Chapter 32

Guo Zhigui's horse-driving skills were superb, and since the passenger was a light-bodied youth like Jia Cong, the carriage moved extremely fast.

In no time at all, they overtook the party of Zhou Junxing and Zhang Shouan.

Braving the wind and snow, Ge Wu took some meat buns prepared by his wife and headed toward the rear carriage; his son, Ge Chunjiang, had a bottomless stomach—a growing boy could eat his father into poverty.

After tossing about in Shuyun Villa for six hours, the boy was likely famished. Although his son lacked cleverness, he was diligent and obedient, and Ge Wu still doted on him.

Ge Wu himself sat in a carriage with the judge and head constable from the Zhen'an Prefecture; though he, an old coroner, held no official rank, he still had significant standing in Zhen'an Prefecture.

Following behind was a small carriage carrying the corpse of Wu Jinrong, with Ge Chunjiang and Little Qin squeezed in as well.

Ge Wu lifted the carriage curtain and was so shocked his mouth fell wide open.

He saw the tall, burly Ge Chunjiang slumped in the carriage, looking exactly like the corpse of Wu Jinrong beside him; it was as if the carriage contained two corpses.

And Little Qin, who had been in the same carriage, was nowhere to be seen!

Just as Ge Wu was gripped by panic, he suddenly heard the chaotic and rapid sound of horse hooves from behind.

A dozen or so Prince's Mansion guards came galloping wildly, all of them helmeted and armored, radiating a murderous aura.

Prince Prince Jia Shun knew this matter could not be hidden for long; the coroner would sooner or later discover that his apprentice had been swapped.

This person, disguised as Little Qin, had kept his body hunched and his head slightly lowered to deceive Ge Chunjiang, appearing completely unremarkable.

Although the lad lacked focus, he had always been a man of few words, so Ge Chunjiang hadn't paid him any mind, never dreaming in his wildest dreams that the person had been swapped.

Just as the words were spoken, a black figure on the roof of the lead carriage shot out like an arrow, sprinting forward with incredible speed.

Ge Chunjiang said Little Qin hadn't been acting strangely today; after lifting the corpse into the carriage, he had just huddled in the corner, silent and sullen.

By the time they found Ge Si, the man had just managed to wake his foolish son.

Half of the dozen men in black beside Zhou Junxing charged out; horse hooves kicked up a sky full of snow mist, and the sound of blades being drawn filled the air.

Liu Xiangyong guessed that the culprit was repeating the same old trick: first disguising himself as a maid to kill Wu Jinrong, then posing as a coroner's apprentice to slip out of Shuyun Villa.

Upon asking, he learned the person was Little Qin, an apprentice to the Zhen'an Prefecture coroner Ge Wu, who had come today to assist his master at Shuyun Villa.

Originally, the Prince's Mansion guards had strictly guarded the four gates of the villa, not only inspecting the scholars leaving but even paying close attention to the people from Zhen'an Prefecture; yet, who would pay attention to a lowly apprentice carrying a corpse?

That blockhead Ge Chunjiang had wanted to nap as soon as the carriage started swaying; in his daze, he took a heavy blow and lost consciousness.

Zhou Junxing's party were all riding single horses, while the people from Zhen'an Prefecture were numerous, occupying six large carriages.

The fleeing figure naturally could not outrun the galloping horses; within a single breath, he was surrounded by four or five horses.

Leading them was the Prince's Mansion guard commander, Liu Xiangyong. He shouted, "Ask Prefect Zhang to come out and speak! Everyone, halt where you are; no one is to move without authorization!"

The area here was flat and open, so the culprit could not have gone far; he was likely hiding among these vehicles.

Just shortly after Jia Cong left Shuyun Villa, Prince's Mansion guards discovered a youth in a secluded woodshed at the villa, stripped of his outer garments, gagged, and bound hand and foot.

He said he had intended to relieve himself, but didn't know how he had been knocked unconscious; upon waking, he found himself tied up in the woodshed.

Zhang Shouan and Zhou Junxing were greatly alarmed upon learning Liu Xiangyong's intent.

Thus, they sent Liu Xiangyong with elite guards to pursue them, assisting Zhen'an Prefecture in capturing the culprit to avoid the matter escalating and giving Zhou Junxing a pretext to stir up trouble.

Zhou Junxing roared, "Take him down quickly! Don't let him escape!"

Zhou Junxing said with a cold face, "No one is to move without authorization! My men will search every carriage; the thief must not be allowed to run."

Now, standing straight, the figure seemed like a different person—tall, slender, and graceful, with every movement of hands and feet containing an unusual agility.

A face mask covered the hair and face completely, revealing only a pair of eyes flashing with sharp light. With a slight movement of the hands, two gleaming curved blades appeared.

The few men in black on horseback were all martial experts recruited by Zhou Junxing in Dezhou, each possessing extraordinary skills.

At this moment, they all drew their sharp blades and charged forward to engage the person in battle.

Figures rolled on the snowy ground, blade light flashed, and the sounds of blades cutting through the air and metal clashing were as rapid as a rainstorm.

Although the person's martial arts were not bad, two fists could not defeat four hands, and furthermore, their specialty was stealth and assassination; face-to-face combat was not their forte.

After holding out for dozens of moves, they were slashed in the back by a man in black, and fresh blood stained the white snow on the ground. 【40】 The person stood in the snow, half their body trembling slightly, as the men in black sneered and slowly closed in.

The man stood in the snow, half his body trembling slightly, as several men in black approached him with cruel grins.

They looked as if they were eyeing a delicacy on a platter, intending to capture the person alive.

Just as the men in black thought victory was in their grasp and their spirits relaxed, the person suddenly raised their right hand, and a cold light shot out.

This happened without warning, and the men in black opposite scrambled to dodge, their formation momentarily thrown into chaos.

Unfortunately, they had all guessed wrong; the person's target was not them at all, but Zhou Junxing, who was watching the battle from his horse nearby.

Zhou Junxing let out a muffled groan and fell from his horse, and the scene immediately descended into chaos.

The person took the opportunity to throw another object, which exploded in mid-air, releasing a strange yellow smoke with a foul, pungent, and bizarre odor.

Immediately, someone screamed, "Save the Lord quickly! It's poison smoke!"

By the time the smoke cleared slightly, the person was already gone from the scene; only ten or so yards away, a figure was rapidly leaping and fleeing.

Because Guo Zhigui's horse-driving skills were superb, Jia Cong's carriage had already run quite far, but he still heard an explosion from behind.

Mixed into the wind and snow were roars that could have been the wind or human voices.

Guo Zhigui stopped the carriage and stood on the carriage shaft to look back; he saw a black shadow behind, very conspicuous against the snow, charging rapidly toward them.

Jia Cong in the carriage seemed to sense something amiss and shouted, "Zhigui, don't delay, go quickly!"

Guo Zhigui was just about to answer when he suddenly saw the black shadow leap into the air and pounce toward him.

Before he could even shout, his large face was kicked heavily, and his entire body flew off the carriage shaft like a ball, rolling onto the snowy ground.

It hurt—it really hurt too much. Guo Zhigui clutched his head and staggered to his feet.

He saw a figure sitting on the carriage shaft; the horse whip cracked, and the carriage charged forward like a flying arrow.

Guo Zhigui ran a few steps after the carriage, shouting, "Cong Sanye, Cong Sanye..."

The howling wind and snow drowned out his cries, and the carriage soon vanished from his field of vision.

Guo Zhigui shouted to the two servants following him, "What are you two idiots standing there for? Hurry up and chase after them to save the Cong Sanye, or the Master will skin us alive when we get back!"

The two servants had terrified looks on their faces; they were merely followers and had no ability to fight such a thief, but if they didn't go, there would be no good outcome for them upon returning.

They immediately chased after them on horseback, albeit somewhat sluggishly.

Guo Zhigui suddenly realized, "You two idiots, wait for me, take me with you!"

Jia Cong felt the carriage suddenly accelerate and, losing his balance, hit his head against the carriage wall, causing him to wince in pain.

"Zhigui, have you gone mad? I told you to go quickly, but there's no need to go this fast."

"Shut your mouth, stay put, or I'll take your life!"

The voice was like metal snapping or jade breaking—crisp and agile, yet without a trace of warmth, as cold as ten-thousand-year black ice, chilling one to the bone.

(End of Chapter)