Chapter 80: The Great Escape

“Hold it right there! Hands up!” The city guards shouted, aiming their guns at Qian Ye.

Qian Ye slowly raised his hands and calmly backed up until his spine touched the wall.

City guards flooded into the alleyway from both ends, and figures appeared on the rooftops on either side.

A subtle twitch appeared between Qian Ye’s brows. He spotted two snipers lying in wait on a roof 200 meters away. Among the array of guns aimed at him, he recognized several as origin force rifles, indicating that these city guards were no ordinary soldiers but a significant number of battle troops.

This ratio gave Qian Ye an insight into the power of the private armies of noble families. Even a border town like Li Bin had a city guard force rivaling the mainline legions of the Empire.

A bearded officer jumped down from a jeep, glanced at the bodies on the ground, and asked, “What happened here?”

“I don’t know,” Qian Ye replied. “These people suddenly attacked me. Oh, and there’s that guy over there. He said his name is Ma Sandao.”

The bearded officer waved his hand, saying, “No matter what, I will figure it out. Now, disarm yourself and come with me to the city guard headquarters with this so-called Ma Sandao. We’ll sort this out properly.”

Qian Ye frowned slightly. As a city guard officer, the decision made by the bearded man seemed normal, yet he felt an inexplicable hostility and murderous intent.

Just then, Qian Ye heard that strange whistling sound again, and this time he remembered what it was. It was the sound of an origin force array charging!

Without hesitation, Qian Ye threw himself backward, and the brick wall couldn’t withstand the impact, instantly forming a large hole. Dust and debris fell as Qian Ye rushed into the room.

Explosions echoed in the alley as several origin force bullets whizzed towards where Qian Ye had been standing. Amidst the chaos, a unique thud was heard, the sound of a large-caliber sniper bullet. If Qian Ye had stayed in place, such concentrated fire would have severely injured even his vampire constitution.

Under the bearded officer’s orders, several city guards rushed to the broken wall. Suddenly, a melon-sized grenade rolled out of the dust.

“Origin force grenade!” The city guards scattered in terror.

The grenade crossed the alley and hit the opposite wall without exploding.

“Damn, it’s a dud!” The bearded officer’s face turned livid as he personally led the charge inside.

Meanwhile, Qian Ye burst through the roof. He knocked out the city guard on the roof, grabbed an assault rifle, and plucked a chain of grenades from a soldier’s belt. He pulled the pin and tossed them into the room below.

The house beneath shook violently, and a series of explosions followed, mixed with the bearded officer’s curses. While these incendiary grenades had limited power against ordinary people, they posed little threat to a Level 5 battle troop like the bearded officer. Still, being hit by several grenades in a confined space would keep him busy for a while.

However, despite his advantage, Qian Ye felt a heavy weight in his heart and couldn’t help but curse.

These city guards clearly meant trouble. If they were indeed allied with the attackers in the alley, his situation was dire. With so many enemies, it would be difficult to escape without harming anyone.

But if he killed the city guards, the consequences would be severe. No noble family would let the murderer of their forces go unpunished, regardless of the reason.

While Qian Ye was still hesitating, a sudden sense of danger struck him. He sidestepped just in time as a sniper bullet whizzed past his body.

Expressionless, Qian Ye raised the assault rifle, aimed at the sniper on the nearby rooftop, and held the trigger down.

The assault rifle spat fire, emptying its magazine in moments.

Though Qian Ye and the sniper were over 200 meters apart, within the assault rifle’s range, the sniper didn’t believe that spray fire could hit him. To him, it seemed more like a frustrated act.

The hail of bullets arrived almost instantly, all landing within a meter of the sniper. The sniper screamed as his body flew back, riddled with over a dozen holes.

Qian Ye calmly reloaded and fired in another direction. The second sniper also fell, hit by numerous bullets, screaming as he tumbled from the roof.

With the last magazine, Qian Ye swept down any remaining soldiers, dropped the assault rifle, and dashed across the rooftops, disappearing in moments.

Only when Qian Ye was far gone did the city guards dare to get up, cautiously scanning their surroundings. The bearded officer emerged from behind a half-collapsed wall, his face dark.

At the alley entrance, a slightly plump figure appeared—Wang Youyuan, the manager of Xinglong Trading Company. His face twitched as he saw the chaos, sweat pouring from his oily forehead.

“Ho… how did this happen?” Wang Youyuan stammered.

“Hel… help me!” A weak voice came from the side.

Wang Youyuan turned to see Ma Sandao leaning against the wall, clutching his abdomen, blood seeping through his fingers. Wang Youyuan’s expression turned even darker, signaling to the bearded officer.

The bearded officer approached Ma Sandao, raised his origin force pistol, and shot him in the heart. The blast nearly tore through Ma Sandao’s body.

Struggling with his last breath, Ma Sandao gasped, “Wh… why?”

“No reason. You lost and knew too much,” Wang Youyuan said dismissively.

“You…” Ma Sandao managed before collapsing, filled with endless resentment.

Wang Youyuan wiped the sweat from his brow and told the bearded officer, “I’m going to Lord Zhao now. Handle things here. By any means, catch that boy; otherwise, we can’t explain!”

The bearded officer nodded, calling over several soldiers. “You, check the city gates. Be thorough, and don’t let anyone slip through. The rest, follow me!”

Soon, alarms blared in Li Bin City. Squads of city guards rushed out of the barracks, starting a city-wide search. One squad entered Qian Ye’s hotel room but found nothing useful except some spare clothes.

In the West Pole City, the main mansion was quiet in the afternoon. Standing on the waterside terrace outside his study, Zhao Jundu gazed at the mysterious Xuanji Lake, his expression blank, as if deep in thought or not thinking at all.

Suddenly, the iron horse under the eaves rang, signaling a visitor.

Zhao Jundu entered the study and saw Wang Bo, feeling somewhat surprised but still politely inviting him to sit.

Wang Bo was an old retainer brought by the princess when she married into the Zhao family. The princess, due to her illness, lived in a separate residence, and communication with her four sons and one daughter was handled by Wang Bo. In recent years, as the four young masters grew up, Wang Bo spent most of his time with Zhao Ruoxi.

Wang Bo, grave-faced, got straight to the point, “Fourth Master, after much thought, I believe I need to discuss something with you.”

Zhao Jundu paused, not asking what, but instead, “I heard Ruoxi went to visit Mother?” What did Wang Bo need to tell him behind Zhao Ruoxi’s back? She disliked others meddling in her affairs, even if they were her brothers.

As if reading his mind, Wang Bo continued, “When it happened, Old Slave and Zhao Kai were present. Miss ordered us not to say a word. But if it were only about the inheritance of Manjusha, it wouldn’t matter. However, this person might be connected to the old matter… and Miss knows very little about it.”

Zhao Jundu’s brows furrowed. The old matter? What old matter could be on par with the inheritance of Manjusha? He called for tea, then instructed the servants to stay away and not let anyone near.

Zhao Jundu watched the door close, pressed a spot under the table, and activated the origin force arrays in the window and walls, cutting off all sounds. He personally served tea to Wang Bo, took a cup himself, and settled in to hear the story.

Wang Bo had been pondering this matter for days. Despite his concise words, he didn’t miss any detail, recounting Zhao Ruoxi’s encounter with Qian Ye in the valley, the false pursuit, and finally, Qian Ye revealing his light-winged form, activating Manjusha, and killing the vampire viscount.

Zhao Jundu’s expression changed several times, and after a long pause, he said, “The Empire has never understood the principle of Manjusha’s inheritance. This generation, after Ruoxi became the master, any Zhao clan member with pure blood could fire it, though none could use the ultimate technique.”

Wang Bo knew, however, that while pure-blooded Zhao descendants could use Manjusha, only Zhao Jundu had successfully charged, activated, and fired it. The power of the shot was equivalent to a regular origin force pistol, far different from the ultimate technique Zhao Ruoxi used: the Wàng Chuān.

“Light wings? Cloud-sky feathers?” Zhao Jundu’s face grew more serious. He rose and paced, then stopped and shook his head, “Impossible. If the Bai family had a second Cloud-sky Feather inheritor, we would have known.”

Wang Bo continued, “Old Slave feels this person’s identity is significant, not just because his aura resembles Miss. Two years ago, when Miss went to the Dark Blood City on the Evernight Continent to intercept the Evernight councilor, Old Slave accompanied her. In a small town’s bar, we encountered a young man with a noticeable scar on his chest.”

Wang Bo paused, “They are very similar, likely the same person.”

*Crack!* Zhao Jundu’s teacup shattered in his hand.