Living in this world, mingling in the Jianghu, almost everyone harbors greed. Here they earn a little, there they take a little, then they place it on the gambling table, betting a bit more from it.
As one walks in Jianghu, countless storms pass by in the blink of an eye. In the past, they all survived by gambling, and this ti they want to gamble too, whether it’s a small bet or a big one. If they’ve lost before, they must wager even more, for wanting to break even is not truly called greed.
People always have greed,
The poor want to rise to prosperity, the rich want immortality, the hungry want to be fed, the full want debauchery. Therefore, people in Jianghu pay various prices for these desires bit by bit, using them as stakes to push onto the gambling table.
But you never know when everything could be lost in an instant.
The night was like ink, so thick it couldn’t be dissolved, enveloping Dragon Tail City tightly.
The ominous aura of lockdown during the day fernted in the darkness, perating a sense of suffocating tension.
The high walls and deep courtyards of the Prince Mansion were like a lurking behemoth. Three shadows, like maggots on the bone, closely followed the figure of Chen Yi, silently passing through corridors and lding into the shadows of the outer courtyard of the Prince Mansion.
They were the three masked individuals who had once confronted Chen Yi at the gambling house. Chen Yi led the way with a asured pace, being well-acquainted with the pavilion layouts, patrol routes, and even the hidden sentries of the Prince Mansion.
The trio emitted a faint, elusive aura that rippled like water waves, cleverly disrupting the alert arrays set throughout the Prince Mansion, montarily rendering them blind.
"Who goes there? Why are you moving?" A team of patrolling guards erged from around the corner of the corridor, looking warily at the figures in the shadows.
Chen Yi calmly stepped forward, presenting a token from his chest, "Zige Bureau, acting on orders."
The guard leader carefully examined the token and, under the light of a lantern, scrutinized Chen Yi. After a brief hesitation, he stepped aside, "Please proceed, sir."
The journey was surprisingly smooth. Leveraging Chen Yi’s identity, the team reached the entrance to the Prince Mansion’s dungeon without incident.
The jailers dared not obstruct Chen Yi in the slightest. Lowering their heads, they saw the dim, damp passageway extending downward, with a musty odor perating the air. The flickering torchlight cast twisted, swaying shadows on the cold stone walls on either side.
Elder Wung huddled in the corner of a straw pile, unkempt and filthy. His body appeared hunched and frail. Upon hearing so commotion, he laboriously lifted his head, and when he saw the newcors, a faint yet intense glimr burst forth from his cloudy eyes.
Wung’s mute point had long been sealed, and he could only produce muffled sounds, seemingly recognizing his fellow brethren and becoming agitated.
With unruffled composure, Chen Yi opened the prison door. One masked man swiftly stepped forward, deftly checking Wung’s physical condition, while the other two stood guard at the door vigilantly.
Soon, they dressed Wung in a set of ordinary servant clothing they had prepared beforehand and sared so mud and ash on his face to conceal his distinct features as much as possible.
"Elder, can you still walk?" The leading masked man asked in a low voice.
Wung made a croaking sound from his throat, struggling to stand but staggering. Another masked man imdiately stepped forward to support him.
Chen Yi stepped out of the dungeon and surveyed the surroundings, ensuring no new movents. He turned back and said, "This place is not safe to linger. The person has been rescued, you must leave the Prince Mansion quickly."
His voice was particularly clear in the dead silence of the dungeon.
The three all nodded, "We’ll leave imdiately."
Chen Yi unfastened his Zige Bureau waist plate from his belt and handed it over, "The entire city is under curfew recently, with nurous City Patrol Soldiers. If interrogated by guards, show this plate."
The lead masked man took the waist plate, feeling its cold, heavy weight. He deeply glanced at Chen Yi, his gaze behind the mask complex and inexplicable, before simply murmuring, "Take care, Battalion Commander."
Suddenly, the trio supported the weakened Wung, retreating swiftly and silently along their previous path.
Chen Yi remained in place, exhaling a long breath only when their footsteps completely faded at the end of the passageway. He turned and vanished into another branch path, his figure swiftly swallowed by the dungeon’s darkness.
.........
The trio, carrying Wung, navigated by mory of their initial path, thrillingly evading several patrol teams, finally scaling the Prince Mansion’s back wall, landing silently into the maze-like dark alleys of Dragon Tail City.
Once clear of the Prince Mansion, their steps grew more urgent instead of relaxing. They needed to leave the city as quickly as possible.
"We’re finally out..."
"If not for Battalion Commander Chen..." another chid in, "For us, infiltrating to rescue soone so easily would be as hard as climbing to the sky."
"Indeed," the lead masked man murmured as he rubbed the cold Zige Bureau waist plate in his hands, "However... the Supre’s secret order before departure still needs to be fulfilled..."
ntioning the Supre’s secret order brought a mont of hesitance to the atmosphere.
"Does the Supre really intend to treat him as a disposable pawn, discarded here?"
"Isn’t this burning bridges after crossing..." another interjected, then added, "But then again, he was the one who killed our people first."
The lead masked man said, "Indeed, the Supre has deeper intentions. Non-my kin, their hearts are inevitably different. Chen Yi, this man, is deep-thinking and ruthless... How can such a person be truly trusted?
The Supre’s aning is clear. Since he is at odds with the Prince Mansion and sought by the court, we only need to add fuel to the fire, solidifying his identity and revealing it to the public... Let them bite each other like dogs here, fighting until one side dies. No matter who wins, it’s the sa as the clam and crane fighting, with us reaping the benefits as the fisherman."
The trio, carrying Wung, moved past the alley entrance, turned several corners, and proceeded forward until they heard so disturbances,
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