Chapter 83: Chapter 83: Bluffing, Domination by Equipment, The Ferocious Heir

"Holy Envoy, have you been settling in well in Tongzhou?"

County Magistrate Wang had come to the Holy Envoy’s residence.

"Well enough." The Holy Envoy nodded, then asked impatiently, "Captain Wang, is there any news of the Saintess?"

"Not yet." County Magistrate Wang shook his head, then said, "I came to see you today, Holy Envoy, to ask for a favor."

"What is it?" The Holy Envoy gestured for him to speak.

County Magistrate Wang recited his prepared lines, his expression unchanged. "It’s an official matter. A while ago, the County Government Office and the Jing’an Guard worked together to capture a major criminal. This person is connected to a very important figure, and there might be experts attempting a jailbreak tonight. Therefore, I was hoping the Holy Envoy could lend a hand."

Hearing this, the Holy Envoy frowned slightly, pondering in silence.

County Magistrate Wang quickly added, "If we can see this case through, I’ll also be able to share in the credit."

"’I’m idle anyway, so I might as well stretch my legs.’" The Holy Envoy agreed upon hearing this.

County Magistrate Wang was overjoyed. "Thank you for your help, Holy Envoy."

"There’s no need for such formalities, Captain Wang. As members of the Holy Sect, we should help one another." The Holy Envoy shook his head dismissively, then asked, "So, in what capacity will I be helping tonight?"

"I’ve already informed Pei Shaoqing that I would be inviting two Jianghu experts to assist tonight. When the time comes, you and I will appear masked, take down the jailbreakers, and then retreat," County Magistrate Wang blurted out.

The Holy Envoy nodded slightly. "It is good that you have made all the arrangements, Captain Wang. However, we must remember not to use the Holy Sect’s Martial Arts tonight, to avoid unnecessary complications."

"The Holy Envoy is indeed thorough in his considerations. I will be sure to remember this." County Magistrate Wang bowed deeply.

He was filled with guilt.

’To think I’d deceive a pillar of the Holy Sect for Pei Shaoqing, that dog of the Court.’

’Pei Shaoqing incited one man to deceive another... isn’t this a form of cuckoldry in its own way?’

While County Magistrate Wang was duping the Holy Envoy, Pei Shaoqing had also finished his preparations.

Darkness finally fell after a long wait.

The first watch of the night passed without incident.

The second watch passed without incident.

In the third watch, things took an abrupt turn.

Four figures, their faces covered with black cloth, leaped across the rooftops like bats, landing in unison outside the Jing’an Guard’s prison.

THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD!

The next second, accompanied by the heavy, rapid sound of footsteps, a large number of Jing’an Guards holding weapons and Breaking Gang Crossbows surged out from all directions, completely surrounding them.

"Fire!"

Pei Shaoqing wasted no words, giving the order with a single shout.

Dozens of Crossbow Arrows were fired in an instant volley.

Commander Zhou shouted, "Take care of them first."

As his voice fell, he leaped into the air, preparing to unleash his might, but a long spear came whistling through the void.

He dodged it by a hair’s breadth. Then, he saw a man in a purple robe, also masked, step through the air as the long spear flew back into his hand.

Commander Zhou’s eyes grew solemn. "Wandering Dragon Realm."

Without hesitation, he turned to flee.

It wasn’t that he couldn’t win, but that it wasn’t necessary. After all, the Heir had said that if things went south, his own safety was the priority.

"Stay!" the Holy Envoy roared. The spear left his hand again, and he shot forward right behind it.

Below, Pei Shaoqing drew Mo Tan and took the lead, charging toward the nearest masked man.

The man took a step back and swung his saber in a straight chop.

CLANG!

His saber was easily cut in two by Mo Tan.

"What?!" The masked man was shocked. Seeing Pei Shaoqing right in front of him, he could only face his opponent with the broken saber.

Pei Shaoqing’s Swordsmanship was swift and fierce, all offense and no defense.

The masked man, thinking he had found an opening in his defense, took a sword to the shoulder and used the momentum to slash his broken saber at Pei Shaoqing’s chest.

But it only left a small mark on his robe, not even tearing the fabric.

Seeing this, the masked man’s eyes widened again.

The next second, the sword Pei Shaoqing had thrust into his shoulder vibrated slightly. It broke through the bone, the flat of the blade slicing horizontally, carving away everything above his shoulder blade. Blood gushed out like a fountain.

The masked man’s body collapsed to the ground. Eyes filled with despair and indignation, he forced out a single word: "Dammit!"

’His sword is a Divine Weapon that cuts through iron like mud.’

’The robe he’s wearing is comparable to Golden Silk Armor.’

’He’s covered in treasures, how was I supposed to fight that?’

’It’s not that my skills were inferior; I lost purely because of his gear. What a frustrating way to die.’

’I can’t rest in peace! I really can’t rest in peace!’

This was the first time Pei Shaoqing had personally fought someone since taking office. He was truly experiencing the huge boost that good equipment gave to his strength, and he couldn’t describe how great it felt.

’It feels like a pay-to-win whale in a video game, easily crushing a free-to-play grinder who’s a higher level.’

He roared, "Everyone, back off! Let me handle this!"

’At my current realm, I’m invincible.’

The masked Old Wang and the rest of the Jing’an Guard instantly withdrew from the battlefield, leaving the remaining two men to Pei Shaoqing.

Pei Shaoqing charged at the two men, Mo Tan in hand.

’Battle! Awesome!’

...

The three yin-constitution women had already been secretly moved by the Jing’an Guard. Just as Yan Sichen and his men landed in the courtyard of one of the houses, a Whistling Arrow shot into the sky.

WHOOSH! BANG!

"Young Master!" The two Guards immediately looked at him.

Yan Sichen tore his gaze away from the Whistling Arrow exploding in the sky and said resentfully, "I didn’t expect Pei Shaoqing to have anticipated even this. We’re leaving."

’How come I never realized this guy was so sharp back in the Capital City? Was he just pretending all along?’

"Leaving to where?" Liu Yuheng, Zhao Zilan, and Ye Hanshuang drifted down gracefully, followed by more than a dozen Jing’an Guards.

Yan Sichen looked at Liu Yuheng. "I didn’t expect Pei Shaoqing to send you here. The man I sent to the prison is also a Wandering Dragon Realm expert. If you go to save him now, you should still be in time."

Liu Yuheng didn’t respond, simply charging forward with her sword.

Seeing this, Yan Sichen cursed inwardly. ’It seems Pei Shaoqing has another trump card I don’t know about.’

’In that case, I have to escape from Liu Yuheng while Commander Zhou is keeping Pei Shaoqing’s trump card busy.’

The six of them fought from the ground to the rooftops and back down again. Sword energy crisscrossed and True Qi blasted in all directions. Rubble and tiles flew as dust filled the air. The battle was incredibly fierce.

Seeing his two Guards losing ground, Yan Sichen knew he couldn’t drag this out any longer.

"This all ends now,"

he said, looking at Liu Yuheng. His aura suddenly exploded, and a sinister black mist swirled around him. His black face-covering disintegrated into dust, strange scars appeared on his face, and the veins on his neck bulged.

Seeing this, Liu Yuheng’s expression turned grave.

"Bitch, you think you can stop me? In your dreams!"

Yan Sichen roared and launched himself off the ground.

Liu Yuheng charged with her sword, but he shattered it with a single punch, the force sending her flying backward.

Although Yan Sichen had the upper hand, he didn’t press his advantage, instead turning to flee quickly toward the city gates.

By the time Liu Yuheng stabilized herself, she could only faintly see his retreating back and gave up the idea of pursuing him.

Instead, she tried to capture the two Guards alive.

But to her surprise, the two Guards fighting Ye Hanshuang and Zhao Zilan saw their Heir escape and cleanly committed suicide by slitting their own throats.

It caught Zhao Zilan and Ye Hanshuang completely off guard.

The two women looked at Liu Yuheng in unison.

Liu Yuheng said, "They’re Death Warriors. They were afraid they couldn’t withstand interrogation if captured, so they simply killed themselves."

Then she turned to Ye Hanshuang and said softly, "Miss Ye, you go protect those three women. Lan’Er and I will go help the Young Master."

Ye Hanshuang silently gave a slight nod.

When Liu Yuheng arrived, Commander Zhou and the Holy Envoy were locked in a fierce battle. Both were injured and had expended more than half of their Inner Strength, yet neither had gained the upper hand.

Liu Yuheng’s arrival immediately broke the stalemate.

The situation became two against one.

Commander Zhou couldn’t hold out alone and was forced into a steady retreat.

Just as he blocked the Holy Envoy’s spear, he was sent flying by a cunning palm strike from Liu Yuheng. His body slammed heavily into a wall, which collapsed amidst a cloud of dust.

He staggered to his feet from within the rubble.

Blood trickled continuously from the corner of his mouth.

"Surrender and live," Pei Shaoqing said, his words brief and to the point.

Commander Zhou glanced around, then let out two loud laughs and suddenly struck his own celestial fontanel.

Liu Yuheng never expected that a dignified Wandering Dragon Realm expert would actually commit suicide. It was too late to stop him.

Blood poured from Commander Zhou’s seven orifices as he collapsed to the ground.

"Dammit!" Pei Shaoqing’s face was dark.

The Holy Envoy and County Magistrate Wang exchanged a look, then inconspicuously retreated into the crowd and slipped away.

Pei Shaoqing pretended not to see them. He walked over to Liu Yuheng’s side and asked, "Was Yan Sichen captured?"

"My skills were inferior, and I let him escape. I ask the Young Master to punish me," Liu Yuheng said with her head lowered.

"If he ran, he ran. With his background, it’s normal for him to have a few life-saving trump cards." Pei Shaoqing wasn’t too disappointed by this. He looked at Commander Zhou’s corpse, sighed, and said, "It’s a shame we couldn’t capture him alive, though."

"It is my failure," Liu Yuheng said.

"It’s not your fault, my lady. When a Wandering Dragon Realm expert is determined to die, how could you possibly stop him?" Pei Shaoqing shook his head, remarking with some emotion, "Yan Sichen’s leadership skills are quite impressive. He can even make a Wandering Dragon expert repay him with death."

’Fuck, I’m suddenly a little jealous of that bastard.’

"The Young Master’s kindness to the Iron Sword Sect is as heavy as a mountain. I, too, would do the same," Liu Yuheng said softly.

Pei Shaoqing glanced at her. Whether she was being sincere or not, her words were pleasing to hear. He laughed heartily and said, "I could never bear to let you perish, my lady. How would I explain that to Sect Leader Gongsun?"

"I believe my husband, like me, is willing to repay the Young Master’s great kindness with his life," Liu Yuheng said with a completely serious expression.

"I will not fail Sect Leader Gongsun and you, my lady." Pei Shaoqing put on a moved expression, then turned to Chen Zhongyi and said, "Clean this place up."

"Yes, milord," Chen Zhongyi cupped his fist and replied.

Leaving the cleanup to his subordinates, Pei Shaoqing headed back to his residence with Liu Yuheng and Zhao Zilan.

...

After leaving the city, Yan Sichen did not flee. Instead, he dissipated the strange aura around him and re-entered the city.

He walked the streets, his face as dark as water.

Pei Shaoqing’s mockery earlier had completely broken through his defenses.

He was ambitious, but he also truly lived every day in fear of being deposed. That was why he had gone so far as to cooperate with a ghost, acting at its instigation.

He had searched the entire Shu Region to gather forty-nine yin-constitution women, and now he was only missing the last three in Tongzhou.

Wang Wu had fallen into Pei Shaoqing’s hands.

He didn’t have enough time to start searching for more yin-constitution women elsewhere. He had to get these three back before his entire plot was exposed.

As for what would happen if he was caught trying to circle back?

If he couldn’t live a life of limitless glory, then he would rather die here in Tongzhou City today.

"Pei Shaoqing, I, the Heir, will risk my life on this gamble. I refuse to believe you’ve calculated for this too."

Suddenly, he sensed something. He turned his head and saw a black cat crouching on a rooftop, staring at him.

"Little beast, what are you looking at? Scram!"

Yan Sichen’s face was filled with malevolence. In his current state, he would probably kick a dog just for crossing his path.

"Meow~"

The black cat turned and quickly vanished into the darkness.

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