AUBTN -Chapter 178 Kidnapping

He suddenly sprang to his feet, a sense of foreboding washing over him.

“Her real target…”

Shen Jue’s eyes darkened as he hurriedly got up and rushed out the door.

“Prepare the horses, quickly!”

At the East Factory gate, he met Lu Yan, who had arrived after receiving the same alarming news and sensing that something was terribly wrong.

The two exchanged a glance, and in each other’s eyes, they saw the same shock and urgency.

In unison, they spoke a single place:

“The Women’s Guild!”

That’s right — Li Yunxi’s goal had never been simply to escape.

She knew she had reached a dead end.

What she wanted… was revenge!

While most of the imperial guards and the city’s garrison were drawn to the Ministry of Justice prison in the western district, the Women’s Guild in the eastern district had become the most vulnerable point in the city’s defenses.

And there, were the people she hated the most — and the ones Lu Yan and Shen Jue cared about most!

At this moment, the Women’s Guild was brightly lit.

Though it was already late at night, to meet an urgent order from Jiangnan, dozens of female workers were still busy in the workshop.

Su Hewan and Yu Qing were also present — one checking accounts, the other distributing late-night snacks. The atmosphere was warm yet bustling.

“Wanwan, look at this pattern. Wouldn’t it look better if we added a little more gold thread?” Yu Qing asked excitedly, holding up a silk handkerchief half-embroidered.

Su Hewan put down her ledger, smiling and nodding. “Mm, that’s a good idea. It’ll make it look more luxurious.”

“Hehe, I really am an unremarkable embroidery prodigy! Once this batch sells, we’ll make another fortune,” Yu Qing said, counting in delight.

Su Hewan listened to her muttering, shaking her head in a mix of helplessness and amusement.

At that moment, there was a loud bang — the guild’s main door was kicked open from the outside!

A group of masked men in black, wielding sharp blades, stormed in like demons of death.

At the front stood Li Yunxi herself, now clad in sleek night attire.

“Ah—!”

The female workers screamed in terror, scattering in panic. The workshop descended into chaos.

“Everyone, shut up!” Li Yunxi shouted harshly. With a swing of her long sword, she cleaved a table in two, splinters flying.

The women froze in fear, trembling.

Li Yunxi’s eyes, sharp and venomous, swept over the crowd before finally landing on Su Hewan, who had stood up to shield Yu Qing behind her.

“Su Hewan… Yu Qing… I’ve finally found you,” she said, her voice twisted with perverse satisfaction.

Su Hewan’s expression was grave, but she maintained her composure.

She gently pushed Yu Qing further back and stepped forward, speaking calmly: “Li Yunxi, you’ve reached a dead end. Why drag innocents into this? Your enemies are the Empress Dowager and those in the court — what do these ordinary workers have to do with it?”

“Wanwan, stop talking! There’s nothing to reason with this lunatic! She’s a mad dog, biting anyone in sight!” Yu Qing stomped her feet anxiously behind her.

“Hahaha…” Li Yunxi laughed as if she’d heard the greatest joke in the world.

“Innocents? In my eyes, you, and they, all deserve to die! But don’t worry, my main targets today are the two of you.”

A cruel delight flashed in her eyes. “You wanted to protect them, didn’t you? Fine, then step forward yourselves and come with me. Otherwise, I’ll order this place to be wiped clean right now!”

“Stop!” Yu Qing could no longer hold back and rushed out, spreading her arms to shield Su Hewan.

“Li Yunxi, you lunatic! Come at me if you dare! You’re not allowed to harm Wanwan or anyone else!”

Su Hewan felt a warmth in her heart, but also a mix of anxiety and anger.

She grabbed Yu Qing, took a deep breath, and said to Li Yunxi, “Fine, we’ll go with you. But you have to swear to spare everyone here!”

“Wanwan!” Yu Qing cried in alarm.

“Shut up!” Su Hewan whispered sharply. She knew that arguing with a madwoman at this moment was pointless; any delay would only put more people in danger.

Li Yunxi smiled with satisfaction. “Very well, seems you know when to be reasonable.”

With a wave of her hand, two black-clad men immediately stepped forward, pressing the cold edges of their swords against Su Hewan and Yu Qing, holding them hostage.

Li Yunxi led her men, escorting Su Hewan and Yu Qing, and quickly disappeared into the dense night.

When Lu Yan and Shen Jue arrived at the women’s guild, they saw only chaos and a group of terrified female workers.

Upon hearing that Su Hewan and Yu Qing had voluntarily gone with Li Yunxi to protect everyone else, the two men’s faces instantly turned pale.

They cursed inwardly—they had arrived one step too late!

The memory of the bloodshed at Yu Garden was still vivid!

Lu Yan’s hand tightened around his embroidered spring blade, veins bulging, exuding an icy, suffocating aura of death.

Shen Jue’s eyes were like a cold abyss, swirling with rage and madness capable of destroying everything.

At that moment, a foreign guard stumbled in, holding a letter.

“Master! Lord Lu! Someone just fired a letter here!”

On the envelope, eight characters were written in fresh blood: “Shen Jue and Lu Yan personally open,” shocking anyone who saw it.

Shen Jue snatched the letter and tore it open with trembling fingers.

The handwriting on the letter was sloppy and frenzied:

“Want to save your beloved? At the third quarter of midnight, at Broken Soul Cliff ten miles outside the capital, both of you must come alone on horseback. Bring anyone extra, or arrive even a moment late, and prepare to collect their bones, gnawed clean by vultures! Remember, I am waiting to enjoy the sight of you begging on your knees!”

The method was exactly like Zhao Jieyu’s!

No wonder—they were both women who had risen from the palace!

“Li Yunxi!”

Lu Yan roared in fury, punching a nearby pillar with a forceful blow.

He burned with anxiety!

An unprecedented mix of fear and rage gripped their hearts like two hands squeezing mercilessly.

Yet, they were after all the commanders of life-and-death authority—the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the East Factory’s overseer.

The more desperate the moment, the more it brought out their inherent coldness and ruthlessness.

Shen Jue drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the murderous intent churning inside him. He looked at Lu Yan, his voice hoarse but clear: “She doesn’t want their lives—she wants ours, and above all, she wants our humiliation.”

Lu Yan’s bloodshot eyes met his. “She wants to make us scatter our forces, but we won’t give her that satisfaction.”

They didn’t speak another word, yet decades of confrontation and tacit understanding allowed them to instantly read each other’s thoughts.

Shen Jue gestured toward the air. Shadows lurking in the dark vanished without a trace, slipping silently along another path toward Broken Soul Cliff.

Lu Yan quietly issued a series of short but lethal orders to the cavalry officers behind him. The officer nodded, immediately leading the most elite riders into the night like phantoms.

Once everything was set, the two men mounted their horses, hesitation nowhere to be seen, and surged forward like twin black lightning bolts toward Broken Soul Cliff in the outskirts of the capital.

Broken Soul Cliff—a desolate precipice on the outskirts of the city.