Chapter 164: Escape

Du Qing grabbed Chen Mu's wrist tightly: "What do you mean, informing on us?"

The confusion in his eyes did not seem fake, yet Chen Mu did not believe him: "Stop acting! If it wasn't you who snitched, how could we have been taken down all at once!"

"Speak clearly—"

The two continued to exchange words even as they clashed, and the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from outside the door.

"They're heading this way."

"Knock on the doors of these houses!"

*Thud, thud, thud—*

The sound of pounding on the door soon rang out; from the increasingly frantic commotion, one could sense the impatience of the people outside.

Du Qing had no time to ask more questions and pointed toward the woodshed: "There's a rice vat inside where you can hide!"

At such a critical moment, Chen Mu had no choice but to follow Du Qing's lead, darting into the woodshed.

Du Qing straightened his clothes, stepped forward, and opened the door: "Who is it—"

His words cut off abruptly, replaced by an expression of shock.

"Have you seen a thin man wearing a *shenyi*?"

Night had already fallen, and because Chen Mu had run so fast, the Jinlin Guards chasing him hadn't clearly seen the color of his clothes; they could only tell they were dark and that his build was lean.

"I haven't seen anyone. Are you—"

"Jinlin Guards." The guard who spoke pushed Du Qing aside and strode inside.

Several other Jinlin Guards followed close behind.

"Search thoroughly!"

"Yes, sir."

Seeing the Jinlin Guards rushing to various places, ruthlessly overturning chests and cabinets, Du Qing grew anxious: "My Lord, there is no one else here, you—"

"Shut up!"

Du Qing fell silent. His face showed panic, but in his heart, he breathed a sigh of relief.

As a personal protection specialist for his Master, he had always lived separately from the others, with very little contact; the only place they met when communication was necessary was that abandoned residence. Ever since his Master entered the palace, he had moved to a new residence, and there were no traces of anyone else living here.

What he was curious about now was what kind of trouble Chen Mu had stirred up to be hunted by the Jinlin Guards.

The lead Jinlin Guard stood beside Du Qing, clearly keeping him under close watch. As the others moved in and out, one guard soon headed straight for the woodshed.

Du Qing couldn't help but feel nervous, though he maintained a look of terror on his face without any extra fluctuations.

The guard who entered the woodshed looked around.

The crude woodshed was low and dim, piled with firewood, with two large vats sitting in the corner.

The cramped space and the damp air filling his nose made the guard frown instinctively, having no desire to linger.

Just as he was about to turn around, his eyes fell upon the two large vats.

After a moment's thought, he strode over and abruptly lifted the lid of one.

Inside the vat were a few pieces of pickled vegetables, emitting a pungent, sour smell.

Disdainfully, the guard set the lid back down and lifted the other one.

The other vat contained brown rice, not even filling half the container. At such a height, it clearly couldn't hide anything.

Without a shred of suspicion, the guard tossed the lid aside, scanned the woodshed a few more times, and walked out.

"No one in the woodshed."

The other guards checking different areas also returned one after another, having found nothing.

The lead Jinlin Guard's expression softened slightly toward Du Qing: "If you see such a person, report to us immediately."

"Yes, yes, yes," Du Qing replied repeatedly, looking as if he had breathed a sigh of relief.

The Jinlin Guards didn't find his reaction strange at all; after all, it would be abnormal for someone not to be nervous upon seeing the Jinlin Guards breaking down their door.

"Let's go!"

Du Qing escorted them to the door, his face full of respect: "Safe travels, My Lords."

The Jinlin Guards didn't even look back as they headed straight for the next house.

Du Qing bolted the door and let out a soft breath.

No matter how composed one was, it was impossible not to feel even a little nervous being searched like that.

The small courtyard had been turned into a mess by the Jinlin Guards. Du Qing stepped over a fallen wooden bucket and walked toward the woodshed.

The woodshed was silent, though the lid lying haphazardly on the ground served as a reminder that someone had been there.

He walked to the side of the rice vat and tapped the side lightly: "Come out."

After a brief silence, the rice in the vat suddenly began to flow, as if it had gained life, and a head popped out immediately after.

Chen Mu propped himself up with his hands and pulled the floorboard at the bottom of the vat.

It turned out the bottom of this rice vat was the entrance to a small cellar, and the floorboard was movable. In an emergency, one could hide by pulling the board; the only drawback was that the rice used as cover was quite heavy, and someone with little strength wouldn't be able to pull it open at all.

Of course, for someone like Du Qing, it wasn't an issue.

Chen Mu spat on the ground, spitting out a few grains of brown rice, and looked at Du Qing with eyes full of doubt and scrutiny.

If he had been full of suspicion that Du Qing had informed on them when they first met, he was now somewhat uncertain after being covered.

Or was Du Qing's only goal to stop them from blowing up Jinlin Street?

He knew exactly how loyal Du Qing was to Perfected Mingxin.

He could even be certain that if Perfected Mingxin and his Master had a disagreement, Du Qing would definitely side with Perfected Mingxin.

A sharp light flashed in Chen Mu's eyes, and his hand shot out like lightning.

Du Qing was prepared and dodged, snapping angrily: "Are you ever going to stop? If we truly fight to the death, you might not necessarily come out on top!"

They hadn't fought before, but they both knew each other's skills. Chen Mu knew Du Qing was right; a life-and-death struggle would surely result in mutual injury.

He took a deep breath, his cold gaze locked onto Du Qing: "Today, dozens of Jinlin Guards suddenly stormed our lodgings and captured all my people. I sensed something was wrong when I was returning and hid to observe secretly, which is how I escaped. Does this have anything to do with you?"

Du Qing looked shocked: "Are you saying all your people are in trouble?"

Seeing that Chen Mu was being hunted by the Jinlin Guards, he had expected things to be bad, but he hadn't expected that only Chen Mu would escape.

"Otherwise, why would I be here?" Chen Mu took a step forward, his killing intent fully revealed. "Answer me: did you leak the information?"

Du Qing looked bewildered: "Have you gone mad? Aren't we on the same side?"

Chen Mu sneered: "But Perfected Mingxin does not approve of this plan!"

Du Qing rolled his eyes: "The Master merely disapproves; he wouldn't strike his own people. Did you perhaps carelessly leak your tracks?"

"Impossible!" Chen Mu denied it flatly. "With an affair this big, no one would dare be careless. Even our reconnaissance during the day was well-disguised. Those Jinlin Guards were lying in ambush, waiting until almost everyone had returned before acting. They were clearly watching us for a long time. I've thought it over, and the problem most likely occurred after I met you."

"Wait, are you saying the problem likely occurred after meeting me?"

"Exactly."

Du Qing frowned, paced back and forth for a few steps, and then stopped. His gaze toward Chen Mu became somewhat solemn: "Have you considered that perhaps you were being followed that day?"

"Impossible!" Chen Mu's first reaction was to deny it.

"How is it impossible? Whether you believe it or not, the information didn't leak from my side. Besides, if it were me, why would I have covered for you just now? So you could go back and complain to the Master?"

Chen Mu was swayed by the words and began to recall the events of that day.

(End of Chapter)