Chapter 243: Life-and-Death Chase

"Fang Family members, take orders: you must absolutely not let him escape!"

"Yes!"

With Fang Jixian's order, the Fang Family members immediately sealed off every entrance and exit, surrounding and intercepting Chen Che.

Fang Shaokun glanced at Zhuque; he had been interrupted earlier when he wanted to discipline her, and now was the perfect opportunity to make amends.

"Grandfather, I will go in pursuit too!"

Fang Shaokun immediately requested permission.

"Wait, that person is not Lu Renjia!"

At this moment, Fang Shifeng exclaimed.

"What?"

Fang Jixian asked. Even Zhuque cast a glance over.

Fang Shifeng said: "We did indeed send an invitation to Lu Renjia, but the Martial Artist academy Lu Renjia manages is abroad, and he himself has not returned to the country for a long time. When I sent out the invitations, I specifically asked; Lu Renjia has been abroad this entire time!"

"What?!"

Fang Jixian was stunned: "Then who could it be?"

The same question and suspicion surfaced in the minds of everyone present, but among the three generations of the Fang Family, not one dared to speak it.

To be able to obtain the invitation sent to Lu Renjia, disguise oneself as Lu Renjia, and possess the ability of the Garden Guardian who had the strength to kill a Postnatal Grandmaster.

Aside from the Inspection Bureau, there was no better explanation!

But if the suspicion held true, it meant the Fang Family's secret was already known to the Inspection Bureau, and the "Lu Renjia" they were pursuing had become a hot potato; whether to kill or release him, neither was appropriate.

Fang Jixian, Fang Shifeng, and Fang Shaokun looked at each other, at a loss for what to say.

Zhuque, however, walked toward Old Jin's ashes at this moment and discovered a glimmer of silver light flickering within.

She bent down to pick it up; it was a twenty-centimeter-long Silver Needle.

Zhuque stared at the engraved Silver Needle, her eyes brightening. She looked toward the direction where "Lu Renjia" had fled and gave a wicked smile.

"That person is not from the Inspection Bureau. Dead or alive, catch him and send him to me."

Zhuque turned and slowly walked away.

Fang Jixian and Fang Shifeng exchanged a glance and did not ask further.

This matter itself was disadvantageous to the Fang Family; since Zhuque had pointed out that the person was not from the Inspection Bureau, it counted as helping the Fang Family out of a bind. Naturally, they would not look for trouble at such a time.

"My Lady..."

Fang Shaokun, lacking any sense of the situation, spoke up at this moment: "There is one more person. The invitation shows that Lu Renjia came with his wife."

Hearing this, Fang Jixian and Fang Shifeng's bodies shook simultaneously, and they turned to glare at Fang Shaokun.

Fang Shaokun was stunned, realizing he had said the wrong thing. He had wanted to take the opportunity to show off, but looking at his father's and grandfather's expressions, it seemed he had messed up.

However, before he could remedy it, Zhuque had already stopped and spoken: "Where is that person?"

Silence.

Since arriving here, they had not seen any other woman.

Seeing no one answer, Zhuque did not ask again, but directly ordered: "Since the Medicine Garden is already destroyed, then handle it more thoroughly, especially these corpses."

Zhuque paused and turned to look at Fang Shaokun. The latter shuddered, standing trembling in place, not daring to say a word.

"A gecko breaks its tail, a warrior cuts his wrist; if you want to preserve the Fang Family, you must make sacrifices."

After Zhuque finished speaking, she looked at the stunned Fang Jixian.

"My Lady..."

Fang Shifeng naturally understood Zhuque's meaning. She wanted to use Fang Shaokun as a scapegoat to be handed over, just in case.

But that was his own son, after all, and he could not bear it. He smiled obsequiously and said: "My Lady, since that woman came with the fake Lu Renjia, she must be his accomplice.

Didn't you also say that the fake Lu Renjia is not from the Inspection Bureau? Then his accomplice must not be from the Inspection Bureau either. What do you think?"

Fang Shifeng's attitude was respectful and fawning. After speaking, he turned and glared at Fang Shaokun, who knelt on the ground with a thud without hesitation.

Fang Jixian also said at this moment: "My Lady, my son's words make sense. Since they are not people from the Inspection Bureau, we have nothing to fear. Besides, even if they were from the Inspection Bureau, so what? With Alliance Leader here, this matter will be turned into something small and eventually disappear."

Zhuque glanced at the Fang father and son and said: "Whether or not that person who escaped is from the Inspection Bureau, she already knows the Fang Family's secret. Once she gets out, she will very likely go to the Inspection Bureau.

Due to their duties, the Inspection Bureau will definitely intervene and investigate. Even if Alliance Leader steps in, the Inspection Bureau will still need to hand over a culprit to answer to their superiors."

Hearing this, Fang Jixian and Fang Shifeng felt their hearts go cold, and Fang Shaokun was directly prostrate on the ground, shivering.

"Whether to protect this useless, rebellious son or to protect the entire Fang Family, decide for yourselves."

After Zhuque finished speaking, she leaped onto the roof and disappeared into the vast night.

"Dad, this..."

Fang Shifeng had no idea what to do; he looked to Fang Jixian for help.

Fang Shaokun looked terrified, clutching the legs of Fang Jixian and Fang Shifeng, trembling as he said in a panic: "Grandfather, Dad, save me, save me! I don't want to go to the Inspection Bureau, I don't want to die! I don't want to!"

Fang Jixian's brows were locked tight, and he barked: "Enough! Look at how pathetic you are!"

"Dad, do you have a way? Shaokun is your own grandson after all; you cannot stand by and watch him die!"

Fang Shifeng said.

Fang Jixian eyed the father and son, took a deep breath, and said: "There is a way, but we must hurry. That fake Lu Renjia must not be allowed to escape!

Only by catching him, forcing him to reveal the whereabouts of his companion, and then catching her before she can inform the Inspection Bureau, can tonight's events be covered up, and Shaokun will not have to be handed over."

"Good, I will go catch him myself!"

Fang Shifeng nodded heavily and immediately went to pursue.

Fang Shaokun also grabbed this last straw, kneeling on the ground and kowtowing to Fang Jixian, before also actively throwing himself into the crowd pursuing Chen Che.

The night was like ink; inside the Fang Family's simple and elegant deep-walled courtyard, a life-and-death chase was tensely unfolding.

Chen Che released all the remaining True Qi he could muster to flee for his life, moving with the agility of a shadow in the night, weaving through the antique courtyard.

His heart hammered wildly in his chest, the pain inflicted by the groundskeeper still intensifying, making every breath he took feel like a brush with death.

The Fang Family members pursued him relentlessly like hounds, their gazes burning like torches, the True Qi cloaks released from their bodies swaying in the night wind and casting long, eerie shadows that added a sense of gloom.

Their shouts and footsteps echoed through the courtyard, forming an invisible net as they attempted to capture that fleeting black shadow.

Every turn Chen Che made was fraught with danger, and every leap was like dancing on the edge of a blade.

He utilized every obstacle in the courtyard, and every dodge of the incoming True Qi attacks was precise to the millimeter.

It was as if his body shared some mysterious connection with the night, allowing him to find hiding spots in the most impossible places.

However, Chen Che was ultimately unfamiliar with the layout of the Fang Family courtyard, and as time passed, the encirclement of the Fang Family members grew smaller and smaller.

The sound of the Fang Family members' breathing grew closer, the light of their True Qi grew brighter, and Chen Che's paths of retreat became fewer and fewer.

Chen Che could feel the increasingly intense killing intent behind him, as if countless eyes were watching him in the darkness, waiting for the moment he made a mistake.

"Whoosh— Bang!!"

Just then, a figure as fast as lightning shot in from an angle, the wind from a fist grazing the tip of Chen Che's nose before striking the mahogany gate to the side, instantly shattering it into powder.

Chen Che retreated and dodged to the side, seeing clearly that ferocious face—it was Fang Shifeng!

The chase unfolded once more, but this time, no matter how Chen Che tried to shake off Fang Shifeng, the latter could appear at the most unexpected moments.

He was like a leopard in the night, approaching without a sound. Every step he took seemed so steady, yet every strike was filled with a lethal threat.

"Whoosh!"

Another arc of light shot over, and Chen Che barely dodged it with a backflip. Fang Shaokun landed and sprang up again, biting onto Chen Che tightly, not letting him escape in the slightest.

Chen Che gritted his teeth, his brows locked in a frown; the pain in his chest was still intensifying, and he could not help but cough up a mouthful of blood, causing his rapidly darting figure to falter for an instant.

"Whoosh, whoosh!!"

"Boom!!!"

This time it was a simultaneous attack from the father and son; they both seized this opportunity and struck in unison.

Chen Che manifested his True Qi into a Protective Shield to block this strike, but he was forced to flee into a narrow corridor.

There was no way out at the end of the corridor; he had been driven into a dead end!

Rays of True Qi light cast his silhouette against the wall, making him appear exceptionally lonely.

The Fang Family father and son, along with their subordinates, surrounded Chen Che completely; there was not a shred of pity in the eyes of the Fang Family members, only cold, ruthless killing intent.

Chen Che wiped the blood from his lips and took a deep breath, his True Qi slowly overflowing from his body and lingering around him.

He narrowed his eyes, scanning the Fang Family members before him; he knew very well that every second to come would be a life-or-death struggle.

But he absolutely would not, and could not, die in a place like this!