Murong took one look at Wen Yan and saw that her face had gone ashen, her forehead covered in a cold sweat — she looked exactly like someone who had seen a ghost.

“Young Miss, what exactly happened?”

Before Wen Yan could even speak, more than a dozen black-clad figures suddenly leaped out of the darkness, and she immediately scrambled behind Murong in fright.

“Murong — it was them, it was them.”

Murong saw that the alley was deserted in every direction. The dozen figures had already moved to surround them in an instant, and the noise and clamor from the distance made it clear that shouting for help would be useless.

“I saw them kill someone.” Wen Yan had never imagined she could be this unlucky. She had only needed to use the privy, but the moment she stepped inside, she found three or four men driving their blades into a figure wearing a Western suit. In the pale moonlight, the man’s blood had spread across the ground — a truly horrifying sight.

She had managed to keep herself from crying out, and slowly began to back away. But her foot came down on a loose stone, which made a sound. All three or four of the black-clad men turned to look, their blades still dripping blood.

Wen Yan had grown up in wealth and comfort, sheltered from hardship her entire life, and had never encountered anything like this. But she did not freeze or start screaming helplessly — she simply turned and ran.

She had barely made it a few steps before they came after her, and their numbers had doubled. It was plain they intended to silence her.

Murong’s heart sank. She said quietly, “Young Miss, in a moment I’ll hold them back. You run — don’t go to Miss Yan, head for wherever there are people.”

Yan Qing had only a few maids and two attendants with her. Leading this group to her would put Yan Qing in danger as well.

It was not that Murong was showing favoritism — it was that she needed to ensure Yan Qing’s safety. And heading somewhere with people would also help scatter the attackers’ attention, which was safer than becoming a stationary target.

“This trouble started because of me — I’m not leaving.” Wen Yan shook her head urgently. “If I go, you’ll die here. You don’t even have a weapon.”

Murong had not expected the Wen Family’s young miss to have such a direct and stubborn character. In a situation like this, the usual course of things was for the mistress to run while the servant bought time with her life — yet Wen Yan was willing to stay.

Not that she was unafraid. The hands gripping Murong’s arm were trembling continuously.

“One death is better than two.” Murong suddenly shoved Wen Yan backward and called out sharply, “Go — now!”

At the same moment, the dozen black-clad figures came surging in, weapons drawn.

“Do you know whose young miss this is?” Murong called out loudly as she deflected their attacks. “If anything happens to her, not even all of your lives added together would be enough to pay for it.”

Concerned that Wen Yan might not be able to escape, Murong threw out these words hoping to intimidate them. If they showed any fear, they might pull their blows.

“If it’s money you want, her family will pay it. But if she loses her life, her family has power and influence — they will hunt each one of you down one by one.” Murong continued to shout as she fought, not knowing whether it was working.

Wen Yan had not truly planned to run. But she thought Murong’s reasoning made sense — she would go out and bring help. She refused to believe these people were truly above the law, brazen enough to kill in the open in a place like Shun Cheng.

But she had barely run a few steps before one of the black-clad figures caught up with her. Wen Yan thought: if it comes to it, she would fight. She seized one attacker’s hand and bit down with all the force she had.

Outside, the lantern festival was still alive with noise and celebration.

Yan Qing cast another glance toward the alley. “Why have they been gone so long?”

“Miss, let me go check.” Dihuai rose to his feet.

“Take Fu Gang with you.” Fu Gang was one of the Yan Mansion’s guards and a capable fighter — which was precisely why Yan Qing had brought him along.

Dihuai and Fu Gang had not been gone long before the unease in Yan Qing’s heart grew heavier.

“Sister, have candy.” Nian Nian held his sugar figure up to Yan Qing’s mouth, his eyes blinking with playful mischief.

Yan Qing smiled. “Sister is grown up now — she doesn’t eat candy. Nian Nian can have it.”

“Does sister also worry about getting worms in her teeth?” Nian Nian asked with wide-eyed curiosity.

Before Yan Qing could answer, she saw Dihuai come running back toward her in a panic. He was normally a careful and measured person — such an urgent, flustered look from him told her everything before he even opened his mouth.

“Miss, something’s happened.” Dihuai’s brow was tightly furrowed. “The Young Miss from the Wen family and Murong were attacked in the alley. Murong is badly injured. The Young Miss is nowhere to be found.”

The words hit Yan Qing like a blow, her head ringing.

But she steadied herself in an instant. No matter how frantically her heart raced, her voice came out low and controlled. “Jing Zhi, go find Director Shi. If he isn’t there, find Captain Zheng or Captain Bai.”

“Yes.” Jing Zhi desperately wanted to go check on Murong, but for now she had no choice but to follow her Miss’s instructions.

Yan Qing transferred Nian Nian to the two maids standing behind her. “Take Nian Nian home first. Once you’re back, say nothing to anyone — just tell them we’ll be along shortly.”

The two maids took Nian Nian, acknowledged the order, and hurried off.

“Dihuai, get Murong to the hospital immediately.” Yan Qing drew in a slow, steady breath. “Whatever it takes, she must live.”

At that moment, Fu Gang came running back, a bloodied figure cradled in his arms. He left a winding trail of blood along the path behind him.

Yan Qing rushed forward. She reached out and pressed two fingers to Murong’s carotid pulse — a motion she had performed countless times, yet now her fingers were trembling faintly.

“Quickly — the hospital.” Yan Qing’s voice shook. Murong’s breathing was barely there, only the thinnest thread of life remaining.

“Miss, what about you?” Dihuai asked.

“I’ll stay here and wait for the Military Police Bureau. Wen Yan is gone — I have to find her.”

She could see what Dihuai was worried about, and she spoke to reassure him. “I’ll stay right where I am, and besides, those people won’t turn back now. I’ll be all right. Get Murong to the hospital — no matter what, save her.”

Even if she went along, there was nothing she could do. But by staying at the scene, she might still find some trace that could lead her to Wen Yan.

Dihuai’s car was parked not far away in the nearby lot — taking the short cut, it wasn’t far at all.

After Dihuai left, Yan Qing sat in agonized waiting for half an hour before Jing Zhi finally came hurrying back. Because of the festival crowd, she had wound her way around by a longer route.

Walking ahead of her was Zheng Yun, with several officers from the bureau.

“Miss Yan.” Zheng Yun, unlike Bai Jin, had never changed how he addressed her.

Seeing that Shi Ting had not come, Yan Qing knew he was likely not at the bureau. But if that were the case, Zheng Yun would have sent word to him — which could only mean one thing.

“Shi Ting isn’t in Shun Cheng?”

Zheng Yun nodded. “Seventh Brother left for Bei Guan Cheng with the Marshal three days ago. He’ll be back tomorrow.”

Bei Guan Cheng was the primary coal mining district in Bei Di. The coal reserves discovered there accounted for sixty percent of the country’s total known deposits.

Bei Di guarded this mining region jealously as a prized asset, and many factions had been casting covetous eyes over this rich prize.

Shi Ting had not mentioned any of this in his letters — likely he had received orders at the last minute. In recent times, the Marshal seemed to be calling on him more and more often, and never for trivial matters.

What Yan Qing could not determine, however, was whether the Marshal truly valued Shi Ting’s abilities — or whether he was using him to maintain a balance among his sons.

“Captain Zheng, I’ll have to trouble you.” Yan Qing said. “My cousin disappeared in an alley just now, and my maid was severely wounded.”

Zheng Yun had already heard everything from Jing Zhi on the way over. Looking now at Yan Qing’s drawn, pale face, he grasped the seriousness of the situation at once. He had heard that Yan Qing and the missing Wen Young Miss were very close.

“Let’s go look at the alley first and see whether the attackers left any traces behind.” Zheng Yun thought to himself: Seventh Brother had truly chosen the worst possible moment to be away — the instant he left, something this troublesome had to come up.

When the group entered the alley, the state of things made Yan Qing’s heart sink.

Murong had skills in combat, but a single pair of fists could not hold off so many. Judging from the wounds on her body, she had fallen in the end simply because she had been outnumbered.

Thinking of Murong, Yan Qing forced herself to breathe slowly and deeply. She had already sent Jing Zhi to keep watch at the hospital. For now, all she could do was set aside her worry and devote herself entirely to helping Zheng Yun find Wen Yan.

This was Wen Yan’s first time in Shun Cheng, and this had happened to her. Yan Qing could not have foreseen it, but she could not deny her share of responsibility.

“The footprints are chaotic — at least ten people.” Zheng Yun crouched down, flashlight in hand, examining the ground. “The blood traces are tangled and layered. Even though Murong was badly injured, she appears to have managed to wound several of them in return.”

“What is this?” One of the officers picked up an ornament from the ground — something resembling a brooch.

Yan Qing quickly took it. Without needing a close look, she recognized it as belonging to Wen Yan. And there was blood on the brooch.

“Ayan…” Yan Qing’s hand tightened around it, the pin pressing into her palm.

Zheng Yun had his men continue searching the area while he rose and came to stand near Yan Qing. Seeing the pallor in her face, he offered a few words of comfort. “Miss Yan, perhaps things are not as grim as they appear.”

Yan Qing had already composed herself. She raised her eyes — calm and steady. “If those people had only wanted to rob or abduct, they would never have moved as a group of ten or more. That makes too large a target. My guess is that Wen Yan and Murong stumbled into this alley and accidentally crossed paths with them — something happened that brought them into conflict.”

Zheng Yun frowned. “If it really was a group of ten or more gathered here, these could well be guild members.”

“A guild?” In Shun Cheng, guilds of every size existed beyond counting. With no physical evidence left at the scene, there was no way to go through every guild one by one — and besides, these organizations operated outside the Military Police Bureau’s authority. Even their internal feuds and clashes were beyond the bureau’s power to touch.

“Captain Zheng, we’ve found something!” A voice called out from deeper in the alley.

Zheng Yun immediately guided Yan Qing forward.