Chapter 15: Rampage at the Prince of Duan's Residence (Please follow and read)

"Eleventh Brother, why are you running?" Zhao Ti walked with his hands behind his back, matching every step.

"Wu Zhiren, you know perfectly well yet you ask!" Zhao Ji said in furious exasperation: "This prince won't stoop to your level. Leave quickly, and I can still pretend this never happened!"

"Hahaha." Zhao Ti laughed: "No need for that. I came precisely to show Eleventh Brother what a Wu Zhiren looks like — how could I possibly leave now?"

Zhao Ji had already reached the rear door of the great hall. Hearing this, he said angrily: "If you don't leave, I'll report you to the palace!"

"Heh… tattling is a child's trick. Eleventh Brother has already left the palace to establish his own Wang Fu — how can you still behave like a brat?"

"You! I don't care, I'm going to report you no matter what!"

"Since that's the case…" Zhao Ti said lightly: "All of you, follow His Highness the Prince of Duan closely — wherever he goes, smash everything there!"

"Yes, Your Highness!"

"You, you, Zhao Ti, you bandit!" Zhao Ji had by now run out of the hall, but his voice carried a three-part sob: "Guards, come quickly, come protect this prince…"

Before he had gone a few steps, he saw Li Yan hurrying over with two eunuchs. Seeing the scene before him, he couldn't help but gape: "This is, this is…"

"Li Yan, you know Wu Gong — drive them off quickly, and this prince will reward you handsomely!" Zhao Ji breathed a sigh of relief and ducked behind Li Yan in one motion.

The greenish swelling on Li Yan's forehead from his daytime kowtow had not yet faded. Though he had used internal energy to heal himself after returning, he had struck too hard at the time, and now a round bump still bulged there, like a fleshy horn sprouting — exceedingly comical.

Hearing this, he inwardly groaned, gritted his teeth, and stepped forward: "Prince of Yan, please stop."

"Li Yan, you needn't be polite with him. You are my subordinate — whatever I tell you to do, you do. Drive them away, show no mercy!"

Zhao Ti said nothing, glanced at Zhou Dong beside him, and Zhou Dong immediately said: "Your Highness, this subordinate will go teach this eunuch a lesson."

Zhao Ti smiled: "Guangzu, no need to hold back."

"Yes, Your Highness!"

Su Da, who had been itching for action up front, saw Zhou Dong coming and snorted at Li Yan: "Hairless one, count yourself lucky — otherwise if Old Master made a move, I'd snap your neck clean off!"

Li Yan had already been cursed by him during the day. Remembering it now, his heart burned with fury, and he snarled: "You stupid ox — dare to strike and I'll smash your dog's head to pieces!"

Su Da curled his lip, his face full of contempt.

Zhou Dong carried no weapon. He specialized in spear techniques, but spears were inconvenient to carry, so he had none on him. He was also highly proficient in fists and claws. His fist-and-claw skill was renowned in the jianghu — a set of thirty-six forms of Eagle Claw Fanzi Hand, derived from the Dragon Claw Hand among Shaolin's Seventy-Two Arts, yet he had blazed his own trail: it not only separated tendons and dislocated joints, but could also grip, tear, pinch, and crush — its power was tremendous.

Without a word, his body nimbly darted forward, both hands transforming into claws. Whizzing with fierce wind, they struck toward Li Yan's throat and abdomen.

Li Yan dared not underestimate him. His Wu Gong came from outside the palace — his family had originally run a martial arts hall. His father was a famous martial master in Jingcheng, ordinarily fond of brawling. Once, when he went to kick down another martial hall, both sides were grievously wounded, and a few days later his father died of his injuries.

The family had initially retained some property and fields, but in his youth Li Yan had been a wastrel, spending all his days loafing with idle hooligans. Within two years he had squandered the family fortune. Wanting to turn things around at a gambling stall under the Zhou Bridge, he ended up losing everything clean — even his sole dwelling was put up and lost.

Finally at his wits' end, it happened that the palace was selecting eunuchs. A neighbor who had some connection with his father, seeing his plight, helped him through the back door. One slash severed his worldly roots, and from then on he entered the Great Within to serve.

He had some talent on the path of Wu Gong. After entering the palace, with no outside matters to distract him, he did nothing but scheme his way up and practice martial arts. Over a dozen years, the pupil surpassed the master — by now he had already outstripped that brawling, dead old man of a father.

But even so, he could not possibly be Zhou Dong's match. In just two or three moves, Zhou Dong seized his shoulder with one claw and gripped his waistband with the other, hoisted him violently into the air and slammed him down. Bones cracked and tendons snapped; with two grunts he passed out.

Zhao Ji stared wide-eyed from behind. How could he be so easy to beat? Normally he had watched Li Yan spar with the guards of the Wang Fu — over ten men attacking together were no match for him — yet now in the blink of an eye he had been beaten to the ground. What was the reason?

He had not failed to bring Imperial City Bureau guards when he left the palace, but he had always disliked practitioners of martial arts. Eunuchs knowing martial arts was unavoidable, but the Imperial City Bureau he simply found an eyesore, so he had sent them away and would not let them lodge in the Wang Fu, only summoning them when there was business. Now seeing Li Yan beaten down, he suddenly felt blackness before his eyes, as if the sky had fallen.

The remaining two eunuchs rushed to support him. He came to himself with a start, shook them off at once, turned and ran.

He had not run far when several personal attendants came to meet him. They had somehow gotten word of the situation, weapons in hand, calling out: "Your Highness, do not panic — your humble servants have come to the rescue."

Zhao Ji's mind was filled with the scene of Zhou Dong hoisting Li Yan and slamming him down. Looking at these attendants now — plenty of tricks for pleasure on ordinary days, but not a shred of martial skill — he gave a sudden shudder: "Run, run quickly."

The attendants did have some loyalty, but it was limited. Seeing the many pursuers coming on, with Su Da at the front looking like a fierce fiend, their courage instantly drained, and they ran about wildly along with Zhao Ji.

Bai Zhan said to Zhao Ti from behind: "Your Highness, should we just rush up and seize the Prince of Duan?"

Zhao Ti said: "If he wants to run, let him run. You take men and find the Prince of Duan's household soldiers who were beating the servants and guards earlier — beat them all back. Oh, and ask where the Prince of Duan's study is."

Bai Zhan assented, assigned the men, then seized two lagging little eunuchs and asked: "Where is the Prince of Duan's study?"

The little eunuchs said in terror: "It's just nearby, not far."

Bai Zhan said: "Lead the way!"

The little eunuchs felt in their hearts this was no good thing, and dawdled. Su Da came over and delivered a leg strike, kicking the little eunuch into a yelp of "Ouch!" Su Da waved the steel saber in his hand: "Dare to play tricks and I'll chop off your remaining two legs along with it!"

The little eunuch said with a mournful face: "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. I'll lead the way right now."

Zhao Ji's legs had gone soft from running; he truly had no strength left, and said angrily: "What does that Wu Zhiren actually want? Tomorrow I'll go into the palace and report him, and ask the Empress Dowager to punish him severely, without mercy."

An attendant secretly glanced back and said happily: "Your Highness, the pursuers are gone."

"Gone?" Zhao Ji, hearing this, also looked back. Indeed, there was no one behind. He could not help but breathe a sigh of relief, and dropped onto the ground in a heap: "Where did they go? Could they have left the Wang Fu?"

The attendant replied: "They should have left. After chasing so long, the Prince of Yan and his men must be tired too — they probably went back to the Wang Fu for tea, right?"

"Tired? How would that Wu Zhiren know tiredness!" Zhao Ji snorted. But then, as if suddenly remembering something, his face changed drastically: "Not good, this is very bad!"

The attendant was puzzled: "Your Highness, what is bad?"

Zhao Ji braced himself against the ground and struggled to his feet: "That Wu Zhiren said earlier he wanted to smash things. Now that he can't catch me, he wouldn't have gone around smashing things, would he? Quickly, all of you, come with me."

"Your Highness, where to?"

"To the study. All my beloved things are kept in the study. If that Wu Zhiren damages them, I'll fight him to the death."

Zhao Ji's face was pale. He staggered as he ran toward the study. In a short while he arrived near it. By the lamplight he saw a good number of people gathered at the door, going in and out, seemingly carrying things out.

Zhao Ji stared blankly for a moment, then raised his arm and pointed forward, his body trembling, letting out a pig-slaughtering howl: "You, you — what are you doing!"