Chapter Twenty-Two: New Troubles

The carriage had traveled several dozen more miles. As they drew near a patch of woods, an old man in coarse clothes appeared directly in front of the carriage, leading a girl of about ten years old. Old Zhang was driving fast, yet the old man and the girl seemed oblivious to the approaching carriage, continuing to walk slowly in its path. It was obvious they were doing this on purpose.

Fang Jin, spotting the pair ahead, felt a surge of delight. Leaping to the side of the carriage, he called out, “Old Zhang, there are people ahead! Why aren’t you stopping the carriage?”

Old Zhang’s brows knit together, clearly displeased with Fang Jin’s tone. But he too had seen the sudden appearance of the pair, and with the carriage about to collide with them, he was forced to yank the reins hard. Amid the horses’ whinnies, the carriage screeched to a halt about a meter from the old man.

The old man in rough clothes seemed startled, recoiling and collapsing to the ground in a faint. The little girl immediately began to wail, “Grandpa, what’s wrong? What’s wrong? Please don’t scare me!”

Han Yi and Han Li rushed to the carriage’s side. With decades of experience in the martial world, they had seen all sorts—disguises, swindlers… Cautious as ever, they placed themselves in front of Lei Yan’s carriage door.

“Old Zhang, what’s going on?” Lei Yan’s voice came from within the carriage.

“Young Master, it looks like the old man ahead was frightened by our carriage!” Old Zhang replied, apparently unconcerned.

Fang Jin seized the moment, jeering, “Old Zhang, you hit someone and now you’re pretending nothing happened! I think you just don’t want to let us rest! Fine! Why don’t we take this chance to have a proper break? You have horses to ride, but we’ve been running all this way!”

Clearly unimpressed with Fang Jin and Fang Tong, Old Zhang said sternly, “The head of the household ordered us to reach Fengcheng in Qingzhou as quickly as possible. Now that we’ve passed Qinghe, you think you can act so brazenly?”

Fang Jin laughed. “Old Zhang, you’d better check if you’ve killed that old man!”

“Old Zhang, I’m tired too. Let’s rest by the roadside a while and check on them,” Lei Yan’s voice called out from within the carriage.

“Yes, Young Master!” Old Zhang replied.

“Grandpa, please don’t leave me… what will I do if you die…” The girl’s sobs grew louder, even making Lei Yan frown from inside the carriage.

Lei Yan jumped down and slowly approached Old Zhang. Han Yi and Han Li, worried for Lei Yan’s safety, immediately followed. Fang Jin and Fang Tong, meanwhile, found a large tree and sat down to rest.

“Old Zhang, let me take a look!” Lei Yan knelt beside the old man, ignoring the girl, and placed his right hand on the old man’s pulse.

“His pulse is chaotic!” The moment Lei Yan touched the old man’s wrist, he felt the man’s breath was erratic, as if from fright. But Lei Yan didn’t believe that was the real cause. Since getting off the carriage, he had observed their every move, and though the old man and the girl seemed normal, Lei Yan’s special ability allowed him to see a faint light flickering along the old man’s pulse—a glow coming from within, invisible to the naked eye.

“How is my grandpa?” The girl’s anxious questioning continued as she hovered beside Lei Yan.

“He’s not in any grave danger, just startled,” Lei Yan reassured her simply. “Old Zhang, help them onto the carriage to rest.”

“Young Master! But—” Old Zhang hesitated, clearly uneasy.

“It’s fine! I know what I’m doing,” Lei Yan smiled. His ability had already caught the fleeting smile at the corner of the girl’s lips—a smile that would have escaped anyone else’s notice, but not his.

“You two, help Old Zhang,” Lei Yan said to Han Yi and Han Li.

As the girl prepared to follow, Lei Yan gently patted her shoulder. At the same moment, a wisp of powder drifted from his sleeve, entering her body with her breath.

“Your grandfather will be fine, don’t worry,” Lei Yan said calmly.

“Thank you,” the girl replied, nodding and heading for the carriage.

Lei Yan considered his actions seamless—but what he didn’t know was that inside the carriage, a faint smile appeared at the old man’s lips. “You brat, trying to scheme against my granddaughter? Not so easy!”

Lei Yan climbed back onto the carriage, took out a waterskin, and crushed a pill into it. Then he leaned out and instructed Old Zhang, “Make sure everyone takes a sip—including you.”

“Yes, Young Master!” Old Zhang was briefly puzzled by this command, but loyal to the Lei family, he uncorked the bottle, took a swig, and handed it to Han Yi and Han Li. Without hesitation, they each drank a few mouthfuls.

“You two aren’t drinking?” Lei Yan asked as Fang Jin and Fang Tong tossed the waterskin back.

“Hmph! Who knows if you’ve poisoned it,” Fang Tong sneered inwardly, but lazily replied, “No need to trouble yourself, Young Master. We have our own water.”

“Oh? Well, that saves trouble,” Lei Yan said, gulping down several mouthfuls himself, feeling instantly refreshed.

“Could this boy really not have poisoned it? Hmph, better safe than sorry,” Fang Jin thought to himself as he watched.

“Do you two not want to come with me to Qingzhou?” Lei Yan wiped his mouth and asked.

“Young Master, you’re overthinking it. We’re just servants—how could we dare say no? It’s just that the journey’s exhausting, and we want to rest a bit,” Fang Jin replied, his tone thick with resentment.

“In that case, let me help you decide. Let’s talk inside the woods,” Lei Yan said, pointing toward the trees. He had to resolve this trouble first, especially now that new complications had arisen in the carriage.

The two guards exchanged glances. “Does he really have a way to get rid of us?” A flicker of uncertainty crossed Fang Jin’s face, but he simply agreed, “Very well.”

“Young Master!” Han Yi and Han Tong immediately moved to Lei Yan’s side, remembering Han Yu’s strict instructions before departure.

“I don’t care what Uncle Han told you before he left. You’re all to wait here. No one follows without my order!” Lei Yan commanded.

Old Zhang seemed to understand Lei Yan’s intentions. Watching Fang Jin and Fang Tong disappear into the woods, he caught Lei Yan’s arm, concern in his eyes. “Young Master, are you sending them back on your own? It’s still calm here, but ahead it gets dangerous. If you send them away, we’ll be in even greater danger!”

Lei Yan watched the two brothers fade into the woods, then leaned close to Old Zhang’s ear. “Old Zhang, why do you think the family sent just the six of us to Fengcheng in Qingzhou?”

Indeed—trying to cross bandit-ridden Qingzhou with just six people, even innate martial artists might struggle, unless they were cultivators. So why send only six? Unless…

“There are shadow guards?” Old Zhang’s eyes lit up as he scanned the surroundings, searching for hidden escorts. A sense of relief began to settle in. “Young Master is clever—he must have noticed something.”

But Old Zhang was unaware that Lei Yan’s journey was far from simple. Not only had the family head Lei Tiechuan refused to send escorts, but there were also hidden plots and assassins sent by the second madam, Lei Fu.

“It’s fine. Take a rest,” Old Zhang said to Han Yi and Han Li, now fully at ease.

But Han Yi and Han Li did not dare relax. Their fists remained clenched as they stared toward Lei Yan’s fading figure.

After venturing a mile into the woods, Lei Yan finally saw Fang Jin leaning against a tree. The ground was littered with restless footprints, betraying Fang Jin’s agitation. With the rustling of grass and leaves, Lei Yan turned to see Fang Tong blocking the way back, smiling coldly.

“You can return to Jiangzhou from here. There’s no need to follow me. I’ll handle the explanations to the family,” Lei Yan said.

Fang Jin acted as if he hadn’t heard, his sharp gaze fixed on Lei Yan. Suddenly, he spoke, “Why do you want to kill us?”

Behind Lei Yan, Fang Tong gave a sinister grin. “Young Master, we’ve been in the martial world since we were five years old. If we couldn’t see through your intentions, we’d be dead by now.”

Fang Jin shot Fang Tong a frosty glare, then slowly approached Lei Yan. “I’m really curious—what makes you think you can kill us?”

With every step Fang Jin took, the killing intent intensified. He was convinced that whatever tricks Lei Yan might use, they would fail. Yet he was still puzzled—how could this useless young master possibly kill them?

Lei Yan’s mind was already utterly tranquil, the entire scene mapped out by his ability. Seeing the faint black aura around Fang Jin and Fang Tong—almost invisible to ordinary eyes—Lei Yan knew the moment had come. He smiled faintly, “You worry too much. After so long in the martial world, it’s only natural—”

But before Lei Yan could finish, Fang Jin and Fang Tong suddenly felt their breath seize up. Suffocation pressed on them, as if their very souls were being wrenched from their bodies.

Gritting his teeth, Fang Jin summoned his last reserves of inner strength and slashed at Lei Yan. But before the blade could touch him, Fang Jin collapsed. As he fell, he heard Lei Yan’s final words behind him: “You will die.”

Fang Jin and Fang Tong died with their eyes open, never understanding how they had been poisoned. They were certain they hadn’t drunk the water Lei Yan offered. They had no way of knowing that Lei Yan had started poisoning them a day earlier, while still in the carriage. In fact, the water was not poison, but the antidote. Lei Yan had given them a chance—but they had not taken it.