The man who just emerged directly and efficiently killed the two ladies off first before he poured dirty water all over Yan Liqiang with just a few words, instantly reversing the entire situation. Under such circumstances, even if Yan Liqiang could get out of here alive, he would become a wanted criminal in the Great Han Empire just like King Cobra, set to live in shame forever and be spurned upon. He'd probably be assassinated at any given moment.
Unless he could overthrow the Prefectural Governor of Pingxi Prefecture, he probably would never have the opportunity to prove his innocence in his entire lifetime.
It would be nearly impossible for a fourteen-year-old kid to overthrow a Prefectural Governor alone without any support or influential figures behind him, despite having some aptitude in cultivation. The difficulty of this situation was akin to that of a high school student from a key school [1] trying to oust the mayor in his previous world. Back in a modern society, if one had any information on hand, one might have a slim chance to fight for that through rallies or social media exposure. However, in an informationally-closed world like this, not many would bother to believe you even if you shouted at the top of your lungs.
Yan Liqiang glared at the man dressed in black in shock and anger. He could feel blood rushing to the top of his head. That man in black coldly stared at him with a smile on his face. He flicked the longsword in his hand, softly shaking off the blood that coated the blade. He then stepped over the corpses of the two ladies on the floor and made his way towards Yan Liqiang while giving him a death stare. "Release Young Master Ye and I will let you die with an intact corpse!" His tone of voice was very icy.
'Keep calm, keep calm, I must keep calm!'
Yan Liqiang chanted to himself in his heart. He then moved his hands. The kukri knife in his hand danced in midair, immediately slicing Ye Xiao's ears off. Both fell onto the floor.
"AHHHHHHHH!!!" Ye Xiao let out an ear-piercing scream. His neck and shoulders were instantly soaked in his own fresh blood while his entire body trembled. The pain was so intense that he almost couldn't stand still. He only managed to barely stand due to Yan Liqiang's grip on the belt that held him up. His scream reverberated throughout the passageway. Tears and snot came flying out.
"I might die, but before I die, I will definitely make sure that this person here will share the same fate as me. I know I'm not your match, but as long as you come anywhere near me within five zhang, I will definitely kill Ye Xiao before you kill me. Would you like to give it a try?" Yan Liqiang looked straight at that man in black.
The man in black abruptly stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes flashed with cold, icy gleams as he stared at Yan Liqiang.
"If this person wants me dead, then I want you dead too. You lost both your ears because this person acted without permission. Would you like to tell him something?" Yan Liqiang asked Ye Xiao.
"MASTER, MASTER… I DON'T WANT TO DIE… SAVE ME… SAVE ME…!" Ye Xiao wailed loudly. "If I die here, then it'll be your fault! Even if you are my master, my father will not let you get away with this. Zhao Songming, hurry up and get my father to come. Ask him to save me…!"
It seemed like this man in black was Ye Xiao's master. Yan Liqiang had only managed to make clear of his opponent's identity through Ye Xiao's wails.
The man gave Ye Xiao a single glance before he calmly spoke. "I've already sent someone to inform the Prefectural Governor. He should be here soon…"
"Now, I need to pass through here. Get out of my way!" Yan Liqiang said while seizing Ye Xiao as he inched his way towards the person dressed in black.
The man in black coldly stared at Yan Liqiang, still blocking his way.
The distance between the two parties quickly reduced to five zhang. Seeing that the man in black had no intention of retreating, he pressed the sharp blade of the kukri knife in his hand deeper into Ye Xiao's neck. The wound on his neck started to grow in size, and blood started seeping out, running down. The clothes Ye Xiao was wearing was now already half-soaked with his own blood. Yan Liqiang looked straight into the eyes of the man in black without any fear. The hand that he held his knife with remained steady and the pace he moved at with Ye Xiao in tow showed no signs of slowing down at all.
"MASTER, I DON'T WANT TO DIE, I DON'T WANT TO DIE…!" Ye Xiao nearly went insane when he saw the two parties drawing closer to each other. They were reaching the five zhang mark. The wound on his neck was growing larger and he was losing more blood. He couldn't help but yell in panic.
When the two parties were approaching the distance of five zhang, Yan Liqiang's blade finally touched the main artery on Ye Xiao's neck. Yan Liqiang didn't stop and kept pushing Ye Xiao to the front, towards the man in black who unwaveringly glared at Ye Xiao's neck and Yan Liqiang's hand. In the end, he took a step backwards, so Yan Liqiang stopped pressing on the kukri knife in his hand.
He continued pressing on with Ye Xiao while the man in black continued to fall back. Both parties kept a distance of five zhang between them while they moved towards the underground entrance of the boutique.
In just a flash, Yan Liqiang made it below the exit that he that he had entered from with Ye Xiao in tow. The heat from the exit above was threatening and the firelight seeped through the cracks of the exit.
That exit had already been sealed off. Yan Liqiang could barely make out the shouts of someone from above. "This room is also on fire! Quick, bring down the walls of this room! Hurry! Don't let the fire spread!"
A rumbling noise came from the tremor above ground. The underground exit had been completely sealed. It was no longer possible to exit from here.
The man in black sneered coldly at Yan Liqiang. "You are indeed a very smart one. You set the room upstairs on fire and exposed the tunnel so that if someone from outside barged into the room to put out the fire, they'd discover the three corpses you left in the room and the tunnel. Then they'd subsequently report it to the authorities. This would guarantee your safety and escape route, and also the reason why you dared to rush in here. Yet you have no idea the party you are messing with are the authorities themselves and also the highest official of Pingxi City at that. I was the first to rush in here when I saw the fire from the outside and I ordered the law enforcers to surround this boutique, preventing anyone from coming anywhere near here. The exit of this boutique's tunnel was also sealed when I came here and I also set the room above on fire. Not only that, I've also ordered people to bring down the room to seal off the tunnel exit. If you wish to get out, you can only use the other exit…"
Yan Liqiang took a deep breath and wordlessly marched backwards with Ye Xiao, preparing to leave from the manor that Ye Xiao was at. With that, everything he was about to do now would really fall into the trap that the man in black had laid out for him to outsiders — that he had abducted Ye Xiao and escaped from his place…
However, he couldn't afford to be bothered so much now. He needed to leave the basement first.
"How do we get above ground? Lead the way. If you think you still have enough blood to spare, you may go ahead and waste my time!" Yan Liqiang commanded and pressed a little harder on the knife, thus creating another wound on Ye Xiao's neck.
"From that side… a-and you'll get out immediately!" Ye Xiao replied through his clattering teeth.
Yan Liqiang marched Ye Xiao upstairs again. He was now surrounded on both sides, with people standing five zhang away from him. The man in black, or Ye Xiao's master, was on one side and the guards on the other. One party advanced while the other went in reverse. In just flash, Yan Liqiang arrived at one of the courtyards in the lavish manor above the basement under Ye Xiao's lead with a group of people surrounding him.
The moment Yan Liqiang marched Ye Xiao out there, the lavish manor was instantly turned upside down. The panic-stricken noises of the servants and the shrill screams of the maids rose and subsided in succession.
"Where's the exit? Get me out of here!"
"Here… Here…" Ye Xiao was about to lead Yan Liqiang out of the room.
"Slow down. Let me remind you again. If I see anyone holding any crossbows or hidden weapons within a hundred meters from us, don't blame me for putting a hole in you…"
"ZHAO SONGMING, DID YOU HEAR THAT?!" Ye Xiao had a nervous breakdown and shouted at the leader of the guards.
"Rest assured, Young Master. I have already sent someone to spread the word. No one will do anything that will put your life at risk…"
Yan Liqiang seized Ye Xiao, exited the lavish manor, and arrived at the main street outside.
The snowflakes were still fluttering in the air. Flames were raging at the boutique which was two hundred meters away. Not a soul could be seen within a radius of one hundred meters from the grand manor because this place had completely been sealed off by law enforcers and soldiers of Pingxi City. Those soldiers and law enforcers were holding torches which illuminated the road. Their eyes filled with hatred, disgust, and coldness when they saw Yan Liqiang come out from the manor, holding a knife at Ye Xiao's throat.
Under the gazes of those soldiers and law enforcers alone, Yan Liqiang was certain that the words from the man in black earlier in the basement had already been circulated while he was on the move with Ye Xiao in captivity. He reckoned that story had become the truth for those soldiers and law enforcers. At this moment, he was nothing but a heinous criminal beyond redemption. His words were meaningless because at this point in time, he no longer had the power to defend himself.
Yan Liqiang's heart was filled with bitterness. The coldness of the snowflake that had landed on the back of his hand that he was holding his knife with directly pierced his heart.
Even if he could get away from Pingxi City today, there was no escaping all the charges that would be laid on him. No one could save him now.
A middle-aged man dressed in the Prefectural Governor official uniform stood outside the main entrance with a group of guards beside him. He looked at Ye Xiao who had been seized by Yan Liqiang with a deep frown on his face.
"FATHER, SAVE ME!!" Ye Xiao immediately wailed loudly when he saw the middle-aged man.
"Release my son." The Prefectural Governor coldly commanded Yan Liqiang.
"Ask the Law Enforcement Office to bring Yan Dechang whom they seized today and prepare a horse carriage for me." Yan Liqiang calmly gave his orders to the Prefectural Governor of Pingxi City whom even Huangfu Qianqi had to lower his head to.
At this moment, there was no point in saying more. All Yan Liqiang had in his mind was to keep Yan Dechang and himself alive, and then escape from Pingxi City. Yan Dechang was still imprisoned in the Law Enforcement Office's prison. If he chose to depart this place by himself, it would be impossible for Yan Dechang stay alive. Therefore, his only option was to bring Yan Dechang along with him and flee for their lives…