Chapter 88 : Chapter 88

Chapter 88: We Have Strength in Numbers—Surely Cheng Yu Wouldn’t Dare Do Anything

Mei Feng had set out in the first half of the night, yet by dawn he still had not returned.

The martial artists were extremely uneasy.

In the end, they decided to blend in with the early-rising pedestrians and go stand near the gate of the Thousand-Household Office to see what was happening.

Sure enough, they saw groups of Jinyiwei already assembled in full order.

There were nearly a hundred of them, sabers at their waists, crossbows slung across their backs, and quivers filled to the brim.

It was obvious they were preparing for a major operation!

The martial artists were instantly alarmed.

Cheng Yu had only used twenty Jinyiwei to wipe out the Gao Family Ancestral Residence. What was he planning to do now, gathering so many men?

The scholar at the lead and Liu Erniang grew even more tense.

Using their profound Internal Energy, they carefully listened in on the Jinyiwei’s conversation.

“Old Li, where’s Lord Cheng taking us to raid today? Judging from this lineup, it’s going to be big. The haul’s definitely going to be rich!”

“You brat, ever since you found yourself a wife, you can barely drag yourself out of bed every day. Only my lord is considerate enough not to blame you. Let me tell you—today we’re raiding Plum Saber Stockade!”

“Plum Saber Stockade?!” One of the Jinyiwei widened his eyes, looking utterly shocked.

But in the next instant, confusion appeared on his face again. “What kind of place is Plum Saber Stockade?”

“If you don’t know, then what are you getting excited for? You’ll find out once we get there.”

“Heh, I’m from Qinghe. How would I know the places in Jiannan Circuit?”

The Jinyiwei’s conversation was full of excitement and anticipation.

Because they knew that the bigger the target, the greater the spoils. Lord Cheng was extremely generous with the shares he distributed.

They were about to strike it rich!

But that cheerfulness did not carry to the people listening from afar.

Hearing those words, the scholar and Liu Erniang felt as if they had fallen into an icy abyss.

Something terrible had happened!

“This is bad! The Jinyiwei are going to raid Plum Saber Stockade. That brute Mei Feng was most likely exposed!”

The others all turned pale with shock.

Could it be that Mei Feng had not only exposed his movements, but had even been identified?

If that were the case, then accomplices like them were in serious trouble!

Someone wailed miserably.

“We failed to steal the saber, and now they’re already going to raid a household over it?!”

“If someone sneaks into a Jinyiwei Thousand-Household Office in the middle of the night, how is anyone supposed to know whether he came to steal something or to kill?”

“It’s over, it’s over! If I’d known this would happen, I never would’ve gotten involved!”

“What did you just say?!”

The scholar Qin Mosheng’s eyes went wide, and his whole body trembled. With a savage expression, he lunged from behind and seized one of the men by the throat.

At a time like this, saying such things—was that not accusing his plan of being flawed?

“Ah... I was wrong...”

The martial artist’s face turned red from suffocation. He could not get the words out, nor could he muster the strength to struggle.

Only when Qin Mosheng had nearly crushed him to death on the spot did he finally release his grip.

“Saying all this now is useless. What we need to do is stop this from spiraling any further! We absolutely cannot let the Jinyiwei raid Plum Saber Stockade!”

“Our top priority is to find that useless fool Mei Feng, who accomplishes nothing and ruins everything!”

“It’s that brainless idiot who dragged us into this mess! Don’t tell me he’s been captured too!”

Seeing how agitated and furious the scholar had become, Liu Erniang, who was also frantic with worry, shook her head.

“He should be fine. Mei Feng is a late Sixth-Rank martial artist. No one in the Jinyiwei is his match. That fool is probably just hiding somewhere and doesn’t dare show himself.”

If he came running back to find them now, that would be the true disaster!

“At least he had enough brains not to expose us.”

Qin Mosheng let out a cold snort and turned to leave with the others to search for Mei Feng.

But in the very next moment, something utterly unexpected happened.

Inside a prison cart sat a familiar broad and towering figure, his gaze vacant. His entire body was covered in wounds, his feet bound with heavy iron chains, and a cangue locked around his neck.

The scholar and the others’ eyes went wide.

There was no need to go looking for him anymore!

The man inside the prison cart was none other than Mei Feng!

At the sight of this, they were so shocked that their hearts seemed to stop beating for an instant. After that came endless terror.

Mei Feng, who had vanished for the whole night, had actually been captured by the Jinyiwei!

How was that possible?

He was a late Sixth-Rank martial artist, only a single step away from the Upper Three Ranks. How could the Jinyiwei possibly have captured him?

Just then, Cheng Yu stepped out, pointed at Mei Feng, and addressed the gathered crowd outside the gate.

“This man is Mei Feng, Fort Master of Plum Saber Stockade. He trespassed into the Thousand-Household Office in the night with evil intent and has already been subdued!”

“He will now be taken to the city gate and beheaded. After that, Plum Saber Stockade will be searched and seized, and his accomplices will be hunted down!”

“Take a good look. This is the fate of those who refuse to obey the law of Great Qian!”

【The Host displayed his might, cowed the crowd, and showcased the domineering authority of the Jinyiwei. Reward: Internal Energy!】

The moment the crowd heard the name Plum Saber Stockade, all of them were astonished.

“How is that possible? Plum Saber Stockade is no weak force in Jiannan Circuit, and its Fort Master, Mei Feng, is a Sixth-Rank expert. Yet the Jinyiwei are actually going to raid that place!”

“Didn’t you see Mei Feng’s condition? What’s impossible about it now?”

“It must have been Lord Cheng himself who made the move. As expected of someone on the Human Ranking! I always thought Plum Saber Stockade looked like a rotten place!”

Cheng Yu gave a slight nod, then silently looked toward a certain spot within the crowd and revealed a faint smile.

He had already noticed a group of martial artists with no small amount of Internal Energy gathered there in a tight cluster.

It was the scholar and the others.

Having already beaten the information out of Mei Feng, Cheng Yu sneered inwardly.

To think they had actually come up with the idea of stealing something from him. Truly bold beyond reason, and absurdly delusional.

These people would very soon understand just how grievous a mistake they had made.

“We’re heading to the city gate now to execute this man. Anyone who wants to watch the spectacle may come.”

Cheng Yu mounted his horse and led the assembled Jinyiwei toward the city gate.

Watching this scene, the expressions on the scholar and the others’ faces changed from shock into pure fury.

This was a naked threat!

Capturing Mei Feng was one thing, but why insist on killing him at the city gate?

It was clearly meant as a warning to kill the chicken and frighten the monkeys.

The Fort Master of Plum Saber Stockade was no nobody in the jianghu of Jiannan Circuit.

If the Jinyiwei truly executed Mei Feng atop the city wall, then the reputation of the entire jianghu of Jiannan Circuit would be trampled completely into the dirt.

People like them would never be able to hold their heads high again!

“Outrageous! He’s saying this for our benefit!”

The scholar led the others to a deserted spot, forcibly suppressing the fury in his heart as he spoke in a low voice.

“At this point, we must rescue Mei Feng!”

“Even Mei Feng got dragged into this. How are we supposed to save him?” Liu Erniang looked at the scholar with open distrust.

It was because of his plan to sneak into the Thousand-Household Office that Mei Feng had been captured, and there was now a strong chance that the rest of them, as accomplices, would be implicated as well.

Once the proprietress of the Brotherhood Tavern, who had extensive connections, said this, the others all frowned and turned to look at the scholar. They had long felt there was something wrong.

It was all because of the scholar’s rotten plan!

“You people!”

The moment he saw them shifting the blame onto him, Qin Mosheng trembled with rage.

For an instant, he even felt that Cheng Yu’s invitation letter had insulted them quite accurately.

The jianghu of Jiannan Circuit really was nothing but a pack of scheming, crooked-hearted people. Not a single one of them was any good!

“When I first proposed it, none of you objected. And now suddenly you all have opinions?”

He raised a finger and pointed at them one by one.

“Those who want to live but don’t want to lose face should’ve gone crawling to the Jinyiwei from the start! And those who want face but don’t care about dying—well, you’ve all seen it now. They can even handle Mei Feng. What could the rest of you possibly do?”

Hearing that, everyone’s faces turned pale, and they lowered their heads in regret.

If they had known it would come to this, they might as well have surrendered to the Jinyiwei from the very beginning!

At least then they would not be as terrified as they were now.

Now that even an expert like Mei Feng had been captured, could they really fight the Jinyiwei?

“There’s no time to worry about all that now!”

The scholar shook his head, his face dark.

“We have strength in numbers. That brat Cheng Yu surely won’t dare do anything. Let’s go stop the Jinyiwei’s procession first and rescue Mei Feng!”