Sobbing voices came from the Buddhist hall as people moved in and out. The Cao family members imprisoned inside were being rescued one by one by Cao Hai’s men. Torchlight flickered outside the hall as Cao Hai’s figure appeared in the corridor.
“You’re Zhan Yi? Jiao Chunlu’s sworn brother?” He raised his hand to stop his subordinates’ weapons and asked, “How do you know about the thirty thousand taels of gold I’m after?”
Ming Shu looked around – apart from three bandits, there were only armed soldiers. The corridor was completely surrounded. Cao Hai’s face gleamed in the torchlight, his slightly protruding belly still hidden under armor, his round face unreadable but carrying an air of stern authority, enhanced by the men surrounding him.
It was this seemingly ordinary man who had conspired with Gao Shi to murder her entire family of thirty-seven people.
Seeing Cao Hai again, Ming Shu couldn’t hide her feelings as she had in Bianjing. Her breathing became rapid, filled with such hatred she wanted to tear him apart with her bare teeth.
“Since General Cao ordered her capture alive, you must have heard about the Jian family’s thirty thousand taels of gold. I wonder who leaked that information?” The deep voice spoke again as Zhan Yi said through gritted teeth.
“Hahaha…” Cao Hai threw back his head and laughed. “If you’re willing to follow Jiao Chunlu, naturally there are others unwilling to follow him, who don’t want to spend their lives as government fugitives. Zhan Yi, hand over Jian Ming Shu to me, and I can grant you commoner status and a share of silver. You could live in wealth and glory without hiding – isn’t that ten thousand times better than following Jiao Chunlu? What do you say? Think it over.”
Zhan Yi seemed to lower his head to consider Cao Hai’s words. Cao Hai wasn’t rushed; he turned to Ming Shu: “Jian Ming Shu, you played your part well in Bianjing – you even fooled me.”
Ming Shu stared at him coldly: “Cao Hai, you wanted money, but why did you have to slaughter my entire family?”
“I needed money urgently then, and your father was stubborn. Just a lowly merchant trying to act noble with me, unwilling to make big money together. Since that was his choice, he can’t blame me for making an example of him.” Cao Hai licked his dry lips. Perhaps because he was surrounded by his men, he no longer hid his true nature, saying directly, “Blame your father. He was obstinate and didn’t know what was good for him.”
He and Gao Shi had used their power in Jiangning Prefecture to become protectors of corrupt merchants, either forcing merchants to collude with them or persecuting them. Jian Jinhai happened to be the type who refused to submit. Moreover, the Jian family controlled six or seven-tenths of Jiangning’s gold trade. When Cao Hai couldn’t get his share, he developed murderous intentions.
Ming Shu laughed: “Old Madam, did you hear? You worship Buddha day and night, yet you gave birth to a demon.”
Cao Hai’s brows furrowed as he suddenly turned around to find Old Madam Cao standing behind him.
“Mother…” His heart jumped in alarm. He tried to say something, but before he could, the Old Madam rushed forward. Though people tried to hold her back, it was too late.
Two sharp slaps rang out, making Cao Hai’s face jerk to the side, his cheeks reddening. Being slapped in front of his subordinates destroyed his dignity, but he dared not act against his mother. He only viciously kicked the guard who had accompanied her out.
“Who told you to bring my mother here?”
The Old Madam cried as she pulled at Cao Hai’s clothes: “You beast, you did this?”
Cao Hai let her pull at him without retaliating, only comforting her with one sentence, “Mother, I’ll explain this to you later.” Then he ordered his men, “Take the Old Madam back and take good care of her.”
The Old Madam was led away, her crying gradually fading into the distance.
“Cao Hai, you’re also a filial son. Didn’t you know your crimes would implicate your entire family – your brothers, wife, children, your mother…” Ming Shu questioned.
“So what if I knew? Fortune favors the bold. Besides, what can you do to me?” Cao Hai said dismissively. “If you’re smart, tell me where the thirty thousand taels of gold are, and I might spare you the crime of invading my home, even return your corpse intact.”
Everyone who knew the truth was dead. Without evidence or witnesses, and soon even the last survivor would die – what did he have to fear?
“You wish! I’ll never tell you, even in death!” Ming Shu raged.
“Death? Try dying then. If you die, I’ll send Zeng Yuqing and Lu Chang to accompany you. Don’t think they’re safe just because they’re in Bianjing. I have plenty of ways to kill them.” Cao Hai grinned, showing his yellow teeth.
Ming Shu’s expression changed dramatically. Disregarding the blade at her throat, she tried to lunge at Cao Hai like a madwoman: “Cao Hai!”
The person behind held her back.
“Haven’t you all talked enough?” Zhan Yi finally spoke again.
“Brother Zhan, have you made your decision?” Cao Hai stopped paying attention to Ming Shu and looked at Zhan Yi.
Compared to Ming Shu, this Zhan Yi was more troublesome, actually knowing to use Ming Shu to threaten him.
“General Cao’s words sound nice, but if I hand over Jian Ming Shu, will you let me live?” Zhan Yi said with a cold laugh. He wasn’t a fool – Ming Shu was his only leverage now.
“Then what do you want?” Cao Hai asked.
“Prepare horses! I want to leave the city!” As Zhan Yi spoke, he pressed the blade harder against Ming Shu’s neck.
Ming Shu lifted her chin, eyebrows tightly knitted, letting out a pained whimper.
In the darkness, it wasn’t clear, but the blade seemed to have already cut into her throat. Cao Hai’s brows also furrowed.
“Zhan Yi, you don’t think you can escape, do you?”
“Prepare horses!” Zhan Yi demanded recklessly. “Talk any more and I’ll kill her. At worst, we’ll die together – nobody will get that gold!”
Cao Hai touched his sword hilt and waved his hand: “Get him horses!” He said no more.
During this shocking turn of events, time had silently slipped away, and dawn was approaching.
The sky was still dark, seeming to wait for a ray of light to tear through the darkness.
Horses’ hooves clattered through the silent streets, accompanied by crowing roosters and barking dogs, like a pot of porridge coming to boil. The Cao family gate opened, and Cao Hai stood watching as four horses hurriedly departed. A subordinate beside him asked in confusion: “General, you’re just letting them leave like this?”
Cao Hai said grimly: “Let them? Once they’re out of the city, where can they go? They’re probably counting on Jiao Chunlu’s help in Raven’s Crossing Forest.” After speaking, he laughed coldly and called for his horse, mounting swiftly.
“General, given the current situation at the mansion, should we report to the authorities?”
Cao Hai kicked the man off his horse: “Report? Are you afraid too few people know about my business? Leave ten men to handle things at the mansion, the rest follow me after Zhan Yi.”
With that, he led his men in thunderous pursuit.
What they didn’t know was that not far from the Cao mansion, dozens of Lin’an Prefecture officials had already arrived.
Carrying lanterns in a dragon-like procession, they rushed toward the Cao residence.
After leaving the Cao mansion, Ming Shu was hoisted onto a horse with Zhan Yi sitting behind her, supporting her sides as they fled.
The wind blew fiercely, whipping their clothes and hair into disarray.
Zhan Yi bent very low, forcing Ming Shu to lower herself as well, half-embraced by him.
“Bear with it – afraid they’ll shoot arrows in pursuit,” Zhan Yi suddenly said after they’d covered some distance.
“They’re following?” Ming Shu had lost her earlier vengeful expression and asked calmly.
“They’re following,” the person behind replied, his voice no longer deep.
“Didn’t I tell you to stay outside the Cao mansion as backup? Why did you come in?” Ming Shu asked him, raising her voice slightly.
The surrounding scenery was now streaking past in long black shadows, gradually turning grey as dawn approached.
“I was worried about you,” he said simply.
At dawn, though not fully lit, the city gates slowly opened.
In the empty streets, someone was sweeping fallen leaves into corner piles when a horse galloped past, scattering the gathered leaves. The sweeper looked up cursing, only to see a horse disappearing through the half-opened city gate in a cloud of dust.
Once outside the city, Ming Shu spoke again, somewhat annoyed: “What was there to worry about? Didn’t we agree that I would lure Cao Hai to Raven’s Crossing Forest while you stayed in the city to alert the authorities?”
Lu Chang, wearing Zhan Yi’s clothes, held her tightly and replied: “I’ve already alerted them. The Lin’an Prefecture officers should have received news of the robbery at the Cao mansion and arrived outside. I left men there to handle things – the officials will seize the stolen goods, don’t worry. As you wished, we’ve led Cao Hai to rendezvous with his private army at Raven’s Crossing Forest. Your plan remains unchanged, just slightly modified.”
“So you were deceiving me earlier?” Ming Shu asked him.
No wonder he had agreed to the original plan so readily – he had his intentions all along.
“Ming Shu, I know you didn’t want me to take risks, but I couldn’t let you face danger alone,” Lu Chang said helplessly. “It would be hard to escape once in Cao Hai’s hands – using yourself as bait was too dangerous a move.”
Knowing Ming Shu’s temperament, if he had shown any opposition at the time, she likely would have changed her mind immediately. He could only follow her plan initially and find an opportunity to protect her safety.
Ming Shu fell silent. It was too late to change things now – Lu Chang was still in danger because of her.
She could only hope everything would go smoothly.
Yes, everything was just her trap for Cao Hai – from the day she agreed to stop at Lu Chang’s request, she had changed her plans.
The wind whistled past their ears as they quickly reached the outskirts of Raven’s Crossing Forest. The other three bandits who had followed them had disappeared, unable to keep up.
In the dim light, the forest was dead silent.
The horse circled briefly outside the forest before charging in.
“Seeking death!” Cao Hai had caught up behind them, his eyes showing the excitement of an eagle pursuing chickens. “Give the signal, Chen Yong.”
By this time, Jiao Chunlu’s men should have been dealt with, leaving only Chen Yong and his men in the forest.
Following orders, his subordinate shot a signal arrow into the sky as Cao Hai spurred his horse to pursue into the forest.
Lu Chang’s horse wasn’t a good one, and carrying two people, it had exhausted itself after running for so long.
“Keep your head down!” Ming Shu suddenly heard Lu Chang’s sharp cry before he pulled her down with him, rolling to the side of the horse.
Two long arrows whistled through the space where they had been.
Before Ming Shu could recover, the horse let out a terrible neigh as an arrow struck its back leg. The horse stumbled sideways in pain, and Lu Chang quickly embraced Ming Shu as they rolled to the ground.
They were covered in sand, dirt, and mud, their arms painfully scraped against the ground, but Ming Shu was largely unharmed, protected in Lu Chang’s embrace. Lu Chang let out two muffled groans, apparently injured somewhere.
Ming Shu’s heart tightened, but there wasn’t even time to ask about his injuries before Lu Chang pulled her up.
Cao Hai had caught up, wanting to separate the two, but hadn’t expected “Zhan Yi” to risk his life protecting Ming Shu, making them inseparable. Now in daylight, “Zhan Yi’s” appearance couldn’t be hidden – even with the blood on his face, his build and movements revealed his identity as Cao Hai.
“Lu Chang?!” he exclaimed in shock, sensing something was wrong.
Why was Lu Chang in Lin’an? Wasn’t he supposed to be confined in Bianjing reflecting on his actions?
While Cao Hai was confused, four of his men had already lunged at Lu Chang and Ming Shu, intending to capture them. Lu Chang, fighting four alone while protecting Ming Shu, was at a severe disadvantage and could only defend desperately. Just as the situation seemed dire, three more people suddenly burst from the forest to engage Cao Hai’s men. These were Lu Chang’s remaining loyal guards, and their appearance relieved some of the pressure on him.
Lu Chang pushed Ming Shu behind him to focus on fighting his opponents.
As sword light and fists flashed around her, Ming Shu bit her lip and retreated. Suddenly, someone burst from the forest behind her, swiftly grabbing her throat and shouting: “General, it’s a trap!”
Lu Chang turned to look, his eyes bulging in fury. The person who had emerged from the forest was Chen Yong, covered in blood, who dragged Ming Shu westward as Cao Hai’s face changed dramatically and he rode to Chen Yong’s side.
“In the forest… besides Jiao Chunlu’s men, there is Lin’an militia in ambush… hunting bandits!” Chen Yong said while holding Ming Shu hostage.
Ming Shu could only smell the heavy scent of blood.
Lu Chang, trapped by opponents in the distance, was consumed by rage, disregarding his opponents’ attacks as he charged toward her.
“It was you? Jian Ming Shu!” Cao Hai seemed to suddenly understand something.
Ming Shu managed a strained smile: “Yes, it was me!”
The thirty thousand taels of gold were false, and the collusion with Jiao Chunlu was false, but using Jiao Chunlu to investigate the Cao family and find the stolen goods was real, forcing the Cao family to kneel and confess was real. She and Lu Chang had leaked the information to Cao Hai’s men – the thirty thousand taels of gold was enough to drive Cao Hai crazy, to make him deploy his private army against Jiao Chunlu. This was exactly what she wanted – his use of private troops would allow the men hidden in Jiangning to trace his army’s camp, and she could use the pretext of hunting bandits to have the Lin’an militia eliminate both Jiao Chunlu and Cao Hai’s private forces. Ming Shu’s role was to lure him to Raven’s Crossing Forest, to catch him meeting with his private army, proving his crime.
The crime of treason.
The Cao family could not end well.
He thought he held all the cards, not knowing he had walked into a trap from the very beginning.
The Lin’an militia had long been lying in wait outside Raven’s Crossing Forest, just waiting for him to show himself.
“I’ll kill you!” Cao Hai raged, reaching for his sword, but his hand was knocked away by a thrown blade.
Unable to reach them in time, Lu Chang could only try to save her this way.
“Ah—” Chen Yong suddenly screamed.
Ming Shu had somehow drawn out the dagger Lu Chang had given her and had viciously stabbed Chen Yong’s arm when he wasn’t paying attention. He screamed in pain and released her, and Ming Shu fled desperately toward Lu Chang. Lu Chang had also knocked out those holding him back and was running toward her.
In that split second, Chen Yong endured the pain to act, violently ramming into Ming Shu to stop her escape.
Ming Shu was knocked aside, stumbling a few steps before falling. Her head hit a rock, her vision blurred, and she passed out.
When light and sound returned, Ming Shu felt the world spinning.
The forest whirled above her, her ears buzzing with what might have been the sounds of fighting nearby, or perhaps just ringing in her ears.
She closed her eyes again, taking several deep breaths to suppress the dizziness. She hadn’t been unconscious long and was still in the forest. Her forehead throbbed painfully, with blood seemingly running down her temple. Not daring to touch the wound, she struggled to sit up, caught her breath, and assessed the situation.
One look was enough to make her heart leap to her throat.
Something had happened while she was unconscious – the fighting continued nearby, and Chen Yong lay motionless on the ground.
And Lu Chang…
Lu Chang found breathing impossible, struggling but unable to draw air, his chest feeling ready to explode.
He had taken down Chen Yong but was caught from behind by Cao Hai, who had wrapped a soft whip around his throat.
Military men had tremendous strength, and Cao Hai pressed against his back, seemingly bent on revenge as he squeezed mercilessly, determined to kill him.
He was lifted to his toes, his vision gradually blurring, the distant figure becoming indistinct.
Lu Chang desperately tried to turn his head to look at Ming Shu but couldn’t manage it.
Suffocation was draining his strength, his mind going blank… his hands couldn’t pull the whip from his neck, his throat feeling about to snap…
Death was instantly before his eyes.
But suddenly, the pressure on his neck released.
Air rushed into his nose, and his chest… he suddenly came to, enduring the pain in his throat as he gripped the soft whip and threw it off violently. Cao Hai didn’t resist… he just stood there, eyes wide, staring ahead in disbelief.
Lu Chang broke free and turned to see the dagger he had given Ming Shu buried in Cao Hai’s back, with Ming Shu’s hands tightly gripping the other end.
She had killed Cao Hai.