At daybreak, Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen followed the team escorting the disaster relief northward. Now that the Zhantian Vine had left seclusion, they didn’t need to wield their swords and instead rode it in the sky.
Although Yan Jin could now be further away from Yan Ge, there was still a limit to their distance, so he stayed quietly in Yan Ge’s embrace.
Jiang Gan and Wei Hao’s team had only set off for a day when the three caught up quickly, flying high in the sky and observing the situation below.
Concerned about the situation in Yongzhou, the team traveled swiftly, pushing the horses to their limits. For five consecutive days, nothing happened.
Huangfu Yuchen furrowed his brows. “Could it be that Si Qianqian’s death alerted them?”
Yan Ge was also disappointed. “It’s possible.”
Nevertheless, they intended to continue tracking them. Since they had already followed for this long, they might as well escort them to Yongzhou.
That night, the team camped in a forest on the outskirts. The further north they went, the colder the temperature became. Wei Hao divided the entire team into three shifts for night watch.
Jiang Gan was a civil official, so he didn’t need to worry about the night watch. With shadow guards protecting him, he was the only one who could sleep soundly.
Just before dawn, the Zhantan Vine, which had been floating motionless in midair, suddenly trembled. Ever since it left seclusion, communication with Yan Ge had become smoother. Following Yan Ge’s instructions, it had been monitoring the situation below.
Yan Ge, Huangfu Yuchen, and Yan Jin all became alert and looked down.
Over a hundred black-clad figures stealthily approached the escort team under the cover of night.
Huangfu Yuchen’s aura grew heavy. “They really dared to come!”
Wei Hao and the Imperial Guards were highly vigilant and quickly noticed the situation.
“Someone is robbing the official silver!”
“Protect the silver!” Wei Hao shouted.
Both sides swiftly engaged in combat. The black-clad figures displayed remarkable skills, and within moments, they took down more than a dozen Imperial Guards.
Jiang Gan was infuriated by their audacity. “Shadow guards!”
“Lord Jiang!” Twenty shadow guards appeared immediately.
“Take them down for me!”
“Understood!”
Two shadow guards were responsible for protecting Jiang Gan, while the remaining sixteen swiftly joined the battle.
The black-clad figures were indeed formidable, and Huangfu Yuchen frowned as he saw the Imperial Guards falling one by one. “Xiao Ge, let’s go down.”
Yan Jin stayed on the Zhantian Vine as Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen transformed themselves into the appearance of Imperial Guards and silently infiltrated the battle, mercilessly slaying the black-clad figures.
With their assistance, most of the black-clad figures were quickly dealt with.
When the remaining black-clad figures saw their numbers dwindling, they finally gave up. One of them let out a shrill whistle, and the black-clad figures rapidly retreated, vanishing into the darkness.
Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen silently disappeared into the darkness without being noticed and returned to the Zhantian Vine, closely following the group of black-clad figures.
The black-clad figures eventually stopped at a mountain temple and remained unaware that they were being followed.
“Master, the leader ordered us to obtain this batch of silver at all costs. I didn’t expect these officials to be so troublesome. What should we do now?”
“What else can we do? If we can’t complete the leader’s orders, death is the only option! Summon another fifty brothers; we must rob the official silver before they reach Yongzhou!”
“Yes!”
“Master, some of those officials are powerful, and there are more than a dozen elite shadow guards among them. I’m afraid that even if we summon fifty more brothers, it will be challenging to deal with them.”
The Master sneered, “If the frontal approach won’t work, we’ll use sneak attacks. I’ve observed them; they only have a few carriages with limited supplies, not enough for a thousand men. They will undoubtedly replenish their provisions in the towns along the way. When that happens, we’ll find a way to poison their food and drinks.”
“Master, that is a brilliant strategy!”
Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen’s faces turned dark, and even Yan Jin clenched his hands at his waist, staring at them angrily.
These people were beyond lawless; they dared to rob official silver and even attempted to poison the officials sent by the court. They didn’t deserve any mercy!
“Stay calm,” Huangfu Yuchen held Yan Ge’s hand and said coldly, “Wait until the other fifty arrive, and then we’ll catch them all at once.”
“I understand,” Yan Ge sighed deeply. Just the thought that these heartless people might have been trained by Huangfu Yuhu sent shivers down his spine. When did Huangfu Yuhu become so ruthless and cruel?
“Yuchen,” Yan Ge looked at him with concern.
Huangfu Yuchen pulled him into his embrace and gently kissed him, seeking comfort.
Two days later, the “fifty” that the Master mentioned hastily arrived. During these two days, the Master sent someone to the nearest county and obtained the poison.
Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen calmly observed the black-clad figures. In their eyes, these people were already dead.
“Let’s go. The weather is turning gloomy, and we must hurry to catch up with the officials before it rains or snows.”
“Yes!”
Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen appeared at the mountain temple’s entrance like invisible winds, blocking their way.
“No need to bother.” Huangfu Yuchen’s aura turned icy, as if he had just emerged from an icy, snowy land.
“Who are you people?” The Master’s expression darkened as he brandished his sword and shouted loudly.
Yan Ge replied, “Assassins. Someone hired us to kill you.” This was the plan he and Huangfu Yuchen had discussed—they planned to kill everyone and deliberately spare the Master, to see if he could lead them to Centipede’s lair.
Lin Qing sneered, not taking the two young men seriously. They seemed to be in their twenties and didn’t seem to have impressive martial skills. “ I’m in a good mood today and don’t want to deal with you. Step aside!”
Huangfu Yuchen gestured with his spiritual sword, and five black-clad figures were instantly slain.
“You!” Lin Qing’s face paled, instantly realizing that he had underestimated these two. “Attack!”
Two black-clad figures immediately stepped forward and attacked Huangfu Yuchen and Yan Ge.
Huangfu Yuchen and Yan Ge showed no mercy. To avoid arousing Lin Qing’s suspicion that they had let him go intentionally, they deliberately restrained their strength and engaged in dozens of moves before killing their attackers.
Lin Qing remained composed. “Send in the others!”
This time, twenty men stepped forward. Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen easily exterminated them all.
Lin Qing realized the situation wasn’t favorable. “Who are you people? Who hired you to kill me?”
Huangfu Yuchen and Yan Ge remained coldly silent.
Lin Qing tried to test them, saying, “No matter how much silver he offered, I’ll offer double to give up this mission. How about it?”
Huangfu Yuchen replied coldly, “Even assassins have honor. Accept your fate!”
Lin Qing quickly dodged backward and signaled others to attack, shouting, “Attack together!”
He himself swiftly escaped.
Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen waites for him to get far enough before swiftly annihilating all the black-clad figures. They then flew to the Zhantian Vine and followed Lin Qing from a distance.
Lin Qing bought a horse from the county and rushed on the road. After a day, he arrived at another county and entered the “Black Phoenix Hall.”
Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen followed him to the courtyard where he lived and watched as he wrote a line of words on a piece of paper before placing it in a light green jade bottle. Then, a strange scene unfolded: a green butterfly, seemingly real and ethereal at the same time, flew out of the jade bottle, flapped its wings once, and disappeared without a trace.
Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen immediately tracked its aura, but they found nothing. The green butterfly had completely vanished!
They exchanged glances but did not make a move. They had seen the contents of the note, Lin Qing had reported to the leader about the failed operation. They guessed that the leader would reply to Lin Qing and arrange the next step.
Sure enough, shortly after Lin Qing washed his face, a green butterfly appeared before him. Lin Qing reached out, and a note fell into his palm. The green butterfly then flew back into the jade bottle.
“See if you recognize the handwriting on the note,” Yan Ge urged Huangfu Yuchen.
Huangfu Yuchen didn’t need the reminder and focused on the unfolded note. The instructions on the note directed Lin Qing to organize another operation, but the handwriting wasn’t Huangfu Yuhu’s.
Strangely, Huangfu Yuchen didn’t feel relieved.
“How is it?” Yan Ge asked.
Huangfu Yuchen shook his head.
Yan Ge also became concerned. He believed there was a high chance that Huangfu Yuhu was Meng Xiaohun. The fact that the handwriting wasn’t his indicated that Huangfu Yuhu was cautious, and therefore, difficult to deal with. The longer they delayed resolving Meng Xiaohun’s identity, the deeper the pain he caused Huangfu Yuchen.
“They will continue with the operation. Let’s go back to the escort team,” Huangfu Yuchen said, “Since we suspect Meng Xiaohun, it’s better to keep a close eye on him.” He couldn’t bring himself to continue calling his brother “Yuhu.”
Yan Ge nodded.
The three of them rode on Zhantian Vine and returned to the escort team.
Due to the previous incident, the atmosphere within the escort team had become even more tense, and the Imperial Guards’ killing intent grew stronger.
Even Jiang Gan couldn’t continue sleeping soundly, becoming more solemn.
After three days of peaceful travel, they were stopped once again. This time, during the daytime.
Jiang Gan and Wei Hao were both infuriated. This was a blatant disrespect for the court and a challenge to the imperial authority!
Yan Ge and Huangfu Yuchen saw the person leading the black-clad figures and both of them were startled—it was Meng Xiaohun!
“Xiao Ge, let’s go!” Huangfu Yuchen said.
The two of them instantly teleported and surrounded Meng Xiaohun from the front and back.
Meng Xiaohun was taken aback, seemingly not expecting them to appear there. He attempted to escape but was intercepted by Huangfu Yuchen’s foot. Huangfu Yuchen thought about how this person had repeatedly targeted his beloved and how he might be his younger brother, and it sent a chill down his heart. He was determined not to give him any chance to escape. With a wave of his right hand, his spiritual sword swung forward, forming a sharp invisible blade that aimed at Meng Xiaohun’s chest.
Meng Xiaohun’s face turned pale. Instead of fighting back, he turned and tried to escape.
However, Yan Ge was behind him, making it impossible for him to succeed. Yan Ge also raised his spiritual sword and struck down from above.
Meng Xiaohun didn’t show Yan Ge any courtesy. He snorted and attacked with both palms at the same time.
Wei Hao, Jiang Gan, and others were all shocked. The Emperor and Yan Guiqing?
The black-clad figures saw their leader engaged in a fight, so they also attacked the Imperial Guards with their weapons.
“Kill!” Wei Hao shouted loudly.
The Emperor and Yan Guiqing’s appearance boosted the soldiers’ morale, and they fought vigorously.
Huangfu Yuchen noticed that Meng Xiaohun didn’t want to fight him, but it didn’t move him at all. This person treating his beloved like this was equivalent to treating him that way. He saw Meng Xiaohun attack Yan Ge without hesitation and his eyes became colder. Without any sentimentality, he raised his spiritual sword and attacked Meng Xiaohun once again.
Meng Xiaohun soared into the air, amd glanced at Huangfu Yuchen, seemingly furious.
He landed in front of Yan Ge, chanted an incantation and his moves became more ferocious, emitting an intense killing intent as if it had a tangible form that enveloped Yan Ge.
Yan Ge slashed his spiritual sword in the air, and a blood mark appeared on Meng Xiaohun’s body.
Huangfu Yuchen landed a kick on Meng Xiaohun’s back.
Meng Xiaohun was shocked. He realized he was no match for the two of them together, so he tried to fly away.
However, Yan Ge saw through his escape route and landed a heavy palm strike on his shoulder.
Meng Xiaohun was forced to fly backward. Huangfu Yuchen tapped him with his index finger, completely immobilizing him.
The black-clad figures saw that their leader was captured and immediately fled.
Huangfu Yuchen said in a cold voice, “Don’t let any of them escape!”
“Yes!”
Wei Hao led the soldiers to intercept, and Yan Ge and the shadow guards also joined the pursuit. Soon, all the black-clad figures were killed.
Yan Ge looked at the blood drops on his sword and smiled faintly. For his beloved, he didn’t fear killing.
Huangfu Yuchen stood in front of Meng Xiaohun, staring at him intently.
Meng Xiaohun’s expression remained cold and arrogant, without any emotions as he met Huangfu Yuchen’s gaze. His eyes were sharp, as if he didn’t care at all about becoming a prisoner in their hands.
“I ask you, why did you repeatedly target Xiao Ge?” Huangfu Yuchen said, “And why did you attck the royal nobles and wealthy merchants several times? What conspiracy does the Centipede Organization have?”
“No comment,” Meng Xiaohun said proudly, “Since I’ve fallen into your hands, you can kill or torture me as you please.”
