Chasing Jade (Zhu Yu)

The scorching wind, thick with the stench of burning, melted the snowflakes that had yet to fall in the night.

A barefoot child wailed as it fled from a home engulfed in roaring flames, only to be cut down by bandits after a few steps in the snow. The spattered blood stained the hooves of Sui Yuanqing’s horse.

He toyed with a gleaming dagger in his hand, looking down at Magistrate Liu with disdain. “Wasn’t it your scheme to kidnap me and quell the people’s anger? The lives I lost in Qingping County that day—tonight, I’ll reclaim them a hundredfold, a thousandfold.”

He tapped the dagger against Magistrate Liu’s cheek and sneered, “You don’t know the identity of the man in the blue devil mask, and you don’t know the maid from your household who kidnapped me either?”

The blade suddenly slashed downward, opening a gash on Magistrate Liu’s body, eliciting a pig-like squeal from the man.

Sui Yuanqing said leisurely, “Do you know now?”

Magistrate Liu, greedy for credit, had claimed after suppressing the Qingping County uprising that he and his subordinates had orchestrated Sui Yuanqing’s capture. Only now did he realize the gravity of his mistake.

His plump face trembled as he wept, snot and tears mingling. “I truly don’t know where that woman lives! She wasn’t a maid from my household! I only know her name is Fan Changyu, the daughter of a butcher from Lin’an Town. I beg you, Your—”

A scar-faced man rode up from among the bandits. Sui Yuanqing’s expression shifted, and just as Magistrate Liu was about to utter “Your Highness,” he slit the man’s throat and tossed his body from the horse.

The scar-faced man, hearing Sui Yuanqing was searching for a woman, frowned. “Fifth Brother, didn’t you say you captured this spineless magistrate to find the one who wounded you? Why ask about some maid from his household?”

Sui Yuanqing smirked. “That maid is the one who wounded me.”

The scar-faced man’s expression relaxed slightly, though a veiled threat lingered in his tone. “Given Thirteen Sister’s temper, if you have any romantic entanglements outside, she won’t let them live.”

Sui Yuanqing’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “You jest, Elder Brother. That woman nearly sent me to a watery grave. This debt must be repaid, no matter what.”

The scar-faced man glanced at the dead magistrate on the ground. “The brothers have already looted the magistrate’s residence clean. We didn’t see any maid skilled in martial arts. You chased her for miles on horseback and still couldn’t find her. Can she vanish into thin air?”

He turned to Sui Yuanqing. “We’ve ransacked Qingping County. Jizhou Prefecture will surely send troops to hunt us down soon. We must return to Clear Breeze Stronghold quickly.”

The implication was clear—he didn’t want Sui Yuanqing to keep searching for the woman.

Sui Yuanqing tugged the reins, steadying his restless horse, a faint smile on his lips. “As you say, Elder Brother.”

Seeing that Sui Yuanqing had indeed given up the hunt for the woman who wounded him, the scar-faced man nodded in satisfaction and barked, “After we finish looting this town, we return to Clear Breeze Stronghold!”

Sui Yuanqing, a long spear strapped to his saddle, urged his horse forward at a leisurely pace. A ragged townsman darted out from a dark alley, and without hesitation, Sui Yuanqing painted the ground red with a flick of his spear.

The scar-faced man, witnessing this, seemed finally at ease and rode off to inspect elsewhere.

But Sui Yuanqing, spear in hand, leaned slightly forward on his horse and asked the half-dead man at his feet, “Fan Changyu—where does she live?”

The name rolled off his tongue, and a predatory smile curled at his lips, laced with a hint of destruction.Having found the woman, it was likely they could also locate the man wearing the blue devil mask.

The man on the ground was bleeding profusely from his chest. His survival instinct made him tremble as he weakly pointed in a direction: "West... west of the city..."

Sui Yuanqing spurred his horse forward, riding through the flickering firelight and swirling snow toward the western part of the city.

The wound on his side, not yet fully healed, throbbed with a dull pain from the jostling ride, but it did nothing to dampen his delight.

Lin'an Town was far less prosperous than Qingping County. Having already plundered Qingping County once, the bandits, now accustomed to richer spoils, had little interest in the meager pickings there. They mostly targeted wealthy households, as robbing the poor was often more trouble than it was worth.

Most of the time, they couldn’t find any silver unless they threatened those hiding inside with blades, forcing them to dig out their carefully hidden savings from every nook and cranny.

As Sui Yuanqing rode into the alley where Fan Changyu’s family lived, he saw numerous bodies strewn about—some elderly, some children. He held a freshly captured man in his grip.

Suspecting that his prey might have already been taken by someone else, he narrowed his eyes. His tone remained lazy but turned icy: "Which house belongs to Fan Changyu?"

The bloodied man in his grasp shivered and pointed to the second house at the end of the alley.

Sui Yuanqing tossed the man aside. Thinking he had been spared, the man scrambled to flee, only to be impaled through the chest by a blade the moment he stood up. He collapsed stiffly, adding another corpse to the ground.

Glancing at the blood staining the blade he had picked up, Sui Yuanqing wrinkled his nose in disgust and wiped his hands with a handkerchief before stepping through the gates of the Fan family home.

The house had clearly been ransacked. The courtyard was in disarray, and the door to the main room stood wide open, showing no signs of anyone hiding inside.

Yet Sui Yuanqing showed no intention of leaving. He raised his torch and entered the house.

Inside, drawers and cabinets had been flung open, pots and jars shattered across the floor. Bedding and sheets had been torn off and thrown aside—evidence of someone searching desperately for hidden silver.

He was about to leave when he noticed a door behind the kitchen. Hesitating briefly, he still strode forward with the torch.

Opening the door revealed the Fan family’s backyard: a pigpen, a well covered by a heavy stone slab, and a stone bench used for butchering pigs.

Sui Yuanqing scanned the area and was about to turn away when his gaze landed on the slab covering the dry well. He paused.

The torchlight clearly illuminated the thick layer of snow atop the slab, but beneath the well’s rim, where the slab shielded the ground, there was also a thick blanket of snow.

Clearly, the slab had been placed there recently.

Why cover the well?

Naturally, because something was hidden inside.

The slab looked to weigh over a hundred pounds. To anyone else, it would seem like an abandoned well, and they would have walked away.

But Sui Yuanqing chuckled softly, his eyes curving into crescents, as if pleased.

Step by step, he approached the well with the torch in hand. The crisp crunch of snow underfoot, mingling with distant wails, seemed to tread on someone’s nerves.

As he reached to lift the slab, a murderous intent surged from behind.

Sui Yuanqing dodged just in time as a boning knife grazed past his ear and embedded itself into the courtyard wall nearby.Before Sui Yuanqing could even look up to see where the boning knife had come from, the figure hiding on the rooftop leaped down with the agility of a panther, the bleeding knife in hand once again aimed straight for his vital points.

Sui Yuanqing dodged by instinct, but his opponent wielded two blades—one slashing while the other swept horizontally—giving him no chance to catch his breath.

Fan Changyu was truly intent on killing this time. Hidden in that dry well were Changning, Aunt Zhao, and several neighbors from nearby households. If she failed, they would surely die.

Her strikes were swift and fierce. In her left hand was a cleaver, in her right a bleeding knife that could slash like a blade or thrust like a sword. There was hardly any technique to it—just sheer speed, forcing him into a defensive stance with no opportunity to counterattack.

Several times, Sui Yuanqing tried to draw his sword, only to be forced back by Fan Changyu’s relentless assault. He retreated step by step, evading her pressing blade.

Finally, he resorted to using the torch in his hand as a weapon. Swinging it with a whooshing sound, the flame trailed behind like an orange silk ribbon. Yet Fan Changyu’s onslaught didn’t let up, leaving him utterly unable to retaliate.

Sui Yuanqing dared not clash the torch directly against her butcher knife, so he could only deflect by striking the flat of her blade or dodging its edge.

This made his defense all the more strenuous. Worse still, his opponent seemed tireless—her strikes not only relentless but also undiminished in strength despite the prolonged fight. The force of her blows split the skin of his palm, and his grip on the torch grew numb with each impact.

Sui Yuanqing cursed inwardly—what kind of freak was this woman?

In the flickering light, Fan Changyu’s eyes were cold and sharp, like a tiger or leopard tearing into an intruder, filled with a deadly ferocity that bore no resemblance to the naive honesty of their first meeting.

When she fought with such intensity, there was an inexplicable allure in the arch of her brows and the corners of her eyes.

Sui Yuanqing stared at this beautiful yet fierce face and froze for a split second. In that instant, the torch in his hand was sliced clean in half, and the bleeding knife plunged deep into his shoulder. Had she twisted it with more force, half his arm might have flown off.

The searing pain snapped him back to reality. Before Fan Changyu could sever his tendons, he shouted, "If you kill me, neither you nor those in the well will leave here alive."

Fan Changyu’s blade hesitated.

Sui Yuanqing seized the chance to negotiate. "Let me go, and I’ll spare you and the people in the well."

Fan Changyu scoffed coldly, "Why should I believe you?"

Just then, bandits outside noticed Sui Yuanqing’s horse left in the alley and called out, "Fifth Leader, are you in there?"

Blood soaked half of Sui Yuanqing’s robe from his wound, yet he managed a leisurely smirk. "Believe it or not, the choice is yours."

The decision had to be made in an instant. Before the bandits outside could enter, Fan Changyu withdrew the bleeding knife from Sui Yuanqing’s shoulder and pressed a small boning knife against the gap between his ribs on the left side.

A thrust there would pierce his heart.

Fan Changyu whispered, "I told you before—I’d show you how a New Year’s pig is bled. If you try anything, this knife will send you to the underworld before me."

Keeping the blade pressed against him, she yanked him up. As she kicked aside the heavy stone slab covering the well, the bandits searching the Fan family’s courtyard heard the noise and rushed toward the backyard.

Several torches illuminated the cramped space. The group arrived just in time to see Sui Yuanqing pinning a woman against the wall, a discarded door plank lying on the ground—apparently the source of the earlier commotion.Little did they know, beneath that door panel lay the very bleeding knife that had gouged a gaping hole in Sui Yuanqing's shoulder.

Sui Yuanqing, his injury still unhealed, wore a heavy cloak draped over his shoulders. At this moment, the woman's figure was completely concealed within its folds.

The bandits who caught sight of this exchanged knowing smirks.

One of them remarked, "We've interrupted the Fifth Leader's fun."

Sui Yuanqing merely chuckled and scolded, "Then why aren’t you scramming out of here?"

As he casually wrapped an arm around Fan Changyu’s waist, she pressed her boning knife forward slightly, the blade grazing his chest just enough to break the skin. The cold steel against his flesh made Sui Yuanqing restrain himself—his hand hovered loosely over her clothes, appearing from a distance as though he were embracing her.

Yet, in a hushed voice, he teased, "If you’re taking me hostage, how else am I supposed to get you out and cover for whoever’s hiding in that well?"

Fan Changyu remained silent, though the knife didn’t advance further.

She leaned against him as if shy, her face mostly hidden by the cloak, but in truth, her cold eyes held the blade steady against his vital point.

Sui Yuanqing glanced down at the only visible part of her—her fair ear, glowing faintly in the firelight. A sharp, gnawing itch surged in his gums, and he couldn’t help but imagine biting down on that earlobe, hard enough to draw blood and leave his mark.

Just the thought inexplicably lifted his mood.

Twice now, he’d been bested by this woman—each time worse than the last.

Surprisingly, he didn’t feel anger. Accustomed to women who obeyed him, this was a strangely refreshing experience.

It was like taming a wild horse—he relished the slow process of breaking her in.

Yet, the memory of her calling out to the man in the blue devil mask when he’d pulled her from the falling building flashed before his eyes, intensifying that maddening itch. He bent his head slightly, whispering close to her ear, "Why isn’t that masked man coming to your rescue now?"

Fan Changyu’s boning knife pressed forward without hesitation.

Feeling the chill at his chest, Sui Yuanqing straightened with a faint smirk.

To outsiders, it looked like he’d whispered something flirtatious to the woman in his arms. The bandits’ lecherous gazes kept darting beneath his cloak, but Fan Changyu’s figure was entirely concealed. They only noted that she seemed taller than most women—nothing else stood out.

Sui Yuanqing said, "Let’s go. The boss must be waiting."

Under the cloak’s cover, Fan Changyu kept the knife at his back as they moved, her mind racing.

After this spectacle, hardly any bandits paid attention to the well in the courtyard.

The dry well, originally used as a cellar, had a rope ladder inside. Once the bandits left, those hiding within could climb out.

Her plan was simple: hold this man hostage, wait until Aunt Zhao and Changning had escaped, then force him to lead her somewhere secluded. Dealing with him alone wouldn’t be a problem.

But… after the Jizhou authorities had quelled the rebellion, they’d identified him as a rebel from Chongzhou. How had he ended up colluding with these bandits?

The official notices hadn’t named Sui Yuanqing’s identity—Fan Changyu only knew he was a rebel, unaware he was the heir of Changxin Wang.

As she pondered this, a sudden shout came from the alley outside: "The boss is here!"Fan Changyu subtly glanced at the bandit leader mentioned by the mountain bandits, only to see his expression darken as he lashed his whip directly toward her.

Changyu knew she absolutely couldn’t block that whip. The moment Scarface Man struck, she simply twisted the boning knife in her hand to the side.

She didn’t drive it deeper, but she widened the wound further.

Sui Yuanqing, subjected to her silent threat, smiled even more broadly. When the whip was about to land on her, he caught it barehanded.

The whip recoiled onto the back of his hand, instantly raising a swollen welt. Yet, as if he felt no pain, he lifted his gaze to Scarface Man on horseback and asked, "What’s the meaning of this, elder brother?"

Scarface Man bellowed, "You want to take this woman back to Clear Breeze Stronghold?"

Yuan Qing replied nonchalantly, "It’s rare for me to find someone who suits my tastes."

Scarface Man threw a knife at Yuan Qing’s feet and snapped, "If you still intend to marry Thirteen Sister, kill this woman."