The hot, bloody liquid splashed across Lu Li's face, her vision instantly shrouded in crimson.
The surroundings descended into chaos, cries of alarm and angry curses intertwining.
Amidst the chaos, Zhao Tiezhu dodged sideways. The poison needle originally aimed at his eye grazed past and viciously embedded itself into the skin of his left cheek.
Lu Li had struck with great force. Most of the silver needle had sunk into the flesh, and with a fierce sweep of her wrist, she instantly tore open a gory gash across that hideous face.
"Ah—!"
Zhao Tiezhu howled in pain like a wild beast, consumed by rage. He no longer cared about the hostage in his grasp. His long blade, wrapped in murderous intent, slashed straight toward Lu Li's face: "Stinking wench, I'll kill you!"
However, Lu Li had already broken free the instant he dodged, her figure darting swiftly forward. But the wind from the blade was too fast; she couldn't evade in time, watching helplessly as that cold gleam of steel was about to fall upon her face.
"Young miss, be careful!" Qingluan was terrified out of her wits. If this blade landed true, even if she kept her life, her face would surely be ruined.
Behind them, Lei Zhen narrowed his eyes from horseback. With a wave of his riding crop, the bowstrings of the archers behind him, already drawn taut, trembled and released. A sharp arrow shot toward Zhao Tiezhu with a piercing whistle.
Lu Li felt the cold blade's edge already inches away and couldn't help but clench her teeth.
She didn't care about her appearance. If she could trade this face for her life, she wouldn't hesitate for a moment.
But not now. She would not die beneath the blade of this despicable fugitive.
At that critical moment, a sharp sound of something piercing the air suddenly came from afar. Before anyone could react, a streak of brilliant golden light pierced through the crowd, heavily grazing the blade before Lu Li's eyes, actually knocking the powerful blade tip askew.
Lu Li's heart trembled. In the next moment, a tall, slender figure appeared before her eyes like a phantom. The newcomer reached out smoothly and firmly grasped Zhao Tiezhu's sword-wielding wrist. A crisp "crack" was heard, as if bone had been crushed.
"Ah—! Let go!"
Zhao Tiezhu screamed in agony, his whole body curling up in pain.
Before his words had even fallen, he felt a tremendous force strike him, sending his entire body flying heavily away. The long blade that had slipped from his hand was caught by the newcomer, who immediately held it horizontally, perfectly blocking the arrow that had been shooting toward his heart.
"Clang!"
The arrow struck the blade and fell to the ground with a crisp sound.
The originally noisy long street instantly fell silent.
This series of movements flowed like water, without the slightest hesitation, yet every moment was perfectly timed. A moment earlier or later, and the outcome would have been different.
Lu Li stared at the golden arrow on the ground. Just now, this person had used this very arrow to forcefully knock aside Zhao Tiezhu's blade that had been slashing toward her.
She raised her eyes to look forward.
The long street was littered with the wreckage of overturned stalls. Amidst the heavy encirclement of soldiers and horses stood a young man holding a curved bow, dressed in a crimson brocade robe with arrow sleeves.
Even surrounded by so many soldiers, his expression remained relaxed, his presence not diminished in the slightest. He casually stowed his longbow, then unhurriedly turned his gaze toward Lei Zhen, a smile playing at the corner of his lips: "Just capturing one person, yet Commander Lei puts on quite a display."
Lei Zhen's expression turned somewhat ugly. His gaze swept over the man, and after a long while, he squeezed out a few words through clenched teeth: "Commander Pei."
Lu Li's heart stirred. Commander?
Du Zian on the other side was whispering to Qingluan: "He is Pei Yunzheng, the current Commander of the Divine Martial Right Army under the Palace Command. It seems Lei Zhen has run into an iron wall this time."
On the ground, Zhao Tiezhu curled in a corner, moaning in agony. His wrist was broken, his chest had taken a kick that shattered his bones, and without his blade, he was merely struggling in his death throes.
Lei Zhen took a deep breath and looked at Pei Yunzheng, forcing a smile onto his face: "Commander, my subordinates and I are under orders to capture a fugitive. Now that the fugitive has been apprehended, I must ask Commander to step aside."
Pei Yunzheng clicked his tongue and said carelessly: "Commander Lei captures someone by shooting lethal arrows right from the start. If I hadn't intervened just now, this 'fugitive' would likely be dead." He smiled faintly, his gaze sharp, "This concerns the Imperial Horse Bureau case. The criminal should be handed over to the Ministry of Justice's prison and then to the Dali Temple. Commander Lei using such lethal force—surely you're not trying to silence him?"
Lei Zhen's expression changed drastically as he said coldly: "Commander, you can eat carelessly, but you cannot speak carelessly."
The young man in red smiled again and said: "It was merely a joke. Why is Commander Lei so nervous? Those who don't know better might think Commander Lei has a guilty conscience."
"You!"
He turned his head and called out: "Duan Xiaole."
From the crowd, a green-clad youth with a round face and round eyes emerged, cupping his fists: "My lord."
Pei Yunzheng glanced at Zhao Tiezhu, who lay like a dead dog on the ground: "Take him back and hand him over to the Ministry of Justice's prison."
"Yes."
Lei Zhen stared fixedly at Pei Yunzheng, his tone cold: "Commander, Zhao Tiezhu is the man my Patrol Camp was sent to capture."
"This involves the Imperial Horse Bureau case, which also concerns the Divine Martial Right Army. It's the same if I deliver him. Besides, when Commander Lei captures someone, doesn't he also send them to the Ministry of Justice's prison?" Pei Yunzheng spoke with interest, "Or does Commander Lei have other private punishments in mind?"
These words struck at the heart of the matter. If they reached the Emperor's ears, it would surely bring another calamity.
Lei Zhen stared at him fixedly, while Pei Yunzheng wore an expression that was neither quite smiling nor serious.
After a moment of stalemate, perhaps realizing there was no way to salvage the situation, Lei Zhen stopped pressing the issue. He only looked at Pei Yunzheng and spoke coldly with implied meaning: "Then I shall trouble the Commander to take care of this. When I return to the Patrol Camp, I will report today's events to my superiors. Thank you for your kindness, Commander."
Pei Yunzheng said lazily: "Much obliged."
Lei Zhen cast one more fierce glance at Zhao Tiezhu in the corner, then ordered his men to withdraw.
In an instant, half the soldiers on the long street were gone. The remaining half had been brought by Pei Yunzheng.
Lu Li had just witnessed the undercurrent of conflict between these two men when she suddenly felt her shoulder become damp. Raising her hand to touch it, she discovered that the wound from Zhao Tiezhu's blade had stained her collar red.
Qingluan rushed over, staring nervously at her face: "Young miss, you're bleeding so much..."
Lu Li wiped the blood from her face and spoke nonchalantly: "Don't worry, it's not my blood."
Before Qingluan could answer, a panicked cry rose from above.
The officers were still in the middle of their commotion when Lu Li quietly withdrew with Qingluan. Someone on the side shouted that their names had not yet been recorded, and Du Zi'an hurried over to smooth things out and insist that he would handle the registration for them.
The disturbance made Pei Yunzheng glance back once more. Amid the wreckage on the long street lay a kingfisher-blue velvet flower.
One half of the bloom had been soaked through with blood, damp and mottled.
He bent to pick it up. The moment he turned it over, a strange flicker passed through his expression.
The pin hidden behind the velvet flower was narrow and razor-sharp, stained a dark red with blood.
There were three silver needles in all.