Translator: Myuu Editor: Myuu
Upon hearing someone shout that there was a fire, Yan Liqiang unlocked the door to Ye Tiancheng’s room as fast as he could. Then he let Goldie rush downstairs to the guards’ room to retrieve a guard uniform set.
Although Yan Liqiang didn’t have the keys to unlock the handcuffs and fetters on Ye Tiancheng after entering the room, these old-fashioned locking mechanisms posed no challenge to him. He had forged quite a number of the same locks back in Yan Dechang’s blacksmith store. Therefore, he knew the internal structures of these locks inside out. With just a needle he carried around, he managed to unlock all the locking mechanisms placed on Ye Tiancheng. He then handed over the guard uniform Goldie retrieved for Ye Tiancheng to change into.
The entire posthouse descended into chaos as thick, rolling smoke filled the corridors. Yan Liqiang led a disguised Ye Tiancheng past a few servants in the posthouse who had rushed up to ‘put out the fire’. They pretended to be rushing downstairs in a panic. By the time those people at the posthouse managed to go through great lengths to unlock the blocked keyhole and barge into the room where Ye Tiancheng was supposed to be, Yan Liqiang had long left the posthouse with Ye Tiancheng in tow. They arrived at an inn which was just a few hundred meters away from the posthouse. He paid for a room and waited for the return of Sun Bingchen and the rest in silence.
Yan Liqiang calmly explained the entire episode with great composure without even an ounce of nervousness. However, as listeners, Sun Bingchen and Liang Yijie were completely blown away by Yan Liqiang’s powerful judgment and reaction speed.
During that situation, the people who were after Ye Tiancheng’s life had actually planned two methods of assassinating him. One was fire — if Ye Tiancheng stayed in his room, he would’ve been burnt to death. The second method was exploiting the confusing chaos — if Ye Tiancheng were to flee from his room, these people hidden among the servants of the posthouse would’ve exploited the chaotic moment when everyone was putting out the fire to end Ye Tiancheng’s life then and there.
Yan Liqiang managed to see through the other party’s plans in the shortest amount of time. At the same time, he also responded in such an unexpected way that the other party would be caught off-guard by the turn of events, thus successfully foiling both their plans.
No one would have expected him to have the guts to set Ye Tiancheng free, let alone being able to disguise him as one of Sun Bingchen’s guards in such a short amount of time. In addition, they even brushed past those people who had rushed upstairs to ‘put out the fire’ among the thick smoke with Ye Tiancheng in tow.
At that time, Yan Liqiang rushed downstairs with Ye Tiancheng who stooped and covered his face with his sleeve while coughing. Yan Liqiang simultaneously yelled, “Put out the fire quick! The criminal, Ye Tiancheng, whom the Patrol Inspector detained, is still in the room…!” By the time those people arrived at the room’s door, they realized that the windows of the room were shut, obstructing their ability to clearly assess the situation inside the room. Not only that, Yan Liqiang had also damaged the door’s keyhole by blocking it up with a small piece of wood. That small piece of wood was what managed to buy Yan Liqiang some time to flee the chaos at the posthouse with Ye Tiancheng in tow.
The most ruthless part was the fact that Yan Liqiang didn’t venture too far out after leaving the posthouse with Ye Tiancheng. He instead found a place to settle down nearby as he waited for Sun Bingchen and the rest who would definitely pass by the location on their way back. Those people who were after Ye Tiancheng’s life were also stunned to discover that Ye Tiancheng had vanished from the posthouse. Even if they went on a hunt, no one would possibly know where Ye Tiancheng had gone as soon as he had fled in such a huge place like Weiyuan City. Furthermore, to find someone without stirring up a huge commotion wasn’t an easy feat.
“And how were you so sure that the people from the posthouse wouldn’t figure out the fact that you escaped with Ye Tiancheng from the room?” After hearing the explanation and pondering with a frown, Liang Yijie finally asked the question he couldn’t quite wrap his head around.
Yan Liqiang smiled. “That’s very simple. When they delivered Ye Tiancheng his dinner, I didn’t stop them despite knowing that something was wrong with the meal and allowed them to leave the dinner outside the window to Ye Tiancheng’s room. I made them believe that I didn’t put my guards up around them since the beginning and completely trusted them. This is a form of psychological manipulation. So no matter the event, they wouldn’t expect me to swiftly respond and think outside the box. When I told them Ye Tiancheng was still in the room, they would’ve definitely thought that I was telling the truth…”
“What about the small piece of wood that you jammed into the keyhole? Did you prepare that in advance?”
“That small piece of wood was forged from the chopsticks I used during my meal. I only prepared it just in case because I didn’t know what else they would do. Little did I expect it to actually come in handy.”
“So you are saying that you were already deliberately misleading them during mealtime?” Liang Yijie was shocked as he questioned Yan Liqiang in disbelief.
“Since I knew Ye Tiancheng would definitely not touch the food, I just acted as if I were clueless. Only by doing so would they let their guards down around me.”
“When you fled with Ye Tiancheng, didn’t Ye Tiancheng get different ideas like escaping from you?” Sun Bingchen also asked another question after remaining silent for a good while.
Yan Liqiang shrugged and spread his arms out. “Of course he did. He made a great deal of promises with me, but I’m not that gullible. Besides, he couldn’t do much at that time with his strength reduced to about the same as an ordinary person’s. My knife was pressed right up against him too. So if he really tried to escape, it’d really be over for him if I were to gut him with my knife or yelled then and there.”
Sun Bingchen, who had been staring at Yan Liqiang strangely all this while, finally broke into a smile. “Well done, Liqiang. If it wasn’t for you today, Ye Tiancheng would have probably died here!”
“I only did what I was supposed to do!”
“Good. You may retire early if there’s nothing else!”
Yan Liqiang hesitated for a moment before he spoke through his clenched teeth. “Sir, there’s something I’m not quite sure if it is my place to say!”
“Oh? Go ahead!”
“Since we are currently in Gan Province, if Lord Lei Sitong is adamant about killing Ye Tiancheng, there’s nothing we can do. His trick tonight could still be considered mild as he didn’t wish to have a fallout with us. But if we leave Weiyuan City, Lord Lei could grow more aggressive if he is serious about taking Ye Tiancheng’s life. With just the number of our men, I fear we might not be able to deal with it. Therefore, I feel that it’s better to be frank with Lord Lei now than wait until later!”
“You don’t have to worry about that. I discussed this with Lord Lei Sitong on my way back. It has been settled that he would keep dispatching troops to escort us until we leave Gan Province.”
Yan Liqiang smiled embarrassingly. “I see that you already have a well-thought-out plan, sir. I was worried for nothing…”
