Chasing Jade (Zhu Yu)

Fan Changyu had all her attention focused on the man she was escorting. He was too cunning—during the journey, he had deliberately tried to distract her by talking, and once nearly tripped her to snatch the knife from her hand.

After that, Changyu became wary. She ignored everything he said, and if he provoked her too much, she would make a small cut on him as a warning.

Now that they had reached the city gate, Changyu only had time to glance briefly at the situation before her. For a moment, she didn’t recognize that the one who had captured the blue devil mask was Xie Zheng.

Head Constable Wang, seeing them dragging a string of bound prisoners like dumplings on a skewer, was utterly bewildered. He asked the county magistrate, "My lord, this is…?"

The magistrate, though inwardly fearful at the sight of the rebellious commoners glaring at him, thought of how Qingping County could now be defended. There was finally someone to bear the people’s hatred, and when the time came, he could take credit for quelling the unrest in Qingping County before the Jizhou Prefecture officials. A promotion might even be within reach. His plump body immediately stopped trembling.

Adopting the inscrutable demeanor of an official, he said, "The generals from Jizhou Prefecture were overseeing the grain levy, but the people’s grievances have grown too loud. Someone had to answer for it. That’s why I, despite overstepping my authority… ordered these soldiers to be bound."

As he spoke, he glanced at Fan Changyu, confirming that she wouldn’t reveal he had actually been the one imprisoned. His expression grew even more smug.

The magistrate’s household servants wore varied expressions, but they were used to being his lackeys. If the magistrate called white black, they would blindly agree—why would they expose him now?

Fan Changyu’s face showed not the slightest hint of strangeness. To the magistrate’s men, she seemed like an obedient, unambitious child who knew her place.

Those like Head Constable Wang, who had no idea what was really happening, completely treated Fan Changyu as part of the background, focusing all their attention on the magistrate. Though still somewhat doubtful, with the evidence before his eyes, he had to admit the magistrate had shown some courage in daring to bind these soldiers. He praised, "My lord, your righteousness is commendable."

The magistrate thought to himself that Head Constable Wang had led the defense of the city gates, and it was his men who had captured the leading general. When rewards were distributed by Jizhou Prefecture, Wang would surely be credited with the greatest merit. If he wanted to claim that credit for himself, he’d have to flatter Wang first. So he added, "The rioters haven’t breached the city yet, all thanks to Head Constable Wang’s foresight in guarding this place. I only pretended to dismiss you to lull the vigilance of these Jizhou soldiers. You truly lived up to my expectations."

Head Constable Wang, feeling guilty, hurriedly said, "Wang Chuanxian is ashamed…"

He was about to say it had been Fan Changyu’s idea when he looked up and saw her frantically winking at him.

Fan Changyu would be thrilled if the magistrate took all the credit.

She wasn’t stupid. The leader she had captured was an official from Jizhou Prefecture. If he died, that bastard General Wei Xuan up above would surely hold a grudge against her once he heard her name.

She was just a common girl. Being thrust into the limelight might earn her some gold and silver, making her famous throughout Qingping County, but the cost—being marked for death by an official far more powerful than the magistrate—wasn’t worth it. Who knew if she’d even live long enough to spend the rewards?Moreover, if the guy in her hands was pushed out to let the people vent their anger and somehow didn’t die, he would definitely hold a grudge against her. Although she had already somewhat unkindly hinted that she was working for the magistrate, the magistrate’s cowardly and timid demeanor made it hard to believe he was the mastermind behind all this.

Now that the magistrate, eager to claim credit, was spinning a convincing tale and successfully diverting the hatred, she was inwardly delighted.

Head Constable Wang, however, was utterly confused. Seeing Fan Changyu signal him to stay silent, he swallowed the second half of his words.

Just then, the crowd below the city gate, seeing the magistrate arrive and immediately putting on his usual bureaucratic airs, grew increasingly resentful. Many began shouting curses: “Corrupt official! How will you pay for the dozen lives lost in Majia Village? With the lives of your entire family?”

The magistrate had never heard such vulgar language in his life. His mind was already filled with visions of climbing the ranks, so the sudden insults made his mustache quiver with rage. “How dare you insolent peasants curse an imperial official!”

The crowd, which Head Constable Wang and Xie Zheng had painstakingly calmed with a mix of authority and persuasion, erupted again at the magistrate’s words.

Troublemakers in the crowd seized the moment to fan the flames: “Everyone saw it—this corrupt official still doesn’t see us as human and has no intention of giving us justice!”

“If we let them trick us into going home now, tomorrow it’ll be the Yamen Runners with their clubs beating us to death!”

“Kill the magistrate! Demand justice!”

The farmers below the gate roared, raising their farming tools. The small gate tower trembled under the waves of fury, like a lone boat on the sea, one surge away from splintering into pieces.

Seeing the situation escalate, the magistrate panicked and hastily ordered his servants to bring Sui Yuanqing and his men forward. “I’m just a minor magistrate—how could I decide on grain levies? The grain collection was entirely overseen by officials from Jizhou Prefecture! I knew nothing about what happened in Majia Village. If you want justice, I can only defy convention and hand these men over to you!”

He then commanded his subordinates, “Open the gates! Send them out!”

Xie Zheng’s gaze had been fixed on Sui Yuanqing the entire time. Noticing the cold smirk on Sui Yuanqing’s lips and the troublemakers in the crowd frequently glancing his way, he spoke coldly, “This man cannot be released.”

Head Constable Wang quickly added, “Sir, you mustn’t open the gates! If the rebels outside flood in, the city’s residents will suffer!”

Hearing Xie Zheng’s voice, Fan Changyu finally realized the masked man was him and looked up in surprise.

Sui Yuanqing frowned at the sound of his voice, sizing up the man standing nearby.

As the magistrate and Head Constable Wang argued, a sharp whistling sound cut through the air—several hidden arrows shot from the crowd, aimed straight at the magistrate and Fan Changyu on the gate tower.

At the same time, Eagle Claw Hooks flew from below, latching onto the rammed-earth battlements. A group of Martial Assassins, disguised as farmers, swiftly scaled the ropes, stepping on heads as they surged toward the tower.

Head Constable Wang drew his sword in alarm and shouted, “Protect the magistrate!”Fan Changyu saw the sleeve arrow flying toward her face and instinctively dodged to the side. However, the man she was restraining suddenly lunged forward onto the Boning knife in her hand. Avoiding his neck—the vital spot—he dragged his shoulder heavily across the blade, leaving a deep gash, while the ropes binding him were severed.

By the time Changyu realized what had happened, the man—now bleeding profusely from another wound on his shoulder—flashed her a vicious, twisted grin.

Her instincts screamed danger. She reflexively leaped back, but Sui Yuanqing was faster. Free from his restraints, he snatched a Yamen Runner’s saber and slashed at her.

The killing techniques honed on the battlefield were ruthless and lightning-fast.

Changyu’s Boning knife was too short to match his long blade. When she blocked with it, the sheer force numbed her palm.

Xie Zheng intercepted the sleeve arrow aimed at Changyu, but as Yuan Qing broke free and turned the tables, his expression darkened. Just as he moved to assist, the Martial Assassins scaling the city wall with Eagle claw hooks seemed to read his intent. While continuing to fire hidden arrows at Changyu, they diverted forces to stall him.

Between shielding Changyu from the arrows and fending off these relentless attackers, Xie Zheng was stretched thin.

The Yamen Runners were no match for the assassins. Head Constable Wang’s men fell one after another. The magistrate’s guards, who had been restraining the prisoners, had never seen such carnage. Terrified out of their wits, they fled down the city wall, leaving themselves wide open—some were cut down before they could even think of fighting back.

For a moment, Yuan Qing’s forces gained the upper hand.

Changyu was forced into retreat by Yuan Qing’s relentless blade. Outmatched by his longer weapon, she couldn’t disperse the impact—each clash split her palm further, blood beading from the cracks.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, she knew her earlier success in capturing him at the magistrate’s residence had only been due to catching him off guard.

Now, every strike he aimed was lethal, ruthless to the extreme. Though skilled, she lacked real combat experience, and his underhanded tactics—coupled with her inferior weapon—left her completely suppressed.

She wanted to grab a saber, but Yuan Qing’s relentless attacks left no opening. All she could do was barely parry with her Boning knife.

Seizing a fleeting chance, she hurled the knife like a projectile. Yuan Qing had to dodge, and Changyu immediately ducked to snatch a fallen Yamen Runner’s blade.

But Yuan Qing’s saber seemed to have eyes—it sliced toward her fingers in the next instant. To save her hands, she abandoned the weapon and rolled aside, narrowly avoiding the second slash aimed at her head.

Yuan Qing’s lips curled into a smirk, his gaze alight with the amusement of a cat toying with prey. “You stabbed me so many times. It’s only fair I return the favor—then skin you and hang you from the city gates.”

Changyu spat fiercely. “If I’d brought my butcher’s knife today, I’d show you how we bleed New Year’s pigs!”

Realizing she was insulting him, Yuan Qing’s expression darkened. The playful cruelty vanished as he advanced, blade raised. “You’re asking for death!”Fan Changyu was just as reckless, mimicking his earlier move by not dodging but instead charging straight toward the blade.

Xie Zheng, witnessing this from afar, narrowed his phoenix-like eyes coldly. In one swift motion, he seized a blade from a Martial Assassin and hurled it fiercely toward Sui Yuanqing.

The assassin let out a piercing scream—his wrist bone had been snapped by Xie Zheng during the disarming.

As the cold steel closed in, Sui Yuanqing’s pupils contracted. Forced to defend himself, he had no choice but to redirect his strike to block the incoming blade.

The two blades collided with a sharp metallic clang, and the ring-pommeled sword in Sui Yuanqing’s hand shattered into two pieces.

The sheer force behind the throw made him look up in astonishment at the man wearing the blue devil mask.

Earlier, when he had heard this man speak, the voice had struck him as vaguely familiar. Moreover, he had only ever encountered such raw strength from one opponent on the battlefield. Could this man be…?

The moment the thought crossed his mind, his distraction cost him dearly—a brutal elbow strike smashed into his jaw, sending him sprawling backward. For a long moment, his entire lower face went numb, his teeth rattled as if loosened, and the metallic tang of blood filled his mouth. The impact likely reverberated to his cheekbone, as his ears rang so loudly he could barely hear anything around him.

Suddenly, he wasn’t so sure the masked man was the Wu'an Marquis anymore. If even an unknown young woman in Qingping County possessed such monstrous strength, who knew what other hidden talents lurked here…

Fan Changyu held a grudge. Earlier, this man had bullied her without a proper weapon, forcing her to fend off his greatsword with nothing but a dagger-sized boning knife, leaving her utterly defenseless. After smashing her elbow into his jaw, she immediately snatched up a fallen ring-pommeled sword from the ground and swung at him again.

With only a broken blade left in hand, Sui Yuanqing’s eyes flashed with hatred, but in the end, he chose to retreat rather than face her onslaught.

Now it was Fan Changyu’s turn to press the attack without pause. Sui Yuanqing dodged and retreated continuously, leaving deep, finger-width gouges in the city walls on either side as her blade carved through stone.

Mu Shi and several Martial Assassins, noticing their young master being chased down and hacked at, quickly broke away to assist him.

From the distant official road came the chaotic thunder of hooves. Looking up, they saw the Jizhou flag flapping violently in the cold wind.

The commoners gathered below the city gate had long lost track of the situation when the fighting broke out on the battlements. Those seemingly ordinary farmers in short coarse robes were all shockingly skilled fighters—none of them recognizable. With the chaos escalating and the instigators gone, the remaining crowd dared not act rashly.

Now, seeing the Jizhou Prefecture troops approaching, they weren’t just worried about clashing—they feared the soldiers might mistake them for allies of those formidable "farmers" on the walls. They hastily cleared a path.

Seizing the moment while several Martial Assassins surrounded Fan Changyu, Mu Shi helped Sui Yuanqing up. Glancing at the approaching Jizhou soldiers, he urged, “Young Master, as long as the green hills remain, there’ll never be a shortage of firewood. Let’s retreat for now!”

Sui Yuanqing glared venomously at Fan Changyu. Seeing that the dozen or so Martial Assassins could no longer hold back the blue-masked man, he suddenly drew Mu Shi’s saber and lunged toward the county magistrate.

The magistrate shrieked in terror. Head Constable Wang, already slashed multiple times, threw himself forward to shield the official.

Fan Changyu couldn’t just watch Head Constable Wang die before her eyes. With Yan Zheng still entangled by swarms of Martial Assassins, she swung her greatsword to intercept Sui Yuanqing’s killing strike.Unexpectedly, Sui Yuanqing feinted, abruptly abandoning his blade. His hand coiled around Fan Changyu's sword-wielding wrist like a vine. With some inexplicable maneuver, Changyu felt her entire arm go numb instantly, her broadsword clattering to the ground.

"I've changed my mind. It'd be a waste to skin you and hang your hide on the city walls. Come back with me and be my concubine instead."

With one hand gripping the rope secured by the Eagle Claw Hook and the other clutching Fan Changyu, Sui Yuanqing laughed wildly as he leaped from the collapsed section of the parapet.

Changyu was yanked off balance, tumbling down before she could steady herself. Instinctively, she cried out, "Yan Zheng!"

At the critical moment, another large, sinewy hand shot out from the battlement, seizing Changyu's arm in a death grip.

Even behind the Blue Devil Mask, Xie Zheng's aura was terrifyingly cold and vicious. His long-handled blade slashed toward Sui Yuanqing's hand gripping Changyu with such ruthless force that no one doubted the limb would be severed in the next instant.

Sui Yuanqing had no choice but to release Changyu, gritting his teeth. Yet the razor-sharp blade still sliced off a lock of hair at his temple and left a shallow cut on his face.

When he raised his eyes to meet the savage glare beneath the Blue Devil Mask, his heart lurched in shock.

With her other hand now held firmly by Xie Zheng, Changyu had leverage. Without hesitation, she kicked straight at Sui Yuanqing's face, barking orders at Xie Zheng, "Quick! Cut the rope! Let this bastard fall to his death!"

The Eagle Claw Hook anchoring the rope to the battlement snapped instantly. However, Sui Yuanqing managed to cushion his fall by kicking off the wall mid-descent, and his personal guards hauled on the rope to break his landing. He touched down unscathed—save for a black boot print marring half his handsome face.

Changyu couldn't hide her disappointment. Even as Xie Zheng hauled her back up, she muttered resentfully, "Why didn't he just die from the fall..."

The next moment, she was abruptly engulfed in a broad, solid chest—so tightly that she felt as if clamped between iron plates. Her grumbling ceased abruptly.