UGB Chapter 32: Did he really hit the target?
Chapter 32: Did he really hit the target?
At 3:45 AM (丑时三刻).
The darkest time of day is also when people sleep the most soundly.
Willow Lane was as quiet as a deep well.
Even the night watchman slacked off, dozing off in a teahouse on the street corner, his clapper at his feet, snoring loudly.
Sudden--
"Bang!"
A muffled thud came from No. 17 Willow Lane.
Firelight.
From the direction of No. 17 Willow Lane, flames suddenly shot up, illuminating half the sky in red.
The residents of Willow Lane were awakened from their sleep, and when they opened their windows, they were terrified.
"Fire! Fire!"
"Fire!"
"Quickly, put out the fire!"
The men rushed out, covered in their clothes, while the women stood at the door, holding their children and shouting.
Some people carried buckets and ran to the well, some carried water and rushed to No. 17, some stood on high ground and shouted "Here, here," and some were pushed and swayed, cursing and swearing.
Shouts, curses, footsteps, and the clattering of buckets created a chaotic mess.
Not far away, several dark figures stood motionless, like wooden stakes stuck in the ground, seemingly oblivious to the raging fire.
They were members of the Golden Feather Guard.
The leader was a criminal investigator named Lü Qin, who was in his thirties and had a sharp and capable appearance.
"My lord, what should we do now?" a guard asked, approaching him.
"A mere trick." Lü Qin stared at the towering flames and sneered. "You two stay here and keep watch. The rest of you, come with me to the back wall."
"Yes."
When Lü Qin and the others arrived at the back wall, a dark figure was clumsily vaulting over the wall. He tripped and fell when he landed, then got up and ran away.
Lu Qin sneered, waved his hand, and led his men to chase after them.
Meanwhile, inside the courtyard, Jiang Xun's heart was in his throat.
The person who just climbed over the wall was a thug.
In the evening, Jiang Xun specially went to the street to "invite" it.
The kid was bullying a candied hawthorn vendor in the alley when Jiang Xun grabbed him by the collar, lifted him up, slapped him twice without saying a word, and then told him: If you want to live, do me a favor tonight.
The thug's face was swollen on one side from the beating, and he was so scared that he almost peed himself. He agreed repeatedly.
At that moment, the thug ran faster than a rabbit.
"It's done!" Jiang Xun slapped his thigh, almost jumping up.
Liu Qing pressed him down and listened intently.
The footsteps coming from the direction of the back wall grew farther and farther away, until they gradually disappeared from sight.
"Walk."
The two emerged from the shadows and blended into the crowd fighting the fire, heads down and backs crouching, making their way out of the alley.
Jiang Xun glanced back as he walked.
The fire burned brighter and brighter, turning half the sky red.
His nose tingled with emotion.
One hundred and eighty taels.
The most money I've ever saved in my life, and it's all gone like this.
"Stop looking," Liu Qing tugged at him. "Is your life more important or money?"
Jiang Xun thought about it and agreed. He looked away and followed Liu Qing as they squeezed out.
At the alley entrance, the two Golden Feather Guards who remained behind were staring at the firelight, completely unaware of the people squeezing past them.
Jiang Xun and Liu Qing slipped past them and turned into a dark alley next door.
Become!
Jiang Xun felt relieved and quickened his pace.
But before he could fully relax, a loud shout suddenly came from behind him—
"stop!"
Jiang Xun turned around abruptly, his soul nearly leaving his body in fright.
Lü Qin!
The junior commander of the Golden Feather Guard was leading his men back this way.
"They're really tough to deal with, they've already latched on so quickly." Liu Qing cursed, but there was a hint of admiration in his words, "No wonder they're the Golden Feather Guards."
The two of them took off running.
With a light tap of his foot, Liu Qing darted away a great distance, as fast as the wind.
Jiang Xun had never practiced light-body skills, but he had been through a lot in the streets since he was a child, and his ability to escape was something he had truly honed through hard work.
He crouched low, slipped through alleys, climbed over walls, and leaped up from debris with a series of fluid, cunning, and swift movements, managing to stay firmly behind Liu Qing and not be left behind.
Liu Qing glanced back briefly and saw the boy chasing after her relentlessly with his head down. A hint of satisfaction flashed in his eyes.
But after running a short distance, Liu Qing sensed something was wrong—
The footsteps behind me weren't getting farther away; in fact, they were getting closer and closer.
He glanced to the side, and his heart sank.
Lü Qin and his men pursued relentlessly, and the distance between them not only did not increase, but actually decreased inch by inch.
Jiang Xun sensed it too, and his heart skipped a beat.
These Golden Feather Guards are really good at running.
"This way!" Liu Qing suddenly pulled him, and the two of them turned sideways and plunged into a narrower alley.
Before he could run ten steps, a dark shadow flashed in front of him—two people darted out from around the corner and blocked his path.
The Golden Feather Guard.
They took a shortcut and blocked the way ahead.
There were obstacles blocking their way ahead and pursuers behind.
Liu Qing paused and stopped.
The alley was shrouded in darkness, and even the wind seemed to be held back.
"Kid," he said in a low voice, speaking rapidly, "I'll hold them off for a bit, you find a chance to run."
"But--"
"Stop talking nonsense." Liu Qing stared at the approaching dark figure ahead, his back taut like a bow. "I told you to run, so run."
Jiang Xun gritted his teeth and nodded, his nails digging into his palms. He knew that he was just a burden now, and staying would only cause trouble.
Lü Qin led his men to surround the alley, seven or eight people in total, completely blocking both ends of the alley.
"Liu Qing." Lü Qin took two steps forward, his face expressionless. "You can't escape."
Liu Qing ignored him and simply pushed Jiang Xun back.
"Let's do it!"
Lu Qin was shrewd and didn't give the other side a chance to delay. He immediately waved his hand, and seven or eight Golden Feather Guards rushed forward at the same time.
The blades flashed and the swords flew.
This was the first time Jiang Xun had seen Liu Qing take action.
The Thief Saint's lightness skill was indeed fast, as fast as a gust of wind.
He weaved through the crowd, dodging left and right, the swords and blades of the Golden Feather Guards not even touching the hem of his clothes.
But there were too many of them, and they were all experts.
Liu Qing was injured after all, and after dodging a dozen or so moves, his movements began to slow down.
A Golden Feather Guard seized an opening and slashed at his back—
Liu Qing dodged to the side, but was stabbed in the shoulder by another Golden Feather Guard.
"Master!"
In a moment of impulsiveness, Jiang Xun disregarded everything, grabbed a wooden stick from the ground, and charged forward.
He didn't know where he got the courage, but when he saw Liu Qing injured and blood flowing down her shoulder, he went crazy.
The wooden stick was aimed at the head of the Golden Feather Guard who had stabbed Liu Qing.
"when!"
The man raised his sword to block, and the wooden stick broke in two.
Jiang Xun's tiger's mouth was numb from the shock, and he was left with only half a wooden stick in his hand, standing there dumbfounded.
The man grinned maliciously, his face showing a "courting death" expression, and thrust his sword forward.
Jiang Xun's mind went blank. He instinctively rolled to the side to dodge the sword and reached for the kitchen knife at his waist.
Yes, a kitchen knife.
He's been carrying it with him these past few days for self-defense.
The man thrust his sword again, but Jiang Xun raised his kitchen knife to block it.
"when!"
The cleaver chipped, and the shock caused him to stumble back two steps before falling heavily to the ground.
The other man raised his sword to stab again, the tip of the sword gleaming coldly in the night, heading straight for his chest.
Just then, a hand suddenly reached out from the side, grabbed his collar, and pulled him backward.
It was Liu Qing.
Half of his shoulder was soaked in blood, but his hand remained steady.
"Get up!" Liu Qing roared at him. "Are you just standing there waiting to die?!"
Jiang Xun got up, his legs trembling.
But when he looked up, two more Golden Feather Guards rushed over and entangled Liu Qing, giving him no chance to catch his breath.
Liu Qingyi was not afraid and went straight to the task.
Jiang Xun stood to the side, holding the chipped kitchen knife, and suddenly noticed—
The Golden Feather Guards seemed to be moving slower than before.
His mind had gone blank just now; he couldn't see anything clearly. Now that he'd come to his senses and looked at those people's moves again, he suddenly realized—
slow.
That's so slow.
He didn't know where his confidence came from, but he stared at the Golden Feather Guard who was charging at him.
The man thrust his sword forward swiftly and viciously.
Jiang Xun dodged to the side, and swung the cleaver upwards—
"puff!"
The back of the knife struck the man's wrist.
The man screamed in agony as his sword flew out of his hand.
Jiang Xun himself was stunned.
That's it... a hit?