Chapter 117: Chapter 115: Implicating the Innocent, Killing Intent Arises

Wu Mengchan and Yang Lian’Er were already asleep.

After Wu Liangchen finished his daily training in the courtyard, he felt his martial prowess had advanced once more. His Golden Body Cross Training Skill, in particular, seemed to progress daily.

Afterward, Wu Liangchen fetched a basin of cold water to wash up, then sat in the courtyard drinking tea.

By now, he was impervious to heat and cold. Far from feeling chilled by the courtyard’s cold wind, he found it invigorating.

It was now the middle of the night. The already desolate Wuyang Guard grounds were now utterly silent. If not for the faint sound of barking dogs, it would have seemed like a city of the dead.

Wu Liangchen sipped his tea, considering leaving first thing in the morning.

He had no intention of lingering, as the place gave him a very bad feeling.

If staying a few more days invited unnecessary trouble, it wouldn’t be worth it.

Just then, he suddenly sensed something. He quickly looked up at the eastern courtyard wall, a solemn expression in his eyes.

His keen perception told him that a group of people was rapidly approaching.

Their footsteps were steady and sure. While they might not all be Martial Artists, they were certainly no ordinary people.

For a group like that to be on the move so late at night was definitely not normal.

A chill ran down Wu Liangchen’s spine. He immediately grabbed his saber, soundlessly made his way to the roof, and peered intently into the distance.

Sure enough.

Figures were moving in a distant alley.

Further out, the darkness roiled with movement. It was clear many more people were rushing over, and they were surrounding the inn next door.

Wu Liangchen knew at once this was bad. Though they weren’t coming for him, the scale of the operation told him this was no small matter. Being so close, it would be disastrous if he got caught in the crossfire.

So he immediately returned to their room to wake his sister and Yang Lian’Er.

The two were still groggy upon waking. Wu Liangchen said, "Pack up, quickly. Be ready to leave at a moment’s notice."

His words snapped them fully awake. Without asking why, they immediately got up and started packing.

While they packed, Wu Liangchen returned to the rooftop, and his heart sank.

Just as he’d feared.

It wasn’t just the inn next door anymore. His own inn, along with the entire surrounding neighborhood, had been sealed off.

A surge of anger flared in Wu Liangchen’s chest.

’Damn it.’

’I’ve been as careful as I possibly could be on this journey, yet one damn thing after another keeps happening.’

’And now this rotten luck. The trouble isn’t even at our inn, but we’re caught in the middle of it anyway.’

But a quiet escape was impossible now. Wu Liangchen could only patiently lie low in the shadows of the roof and watch.

’Maybe they’ll just leave once their business at the other inn is concluded.’

Just then, a sudden scream erupted from the inn across the way.

"Amb—"

The word was abruptly cut short, the speaker clearly silenced.

At the same time, the single lamp burning in the inn opposite was instantly extinguished.

But this was immediately followed by the sounds of terrified screams and angry roars from within the darkness.

"Village Chief Cong, you..."

"He’s a traitor! Run!"

"Yang Ying, you bitch! You’ll die a horrible death!"

The cacophony of shouts made the night boil with chaos.

Simultaneously, the shadowy figures lying in ambush swarmed into the inn. Amid the battle cries, someone lit a fire. The blaze immediately illuminated the sky, allowing Wu Liangchen to see the situation clearly.

He saw government soldiers fighting alongside men in red headscarves, surrounding and slaughtering another group.

The group being slaughtered consisted of both men and women who, judging by their attire, belonged to wealthy families or merchant guilds.

But now, their faces were etched with absolute despair.

Faced with an overwhelmingly superior force, their guards were being rapidly cut down.

At the center of the encirclement was none other than Shopkeeper Qiao, Qiao Le. His eyes blazed with fury as he stared at Cong Bo and the woman beside him, Yang Ying, his entire body trembling.

"Why?" Qiao Le demanded furiously.

"You said you were here to eliminate the criminals who were besmirching the name of your Red Turban Army! Why are you now in league with Ren Chong?"

Cong Bo just chuckled disdainfully. "Shopkeeper Qiao, I’m surprised to hear that from you. After all your years in business, you still don’t understand something so simple?"

A sudden realization struck Qiao Le like a bolt of lightning. "Ren Chong is one of your men?" he snarled.

"Heh, you guessed it. Otherwise, do you really think our Great Village Chief would let him use our banner?" Cong Bo said coolly.

Qiao Le’s heart plummeted. Overcome with grief and fury, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, then pointed a trembling finger at Yang Ying, who was nestled against Cong Bo.

"You shameless whore! Your husband is barely cold in his grave, and you’re already clinging to another man! Aren’t you afraid at all?"

"Of course I’m afraid," Yang Ying sneered. "But I’m more afraid of dying without a proper burial. Shopkeeper Qiao, you are far too naive. Did you really think you could topple the powers that be with this handful of people? To tell you the truth, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner has had his eye on you ever since you started planning this."

The number of people around Qiao Le was dwindling. His guards were nearly all dead. The remaining shopkeepers were filled with utter despair and had given up resisting, simply waiting for death to take them.

Only one burly man refused to give up, hacking and slashing his way to Qiao Le’s side.

"Shopkeeper Qiao, fight your way out with me! We’ll live to settle the score with these sons of bitches another day!"

Qiao Le was lost in his despair, only snapping back to his senses when he heard the burly man’s voice. Tears welled in his eyes.

"Brother Meng!"

"Go!"

This Shopkeeper Meng Tong had trained in martial arts since childhood. That, combined with his natural talent, had brought him to the peak of the Second Realm. As he fought with all his might, the government soldiers couldn’t even get near him.

He protected Qiao Le, fighting as he retreated, and was on the verge of breaking through the encirclement.

Suddenly, an arrow whistled through the air. In an instant, it was behind Meng Tong. Before he could even react, it had pierced clean through his chest and embedded itself in the brick wall ahead. The blood-soaked fletching quivered violently.

Meng Tong’s body convulsed. He looked down at the bloody hole in his chest.

The arrow had pierced his heart. He didn’t even have time to grunt before he collapsed to his knees, his life extinguished.

"Shopkeeper Meng!" Qiao Le cried out, whipping his head around to find the source.

A slender woman with a cold, impassive expression leaped down from a tree, an exquisitely crafted longbow in her hand.

Watching from the distant rooftop, Wu Liangchen’s eyes narrowed.

’This woman... she must be the one who ambushed the merchant caravan on the main road.’

Just then, the Seventh Village Chief, Cong Bo, began to applaud softly.

"Excellent archery, Bamei. Your skills have improved yet again."

The woman remained silent. Cong Bo didn’t seem to mind, as he had long known that the Eighth Village Chief, who ranked just below him, had a cold and distant nature. She rarely spoke a word to anyone, dedicating herself solely to archery.

The government soldiers now surged forward, attempting to capture Qiao Le alive.

But Qiao Le gave them no such opportunity. He knew that falling into their hands would be a fate worse than death.

Without a moment’s hesitation, he drew a dagger and plunged it into his own heart. He glared at Cong Bo, Yang Ying, and the others in the distance and spat out his final words with venom.

"Don’t think you can lord over everyone forever! A day will come when you will all die without a grave to your name!"

With those final words, Qiao Le’s body collapsed to the ground, his life extinguished.

Cong Bo was completely unfazed by his dying curse. He even found it somewhat amusing.

"What an idiot. In this world, might makes right. Even the imperial court of the Great Yan Dynasty doesn’t dare provoke our Great Village Chief. And you? You were nothing."

"Cut off their heads. Hang them from the city gates as a warning."

"Yes, sir!"

The soldiers immediately set to their gruesome task.

Wu Liangchen watched from the rooftop, his heart filled with a mix of complex emotions.

Qiao Le’s dying resentment for the state of the world was bone-deep, yet Cong Bo and his ilk treated it with utter disdain.

After all, in a world ruled by martial power, the social hierarchy was ironclad. Never mind common folk; even the head of a wealthy merchant family like Qiao Le, with generations of influence, could not hope to cross that divide.

Just then, Cong Bo scanned the surroundings and declared, "We don’t know how many of these rebels there are. To make sure no one escapes, lock down the entire neighborhood. Search everyone thoroughly. If anyone looks suspicious, execute them on the spot."

"Yes, sir!"

The soldiers roared their assent and immediately began to carry out his order.

Hearing this from his rooftop perch, Wu Liangchen’s heart trembled.

’Such ruthless tactics!’

’He called it a ’thorough search,’ but knowing his kind, they’ll use it as an excuse to extort, blackmail, and slaughter indiscriminately.’

At this thought, a hint of killing intent surfaced in Wu Liangchen’s eyes.

’I had no intention of getting involved, but trouble just had to come knocking on my door.’

’In that case, there’s nothing left to discuss.’

Without hesitation, Wu Liangchen retreated silently into the shadows, slipped off the roof, and returned to their room.

His sister and Yang Lian’Er were already packed and ready, their valuables secured close to their bodies.

"What’s going on?" Yang Lian’Er asked.

"It’s fine. Follow me."

Without another word, Wu Liangchen led the two women into the courtyard. He hoisted his sister onto his back, grabbed Yang Lian’Er with his other hand, and cleared the wall in a single leap.

East of their small courtyard lay a large residential district filled with a dense network of alleyways. Beyond that district was the city wall—a perfect escape route.

Wu Liangchen had scouted this route when they first arrived, never expecting he would need it so soon.

Behind them, the neighborhood had erupted into chaos, a cacophony of screams and cries filling the air.

But Wu Liangchen was incredibly fast. His Qinggong and Body Technique, in particular, were beyond what an ordinary Martial Artist could even imagine.

Even carrying two people, he moved without a sound. Relying on his keen Perception Power, Wu Liangchen could sense dangers ahead of time and avoid them.

Weaving left and right through the alleys, Wu Liangchen quickly broke out of the cordon and was just about to enter a district of low-slung houses.

But just then, a shadowy arrow shot out of the darkness, flying toward Wu Liangchen’s back with incredible speed.

It was so fast it arrived in the blink of an eye.

But just at that moment, the sprinting Wu Liangchen suddenly dropped low, and the arrow flew harmlessly over his head.

But this was immediately followed by the sound of footsteps and a shout from behind: "They’re over here!"

The words had barely left his lips when a pebble shot out of the darkness and shattered his skull.

Cong Bo, drawn by the shout, arrived just in time to witness this. His pupils contracted, and he commanded coldly, "After them!"