Free Web NovelChapter 25: Chapter 25: Pei Tianfeng
At the height of the standoff.
"Stop!"
A cold, imperious cry rang out from the main hall.
Following the sound, all eyes fell on three figures standing in the hall.
The leader was a woman with a tall, straight posture. She wore tight-fitting cyan martial attire, a short, dark-red cape embroidered with a flying eagle draped over it, and a standard-issue long saber at her waist.
Her features were as fine as a painting, but her expression was stern. Her phoenix eyes, sharp as a blade, swept coldly over the chaotic scene in the corridor.
It was the same female Military Officer Chen Li had seen on the main road before.
Behind her were two men, also in Military Officer attire, their expressions just as grim and solemn.
All three radiated a deadly aura, completely different from the crude ferocity of the fake Officials. It hinted at the stately authority of those in positions of power, the majesty of an Official Family.
The leader of the fake Officials saw Pei Tianfeng and her two companions, and his expression faltered, especially upon seeing their conspicuous Military Officer uniforms.
But he quickly composed himself, stiffened his neck, and said, "Who are you people? We are acting on our superior’s orders to apprehend a major fugitive! Uninvolved persons, stand back at once!"
The female Military Officer’s gaze was electric as it swept over the fake Officials. The corner of her mouth curled into a cold smirk. "Do you have papers? Under whose command are you? State your names, now!"
The fake Official’s leader was struck speechless, his eyes darting evasively. "We have our own official business. And... and who are you?"
"Pei Tianfeng, Junior Banner Officer of the Nanjing Martial Bureau. You’re acting on your superior’s orders? Which superior? And which major fugitive are you apprehending?"
The female Military Officer’s voice wasn’t loud, but it carried an invisible pressure, each word cutting like a knife.
The leader of the fakes put on a brave face, blustering, "So what if you’re from the Jingwu Bureau? We’re handling a case here. You have no right to interfere."
"No right to interfere?" Pei Tianfeng snorted, taking a step forward and resting her hand on the hilt of her saber. "You look suspicious and act furtive. I’d say you’re up to no good. If you fail to produce your identity tokens and official papers, I’ll have you all executed on the spot for the crime of impersonating Officials."
Instantly, the tension in the corridor stretched to its breaking point.
The real and fake Officials, two opposing forces, faced off in the narrow space.
The Shopkeeper was so terrified his legs gave out, and he huddled in a corner, trembling uncontrollably.
The guests in the other rooms hid inside, not daring to even breathe too loudly.
"Nonsense!" The fake Official’s leader was cowed by Pei Tianfeng’s presence. His resolve crumbled. ’I should get out of here,’ he thought. He yelled, "Fine! We’ll remember this. Let’s move out!"
With that, he and his men turned and scrambled down the stairs.
"Trying to leave? It won’t be that easy."
Pei Tianfeng’s phoenix eyes narrowed, a cold glint flashing within them. "Impersonating Officials, acting suspiciously... Shen Zui, Sun Yidao, take them down."
"Yes, ma’am."
The two men acknowledged the order, and their figures blurred as they rushed forward.
The impostor Officials’ faces fell. They drew their sabers to fight back.
But aside from their leader, the others were cut down in a matter of moments.
The leader of the fakes found himself at a disadvantage against his two opponents and was just about to flee.
But Pei Tianfeng had silently circled around behind him. With a vicious kick, she sent him to the ground, and with two swift slashes, she severed his hamstrings.
Pei Tianfeng stared down at him coldly and asked, "Speak. Who are you people, and what are you looking for?"
"You want to know? Go ask the King of the Underworld." The fake leader gave a wretched laugh, then suddenly coughed up black blood and died on the spot.
He’d committed suicide by poison!
The chill in Pei Tianfeng’s eyes deepened. ’Ordinary street gangs would never operate like this.’ Her gaze fixed on the Shopkeeper. "Just now, what were those men looking for?"
The Shopkeeper’s face was a mask of misery. "Officer, this old man has no idea!" he pleaded.
Pei Tianfeng wasn’t about to let him off that easily. "Then what was that sound of fighting from nearby just a moment ago?"
"This old man knows even less about that."
The Shopkeeper gave a pained smile. Seeing that her long saber was now at his neck, he hastily explained, "Officer, this is the Luoyan Collection. All sorts of travelers pass through, people from every walk of life. It’s a complicated place. We have an unwritten rule: don’t go out at night. If you do, your life is in your own hands. It has nothing to do with anyone else."
Pei Tianfeng snorted. Her eyes swept the area, landing on a trail of blood on the stairs. Following it with her eyes, her gaze locked onto the door to Chen Li’s room.
"Occupant, listen up! Jingwu Bureau business! Open the door!"
She walked slowly to the door, her voice cold, imperious, and leaving no room for argument.
"CREAK!"
Chen Li pulled the door open from the inside.
He stood in the doorway, a perfectly calibrated look of alarm and exhaustion on his face, and looked out at the imposing figure of Pei Tianfeng in her dark martial attire.
"M-Ma’am Officer?" Chen Li cupped his hands in a salute, his voice tinged with unease. "What was all that just now?"
Pei Tianfeng’s sharp eyes swept over Chen Li’s face, then past his shoulder to quickly scan the inside of the room.
The room was small and simply furnished. At a glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
But the faint, lingering smell of blood in the air—deliberately concealed but not entirely gone—did not escape her notice.
"Jingwu Bureau business." Pei Tianfeng produced her waist token. "A moment ago," she said in a cool voice, "some criminals impersonating Officials seemed to be targeting you. What happened here?"
"Targeting me?"
Chen Li looked completely bewildered and shook his head repeatedly. "No, I’ve just been resting in my room... I only heard a lot of noise outside, something about arresting someone..."
Pei Tianfeng’s gaze was electric, fixed on Chen Li. "Then where did the smell of blood in your room come from?"
Chen Li’s brow furrowed slightly. ’I can’t hide this,’ he thought. ’Besides, the woman in red said she was the daughter of a high-ranking Court official. These people are all from the Court, so there’s no reason for me to get involved.’
So he answered truthfully, "Tonight, an injured woman burst into my room. She bled a lot on the floor, which is why the room smells of blood."
"A woman?" A flash of delight crossed Pei Tianfeng’s eyes. "Speak," she pressed, "where is she now?"
Chen Li pointed to a waist-high wardrobe. "To keep her out of trouble, I put her in the cabinet."
"Good."
Overjoyed, Pei Tianfeng strode forward to inspect it.
BANG! CRASH!
Suddenly, a loud noise erupted from the back window of the room, sending splinters of wood flying.
Three shadowy figures burst through the window like phantoms.
"Look out!"
Pei Tianfeng cried out a sharp warning, her long saber instantly leaving its sheath in a flash of cold light.
But the three shadowy figures were even faster.
One lunged at Pei Tianfeng, engaging her in combat.
Another lunged at Chen Li, his blade aimed straight for his throat.
The third moved like a cheetah, pouncing toward the waist-high wardrobe in the corner of the room.
In a flash.
A cold light exploded in Chen Li’s eyes. Faced with a blade stabbing at his throat, he advanced instead of retreating.
His left hand shot out like lightning, clamping with unerring precision around his attacker’s knife-wielding wrist.
A vast well of Inner Qi erupted from him.
"CRACK!"
The sound of bone shattering was sickeningly clear.
The figure felt an irresistible force travel up his arm as his wrist was instantly crushed to splinters.
The intense pain made him let out a blood-curdling scream as the blade flew from his grasp.
At the same time, the figure lunging for the wardrobe had nearly reached it, his blade stabbing viciously toward the cabinet door.
Without a moment’s pause, Chen Li followed through with the motion of his left hand, shoving the man whose wrist he had just crushed. The man flew backward like a broken sack, crashing hard into the assassin heading for the wardrobe.
THUD!
With a dull thud, the two men felt a hammer-like impact jolt through their chests as they slammed violently against the wall, their status unknown. fгeewebnovёl.com
In the blink of an eye, two skilled assassins were incapacitated.
