Young hero, stay put and don't be reckless.

Chapter 84 Unlucky

The day after Jiang Xun left Qiantang was a cloudy day.

The clouds hung low, the trees on both sides of the official road rustled in the wind, and distant thunder rumbled.

He strolled slowly westward, pondering how to deal with the house once he arrived in Jiangning Prefecture.

It cost 180 taels to buy, but was later burned to avoid the Golden Feather Guard.

Now that so much time has passed, the Golden Feather Guards probably won't be keeping an eye on that house anymore, right?

Anyway, I can't live here anymore, so I can only sell it at a loss. Hopefully, some sucker will be willing to take it on.

Actually, he had another thought in his mind.

What if the master thief escapes from Huang Hao's clutches? Will he also return to that house, pretending to be a ghost to scare people while secretly recuperating from his injuries?

Just then, a person suddenly appeared at the bend in the official road ahead.

The man stood in the middle of the road, arms crossed, looking like he had been waiting for a long time.

He was in his thirties, with a thin, long face and triangular eyes. He wore a black, close-fitting outfit and had a pair of dark iron hooks hanging from his waist.

Jiang Xun reined in his horse, glanced at him, and vaguely felt that something was wrong.

"Jiang Xun?" the man spoke, his tone condescending, as if addressing a petty thief who had committed a crime.

Jiang Xun remained silent.

The man wasn't annoyed; he just grinned, a forced smile, and said, "That's the one I'm looking for."

Before the words were even finished, the person had already moved.

His figure swept over like a ghost, and with a wave of his hands, two black hooks flew out from his sleeves, aiming straight for Jiang Xun's face with a whoosh.

The hook tip gleamed with a ghostly blue in the gloomy light of the day—it was poisoned.

Jiang Xun pushed off with his feet and leaped to the right, barely dodging the attack. The two black hooks grazed his shoulders and embedded themselves deeply into a large tree behind him.

"Golden Feather Guard?" Jiang Xun landed and placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

The man retracted the iron hook, sized him up, and still wore that unsettling smile: "You have some sense. I'm Huang Shan, a Detective Officer of the Golden Feather Guard."

He paused, then continued, "That night at the Meng residence, I recognized your lightness skill. The Thief Saint's 'Azure Lotus Divine Speed,' right?"

Jiang Xun's heart sank.

It was the arrival of the Holy Thief.

Seeing that he remained silent, Huang Shan assumed he was afraid and became even more arrogant: "Where is the Thief Saint's stuff? Hand it over, and if I'm in a good mood, I might spare your life."

Jiang Xun was completely bewildered: "What is it?"

"Stop pretending!" Huang Shan snorted impatiently. "The thing the Thief Saint stole from the capital isn't in his hands, it's in his apprentice's. You're his successor, so the thing must be on you. Hand it over!"

Jiang Xun's mind raced for a moment before he vaguely understood what he was talking about—the bundle that the Thief Saint had given him before he left.

Which one does this person want?

He remained expressionless, looked around, and slowly asked, "Are you alone?"

Huang Shan scoffed, "I've already given you plenty of face by personally going to deal with a brat like you. What, how many more people do you want?"

Jiang Xun looked at him and suddenly smiled.

The smile startled Huang Shan for a moment. Before he could react, Jiang Xun had already moved.

Qinglian Shenxing unleashed its full power, its figure flashing past like a ghost, and punched Huangshan in the face.

"Bang!"

Huang Shan was sent flying backwards and crashed onto the official road, blood gushing from his nose.

Before he could get up, Jiang Xun had already caught up, stomped on his chest, and punched him again.

"This punch was delivered for the Thief Saint."

"Bang!"

"This punch was for myself."

"Bang!"

"This punch—there's no reason, I just want to hit you."

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Huang Shan was beaten so badly his face was swollen like a pig's head, and he was no longer the arrogant man he had been.

He mumbled incoherently, "You—you dare to hit a Golden Feather Guard—"

"That's what I'm talking about." Jiang Xun threw another punch before stopping, then squatted down and patted his face. "I'm asking you, where is the Thief Saint?"

Huang Shan winced in pain, but still stubbornly insisted, "You—who do you think you are—"

Without saying a word, Jiang Xun threw another punch.

Huang Shan let out a scream, finally unable to hold back any longer: "I'll talk! I'll talk! Commander Huang has captured him and taken him to the capital!"

Jiang Xun's heart tightened, but his face remained calm: "Life or death?"

"I...I don't know." Blood trickled from Huang Shan's mouth, his voice slurred. "Commander Huang led his men to hunt down the Thief Saint, and intercepted him outside Jiangning Prefecture. Then...then they secretly took him to the capital. Nobody knows where he's being held, or whether he's alive or dead..."

Jiang Xun remained silent for a moment.

Is their fate unknown? That means there's still a possibility they're alive.

He took a deep breath, suppressing the surging emotions in his heart, and asked again, "Whose things did the Master Thief steal that you're chasing after him so relentlessly?"

Huang Shan stammered and avoided eye contact.

Jiang Xun raised his fist, and Huang Shan trembled, hurriedly saying, "I'll talk! I'll talk! It's—it's related to the royal family! I really don't know who it is! This matter is confidential, and I'm just a lowly detective officer; I only know bits and pieces of information!"

His voice was trembling as he spoke, which didn't sound like he was lying.

Jiang Xun stared at him for a long time, making sure he wasn't lying, before withdrawing his fist.

"Who else knows?"

"Deputy Commander Ling might know something as well..."

"What, Deputy Commander Ling?"

"Ling Xuan, Deputy Commander of the Golden Feather Guard."

Where is he?

"The Second Prince went to Jiangning Prefecture, and Ling Xuan is protecting him."

Jiang Xun squatted down and asked a few more questions.

Huang Shan answered much more readily than before, as if he was afraid of getting punched again.

Jiang Xun stood up, looked down at the pile of mud on the ground, and suddenly laughed.

"Huangshan, you came to see me alone, are you planning to take it all for yourself?"

Huang Shan's expression changed, and a hint of panic flashed in his eyes, which were swollen into slits.

"If you had stolen the Thief Saint's stuff from me, you could have gone back and claimed credit, maybe even gotten a promotion and made a fortune. Too bad—" Jiang Xun squatted down and patted his swollen face, "You don't have that ability."

"Tell me, if your colleagues in the Golden Feather Guard knew that you secretly came to see me alone, trying to take all the credit for yourself, would they still consider you one of their own?"

Huang Shan's face turned completely pale.

He knew the rules of the Golden Feather Guard better than anyone else—eating alone was a major taboo, and if others found out, he could forget about working there in the future.

"You—you can't—" he stammered.

"Of course I can," Jiang Xun said with a smile. "But I'm always soft-hearted. As long as you behave, I won't tell anyone about this."

Huang Shan gritted his teeth, not daring to utter a sound.

Seeing his expression, Jiang Xun suddenly had a thought.

"Huang Shan, what's your relationship with Huang Hao?"

Huang Shan's expression changed again; even with his face covered in bruises, his astonishment was still evident.

"With your skills, how could you possibly have gotten into the Golden Feather Guard if you didn't have connections?" Jiang Xun kicked his leg and mocked, "I was just asking casually, and you already gave yourself away. You really don't deserve the title of Golden Feather Guard."

Huangshan looked ashen.

Huang Hao was indeed his cousin, but his cousin never allowed him to reveal this relationship. Even within the Golden Feather Guard, very few people knew about it.

He had long since given up the idea of ​​relying on his uncle and was determined to prove himself to everyone who looked down on him through his own abilities.

Therefore, when he discovered Jiang Xun's identity, he did not tell anyone.

But little did he know, he had kicked a hornet's nest.

Jiang Xun didn't care what Huang Shan was thinking. He kicked him in the head, knocking him unconscious.

Then I squatted down and searched through all his belongings.

A token, several dozen taels of silver, a few silver notes, and those scorpion hooks.

He stuffed the token and silver into his pocket, glanced at the pair of hooks with disdain, and tossed them onto Huang Shan.

"This thing looks unlucky."

He mounted his horse, glanced back at the unconscious Huang Shan on the ground, and his mood suddenly improved.

The legendary thief might still be alive.

He'll have to go to the capital sooner or later.

But now...

He touched his nose, sneezed, hummed an unknown tune, and slowly walked forward.

"Let's go, to Jiangning Prefecture."