Chapter 44: Ambush

The office has been prepared for you, and I have asked someone to show you around so you can get familiar with it. Since you have already settled matters at the Hundred-Household Office, I will grant you a three-day leave. Once you finish hosting your banquets and welcoming dinners, you must help me well at the Thousand-Household Office in the future.

Lu Wenzhao said with a smile.

However, from the sorrow hidden in Lu Wenzhao's eyes, Wang Lu knew that this fellow was harboring many secrets in his heart. Conveniently, Wang Lu was also planning to start stirring up trouble soon. After taking a tour of the new office with Lu Wenzhao's men and meeting two new subordinates, he left the Thousand-Household Office.

At the end of the Hour of You, Wang Lu spent one silver tael to rent a carriage. Disguised as a servant from a wealthy household, he picked up Guo Zhen and headed toward Beizhai's residence.

Beizhai was extremely conflicted within. Finally, unable to hold back, she said, "Master Ding, that person's martial arts are exceptionally formidable. Is it not too risky for His Excellency to have sent only you? Perhaps we should just give him the silver. Since he is only after wealth, why must we lock horns with him?"

Ding Baiying leaned against the table, not even lifting her eyelids, maintaining the air of an otherworldly expert as she replied, "Rest assured, besides myself and Ding Tai, there is a backup plan in place. His Excellency will not put you in danger."

Beizhai had nothing more to say. She sat before the table, gazing at the painting resting upon it. Unlike previous works, this one featured only a single black cricket.

"His Excellency misses you very much," Ding Baiying's voice sounded once again.

Without lifting her head, Beizhai simply replied, "Mn."

Staring at the cricket on the paper, Beizhai could not help but think of the brocade-clad guard she had encountered yesterday morning. Both he and the disguised imperial guard who had threatened her were very fond of her crickets. Yet, by comparison, he seemed much more honest and did not look like a bad person at all.

As the sky gradually darkened, Beizhai added another cricket to the painting, except this one held a sabre in its hand and had its face covered with a piece of cloth, making it look utterly absurd.

The sound of carriage wheels grew from distant to near. Even though they were separated by quite a distance, Ding Tai's ears twitched. He turned his head and whispered into the room, "Master, they are here."

"Prepare to encircle and kill!" As the words fell from Ding Baiying's lips, Ding Tai instantly let out a whistle. Atop the roof, seven figures clad in armor raised their heads, their bows and crossbows primed and ready.

"Senior Brother, he..." Ding Tai hesitated slightly.

However, Ding Baiying's calm voice cut through: "Chong'er's whereabouts are unknown, and I suspect he did that as well. If anyone is to be blamed, he has only himself to blame for taking the wrong path."

Ding Tai pressed his lips together and said, "I understand."

With that, he quickly concealed his figure once more.

With a light push of her toes, Ding Baiying vanished from the room.

Wang Lu, with his face masked, observed the doorway for a moment before carrying Guo Zhen out. Scaling the low side wall, he vaulted inside.

"Knock, knock."

Wang Lu knocked on the door.

Beizhai's voice came from within: "Come in."

A sense of doubt arose in Wang Lu's heart. Why did Beizhai seem so much more nervous than before?

He glanced around, found nothing amiss, and pushed the door open to step inside.

"Did you bring the silver?" Seeing Beizhai standing by the table, Wang Lu dropped Guo Zhen onto the floor and asked.

"Strike!" With a sharp shout, Ding Baiying leaped down from the roof beam. Her modified Wakizashi, the white-tasseled blade, immediately slashed downward toward Wang Lu.

Following a crisp clash, a white iron mark appeared on Wang Lu's scabbard.

Wang Lu retreated swiftly, but a fierce wind flashed behind him. His internal alarm bells ringing loudly, he instantly ducked.

A wolf-tooth club swept right past him.

It missed crushing Wang Lu's skull by a mere fraction of an inch!

A trace of regret flashed in Ding Tai's eyes as his body sidestepped rapidly, causing Wang Lu's unholstered, pirated quick-draw technique to slice through empty air.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Just as Wang Lu was marveling at how much more alert Ding Tai had become—evading his attack with such ease—more than a dozen crossbow bolts rained down upon him from the roof.

Wang Lu twirled his Miao sabre like a propeller, and the sound of ringing metal rang out continuously without a break.

Bang!

One crossbow bolt slipped through a gap in the spinning blade and shot straight toward Beizhai.

As Beizhai stiffened in despair, a flash of utter hopelessness crossed her eyes. However, Wang Lu kicked off the threshold, hurled himself backward, and grabbed the lapels of Beizhai's chest, yanking her down instantly. The crossbow bolt retained its momentum and slammed fiercely into the wooden pillar behind them.

Simultaneously, Ding Baiying lunged toward Beizhai, yet she was a fraction of a second slower than Wang Lu.

Frowning, Ding Baiying stared at Beizhai with a mixture of shock and suspicion in her heart.

The armored warriors on the roof discarded their hand-crossbows, drew their sabres, leaped down from above, and rapidly surrounded the house.

Wang Lu pulled the still-dazed Beizhai in front of him as a human shield and barked, "Stand back!"

Ding Baiying pointed her long sabre at Wang Lu and demanded, "What has happened to Chong'er?!"

"Simple. Let me leave with the silver, and I'll return Ding Chong to you!" Wang Lu's voice was muffled and hoarse. Narrowing his eyes, he sneered, "Don't tell me you only intended to kill me and didn't bring a single tael of silver."

"Do you truly believe you can leave this place alive?" Ding Baiying brandished her long sabre, kicking up gusts of wind as she said, "This place is already tightly surrounded. Take a master's advice—it is not too late to turn back now, and I can spare your life."

"My life has never needed anyone else's protection." Wang Lu gripped Beizhai by the throat, pressing his long sabre against her pristine chest. "Let me leave, and both Beizhai and Ding Chong live. You can have Guo Zhen back as well. Otherwise, you won't be able to keep me here, and Guo Zhen will die too."

Reminded of this, Ding Baiying surged forward instantly, eager to snatch Guo Zhen back.

Yet the moment she moved, Wang Lu yanked the crossbow bolt from behind him and hurled it directly at her.

Twisting mid-air, Ding Baiying narrowly dodged the projectile by a hair's breadth. Her gaze hardened as she looked at Wang Lu, a wave of regret washing over her. With such thorough preparation, they had still miscalculated; she never expected that even with premeditation against an unprepared target, he would still find an opening to take Beizhai hostage.

If anything happened to Beizhai, how was she supposed to report to Prince Xin?

Wang Lu let out a mocking chuckle. "Do you take me for a ghost?"

"The silver is yours. Let Mr. Beizhai go," Ding Baiying said calmly.

"Good," Wang Lu replied concisely. "No more tricks, or you'll be the ones suffering."

Ding Baiying cast a glance at Ding Tai by the doorway. Glaring bitterly at Wang Lu, Ding Tai turned and walked into the adjoining room.

"I am quite curious. Your sabre skills are now no longer inferior to my own. What on earth have you experienced over the past two years?" Ding Baiying asked, looking into Wang Lu's shrewd eyes exposed above his mask.

How could Wang Lu know what Ding Xiu had experienced?

However, based on the conversations between Ding Xiu and Jin Yichuan, it wasn't difficult to deduce that they used to be great bandits roaming the rivers and lakes.

"Robbing the rich and giving to the poor," Wang Lu said playfully. "It is certainly much more carefree than being someone else's dog."

"You have no idea what kind of people you are crossing!" Ding Baiying's anger flared slightly. "Our people are everywhere across the realm. You might escape today, but sooner or later you will end up our prisoner, and when that day comes, you won't have the luxury of negotiating terms."

"The time of an incense stick passes very quickly," Wang Lu sneered. "Two thousand silver taels are enough for me to enjoy leisure for the rest of my life. You probably wouldn't earn this much money in a lifetime of selling your life for others. I can only assume your words right now stem from jealousy."

The people in the courtyard stared tensely at Wang Lu, awaiting Ding Baiying's command, but Ding Baiying fell silent.