Chapter 154 - A Swoop (1/2)

Face of the owner of the herbal garden instantly changed with horror as he heard that some a.s.sa.s.sins had shown up. “How–How come some a.s.sa.s.sins suddenly came to my place?”

He was unaware of the ident.i.ty of Ling Zhang or Yuwen Tong and just believed that the two of them were childes from some rich family, who had come to his herbal garden for fun but encountered a.s.sa.s.sins.

“Childe, may I ask what those people wanted? Money or anything else?” The owner of the herbal garden hurriedly asked another question.

Seeing his face had paled visibly with fright, Ling Zhang, though having no idea who it was that had sent the two a.s.sa.s.sins, believed that the owner of this herbal garden had nothing to do with this incident.

“Those a.s.sa.s.sins’ target was me. I’m sorry for the horror I have put you through.”

On hearing these words, the owner of the herbal garden heaved a sigh of relief and replied, “Childe paid a visit to my manor, so you are my guest. I should have done better with the security. Fortunately, you are unharmed, Childe. Otherwise I wouldn’t be able to absolve myself from the blame.”

The general storekeeper, who had been standing on the side, worried that there might be any other accidents if they stayed in this place, so he said, “How about you have some of your men escort these two honored guests back? I mean, there are too many people here and some of them might not be what they seem. If by any chance there are some other a.s.sa.s.sins among them, we might have trouble defending against them.”

The owner of the herbal garden was unaware of the general storekeeper’s consideration, but he was only too anxious to see these two men out of his manor, so he repeatedly inclined his head and responded, “Yeah, yeah… There are too many customers in the teahouse tonight, and we don’t know for sure if any of them are a.s.sa.s.sins in disguise. For the sake of your safety, I’ll have my security guards escort you back home.”

Yuwen Tong observed, “There’s no hurry. Let’s wait for my bodyguard to return first and then make a decision. I’d appreciate it if you sent someone to the County Yamen to get some yamen runners here.”

Upon saying this, he fished out an ID plate and informed the owner of the herbal garden, “In case there’s anything bothering you –take this ID plate with you.”

The owner of the herbal garden had a somewhat awkward expression on his face as he heard Yuwen Tong ask him to report this incident to the authorities, but when his eye fell on the ID plate in Yuwen Tong’s hand, all the color drained from his face due to fright; his legs buckled and he slumped to his knees. “I let my eyes fall prey to my ignorance and failed to recognize the Grand Marshal. I deserve the death penalty for not having received Marshal with due formality!”

‘Marshal?! This is Marshal Yuwen?’

All others were taken aback. Seeing the owner of the manor kneeling on the ground, they also slumped to their knees.

At this time, legs of the owner of the herbal garden were trembling violently with fear. The very thought that Marshal Yuwen had encountered a.s.sa.s.sins in his manor nearly sent him unconscious.

‘The–Then the man standing beside the Marshal is Childe Ling, Marshal Yuwen’s betrothed?

Though it was not the Marshal himself that those a.s.sa.s.sins tried to kill, there will still be dire consequences!’

While everybody was shuddering with fear, Yuwen Tong’s voice was heard. “There’s no need for such a high level of formality, and no blame attaches to the unconscious doer of wrong, but since there are a.s.sa.s.sins in this place, we shall show them no indulgence. Have this manor surrounded immediately. Make sure every inch is searched and n.o.body goes out of this place without being questioned first!”

“Yes, yes!” The owner of the manor didn’t dare to hesitate for a single moment. He immediately had his men seal all entrances and exits of the manor and then headed for the county seat to report this incident to the county yamen himself.

Such a commotion soon came to the notice of customers in the teahouse and the inn.

All of them were frightened in the knowledge of what had just happened.

‘Marshal Yuwen and Childe Ling came here to enjoy tea but nearly got hurt by some a.s.sa.s.sins?’

All entrances and exits of this manor had been sealed and an intensive search of this place was going to be carried out. Everybody had been ordered to stay where they were. Any acts of disobedience were punishable by death.

The entertainer playing qin (a seven-stringed plucked instrument in some ways similar to the zither) in the teahouse didn’t dare to perform any more. Customers were no longer in the mood for drinking tea, not to mention other things.

They all respected the Marshal, but they also feared him.

None of them had the sneaking suspicion that this whole thing was a lie. After all, news of Marshal Yuwen’s presence in Tanyang had spread through the whole country.

At this moment, most of them had had a shrewd idea that the two visitors of great presence they had seen earlier this night had been Marshal Yuwen and Childe Ling. They also recalled that the two of them were looking for available seats at that time…

“Had I known that that man is Marshal Yuwen, I would have volunteered to serve tea for him, let alone give up my seats on the second floor!”

“Who could have imagined that Marshal Yuwen would suddenly come to this place?”

“I wonder which G.o.dd.a.m.n b.a.s.t.a.r.ds attempted to a.s.sa.s.sinate Marshal Yuwen. They must had a really strong death wis.h.!.+”

“Is it possible that they were sent here by the Wan Kingdom?!”

“My goodness! Are you saying that there are probably some a.s.sa.s.sins from the Wan Kingdom standing right here among us?”

That remark threw all customers into panic and they instantly started searching around with their eyes appraising one another, trying to find anything suspicious on others.

At this time, Yuwen Tong and Ling Zhang were standing in front of the teahouse. Circle upon circle, security guards of the manor, on full alert, gathered around protecting the two of them for fear that some other a.s.sa.s.sins might show up.

After subduing his urge for quite a while, Ling Zhang couldn’t help but inquired of Yuwen Tong under his breath, “Do you really think that there are some a.s.sa.s.sins hiding in this herbal garden?”

Yuwen Tong replied, “No matter what, we’ve got to have this place searched.”

“But–”

Before Ling Zhang could finish his sentence, Yuwen Tong raised his hand and gesticulated at him.

Seeing the gesture, Ling Zhang swallowed back the words that had sprung to the tip of his tongue. He conjectured that the a.s.sa.s.sins were among those who were close to them and well informed of their whereabouts. Since he had guessed this, he believed that Yuwen Tong definitely had guessed it as well. ‘Why did Yuwen Tong still decide to go to so much trouble to search this herbal garden?’

And Yao Yi still had not returned. He wondered if he had caught up with the two a.s.sa.s.sins.

Finally, after nearly two hours, staff members of the county yamen, seemingly the whole yamen, arrived. After such a long run, all of them were panting heavily, faces pale.

“We’re honored to kneel before you, Marshal Yuwen!” It was the registrar and the general head constable of the county yamen who had taken their men to the manor. On seeing Yuwen Tong, the two of them, bursting with anxiety, knelt down to the ground, admitted their error and asked his pardon . “Please forgive us for not having arrived sooner, Marshal.”

May I ask if any harm came to Marshal? We brought a physician with us.”

Yuwen Tong replied, “You may rise. There’s no need for such a high level of formality.

I’m unharmed and in no need of medical treatment. Have your men start searching this place and questioning everybody right now. Find out if there are any a.s.sa.s.sins or their accomplices hiding here as soon as possible.”