Stranger Danger

Chapter 391: Fierce Battle

Chapter 391: Fierce Battle

At the beginning, the first Chu emperor had established the Intelligence Department just to supervise corrupt officials and those who abused the people. Later, it was further developed by the Martial Emperor, Emperor Tai Kang and Emperor Xuan Hua to concentrate their power and undermine the clans, despots and sects plaguing their rule. Because of this, the Intelligence Department kept growing in power until they became one of the most powerful departments in Chu.

Within the realm, they were responsible for supervising all officials and keeping an eye out for any signs of discord and unrest. Outside the realm, they spied on the empire’s greatest competitors: Yan, Qi and Wei.

The Martial Emperor had flattened all the clans who might challenge the imperial court’s rule within the realm, Emperor Gao Zong had silenced the jianghu with his sword, and Emperor Ying Zong repelled the invaders and established the roots of Chu. The Intelligence Department lurked in all of their shadows.

One could say that the Intelligence Department was the emperor of Chu’s eyes and ears. They were responsible for supervising the realm, keeping an eye on Chu’s enemies, and knowing what was going on in the world. Their influence could be seen among the officials, the jianghu and the people, and one could even say that the Intelligence possessed the authority to stick their nose into anyone’s business so long that they were human.

As they were the emperor’s personal guard and answered directly to him, they too were bestowed the power to be the judge, jury and executioner just like the Pacification Bureau. They could appeal directly to the emperor as well.

Naturally, the Intelligence Department was loathed and feared by the jianghu, their fellow officials, and even the people.

Since the Intelligence Department was derived from the supervisory authority the founder had established at the beginning, the old titles were maintained to this day. From top to bottom, the upper first rank title was called the Head of Intelligence, the upper second rank title was called the Minister of Works, the upper third rank title was called the Judicial Commissioner, the lower fourth rank title was called the Inspector General, and the lower fifth rank title was called the Inspector. Below that, there were shadow guards, spies, intelligencers and more.[1]

These were just the official titles. There were unofficial titles that wielded tremendous authority but wasn’t made known to the public. Not even Ye Qing, someone who should be in the know, knew too much about them.

The young man claimed that he was an Inspector General, so he was a lower upper fourth rank official. Since the Intelligence Department was directly subordinate to the emperor, all officials working for the Intelligence Department should be treated as if they were one rank higher than their actual rank, meaning that the young man should be treated as a lower third rank official. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he commanded thousands and thousands of people.

The Intelligence Department? No wonder they found us so quickly, Fortune Taoist thought to himself. It was one thing if they were contending with bailiffs and common bailiffs. They were confident they could come and go as they pleased. But the Intelligence Department? Not at all.

They weren’t called one of the most powerful departments of Chu for nothing.

Even if they managed to survive this crisis, what about the next? Attracting the Intelligence Department’s attention was like attracting the attention of the King of Hell himself. If the King of Hell commanded someone to be executed by midnight, who would dare wait until dawn?

“Hehehe. Surrender now while you can. Otherwise, you will regret your decision,” The plump man behind Chu Renhe chuckled.

Fortune Taoist decided to make a compromise, “My lord, would you believe me if I told you that we killed the Feng Clan’s patriarch and the governor of Qing He? I swear that the annihilation of the clan has nothing to do with us.”

“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that you killed not one, but two officials. That is a death sentence.” Chu Renhe sneered. “Plus, the Feng Clan isn’t the only one you destroyed. Three years ago, you robbed three hundred thousand coins at He Xi and killed the one hundred and twenty five soldiers escorting the hoard. Two years ago, you killed thirty one common bailiffs and the governor of Chang Shan. And one year ago, you intercepted the Zhong Yuan Escort Agency’s escort cart and stole nine Northern Sea Pearls, which were presents for the Harmony King’s birthday...”

“Horseshit! We stole the coins, but we never killed anyone. We did kill that corrupt official and his goons at Chang Shan, but I’ve never heard of a Northern Sea Pearl. That wasn’t us!” Killer Monk huffed angrily.

“That’s what a criminal would say.” Chu Renhe sneered disdainfully. “There is a mountain of evidence that proves that you have, indeed, committed those crimes. You’re not talking your way out of this!”

“Killer Monk, Fortune Taoist, Sick Scholar, you have one chance to surrender to the law. Submit now, and you may die a painless death!”

“If you want to condemn someone, any pretext is fine, right?” Fortune Taoist’s expression turned cold. “Very well then. Come at us.”

“Scatter, my friends!”

Killer Monk, Fortune Taoist and Sick Scholar had cooperated with each other for a long time. As soon as Fortune Taoist gave the order, all three of them immediately scattered in different directions.

While escaping, Fortune Taoist waved his sleeve and summoned a gust of smoke. It swiftly spread throughout the entire inn until nothing could be seen.

“Stubborn curs!” Seeing this, Chu Renhe sneered and commanded his three subordinates to chase after the trio.

Halfway toward the exits, Killer Monk, Fortune Taoist and Sick Scholar suddenly turned back and raced toward Chu Renhe. It was said that the best way to defeat a group of enemies was to kill their leader first. The inn was completely surrounded, and it didn’t take a genius to know that their chances of breaking through were pretty slim. But if they could capture Chu Renhe, then they might yet get out of this situation alive.

Chun Renhe must have quite the background to become a lower fourth rank official at his age. His colleagues wouldn’t dare to attack them if they could use him as a hostage.

However, Chu Renhe was a formidable warrior, and his three lieutenants weren’t weaklings either. It would be incredibly difficult for them to capture him.

That was why Fortune Taoist decided to play a little trick. First, he created a smokescreen and announced that they were going to run for it. Naturally, Chu Renhe’s three lieutenants were going to leave his side. This would give them the opening to attack him three on one.

Besides that, the smoke he released was no ordinary smoke. It was the incense smoke commonly found in temples and other places of worship. Smoke that was mixed with the people’s power of wishes could only only blind one’s eyes, but also disrupt one’s energies and blank out one’s spirit senses.

Chu Renhe might be a formidable warrior, but he would not be expecting them to turn back and ambush him. His youth also suggested that he might be lacking in jianghu experience. And finally, it was clear that Chu Renhe looked down on them and underestimated them greatly. That kind of mentality would only improve their chances of success. There should be no reason the three of them couldn’t kidnap a child with too much power for his own good.

Sometimes, power wasn’t everything.

Sometimes, you gotta use your brain as well.

“It’s a smart plan. Too bad...”

Ye Qing poured himself some wine despite the ongoing battle and smoke. He was looking at Chu Renhe’s direction almost as if the smokescreen couldn’t affect him at all.

Meanwhile, Killer Monk, Fortune Taoist and Sick Scholar had reached Chu Renhe. As they reached out to grab the man, the inspector general suddenly raised his eyebrows, sneered, and launched a series of palm strikes. As his hands had turned as white as jade, the flurry of attacks looked like a blooming white lotus.

Bang bang bang!

Killer Monk, Fortune Taoist and Sick Scholar stifled a groan as they were struck back whence they came. There was a pitch black palm mark on all of their chests, and layers of frost were seeping out of it.

The matter wasn’t over, however. While the trio were flung backward, Chu Renhe’s three lieutenants dashed toward them and unleashed their respective attacks.

The plump man launched a hail of hidden weapons at Fortune Taoist from less than ten meters away.

The thin man appeared behind Killer Monk like a phantom and swung his hand diagonally at the monk’s neck to behead him.

And the Taoist nun pointed her fingers at Sick Scholar and caused her sword to shoot toward his heart.

At the last possible moment, Fortune Taoist’s robes billowed on its own and bounced off all of the hidden weapons.

The surprise attack had failed, but the plump man ignored his failure and moved his hands so fast it looked like he had a thousand hands. He threw what looked like a stream of silver needles, poisonous sand, iron tribuluses[2], locust stones, willow darts and more.

By the time the storm of hidden weapons finally ended, Fortune Taoist’s robe looked like a beggar’s rags, and his whole body was covered in wounds. It was terrible.

Killer Monk manifested a golden light around his body that was shaped like a bell. When the thin man’s hand struck the light, it actually elicited a loud bell ring.

Unperturbed, the thin man pressed harder and cut a hole in Killer Monk’s golden bell. He might have failed to take his head off, but he ws able to leave a deep gash on the monk’s back.

Sick Scholar let out a violent cough that blew the sword flying toward his heart away. However, the Taoist nun let out a cold bark and sliced the air with her fingers. The sword moved as if she was holding it and cut off the Sick Scholar’s arm before he could react.

Not only had their ploy failed miserably, they all took a massive amount of damage.

They thought they were tricking Chu Renhe, but Chu Renhe was tricking them as well.

Fortune Taoist used the incense smoke to mask his group’s true intentions, but Chu Renhe saw through it and sent his lieutenants away on purpose. It was so that they could deal the trio a deadly blow.

The incense smoke didn’t just neutralize their enemies’ senses, but also their own. Therefore, they had no idea that Chu Renhe’s lieutenants were lying in ambush.

The stroke of genius had also turned out to be the engineer of their defeat.

“So? Are you going to struggle some more?” Chu Renhe raised a hand to stop his lieutenants’ attacks before looking at Killer Monk, Fortune Taoist and Sick Scholar.

Fortune Taoist looked up at Chu Renhe from the floor and uttered with a bitter expression, “You’re smarter than we gave you credit, Lord Chu!”

He knew from the moment he got ambushed that his opponent had seen through his ploy. Now, their chances of escaping were lower than ever.

“Not at all. You’re just too stupid.” Chu Renhe wiped his fingers with his silk handkerchief. “Why would I set up an ambush without figuring out all of your tricks first?”

“As expected of the Intelligence Department. Your reputation is well deserved.”

Fortune Taoist sighed and looked at the plump man, the thin man, and the Taoist nun one by one. He asked, “The three of you are the ‘Laughing Shura’ Tang Chuan, the ‘Iron Man’ Yu Shi, and the ‘Grim Rakshasa’ Luo Changbing, aren’t you?”

“Looks like fortune telling isn’t your only expertise, Reverend!” The plump man declared with a sunny smile.

“Cough! Cough... You were famous warriors of the jianghu back then. Why did you become the imperial court’s dogs?” asked Sick Scholar with a violent cough. Maybe it was because he lost an arm and bled too much, but he looked as pale as a sheet right now. One could mistake him for a ghost.

1. Took the most time to translate even though I know none of you would actually read this. ?

2. It’s basically is the Chinese version of a shuriken. ?