Chapter 8

Murong Feiyan said: "I am Murong Feiyan, eighth-rank guard under Sir Hong of the Jingzhao Prefecture!"

Hu Xiaotian, upon hearing the other party was a female constable, felt his heart ease; since she was a female constable he didn't dare act rashly. He reached out, lightly flicked the blade with his finger, and said: "Please move the sword aside a bit; if it accidentally discharges, that would be bad."

Murong Feiyan, of course not knowing what "accidental discharge" meant, coldly said: "As a subject of Dakang, son of an imperial official, blessed by the emperor's grace, yet you fail to set an example and dare to commit the shameless act of abducting a civilian woman in broad daylight—do you know your crime?"

Hu Xiaotian, hearing Murong Feiyan's series of questions, immediately realized this lass was a black whistle (biased official). I said, "Do you even know the full story? You come at me and pile all the charges on me—did I provoke you?" Hu Xiaotian decided that this Murong lass either bears a grudge against his father or is friendly with the Tang family, hence her bias.

Hu Xiaotian said: "In broad daylight, you trespassed a private residence, carried a weapon, and threatened the life of this law-abiding citizen—do you know your crime?"

Murong Feiyan said: "I am a constable! Eliminating crime is my duty."

Hu Xiaotian said: "A constable, big deal? Do you have a search warrant? Do you think the Minister of Revenue's residence is some place you can just barge into?" This question really left Murong Feiyan speechless. Though the term "search warrant" was somewhat unfamiliar to her, she knew what a "warrant of arrest" was. Hu Xiaotian hadn't guessed wrong: the Murong and Tang families are old friends, and Murong Feiyan and Tang Qingxuan are close confidantes, so upon hearing Tang Qingxuan had been abducted she immediately rushed over with people. In the hurry she didn't think to first go to Sir Hong of the Jingzhao Prefecture to obtain an arrest warrant; for ordinary cases that procedure wouldn't matter, but today she had stormed the Minister of Revenue's residence. Minister of Revenue Hu Buwei is a third-rank official highly favored by the emperor; even her direct superior, Prefect Sir Hong Baiqi of Jingzhao, is only a junior third-rank and must yield three parts of respect when seeing Hu Buwei. She faintly realized she might have stirred up a major problem.

Hu Xiaotian kept watching Murong Feiyan's expression; seeing her hesitation, he instantly guessed that this lass had been stunned by his words, wondering if he had also incidentally earned a master's degree in psychology?

Hu Xiaotian carefully gripped the blade's edge with his hand, slowly leaned back, moving his neck away from the sword tip, then stepped back one pace.

Murong Feiyan's beautiful eyes flickered, her mind undecided, but today her main purpose was to rescue the person; other matters could wait. As the saying goes, you can let the monk escape but not the temple. She ripped the cloth gag from Tang Qingxuan's mouth, sliced the bonds with her sword, and Tang Qingxuan, burning with shame and anger, snatched the long sword from Murong Feiyan's hand in one grab, shouting coquettishly: "Lecher! I'll kill you!" She then lunged after Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian, seeing the situation turn bad, bolted. He ran toward the direction of the Hu Fu household servants. Those servants not only failed to rush forward to protect him, but seeing Tang Qingxuan wielding a weapon and radiating killing intent as she chased after him, they scattered in panic with a shout. Hu Xiaotian seethed: a bunch of cowardly good-for-nothings who eat off the Hu family and use the Hu family's resources; when I need them to protect me, they flee faster than rabbits—utterly lacking any professional ethics. His four months of training weren't for show; when he runs he's as swift as the wind, and besides, today he's not hindered by a long robe, just wearing shorts, striding like a shooting star with graceful steps—shaking off Tang Qingxuan is no small feat.

Speaking of running, Tang Qingxuan is absolutely no match for Hu Xiaotian, but she knows lightness kung fu; seeing she can't catch him on foot, she taps the tip of her toe on the ground and leaps up, performing a front somersault plus a 360-degree turn in midair—no, wait, a 720-degree turn.

Hu Xiaotian ran while glancing up, seeing that lass Tang about to overtake him, I said, "This flying is just faster than running." Cheating! Absolutely cheating! Hu Xiaotian saw Tang Qingxuan swooping down like a hawk stooping on a rabbit; from her flushed, angry expression he could tell she had completely lost her reason—once a woman loses reason she'll do anything, and a wise man doesn't suffer present loss.

"Servants, servants!" Hu Xiaotian noticed those servants fleeing even faster than him, but fortunately there was one sufficiently loyal: at the crucial moment Liang Da Zhuang stumbled up from the ground, dazed. This fellow wasn't intending to sacrifice himself for his master; he just happened to get up then, trying to slink away to the side to stay clear of this trouble. His big, bulky frame happened to make an excellent shield; Hu Xiaotian went behind him and shoved him out.

Liang Da Zhuang's head still foggy, seeing Tang Qingxuan brandish her sword and swoop down from the air, he finally understood why the young master had shoved him; he let out a miserable yell, summoning all his strength: "Fuck your grandpa..." Although he was shouting at Tang Qingxuan, the insult was aimed at Hu Xiaotian. "I'm a servant, I sell my labor not my life—how dare you be so despicable, shoving me out to block your sword!"

Fortunately Tang Qingxuan's skill is solid; she wields her sword with ease. Seeing Liang Da Zhuang shoved out, she retracted her blade, lifted her foot, and with a "Peng!" stepped on his bald head. Though her foot isn't large, the force is considerable; Liang Da Zhuang's legs went soft and he thudded to his knees. If that earth-shaking kneel hadn't acted as a buffer, his head might have been kicked into his gut.

Hu Xiaotian also thus gained a breather; he didn't keep running forward because ahead Tang Tiehan led a group charging to encircle and intercept. Hu Xiaotian turned and ran toward Murong Feiyan; to outsiders it looked like he was walking into a trap, but he knew Murong Feiyan's side was presently the safest spot—she is a female constable of the Jingzhao Prefecture, presumably the most law-abiding among them; he couldn't just stand by and watch that lass Tang hack him to death, and besides the sword Tang snatched from her hand—if he suffered any serious injury, she too would be hard-pressed to avoid blame.

Hu Xiaotian's master's in psychology wasn't for nothing; seeing him run toward her, Murong Feiyan's expression showed conflicting complexity.

Tang Qingxuan used the rebound force from Liang Da Zhuang's head, then in the air added two back somersaults plus a 720-degree turn, closing in on Hu Xiaotian again, shouting coquettishly: "Lecher! Take this sword!"

At the crucial moment Murong Feiyan grabbed Hu Xiaotian's arm and pulled him behind her.

Tang Qingxuan hadn't expected Murong Feiyan to actually intervene on Hu Xiaotian's behalf; this thrust had to halt midway, and she exclaimed in bewilderment: "Murong sister, move aside!"

Murong Feiyan replied: "Qingxuan! Calm down!"

Tang Qingxuan snapped: "I will definitely kill this lecher today!"

Hu Xiaotian listened to their exchange and realized: these two lasses are indeed childhood friends—no wonder the female constable arrived at the scene so quickly.

Tang Qingxuan tried to go around Murong Feiyan and thrust; though Murong Feiyan sided with her friend at heart, as the top female constable of the Jingzhao Prefecture she knows Dakang's laws well. If Tang Qingxuan really killed Hu Xiaotian, she'd stir up huge trouble—although nobles and commoners are equal before the law, Hu Xiaotian's offenses haven't yet reached the point deserving death. Seeing Tang Qingxuan's clothes neat and intact, she likely hasn't been violated; even if Hu Xiaotian is guilty, he must be tried and sentenced first. Seeing Tang Qingxuan thrust again, Murong Feiyan hastily seized her wrist and whispered: "Qingxuan, you need to calm down!"

Tang Qingxuan, both ashamed and anxious, her eye rims reddened, she gritted her teeth: "Murong sister, if you still cherish our years of sisterhood, step aside—I will surely kill this lecher."

Hu Xiaotian hid behind Murong Feiyan, retreating while saying: "Constable Murong, you're an law-enforcement officer; you must handle this impartially, right or wrong—let's go to the government office and make it clear."

Murong Feiyan turned and glared at him, thinking: "Upholding Dakang's laws is already my duty—do I need a spoiled young master like you to remind me?" Momentarily distracted, she didn't expect Tang Qingxuan's palm strike to hit her shoulder, sending her staggering. Murong Feiyan never imagined Tang Qingxuan would turn on her; Tang Qingxuan has the worst temper among the Tang siblings, fierce and unyielding, having suffered such immense humiliation, she now fixates on stabbing several transparent holes into Hu Xiaotian to vent her spite.

Tang Qingxuan reclaimed the long sword, seeing Hu Xiaotian accelerating his escape; taking advantage of Murong Feiyan's unsteady footing, she let the sword fly from her hand, a flash of cold light heading straight for Hu Xiaotian's back.

Hu Xiaotian heard the whooshing wind behind him, instantly felt ill, his hairs stood on end, and he inwardly cried: "My life is over! Had I known this lass Tang was so formidable, I shouldn't have staged this bride‑snatching farce. I'm truly cleverness backfiring—hard‑won rebirth chance squandered by my own doing. Heaven condemns me; regret!"

The sword tip was only a chi away from Hu Xiaotian's back; Murong Feiyan's pretty face drained of color. Even if she wanted to save him, it was already too late, and she inwardly lamented: "My silly sister, if Hu Xiaotian just dies like this, who knows how many heads will roll because of it?"

An iron bulleted dart flew in from the side, clang! —it struck the sword aimed at Hu Xiaotian's back; the blade was deflected, veering off its original path and slanting into the garden's grass.

At the critical moment, Hu Buwei's personal guard Hu Tianxiong arrived just in time, seeing Tang Qingxuan's flying sword about to pierce Hu Xiaotian; Hu Tianxiong promptly acted, using the iron dart to knock the long sword away, pulling Hu Xiaotian back from the brink of death.