Chapter Forty-Seven: The Tavern Is Smashed

With Li Mohan’s help, the group of black-clad pursuers realized the situation was turning against them and seized the chance to slip away. Chu Bing let out a long breath, pain throbbing from her wounds as she leaned against a tree trunk, looking at Li Mohan with gratitude. “Thank you,” she said.

Had Li Mohan not appeared so suddenly, she and Li Haoran would likely have lost their lives by now. She had never expected this cold, ruthless killer would end up saving them. Perhaps he wasn’t as terrible as she once imagined.

At this moment, Li Mohan looked especially pleasing to Chu Bing’s eyes.

Li Mohan cast her a languid glance, his eyes a blank mirror, devoid of the warmth or strangeness he’d shown when they were alone before.

A pang of disappointment struck Chu Bing.

Was he simply unwilling to speak with her?

“Brother!” Li Haoran cupped his fists toward Li Mohan. “We truly owe you for saving Chu Miss and me this time. Had you not—”

Li Mohan answered coolly, “Father sent me to bring you home.”

Li Haoran instinctively frowned, wanting to refuse, but with the black-clad men at Li Mohan’s side, he thought better of it and held his tongue.

As he hesitated, one of the black-clad men stepped forward and clamped a hand on his shoulder. “Third Young Master, forgive me!”

He spoke, then whisked Li Haoran away in a flash, the rest of the black-clad men following close behind, leaving only Li Mohan at the rear.

Seeing Li Mohan about to leave as well, Chu Bing ignored the pain in her wounds and staggered after him. “Where are you taking him?”

Li Mohan paused, turned, and looked her in the eye.

He did not wait for her reply. In the next instant, he had already vanished, light-footed as the wind.

Chu Bing watched their departing figures, biting her lip hard. How was she to carry out the system’s task now? Fortunately, the system had fallen silent for the moment, not pressing her.

The bamboo grove was deathly still, the bloodstains on the ground a chilling reminder of all that had transpired.

Thinking of the monks in the temple, Chu Bing turned and made her way back to the monastery.

The temple was eerily quiet. Chu Bing returned to their former hiding place, only to find it empty. The abbot’s body had been buried beneath a tree in the courtyard, marked by a simple stone.

Chu Bing knelt before the stone, bowing deeply several times.

A cold wind swept past. Wiping her face, Chu Bing tidied the temple as best she could, closed the doors behind her, and then made her way down the mountain.

The city was as bustling as ever. Smiles lit up every face in the crowd, none of them suspecting what had happened in the mountain monastery, how many had died in a single night.

“Hey, come quick! The Chu family restaurant’s been smashed again! The owner’s been arrested!”

“Why’s that?”

“They made money—others got jealous, that’s why!”

...

A passing vendor tugged excitedly at his companion.

Chu Bing’s whole body tensed. She broke into a run.

But she was already too late.

A crowd was gathered outside the Chu family restaurant, pointing and gossiping. From within came Chu Wenyan’s desperate shouts.

“You have no right to smash our shop!”

“Let go of me!”

Chu Bing pushed through the crowd and rushed inside. The restaurant was in ruins, everything smashed to pieces. Four or five constables stood in the main hall. Two of them had Chu Wenyan pinned to the ground, grinning with arrogant delight. “Let you go? The county magistrate gave us strict orders to take you in!”

“The food in your Chu family restaurant killed someone. Our magistrate is upholding justice for the people, arresting you two crooked merchants. Who would have thought you’d even escape from prison? That’s an unforgivable crime!”

Noticing the crowd’s attention, the constables raised their voices in self-righteous fury.

“You lie! We’re no swindlers, we never hurt anyone—” Chu Wenyan struggled, only to be stomped to the ground by a constable’s heavy boot.

Another constable sneered, raising his baton to bring it down on Chu Wenyan’s back. “Today I’ll rid the people of an evil—beat this crook to death!”

A blow like that would surely cripple him, if not worse.

“Stop!” Chu Bing’s hand shot up, launching a hidden dart that struck several constables in the knees.

Their legs buckled and they collapsed to the floor.

Chu Bing emerged from the crowd, her expression icy as she surveyed the constables in the hall. “Who says someone died eating at the Chu family restaurant?”

Her cold aura swept over them. The constables felt as though a wolf’s gaze was fixed upon them, and they froze, too afraid to move.

Step by step, Chu Bing approached Chu Wenyan. The two constables pinning him down fell back in fright, landing on their backsides in a panic.

“Sister!” Chu Wenyan’s voice trembled with relief, his eyes shining as he looked at Chu Bing.

He knew she would come to save him!

“Chu Bing, you’re suspected of murder and prison escape. The magistrate has ordered us to—”

Clang!

Before the constable could finish, Chu Bing drew a sword from a nearby constable’s waist and flung it at the speaker.

The blade buried itself in the ground before him, quivering deeply in the earth.

The hall fell silent. No one dared utter another word.

Chu Bing’s eyes were sharp as ice. “Get out. Now.”

The constables exchanged glances and fled in unison, as if some demon was at their heels.

Outside, the crowd still lingered, whispering and gawking. Furious, Chu Bing glared at them. “What are you staring at?”

The crowd scattered in panic.

Chu Bing turned and slammed the door shut behind her.

“Sister, what now?” Chu Wenyan gripped a chair to stand up, his eyes lost and bewildered.

For all his bravado, he was still just a boy—panic and uncertainty written across his battered face as he looked to her for guidance.

Chu Bing leaned against the door, her expression grim. “If we let them push us around, they’ll think we’re easy prey.”

She might not be able to deal with those black-clad assassins, but now even a mere county magistrate dared flaunt his power before her—did they really think she was dead and gone?

A glint of cold determination flashed in her eyes. She would show them what she was truly capable of.

Otherwise, that wretched official would only become more brazen, never knowing remorse.

“Sister, you’re not thinking of doing anything foolish, are you?” Chu Wenyan asked anxiously. “Listen to me, we’re in deep trouble now. We can’t take on that crooked magistrate. Let’s just go back home.”

His face was bruised, his eyes wary and frightened, clearly shaken by all that had happened.

Chu Bing studied Chu Wenyan, then shook her head in disappointment. “Wenyan, there are some things that can’t be avoided by running.”

In Chu Bing’s world, there was no such thing as retreat.

“But…”

“But you really aren’t suited to stay here. When this is over, you should return home and take care of Father.”