However he then added, “Back when I still had a little bit of power in my hands, these things were not lacking. Later when the power in my hands was gone, these external possessions suddenly disappeared too. For a while I found it hard to adapt. After looking after the storehouse for a long time, I slowly got used to it.”
He then looked at the carriage roof and murmured, “I would rather never have had those things. That way perhaps my family would still be here.”
Yu Qing could understand what he meant. He had heard him mention it before. It was because he had gained some power and prospects in the capital and wanted to bring his family to the capital to enjoy a better life. Who would have thought that on the way to the capital the carriage would fall off a cliff? His parents, wife and pair of children were all gone.
If he had not wanted to bring his family to the capital, his family probably would not have had any trouble. Bad luck seemed to have started from that moment.
The woman in black, who had adjusted her skirt and undone her hair, walked quickly towards the target carriage.
However the target carriage started trotting. She could not quite keep up just by walking. Running faster would easily alert them, because the two guards kept observing the surroundings from time to time.
She knew that catching someone like Yu Qing would cause a huge stir in the capital, so she had to be extremely cautious.
Just then another carriage returning to the city passed by at a faster speed. She stretched out her arm, leaped up, and hung onto the back of that carriage. This also helped her avoid the attention of the two guards.
Because of the constant traffic of carriages on the way, the carriage she had hitched a ride on was forced to the side. It could only follow behind the carriage in front and could not overtake for the time being.
The woman in black let faint swirling murderous energy rise in her hands. She straightened up and landed on the roof of the carriage. Then with one leap she spread her claws and pounced towards the carriage ahead.
Yet while she was still in the air, she suddenly sensed something wrong. She hastily flipped in mid-air as if trying to dodge something.
She failed to avoid it.
The attacks coming from the night sky were not from just one place.
From three directions, nine invisible objects shot out almost at the same time and sealed her off in the air on the spot.
Her alertness was high and her reaction was fast enough, but she was still caught off guard. She desperately dodged two or three of them, but more than ten blood flowers still bloomed on her body. Each invisible object that pierced her body bloomed two blood flowers on her.
The coachman of the carriage she had just hitched a ride on felt as if it was raining. The raindrops just seemed a bit hot. He raised his hand to wipe the rain from his face and felt as if there was colour on his hand. Before he could see it clearly under the light, he heard a thud on the road. A person had smashed down from the sky.
The woman in black who had landed struggled to stand up. In her panic she still wanted to escape.
She had not even taken a step when three invisible objects shot straight at her face.
One pierced her forehead.
One pierced her chest.
One pierced her abdomen.
Despair filled her eyes. Her body, pierced by the invisible objects, lifted its head and spat out a mouthful of blood with a puff.
The whole person desperately tried to stand steady but could not. As if carrying enormous regret, she thudded to her knees on the ground.
She knelt facing the direction from which the final fatal attack had come. Her head suddenly drooped weakly and hung on her chest. Blood dripped steadily from the corners of her mouth.
The horse pulling the carriage behind her also had blood flowers bloom on its body.
After piercing her, the invisible objects had pierced the horse as well.
The horse let out a sorrowful neigh, its knees went soft, and it collapsed to the ground.
This also made the carriage jolt and tilt. The coachman lost his balance and fell towards the ground. Two people rolled out from behind the carriage curtain, crying out in pain.
Bai Lan, who had been following at a distance and preparing to cooperate, was stunned. Her eyes were full of disbelief.
Suddenly a strong sense of unease surged in her heart for no apparent reason.
In an instant, without thinking of any reason and without looking around any more, she first flashed sideways and pounced out, dashing away regardless of anything.
The moment she leaped away, several whooshing sounds flashed past where she had just been standing.
She had already jumped down the slope and dashed towards Xi Yue Fang.
Puffs of dust exploded on the slope behind her and to her left and right. The invisible objects chased her closely.
She had already transformed into a snow-white leopard all over. Agile as a shadow, she darted left and right with no pattern. She already had experience dealing with similar pursuits.
Only then did the urgent clanging sounds, like fireworks going off, echo one after another.
Before long the snow-white leopard dashed into the crowd, dashed into Xi Yue Fang, and quickly dodged out of sight.
The people secretly shooting at her did not let her go.
The grass on the ground rippled like wheat bending in the wind. Three people in black rushed out from the night. Their feet did not touch the ground as they flew swiftly over the grass like wisps of green smoke. Each dragged a blade in their hand and chased in the direction where the snow-white leopard had disappeared.
A few sudden clanging explosions rang out under the night sky. Ordinary people hearing them would think Xi Yue Fang was setting off fireworks again.
Yu Qing, who was chatting idly with Lin Cheng Dao inside the carriage, suddenly gripped his sword and drew it with a swish.
Others might hear it as fireworks exploding, but he would not. He had been through this scene before.
He had heard similar sounds more than once or twice. There had been one or two hundred of them.
The situation when he was trapped in the cage left a deep impression on him. This was clearly the sound of great archers’ bowstrings snapping.
Listening to it, the sound of bowstrings snapping outside was more than one or two.
Lin Cheng Dao saw him suddenly draw his sword and asked in surprise, “Brother Shi Heng, what are you doing?”
Yu Qing pushed him aside with one hand and rushed out immediately.
It was the sound of bows again, and he heard it inside the carriage. His hair stood on end. His first reaction was to leave the carriage first.
When he jumped down from the carriage he could already smell the spreading scent of blood. People coming and going on the road were already crying out in alarm.
Yu Qing saw the guards standing with swords drawn in vigilance. He saw the woman in black who had got up after landing and been shot again. He saw the overturned carriage behind. He saw the woman in white who had flashed and pounced down the slope not far away. He heard the subsequent sounds of shooting. He saw the three experts who had jumped down the slope with blades in hand to pursue.
“What is going on?” Yu Qing asked the two guards, sword in hand.
The two guards shook their heads. One pointed at the woman in black who had been shot and then at the carriage that had been shot over. “We do not know what background these people have. They actually provoked great archers to act, and it seems there is more than one great archer.”
Lin Cheng Dao, who had followed and got out of the carriage, was slightly startled. “Great archers? Why would the military suddenly intercept and kill people here?” He pointed at the few people on the ground crying out in pain after the carriage overturned. “Who are these people?”
“We do not know.” The guards still shook their heads. One stared at the woman in black who was kneeling. “It looks like the military is pursuing fugitives.”
Safety first. Yu Qing looked around and said, “The first time we come here we run into fighting and killing. It seems Xi Yue Fang really is not safe. We had better get far away quickly so we are not caught up in it.”
Lin Cheng Dao quickly agreed. “Brother Shi Heng is right. Go, withdraw quickly!”
There was nothing more to say. They left at once. Just as the two were about to climb back into the carriage, there was a whoosh, loud and somewhat unusual.
Everyone turned to look at where the sound came from. They saw a bright red flare shoot into the sky. The flare flew very high and was red enough to sting the eyes. It did not look like normal fireworks.
Lin Cheng Dao, looking up at the sky, said in a daze, “This is a combat signal. I have rarely seen it in all my years in the capital. It really is military people.” He then quickly waved at everyone to hurry. “Go, go, hurry up and go. Do not let them close the city gates so we cannot get back.”
He and Yu Qing quickly got back into the carriage. The coachman whipped the horses into a gallop. The two guards mounted their horses and followed closely behind.
The group had not gone far when the carriage had to brake urgently and pull over.
A rumbling sound came. A pack of wolves charged over in formation. Giant wolves, a little bigger than the horses pulling the carriage.
They had sharp teeth and claws, ferocious faces, sturdy and tall bodies, and armour protecting vital areas.
A warrior in armour rode on every giant wolf. The warriors had their faces covered so their true appearance could not be seen.
Not to mention the momentum of such a large group charging over, just the giant wolves were enough to scare the carriage horses badly. They panicked and moved about wildly. The coachman pulled the reins with all his might.
“Who are these people?” Yu Qing asked from the window.
Lin Cheng Dao, also leaning at the window, looked grave. “Wolf guards!”
As soon as the words were spoken, shouts came from outside. “Surround Xi Yue Fang. Do not let anyone escape!”
The wolf guards charging outside immediately split into two groups. Those who charged off the main road went up the mountain and down the slope as if walking on flat ground.
Dust rolled. The frightening wolf guards finally passed. The carriage here started moving again. The coachman whipped the horses repeatedly before they moved.
However they had not run far before they were forced to stop again and had to pull over once more.
Another large group of people and horses passed. Three thousand iron cavalry thundered past. The ground shook and the dust they stirred up drilled straight into the carriage.
At the same time they heard the iron cavalry constantly passing orders back along the line. “Search Xi Yue Fang. Temporarily detain all demon cultivators. Do not miss any corner!”
Yu Qing and Lin Cheng Dao looked at each other. Neither had expected that they had only just left Xi Yue Fang and the court army was already going to raid it.
“Will your aunt be all right?” Yu Qing asked with concern.
Lin Cheng Dao said hesitantly, “It seems they are going to catch demon cultivators. Small Fresh Tower has no demon cultivators, so it should be fine, right?”
Whether it was fine or not, with this kind of commotion the group could not go back to Small Fresh Tower. There would be no point even if they did.
After the army passed, the group hurried on their way again.
This time it went fairly smoothly. The city gates were not closed. They were just checked when entering the city. Once it was found they were from the Censorate, no one dared to make things difficult on purpose and they were quickly let through.
Tonight felt like an unsettled night. Yu Qing and Lin Cheng Dao no longer had any interest in wandering around.
The carriage first took Lin Cheng Dao home and then returned to the Zhong residence.
As soon as the carriage stopped at the Zhong residence gate, Yu Qing, who had got out and jumped down, was stunned. He saw an old acquaintance standing with the gatekeeper at the entrance. It was a woman, none other than Tang Bulan from the Si Nan Mansion.
Yu Qing was surprised. He did not know why this woman had come. As soon as he started up the steps, the gatekeeper ran over and whispered to him, “Young master, a guest has come to the house. She is looking for you.”
Yu Qing gave an understanding sound, asked no more questions, and it was obvious anyway. He stepped forward, cupped his hands and said, “Miss Tang, what a rare visitor!”
Tang Bulan nodded. “We have not seen each other for just over a month, yet the young master is already completely different.” The surprise in her eyes was obvious. She really had not expected that the person she had picked up and escorted back then was such a great talent. She, who had not looked at Yu Qing properly before, now examined him with proper attention.
She then gestured invitingly. “Third place scholar, please come inside. An honoured guest is waiting for you.”
“Uh…” Yu Qing was stunned for a moment. Why did it feel as if this was her house?