Chapter 469: What's Going On?

This string of harsh words and severe expression instantly frightened the steward, his face turning deathly pale as cold sweat drenched him.

Xiao Ningyuan's tone grew extremely impatient: "I'll say it again—move the stuff out for me!"

"If you dare to stall or shift blame again, believe it or not, I, the young master, will set this Incense Burning Tower ablaze in one go!"

The steward's mind spun: this was none other than the only son of the Marquis of Jinghai, a personage so exalted that even Master Xue would have to lower his head!

If I were to hold up the big matter in Jingcheng because of my own delay, this Incense Burning Tower would surely be facing a major calamity.

He hurriedly bowed and made amends: "Young Master Zhou, please quell your anger! It's my stupidity!"

He turned and bellowed at the several assistants standing to the side: "Why are you just standing there? Quickly move all fifteen boxes that Young Master Zhou brought—out now! Hurry!"

Within the span of a tea cup, the fifteen wooden boxes were neatly piled in the open area before the gate.

Xiao Ningyuan shot a glance at Lu Qi and Xiao Er: "What are you looking at? Load the cart!"

"Yes!" Lu Qi and Xiao Er immediately stepped forward, deftly loading each wooden box onto the carriage.

Xiao Ningyuan's heart eased a little, and he silently thought, "How lucky."

Seeing Xiao Er and Lu Qi back on horseback, he was about to give the order to leave when he noticed the steward's face turn ashen, as though he had seen a specter.

He lifted his hand pointing to a nearby spot, his expression stricken, voice shaking: "Zhou, Young Master Zhou!" His eyes kept scanning, "How, how can there be two Young Masters Zhou?"

He suddenly realized one of them had to be a fake; his face abruptly changed, he waved slightly at the assistants, who caught on and rested their hands on the hilts of their waist-worn swords.

Young Master Zhou has come back?

Xiao Ningyuan's heart plummeted, his fingers clenched tight on the reins, his blood running cold.

Xiao Er and Lu Qi looked up and saw Young Master Zhou riding ahead in a swagger, escorted by over ten attendants, only about ten steps away.

Kill them all? No! That would be murdering to silence witnesses, a self-incriminating act.

Just keep Young Master Zhou alive—that's enough!

In the blink of an eye, the two locked gazes and their intentions aligned.

Xiao Er drew a repeating crossbow from the carriage and pulled the trigger at the attendants behind Young Master Zhou.

Nine specks of blue cold light ripped through the light fog, bursting out!

Ah—

A wail of anguish rose, and over half of the dozen or so men fell.

Crossbow bolts were slow to load; Xiao Er had just slipped his hand back into the carriage, aiming to fetch another.

A repeating crossbow slid into his grasp—it was none other than the one Tuan Tuan had shoved over from inside the carriage.

Xiao Er smirked slightly, "Nice work, miss!"

He grabbed the repeating crossbow and, without hesitation, pulled the trigger at the remaining attendants.

Another nine strands of gloomy blue light shot forth; the remaining attendants all collapsed, none left standing, wailing as they fell.

Young Master Zhou looked back, his face went deathly pale, and a warm wetness seeped from his pants.

Lu Qi sprang from his horse, touched the carriage roof with his toe, drew his waist sword, and darted swiftly among the fallen attendants.

Wherever he moved, the blade flashed; each swipe or slash left a deep, bone-showing wound in the attendants' necks or faces.

Hmph, now even if the Incense Burning Tower's helpers had seen you before, they wouldn't be able to tell who you were.

But Lu Qi's move, to onlookers, looked like he was just stepping up to add a finishing blow so no one would be left alive.

The steward and a few assistants had long been staring, dumbstruck.

It turned out those boxes held such powerful repeating crossbows!

No wonder Master Xue placed such importance on them.

Seeing this dark-skinned man handle them so fluently, it was obvious he was completely versed in the repeating crossbow.

So it seems this Young Master Zhou is indeed the real deal!

Lu Qi carried the still-dripping blade and walked slowly toward Young Master Zhou.

His face darkened with fury as he shouted: "Bold scoundrel! How dare you impersonate our young master? Do you really think our marquis's manor is made of clay?"

"Marquis's manor? What marquis's manor?" Young Master Zhou shook all over, "You! You! Don't come over! You dare commit violence in broad daylight? I'll go to the authorities and sue you!"

Xiao Ningyuan's heart sank to his stomach, and he gave a cold snort: "Magistrate? Which magistrate dares to meddle in our marquis's manor's affairs?"

He deliberately skewed his tone: 'Just hearing you, I can tell you're from a poor, lowly family, yet you mention the magistrate—hmph!'

Young Master Zhou startled, 'Nonsense! Brawling in the street is exactly the duty of Jingzhao Prefecture—what does it have to do with being from a lowly family?'

He had wanted to rebut, but just as he was about to speak, Lu Qi stepped up to him, and his entire body trembled.

Lu Qi's nose twitched as he looked at his crotch, and he snorted: 'Sure enough, a rube who's never seen the world—such a small scene and you're frightened like this?'

Only then did Young Master Zhou realize, overcome with shame and embarrassment, he hastily bent over to shield himself with his outer robe.

The steward and assistants couldn't help but shake their heads—this fellow's demeanor truly didn't match that of a Jingcheng marquis's heir.

Young Master Zhou shook like a leaf in the wind, his outward fierceness masking inner weakness, he cried out shrilly: 'Are you crazy? In broad daylight, you're slaughtering my marquis's guards on the street?'

"This is a crime of wiping out a family! My father is the Marquis of Jinghai—who are you, exactly?"

Xiao Ningyuan's lips curled in a cold smile, his expression unmoving, his tone scornful: 'The thief cries "catch the thief"?'

"You're acting the part quite convincingly," he said, deliberately letting his gaze sweep over Young Master Zhou's soaked trousers, then sneered, "But if you were really the marquis's son, how could you have been frightened into wetting your pants?"

Young Master Zhou still wanted to protest, but Lu Qi had already struck him a blow to the back of the neck, knocking him off his horse.

Xiao Ningyuan lifted his horsewhip, pointed at the attendants' corpses on the ground, and shouted sternly at the steward: 'These villains have harbored evil intent, daring to impersonate even my Marquis of Jinghai's household— their purpose must be no small thing!'

"If it weren't for this young master's timely arrival, this batch of repeating crossbows would surely have fallen into the hands of villains, and you! would all suffer the calamity of property seizure and clan extermination!"

The steward's legs went weak, and he fell to his knees with a thud; the assistants likewise dropped to their knees.

All those present kowtowed like pounding garlic: 'It's our negligence! We nearly brought about a great disaster! Thank you, young master, for turning the tide! Thank you, young master!'

Xiao Ningyuan's tone relaxed a little: 'Never mind; this time I won't investigate further.'

The steward, as if pardoned, repeatedly expressed his gratitude.

"But this bandit leader, I, the young master, will personally escort him back to Jingcheng for His Highness to judge!"

"Yes! Yes! Whatever the young master decides!"

"Take him away!"

"Yes!" Lu Qi lifted Zhou Jing'an as if he were a chick, swiftly bound him with rope, and threw him onto his own horse.

Xiao Ningyuan looked at the corpses strewn on the ground, frowned, and said, "What a sight! Hurry up and clean this up!"

"Yes!"

The steward hurried forward with the workers and began the cleanup.

Xiao Ningyuan said no more, gave the reins a shake, and shouted, "Move!"

The group, unflustered, clopped steadily out of the city.

"Huh—" Xue Jiangtao reined his horse at the entrance of the Incense Burning Tower, saw his worker dousing the bloodstains on the ground with water, frowned slightly, and asked, "What happened here?"