Chapter 1374: Unexpected Complications

Chapter 1359: Unexpected Complications

Qian Yu tore off the seal, opened the box, and found two white jade bi disks, two black pearls, and banknotes worth two hundred taels.

Hmm, that's quite reasonable.

Adjusting that ledger was a trivial matter for him. With just a stroke of his pen, he could earn hundreds of taels of silver. Working alongside General Xue was like being next to a tiger, but high risk naturally came with high rewards.

The carriage rumbled along, swaying and jostling, making Qian Yu drowsy. Whether it was the alcohol taking effect or excessive physical exertion earlier, by the time he reached his quarters, he could barely keep his eyes open.

The journey had been smooth. When he disembarked, he also tipped the accompanying guards. On the surface, he had merely gone out for pleasure that night, avoiding whispers with unrelated parties, and the bribery had been completed in secret, leaving no apparent flaws.

Qian Yu had his own knack for surviving safely under Xue Zongwu for ten years. General Xue might not have been unaware of his private dealings, but as long as Qian Yu wasn't too blatant or excessively enriching himself at the public's expense, General Xue could turn a blind eye. Though Xue Zongwu was brutal, he clearly understood that beyond his minor corruption, Qian Yu also possessed loyalty. No one is perfect, after all.

The servant changed his clothes, washed his hands and face, and then promptly excused himself. Qian Yu flopped onto his bed and immediately fell asleep. He was merely a ledger keeper; typically, no one would specifically target him. Thus, he neither set up defensive barriers nor tightly closed his doors and windows when he slept. Even the night watchman pulled up a chair and dozed off under the eaves.

No one noticed a small bat flying down from the roof, using the cover of night to slip through the window, into the bed curtains, and land by Qian Yu's pillow. It could have easily killed him, but it didn't. Instead, it tugged a red string from around his neck. A yellow jade talisman was tied to the string. It was a protective talisman, with the power to clear the mind, calm the spirit, and ward off evil, imbued with a hint of spiritual energy. Wearing it, Qian Yu would be immune to ordinary malevolent spirits. The bat quietly untied it and dropped it at the head of the bed. Then, the little bat retraced its path and vanished without a trace.

Before dawn, a sudden shout of "Ah!" erupted from the room. The guards outside, who had dozed off so deeply that snot bubbles formed on their noses, were startled by the sound. They paused for a moment before jolting awake and rushing into the room.

"Steward Qian!"

They found Qian Yu sitting on the bed, his eyes wide with terror, his forehead beaded with cold sweat.

"Are you alright?"

Qian Yu was dazed for a moment, looking around, then at the guard, before touching his neck and saying, "I'm fine, just had a nightmare. Get out... no, actually, bring me a basin of warm water."

He had actually dreamt that his accounts were wrong, revealing a massive deficit of twenty thousand taels of silver! General Xue discovered it, became furious, and beheaded him with a single stroke! That's why Qian Yu woke up in a fright. But before General Xue beheaded him, it seemed he had asked him a few questions. Qian Yu held his head, racking his brain, but he couldn't recall the content of that conversation for the life of him. His gaze swept across the room, and he noticed the Clarity Talisman lying at the head of the bed, likely having slipped off because its knot had loosened. He quickly tied the Clarity Talisman back on and hung it around his neck.

How vexing! Dreaming of exactly what he feared. What bad luck! Dreams are nonsensical, so he didn't dwell on it. How could General Xue kill someone so directly? Qian Yu shook his head, composed himself, and used the warm water to wash off the cold sweat from his face. They say reality and dreams are often opposites; perhaps he was due for good fortune today?

After changing his clothes and slowly enjoying a hearty breakfast, the first ray of golden light finally appeared in the east. After seven consecutive gloomy days, the sun finally came out today.

The food in this small place was far inferior to that of Yaoguo. Only one dish, red mushroom, shredded chicken, and bamboo shoot tip noodles, was noteworthy. The bamboo shoots of this season weren't as good as in spring, so only the tenderest tips were used. The red mushrooms were thick, but the chicken was a bit tough, and Qian Yu found it lacked enough fat—the chickens here were as skinny as the people. Nevertheless, the bowl of noodles was above average and served well to calm his nerves.

Thus, Qian Yu was in a pleasant mood when he left. In another three to five days, his auditing task would be complete, and he could leave Shuangtian to return home.

It was only around 5:30 AM, but there were already many pedestrians on the streets of Shuangtian. Commoners busied themselves for their livelihoods; waking early and toiling late was the norm. On his way to the government office, Qian Yu had to cross a small river. Recent heavy rains had caused the water level to rise, making it appear turbulent and murky.

Qian Yu was pondering how to balance the accounts from last night when suddenly, a thunderous roar erupted from ahead, deafening him:

"Qian Yu!"

He looked up in astonishment to see a figure in black standing two zhang ahead, as if wearing night clothes in broad daylight. The person wore a pitch-black mask that only revealed two eyeholes. Dark smoke curled around the figure. When the east wind blew, those standing downwind could smell a burnt scent.

"'You've accepted bribes, embezzled public funds, forced innocent women into prostitution, and squeezed the common people dry...'" The person charged at him, roaring, "'You deserve ten thousand deaths! I'm here to collect you for Heaven!'"

Upon hearing the first accusation, Qian Yu's heart leaped into his throat. But then he heard the next two— "Oh, what the devil?"

Pedestrians on the road scattered, no one daring to stand in the path of the assailant. The guards beside Qian Yu drew their weapons and sternly shouted, "Stop, or be killed without mercy!"

The masked man, unwilling to stop, continued his advance. When he was just one zhang away from Qian Yu, he pulled out a gleaming knife and brandished it at him. The blade reflected the morning sun from the east, blinding Qian Yu, who instinctively turned his head: "Seize him! Take him down!"

Where did this lunatic come from? What bad luck! Such ill fortune so early in the morning!

Two guards charged forward to intercept him. The lunatic's strength was astonishing. The guards, too lazy to subdue him, intended to simply hack him to death. After all, Shuangtian had countless commoners; who would dare to question them if one or two went missing?

But before their blades could reach the madman's neck, he suddenly sidestepped, then delivered a hook punch to the guard's lower back. The angle and power were impeccable, absolutely perfect. The kidneys in this region were unprotected by bone, and the opponent's strength was immense. The guard was sent flying straight back, his vision blurred mid-air, and he couldn't get up for a long time. Another guard tried to strike the madman's lower back, but somehow, the world spun, and he found himself lifted and slammed upside down. The last thing he saw was the cold, snow-like glint of a large blade...

With a 'shhhk,' blood from his neck spurted three chi high. The madman killed as easily as slaughtering a chicken, not caring about the two drops of blood on his face. He scrambled up and charged at Qian Yu. The latter, merely a ledger keeper with no fighting ability, had never seen such a scene. The assailant's charge was so fierce that Qian Yu's legs stiffened, his body turned to stone, and he didn't even think to run away. It was the guards who forcefully dragged him back.

He heard the shouts from the crowd nearby: "Stop him! Protect Steward Qian!"

"Back to the inn! Quickly, back to the inn!"

Then came two close, pained cries.

"Archers, fire! Quickly, quickly!"

Qian Yu suddenly came to his senses. Without needing the guards to drag him further, he actively ran towards the inn himself. In this moment of crisis, he ran faster than anyone else. Pedestrians thronged the path, most with startled expressions, and those who couldn't get out of the way were simply pushed aside by the guards.

However, before he had run two steps, Qian Yu heard a guard exclaim, "Don't—come back!"

Was it 'come back,' or 'don't come back'? He subconsciously grumbled to himself, then saw the guard directly in front of him suddenly fly through the air. He had been struck and sent flying. Another guard bent over, a trembling hand-fork protruding from his belly. The three prongs of the fork pierced through his back, a cold glint visible amidst the blood red.

Qian Yu caught a glimpse, and his scalp nearly exploded: Another figure in black, also masked, had appeared before him! This masked figure stepped forward, grabbed Qian Yu's collar, making him shriek, "It's a mistake! I didn't do it..."

Before he could finish, the masked figure swung him through the air. Both the guards and pedestrians behind him saw Steward Qian soar through the air, drawing a perfect parabola before plunging into the river three zhang away.

"Splash."

The two masked figures exchanged a glance, then, with a few swift movements, abandoned the guards and also leaped into the river. It was swift and decisive.

Qian Yu finally managed to surface, shouting, "Help!" But as soon as he shouted, the two masked figures emerged from the water and forcefully pushed him back under! Everyone gathered at the riverbank to look, but the water was very murky, a turbid yellow, completely obscuring anything beneath.

Two guards who could swim quickly jumped into the river to search. However, visibility at the river bottom was extremely poor. They found shadows twice, but when they pulled hard, it was only waterweeds. They resurfaced from the river, looking dejected.

"It's over, they lost the trail."

"To the government office! Get the constables to help search for him!"

Faint commotion from a distance roused He Lingchuan awake. He had just sat up, and before he could even stretch, Dong Rui pushed the door open and entered: "Get up quickly, something's happened outside."

He Lingchuan had slept in his clothes last night. Hearing this, he rolled out of bed, casually tidied his hair, and asked, "What is it?"

"I went out to get breakfast and heard someone shouting 'Murder! Man overboard!' from the direction of Willow Street. When I rushed over, there were several bloody corpses on the ground; the wind carried a strong, fresh, fishy smell. Many people gathered by the river, craning their necks to look into the water. Finally, two soaking wet figures crawled out of the river—they turned out to be Qian Yu's guards!"

"Qian Yu?" He Lingchuan's heart sank. If Qian Yu's guards had climbed out of the water, "Where is Qian Yu himself?"

They had been following Qian Yu and his party for ten shichen (twenty hours) for their mission here, so they naturally knew what their target looked like.

"Didn't see him," Dong Rui replied truthfully. "His guards were shouting about going to the government office, demanding the local officials help search for him quickly."

Evidently, Qian Yu had fallen into the water.

"I asked several people nearby and learned that a few masked figures had just ambushed and killed people, then threw someone into the river before jumping in themselves."

"They intercepted Qian Yu, killed his guards, and then threw him into the water and took him?" He Lingchuan strode out of the inn, his mind racing. "Who could these people be?"

"Witnesses heard them shouting about corruption, forcing innocent women into prostitution, and how he deserved to die..."