Chapter Fifty-Four: Murderous Intent

After Qin Yi escaped from the Four Seas Trading Company, seeing no pursuers behind him, his steps gradually slowed. The fate of those colleagues inside was no longer his concern.

On the street, a squad of constables mixed with city guards was hurrying in his direction.

"Qin Feng, what on earth happened?" The leader was none other than He Xiongjian, the squad captain.

"Captain He, quick, this way! The Four Seas Trading Company—those people are hiding heavy armor. Our Twelfth Squad is being surrounded and slaughtered!" Qin Yi shouted as he ran.

"What? The Four Seas Trading Company is hiding heavy armor?" He Xiongjian’s face changed dramatically.

Stashing heavy armor was a grave crime. He never expected a trading company to possess such items, let alone right under the nose of Jiangning Prefecture’s city.

"Let’s go, hurry and rescue them!" He Xiongjian instantly overtook Qin Yi, rushing towards the Four Seas Trading Company ahead.

Qin Yi followed the main force towards the company.

Soon, in the backyard of the Four Seas Trading Company, Qin Yi arrived to find a middle-aged man clad in an ornate constable’s uniform standing in the courtyard, with two men lying on the ground, their limbs broken.

He recognized them as Zhong Yanbin and Zhu Pengtao from earlier.

"Greetings, Chief Constable!" He Xiongjian greeted Huo Bairu respectfully.

The other constables saluted as well.

Qin Yi, as he saluted, was secretly shocked—so this was the Chief Constable of Jiangning Prefecture! A solid sixth-rank official!

"Hmm," Huo Bairu nodded indifferently.

"Sir, did you clear out everyone here?" He Xiongjian asked.

"The minor lackeys are being chased by my men. These two leaders tried to escape but happened to run into me, so I apprehended them. All your men inside have been surrounded and killed," Huo Bairu replied.

"I looked inside just now—there are probably several hundred sets of heavy armor," Huo Bairu’s face darkened.

Several hundred sets! Enough to form an armored battalion. On the battlefield, it would be an unstoppable steel legion.

He never imagined such a cache would be hidden in a trading company, and as for the buyers—he suspected it could only be traitors.

Ordinary people wouldn’t dare use such things even if they bought them; possession meant execution for nine generations.

"Hiss... Several hundred sets?" Even He Xiongjian drew a sharp breath.

"Has Zhang Daoxuan been found?" A voice approached from afar.

Within a few breaths, a figure landed in the courtyard.

Qin Yi looked up and saw a man dressed in black and gold Feiying robes—judging by his speed, his strength was formidable, at least at the eighth level.

Outside, footsteps sounded as well. A twenty-man squad, also in black Feiying robes, entered.

"What department is this?" Qin Yi wondered silently.

"Who fired the signal flare?" Tang Mingwu surveyed the group.

"Sir, it was my subordinate who fired the distress signal," He Xiongjian pointed to Qin Yi beside him.

"And Zhang Daoxuan—where is he?" Tang Mingwu scanned the area but did not see the person he sought.

"Inspector Tang, he discovered the Four Seas Trading Company hiding several hundred sets of heavy armor and was then surrounded and attacked, so he fired the distress signal," Huo Bairu explained.

"If you didn’t find Zhang Daoxuan, why are you firing distress signals? You’ve wasted my time! And you—who authorized you to send up a signal? Are you courting death?" Tang Mingwu’s figure flashed, and he struck at Qin Yi with his palm!

The distance of over ten meters vanished in an instant.

Qin Yi’s face changed. He hadn’t expected this Inspector Tang to be so ruthless, ready to kill without a word! Such outrageous arrogance!

His fists clenched—waiting to die was not an option. Even if he had to expose his true strength!

Just as he prepared to fight back, a figure intervened.

Boom!

The collision resounded; dust rose as Huo Bairu and Tang Minghu each retreated three steps.

"Huo Bairu, do you want to die?" Tang Minghu was furious that Huo Bairu dared block him.

"Inspector Tang, my constable discovered the illegal stash of several hundred sets of heavy armor, and my squad lost dozens of men here. Yet, because he sent a distress signal, you want to kill him? Isn’t that unreasonable?" Huo Bairu said grimly.

"Huo Bairu, it seems your prefect hasn’t explained things clearly to you! Fine, you can die too!" Tang Minghu, face full of arrogance, prepared to strike.

For others to kill a chief constable of the prefecture—a sixth-rank official—would be a monstrous crime.

But for a Martial Prohibition Hall inspector on a mission, it was no issue at all.

"You..." Huo Bairu’s face darkened. He had vaguely heard of the Martial Prohibition Hall’s tyranny, but he didn’t expect it to be this extreme, to the point they’d contemplate killing him. Suddenly, he remembered the prefect’s instructions: he must fully cooperate with the two inspectors and meet any demands they made.

Now it seemed... perhaps he truly didn’t understand the Martial Prohibition Hall well enough.

He suddenly felt regret.

Bang!

Suddenly, a signal flare exploded in the sky from the southern part of the city.

Tang Mingwu, who was about to act, saw the signal, glared at Huo Bairu, then turned and rushed towards the south, his twenty subordinates following suit.

As Tang Minghu departed, everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief.

"Thank you, Chief Constable, for saving my life," Qin Yi saluted.

Huo Bairu glanced at Qin Yi, said nothing, but with a complicated expression headed south. Before disappearing, he left a command: "Continue the search!"

Qin Yi watched Tang Mingwu’s disappearing figure, and deep in his eyes, a faint, hidden murderous intent appeared.

"Qin Feng, join the Eleventh Squad and continue searching," He Xiongjian said grimly after coming out of the warehouse.

The entire Twelfth Squad had been reduced to Qin Feng alone.

"Yes, Captain," Qin Yi replied.

"Captain, who were those people?" someone asked.

"Martial Prohibition Hall," He Xiongjian answered.

"Which department of the Martial Prohibition Hall?"

"Don’t ask questions you shouldn’t. Continue searching!"

...

South of the city.

"Inspector Guo, where is Zhang Daoxuan?" Tang Mingwu, just arrived, saw Guo Hu leading a thorough search, his brows furrowed.

"Just now, Zhang Daoxuan killed several of my men. By the time I arrived, he had vanished. But he should still be in this area—if we search every inch, he won’t escape," Guo Hu said in a deep voice.

"Good. This time, he won’t get away!" Tang Mingwu said coldly.

"Inspector Tang, we must remain vigilant. You’ve seen how fast he is—through second-rate martial arts, he has ninth-level overall strength. Though his skill is weak among ninth-levels, his speed among them is top-tier. Who knows how many second-rate movement techniques he’s mastered!" Guo Hu said with a hint of envy.