Chapter 108: Lord Feng?

As a few loyal guards shouted frantically inside, their expressions were nothing short of panic.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

The three assassin dancers exchanged glances. The lead dancer imitated a few dog barks toward the outside, then stopped paying attention to the ordinary dancers, instead stealthily trailing after Li Yuanjing and the others.

What they failed to notice was that at the entrance, Li Yuanjing and Zhang Zhiji had already witnessed everything.

Zhang Zhiji quickly gave Li Yuanjing a subtle signal.

Li Yuanjing understood immediately and swiftly retreated.

As Li Yuanjing and Zhang Zhiji stepped back, several guards pressed themselves against the sides of the doorway.

"Hurry."

"Don't lose Zhang Zhiji, you slackers!"

In no time, the three assassin dancers reached the doorway, their leader still whispering orders.

"Ah—"

But just as they charged through the entrance, they were met with a sudden flash of sharp, standardized blades.

In an instant,

the three youthful, graceful dancers collapsed in a pool of blood, their eyes wide with unfulfilled death.

Li Yuanjing quickly signaled Zhang Zhiji.

Zhang Zhiji caught on immediately and waved for the men to drag the bodies of the three assassin dancers aside.

Yet, the group did not rush away.

Instead, they observed carefully.

"Hmm..."

"The door’s open! The door’s open! Sisters, run for your lives!"

About five or six minutes later, the back door that had been burning fiercely seemed to have its supports removed from behind, and with a creak, it opened on its own.

The confused dancers around, as if granted salvation, swarmed toward the doorway and quickly rushed outside.

Zhang Zhiji was overjoyed and beckoned Li Yuanjing to dash out.

But Li Yuanjing urgently gestured for silence.

Zhang Zhiji nodded in understanding and cautiously scanned the area.

Sure enough,

shortly after the dancers fled, two unremarkable men in plain clothes slipped quietly into the courtyard.

Having just experienced killing the three assassin dancers, Li Yuanjing and Zhang Zhiji worked seamlessly, quickly retreating.

Li Yuanjing’s interest was piqued when he saw a guard carrying a crossbow used by the assassin dancers; he took it to examine closely.

"Ah—"

Just as Li Yuanjing studied the crossbow’s mechanism, a piercing scream suddenly echoed.

The two plain-looking men had already been hacked into bloody messes by the guards.

“Sir, can we leave now?”

At this moment,

about twenty minutes had passed since the initial assassination attempt. The fire had grown larger, chaos everywhere.

Yet amidst the disorder, faint sounds could be heard:

Reinforcements from the Fengcheng County government appeared to have arrived, and many villagers had begun spontaneously fighting the fire.

Despite this, Li Yuanjing remained uneasy and whispered a few words to Zhang Zhiji.

Zhang Zhiji’s brow furrowed deeply but after a moment’s hesitation, he chose to trust Li Yuanjing.

Soon after,

a few guards carefully crept out and dragged back the corpses of two guards who had been shot dead by the assassin dancers.

They stripped the bodies’ clothing and dressed Li Yuanjing and Zhang Zhiji in them.

Only then did Li Yuanjing quietly instruct Zhang Zhiji:

"Young master, when we walk inside, keep your head down as much as possible. Don’t let anyone notice anything unusual."

Zhang Zhiji greatly admired Li Yuanjing’s meticulousness and replied hurriedly,

"Don’t worry, sir. I understand."

With everything settled, Li Yuanjing signaled the guards to proceed cautiously outside.

By now,

the back door was burnt beyond recognition; both doors had fallen away. But the surrounding brick walls remained intact, so passage was still possible.

After the guards passed through first, Li Yuanjing and Zhang Zhiji followed, finally reaching the alley outside.

Seeing the alley, Li Yuanjing couldn’t help but frown deeply.

The innkeeper was truly heartless!

This alley marked the boundary with another inn, barely sixty or seventy centimeters wide—not even a meter.

No wonder nobody came to fight the fire here.

Given the narrowness, even a slender woman in cotton clothes could only walk sideways, let alone carry a bucket of water.

But this gave Li Yuanjing and Zhang Zhiji some relief.

By this point,

everyone had developed a tacit understanding, adjusted their formation, letting Li Yuanjing and Zhang Zhiji walk in the middle as the group stealthily made their way through the alley.

"Where’s the young master? Go find him!"

When they reached the alley’s mouth, everyone felt as if freed from prison.

Outside the alley was a broad street, where a dozen county constables wandered aimlessly, desperately searching for Zhang Zhiji.

The lead guard nearly wept with joy, shouting:

"What are you slackers wandering around for? Didn’t you see the young master here?"

As he spoke,

he pointed directly at Li Yuanjing and Zhang Zhiji.

Li Yuanjing’s heart leapt in alarm, wishing he could strangle that guard on the spot, but there was no time.

He quickly pulled Zhang Zhiji down to the ground and shouted loudly:

"Kill them! They’re not official constables!"

"Huh?"

After some trials, the guards had grown far more alert and quickly realized the truth. They shouted and charged at the false constables.

The fake constables reacted instantly, charging back like wolves and tigers.

Within moments,

both sides were locked in fierce combat.

Zhang Zhiji couldn’t help but look at Li Yuanjing and shrink his head in awe.

Though silent, his admiration for Li Yuanjing was profound.

If not for Li Yuanjing’s quick wit and their prior disguise, they would have been dead long ago.

Li Yuanjing was filled with a chilling sense of foreboding.

The power and influence of the Fragrance Sect were far greater than he had imagined.

Yet suddenly,

he recognized the lead bearded man among the fake constables—it was oddly familiar.

At that moment,

the bearded leader, seeing his men unable to quickly overpower the guards, grew anxious and shouted:

"Forget those riffraff! Kill that little bastard Zhang Zhiji first!!!"

"Yes, sir!"

Several fake constables immediately ceased fighting the guards and charged fiercely toward Li Yuanjing and Zhang Zhiji.

But these guards were Zhang Zhiji’s loyal retainers!

Though many were mere figureheads, Old Lord Zhang, having clawed his way out of death’s grasp, was in his forties and had only one remaining heir—Zhang Zhiji. He would never take his safety lightly.

Moreover, some of these guards were veterans from the Nine Borders!

They would never allow harm to come to Zhang Zhiji.

They roared and charged with ferocity, clashing with the fake constables again.

Meanwhile,

the bearded leader of the fake constables smirked coldly. This was exactly the chaos he wanted!

Seizing the moment when others were distracted, he stealthily crept toward a nearby wall.

Then,

using the uneven bricks, he swiftly climbed onto the rooftop.

But what he failed to notice—

Li Yuanjing had been watching him for some time. The crossbow in his hand was fully loaded and aimed directly upward.

On the roof,

the burly bearded man moved like a swallow, nearly silent as he reached the top of the wall where Li Yuanjing and Zhang Zhiji stood below.

Seeing them beneath his feet, a cold, triumphant smile crept across his lips.

Suddenly,

gripping his knives tightly, his eyes flashing sinister light, he let out a low growl and prepared to leap down, aiming to kill Li Yuanjing and Zhang Zhiji on the spot.

“Whizz, whizz, whizz!”

However,

just as he leaned out halfway, before he could leap with full force, Li Yuanjing decisively pulled the crossbow’s trigger!

“Ugh...”

The unfortunate bearded man never fully understood what happened before three sharp bolts pierced through his chest.

“Thud!”

In the next instant,

his body crashed violently from the wall, blood splattering Li Yuanjing and Zhang Zhiji’s faces.

Zhang Zhiji had clearly learned his lesson. Though still disgusted, he refrained from screaming.

“Lord Feng!!!”

“Lord Feng, are you alright?!”

“Bastards! How dare you hurt Lord Feng! I’ll kill you all!!!”

At this moment,

the fake constables, who had been evenly matched against Zhang Zhiji’s elite guards, suddenly saw their leader die a brutal death. Their eyes reddened with rage as they charged recklessly toward them.

“Hm?”

“Lord Feng?”

Li Yuanjing, who had been stealthily observing the situation, was momentarily stunned upon hearing the title “Lord Feng”!

……………

Brothers, I beg for some backup. Thanks a lot.