CHAPTER 618: CHAPTER 512: TAKING YOU HOME

Cui Hu pursued all the way north. His martial arts were no match for Ji Feng’s, yet his vision was exceptionally keen, like that of a hawk in the dark night.

"Found him!"

He slid into a westward alley with quick movements.

A ragged beggar was hoisting a sack, preparing to leap onto the rooftop.

Cui Hu concentrated his energy into his dantian, stomped hard against the ground, and shot forward like an arrow leaving a bowstring.

However, the opponent seemed to sense something. As the killing intent closed in behind him, he turned and fired three concealed weapons toward Cui Hu.

"Damn it!"

Cui Hu’s forehead twitched. He flipped mid-air, dodging the darts, and landed on a nearby rooftop eave.

The beggar used the opportunity to escape from the dead-end alley.

"Trying to run? Not that easy!"

Cui Hu pushed himself to catch up.

Seeing that Cui Hu had managed to catch up again, the beggar grew both alarmed and enraged. He hurled more flying darts toward him.

"The weather is dry—beware of fire!"

A night watchman was striking his copper gong in the alley. As he struck it a few more times, the gong in his hand vanished, leaving him holding just the stick!

Night watchman: "...!!"

Cui Hu grabbed the copper gong and used it to block the flying darts aimed at him.

"Ha! Now what are you going to do with Grandpa here? Stop wasting time and let go of the Pri... Lady..."

Goddamnit!

Is the sack holding the Crown Prince, or the lady of the house?!

At last, once the beggar ran out of hidden weapons, Cui Hu leaped skillfully and tackled him to the ground.

Cui Hu tore the sack away from the beggar, slashing the rope tying its opening with his blade.

To his surprise, the sack contained neither the Crown Prince nor the lady, but rather an unconscious commoner.

"Goddamnit, I’ve been tricked!"

With a whoosh, Cui Hu turned his gaze on the beggar.

The beggar bolted!

"You’re not getting away!"

Cui Hu aimed a palm strike right at the beggar’s fatal point.

In that moment, the commoner lying in the sack suddenly opened his eyes, and without hesitation, drove a dagger he’d been holding the entire time toward Cui Hu’s chest.

Clang!

The dagger was stopped by a hard object.

The man was stunned.

Cui Hu slapped him aside with a heavy palm strike, then lowered his head to look at the tear the dagger left on his jacket. "Good thing I wore the Heart Protection Armor."

The Heart Protection Armor had been given to him by Ji Feng. It was the only one in the Imperial Guard and was no match for the Heavenly Silkworm Silk Armor, but was enough to resist ordinary weapons.

After taking Cui Hu’s palm strike, the man passed out cold on the spot.

However, Cui Hu did not come away empty-handed.

From the sack, Cui Hu extracted a Poison Bottle.

"Looks like it belongs to the lady."

Cui Hu quickly pulled out the bottle’s stopper, and a small Gu Worm flew out.

"A Mizong Gu, huh?"

Cui Hu rushed off in pursuit.

Meanwhile, a man dressed in black carried Lu Zhaoyan out of the alley and headed south.

The lead beggar said coldly, "He’s trying to return to the Crown Prince Mansion! Stop him!"

The other beggar-disguised experts surged forward, with some even taking shortcuts to block the man’s path ahead.

The man in black tried to return to the bustling main street, yet every time he was either blocked or forced back from another direction.

When he finally broke through the encirclement, he stood facing the endless stream of the main street and stopped in his tracks.

"Let’s go grab a drink, brother."

"The Commandery Prince lost; you can imagine how Prince Jin must feel. Let’s not cause trouble at this critical moment. Be thorough in our patrol, and save the drinks for later."

A pair of guards passed majestically through the main street.

The group of beggars who had been chasing the man in black and Lu Zhaoyan stopped as well.

No matter how skilled they were, they couldn’t take on an army of the court.

The man in black stepped forward hesitantly.

He ultimately gave up seeking help from the court’s trusted aides and used Qinggong to leap onto a rooftop.

The beggars immediately pursued and encircled him.

Even though his Qinggong was exceptional, it was no match for the sheer number of enemies.

Moreover, the beggars seemed unusually familiar with the layout of the Imperial City, constantly cutting him off in surprising ways.

After more than half an hour of being on the run, carrying a grown man on his back had drained his stamina.

Worse, he was getting further and further from the Crown Prince Mansion, and the surroundings grew increasingly deserted.

This meant fewer witnesses. No matter how much noise he made, it would be hard to draw attention. Killing someone here would buy plenty of time to cover it up.

Whoosh!

An arrow brushed past Lu Zhaoyan’s head.

The man in black’s ears twitched. He kicked off the side wall to propel himself into the air, evading the arrow.

Yet avoiding one arrow led to more in quick succession.

Throwing darts followed closely behind.

This was the handiwork of the Thousand Mechanism Pavilion!

"Put me down."

Lu Zhaoyan suddenly spoke.

The man in black indeed put him down.

He then removed his outer robe, using it to catch the incoming arrows and throwing darts, and hurled them all back at his attackers.

Pained cries rang out in succession as many of the beggars fell to the ground.

Almost simultaneously, the man in black wrapped his outer robe around Lu Zhaoyan, securing him tightly on his back once more.

Lu Zhaoyan was startled. "You..."

The man in black said nothing and continued fleeing with Lu Zhaoyan on his back.

The heavy scent of blood reached Lu Zhaoyan’s nose. Immobilized by the Soft Bone Powder, he struggled to turn his head, catching sight of the blood-streaked path they had left behind beneath the night sky.

"You’re injured," Lu Zhaoyan said.

The man in black said nothing.

Lying weakly on the man’s broad back, Lu Zhaoyan sighed faintly. "You... don’t have to do this..."

Another arrow shot through the air, and the man in black twisted sideways, slamming his shoulder into a wall.

His right arm dislocated.

Without a word, he used his left hand to push it back into place with a snap.

Fatigue overwhelmed him, his injuries worsened, and the beggars closed in ever faster.

He gritted his teeth and tossed a mechanism box behind him.

With a loud explosion, the mechanism box scattered countless silver needles, striking the pursuing beggars.

By now, he was covered in wounds and gasping for breath. Every step he took required immense effort.

As he limped out of the devastated alley, applause echoed from the street ahead.

Clap!

Clap!

Clap!

"Truly... astonishing."

Prince Jin stood in the empty, chilling street with a stern expression, as though he had been waiting for them all along.

His gaze fell upon Lu Zhaoyan’s face. "Second Brother, I never expected your life to be so resilient. Even on the brink of death, someone’s still willing to risk their life for you."

As he spoke, his eyes shifted to the masked man in black. "And that someone is none other than my own son."

The man in black froze.

Lu Zhaoyan remained unperturbed. "Lu Zhaohua, even your shamelessness has limits. How dare you claim your nephew as your own son? Yuan’er is my son. Since when did he become yours?"

"Yuan’er?"

Prince Jin sneered coldly, his sharp gaze cutting through the mask. "You’re saying he’s Lu Linyuan? If he truly is, why would he bother to wear a mask? It’s only natural for a son to save his father—it’s not like it’s something to hide, don’t you think?"

Lu Zhaoyan’s expression remained unchanged. "You suspected an assassination attempt tonight, which led to your preemptive move. Victory to the strong, defeat to the weak—I have nothing to say about that."

Prince Jin replied, "Second Brother, you’re such a master of excuses. If he’s Lu Linyuan, pulling off the mask should make it clear."

Prince Jin took a step closer to the man in black.

Behind him stood an imposing group of 18 enigmatic experts.

The man in black considered escaping but found it impossible.

"Run," Lu Zhaoyan said to the man in black.

Prince Jin said, "Too late."

One of the mysterious experts behind Prince Jin targeted the man in black’s acupoints from afar, immobilizing him completely.

Prince Jin approached the man and stared into his visibly shrinking pupils.

Just as Prince Jin raised his hand to remove the mask, a familiar voice suddenly called out from the alley, "Father!"

Prince Jin frowned and turned his head, only to see Lu Qi rushing toward him, drenched in sweat.

"You..."

Prince Jin was stunned.