Chapter Seventeen: Is This a Quest for Vengeance?
“How could he…” Just as Manager Li was about to ask more, suddenly the sound of gongs, drums, and shouting came from the restaurant’s backyard: “A fire! A fire! Someone come quickly!”
Second Brother immediately stepped back.
Manager Li quickly stood up and looked out the window.
Good heavens, thick smoke was billowing up in the backyard—it was on fire!
“Master!”
Manager Li felt as if he had encountered a talent born entirely for the Eastern Depot!
After finishing their task, they even knew to set a fire, drawing everyone’s attention away.
This both facilitated their escape and conveniently destroyed evidence!
This young man was practically self-taught!
The Martial Emperor set down his teacup, walked to the window, and, like the other diners, watched the people in the backyard fetching water to put out the blaze.
“Oh my, Mr. Zhao, your backyard’s on fire!”
Li Wenxuan pulled up his trousers and ran over, feigning curiosity as he peered at the flames.
The Martial Emperor smiled and replied, “Yes, today we’ve encountered quite a few things!”
“But the fire’s not big—let’s sit down and have some tea.”
Li Wenxuan laughed.
The Martial Emperor nodded and sat down with him; the two sipped tea and chatted leisurely.
Before long, a group of armed guards surrounded the entire restaurant.
News spread that the Crown Prince of the Duke had been attacked and was unconscious…
All the diners there turned pale with fear upon hearing this.
Yet Li Wenxuan remained calm, chatting with the Martial Emperor as if nothing had happened; the incident did not affect them in the slightest.
Even when confronted and questioned by armed guards, he unhurriedly removed his wooden academy badge from his waist to prove his identity.
“Gentlemen, the earlier incident was truly a misunderstanding—I don’t even know who that woman is!”
“I have a recommendation from the academy’s dean and am to register with the Ministry of Revenue tomorrow to take up official duties. Who would jeopardize their own future?”
Li Wenxuan spoke sincerely.
“Wait here; I’ll personally verify with the academy,” the guard said coldly, showing no respect.
After a short while, the armed guard returned.
His attitude toward Li Wenxuan had become noticeably more respectful. He clasped his fists and said, “Master Li, there was some misunderstanding earlier, but our Crown Prince is right here…”
Li Wenxuan immediately replied solemnly, “That was His Highness the Crown Prince being attacked by rebels. Whatever I say here, I will say elsewhere. Beyond that, I know nothing.”
The guard hadn’t expected this fellow to be so straightforward.
“Very well. I hope Master Li remembers your words.”
After the heavily armed guards left the restaurant, Li Wenxuan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He was confident that when he made his move, it was swift and clean—no one had seen his face.
When he stole the clothes, the woman had been locked in a fierce struggle with a man; no one had noticed him. Besides, there was no surveillance in this world—it was practically a perfect act of... heroism!
But even if no traces were left, who wouldn’t be afraid?
“Li, you seem quite nervous,” the Martial Emperor’s voice suddenly whispered in Li Wenxuan’s ear.
Li Wenxuan’s expression remained steady: “How could I not be? That woman pleading for my help is too easily misunderstood…”
The Martial Emperor laughed heartily: “Indeed... it’s getting late; we should all head back.”
“Mr. Zhao, please!” Li Wenxuan bowed.
“Please!” The Martial Emperor was increasingly pleased with this young man.
The armed guards had been summoned by him to test his courage.
And this courage had satisfied the Martial Emperor.
The two left the restaurant together, then parted ways.
But soon after, the Martial Emperor returned.
He went straight to the room where the “Crown Prince of the Duke” was held.
Inside, the four people whom Li Wenxuan had knocked unconscious earlier, along with the man impersonating the Crown Prince, all knelt in a neat row.
Manager Li passed by them with a look of deep disappointment.
Especially the Crown Prince impersonator—with large swollen knife marks on the back of his head.
Just by this alone, one could guess how much Li Wenxuan despised him.
If not for the Crown Prince’s identity, that wouldn’t be mere bruises—he might have lost his head entirely.
At the far side knelt the young girl in the lotus-blue, floor-length gown.
Her face still bore the dirt and smudges Li Wenxuan had wiped off, and her hair was somewhat disheveled.
The Martial Emperor stared for a moment, utterly failing to recognize her.
“Your Majesty!”
The girl quickly lowered her head, a faint blush coloring her cheeks.
The Martial Emperor sat down, looking at them all and chuckled: “Come, tell me how he managed to knock you all out with a single move?”
They all lowered their heads further.
None had seen how Li Wenxuan had struck.
The Martial Emperor’s expression darkened as he glanced at Manager Li.
Manager Li’s face grew even grimmer; he stepped forward, raising a hand as if to strike someone.
The Martial Emperor frowned and looked at the girl: “You didn’t see either?”
She hurriedly knelt: “Your Majesty, please forgive me. Master Li's moves were too fast. I wasn’t his target and didn’t see how he struck—he seemed to suddenly appear right before me.”
“This…” The Martial Emperor’s face was one of disbelief—this young man’s martial skills were truly exceptional?
“If you had faced him head-on, could you have captured him?”
The room fell utterly silent, as if even breathing was being stifled.
Manager Li quickly bowed, smiling: “Your Majesty, of course the Eastern Depot has experts who could capture Li. But those here today were not the Depot’s elite—they specialize in role-playing and disguise.”
“Enough, I understand,” the Martial Emperor nodded slightly. Manager Li would not dare deceive the sovereign on such matters.
Indeed, the Eastern Depot was divided into many departments, each specializing in different skills.
“Then let us return to the palace.”
The Martial Emperor rose, his steps lighter than usual.
Manager Li followed behind, ordering everyone sternly: “Not a word of today’s events may be leaked. Anyone disobeying will—”
He didn’t finish but made a throat-slitting gesture.
“Understood!” the group responded in unison.
As the footsteps faded away, the young girl Hongye slowly lifted her head, her mind filled with images of that boy who had grabbed her to jump from the building, then slipped her a lotus gown and two hundred taels of silver…
“Master Li, I truly hope we meet again someday.”
On the wide avenue, the emperor’s carriage was halfway back to the palace when a swift horse approached and whispered some news.
The Martial Emperor inside was visibly excited, clapping his hands: “Excellent! I wanted to see how this young man’s martial arts measured up, and someone has anticipated my thoughts!”
Manager Li, equally thrilled, urged the driver to quickly change direction and rush down another street.
Meanwhile, Li Wenxuan, just having spent two coins on a sesame flatbread from a street vendor, suddenly found a tall horse blocking his path.
Alarm bells rang in his heart. Could it be related to the Crown Prince’s affair… someone targeting him?
“You’re blocking my way; I’ll just go around.”
Li Wenxuan was a friendly person.
But after he skirted around, the horse blocked him again.
Li Wenxuan stepped back a few paces and looked up at the dark-skinned, stern-faced young man on the chestnut horse.
“My friend, we have no quarrel, do we?”
Searching his memory, Li Wenxuan knew this man had never left the Western General’s Mansion and could not have enemies.
The man came alone, and there were no officers nearby.
So this had nothing to do with the Crown Prince’s affair.
The dark-skinned young man sneered: “You and I have no grudge, true—but my younger brother was beaten by you this morning. Don’t you think, as his older brother, I should help him get some justice?”
“Your younger brother?” Li Wenxuan took a bite of his flatbread, exhaling a cloud of warm steam, and laughed: “I beat many people’s younger brothers this morning, but I really don’t know which one is yours.”
Brothers differ from brothers. Thinking of his own younger brother clutching his lower parts to complain, the dark young man’s face twisted with anger!
Veins bulged on his forehead. Gritting his steel teeth, he lunged forward like a coiled leopard pouncing on its prey.
“Don’t talk big. Today, I’m going to teach you a lesson!”