32: Chapter 32 In-depth Investigation, Encountering Danger

The night wind whipped a withered leaf from the manor wall, smacking Chen Xuan in the face.

He raised a hand to brush it away, simultaneously pulling Liu Ruyan half a step behind him.

'Step on the third flagstone, three inches to the left.'

He whispered, 'Those crossbow bolts just now shot from the ground cracks. The mechanism's trigger is likely connected to pressure plates.'

Liu Ruyan nodded, her fingertips tightening around the half-rolled, tattered ledger in her sleeve.

The paper edges were damp with her sweat, but she didn't let go. This was the only clue her mother had left behind. She couldn't lose it, even if it cost her life.

The two moved forward, hugging the wall of the corridor. Moonlight, sliced into narrow strips by the eaves, cast a bluish sheen on the stone slabs below.

Chen Xuan walked ahead, his steps as light as a cat's.

This wasn't his first time breaking into an official's residence, but it was the first time he'd brought someone with no martial skills along.

'If you're scared, it's not too late to turn back now,' he said, glancing sideways.

'Cut the nonsense,' Liu Ruyan glared at him. 'The year I was five, when they carried me out of that back alley, I never intended to come back alive.'

Chen Xuan grinned. 'Alright, got spirit.'

Before his words faded, the stone slab beneath his feet suddenly sank.

'Jump!'

He hooked an arm around Liu Ruyan's waist and leaped upward. In the next instant, the entire corridor floor split open. Dozens of iron spikes sprang from the pit, their tips gleaming with an eerie blue—poisoned.

They landed on steps three zhang away. Before their heels were steady, the sound of mechanisms came from within the walls on both sides. Two thick ropes shot out like venomous snakes, aiming straight for their throats.

Chen Xuan drew his fingers past the bridge of his nose, his eyes sharpening. With his left hand, he pulled Liu Ruyan closer. True Qi gathered in his right palm, which he thrust forward violently.

The air cracked. An invisible ripple slammed into the grappling ropes, knocking them off course by half a foot. The rope ends grazed his shoulder guard and embedded themselves deep into a pillar.

'That's a new Move,' Liu Ruyan said, panting.

'Learning on the fly, selling on the spot,' Chen Xuan flexed his wrist. 'Just heard an Elder on Wudang Mountain lecture about 'Qi Burst Shatters Metal.' Never had a chance to try it.'

He said it lightly, but that single strike had consumed a significant amount of energy. This method of defeating enemies purely through internal force vibration was taxing. For him, at the Early Stage of the Vajra Human Realm, using it once required half a day of recovery.

'The study is just ahead,' Liu Ruyan pointed to a detached courtyard in front. 'The letter said the master of Chunhe Ward Number Thirty-Seven loves reviewing private documents at night. His study must have a hidden compartment.'

Chen Xuan narrowed his eyes, surveying the surroundings. The courtyard gate was tightly shut. A pair of stone lions crouched by the entrance, their eyes inlaid with obsidian that reflected a cold light.

'We'll go over the wall.'

The two leaped up, landing softly within the courtyard. Their landing was soundless, but Chen Xuan immediately frowned. It was too quiet. Not even insect chirps.

He crouched, rubbing his fingers against the ground. The sandy soil was slightly damp, but bore no footprints.

'Someone cleared the area,' he whispered. 'And not just once.'

Liu Ruyan also sensed something wrong. 'Could it be... they knew we were coming?'

'Don't know,' Chen Xuan stood up. 'But what they're guarding against is people investigating old matters.'

He walked towards the study door and pushed it. It was unlocked.

'Inviting the guest into the jar?' He chuckled. 'Quite courteous.'

Inside, an oil lamp burned, its flame steady, indicating good ventilation. The bookshelves were neat, the desk clean, even the brush washer polished to a shine. It didn't look uninhabited, but rather as if cleaned daily.

'Too clean, which makes it fake,' Liu Ruyan walked to the cabinet on the east wall and reached to pull the bottom drawer.

'Don't!' Chen Xuan shouted abruptly.

But it was too late.

As the drawer slid halfway open, the wall suddenly vibrated. A brick protruded, about to launch. Chen Xuan lunged, yanking her away. A 'whoosh' sounded as a short arrow embedded itself into the beam across the room, sinking deep into the wood.

'Well now, they even calculated the escape route,' Chen Xuan patted his chest. 'Half a step slower, and you'd have been a pincushion.'

Liu Ruyan's face paled, but she didn't back down. 'The hidden compartment must be nearby.'

She used her sword sheath to probe other gaps. Finally, at the base of the western bookshelf, she found a plank with an uneven seam. Prying it open revealed a hidden layer containing a half-bound, yellowed account book.

'Found it!' Just as she reached for it, the sudden clang of a gong came from outside the window.

'Clang—Clang—Clang—'

Three urgent strikes tore through the night sky.

'The night patrol?' Liu Ruyan panicked.

'No,' Chen Xuan stared out the window. 'That's an alarm. We triggered the final trap.'

As soon as the words left his mouth, all four windows shattered simultaneously. Seven or eight black-clad figures wielding blades leaped in, their movements synchronized, landing without a sound. The leader wore a mask, revealing only a pair of sinister eyes.

'Those who trespass into the Forbidden Ground shall be executed without mercy,' the voice was hoarse.

Chen Xuan shielded Liu Ruyan behind him and drew the short blade from his waist. 'Brothers, we're just borrowing a place to look at some old accounts. No need for swords and spears, is there?'

The other side didn't reply. The leader raised a hand and gestured. The men closed in, their blade light like snow.

Chen Xuan sneered. 'Seems reasoning won't work.'

He met the nearest attacker, parrying a slash with his short blade and following with a kick to the knee.

The man grunted and fell. Before he could rise, Chen Xuan had already turned to block a second blade.

His Moves weren't flashy, all solid close-quarters combat techniques, each strike aimed at joints, ribs, or the throat.

But there were too many enemies.

A third assailant struck from the side. The blade edge sliced his right arm, tearing cloth and drawing a line of blood. Chen Xuan gritted his teeth, spun, and drove an elbow into the man's nose bridge, simultaneously seizing his weapon.

'Are you alright?' Liu Ruyan asked, steadying herself against a swaying bookshelf, her voice trembling.

'Just a scratch,' he shook his arm. 'Won't kill me.'

But he knew he couldn't hold out much longer. These men were well-trained and coordinated, clearly here to silence them. If they delayed until more reinforcements arrived, neither would escape.

At that moment, a thunderous crash sounded from outside the courtyard.

'Who dares block this lady? I'll blast your ancestral graves flat!'

It was Zhao Hongling's voice.

Immediately after, a flash of cold light pierced the mist. Leng Shuang soared across the rooftops, her longsword coated in frost. Upon landing, she swept it in a circle, forcing back two advancing black-clad men.

'Are you two unharmed?' Her gaze swept over Chen Xuan's wound, and she frowned.

'Glad we made it in time,' Dugu Xue dropped from the top of the wall, a spray of blood still staining her shoulder. 'There was a barrier set up outside. We had to blow up two of its nodes to get in.'

Zhao Hongling charged in, holding the smoking remains of a fire-thunder device. 'Leave the last one to me! Nobody steal my credit!'

Chen Xuan grinned. 'How did you all get here?'

'You two didn't come back all night. Liu Ruyan's maid came running with the news,' Zhao Hongling planted her hands on her hips. 'I thought you'd snuck off for a secret rendezvous! Turns out you were really here courting death?'

'Not courting death,' Chen Xuan wiped the grime from his face. 'Looking for a lifeline.'

He looked at the half-bound, tattered ledger in Liu Ruyan's hand, his eyes resolute.

Footsteps grew denser outside, torchlight flickering. Clearly, the real hard fight was just beginning.

Leng Shuang positioned herself to Chen Xuan's left, sword tip pointing at the ground. 'I'll guard the front.'

Zhao Hongling blocked the doorway. 'I'll seal the retreat! Let them taste some firepower!'

Dugu Xue leaped onto a roof beam. 'I'll keep watch from above.'

Chen Xuan gripped his short blade, watching the shadows pouring through the doorway. He chuckled softly. 'This setup today... is getting interesting.'

Liu Ruyan stood behind him, clutching the tattered ledger so tightly her fingernails nearly pierced the paper.

The wind stirred the lantern at the corner of the room, making the flame jump.