In the depths of a mountain ravine in the northern foothills of Mao Mountain, a shack built of bamboo, wood, and thatch stood alone and desolate.

Crawling into the shack, there was a rock cave six or seven zhang deep on the inner side. A fire pit was burning on the ground, with some old pottery jars and porcelain bowls scattered about, and a pile of dry grass in the corner serving as bedding.

This had originally been the dwelling place of two forest guards in the mountains. The shack outside was built to prevent rainwater from flowing down the cliff face and flooding the cave. But now the two forest guards and some servants who still had some loyalty to the Feng family had been killed and thrown into the mountain ravine. Feng Yi, Feng Liao, and Kong Xirong were bound tightly and thrown in the corner of the cave.

Around the fire pit at the cave entrance sat seven or eight sturdy men, staring at a deer being roasted over the fire, its fat dripping into the firewood with sizzling sounds. Swords and bows lay scattered haphazardly on the ground.

Feng Yi’s hands were tied behind his back, his head and face pressed against the cold stone floor. Smelling the enticing aroma of the venison, his stomach, which had been empty for two days, felt extremely uncomfortable. His mouth was stuffed with a rotten, stinking piece of rag—he wanted to curse but couldn’t make a sound, wanted to vomit but couldn’t—and could only glare hatefully at his legitimate elder brother Feng Liao.

These damned household soldiers had originally been a group of criminals and bandits from Yuezhou. After being captured by the prefecture office and sentenced to execution, Feng Liao had seen they were highly skilled in martial arts and paid gold to redeem them for use as escorts.

Who could have imagined that just after escaping the city with these household soldiers, these damned lowborn bastards would bind them up and imprison them in this godforsaken cave? Three loyal servants who refused to betray their masters for profit had been killed by them.

“Boss, it’s been a whole day and Li Qilü hasn’t returned. Is this deal with that Han fellow reliable?” A shifty-eyed, short, thin man stared at a black-faced man sitting opposite and asked.

“These land deeds the Feng brothers were carrying are useless in our hands, but to that Han fellow they represent twenty thousand mu of good farmland. How could he not be tempted? And since Emperor Tianyou handed the Feng family case to Zheng Chang to preside over, only people from the Third Prince’s side can manipulate these matters—we can only make this deal with that Han fellow,” the black-faced man said in a muffled voice.

“I’m saying, what if that Han fellow still remembers the Feng brothers’ kindness?” the rat-eyed man asked.

“Don’t doubt it. That Han fellow is ruthless and merciless. Even if the Feng brothers hadn’t betrayed the Left Division’s secret agents after escaping from Lanting Lane, that Han fellow wouldn’t show mercy. Now we’re delivering this great gift into his hands, and what we’re asking for isn’t excessive. Don’t worry about it,” the black-faced man said. “Besides, Li Qilü is clever. If he senses something’s wrong, he’ll escape on his own.”

The wind howled outside the cave. Although the autumn air was crisp outside, inside the cave it was stuffy and damp. But afraid of being spotted by hunters or villagers coming into the mountains, these men could only hide in the cave and didn’t dare go out and wander easily.

A soft “crack” sound came, sounding like a wild animal passing through the ravine and stepping on a branch. But the black-faced man still stood up vigilantly, kicked a scarred man snoring beside him, and said, “Mazi, get up and come outside with me to look. It seems like someone’s passing by outside…”

The scarred man reluctantly stood up, grabbed his sword and bow, and followed the black-faced man outside. Just as they walked out of the shack, they saw over ten sharp arrows whistling toward them. The black-faced man reacted quickly, pulled his body back, and rolled back into the shelter of the shack. The scarred man, however, was hit by seven or eight arrows and fell to the ground howling. Blood gushed from the wounds, and it was clear he wouldn’t make it.

“Enemy attack! Enemy attack!” The black-faced man scrambled and crawled into the cave, but was still hit in the right calf by an arrow that pierced through the shack. The arrowhead made of refined steel was extremely sharp, directly piercing through his leg bone and emerging from the other side.

“Guard the cave entrance! Don’t let them attack inside!” the black-faced man shouted, sweating from pain on his forehead. But after snapping off the arrow shaft and pulling out the arrowhead, he rushed to the cave entrance. He had already seen over ten figures charging toward them in the dawn light. He took up his longbow and shot arrows toward the cave entrance.

However, the dozen or so men rushing forward were all wearing scale armor and holding iron shields. When several men in the cave shot arrows at the leader, they saw him use his shield to block his face, throat, and other vital points not covered by scale armor. Though he was hit by three arrows in other places, it didn’t slow his forward advance at all.

“The armor they’re wearing is too excellent, we can’t pierce it! Get swords, quickly get swords to block the cave entrance!” the black-faced man shouted.

The black-faced man shouted this, but the others felt a wave of despair. When they had escorted the Feng brothers to secretly flee the city, to avoid arousing the suspicion of the Imperial Guards soldiers guarding the gates, they had only worn simple leather armor under their robes. They had no large shields, only long swords and mulberry bows. They hadn’t expected to be attacked while in the cave and had made no other preparations. How could they contend with over ten heavily armored elite soldiers?

Knowing that the Feng family retainers inside the cave were highly skilled in martial arts, Tian Cheng led from the front. He and Lin Haizheng each held a shield at the forefront, leading over ten heavily armored scouts in a fierce assault. The Feng family retainers picked up burning firewood and hurled it at the cave entrance. Tian Cheng simply used his iron shield to protect his head and face, while his straight-spine long sword struck swiftly and ruthlessly forward.

The cave entrance was narrow, with over twenty men from both sides crowded together with no room to maneuver. The key was not to fall down—to withstand the pressure and keep striking, tear open a gap, and victory would be decided.

Watching as all eight Feng family retainers were killed on the spot, with the survivors bound and thrown in the corner of the cave, Tian Cheng caught his breath and instructed his subordinates, “Ask Your Excellency to come over. Everyone here has been dealt with.”

Tian Cheng had also taken several sword strikes at the cave entrance. His thigh, left ribs, and arms had been slashed and hurt badly, but the iron armor plates hadn’t been penetrated. Apart from some bruises, he had no other serious injuries.

Tian Cheng picked up a straight-spine sword dropped by a Feng family retainer. Looking at the chipped edge of the blade, which was still extremely sharp, its quality was no less than the swords they used. He hadn’t expected it couldn’t split open the iron armor plates sewn into the scale armor he wore.

Seeing Gao Shao, who had entered from behind, staring enviously at his scale armor, Tian Cheng laughed and cursed, “Next time you charge at the front into battle, I’ll let you wear this scale armor.”

“Then thank you. I’ll ask Your Excellency for a set of scale armor myself and won’t compete with you for what you favor,” Gao Shao said with a laugh.

His specialty was agile movement and skill with archery. If it came to charging into battle and fighting enemies face to face, which required sustained strength, he wasn’t as good as the “Sick Tiger” Tian Cheng in this regard.

Honestly, he didn’t know how Tian Cheng, looking so sickly, could hold his ground against two Feng family retainers in the narrow cave entrance without retreating a single step.

“Captain Tian, Captain Gao, quickly untie us! That Han Qian is a true brother after all—he wasn’t deceived by these wolf-hearted bastards and knew to send you to rescue us…” Feng Yi struggled to spit out the rag from his mouth and shouted hoarsely as if grasping at a lifeline.

“I’m sorry, Young Master Feng. We don’t dare take it upon ourselves to release you. Let’s wait for our master to arrive first,” Gao Shao said with a chuckle, squatting down in front of Feng Yi.

“Where is Han Qian? Quickly bring him here. I have great benefits to give him,” Feng Yi shouted loudly.

At this moment, several more figures entered the cave, led by Han Qian and Xi Ren.

“Han Qian! Han Qian! You wouldn’t think of making things difficult for Xirong and me, would you? Quickly untie us—my body’s gone numb,” Feng Yi shouted when he saw Han Qian. “Search these dog slaves for property deeds and land deeds. These property and land deeds haven’t been transferred to the Feng family’s name yet, and we’ve already taken care of all the officials handling them. Although my Feng family has met with disaster, as long as we brothers come forward, you can transfer these deeds to whoever you want!”

At this moment, Gao Shao handed over several property and land deeds nearly soaked through with blood. Han Qian didn’t take them, saying, “You hold onto them for now. Hand them all over to His Highness later.” Then to Feng Yi and Kong Xirong he said, “Although in the end you still left Lanting Lane and revealed Guo Que’er and Chun Shisanniang’s secrets, I don’t blame you. But whether you live or die must be decided by His Highness. I cannot privately release you. I hope you can understand.”

“We’re brothers! Han Qian, you can’t send us to our deaths,” Feng Yi shouted, rolling on the ground.

Tian Cheng and Gao Shao were also quite helpless.

“Save your strength to plead with His Highness. Brother Feng Liao understands that only His Highness might save your lives,” Han Qian said with a bitter smile, helping Feng Yi and the others up from the ground. He used a dagger to cut the ropes binding their hands and had Guo Que’er bring water and dry rations, letting Feng Yi, Feng Liao, and Kong Xirong eat their fill before setting out.

While the others helped Feng Yi and Kong Xirong out of the cave, Feng Liao lagged behind and said to Han Qian in a lowered voice, “Han Daren can tell His Highness that we had no intention of fleeing—we were abducted out of the city by these wolf-hearted retainers!”

Han Qian glanced at Feng Liao. After being abducted for two days, Feng Liao was also in a sorry state, his hair disheveled and dirty, but his expression was much calmer than Feng Yi’s.

Thinking of how Feng Liao had initially led people to block the alley entrance demanding to take Feng Yi and Kong Xirong away, Han Qian at first found it laughable, but then felt a trace of desolation. It was truly hard to imagine how deeply negative the Feng Wenlan case’s impact on Great Chu would be when so many hidden troubles and major problems had yet to be eliminated.

“Han Daren should know by now that we three cousins have no one to rely on except you,” Feng Liao said, seeing Han Qian pondering silently and thinking he had been persuaded, continuing to press his case.

“I said from the very beginning that whether your Feng family could preserve a way to survive, you could only place your bet on His Highness. You didn’t believe it. I’m still saying the same thing now—whether you brothers can live, you can only place your bet on His Highness! Telling me all this is just seeking a quick death,” Han Qian said. “However, I’m very curious about one thing. After you retrieved Feng Yi and Kong Xirong, why didn’t you go seek help from the Crown Prince, but instead made contact with Chuzhou Pavilion?”

“It was Chuzhou Pavilion Administrator Yin Peng who took the initiative to find us before that,” Feng Liao said.

“Oh?” Han Qian looked at Feng Liao with considerable surprise. Thinking that Feng Liao had no need to lie to him at this point, this was truly an unexpected matter.