Chapter 356: Chapter 187: Blood Saber Ambush
Chen Cheng was in the garden pavilion, contemplating the Qingfeng Saber Intent while waiting for Liao San.
Before long, the old servant, Shi Fangdong, led Liao San into the garden.
His left arm was wrapped in a thick bandage nearly a foot long, indicating he had suffered a serious injury.
Chen Cheng frowned and hurried forward to greet him, asking, "Third Brother, are you injured?"
"Just a scratch, nothing serious." Liao San grinned, the movement pulling at the conspicuous scar on his left cheek and giving him a somewhat fierce look.
Liao San was a man who had clawed his way up from the rank of a low-level constable. In his youth, he had been a notoriously ruthless character who was no stranger to brawls.
But ever since he got married and had children, his temperament had gradually changed. He became much more steady and rarely came to blows with anyone.
Now that he had made it to Chief Constable with quite a few constables under him, he had even fewer opportunities for life-or-death struggles.
’His sudden injury probably means there’s a major case.’
"Let’s go inside first."
Chen Cheng led Liao San into his courtyard and to the main hall, where they sat down as host and guest.
"A small matter came up last night, which caused a delay. Here are the deeds you wanted."
Liao San took out a stack of yellow paper and handed it to Chen Cheng, then pulled out a prepared Money Bag and placed it on the table.
"The deeds for the residences of the common folk who moved out of Locust Tree Lane, as well as the deed for Gentry Sun’s barren mountain on Ten-Mile Slope outside the city, are all here."
"You gave me three thousand taels in silver notes. After buying these deeds, there are one thousand two hundred taels left."
In this world, it was believed that the dead should be laid to rest in the earth for peace, requiring a proper burial in a constructed tomb.
The fields and mountain forests near the city were all owned, so after death, people could generally only be buried on their own land.
If a family had no land of their own, they would have to spend silver to buy a plot.
Otherwise, the body could only be unceremoniously dumped in a Chaotic Burial Mound designated by the Government Office.
It was common for refugees who died in a foreign land without money for a burial to have their children sell themselves into servitude just to afford a grave for their parents.
Such things were very common.
Chen Cheng’s mother had passed away very early on. The Chens’ had no land near Linji City, so his father, Chen Ping, spent silver to buy a plot on the barren mountain at Ten-Mile Slope to bury her.
When Chen Ping died, he was buried together with his wife.
Given the Chens’ previous financial situation, the burial plot they had bought measured only twenty or thirty feet to a side; the rest of the land still belonged to the landlord.
Now that Chen Cheng had the means, he chose to buy the entire barren mountain.
This way, when the Old Chen Family went to pay respects to their ancestors in the future, they could have more peace and quiet.
After casually flipping through the deeds and confirming there were no issues, Chen Cheng said solemnly, "Thank you for your trouble, Third Brother."
Liao San waved his hand dismissively. "Hey... since you call me Third Brother, there’s no need to thank me for such a small thing."
"Third Brother, what really happened to your arm?" Chen Cheng finally returned to the question on his mind.
Liao San hesitated, but seeing Chen Cheng’s intense gaze, he sighed softly and said:
"Mr. Liu ordered me not to tell you about last night’s events, to keep you from overthinking things."
"But I figure, we’re brothers. There’s no need for secrets..."
It turned out that last night, three unidentified Swordsmen in black had tried to ambush and assassinate Liu Yunfeng.
However, Liu Yunfeng had always been cautious and had planted many informants near the Liu Family estate.
As soon as the three Swordsmen in black appeared, they were spotted by the informants, who promptly reported to Liu Yunfeng.
As the Branch Chief Constable of the City Guard Department, Liu Yunfeng was naturally furious to learn that someone was trying to assassinate him.
He urgently summoned more than twenty of his subordinate Officials to surround and kill the three men.
The incident took place within Ruyi District, so things went smoothly at first, and the group easily surrounded the three Swordsmen.
However, the three Swordsmen possessed extremely formidable Martial Arts Power. Two of them were at least at the Great Success in Muscle Strengthening Realm.
Their leader was even a Perfect Martial Artist of the Muscle Strengthening Realm and had cultivated Saber Momentum.
Although the City Guard Department’s Officials had the advantage in numbers, only Liu Yunfeng was a Perfect Martial Artist of the Muscle Strengthening Realm. Liao San and two other Chief Constables were Perfect Martial Artists of the Skin Grinding Realm.
As for the other constables, many had not even reached the Skin Grinding Realm through their Cultivation.
As a result, the three Swordsmen actually gained the upper hand in the encirclement.
If Liu Yunfeng hadn’t been there to protect them, the constables would likely have suffered heavy casualties.
Seeing that their plan had been exposed, the three Swordsmen didn’t dare to prolong the fight and fled in a panic.
Both sides suffered injuries in the struggle. One of the three Swordsmen was stabbed in the back.
On the City Guard Department’s side, four constables were seriously injured, while Liao San and a few others sustained minor injuries.
Liu Yunfeng also took a blow to the shoulder, but with his formidable power, the injury was neither light nor severe. He should recover after a few days of rest.
After hearing the whole story, Chen Cheng’s brow furrowed slightly. He asked, "Have you been able to identify those three assailants?"
Liao San shook his head. "After it happened, we gathered all our men to investigate. We only managed to track the three of them to Dongyue District before they vanished without a trace."
"They’re Muscle Strengthening Realm Martial Artists, after all, and they were well-prepared. There’s not much we can do."
’Deploying three Muscle Strengthening Realm Martial Artists, one of whom is even at Muscle Strengthening Realm Perfection and has mastered Saber Momentum.
If Liu Yunfeng hadn’t received a warning beforehand, he would have been critically injured, if not killed.
What an extravagant move!’
Liu Yunfeng was, after all, the Branch Chief Constable of the City Guard Department. Few would dare to make a move against him.
Besides, Muscle Strengthening Realm Martial Artists, even those from the Jianghu, are all well-known figures. If only one had been deployed, it would have been hard to investigate.
Deploying three at once should make them much easier to track down.
Yet Liao San claimed they couldn’t find a single clue. Chen Cheng truly didn’t believe it.
"Third Brother, don’t tell me you’re still trying to hide things from me?" Chen Cheng’s gaze sharpened as he spoke in a low voice.
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