Cheng Yanran’s face twisted as he watched Yu Feng leave.
Father, I treat you as my father, but what do you treat me as? Cheng Yanran thought to himself. Here in the capital, I’m surrounded by danger, yet I can only mobilize a few hundred people. In contrast, Yu Feng—a dog under you—can deploy the people around me at any time. Yu Feng is your dog, while I’m worse than a dog!
Cheng Yanran’s eyes were cold. Therefore, don’t you blame me for what happens.
At this moment, the one-armed woman entered the room.
“Yao’er,” Cheng Yanran called out.
“Your Highness?” The one-armed woman looked at Cheng Yanran and sensed that his expression wasn’t right.
“I need Master to mobilize a team of Red Lotus Envoys to heed my orders,” Cheng Yanran said.
“There’s not enough manpower?” The one-armed woman was surprised.
Cheng Yanran nodded. “Yu Feng has taken 30 first-rate experts from me in total! I’m extremely lacking in strength.”
“Alright, I’ll immediately contact Master,” the one-armed woman said, “but it’s very difficult to mobilize a team of Red Lotus Envoys to be at your beck and call.”
“I’ll give Master 50,000 taels of silver,” Cheng Yanran replied.
The one-armed woman’s eyes lit up. “With Master and Your Highness’s status, as well as the additional spending of 50,000 taels of silver, it shouldn’t be a problem.”
******
Two days later, night fell.
A carriage team quietly left King of Yan’s Estate with only 12 guards in the entourage.
As they advanced, the carriage wobbled slightly from the road bumps. There were three people in the carriage—Cheng Yanran, the one-armed woman, and a middle-aged man. The middle-aged man had a thin and long face, and he sat to the side with his eyes closed.
“Your Highness, since Master is willing to summon us, mobilizing a team of Red Lotus Envoys is almost certain,” the one-armed woman comforted him with a smile.
Cheng Yanran nodded gently. “Time passes so quickly; it’s been more than two years since I last met Master. Did he specially come to the capital for me?”
“I heard that there was something else,” the one-armed woman replied.
Cheng Yanran didn’t ask further.
…
On a roof in the distance, Liu Hai was dressed in black and looked very inconspicuous in the dark. He watched the carriage leave King of Yan’s Estate from afar.
The Prince of Yan has finally left his residence. Liu Hai nodded slightly. He immediately left Blood Rain World and sent a message to Xu Jingming, Pang Ze, and Tu Ling through the virtual world.
At this moment.
Xu Jingming and Pang Ze were having dinner in a restaurant. Over the past few days, Pang Ze had spent most of his time in Blood Rain World, paying attention to the changes in the situation.
“Cheng Yanran has left his residence!” Liu Hai’s voice sounded in Xu Jingming and Pang Ze’s minds.
In the virtual world, one could receive important notifications at any time! For example, contact from one’s family and important clients would immediately be received no matter which virtual world they were in.
“He’s finally out.” Pang Ze smiled. “If he kept hiding inside his residence, we would’ve been forced to attack his residence before the end of the employment period. His residence is heavily guarded, and there are hundreds of experts. The probability of a successful invasion is extremely low.”
Xu Jingming nodded. “Cheng Yanran likes to flirt with women. He’s not someone who can tolerate loneliness.”
“If I’m not wrong, he has fewer experts around him than usual,” Pang Ze said.
Xu Jingming nodded. “The Blood Rain Guards have been discussing it recently. Emerald Pavilion is temporarily closed, and the King of Yan’s men are crazily tracking down the bandits. The ones in charge of tracking them down are a large group of top experts. The Blood Rain Guards recognized some of the top experts as members of the King of Yan’s Estate.”
“The King of Yan’s strength is mainly in the north, so it’s normal to divert forces from the King of Yan’s Estate in the capital.” Pang Ze got up. “It’s time to reel in the net.”
Xu Jingming also got up.
It was time to pull in the harvest! It was targeted at a big fish like Cheng Yanran.
…
Cheng Yanran sat in the carriage, calm and unworried.
Ever since he encountered a few ‘assassinations’ a few years ago, it had been a long time since anyone attempted assassinating him. The entire capital knew very well that it was very difficult to assassinate the Prince of Yan.
Of course, Cheng Yanran didn’t count Zhang Ke’s ambush on the streets as one because he posed no threat!
“Your Highness, we’re here,” a voice said from outside.
Cheng Yanran lifted the curtains and saw a quiet courtyard in front of him.
“Let’s enter,” Cheng Yanran instructed.
Thereafter, the 12 guards and the carriage entered a quiet residence. The residence’s gatekeeper closed the door after letting them in.
“The carriage entered a residence.” Tu Ling looked like an ordinary woman as she glanced from afar. Her consciousness instantly left Blood Rain World and exchanged information with the outside world.
******
In the quiet courtyard.
An elder with messy hair sat cross-legged in the main seat, eating meat and drinking alcohol.
“Congratulations, Dharmaraja. You’ve successfully found the seventh treasure map,” the lanky man said with a smile.
“Yi Chou.” The disheveled elder glanced at him. “I know what you’re thinking. Don’t worry; you contributed greatly to my finding of this treasure map! I guarantee that you will definitely be promoted to Guardian.”
The tall, thin man was delighted. “Thank you, Dharmaraja.”
“Three of the nine treasure maps were replicated thrice,” the disheveled elder said. “Therefore, there’s a high chance of gathering all nine treasure maps. Kid, you’re very capable when it comes to treasure hunting. Continue working hard and find the next treasure map. If we can really dig up the treasures of the previous dynasty, the sect will definitely treat you well.”
“Yes.” The tall and thin man was also filled with fighting spirit.
The disheveled elder suddenly raised his eyebrows. “My disciple is here.”
Soon—
Cheng Yanran, the one-armed woman, and the middle-aged man arrived.
“Emissary Xun.” The disheveled elder nodded at the middle-aged man.
“Sword Dharmaraja.” The middle-aged man nodded.
Sword Dharmaraja was one of the Red Lotus Sect’s Dharmarajas and had an extremely high standing in the sect. He was famous for his sword techniques.
Emissary Xun was originally an unaffiliated super expert that Cheng Yanran had hired at a high price! It was because of Cheng Yanran that Emissary Xun came into contact with the Red Lotus Sect and was invited to take on the so-called ’emissary’ position.
In fact, this position was similar to being a guest elder. Its status was higher, but it didn’t have any actual authority.
“Master.” Cheng Yanran and the one-armed woman bowed.
“Yanran, Yao’er,” the disheveled elder instructed, “Sit.”
…
Outside this quiet residence, experts secretly in charge of protecting Cheng Yanran waited silently.
At this moment, the 100 second-rate experts were completely scattered. They were dressed like ordinary citizens as they gradually approached the residence from all directions.
At the same time, Xu Jingming led three Lv. 8 experts and 60 first-rate experts into action.
“It’s that residence! We can confirm that Cheng Yanran’s carriage and guards haven’t come out since they entered the residence,” Xu Jingming said. “Our first target is Cheng Yanran.”
The three Lv. 8 experts behind him nodded slightly.
“Act according to the plan,” Xu Jingming ordered. Wearing a human skin mask, he held his spear and led 63 experts as they unleashed their full speed.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
All of them turned into afterimages and charged at the residence at high speeds. In just a few seconds, they covered a distance of nearly 300 meters!
There weren’t many guards protecting Cheng Yanran in secret. After they were removed, there were only 18 guards left! These 18 people were mainly at the front door, and only two people were stationed at the back door.
The duo’s expressions changed drastically when they saw Xu Jingming and the other experts charging over with blurry afterimages. They didn’t dare to stop them.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Only when the three Lv. 8 experts rushed to the back door of the residence did they unleash their psychic forces at the same time. They instantly enveloped the entire residence and struck everyone’s mind.
The expressions of the disheveled elder—Sword Dharmaraja—and Emissary Xun instantly changed.
The battle instantly erupted.
