Free Web NovelChapter 20: Chapter 20: Hundred Flames Trading Company
The word "deadline" rang in Wu Bei’s ears, making his head buzz.
His pupils constricted violently. In his eyes, Lu Chao had transformed into a terrifying demon. ’Lu Chao’s meaning is clear: I have to get the Bone-Nourishing Spirit Pills before I collapse.’
Until then, Lu Chao would maintain his current posture...
He would either die when his leg gave out, forcing him to his knees, or he would bleed to death. Any delay meant death.
At this thought, Wu Bei said in terror, "You have to give me some time..."
Lu Chao cut him off sharply. "Your time is up when you can no longer stand. If the items aren’t here by then, I won’t need them anymore." freёwebnoѵel.com
He was utterly ruthless, leaving no room for negotiation.
Staring at Lu Chao, Wu Bei finally dared not waste any more breath. He turned to the female attendant and said, "Quick! Go get the Bone-Nourishing Spirit Pills!"
The attendant nodded frantically and ran out.
A moment later, she ran back holding five bottles. She said to Lu Chao, "These are all the Bone-Nourishing Spirit Pills in the trading company."
Lu Chao quickly took the bottles and opened them. Each contained ten Bone-Nourishing Spirit Pills, for a total of fifty.
Beneath the blade, Wu Bei’s leg was about to give out. His voice trembled as he said, "I’ve given you the items. Now put away your sword."
As soon as the words left his mouth, a coarse voice shouted from outside the shop, "Where is that country bumpkin?"
It was a familiar voice—Cheng Weishan.
Clearly, Wu Bei had sent for help while Lu Chao was waiting in the shop.
Besides Cheng Weishan, Lu Chao also sensed another figure at the shop’s entrance whose aura was on par with Cheng Weishan’s.
After confirming his location, they sped toward the Inner Courtyard.
A cold glint flashed in his eyes. Lu Chao glanced at Wu Bei, then retracted his sword without hesitation... BANG!
With a powerful kick, Lu Chao sent Wu Bei flying toward the gate of the Inner Courtyard.
Without a second glance, he took advantage of the guards’ surprise, leaped onto the roof, and headed for the street behind the Qianling Trading Company.
Behind him, Wu Bei, still screaming from Lu Chao’s kick, collided with the two old men who had just burst into the Inner Courtyard. They were none other than the two Patriarchs, Cheng Weishan and Bai Wenrong, who had rushed over from the Cheng Mansion at Wu Bei’s summons.
They had just spotted Lu Chao’s silhouette leaping onto the roof, but Wu Bei’s massive body blocked their view.
The two Patriarchs were extremely cautious.
Unsure what manner of projectile the fast-approaching Wu Bei was, they both dodged aside at the same time. freewёbnoνel.com
CRASH...
Wu Bei’s huge body slammed hard against the wall, leaving him completely dazed.
"Shopkeeper Wu..."
A crowd of guards scrambled to help Wu Bei up.
Only then did Cheng Weishan and Bai Wenrong take in the scene, and both of them stood frozen in shock.
’What in the world happened here?’
"After him! Quick, go after him!"
"That damn bastard almost killed me! Son of a bitch, he also took fifty of my Bone-Nourishing Spirit Pills!"
Hearing this, the guards leaped onto the rooftops in pursuit of Lu Chao.
Cheng Weishan and Bai Wenrong were still completely bewildered. They looked at Wu Bei’s pathetic state and asked, "Shopkeeper Wu..."
"Enough with the damn pleasantries! Why didn’t you catch me? I nearly died from that fall!"
Wu Bei cursed, spraying spittle everywhere...
But he immediately shrieked again, "Cheng Weishan, your useless trash of a grandson-in-law robbed me and ran off! What the hell are you still standing here gawking for? Get after him!"
The two Patriarchs froze at his words. They then glanced in the direction the guards had gone and gave chase, daring not to delay.
Seeing the two of them leave, Wu Bei began shouting again...
"Get the word out now! Tell the surrounding patrol teams and constables, as well as the knights from the City Lord’s Mansion who are on their way, to lock down all the surrounding streets! Don’t let so much as a fly get out!"
He hadn’t just notified Cheng Weishan earlier; he had also alerted the nearby patrol teams and others.
He had even sent someone to the City Lord’s Mansion.
For Wu Bei to have become the Yangzhou Shopkeeper for the Qianling Trading Company, he naturally had some standing with the City Lord’s family. He knew perfectly well that Miss Wu Xin was furious about Cheng Yunsu’s escape from the Cheng Mansion.
Therefore, he was certain that knights and guards from the City Lord’s Mansion would be coming to make an arrest.
And just as expected, patrol teams and constables from Yangzhou City were already arriving near the Qianling Trading Company.
Upon receiving Wu Bei’s message, they immediately began setting up a perimeter.
In an instant, chaos erupted in the streets and shops around the Qianling Trading Company.
Back in the Qianling Trading Company’s Inner Courtyard, the female attendant hurried over to Wu Bei. "Shopkeeper," she cried, "you’re bleeding so much!"
SLAP...
Wu Bei viciously slapped the attendant across the face, knocking her to the ground.
"Are you a fucking idiot?" he roared. "I told you to get the Bone-Nourishing Spirit Pills, and you actually brought all of them? He only needed thirty! Couldn’t you have just brought thirty?"
"With such a huge loss, how am I supposed to explain this to the Qianling Headquarters?"
The attendant clutched her face as she lay on the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
Instead of earning a great reward, she had caused Wu Bei to lose an extra twenty Bone-Nourishing Spirit Pills. Ten of her lives wouldn’t be enough to pay for this.
’I regret this so much,’ she thought. ’If I had known, I never would have pointed Lu Chao out. Even if I did recognize him, wouldn’t it have been better to pretend I didn’t?’
No one cared about the fate of a lowly attendant. The entire city was now hunting for Lu Chao.
In the blink of an eye, all the nearby streets were sealed.
Patrol teams, constables, guards from the Qianling Trading Company, and even household servants from the Cheng Family began a frantic, door-to-door search.
The two Patriarchs, Cheng Weishan and Bai Wenrong, stood at the highest vantage point, their gazes sweeping fiercely over the area.
Bai Wenrong’s voice was frigid. "He can’t escape. He must still be within the sealed-off area. When I find him, I’ll sever the tendons in his arms and legs and make him crawl to the wedding in three days..."
His precious grandson, Bai Lu, had been killed. Logically, he should want Lu Chao dead.
But after the matter was reported to the City Lord’s Mansion, Wu Xin had forbidden it.
Miss Wu’s exact words had been: "Two days ago, I announced in front of all those people that the wedding would be a grand affair. If it doesn’t happen, how will I ever show my face again?"
That was why not even Bai Wenrong dared to kill Lu Chao right now.
Just as Bai Wenrong was seething with killing intent, Cheng Weishan suddenly said, "There’s something happening over there. Let’s go take a look."
He pointed toward a specific spot, and the two Patriarchs immediately set off.
They arrived at the exit of a street, only a few dozen meters from the blockade.
An elegantly decorated carriage had been stopped by a patrol. A patrol captain shouted at it, "Open the curtain, or don’t blame us for tearing your carriage to pieces!"
A driver sat at the front, but the curtains over the door and windows were drawn tightly, obscuring the view of the interior.
Amid the door-to-door search, they certainly weren’t going to let this carriage pass uninspected.
Suddenly, an elegant female voice drifted out from within the carriage.
"Tear my carriage to pieces?"
"The carriages of my Hundred Flames Trading Company are quite expensive. If you can afford to pay for the damages, then by all means, I don’t mind."
As her voice faded, the patrol captain’s expression froze. ’Hundred Flames Trading Company?’
