Chapter 102

Chapter 102

Ying Fusheng felt a firm grip on his waist, the familiar presence shielding him. The clamor of weapons was blocked by that silhouette.

After not seeing Qi Hanzhou for days, he felt a sudden daze, his heartbeat inexplicably quickening.

Qi Hanzhou swept his longsword horizontally, blocking the weapons surging toward them.

The assassins only heard two sharp clangs, and by the time they reacted, their weapons had been knocked away. The young man standing before them crouched slightly, one arm shielding the person behind him, his longsword reversed against his arm. Though it was a sword, in that instant it moved like a dagger; as his arm swept out, the blade's shadow flashed, cutting throats and drawing blood!

Blood splattered onto Ying Fusheng's face, the pungent scent of gore hitting him.

"Qi—" The sound cut off abruptly.

Fei Xun retreated several steps, his gaze locking onto the young man. Qi Hanzhou!

When Ying Fusheng came to his senses, he found himself in Qi Hanzhou's cloak, blood spattered everywhere. His pupils shifted, and as the hood fell over him, everything went dark, "How did you get here!?"

"Stay behind me and don't move." Qi Hanzhou shielded him, his cold gaze already sweeping over the assassins filling the room. He stood alone with his sword, and the surrounding assassins warily stepped back. They had ambushed him in Huaizhou before, and even with multiple attackers, they couldn't kill him; he had even single-handedly covered Ji Wuming and the other Uniform Guards as they retreated.

Fei Xun stared fixedly at Ying Fusheng, sheltered behind him, his gaze darting between them for a moment. Suddenly, a dagger flew from a distance, grazing his cheek. He stumbled back a few steps and saw Qi Hanzhou's icy stare fixed on him.

Assassins rushed forward to guard Fei Xun, but at that moment, sounds came from outside. Two Light Garment Guards landed, followed closely by Ye Xuanqi, whose troops quickly encircled the courtyard, engaging the Fei assassins head-on.

The Fei family's resolve to kill Ying Fusheng was intense. At least thirty men surrounded the courtyard. If he had been even a step later... Qi Hanzhou glanced sideways; the person beside him stood quietly, but he knew Ying Fusheng had deliberately stayed at Prince Jin's mansion. If someone needed to draw the Fei family's attention, Prince Jin and Ying Fusheng were the most direct targets.

As the Light Garment Guards entered, Fei Xun's expression tightened. Over the past days, while flushing out hidden spies in the city, he had discovered other forces besides the Embroidered Uniform Guards. Now he understood: "The Qi family actually dispatched Light Garment Guards to Jiangnan... this trip wasn't wasted."

"The city gate was attacked—likely the Embroidered Uniform Guards' doing. Ji Wuming is in the shadows," an assassin reported in a low voice.

Fei Xun shot a cold glance at the people inside. He hadn't guessed wrong—Qi Hanzhou's hidden lookout was the trigger. "Hold him off."

A sharp whistle rang out through Prince Jin's mansion, drawing the attention of everyone inside. The Fei assassins did not retreat after the Light Garment Guards appeared; instead, they chose to stay and fight to the death.

Ying Fusheng calmly looked outside and saw Fei Xun retreating under others' cover. "He's stalling for time. The Light Garment Guards can't be exposed in public!"

This was Jiangnan, with a tangle of hidden agents—Embroidered Uniform Guards from Ji Wuming's faction, men from Prince Jin, and even other princes and marquises.

That whistle would undoubtedly attract more people. If news of the Light Garment Guards leaked out... the consequences would be disastrous.

In a moment, footsteps drew closer from outside—Prince Jin's men had arrived.

By using the riots of wealthy merchants and commoners to divert some officials, they had forced Fei Xun into a desperate attack on the mansion, all with the aim of seizing the city gate. Prince Jin had limited men in the city; most had been removed or disabled by the Fei family's actions. They had few people to move. According to the original plan, when Fei's elite surrounded Prince Jin's mansion, those outside could act.

Ying Fusheng immediately grabbed Qi Hanzhou: "Retreat through the back gate—Song An knows the way."

There was a hidden door in the room, which Prince Jin had told Ying Fusheng about as an escape route.

Ye Xuanqi and a few others who had been with Ying Fusheng and were known to Prince Jin stayed back. Qi Hanzhou looped one arm around Ying Fusheng and followed Song An out the back gate. "Move."

When the Fei assassins saw the Light Garment Guards leaving, some of them blocked Prince Jin's guards from behind. Fei Xun directed the assassins to follow. Qi Hanzhou had brought only a limited number of Light Garment Guards, and since the city's defenses in Huaizhou had already been dismantled, they couldn't let Ying Fusheng escape.

Qi Hanzhou blocked the attackers. Fei Xun noticed the weakness in his left arm. "Qi Hanzhou is injured."

Ying Fusheng looked back and saw Fei Xun close behind. After leaving the mansion, they had prearranged carriages waiting. "Fei's family has other arrangements in the city. Prince Jin's men are mostly blocked by him."

Qi Hanzhou helped Ying Fusheng mount the horse. He yanked the reins and decisively broke away from those behind: "I know."

They split into different routes heading north. Fei Xun locked onto Qi Hanzhou's direction. "Ignore the others—control Prince Yan."

Ying Fusheng, protected by Qi Hanzhou, reached out and touched the blood on Qi Hanzhou's waist. The heavy scent of gore hit him, and his fingers dug into his palm, a strange feeling of wrongness rising in him.

The Fei assassins followed closely. Ying Fusheng caught sight of the corpses on the street from the corner of his eye, seeing the people behind. "The numbers are wrong."

Qi Hanzhou looked at him and saw his gaze fixed beyond the mansion. "The Fei family can only train a limited number of assassins."

Just to surround and kill him, they had used over thirty men. Assassins were different from ordinary men. The number surrounding him was right, but the number trapping Prince Jin was not.

If they wanted to preemptively control two princes, they would need more men against Prince Jin than against him. Ying Fusheng's pupils shifted as he swept his gaze over the corpses on the ground—they had already seen the scene at Prince Jin's gate. His hands went cold, and his gaze darkened: "No, Fei Xun's smarter than I gave him credit for."

Time might not be enough.

"Since coming to Jiangnan, I've been thinking about one question," Ying Fusheng suddenly asked. "Qi Hanzhou, back in Youzhou, was it really just because reinforcements didn't come in time?"

Qi Hanzhou's gaze shifted. In the distance, Fei assassins lay dead on the ground. One corpse had its waist exposed, bearing the flower totem of the former dynasty remnants. The fallen bodies merged with the civilians in his memory, dragging his mind back years. Wails filled his ears, the cries of the field merging with the scene from that time.

Youzhou City was a ghost city.

A possibility struck him.

"Head north," Ying Fusheng said.

Just then, over a dozen men suddenly sprang from the side. Qi Hanzhou frantically reined in the horse, taking Ying Fusheng to the side. They saw the unexpected attackers, dressed as bandits, blocking the street.

...

At the city gate, Prince Jin's hidden troops coordinated with the Embroidered Uniform Guards outside the city. Ji Wuming waited at the gate, knife in his left hand; his broken arm was already bandaged. The soldiers patrolling the gate had all been killed. The Embroidered Uniform Guards hadn't expected to get a secret report from Prince Jin's mansion several days ago. They had been in Jiangnan for days and had nearly died in Huaizhou City without Prince Jin intervening. But now he was making his move, even contacting them through an inside contact in the Guard.

"Once we're out of the gate, Prince Jin has already sent men to rally the troops outside the city," said an Embroidered Uniform Guard. "They'll take over the gate soon."

Ji Wuming had an odd premonition. Could everything be this simple? From Fei Xun's sealing of the city to the attack on Prince Jin's mansion, it seemed rushed—unlike an ambitious man who had managed the Fei family for years. Could just a simple decoy expose Fei Xun's plan? No way.

"Lord Ji, something's wrong—we've found tracks of other troops marching a hundred li out of the city," reported an Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Ji Wuming froze. "Prince Jin's men?"

"No, they seem to be the troops of some other Jiangnan marquis..."

Sealing the city, civil unrest and popular grievances, prince and marquis troops!

Shit, we've walked into a trap!

At that moment, a sudden shriek rose from the base of the city gate. Ji Wuming sharply looked down and saw a civilian suddenly collapse on the inner city street, blood splashing on the ground. The killer turned and walked away.

There were bandits inside the city killing civilians!

When the hell did these people get in?!

In the northern part of the city, Qi Hanzhou led Ying Fusheng in retreat, ducking into a hidden room in the north district.

When the troops surrounded the mansion, the Fei assassins left inside were all taken out. By the time the news reached Fei Xun, he had already located Qi Hanzhou and the others. Hearing his assassin's report, he smiled calmly, unbothered by losing the gate. "Prince Jin and him are now on the same side."

Prince Jin's long game in Huaizhou involved more than just those on the surface. What the Fei family had dismantled was just Prince Jin's visible loyalists. His hidden loyalists were kept in reserve; now that they were mobilized, meant Fei now saw all of Prince Jin's cards in Huaizhou.

"Eldest Young Master, Prince Yan is in the hidden room ahead," said an assassin. "We blocked the road—Prince Jin's men didn't follow."

The streets were chaos, horses galloping everywhere. In the distance, the screams of commoners could be heard.

"Your Highness, hiding's no fun, is it?"

Fei Xun declared loudly: "Prince Jin may want to deploy troops, but he'll only be able to capture the city gate."

The death warriors drew their bows and aimed at the dark chamber.

Ying Fusheng hid in the shadows, with Qi Hanzhou guarding him, sword in hand, while several Light Garment Guards flanked them.

The Fei family had more men in Huaizhou City than they had anticipated.

As arrows flew in, the Light Garment Guards quickly deflected them, quickly falling back.

Fei Xun heard walls splintering and turned to see that they had managed to evade the volley of arrows.

The Qi family's Light Garment Guards were no joke, especially with Qi Hanzhou among them.

Ying Fusheng lowered his head and touched Qi Hanzhou's wound, which had reopened.

"Eldest Young Master, aren't you afraid of the city's citizens knowing?" Ying Fusheng called out in response.

Qi Hanzhou glared coldly at him, and Ying Fusheng placed a steadying hand on his shoulder.

They faced each other, with Ying Fusheng held protectively in Qi Hanzhou's arms.

In the dim light of the dark chamber, he could clearly see Qi Hanzhou's eyes.

He steadied him with a hand on his shoulder. Outside the dark chamber, Fei Xun reined in his horse and turned toward the voice.

"Sealing the city causes resentment among the people, with countless eyes fixed on Huaizhou City."

Fei Xun had dropped his earlier fury, now calm and collected.

"If I wanted to catch a turtle in a jar, wouldn't it be better to let these people in?"

"This sealing of the city was done to show the local princes and marquises."

Fei Xun's arrogance and rage turned into cold, self-restrained demeanor, his viper-like eyes fixed on where Ying Fusheng was.

"I was worried that Prince Jin would not side with you.

If he didn't take the bait, how could the princes of Jiangnan see that Prince Jin's manor has now allied with the imperial court?"

"Look, didn't Prince Jin's secret operatives in Huaizhou show themselves?"

The biggest problem in Jiangnan was Prince Jin, who had botched things years ago.

If he wasn't pushed to the edge, how could Fei Xun fully uncover Prince Jin's plans?

Fei Xun waved his hand, ordering the death warriors to search for Ying Fusheng's location, and continued, "As for the Fei family's reputation…"

Thinking of this, Fei Xun's gaze darkened.

He hadn't expected Ying Fusheng to stir public opinion even while trapped in the Prince's manor, but having lived in Jiangnan for years, he knew how to handle it.

This Prince Yan fellow was still green.

Just then, shouts erupted in the street: "Murder!"

Outside the Fei family grain depot, the shopkeeper had been killed, lying dead, eyes wide open.

Screams echoed through the street.

Qi Hanzhou paused, and the Light Garment Guards behind him looked toward the distant commotion, which was not far away.

"You say the Fei family conspired with officials, but what if the Fei family is the victim?" Fei Xun said calmly, watching his own people die.

Sealing the city drew the attention of many Jiangnan forces.

If even the slightest disturbance occurred in Huaizhou, it would send a signal across Jiangnan and all the way to Western Shu.

The Fei family's ultimate goal had always been to incite rebellion in Jiangnan.

The initial purpose of sealing the city was to stop the news from reaching the capital, to buy time.

But it was also a double-edged sword.

The seal was originally meant to control Prince Yan, neutralize his ability to use public opinion to destabilize the princes and officials, and purge dissidents.

If Prince Yan didn't strike back, they would retain the initiative.

But if Prince Yan did strike back, as happened today, Fei Xun would use this opportunity to fully expose Prince Jin's stance and, with the influence of the sealed city, spread the news of the chaos far and wide.

Meanwhile, in the distance, the killer didn't stop after killing the Fei family grain depot manager.

He entered the depot and began slaughtering servants and clerks.

As horses' hooves passed by the grain depot, the blood of the Fei family flowed everywhere.

Up close, Fei Xun's face was calm, and he walked steadily through the blood-soaked ground.

"New to Jiangnan, let me tell you this: Prince Jin's secret forces can protect him and you, but can they protect the entire city's citizens?"

Fei Xun wiped the blood from his face.

"If Huaizhou becomes a city of the dead, what will the literati across the land think?"

A massacre.

Ying Fusheng pressed down on Qi Hanzhou's shoulder, his fingers icy cold.

Qi Hanzhou's body tensed, his eyes filled with murderous intent.

In a short time, Fei Xun had pinpointed Ying Fusheng's location.

He was about to move towards him when suddenly, a rider galloped from afar, and a death warrior dismounted to report: "The Marquis's troops have arrived outside the city gate, and Prince Jin has indeed gone to deploy troops."

By the time troops arrived from outside the city, the 'bandits' inside would have already achieved their goal.

"Kill Ying Fusheng and we leave," Fei Xun ordered.

But the death warrior's face was pale, and he stammered: "But the Marquis's troops have stopped at Huaizhou's borders."

Fei Xun spun around.

"It's the Chen family's army blocking the way. Old General Chen has personally led his troops out," the death warrior said.

Fei Xun