Chapter 106 - 103: City Lockdown, Complete Version of the Iron Cloth Shirt, Refining Internal Realm

Chapter 106: Chapter 103: City Lockdown, Complete Version of the Iron Cloth Shirt, Refining Internal Realm

He arrived in the courtyard. Seeing the beaten beggar, he waved his hand, signaling his subordinates to stop the caning.

Seeing Hong Yue, the beggar cried out miserably, "My Lord, I’m innocent! Even if I had ten times the courage, I still wouldn’t dare deceive you."

"Cut the nonsense. Help him up and lead the way," Hong Yue said in a deep voice, ignoring the beggar’s wailing.

The soldiers helped him to his feet. Not daring to act out of line, the beggar led the group toward Pingqi Street. A quarter of an hour later, they arrived at the courtyard house he had mentioned.

BANG! The wooden door was kicked open with brutal force, and Hong Yue walked in first.

"Hmm?"

As soon as he entered the kitchen, Hong Yue smelled the faint scent of medicinal herbs. His brows immediately furrowed. He stepped briskly inside, only to find the kitchen completely clean and empty.

"My Lord, we haven’t found anyone suspicious," a soldier reported, having just finished searching the premises inside and out.

Hong Yue remained silent. Although the scent of herbs was faint, it was enough to prove that someone had been here recently. With this in mind, he approached the beggar and asked, "Did you see what he looked like?"

The beggar was terrified. He shook his head and stammered, "N-No, I didn’t. I just accidentally smelled the medicinal herbs yesterday, but I never saw the person inside."

Hearing this, Hong Yue’s expression turned ugly. Although he wasn’t sure who exactly had been brewing medicine, the fact that they were hiding so meticulously meant their identity was certainly not ordinary.

"Wait, the scent of the herbs hasn’t completely dissipated yet, which means he couldn’t have left long ago. Today happens to be the day the city gates open. He might have found out and left," Hong Yue mused aloud. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he immediately issued an order. "Go and station yourselves at all the major city gates right now! If you see anyone carrying a bundle and trying to leave White Stone City, whether man, woman, old, or young, arrest them all!"

"Yes, sir!"

Listening to the footsteps fading into the distance, Su Chen slowly shrank back into the shadows of the abandoned courtyard next door.

When the flurry of footsteps had first echoed outside, he had genuinely been startled, thinking the people from the Government Office had found him. Fortunately, they had only discovered the place where he brewed his medicine.

As half a Physician himself, Su Chen naturally knew that brewing medicine would emit a distinct herbal scent. Even though this area was remote, there were still quite a few thugs and beggars around. Because of this, he had deliberately separated his brewing spot from his resting place. He had planned to leave tonight, figuring he wouldn’t be so unlucky as to run into trouble. Unexpectedly, the people from the Government Office had actually found his brewing spot.

Luckily, these people didn’t continue their search and simply left. They absolutely never expected that the person actually brewing the medicine was staying right next door.

Right under their noses!

Night fell.

Su Chen waited until the dead of night before finally setting out. The streets were completely deserted by this time. Having scoped out his route long ago, he moved swiftly through the city and arrived at the wall.

Security had been extremely tight recently. There had been soldiers patrolling even at the base of the wall, leaving him with absolutely no opportunity. But now, the soldiers near the wall had all been withdrawn, allowing Su Chen to vault over the city wall effortlessly.

Glancing back to ensure he hadn’t been spotted, he continued on his way.

Upon reaching a stretch of woods, Su Chen’s footsteps halted. He sensed that something was wrong.

"Come out!" he said softly, his gaze locked on the spot where the group was hiding.

Hearing his words, a group of soldiers stepped out from the shadows. The leader, a somewhat rugged-looking man, looked at Su Chen and said in a deep voice, "Come with us."

The soldiers stared at Su Chen warily, sensing that he was no ordinary person. Su Chen truly hadn’t expected Hong Yue to send people to wait for him and lay an ambush on this very path. Unfortunately for them, the person standing before him wasn’t Hong Yue.

He didn’t waste any time on words and attacked immediately. In less than the time it took an incense stick to burn, Su Chen had killed the entire group of soldiers.

After spending a moment looting their bodies and tossing their corpses deeper into the woods, Su Chen picked up his pace and left. Although he didn’t know why Hong Yue hadn’t shown up personally, this was not a place to linger. He had to leave at once.

Moving at full speed, Su Chen traveled rapidly. It took him two hours to reach the ruined temple—the agreed-upon rendezvous point with Hong Ming and the others. Upon arriving, however, he didn’t see Hong Ming or the rest of the group. They had likely already left.

"This is..."

After circling the ruined temple, Su Chen suddenly discovered several letters hidden beneath a stone statue. He pulled them out and opened one. It was a letter left by Hong Ming: "To Chen..."