Third Master Hu, wearing a bamboo hat, stood at the corner of the third-floor eaves of Lubiji, with half of his body overlapping with the moon. He formed seals with his hands, his ten fingers dancing like he was performing a silent shadow play under the moon.

He commanded the Taotie and Fei Yi to rampage through Chessboard Street. In just a few breaths, Chessboard Street turned into chaos.

Infantry stood in front of Taotie, only to see Taotie open its bloody mouth and swallow them whole.

Tao Wu swung its snake-like long tail, knocking over people and horses alike wherever it swept. Fei Yi spread its wings, skimming low, the sinister wind it stirred blew out torches, plunging half the street into darkness.

This was Chen Ji’s first time witnessing Third Master Hu’s cultivation path firsthand.

Previously, he had only heard from Zhang Xia about the grand display when Third Master Hu acted in Baidadan City. Now it seemed that this Night Parade of Hundred Demons was a method cultivated to the Seeking Dao Realm in the Mandala Seal; the opponent should share the same path as Xiao Man, yet had never harbored murderous intent towards Xiao Man.

Chen Ji stared at Third Master Hu on the eaves corner.

This is Chessboard Street, under the Emperor’s feet, adjacent to the Six Ministries.

Within a mile is the Five Cities Military Department Governor, and within a hundred steps is the Yulin Army Commander’s Mansion. Not to mention the Jiefan Guard and Spies next to the palace gate, there’s also the mysterious Observatory.

No matter who dares to jailbreak here, they’re betting their life. But Chen Ji wondered, even if Third Master Hu took him away here, how could they escape the inner city? How could they evade the pursuit of the Jiefan Guard and the Five Cities Military Department?

Chessboard Street is definitely not a good place for a jailbreak; Third Master Hu, an old hand in the Jianghu, surely knows this.

On the other side.

More than twenty black-clad assassins, under the cover of Third Master Hu, rapidly approached the prison cart.

This group of black-clad individuals excelled at sword skills, each was an executive officer at the Postnatal Realm, working seamlessly together, supporting each other as if they were seasoned elites with abundant battle experience.

They engaged with the Five Cities Military Department briefly, and already they had overturned the infantry, breaking through the formations layer by layer, approaching within ten feet of the prison cart within a few breaths.

Chen Ji stood inside the prison cart, looking through the gaps at the black-clad assassins advancing like a hot knife through butter, getting closer and closer.

He carefully identified the figures of the black-clad individuals, feeling both familiar and unfamiliar.

Yulin Army? No.

Chen Ji had spent day and night with the Yulin Army, and would recognize them by their physique even if their faces were covered... But if they weren’t the Yulin Army, where did this sense of familiarity come from?

Who else could dispatch so many executive officers to perform a jailbreak?

...

...

The black-clad assassins had already reached the front of the prison cart, and despite their rapid advance, only suffered minor injuries.

But Chen Ji furrowed his brows, devoid of joy.

Someone willing to save him was undoubtedly a good thing, but the jailbreak seemed almost too smooth. The Qi family had planned for a month, with the Minister of the Ministry of Justice personally presiding over the Three Judicial Departments hearing; how could they just watch him be taken away?

Chen Ji surveyed his surroundings, his gaze passing over each window by the street. Those dark windows were like closed eyes, not knowing which would open in the next moment.

Finally, his gaze landed on the Inspector General’s face.

The Inspector General was responsible for escorting him and She Dengke to the Ministry of Justice Prison, just three steps from the prison cart, watching as the black-clad assassins approached without any sign of panic, always sitting upright on the horse.

At this moment, a black-clad assassin kicked away the infantry blocking the way and approached the prison cart, raising a sword to it.

Just as the blade was about to fall, the window of a tavern across the street suddenly burst open.

Moonlight shone through the window, revealing a figure. The person appeared to be in their thirties, wearing simple coarse gray clothing, like an ordinary tenant. But the stance in which he stood clearly belonged to someone accustomed to killing.

Qi Zhong.

He raised his right hand, and someone passed him a three-foot-long armor-piercing awl of refined iron.

The armor-piercing awl was pitch-black with a triangular arrowhead, grooved for drawing blood, specifically designed for piercing armor. It was incredibly heavy, difficult for an average person to even lift.

But Qi Zhong twisted his waist and hips, his arm like a fully drawn bow, and hurled the armor-piercing awl.

The armor-piercing awl whistled through the air.

In the night, there was only a muffled "thud" as the awl pierced through the shoulder of the leading black-clad assassin, carrying him backward. The awl’s momentum continued, piercing through two nearby infantry members from the Five Cities Military Department before stopping.

Qi Zhong showed no change in expression as he witnessed the armor-piercing awl inadvertently injure the military department soldiers, casually lifting his hand again as his attendant handed him another armor-piercing awl.

Third Master Hu stood on the eaves, turning his head towards that window.

He altered the seals in his hands, sending the Taotie leaping through the crowd towards the tavern’s second floor.

Qi Zhong turned his head, an armor-piercing awl responding to the call. With a whistling sound, the heavy awl shot through Taotie’s bloody mouth, shattering it into pieces, dispersing it into a black cloud.

Qi Zhong’s hand continuously hurled one armor-piercing awl after another, oppressing the black-clad assassins from above, forcing them to retreat repeatedly, pinning them one by one to the ground.

The blood of the black-clad assassins splattered on the prison cart, speckling Chen Ji’s face.

Through the wooden bars, Chen Ji looked at Qi Zhong, recognizing this must be the death soldiers nurtured by the Qi family over many years.

The situation took a dramatic turn.

The next moment, Chen Ji heard the sound of shouting and killing erupt from outside Chessboard Street.

He squinted and saw firelight igniting both east and west of Chessboard Street.

Nearby, more infantry from the Five Cities Military Department and Fire Armor Soldiers were arriving, wielding torches, converging toward Chessboard Street like fiery dragons, surrounding it completely.

Qi Zhong stood within an open window, waiting to see what other tricks the jailbreak culprits might have, but he waited for a long time and saw nothing.

He did not throw the last armor-piercing awl in his hand, but handed it to his attendant, turned, and walked downstairs: "All bark and no bite, leave them alive."

...

...

By this time, the black-clad assassins were completely surrounded, only five were left fighting desperately like trapped beasts.

Seeing the prison break failed, Qi Zhenzhuo gritted his teeth and drew the sword from his waist, spurred his horse amidst the chaos, charging towards the prison carriage to break the iron lock on the prison door: "Master, go quickly!"

The Inspector General blocked in front of the prison carriage, angrily saying: "Qi Zhenzhuo, are you crazy?"

Qi Zhenzhuo panted heavily: "Get out of the way!"

The Inspector General not only did not retreat, but advanced his horse forward, forcing Qi Zhenzhuo’s steed to keep retreating: "Do you want to drag the Qi family to die with you? You understand nothing of the classics, know nothing of martial arts, and now even with the opportunity laid out for you, you still don’t understand, you achieve nothing but ruin everything!"

Qi Zhenzhuo looked speechlessly at the prison carriage, Chen Ji gently shook his head: "Go call the Yulin Army. Today they must be on standby at the Governor Mansion on orders from Mr. Qi. If they do not come now, Lord Li, as the Qi family’s son-in-law, cannot explain it to the Qi family. Moreover, we are less than a hundred steps from the Yulin Army Commander’s Mansion, their failure to quell the rebellion would also be a great crime."

The Inspector General laughed: "Marquis Wu Xiang sees it clearer than you, Qi family has laid a trap today, even if you break the prison carriage, you cannot save him."

Qi Zhenzhuo froze in place, Chen Ji looking at the black-clad assassins being besieged in the distance, softly said: "Go."

Qi Zhenzhuo rode his horse towards the Yulin Army Commander’s Mansion.

The Inspector General straightened his back, leisurely beside the prison carriage said: "Marquis Wu Xiang has extensive connections, even under the Emperor’s feet there are those who dare to break into prison for you, truly admirable, it’s a pity, now being paraded publicly, reputation ruined..."

However, at this moment, Third Master Hu stood on the roof of the heavily surrounded Lubiji, instead of leaving, he drove the Xiezhi to leap, breaking through the heavy encirclement of the Five Cities Military Department, charging towards the Inspector General.

Xiezhi, resembling a sheep, entirely black, with a single horn, can distinguish right from wrong.

As the Inspector General was speaking, the Xiezhi had already charged in front of him, piercing his chest with its single horn, lifting him high, as if in demonstration, swinging the Inspector General twice in mid-air.

Qi Zhong had just stepped out of the tavern, witnessing this scene, immediately turned his head and stared at Third Master Hu on the roof of Lubiji: "Capture him!"

But Third Master Hu had already driven the Fei Yi back to his side, Fei Yi, a six-legged, four-winged monstrous snake, now causing severe drought worldwide.

The huge Fei Yi on the roof spread its four wings, actually carrying Third Master Hu gliding through the night sky for tens of feet, flying over rows of eaves, disappearing beyond the encirclement.

Qi Zhong said coldly: "Pursue!"

Chen Ji in the prison carriage watched the Inspector General’s body, blood flowing out, the scene just now happened too fast, too vicious and accurate, as if it had been planned for a long time.

Third Master Hu succeeded in one strike, immediately escaped, without a hint of reluctance.

Chen Ji suddenly realized, an old hand like Third Master Hu, how could he not know that a prison break on Chessboard Street was almost impossible.

But Third Master Hu still came, because tonight he didn’t come to break the prison, instead, he came to kill this Inspector General, to avenge Chen Ji’s public parade.

...

...

Chessboard Street calmed down again.

The Yulin Army finally arrived at this moment, all clad in silver armor, standing on horseback, looking from afar at Chen Ji in the prison carriage, flames of anger in their eyes but not daring to approach.

The silver armor of the Yulin Army is extremely cumbersome to wear, taking at least thirty minutes to gear up fully. More than a hundred Yulin Army soldiers had long been ordered to wait in the Governor Mansion, and only came to quell the rebellion when urged by Qi Zhenzhuo.

Chen Ji and Li Xuan looked at each other from a distance, seeing the exhaustion on the other’s face in the firelight.

Chen Ji no longer looked at the Yulin Army, but at Chessboard Street, the street full of bloodstains, the infantry of the Five Cities Military Department dragging the bodies to one place. He then turned to look, the silhouettes of the four zodiac signs on the Zhengyang Gate tower had vanished.

Tonight this prison break came fast and quelled even faster, the Qi family had set a trap, no one could break him out under the Emperor’s feet.

But Chen Ji still felt something strange.

This strange feeling didn’t just appear tonight, it had been there since the rumors of She Dengke surfaced in the teahouse.

No, even earlier.

Ever since the Prime Minister went to Changping to guard the tombs, the Imperial Capital has been quite unfathomable.

Bai Long, Jin Zhu, Heavenly Horse, and others have disappeared for a month, Wu Xiu is not eager to consolidate power in Ritual Supervision, instead there are rumors that Wu Xiu sealed off Jiefan Building, only drafting imperial decrees in the Eagle House Office.

Originally, Ritual Supervision should have been a time of power transition, undercurrents surging, but it had been oddly calm for a month.

At this moment, Qi Zhong returned to Chessboard Street after failing to pursue Third Master Hu.

He walked up to the five black-clad assassins, reaching out to tear off the black cloth covering one of their faces.

Chen Ji was stunned on the spot.

West Wind?

How could it be West Wind?

The one who once impersonated the Military Intelligence Department Chief in Luocheng City, losing himself in the role, West Wind?

Hadn’t he been promoted to manage spies in Luocheng under Hai Dongqing’s charge, why would he appear in the Imperial Capital, a thousand miles away?

Qi Zhong did not recognize West Wind, grabbing West Wind by the hair, forcing him to lift his head: "Who are you?"

Forced to kneel on the ground, disregarding the bloodstains on his face, West Wind looked up and sneered coldly: "Kowtow thrice to grandpa, then grandpa will tell you."

Qi Zhong glanced at Chen Ji in the prison carriage, expressionless: "Take them all to the Ministry of Justice Prison, interrogate them overnight."