IDWBE -Chapter 399 Challenge

Cao Xiaohuan, Zhou Xun, and others each led nearly a thousand constables from the Ankang Prefecture and the Dali Temple to arrest members of the rebel faction.

Cao Xiaohuan stood at the gate of the Prime Minister’s residence, dressed in black, letting the rain fall over her body. After glancing at the tightly shut doors, she waved her hand.

“Surround the place. Don’t let a single one escape! Anyone who resists—kill without mercy!”

“Yes!”

The constables responded and began pounding on the gate.

Bang! Bang!

There was no response from inside. The doors remained shut.

Cao Xiaohuan waved again. Two constables vaulted over the high wall. Soon the sound of clashing blades came from within.

Without waiting for orders, more than a dozen constables leapt into the courtyard.

Moments later, amid a few screams, the gate opened from inside.

The constables kicked aside the corpses blocking the entrance and swarmed in.

Servants and guards of the Prime Minister’s household were forced to the ground. Cao Xiaohuan didn’t even spare them a glance, heading straight inward.

In the main hall of the third courtyard, brightly lit, Qi Yong sat upright in a chair. As Cao Xiaohuan approached, he calmly took a sip of tea.

“Breaking into my residence,” he said coolly, “do you know the crime for that?”

Cao Xiaohuan unfurled the imperial edict and held it before him.

“We act under His Majesty’s decree. Prime Minister, please accompany us to the Dali Temple for some tea.”

“Tea?”

Qi Yong snorted. “Is this what Prince He calls governing by law?”

“You know what you’ve done,” Cao Xiaohuan replied.

“If Prince He insists on framing me, I have nothing to say.”

“Please come peacefully. Speak at the Dali Temple.”

Qi Yong adjusted his sleeves and walked out with composure. Cao Xiaohuan followed behind, saber in hand.

Wang Tuo approached quietly. “Qi Zhong is missing. We’ve searched the entire residence. He’s nowhere to be found.”

Cao Xiaohuan’s face turned cold. “Search again. Dig three feet into the ground if necessary.”

Qi Zhong was Qi Yong’s only son. If he escaped, Prince He would lose a bargaining chip.

Wang Tuo shook his head helplessly. “I searched personally. No hidden passages.”

Cao Xiaohuan clenched her teeth. “That Fang Pi—can’t even keep an eye on one man!”

“What now?”

“Take the others back first.”

Outside, she personally escorted Qi Yong into the carriage and rode alongside it.

The hundred-man convoy headed toward the Dali Temple prison.

The night was silent, hoofbeats echoing loudly.

Suddenly, Cao Xiaohuan pulled the reins tight.

“Protect the carriage!”

A sharp whistling filled the air.

Arrows rained down visibly from the sky.

Cao Xiaohuan and Wang Tuo, both highly skilled, remained calm. But many ordinary constables were struck down. Panic spread.

The arrows targeted Qi Yong’s carriage specifically. Though many were deflected, countless struck the wood.

The horses panicked. Cao Xiaohuan cut the harness free, letting them bolt, then steadied the carriage herself and continued slashing arrows mid-air.

Her whistle signal had already sounded—but there was no response.

She cursed her own carelessness.

Ankang City was full of experts—she’d thought this would be routine. Who could’ve imagined an ambush?

The arrows lessened. Then dark bundles fell from rooftops on both sides of the street.

Sparks glimmered on them.

Cao Xiaohuan’s heart dropped.

Explosive charges.

Only the Sanhe Army possessed such explosives.

“Damn Mo Shun! How did this weapon leak?!”

Surrounded by explosives, she had no time to throw them away.

In a desperate move, she pushed the carriage aside just as explosions thundered. Flames burst everywhere.

“Go get reinforcements!” she shouted to Wang Tuo.

Wang Tuo, the fastest below Grandmaster level in Ankang, didn’t hesitate. Staying meant dying together. Leaving meant saving someone.

He vanished into the night.

Explosions intensified. Black-clad assassins descended.

Soon, only three of her men remained.

In fury, Cao Xiaohuan, an eighth-rank martial artist, fought desperately—one slash, one kill.

When she turned back—

The carriage was engulfed in flames.

“Lord Qi!”

She hacked open the carriage.

Qi Yong was gone.

The assassins had fled.

Only corpses and fire remained.

“Just like every movie—police only arrive after everyone’s dead.”

Lin Yi had been awakened in the middle of the night. He was already annoyed—now he was furious.

Kneeling before him were Pan Duo, Zhang Mian, Ma Jie, Chen Jingzhi, Wei Yishan—and Cao Xiaohuan, covered in blood.

“You brag about being fifth-rank, sixth-rank everywhere. Ninth-rank and Grandmasters walking sideways. I thought you were kings—turns out you’re bronze.”

Cao Xiaohuan kowtowed. “This subordinate deserves punishment!”

Lin Yi snorted.

“This was premeditated. Qi Yong surrendered willingly—only to stage this mid-route ambush. What is that? A demonstration. A declaration of war. They’re defecating on my head!”

Pan Duo bowed deeply. “My intelligence failure caused this disaster. I accept full responsibility.”

Zhang Mian added, “As Commander of the Military Bureau, I failed to suppress criminals. I deserve death.”

Wei Yishan echoed similar guilt.

“Enough!”

Lin Yi cut them off.

“Now’s not the time for punishment. Dig them out! Alive or dead—I want them found! And how did the explosives leak? Investigate!”

Pan Duo reported, “We’ve checked the Arsenal and camp warehouses—records match. The method of making explosives may have leaked.”

Lin Yi gritted his teeth.

“Then investigate every craftsman who knows the formula. Not one spared!”

“Yes!”

That night, the capital erupted.

The Capital Camp, Imperial Guards, and Military Bureau scoured Ankang City house by house.

It was chaos—worse than the day Prince He seized the city.

Meanwhile, in a butcher’s home, Zhu Ruorong was awakened by banging at the door.

After inspection, the soldiers left.

“What’s going on?” he muttered.

Jiang Butcher shrugged. “When you’ve got no rank or power, you’re nothing. Just cooperate.”

“Feels like rebellion.”

“Probably close enough. Have you ever seen a sweep like this?”

Zhu Ruorong frowned. “Better delay bringing my wife and kids back.”

Jiang Butcher rolled his eyes. “You think Sanhe men are made of clay? Afraid now?”

“On the battlefield I fear nothing. But my wife can’t fight, my kids are small. Can I risk them?”

They were interrupted by another knock.

Zhu Ruorong opened the door irritably—then froze.

“Master Ye?”

It was Ye Chen, younger brother of Ye Qiu.

After polite greetings, Ye Chen finally spoke plainly.

“I have something to ask of you.”

Jiang Butcher forced a smile.

“Go ahead.”

“Do you know Zhou Xun? A graceful lady—

“Wait. What lady?” Jiang Butcher interrupted.

Ye Chen blinked, then rephrased. “I wish to ask Uncle to act as matchmaker between me and Zhou Xun.”

Jiang Butcher shook his head.

“I can’t help.”

“Why?”

“She and her father are like enemies. And I’m just a butcher. What say would I have?”

Ye Chen sighed. “Then I won’t force it.”