Chapter 1270

Yajiu placed the little servant's corpse beside the table and chair, kept him holding the brush pose, then threw Qian Zhuo's corpse into the bushes; his lithe movements resembled a cat's, and the patrolling person didn't notice.

Jin Chen was still dozing against the doorframe of the Ke Zhan backyard; hearing Yajiu's birdcall, he slowly moved his arm and took out a fire striker from his sleeve.

The bright firelight shone on his lazy, handsome face; his peach-blossom eyes, as if always smiling, were now calm and waveless.

Only when the fire grew large was it noticed, but it was already too late.

The little servant's corpse lying in the fire had even his clothes burned away; only the brush in his hand, scorched at the tip, remained, so no one doubted his identity as they loudly shouted that Qian Old Master had been burned to death.

The Ke Zhan fell into chaos, but Yajiu had already moved Qian Zhuo's corpse away and left.

Leaving the Ke Zhan, Jin Chen clearly noticed Yajiu's mood was off; he immediately called out to him and pulled him into a rarely visited alley at night.

Only the clear moonlight made it seem even more desolate.

"Xiao Jiu." Jin Chen called softly.

Yajiu instinctively raised a smile: "Master, we should hurry on our way..."

Before his words finished, Jin Chen had already pulled him into an embrace, their chests colliding, making Yajiu want to cry.

He quietly reddened his eyes, burying his head in Jin Chen's chest.

"You're unhappy because you're thinking of your master, right?"

Hearing the low voice beside him, Yajiu nodded, his voice trembling: "Qian Zhuo—I didn't know his name before, but I remember… I remember he was the one who harmed Old Cao the most."

If Qian Zhuo hadn't been so ruthless in order to force out the list, Old Cao wouldn't have died from his injuries.

He was picked up by Old Cao when he was very young, and before he could truly grow up, Old Cao died.

Jin Chen listened quietly, then tightened his hold on the narrow waist in his arms, "You have already avenged Old Cao by killing Qian Zhuo and Cheng Wang; Old Cao would be pleased."

He loosened his grip a little, freeing a hand to gently stroke the reddened eye corners, feeling the dampness.

"Little Nine is very capable, a well-behaved child."

Yajiu's eyelashes trembled; it was the first time he had heard his master describe him like that.

It was also the first time anyone had praised him in that way.

The emotions surging in his chest were intense, seeming to have no outlet, feeling swollen and tight.

He curled up in Jin Chen's embrace, both hands gripping Jin Chen's wrist that rested on his eye corners, his ear tips also turning bright red.

"Master… master, please say it again."

Yajiu slightly lifted his head; the eye corners pressed by Jin Chen trembled slightly, making him appear somewhat devout.

Jin Chen captured his soft lips, speaking the second time somewhat indistinctly, but it gave Yajiu a more intense emotion.

Yajiu leaned against the brick wall at the alley's end, obediently accepting this lingering, soothing kiss.

【Detected Villain Heartthrob Value 7, total 90!】

【Detected Villain Blackening Value -10, total 35!】

With such tight security and no Xu Shi firm in Wuyuan County, there was no way to silently take Qian Zhuo's head; Jin Chen didn't have to do this either, and besides, this was already the last name on the list, so there was no need to use a severed head to achieve deterrence.

What they need to do now is deliberately expose their whereabouts, letting Cheng Wang track them, achieving three goals with one action.

After finding a token that could prove Qian Zhuo was Cheng Wang's lackey, Jin Chen and Yajiu rode together on one horse, leaving Wuyuan County overnight for the capital.

On the way to the capital, Jin Chen wore his signature red robes; even with a mask covering his face, his handsome, unrestrained bearing was still visible, and along the way he also happened to kill many of the factions that had previously colluded with Cheng Wang.

He seemed to have no intention of hiding anymore; to Cheng Wang's eyes, it was an outright provocation.

Despite provoking so many assassins, none could trace his whereabouts; in the end they still had to let him reveal himself, and even then they could do nothing to him.

How could Cheng Wang not be angry? He was practically bursting with rage.

"I will capture him myself!" Cheng Wang slammed the table, his eyes nearly bursting with fury, "Let's see just which petty scoundrel this is!"

But he never expected this move to play right into Jin Chen's hands.

Thus Jin Chen began his dog-walking–like operation.

Every time they passed a place, they would still lavishly spend, frightening the local magistrates and provincial officials into nervousness; they didn't know anything about Cheng Wang's connections, only that the Lord of Wuyou specifically killed local officials, which actually made them tighten security even more.

This way, not only did the common folk benefit, but Cheng Wang could also quickly receive news of the Lord of Wuyou's whereabouts; however, when his assassins arrived, that person would vanish like steam, impossible to find.

After teasing them all the way, as they neared the capital, Cheng Wang finally noticed a clue.

He hadn't brought many men; if he now entered the capital, to the dog emperor it would be as easy as catching a turtle in a jar—there would be no escape.

Cheng Wang had begun to waver, when at that moment the mysterious, elusive Lord of Wuyou suddenly appeared before him.

At that moment Cheng Wang was sitting in his carriage when a sword qi split it into pieces; he was shocked and pale, having never seen such profound inner strength.

Looking up, he saw the newcomer dressed in red, wielding a long sword, a gold mask covering half his face—truly eerie and frightening.

"Lord of Wuyou!!"

Cheng Wang was startled, instantly grabbing a crossbow from nearby, "You dare to come before me—aren't you afraid of dying here?"

Jin Chen tilted his head, his black hair loosely blown by the wind, his gaze cold and indifferent.

"Who will die here, you don't know that in your heart?"

Cheng Wang's situation was truly ridiculous; his carriage split apart, leaving him only able to sit on the soft cushion that had fallen to the ground, looking utterly mismatched.

Only then did he notice that behind the Lord of Wuyou stood another person, whose fierce technique had already killed all the accompanying guards.

And that person's appearance was extremely familiar to Cheng Wang.

"Yajiu!"

It was actually Yajiu, so this Lord of Wuyou...

Cheng Wang stiffened his neck and turned his head, disbelieving, "You are truly the son of Jin Xuanqi!"

Earlier, the covert guards had investigated, yet he still couldn't believe it, for Jin Xuanqi himself had no liking for brandishing blades or spears, spending his days writing sour, unrefined texts; what promise could a son born of him possibly have?

Jin Chen lowered his head slightly, speaking nonchalantly, "Even if you announce my father's name, you will still die."

"Oh, but there's no need to worry too much—not today."

"He still needs to use this dog's life to negotiate with the emperor."

While speaking, Yajiu had already killed everyone and walked to stand behind Jin Chen.

A few drops of blood stained Yajiu's face, and their gaze toward Prince Cheng was icy to the bone, as if they would step forward and take the name at any moment.

Prince Cheng, however, suddenly let out a low laugh and spoke in a gloomy tone: "I won't let you succeed."

"If you intend to kill us, how could you possibly bring only so few people!"

Jin Chen raised his eyebrows lazily, "If you're referring to those dark guards trailing behind the carriage..." He laughed scornfully in a lazy tone, "Your bargaining chips are truly trash."

Prince Cheng: "……"

"You... you all figured it out long ago?"

Yajiu furrowed their brows, thinking, and realized they had not detected any dark guards; if they had already been dealt with, then only the master could have done it.

Prince Cheng's dark guards are no inferior to the Cangqiong Guard; if there were more than five, Yajiu believed they could not escape, let alone kill them all.

Yajiu had long noticed that Jin Chen's abilities were extraordinary; it was also possible that someone stood above them.

But even so, they also wanted to protect the master.

Prince Cheng struggled in vain; even their last trump card was killed, the crossbow bolt fell to the ground and shattered, and in the end Jin Chen still seized it—aside from Prince Cheng, everyone they brought out was completely slain by Yajiu.

That day, deep in the forest, a woodcutter gathering firewood smelled the blood from afar and dared not approach; after waiting several days, only when a heavy rain washed away all traces of blood did they dare to go up the mountain.

The heavy rain and the day Yajiu fell into trouble and was pursued were very alike, with thunder rumbling nonstop.

【Detected Villain Blackening Value -10, total 25!】