Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
After handing over the archery club’s affairs to Shi Changfeng, Yan Liqiang rushed back home, not even bothering to hide his own cultivation. In a flash, he reappeared in the Yan Residence. Even the servants in the manor thought their eyes were playing tricks on them.
“Ah, the young lord is back, the young lord is back…!” A few servants cried.
“Where is my father?”
“The old master just returned to his courtyard!”
Upon hearing the servant’s reply, Yan Liqiang briskly walked toward Yan Dechang’s courtyard.
Passing through corridors and buildings, it took him only a short while to arrive at Yan Dechang’s courtyard. He pushed open the door and entered.
Yan Dechang was sitting in a chair under a grape trellis with Zhou Hongda and Zhou Tiezhu by his side. The three men were talking to each other in the courtyard. Yan Liqiang was half relieved when he saw Yan Dechang. When he was on his way back here, he was afraid to come home to the same scene during Yan Dechang’s last encounter with King Cobra. Now that he found out Yan Dechang was only slightly bruised on his forehead but was still well enough to speak with his other two companions, Yan Liqiang immediately heaved a sigh of relief.
“Father!” Yan Liqiang called out and hurried over to him.
“Young Master!” Zhou Tiezhu and Zhou Hongda quickly bowed to Yan Liqiang.
“I already said it’s a small matter and I’ll be fine. Who notified Liqiang?” Yan Dechang looked at Zhou Tiezhu and Zhou Hongda. There was a trace of discontentment in his voice.
“Old Master… It was I who sent someone to bring Young Master back!” Zhou Hongda admitted beside him. “When Young Master left home last time, he ordered us to inform him if anything happened at home!”
“Father, please don’t blame Steward Zhou. What happened? The messenger told me you got hit. Who hit you?” Although Yan Liqiang was calm, his voice was murderously cold. If his father was still being bullied in their hometown in Pingxi Prefecture at this point in time, then Yan Liqiang would stand no chance in venturing any further.
“I didn’t get beaten up by anyone. It was from when I fell off the horse. I scraped the skin on my head and legs, but they’ll heal in two days with some ointment. There’s no problem at home, so you don’t need to worry. The archery academy is much more important. You should go back and settle your matters. Don’t let yourself be distracted…” Yan Dechang seemed like he didn’t want Yan Liqiang to get involved, so he deliberately downplayed the truth.
“Alright. If it’s nothing then rest well, Father!”
Yan Liqiang didn’t press further when he noticed Yan Dechang’s reluctance to speak. After talking a little more with him, Yan Liqiang left the courtyard. However, he shot a glance at Zhou Hongda before doing so.
…
Yan Liqiang was waiting in the corridor outside of his father’s courtyard and didn’t go far. Two minutes after he exited, Zhou Hongda came out too.
“Young Lord…” Zhou Hongda whispered after casting a glance at Yan Dechang’s courtyard.
“What is going on, Steward Zhou?”
“Old Master just warned me not to tell!” Steward Zhou replied awkwardly. He shrunk under Yan Liqiang’s gaze and further lowered his voice.
“Old Master went to Qinghe Wharf with two guards to order some pig iron this morning, but returned with injuries. I questioned the two guards who accompanied him, and was told that they ran into a group of officers on their way back. The officers were riding recklessly on their steeds and speeding on the road. Old Master was riding on the same road, but the officers hit his steed for getting in their way when they passed by. This caused the Old Master’s steed to rear in fright. He was caught off guard and fell off his steed. Our guards confronted the officers but got struck down by them…”
F*CK!
Yan Liqiang was fuming when he heard the truth. “Which Law Enforcement Office are the officers from?” he seethed through his teeth.
“No idea, but they are definitely not from Qinghe County. Our guards mentioned that all of them wore black uniforms and were carrying Yanling Sabers. There were about twenty of them acting all high and mighty while escorting a four-wheeled carriage. After the officers knocked them down, they didn’t even stop. They just spat on them and hurled insults at them before they left!”
“Where were those people headed?”
“Huanglong County!”
“How long were they gone for?”
“It has only been less than two hours since Old Master returned!”
“Bring those two guards before me and prepare my steed!”
“Right away!” Zhou Hongda didn’t dare to tarry after seeing the look on Yan Liqiang’s face and quickly left.
A few minutes later, Yan Liqiang saw the two guards in the Yan Residence waiting room. One of them was named Liu An while the other was Xu Hong. There was a red welt running down from Liu An’s temple to his cheek. Xu Hong suffered a bone fracture on his left arm and had just received treatment. The guard explained that one of the officers hit him with his scabbard so hard that he fell off his steed.
Yan Liqiang personally questioned the two guards, and the answers he got from them matched Zhou Hongda’s story.
“Will you still be able to recognize the officers who hit you?”
“We will surely recognize them even if they are reduced to ashes!” Liu An seethed through his teeth while Xu Hong nodded.
“Xu Hong, you’re still injured. It’ll be inconvenient for you as it’ll be a bumpy ride, so stay in the manor and rest up. Liu An, do you have the guts to go with me and find them?”
“Your humble servant, I only have myself to blame for my incompetence. I failed to stand against them and let them get away. Otherwise, I would have fought them. If Young Lord wishes to seek them, I naturally have the guts to join you!” Liu An answered bravely and solemnly.
Yan Liqiang cast a glance at the guard named Liu An. “Good. The steeds have been prepared. Follow me, Liu An!”
“Yes!”
Just when Yan Liqiang was about to leave, Shi Dafeng and Shen Teng came. Both of them heard from Shi Changfeng at the archery academy that something had happened to the Yan Clan, so they hurried here.
After listening to Yan Liqiang’s explanation, Shi Dafeng immediately got angry. “Come, we’ll go together! Let’s find those bastards! I’ll beat them to death!”
“Let’s go!” Shen Teng didn’t talk much, but he looked at Yan Liqiang firmly.
Yan Liqiang nodded. Shi Dafeng, Shen Teng, Liu An, and six other guards from the Yan Residence got on their steeds. The party of exactly ten people then rode swiftly toward Huanglong County.
Through the information they gathered from restaurants, teahouses, and coachmen along the way, they discovered that the officers had indeed traveled on the same less than two hours ago. As expected, they were making their way to Huanglong County.
By noon, the party reached Huanglong County. They asked the people around and finally tracked those people all the way to the Manufacturing Bureau…
The group of officers actually made their way to the Manufacturing Bureau as soon as they arrived at Huanglong County…
F*ck, what do they call this again? Walking right into the trap?
