The leader of the Seven Kills Camp had once witnessed a dragon drinking water.
On a sudden-stormy afternoon, dark clouds pressed down over the river. Within the clouds seemed to coil a dragon, drawing down a pillar of water between sky and earth. That force, that power to shatter the heavens and drink up the rivers, had made every onlooker blanch in fear.
Now, he felt that same momentum again—only it came crashing from the sky in the form of a man and his spear.
The figure and the spear were both pitch-black, yet not swallowed by the night. On the contrary, the glint of the long blade at the tip was like the dragon’s furious eyes and fangs, carrying the swiftness of stormwinds and lightning. It churned up the curtain of rain, spinning it into waves of air that surged forward!
Such a strike that stirred the very heavens—if avoided, one’s momentum would collapse. It could only be met head-on. The Camp Leader gave a great shout, his twin hooks sealing the gate, pouring his entire true qi into them as he struck back!
Centered on the two men, the rain exploded outward in all directions like a shower of pearls, the shockwave flinging everyone nearby to the ground.
Su Yan, clinging to a pillar like Weisheng, also could not escape the force of the qi. His hands slipped, and he flew toward the shattered doorframe behind him.
The frame bristled with jagged splinters, sharp as teeth. Zhu Helin was horrified, grabbed Su Yan’s robe sleeve, and yanked him back hard. The two collided, clutching together, and rolled down the steps.
Su Yan tumbled dizzy, crashing so badly he split his lip. He licked the bleeding cut and hissed in pain: “Do your front teeth hold a grudge against me? Why is it every time they hit me right in the mouth…”
Zhu Helin’s teeth ached too, but compared to slamming into the step’s edge while cushioning Su Yan, his pain was nothing. Thinking how Su Yan had almost been skewered on splinters, he shivered with lingering fear.
He helped Su Yan to his feet, grumbling: “It’s all Fourth Royal Uncle’s fault. Fight if you want, but can’t he mind himself a little?”
That strike just now—both sides had gone all out. Masters’ duels are decided in an instant; who could spare thought for anything else? Su Yan, though not versed in martial arts, knew this much. He held no resentment, instead grateful that Yu Wang had arrived in time, saving both the Crown Prince and himself.
Yu Wang and the Camp Leader were still locked in combat, wind and thunder surging in the arena. Whether assassins or guards, none could intervene under such oppressive force.
Facing such a foe, the Camp Leader knew the fight couldn’t be decided quickly. Taking advantage of his hooks entangling the spear tip, he flicked from his sleeve an iron whistle. It shrilled sharply in the wind, ear-piercing.
The blood-eyed assassins, hearing it, as if receiving a command, all turned toward Zhu Helin and Su Yan, then charged wildly with their swords.
Several Eastern Palace guards scrambled up from the ground and rushed to shield the Crown Prince.
Zhu Helin shoved Su Yan toward them: “Take him away! Whoever disobeys, I’ll cut off his head!”
The guards grabbed Su Yan in a flurry. Just then he heard the sound of hooves in the rain, drawing near.
The hoofbeats surged like a tide, pouring into the courtyard—a whole army.
The vanguard smashed through the Disaster Relief Bureau’s gates like arrows. At their head was a man in dark-blue flying fish robes, with hardened leather shoulder and arm guards. The xiuchun saber in his hand gleamed with icy light as he barked: “Embroidered Uniform Guard, hear my command—Left Banner, escort the Crown Prince back to the palace. Right Banner, seize all the blood-eyed assassins. If they resist, kill them on the spot!”
The mounted riders roared in unison: “At your command!”
It was Qilang, and he had brought reinforcements! Su Yan’s heart leapt with relief, the stone within finally falling away.
Seeing the tide turn, the Camp Leader knew he could not kill Zhu Helin tonight. Stay any longer, and he’d be surrounded by the army. With a flick of the thin iron chain on his wrist, the whistle vibrated violently, shrieking with a sound that pierced the eardrums.
Everyone clutched their ears in pain—everyone but the blood-eyed assassins, who let out howls in unison, echoing the sharp whistle.
Even Yu Wang was shaken, qi and blood surging. He staggered back a few steps, propping himself on his spear, swallowed down the reversed breath, and shouted a warning: “Their qi is raging out of control—beware, they’re about to self-detonate!”
Shen Qi’s expression changed. He shouted: “All retreat! Quickly!”
He bent down, scooped Su Yan onto his horse. Su Yan still clutched Zhu Helin’s wrist, but the rain made it slippery, and he slid free. Luckily, another Embroidered Uniform Guard rider dashed up, lifted the Crown Prince onto a horse, and sped him out.
With thunderous detonations, the assassins ignited their qi, bursting into blood mist.
And that blood—tainted with some poison from their clothes—splattered onto guards who couldn’t dodge. In an instant, it corroded their skin and flesh, leaving them screaming in agony.
“Where do you think you’re going!” Yu Wang drove his spear into the ground, vaulted up with its force, and gave chase to the fleeing Camp Leader.
When the blood mist cleared, only a hundred mangled corpses and dozens of poisoned guards remained.
“Fetch well water to wash them down!” Zhu Helin ordered. “After rinsing, get them to the doctors immediately.”
Having entrusted the Crown Prince to the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Commander Wei went to tend the injured.
Shen Qi helped Su Yan down from his horse, asking with concern: “Are you hurt?”
Su Yan shook his head, but frowned as he looked toward the direction the Camp Leader and Yu Wang had vanished: “The Seven Kills Camp Leader is strong, cunning, and vicious. Could Yu Wang…”
“Don’t worry. You think Yu Wang is all straightforward guts? ‘War is built on deceit and moves for advantage’—he knows it well. He won’t suffer.” Shen Qi spoke sourly. “But your husband—once he got word from Gao Shuo, he rushed here without pause, terrified something would happen to you. And your first words are to ask about someone else.”
Su Yan laughed, about to soothe him, when Zhu Helin shoved through the crowd: “Husband? What husband? Whose husband!”
Shen Qi shot the Crown Prince a cold sidelong look. Su Yan hastily cut in: “Are you hurt, young master? You took quite a tumble down those steps.”
Zhu Helin’s back still throbbed, but he forced a nonchalant look: “This young master is sturdy. A few steps can’t hurt me.”
Su Yan sighed: “Tonight was truly perilous. If not for Ruan Hongjiao’s timely message, I’d never have known the Seven Kills camp and the True Void sect were plotting against you… Right, has Gao Shuo returned?”
Shen Qi asked the Embroidered Uniform Guard covert leader, who replied: “We haven’t seen him.”
Su Yan grew worried: “I sent him with men to infiltrate Marquis Xianan’s manor and rescue Ruan Hongjiao. He hasn’t returned—could something have happened? No, we must send reinforcements.”
Even if Su Yan hadn’t spoken, Shen Qi wouldn’t leave his confidant in danger. As he was giving orders, two agents galloped in and saluted: “My lord, when we withdrew from the marquis’s manor, we lost contact with Commander Gao. We searched everywhere but couldn’t find him, so we’ve returned to report.”
Su Yan asked in detail about what they had seen and done in the Marquis’s residence. He was deeply worried for Ruan Hongjiao’s safety. After thinking for a moment, he said: “Perhaps her injuries worsened, and Gao Shuo took her for treatment. Please go check the nearby infirmaries and pharmacies, see if you can find them.”
The scouts received the order and left.
Not long after, Yu Wang returned. Su Yan instinctively looked him over—seeing that he was intact and unharmed, he let out a sigh of relief, cupped his hands, and said: “Many thanks to Your Highness for holding off the enemy single-handedly and fighting the camp leader with all your strength. Otherwise, the Crown Prince would have been in mortal danger, and I too would not have survived.”
If it were a prince who strictly observed the courtesies of a subject, he would probably reply: “As the Crown Prince was in danger, I, being his uncle, naturally had the duty to protect him. Otherwise, how could I repay His Majesty’s grace?”
If it were a haughty and arrogant prince, he might seize the chance to boast and demand credit: “The Crown Prince’s escape was all due to my desperate struggle—how do you plan to thank me?”
But Yu Wang was an odd one, never treading the ordinary path, and Su Yan completely misjudged his reaction. He didn’t spare the Crown Prince even an extra gspear. Instead, he fixed his gaze on Su Yan and asked: “How was my fighting just now?”
Su Yan: “Huh?”
Yu Wang: “Did you not see? That move just now, so full of momentum—didn’t you see it?”
Su Yan: “…Uh, I saw. Very powerful. Very… handsome.”
“‘Handsome’? What does that mean?”
“It means… splendid, brilliant, remarkable.”
Yu Wang laughed triumphantly.
Zhu Helin jumped up in anger: “Handsome, my *ss! He fights without caring for anyone, nearly skewered you on those broken planks! You’ve already forgotten so quickly?!”
Su Yan muttered, “But… I wasn’t skewered, was I…”
Zhu Helin shouted: “That’s because I grabbed you! And when we rolled down the steps, I cushioned you—my teeth are half loose! Why don’t you say I’m handsome?!”
Shen Qi’s face darkened: “I rushed here wounded, and though I didn’t clash with the enemy, I had no chance to serve as a cushion either. Does that mean I don’t enter Lord Su’s discerning eye?”
Su Yan, besieged on three sides, felt his head swell like a drum. He could only stammer vaguely: “All handsome, all handsome. My… my mouth hurts, I need to go apply some medicine.”
He slipped away a few paces, then turned back and asked Yu Wang: “What of the camp leader—dead or alive?”
Yu Wang replied: “Not dead. He escaped with injuries—unfortunately, not serious ones.” He himself had been wounded as well, but he didn’t want Su Yan to know, lest it spoil the “handsome” image.
Su Yan rubbed his chin with a bent finger and pondered aloud: “The Seven-Kill Camp Leader is clearly working with Mister He. Now that he’s wounded, and Mister He has also lost an important witness, the two will surely meet to plan their next move… Do you think the camp leader might have fled into the Marquis Xianan’s residence?”
“That’s possible,” Shen Qi said.
Su Yan sighed: “At the last court assembly, I had intended to find an excuse to search the Marquis’s residence, but they caught hold of Ah Zhui’s little braid, and His Majesty decreed that neither side should be pursued further. If I want to petition for another search now, I’ll need a new reason—or stronger evidence.”
Zhu Helin slapped the railing: “I was nearly assassinated—does that reason not suffice?!”
Su Yan countered: “But who can prove that the Seven-Kill Camp Leader who tried to assassinate you is connected to the Marquis Xianan? Did Your Highness personally see him flee into the Marquis’s residence?”
Yu Wang shook his head.
“Exactly. Which is why we still lack a key witness or piece of evidence.”
As Su Yan mulled it over, he suddenly sneezed loudly.
It was mid-spring, though the temperature had warmed somewhat, his rain-soaked clothes clung to his body, letting in chill and damp, unbearable after a while. Having rolled across the ground, his hair was also plastered with mud and wood chips—he was in quite a sorry state.
Su Yan said, “I’ll go bathe and change first, then we can discuss further.”
“I want a bath too,” Zhu Helin followed close behind.
Yu Wang and Shen Qi exchanged a glance.
Shen Qi’s expression remained blank: “The Disaster Relief Bureau was converted from a temple. All temples have a ‘bathing courtyard’—several large pools in one chamber, no different from a public bathhouse in the city.”
Yu Wang sneered: “Little brat, not even grown hair yet, but already scheming plenty. Since he’s been coming and going here, he surely knows all about it.”
The two looked at each other again, then set off after them at the same time.
