Chapter 101: Rescuing Someone

Chapter 101: Rescuing Someone

In Jade Willow Villa, Wei Ziyi presented Su Mo with two grand gifts.

One was the Phoenix Cry Token now resting in Su Mo's arms.

The other was the imprisoned Sword Meteor, Zhan Ming, held within the city lord's mansion of Sunset City!

However, the true value of this gift lay not in Zhan Ming himself but in the consequences of Wei Ziyi placing him there and making it widely known.

At Qijue Hall, Su Mo and his companions knew that the person who had leaked Su Mo's itinerary to the Sword Envoy was none other than Sword Meteor, Zhan Ming.

After that night, Zhan Ming disappeared.

Despite Huaqianyu's exhaustive search, they found nothing, only for Zhan Ming to eventually fall into Wei Ziyi's hands.

Who, then, instructed Zhan Ming to tell the Sword Envoy about that matter?

What was the purpose behind this move?

Was it to pin the blame on Huaqianyu?

Or was there another motive?

All the answers clearly lay with Zhan Ming.

But would Zhan Ming speak?

Or even if he did, would his words be trustworthy?

There were too many uncertainties, so Wei Ziyi never intended to get Zhan Ming to talk. Instead, she planned to use him as bait to catch a bigger fish.

Whether Zhan Ming would speak or whether his words were credible should never have been Wei Ziyi's primary concern, nor even Su Mo's.

The one truly worried should be the person behind Zhan Ming.

What was once unquestionable became a fatal doubt after Zhan Ming's capture.

And precisely because of this, Wei Ziyi used Zhan Ming as bait.

To catch the mastermind behind the scenes.

Now, the fish... has taken the bait!

...

...

Sunset City!

Deep into the night, at this hour, most places had already settled down, except for some businesses that operated late into the night, still lit up.

The city lord's mansion was similarly quiet, with only occasional patrols passing through.

The heavy footsteps of the patrolling guards broke the silence of the night, gradually fading away around the corner of the courtyard.

Several black-clad figures suddenly leaped over the wall, landing silently.

They exchanged glances; one pointed, and they swiftly moved, arriving at a courtyard in no time.

The courtyard was small and silent.

The person inside had not yet retired for the night; a candle burned, casting shadows on the window, adding a touch of loneliness.

The black-clad figures exchanged nods and simultaneously entered the courtyard from different directions.

They expected someone to be hiding nearby, but upon landing, they encountered no disturbance.

Two of the black-clad figures who entered from the rear pushed open the window and slipped inside.

Inside the room, a man sat alone at the table, his brows furrowed.

"Zhan Ming!"

A black-clad figure spoke abruptly.

The man at the table changed expression. "You..."

"Come with us!"

Without waiting for Zhan Ming's response, the two black-clad figures approached him and tapped several points on his body.

But they did not release his acupoints.

"Wei Ruhan's Dragon Imprisonment Finger!?"

One of the black-clad figures' expressions changed, hearing Zhan Ming say:

"You shouldn't have come. Leave quickly!!"

But it seemed too late to say this.

Suddenly, the courtyard burst into flames, and the sound of heavy footsteps approached. The patrolling guards, holding torches, formed a long line and arrived in an instant.

The two black-clad figures exchanged glances, each taking one side of Zhan Ming, and stepped out of the room.

As they emerged, the courtyard gate opened.

A figure walked in calmly, hands behind his back, eyes scanning the scene with cold determination.

"Esteemed guests, arriving at the City Lord's Mansion in the dead of night, if you don't stay for a few days, how will it look to our fellow martial artists? They might say that our City Lord lacks hospitality."

The black-clad figures exchanged glances before one of them spoke:

"It turns out to be Steward Huang. We didn't come here as guests; we only need to take this person and demand an explanation!"

"Hmm?"

Steward Huang's gaze swept lightly over the man: "That is a grave mistake. The person you are holding hostage is a distinguished guest of our young miss. How can you simply take him away? Why should you give anyone an explanation? Even if there are matters to discuss, you should wait for the young miss to return, present your formal requests, and let her decide.

"Certainly not by coming here in the middle of the night and taking him away.

"I suggest you follow the example of those before you and stay as guests. I can still intercede on your behalf with the young miss..."

"Bullshit!"

One of the black-clad men erupted in anger: "Huang Yuan, this is Sunset City, and you are the chief steward of the City Lord's Mansion. We gave you some respect because of that, but otherwise, do you even deserve to speak to us?"

With that, he turned to the black-clad man who had spoken earlier and said urgently: "Brother, the City Lord wants an explanation from Zhan Ming. Why put the City Lord in an unjust position? Delaying like this could jeopardize his plans."

"You make a good point."

As the black-clad man spoke, he lunged forward.

Huang Yuan crossed his arms, and before he could act, guards from the City Lord's Mansion leaped into action.

Each guard moved toward the black-clad men.

These individuals were highly skilled. Although the guards were already among the best, they were still no match for the attackers.

The one who had initially attacked Huang Yuan shouted: "Remember to show mercy; don't harm their lives."

"Thank you."

Suddenly, Huang Yuan's voice rang out. The black-clad man turned abruptly and saw Huang Yuan saying "thank you," but his actions were vicious. Two fingers, carrying a gust of wind, aimed straight for his heart.

He quickly raised his arm to block, and then lifted his elbow, meeting Huang Yuan's elbow with a dull thud.

The clash of internal energy caused Huang Yuan to stagger back three steps.

His face changed, and when he looked up again, the black-clad man was right in front of him, both palms pressed against his chest:

"I apologize!"

In an instant, Huang Yuan was sent flying backward. He landed and spat out a mouthful of blood: "Forest Hell Palm... You are indeed people of Huaqianyu!"

With those words, he collapsed unconscious.

With Huang Yuan knocked down, the remaining guards were easily overwhelmed.

Within moments, the black-clad men broke through the defenses and fled with Zhan Ming.

Unbeknownst to them, on another rooftop of the City Lord's Mansion, three people witnessed the entire scene.

"The Forest Hell Palm is the signature move of Tie Xiangying, a renowned expert under the Flower City Lord. It seems they're determined to pin this on him."

Wei Ziyi, while playing with the messenger hawk on her shoulder, spoke softly.

"To verify the truth, we should follow them."

Yang Xiaoyun, gripping her Longyuan spear, was eager to act.

Su Mo smiled and said to Wei Ziyi: "Steward Huang is quite an interesting character."

Wei Ziyi's lips twitched: "My apologies."

Then she addressed the messenger hawk: "Go peck him."

The hawk let out a cry and circled above Huang Yuan before diving down.

Before reaching him, Huang Yuan opened his eyes, got up, and ran off, showing no signs of injury.

He knew what was happening and called out softly: "Young Miss, spare me!"

Looking up, the rooftop was empty, with no sign of Su Mo and the others.