Climbing on the Sparrow Branch – CH 633

Chapter 633: Unspoken

The wind blowing into the dead-end alley was raging.

The ear-piercing sound of swords clashing against each other made Lin Feng increasingly excited.

From as far back as he could remember, Lin Feng always slept with his sword on his person, never taking it off.

As crimson blood was sliced through by the sword, the hilt trembled slightly—a resonance between the sword and its master.

Since they wouldn’t release him, Lin Feng had no choice but to fight his way out.

The sword whistled past, slicing through the neck of a masked man. Lin Feng dared not stop for a moment, remaining highly vigilant.

After dispatching ten masked men, the path ahead gradually became clear.

“If you’re not afraid to die, then keep blocking my way!” Lin Feng roared, charging forward.

The masked men in front scattered in fright.

Lin Feng’s eyes lit up, thinking he could rush out immediately, but suddenly a group of archers, about twenty in total, appeared on the walls to his left and right.

One of them shouted to Lin Feng, “Put down your weapon, and I’ll spare your life.”

~

A quarter of an hour earlier, An Zhi was anxiously awaiting news when someone knocked on the door.

Binglu asked who it was, but there was no answer. The madam called her inside.

An Zhi warily looked at the courtyard gate. Pei Que stood behind her.

“Madam, hold my hand.” Pei Que vaguely knew who was behind the door. He leaned close to An Zhi’s ear and whispered, “The magistrate of Ding’an County is from a distant branch of the Xu family. He must be here for us. There are people at the front gate, and there must be others at the back. But in broad daylight, he wouldn’t dare to barge in and kill anyone. Even if he wanted to use swords, he couldn’t…”

Before Pei Que could finish speaking, the door was kicked open.

At the door was indeed Xu Zhian.

“I’ve long admired your name, Fourth Master Pei.” Xu Zhian smiled and nodded to Pei Que, waving his paper fan. Soon, a servant brought him a chair. “I am Xu Zhian, Magistrate of Ding’an County. Greetings.”

After Xu Zhian’s eight attendants entered, he had the door closed.

Pei Que had no recollection of Xu Zhian. He stood rooted to the spot. “Magistrate, are you mistaken? This humble citizen was not the Pei Que you speak of.”

“I couldn’t possibly be mistaken.” Although Xu Zhian had never met Pei Que in person, the demeanor of the two people before him was unmistakable. According to Lan Xin’er’s assessment, this family could be compared to Pei Que. “People who should be on Huludao are now in Ding’an. As the magistrate of Ding’an, I must share His Majesty’s burdens.”

An Zhi felt Pei Que’s hand tighten slightly. Remembering what Pei Que hadn’t finished saying, she suspected there were others nearby. “Sir, arrests require evidence. Do you have a sketch, witnesses, or official documents?”

Xu Zhian naturally had none, but his judgment was accurate.

“You want witnesses? Ha.” Xu Zhian’s lips curled into a smile. “If you came back with me, you’d see your witnesses. I advise you to obediently follow me to avoid suffering.”

Leave?

Of course not! An Zhi and Pei Que exchanged a glance. Including Xu Zhian, there were nine people in the courtyard. Pei Que had lost an arm, but dealing with two or three people wasn’t a problem.

They couldn’t stay in Ding’an any longer, and they couldn’t afford to cause a disturbance.

An Zhi and Pei Que both looked at Xu Zhian.

They wanted to leave Ding’an quietly, and they needed to involve Xu Zhian.

Xu Zhian’s mind was racing. He was not yet thirty, and there was still a chance for promotion. If he dealt with Pei Que’s family, the Deputy Minister would definitely promote him.

However, even after promotion, it would be difficult to climb to a high position; he would need a lot of money and powerful connections. Xu Zhian had heard that although Pei Que had been exiled, he still possessed considerable wealth. This was why Xu Zhian hadn’t made a move yet today—he didn’t want to cause a scene. He wanted to take Pei Que and the others back first, find out where the money was hidden, and then kill Pei Que to claim credit.

While Xu Zhian and Pei Que were facing off, Lin Feng, who thought he was about to die in the dead end, was about to commit suicide when he saw his elder brother, Shuo Feng, jump out from behind the archers.

His thin lips, brimming with hope, smiled beautifully.

Shuo Feng’s blade was faster than Lin Feng’s sword. Taking advantage of the archers’ unpreparedness, he swiftly dispatched four archers.

Lin Feng’s hope was rekindled, and he swung his sword to fight back.

The two most skilled assassins from the Pei family took only a quarter of an hour to eliminate everyone.

Finally, they captured one survivor. Shuo Feng grabbed the man by the back of the neck. “Where is the boy you captured today locked up?”

The masked man trembled. “I won’t talk. If I do, I’ll die.”

Shuo Feng plunged his sword into the masked man’s thigh, twisting the hilt as he did so. Lin Feng covered the masked man’s mouth, preventing him from screaming.

Seeing the masked man about to faint, Lin Feng pushed at his philtrum.

“I’m telling you, you might live if you talk, but if you don’t, I could make you suffer worse than death.” Shuo Feng slowly tightened his grip on the sword. “Compared to the interrogations in your yamen, I have dozens of interrogation methods you’ve never even heard of.”

After speaking, Shuo Feng glanced at Lin Feng.

Lin Feng tacitly used the knife to cut open the masked man’s collar, the tip of the blade slowly pressing against his skin.

“Talk, I’ll talk!” The masked man gave up resisting. “He’s hiding in the secret room behind the wall, but it’s too late if you go now; he’ll probably be crippled.”

“Snap.”

Shuo Feng gave the masked man a quick death.

The two climbed over the wall into the courtyard and discovered that the furnishings were no less impressive than those of the Pei family in the capital.

“Looks like our magistrate had embezzled quite a bit of money!” Shuo Feng spat, slipped into the garden, and began a thorough search.

Finally, in a deserted courtyard, he discovered a secret room.

The secret room was dimly lit by a single candle, its size indistinguishable.

Shuo Feng, carrying the man guarding the secret room, dragged him along until he found Fusheng.

He held the candle forward slightly, and Shuo Feng recognized the blood-stained boy before him as Fusheng.

Lin Feng’s Adam’s apple bobbed involuntarily. “Fu… Fusheng, are you alright?”

“It’s… it’s Brother Lin Feng! You… you’ve finally come.” Fusheng was in pain all over, and upon hearing Lin Feng’s voice, he forced out a breath. “I… I didn’t say anything.”

“Alright, don’t talk anymore. We’ll take you back to see the master and have Doctor Tao examine you.” Shuo Feng carried Fusheng on his back and handed the candle to Lin Feng.

Once outside the secret chamber, Lin Feng saw that Fusheng was covered in whip marks, and his fingernails had been pried off.

“Damn it, I can’t swallow this!” Lin Feng growled.

Shuo Feng, being the top assassin of the Pei family, was more composed than Lin Feng. He turned to look at the garden. “Fusheng had been captured; we’re definitely exposed. In that case, we can’t stay in Ding’an any longer. Lin Feng, I’ll give you fifteen minutes. How much you burn down is up to you. I’ll carry Fusheng back first. Catch up with me in fifteen minutes.”