Chapter Fifty-Five: The Path Forward
If it weren’t for Zhang Daoxuan’s extraordinary speed, allowing him to escape their grasp time and again, they would have captured him long ago!
“Hmph! Second-rate martial arts will always be second-rate. No matter how gifted he is, this is as far as he’ll ever go,” scoffed Tang Mingwu derisively.
“He’s practiced so many second- and third-rate martial arts that his body must already be suffering. These past days, he’s been relying on secret techniques far too often—he won’t last much longer!”
“You’re right. Let’s just hope that when we finally catch him, he still has the item on him. If he hides it somewhere along the way, things will get complicated for us.” As Guo Hu spoke, he habitually pulled out a small black compass, glanced at the stationary needle, and sighed helplessly.
“Ever since we entered Jiangning County, our compass has failed. It seems Zhang Daoxuan found something to shield the item, so our compass can’t track it anymore,” Tang Mingwu said with a dark expression.
…
On the southern street of the city, Qin Yi followed behind the Eleventh Squad as they continued their house-to-house search with the main force.
“Just now, though the Chief Constable and that man surnamed Tang only exchanged a single move, their strength clearly surpasses mine—at least at the eighth tier, possibly even the ninth!”
“What kind of institution is the Martial Prohibition Hall, to show the Chief Constable not the slightest deference?” Qin Yi had noticed that the man surnamed Tang wasn’t bluffing. If it hadn’t been for that flare signal, he probably would have truly fought Huo Boru!
The Chief Constable was a sixth-rank official—an imposing status! Even imperial envoys, unless they had clear grounds, couldn’t just threaten or attack him at will.
Whoosh!
A flare suddenly shot up into the sky.
Boom!
The firework exploded overhead.
“There! Two streets over!” Captain Liu of the Eleventh Squad pointed toward the source.
“Let’s head over,” He Xiongjian said, leading the way at a measured pace.
Everyone understood—though capturing the fugitive would bring great merit, preserving their own lives was far more important.
By the time they arrived at their destination, they saw a man in an embroidered constable’s uniform fiercely battling a gray-clad figure. The gray-clad man wielded a short sword, while the constable fought with a long saber.
On the ground lay more than twenty corpses, blood staining nearly half the street crimson.
“Zhang Daoxuan, let’s see where you run to this time!”
Tang Mingwu’s voice echoed from afar.
Spurt!
The arm of the constable in embroidered uniform flew into the air, severed, while the gray-clad figure did not press his advantage, instead darting into a side alley and vanishing into the darkness in the blink of an eye.
“So that’s Zhang Daoxuan?” Qin Yi watched the disappearing silhouette, thoughtful. That build and those movements—weren’t they reminiscent of the masked stranger he’d encountered earlier tonight?
“Where is he?” Tang Mingwu landed from a rooftop, his face darkening as he surveyed the carnage but found no trace of Zhang Daoxuan.
“He ran into that alley—I couldn’t stop him,” the constable replied, his face pale, blood still streaming from the stump of his arm.
“Useless!” Tang Mingwu spat, then dashed after the fugitive into the alleyway.
“You—” The constable dared not voice his anger.
Once Tang Mingwu was gone, He Xiongjian hurried over.
“Chief Constable, are you all right?”
“I’ll live, but my arm…” Liang Yu’s expression was as dark as storm clouds. Earlier, during the search, he’d spotted the wanted man, who seemed injured and in poor shape, so he’d decided to take a chance.
He hadn’t expected that within a dozen moves, he’d lose an arm.
And now, to be called useless—rage boiled within him! If only he hadn’t been so eager!
“Shall I send someone to escort you to the clinic?” He Xiongjian felt a heavy weight in his heart. Zhang Daoxuan was far too terrifying. Deputy Chief Liang Yu was at the eighth tier! If not for the intervention of the Martial Prohibition Hall, the deputy chief’s life would have been forfeit.
“Do it,” Liang Yu replied.
Soon, four constables carried Liang Yu off to the medical clinic.
“Chief, searching like this isn’t working,” Captain Liu of the Eleventh Squad whispered.
The wanted man’s strength was plain for all to see—should they encounter him, their chances of survival were slim.
Hadn’t even the deputy chief just lost an arm?
“Just remember not to rush ahead. If we’re unlucky enough to run into him, every man for himself,” He Xiongjian said, narrowing his eyes.
Who isn’t afraid of death?
Most importantly, those brutes from the Martial Prohibition Hall were so overbearing that he had no fondness for them whatsoever. If he could drag his feet, he certainly wouldn’t risk himself at the front.
“Continue searching in the direction the fugitive fled. Search every house, every room, every person—leave nothing unchecked,” He Xiongjian ordered, putting special emphasis on the word “thoroughly.”
Everyone understood immediately!
Time ticked by.
In the blink of an eye, it was past midnight. Qin Yi never saw the fugitive again, though during the first half of the night he’d seen three signal flares—evidence that the fugitive had been spotted three more times!
…
Tang Mingwu and Guo Hu reached the site of another flare, only to find several city guards’ corpses and no trace of Zhang Daoxuan.
“Damn it, he got away again!” Guo Hu was nearly beside himself with rage.
“Last time, Zhang Daoxuan was clearly severely wounded by us, yet these worthless men still can’t stop him. It seems they’re all avoiding him like the plague,” Tang Mingwu said, his face grim.
At first, they hadn’t told the constables or city guards that Zhang Daoxuan possessed ninth-tier strength. Now, having witnessed his prowess, none of the constables or city guards wanted to risk their lives—they all dragged their feet.
At this rate, efficiency had plummeted!
“Bring Huo Boru and Di Long here and have them relay this to their subordinates: whoever captures Zhang Daoxuan, or assists in capturing or killing him, will be rewarded with a first-class martial art at the seventh tier and three thousand taels of silver!”
…
At that moment, He Xiongjian was leading his team to search a brothel when a constable rushed over.
“Captain He, orders from the chief: speed up the search. The Martial Prohibition Hall says the fugitive is gravely wounded and won’t last much longer.”
“And,” the constable added, “the Martial Prohibition Hall’s lord declared: whoever captures or assists in capturing the fugitive will be rewarded with a seventh-tier first-class martial art and three thousand taels of silver, guaranteed by the county governor himself!”
“A seventh-tier martial art? Three thousand taels of silver?”
But what shocked everyone most was the martial art at the seventh tier!
“A seventh-tier martial art!” He Xiongjian’s breath quickened.
Such martial arts were only ever awarded by the authorities to chief constables or their deputies!
He Xiongjian himself had reached his current strength by mastering two sixth-tier martial arts and comprehending their secret techniques, thereby achieving the overall power of the seventh tier.