrogant prick who acted all high and mighty just now?"
"Yes, yes, that is Chief Supervisor Nangong Yan of the Feather Guards, the man our King trusts most." At the mention of Nangong Yan, A-Hao's volume dropped instinctively. "Anyone caught in Supervisor Nangong's sights loses a layer of skin even if they don't lose their life! You two were truly lucky to have Consort Mei vouch for you. Otherwise, there's no telling if you'd ever walk out alive."
Dong Rui rolled his eyes. "I'm not a fugitive. Couldn't they verify that?"
"It's hard to check, and besides, sometimes they don't even bother," A-Hao chuckled. "Don't you look quite a bit like that fugitive? They might just as well..."
Just use Dong Rui as a scapegoat to claim the credit.
"It's nothing rare. Some rootless outsiders end up as someone else's scapegoat without ever knowing why," A-Hao said with a shrug. "Even if you didn't look like the culprit in the slightest, it wouldn't matter."
Dong Rui did not know whether to laugh or cry. He finally understood why Consort Mei had told him to veil his face. The local officers here were clearly well-practiced at arresting innocent people to pad their records.
"Does Consort Mei speak out for justice like this often?"
"I'm not often in Xun City, so I can't say for sure," A-Hao said. "But her reputation for benevolence reaches all the way to Julu Port. The people in the city adore her, calling her a ray of light in Xun City."
In such a dark and murky place, there ought to be a ray of light.
He Lingchuan murmured thoughtfully, "Tell me about Nangong Yan."
When it came to the Chief Supervisor of the Feather Guards, A-Hao grew hesitant.
If Dong Rui's parasite had not been far more immediately fatal, he would not even have dared utter the words "Chief Supervisor Nangong."
Nangong Yan was originally a retainer of the King of Bo, following in his father's footsteps. Growing up in the Prince of Bo's estate from childhood, he was fiercely loyal to his master. After the King usurped power and took the throne, Nangong Yan's status skyrocketed alongside him, granting him the privilege of carrying a blade into the royal court.
Over the years, Nangong Yan had acted with brazen impunity. High ministers and wealthy merchants alike were terrified into silence before him, to say nothing of commoners.
His name alone in Xun City could quiet a crying babe in the dead of night.
Dong Rui interjected, "You mentioned the Feather Guards often arrest people. Under what charges?"
"Treason, remnants of the Mai clan, that sort of thing," A-Hao whispered, lowering his voice even further. "Once someone is denounced as an accomplice of the rebels and hauled away by the Feather Guards, they rarely ever appear again."
He Lingchuan's interest was piqued. "What kind of faction is the Mai faction?"
When wandering Xun City, he had seen people burning spirit money for "Lord Mai" in dark alleys.
The authorities surely forbade it.
Yet people burned it anyway.
"The Mai faction..." A-Hao licked his lips nervously. "That goes back eight years to the case of Mai Liansheng, which shook the entire Bo Kingdom."
Mai Liansheng and the King of Bo had both been high-ranking officials of the previous dynasty. Mai had helped the King overthrow the old regime and secure the throne, rendering immense merit, and was thus appointed Prime Minister.
After the kingdom was founded, Mai Liansheng introduced new policies to benefit the people's livelihood, but several measures were poorly implemented. Instead of helping the public, funds circulated fruitlessly and were lined in corrupt officials' pockets.
Worse still, two of the officials lining their pockets at public expense were his own students.
The opposition seized upon this to attack Mai Liansheng.
At the time, Mai Liansheng was renowned among the common people for his integrity and uprightness, deeply beloved by the populace, to the extent that some had even erected living shrines in his honor.
Subsequently, the Bo royal court grew turbulent, and negative rumors about Mai Liansheng multiplied. A-Hao was still young back then and did not know the exact details, but eight years ago, Mai Liansheng was denounced by his own subordinate officials for treason!
Overnight, Chief Supervisor Nangong led the Feather Guards storming into the Mai estate to seize evidence and make arrests.
This time, the evidence was deemed ironclad and Mai Liansheng had no defense; the King of Bo ordered his death by poisoned wine, and the entire Mai clan was exterminated.
Yet the vast Mai clan did not simply vanish into thin air.
In recent years, uprisings broke out across the Bo Kingdom time and again, and several rebel armies gathered troops under the banner of the Mai clan's descendants or kin.
Thus, one of the Feather Guards' most vital missions nowadays was hunting down the "remnants of the Mai faction."
This kept everyone throughout the kingdom living on edge, engulfed in fear and paranoia.
Yet somehow, over the past few years, the more "Mai faction" members they arrested, the more seemed to appear.
"A palace guard I drank with a few days ago mentioned that during a palace gathering two years ago, one attendant didn't join in reviling the Mai faction alongside everyone else. As a result, someone immediately turned around and reported him, claiming he sympathized with the remnants or was a rebel spy." A-Hao shrugged. "Anyway, the Feather Guards hauled that attendant away right after, and he was never seen again."
Hearing this, He Lingchuan understood.
The King of Bo's trust in Nangong Yan was bought with cold, hard actions. All these years, whatever the King found inconvenient to do, Nangong Yan did; whomever the King found awkward to kill, Nangong Yan dared slaughter.
He was the King's black glove.
Serving with such ruthless devotion and willing to shoulder all the infamy—if the King did not trust him, who else could he trust?
The theft of the Bright Lantern Cup was starting to look once more like the handiwork of the Bo Kingdom.
Although He Lingchuan felt the case was riddled with suspicious points and contradictions, many bizarre occurrences in this world defied logic to begin with.
A small kingdom, a tyrant, a vicious minister—who knew whether their actions could ever be measured by common sense?
...
The next day, at dusk.
Imperial Physician Chen returned home and immediately had his servants haul up a jar of fine wine and a honeydew melon from the depths of the pool, along with preparing several good dishes.
A large pool had been dug in his backyard, ten feet deep and filled with clear water.
It served for raising fish and as a reservoir in case of fire.
In the height of midsummer, Xun City was sweltering hot; ordinary people would break into a sweat after walking just a couple of steps. But deep down in the pool, the water remained icy. The wine and melon hauled out from the depths would quickly bead with condensation, offering an icy, refreshing relief with every bite and sip.
Imperial Physician Chen paired the chilled wine with chicken feet and duck delicacies all evening, sweat still beading on the tip of his nose.
For the past few months, he had lived in constant anxiety, terrified of making a medical misjudgment. But over the last half-month, the Second Prince's condition had noticeably improved. The palace was filled with jubilation, His Majesty was all smiles, and even the haughty attendants who usually looked down on others would now bow deferentially upon seeing him, greeting him with a courteous, "Good day, Imperial Physician Chen."
Ah, life was truly comfortable now!
After finishing half the jar of wine, he rinsed off with a cold bath. Just as he was about to climb into bed, the gatekeeper came rushing in:
"Master, a box was just delivered outside."
The box was rather exquisite, bearing a slip of paper that read: "To be opened personally by Imperial Physician Chen."
Imperial Physician Chen took the box. "Who sent it?"
"U-unclear." The gatekeeper had actually been sneaking a nap when a pebble suddenly flicked through the window and snapped him awake. "Your servant just went to the privy, and when I returned, this box was sitting on the table."
Telling a harmless little lie did no harm; either way, the box had appeared on the table out of nowhere.
"Why does this keep happening lately?" Imperial Physician Chen grumbled under his breath as he opened the box.
"Aah!"
Both men jumped back in unison, scared out of their wits.
Resting inside the box were several freshly severed chicken heads and rat heads, staining the bottom of the box a brilliant crimson.
Chapter 1111