The Battle of the Noble Ladies (Book 1)

Chapter 173 - Furious

Chen Xiang had never liked dealing with useless people. His younger brother, born to his father's concubine, had been an utter fool—a reckless loafer who spent his days indulging in mischief and little else.

Later, however, that annoying fool met a brutal end at Chen Xiang's own hands. Those who merely buzz around, making demands and contributing nothing, deserve to die, as far as he was concerned.

Yet here stood before him another bothersome fool—one he constantly wanted to cut down but had to restrain himself from dealing with.

Xing'an sprayed spit everywhere as he spoke, practically like a watering can, talking non-stop. Yet the commander of the Jinyiwei appeared completely oblivious, lost in thought. Xing'an grew so furious that he slammed the table hard, snapping Chen Xiang back to attention. Hands on his hips, he barked, "Are you even listening?! They escaped—escaped! Get moving and chase them! Do you know who this person is, what they're worth?! If they get away, I'll have all of you..."

He soon found himself at a loss for words. The person in front of him stared icily, his gaze so dark that it filled Xing'an with fear—worse than being in the presence of his own uncle. He belatedly recalled this man's status, realizing that he wasn't a mere servant or hired thug from his own household to yell at or scold. Xing'an swallowed hard.

Once he finally fell silent, Chen Xiang turned expressionlessly to the man dressed as a Jinyiwei Qianhu beside him, asking in a low voice, "Liu Yong, how did this happen?"

The ones he'd dispatched were top fighters from the Jinyiwei, men who had survived battle alongside him, stained with blood and fearless in combat. And yet, they'd let an Imperial Censor get captured?

Liu Qianhu immediately knelt and reported, "It was my failure. We planned to rest overnight and await your arrival for handover in the morning, but there was an unexpected turn of events at the residence... At first, only one group of black-clad men attacked, and we managed fine. But somehow, more groups arrived—three different factions at least. The person was taken, though we couldn't tell by which group."

So many people were after this Imperial Censor, huh? Chen Xiang said nothing, his fingers tapping the table with a deep, dull sound.

Xing'an couldn't help himself and leapt up again. "This is all your incompetence! And you call yourselves Jinyiwei, yet you can't even handle this!"

Liu Yong's fists clenched, a crackling sound echoing as he fought the urge to smash Xing'an. If not for this fool latching onto the Jinyiwei's every move, they wouldn't have been so constrained, forced to watch as the target was taken.

Chen Xiang cast a grim glance at Xing'an and then strode toward the room. Inside, everything was in disarray; chairs and stools were overturned, and the windows were open, allowing a cold breeze to blow through. He swiftly leaped out the window, landing on the ground and closely inspecting the tracks.

The soil in the suburbs of the capital was loose; if it hadn't rained or been intentionally disturbed, footprints could last for days. His men were not careless amateurs; they wouldn't leave the scene open to cleanup.

He crouched, examining the tracks for a moment, and then followed the deepest, most prominent prints. "Liu Yong, take ten men and go west. Yang Xian, take ten men north. The rest, follow me!"

The men immediately fell into formation and responded in unison.

"If there's any resistance, kill without mercy!" Chen Xiang commanded as he scanned their faces. "Especially if it's our target—if you can't capture him alive, make sure he can never speak again!"

Xing'an, about to interject with more advice, found himself silenced. As Chen Xiang prepared to leave, he urgently called out, "Hey, hey! So what should I do?"

"Go find Chief Steward Xing, and have him coordinate with the Ministry of War to lock down every city gate. Tomorrow, check everyone entering the city!" Chen Xiang paused and shot him a cold glance as Xing'an seemed to hesitate. "Don't make me repeat myself! If anything goes wrong with this person, not only will your uncle be in trouble, but you'll also lose your life."

Xing'an felt a chill run down his spine as he touched his neck, and for once, he had nothing to say in return. Watching Chen Xiang and his men disappear into the distance, he grudgingly knocked his retinue on the head. "Didn't you hear? Get me back to the city! If something happens to me, none of you'll make it out alive!"

Chen Xiang's group moved like shadows, covering six or seven miles within half an hour. His close aide, Yang Yi, hesitantly asked, "Brother, this area is full of residential houses. Could they be hiding him somewhere nearby?"

They had control over every city gate; if anyone tried to enter the city, they would be notified immediately. The real fear was that the target might be hidden among the residences, which would be like searching for a needle in a haystack.

The tracks ended here. Chen Xiang raised his hand, stopping the group, and turned toward a nearby house with lights still on.

"Search it!" he ordered, sending Yang Yi and the others in while he went around to the back. Sure enough, he saw several horses carrying riders speeding away.

This was it! He quickly scaled a tree using his martial arts, propelling himself along the treetops as he closed in on them.

Before long, he caught up with the last horse, springing off the tree and landing on its back.

The rider remained unfazed, slapping the saddle to vault into the air, where the two of them exchanged a flurry of blows midair.

Such impressive skill! Chen Xiang was shocked but redoubled his efforts, launching a flurry of kicks before striking his opponent's back with a powerful palm.

But even so, the person only slowed down slightly, then steadied himself back onto the horse, tossing out a small vial.

Chen Xiang instinctively reached out to grab it, but the vial exploded on impact, releasing a substance that stung his eyes, making it impossible to keep them open.

By the time he furiously cleared his eyes and could see again, the group had already scattered into the forest, each person heading in a different direction.

A ruse to lure the tiger from its mountain! Realizing this, he struck a nearby tree trunk in frustration before swiftly darting back toward the residence.