The Golden Age - Chapter 70: Bait
Qin Xiao frowned. “They don’t have the evidence yet.”
“Evidence or not, it’s not important anymore,” said Hong Ye coldly, “They already sent people to assassinate you during the night, which shows that they absolutely do not care whether they have the evidence or not. Since they suspect you, you’ll have minimal chance of living now.”
Qin Xiao knew that Hong Ye was right.
Just like the statue incident from last time. The Marquess pulled off a random excuse that Meng Zimo stole the statue and there was no evidence what-so-ever either.
Now that the Wolf Riders were also intervened, the chances of him surviving the next few days were low.
Gui City was their territory. With powerful forces like the Wolf Riders in his hands, the Marquess would do everything within his ability to catch him.
Qin Xiao even suspected that even if he and Meng Zimo were not the ones who did the assassination last night, the Marquess would still use this as an excuse to threaten the governors.
Not only was this a great opportunity to prove their power, but it was also a great opportunity to get rid of those who they did not like.
In that case, it would be none other than Meng Zimo and himself from the Manor of the Governor.
The Marquess would send people to chase him everywhere, and would definitely send more to secretly assassinate him. In Gui City, Qin Xiao would be like a rabbit in a thick forest, except the forest had traps and hunters everywhere.
The Marquess had already taken action, which meant that they would not stop any time soon.
Once the wanted posters were sent out around the city, everyone would keep an eye out for him and turn him in.
This was not because they were loyal to the Marquess.
But in front of all these rewards, it was only natural to report Qin Xiao to the Marquess.
After Qin Xiao successfully killed Lang Shenshui last night, he knew things were going to get ugly.
But he did not expect the Marquess to act so quickly.
He knew that staying at Hong Ye’s house would only be a temporary solution. But if he left the room, there would be people all over the city looking for him.
The Marquess had plenty of manpower. In addition to the hundreds of Wolf Riders, they also have their swordsmen and of course, a bunch of assassins.
One word of his, these people would kill Qin Xiao at all costs for that prize money.
Qin Xiao suddenly understood why although Han Yunong had the Imperial Court behind his back, he was still very careful around the Marquess. He had such a crazy amount of power that cannot be denied.
“The only reason they are not searching every single house of Wood Street is that they don’t think you’re that stupid.” Hong Ye continued, “After a couple of days, if they fail to find you, they’ll return to Wood Street.”
Qin Xiao nodded. Wood Street was not big – with only about less than forty houses from beginning to end. With the power of the Wolf Riders, they can easily search every single corner of every house.
“I wonder what’s going on in the Manor of the Governor.” Qin Xiao said quietly, “If I can get there successfully, maybe the Marquess’ people would not dare to charge in.”
“It doesn’t matter if they dare to go in or not, what matters is the fact that you can’t even get close to that place.” Hong Ye replied, “The Manor of the Governor is definitely under a twenty-four hour surveillance by the Marquess. If you go there right now, it’s basically turning yourself in.”
Although Hong Ye was still using her scratchy old voice, her tone was very calm and her analysis was very detailed as well.
Mu Yeji sighed on the side. “Looks like you’re in big trouble. I’m sorry but I can’t stay here anymore. You’re right. I can take out thirty or fifty. But if three hundred or five hundred of those riders come at me, I would be chopped to pieces too.” She stretched out her hand. “Just give me some silver. Best of luck to you too.”
“Of course that’s what you’re going to do.” Qin Xiao looked away. “Kill some people and then leave the rest for me to clean up the mess.”
“Don’t think of it like that,” mocked Mu Yeji, “With that weak power of yours, you want to clean up the mess? This woman here’s right, you can’t stay in the city.” She glanced at Hong Ye and smiled. “You have such a powerful person beside you anyway. You should be able to get out safely.”
Although Hong Ye was still dressed as she normally was and even when her voice was the same old voice, a person like Mu Yeji was instantly able to tell that she was no ordinary person.
Hong Ye looked at Mu Yeji and nodded, “You’re right. You must leave the city too.”
“It’s daytime right now, things may not be very convenient.” Mu Yeji sat on the chair and yawned. “I’ll leave after dark. For now, I’ll use your place to hide for a bit.” She looked at Qin Xiao. “So, we’re going to run for our lives. We’re probably not going to see each other for another couple of years. If you have anything you want to tell me, you might want to do it right now. Or even better, if there’s anything you want to give to me, right now would be a great chance to do so.”
Qin Xiao did not give an immediate reply.
Although he had only spent a few days with Mu Yeji, and her attitude was not very good either, she did help him a lot. Especially when she helped him to get to level two, this was a favor he can’t return any time soon.
Before she came, the only thing that accompanied him was the old black dog in his yard.
After Mu Yeji moved in, although both of them disliked each other, her existence made Qin Xiao not feel so lonely anymore.
Thinking that this kind of life might never happen again, Qin Xiao felt like he had lost something important. In fact, he was a bit sad.
“Hey, I’m talking to you.” After seeing Qin Xiao staying quiet, Mu Yeji waved her hand in front of Qin Xiao, “Too scared? Don’t worry, at least I’ll be here until night time. I’ll help you beat up anyone who comes in during that time.”
Qin Xiao still did not speak. Instead, he took out three silver checks from his pocket and handed them over.
Mu Yeji was a bit taken back, not believing that Qin Xiao would be so nice all of a sudden. “This… this is for me?”
“Make good use of them. Stop gambling your money away.” Qin Xiao sighed. “It’s hard to earn money through hard work. Stop throwing them down the drain. If you feast and treat yourself like a king, this money should be enough for quite a while.”
Mu Yeji immediately smiled and snatched the money over. “When did you become so nice? Never seen you been like this for the past few days I’ve been with you. Now I don’t want to leave so bad. I feel like you’re going to be a great person in the future.”
“Then why don’t we leave together and take care of each other?” said Qin Xiao.
As he thought about the current situation in Gui City, he would have to leave and hide out there for a while and come back when things have calmed down a bit.
Mu Yeji was in the Intermediate Heavenly Realm. With her on his side was like adding a bodyguard. Under most circumstances, she would be able to help him out.
Before Mu Yeji even spoke, Hong Ye already spoke, “No!”
Mu Yeji and Qin Xiao were both taken back.
“It’s not up to you.” Mu Yeji smiled softly. “I kinda get to decide whether I want to go with him or not. After all, I’m his rightful Martial Aunt. You don’t seem to have a reason to object to my decision if I am going to escape with him.”
Hong Ye ignored her and looked at Qin Xiao. “How are you planning to leave the city?”
Qin Xiao did not know how to reply.
Everyone in the city was looking for him, that also meant they locked the city down.
There were only four gates in Gui City. To leave and enter, one must use one of these four gates. As of now, all of these gates have been closed and monitored every second, making it impossible to leave the city.
“I can get over walls even taller than the ones around Gui City.” Mu Yeji said calmly and then winked at Qin Xiao. “Since you’re so generous today, I’ll consider bringing you with me.”
“You’re right. Gui City is not a big city and it’s not very difficult to get over these walls for a person like you.” Hong Ye interrupted, “But where are you going to go after you leave the city?”
Mu Yeji and Qin Xiao looked at each other. They have been thinking about how to get out of the city and hadn’t thought about what to do after that.
If it was in the past, Mu Yeji would of course take Qin Xiao back to Sword Valley. But now, things are a bit different: Mu Yeji has already become a traitor along with that old bastard, who was still sitting in prison.
“The power of the Zhen family is not only restricted to Gui City.” Hong Ye said slowly, “If they can’t find you in the city, they would know that you left. Then, they’d look for you in the whole Xiling as well.” She looked at Mu Yeji, “Do not underestimate the power of the Zhen family.”
“It seems like you have a solution.” Mu Yeji smiled. “Why don’t you tell us about it?”
Hong Ye replied simply, “Entice the tiger to leave the mountain. Clamour in the east, attack in the west.”
“Come on, explain yourself,” said Mu Yeji impatiently, “I don’t get what you mean.”
“You leave the city from the east and get yourself caught on purpose.” Hong Ye explained, “Not only do you have to get caught, but you also have to make them think Qin Xiao is with you. After that, keep drawing their attention to the east and make them think you and Qin Xiao are going toward the Pass.”
Qin Xiao seemed to understand as he nodded. “So Mu Yeji will move them to the east that would allow me to escape from the west.”
Hong Ye nodded as well. “As long as they think that you’re going to hide toward the east, then they’ll send all their men toward that side too. So if you stay in Xiling, it would be hard for them to find you.”
“So now I’m the bait?” Mu Yeji forced out a smile. “I’ll be their target and allow you to leave safely?”
Edited by: EyljeeÂ