CHAPTER 64: CLOUD-STRIDE STEPS

Magistrate Ho smirked and gave out a sigh.

These two were most likely up to something no good.

They were proverbial young masters, causing troubles making use of the power and influence of their clans.

He picked up his teacup and took a sip from it.

If it was about bullying some poor and lowly peasants, it wouldn’t be much of an issue.

He was, however, unsure about who was behind the empty Lin mansion.

Many speculated that it might have belonged to someone from the capital, or worse, Lin from the Qing Feng Sect.

He would be in trouble if it was the former, but if it was the latter, he would be wishing that he was dead instead.

Su Chen saw Magistrate Ho’s deliberation and he gave a smile at him.

"Magistrate Ho, after we are done with upkeeping the peace and taking care of the troublemakers, my teacher who was once the prince’s personal tutor, might have some time to guide your son, Ho Kun."

That caught Magistrate Ho’s attention.

Su Chen’s teacher might know what the questions for the imperial examinations would be about.

It was an attractive proposition for him.

His son, Ho Kun, was hopeless and would most likely fail the upcoming imperial examinations without external help.

As a father, he didn’t want to give up the chance for Ho Kun.

He glanced over at one of his men standing beside him.

The man came over to him and Magistrate Ho whispered into his ears.

His man nodded and quickly left the guest room.

Su Chen glanced at the man leaving and knew that he was halfway to success.

Wu Tong who sat in his chair, leaned back in a relaxed posture.

He had everything set up and all that was left was Magistrate Ho’s confirmation.

With him on their side, they would have no worries about what they did to Lin Xuan Qi.

The man came back after a few moments with a book in his hand.

He passed it over to Magistrate Ho and Magistrate Ho flipped the pages and stopped after a few pages.

Magistrate Ho glanced at the registrar for the owner of the Lin mansion.

The name of Lin Xuan Qi was on it and with the village, Long Fu village, as where he came from.

A great sign as it most likely meant that Lin Xuan Qi wasn’t associated with any Lin family from the capital or the Qing Feng Sect.

He closed the book and glanced at Su Chen and Wu Tong, who looked at him with anticipation.

"It’s my duty to uphold justice and peace in Hong Feng City. Bring my men with you."

Su Chen and Wu Tong’s eyes brightened up at his confirmation.

They knew that they were in for a ’fun’ time later.

It was thrilling and much more exciting for them to have the sense of control over others, having the power to do that to others gave them a rush of adrenaline and nothing else could match it.

"Thank you so much, Magistrate Ho." They stood up and bowed at Magistrate Ho.

Magistrate Ho waved for them to leave.

They turned around and Su Chen walked briskly with his head held up high.

He strutted along and hummed a tune.

His men came forward and whispered to him.

"We got him and that old man in an abandoned building."

Su Chen’s face brightened up and he looked back at Wu Tong with an annoyed look.

"Come on, the show has begun."

He was annoyed that Wu Tong always liked to act as if everything was under his control.

Wu Tong shook his head and said, "Relax, the help we’ve gotten is more than enough, seeking help from the Magistrate was just an insurance and backup plan."

Wu Tong said and hastened his pace to try and keep up with Su Chen.

"Hmph. Not sure why you are so worried..." Su Chen mumbled to himself.

He didn’t think that Lin Xuan Qi was so much of a threat.

They left the Magistrate’s Residence and got on their horse carriages.

Whip.

The coachman lashed his whip at the horses, and the horses started galloping towards the direction of the Lin mansion.

...

Inside the building, with his adrenaline doing its job, Lin Xuan Qi sensed everything that was happening in the surroundings.

Every rustling of the grass and footsteps coming closer was audible to him.

Men dressed in black with their faces covered appeared with weapons in their hands.

Lee He Song recognized their dressing.

They were the same as the previous assailants.

The Iron Fist Martial Hall.

This time they’d even decided to go with weapons instead of their Iron Fist technique to have an advantage.

They encircled Lin Xuan Qi and Lee He Song from all directions.

Lin Xuan Qi and Lee He Song were greatly outnumbered.

It wouldn’t be easy for them to face ten men all at once.

"You better turn around and leave before you get hurt." Lee He Song pointed his sword at one of the masked men.

The masked man’s head lifted high, and he gave out a string of laughter.

As he did so, Lee He Song noticed the other men reaching into their shirts.

"Duck!" He shouted and Lin Xuan Qi did so immediately.

Whoosh.

Daggers flew at Lin Xuan Qi and Lee He Song.

Lin Xuan Qi dropped to the ground, and he could feel the gust of wind brushing past his face as the daggers went flying by.

Lee He Song lunged at the masked man in front of him with his sword going in a circular motion to parry off the daggers flying at him.

Clank.

The daggers dropped to the ground when they got parried away by Lee He Song’s sword.

Thud.

One of the daggers plunged into the wooden floorboard, mere inches away from Lin Xuan Qi.

It got him realizing that it was a life and death situation now and he better show up or else....

A masked man lunged at him, and he quickly rolled to the side.

The man turned the sword in his hand downwards and tried to stab it into the body of Lin Xuan Qi.

Thud.

Sound of the sword’s blade breaking through the wooden floorboard could be heard from behind.

Lin Xuan Qi did a flip and got back onto his feet.

His time spent practicing martial arts every day was put into good use today.

Slash.

Another masked man came with his sword slashing at Lin Xuan Qi’s neck.