Chapter 69 Three Chess Pieces (6821)_3
Wang Anfeng's blood was now swirling around the jade pendant, forming a mist-like appearance. Even in the lightless water, Wang Anfeng could see his blood seem to seep into the pendant, where two blood-red characters emerged in the center.
"Eastern."
Wang Anfeng's heart instantly sped up, and at that moment, he heard a splash as if something had entered the water. He nearly instinctively stuffed the jade pendant into his chest, and when he turned around, he saw Tie Lin with a knife appear behind him. Tie Lin pointed at the carriage and gestured with confusion. Wang Anfeng shook his head, indicating he had found nothing.
In the dimly lit water, Tie Lin didn't notice Wang Anfeng's unusual expression. He saw the blood floating up from Wang Anfeng's shoulder, waved his hand to signal Wang Anfeng to go up first, while he himself dived back to do a thorough check of the carriage.
After Wang Anfeng climbed out of the canal, the Martial Soldiers on both sides handed him some medicine. It had a pungent smell, slightly better in quality than the medicaments sold in pharmacies — it was golden sore medicine. Wang Anfeng couldn't refuse and pressed the medicine to the wound on his shoulder.
Now there was a warm sensation on his shoulder, which then dissolved into a stream of warmth. Clearly, the crossbow bolt had been poisoned, and the poison was not weak; otherwise, it would not have been enough to trigger the natural circulation of the Mixed Yuan Body of Medicine King Valley.
If Tie Lin or Wuxin had gone down first, they couldn't have avoided taking the hit. Not to mention death, at the very least, their Martial Power would have suffered, with seven out of ten of their Martial Arts fading away. And if an ordinary Martial Soldier rashly went down into the water, they would surely be dead.
The crossbow bolt was able to penetrate a Martial Soldier and continue without lessening its force, shooting straight to the bank; the Mechanical Crossbow aimed precisely at where the soldiers were standing.
The ruthlessness and meticulousness of the warrior disguised as the coachman were evident.
After a moment, Tie Lin also surfaced, shaking his head at Wuxin who was on guard above, indicating he found nothing.
Tie Lin's brows furrowed deeply, filled with frustration.
The warrior they had captured earlier had been neglected by him and Wuxin because he seemed to want to live. When the warrior could not take poison, he bit through his tongue instead, allowing blood to flow back into his windpipe, dying from suffocation. His death was miserable, his face swollen purple, yet still bearing a strange cold smile.
Indeed, he had come to silence them.
The meaning of this silencing was clear: no one could know the truth, not even himself. His fleeing was merely a diversion.
Suicide Squad.
A Sixth Rank Suicide Squad.
Without a sufficiently powerful background, they couldn't afford such an enormous undertaking. A Sixth Rank Martial Artist was regarded as an expert no matter where, but here, he was merely a pawn destined to die.
One of the two clues ended with the death of the Suicide Squad, while the other just lost its last trace, as the flowing water would destroy most of the evidence.
The carriage was now almost worthless.
With this, all the clues have been severed.
Tie Lin's face, already gloomy, became more oppressive. Using his Inner Strength, he dried the water on himself and looked at Wuxin, who nodded slightly then strode a few steps away from the ordinary soldiers, speaking with indifference:
"Now that all the clues are severed, I will head to the city guard post."
"Tie Lin, you go to the Liangzhou Office and ask the Yu Department officials to move files to deduce where the opponent might be hiding."
Tie Lin exhaled and nodded.
Wuxin's plan was simple, seal off as many escape routes as possible; now, it was already night. With the Bi'an Golden Order, they could enforce a curfew and lock the city gates. By morning, Liangzhou City would be like a vat of water, and their task would be to catch turtles in a jar.
Wuxin looked at Wang Anfeng and said:
"Feng An, you've helped us a lot, but the matters to come involve too much danger. This case has proven unrelated to you and him, and the assailant is not Jiu Zizai. You still need to protect Old Liu, so head back to Xingde Square."
Wang Anfeng's face was full of disbelief, but he couldn't help stepping forward, saying:
"Isn't this exactly the time when help is needed?!"
Wuxin only said one thing, "It involves too much."
In just the blink of an eye, Wang Anfeng understood, his eyes widened, he took a step closer, nearly pressing his face against the pale countenance before him. His black pupils met those soft and charming autumnal eyes; his voice betrayed an anger he could not suppress:
"It involves too much, you mean, you know who is behind this?"
Wuxin's eyes flickered with hesitation, but then he simply shook his head and said:
"State affairs, I cannot disclose them."
Wang Anfeng's anger surged, and he nearly couldn't help but punch Wuxin in the face, but he managed to restrain his rage from erupting and gave a trembling salute, saying:
"In that case, I bid you farewell!"
Wuxin seemed to dislike Wang Anfeng's attitude and brushed his hand away, saying coldly: "No need for that. The road is busy; try not to cause any more trouble."
Wang Anfeng huffed and left without another word, striding away. Then, the Martial Soldiers came running with two sets of clothes but saw no Wang Anfeng, looking puzzled. Tie Lin tore off his damaged clothing, revealing the soft armor underneath, and then took a set of Vermilion Clothes to wear, sighing: