Chapter 198: Kamehameha

It was the Hour of the Rat, the dead of night. Xingning Ward was completely silent.

Dozens of figures, shielded by the heavy darkness, crept silently toward the outer wall of the Jiang family residence.

*Thud, thud.* With a few faint sounds, several grappling hooks caught onto the top of the wall. One by one, the men nimbly climbed over, landing with almost no noise.

Clearly, they were well-practiced in the business of scaling walls and breaking into courtyards.

The leader stood still, looked around, then gestured to his companions, heading straight for the back courtyard.

“Ah!” Just as they passed through a moon gate, a sudden, sharp shriek rang out.

Everyone turned back in unison, only to see one of their companions clutching his leg and collapsing to the ground.

The leader couldn’t help but glare and hiss, “What are you howling for!”

The companion behind couldn’t be bothered to answer and hurriedly rolled up his pant leg.

Two bleeding puncture wounds had appeared out of thin air on his ankle, and the area around the wounds was turning dark and black at a speed visible to the naked eye.

“Big Brother! I’ve been bitten by a snake, it’s poisonous!”

In a noble’s residence in Central Heaven, where would a venomous snake come from?

Despite the heavy doubts, now was not the time to get to the bottom of it, because following their companion’s shout, several lanterns had already lit up in the estate, and people were rapidly rushing over to investigate.

Seeing this, the leader stepped forward and squatted beside his terrified companion. He glanced at the wound and whispered, “There’s no saving you. Once this is done, I’ll burn the reward money from the Cui family for you.”

“Big Brother, wait, I can still be saved—”

*Ch-shhh.* With a faint sound of a blade slicing a throat, the companion’s low cry came to an abrupt end.

The leader gave his wrist a slight flick to shake the blood off his steel blade and scanned the group. “We’re in the business of losing our heads. If we succeed, we’ll follow the Cui family to great wealth and honor; if we fail, there will be no place for us in this Great Wu. Make it quick, and do not harm the family of Prince Yinyang.”

As soon as he finished speaking, two night-watch servants had already run nearby upon hearing the noise.

Seeing a gang of hulking men in black suddenly appear in the estate, the two servants were instantly Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering.

Dropping their lanterns, they began to shriek at the top of their lungs, “There are thieves! There are thieves in the estate!”

In the back courtyard.

Jiang Yuan had just finished bathing and was lying in bed when she heard two shouts in succession.

At the first shriek of “Ah,” she sat up instantly.

A moment later, when she heard the servants yelling “There are thieves,” she hurriedly jumped out of bed, ran behind the bedroom door, and peeked out through the crack.

The entire back courtyard was filled with shadows.

The loud thuds of doors being kicked open in the front courtyard and the screams of servants rang out one after another.

Clearly, these “thieves” were not petty thieves stealing property, but a gang of bandits who robbed homes.

Having some property stolen by thugs was nothing, but as a woman, she naturally knew what fate awaited a young lady if she were captured by bandits.

Her instinctive reaction was to climb out the window and flee.

But just as she turned to take a step, she stopped.

Her mother was still on the first floor; what if she couldn’t escape?

Fear and worry for her mother tugged at her for only a breath before she made her decision.

Jiang Yuan quickly pulled out the door bolt, gripped it like a weapon, and ran all the way down.

Just as she reached the courtyard and before she could knock, the door opened from the inside. A terrified-looking Lin Fuyao walked out. “Waner, what’s wrong? Why is the estate so chaotic?”

Jiang Yuan could not answer her mother’s question, nor did she have the time to.

Behind them came a flurry of messy footsteps, and three or five hulking men holding sharp blades had already burst into the courtyard.

“Ah~” Lin Fuyao let out a scream, her face turning deathly pale.

This snobbish and cowardly woman, who had relied on her father to live in her youth and her husband to live in adulthood, had her first reaction in this situation be to pull her daughter into the room, trembling as she said, “Bolt the door, don’t come out!”

Having said that, she turned to face the bandits, blocking the doorway like a mother hen protecting her chicks.

Although she was shaking like a sieve, she still shouted, “Do not hurt anyone, I will give you all the money. We are the family of Prince Yinyang; if you hurt us, the Prince will not let you off~”

It would have been better if she hadn’t said that.

As soon as the bandits heard this, they turned around excitedly and said, “Big Brother! We found them, the family of Prince Yinyang is here!”

The other bandits who were searching elsewhere swarmed in all at once.

Jiang Yuan naturally would not agree to locking her mother outside.

She was trembling all over, but she forced herself to step forward. “Heroes, this is the Imperial Capital of Great Wu. You should quickly take some valuables and leave. If you delay any longer, the people from the Military Patrol Post will come.”

“Oh?” The bandit leader unexpectedly looked Jiang Yuan over.

Usually, when a woman encountered such a thing, if she didn’t scream and run for her life, she would be scared silly.

This Miss Jiang could actually hold her ground and speak a few sentences. In terms of courage, she could be called a tiger daughter of a military family!

While Jiang Yuan was speaking, Lin Fuyao had caught a glimpse of her son running down from the upper floor of the east wing out of the corner of her eye.

Due to the angle of the stairs, the bandits in the courtyard could not see him for the time being.

Lin Fuyao desperately signaled to Jiang Xuan, telling him to hurry up and hide, not to show his face.

Jiang Xuan was clearly also terrified by the scene in the courtyard. He stood blankly at the top of the stairs, neither daring to step forward and show himself, nor able to bear hiding away and leaving his mother and sister to face the many bandits.

In his struggle and hesitation, he forced out a pool of tears.

“Hehe, Madame Jiang, Miss Jiang, do not panic, we are not bandits.”

The leader grinned, revealing gleaming white teeth, his tone carrying the confidence of someone in control of the situation.

“Princess Xingguo is a hen crowing at dawn, disrupting the court. Prince Anping is purging the court, setting things right, and has already taken control of the situation in the capital! We are acting under the orders of Your Highness to invite the distinguished ladies to Prince Anping’s Estate.”

Jiang Yuan’s heart sank upon hearing this.

It wasn’t robbery, it was a coup!

She forced herself to stay calm, her mind racing: Prince Anping? He actually dared to commit such an act of treason!

Moreover, this person said that Prince Anping had already taken control of the capital’s situation, which was likely false.

If he had truly taken control, why would he need to use such despicable methods as breaking into a residence at night?

At the same time, she had made up her mind: even if she died, she would not go with them to Prince Anping’s Estate.

If they went tonight, the three of them would be branded as “accomplices to the rebellion.”

When the imperial court settled accounts in the future, even if they spared them out of consideration for her father, her father would likely punish the three of them severely for the sake of his so-called innocence.

The leader saw Jiang Yuan remaining silent, his eyes scanning the courtyard sharply, and he pressed again: “By the way, where is the young Young Master of the estate? Please come along as well, do not make it difficult for us to search!”

Jiang Yuan was shaking uncontrollably, but she still gritted her teeth and did not respond.

Lin Fuyao’s hand, hidden behind her back, kept waving at Jiang Xuan at the top of the stairs, signaling him to hurry and escape.

Jiang Xuan was hiding in the shadows of the stairs. He had been used to running away since he was a child.

When he saw his stern father, he would run; when he encountered his cheap cousin bullying him, his only method was also to run.

He watched helplessly at his mother’s panicked figure, watched his sister gripping the door bolt, facing a group of armed thugs alone.

The immense guilt and fear caused his crotch to suddenly feel hot.

Urine uncontrollably poured down, bringing a wave of shameful warmth.

Over there, the leader saw Jiang Yuan’s stubborn attitude and waved his hand. “If you won’t drink the toast, you’ll be forced to drink the forfeit! Tie up the mother and daughter first and send them to Prince Anping’s Estate.”

“Rebellious traitor!” Jiang Yuan shouted sharply, holding the door bolt in front of her with both hands, ready to make a final, desperate resistance.

But facing the few hulking men who were slowly approaching and looking at her with mocking eyes, it was no different from a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

“You dog thieves! Stop!” Just then, a youth suddenly rushed out from the shadows of the east wing stairs, wading with two soaked pant legs, wiping his tears as he walked.

He walked quickly to the door, arms wide open to protect Lin Fuyao and Jiang Yuan behind him. His voice was sharp and strained due to extreme fear and tension.

“You dog thieves! Your grandfather, the Cold-Faced Silver Spear Jin Yulang, is here! Whoever dares to touch my mother or sister with a single finger, this grandfather will fight you to the death!”

“…” There was a moment of silence in the arena.

But when everyone saw the Cold-Faced Young Master’s pants still dripping with urine, they burst into a roar of laughter.

Beating their chests and stomping their feet, they laughed for over ten breaths before the leader panted and said, “Alright, no need to look anymore. Young Master, please!”

“I’ll invite your mother’s—! My mother and sister aren’t going anywhere! You dog thieves, come at me together!”

Perhaps it was because he had given up, or perhaps it was because he had just cursed to his heart’s content and vented his fear, Jiang Xuan’s eyes were wide open now, like an angry little lion.

Never mind whether he could fight or not, at least his appearance finally had a bit of a man’s Aura.

The leader saw this, chuckled, and looked to the side. “Go on, finish this quickly.”

As he finished speaking, five or six companions stepped forward in unison.

Jiang Xuan naturally knew his own strength and couldn’t help but take a step back.

But his mother and sister were right behind him; where else could he retreat to?

He could only try to scare them.

He suddenly cupped his hands together, pushed them forward, and used a skill he had learned from his elder brother, “Kamehameha! Take this!”

*Whoosh~* *Bang~* The eight-foot giant walking in the very front seemed to have been smashed hard in the chest by an invisible giant hammer, and his whole body flew backward for more than two zhang.

“…” “…” Jiang Xuan stared blankly at his own hands.

All the thieves paused in unison and looked back at their companion.

Only then did they realize that the companion who had flown backward had an arrow embedded in his chest.

It was buried to the root, with only a short piece of the arrow fletching left exposed.

*Clap~ clap~ clap~* Applause rang out abruptly in the courtyard.

The bandit leader looked up sharply and saw, under the starlight, a handsome young man sitting on the wall.

Beside him stood a cold-faced archer, who was now drawing his bow and aiming an arrow at him.

The dangerous intuition of his entire body’s Qi being locked onto made a layer of cold sweat instantly seep from the back of the leader’s neck.

“We are people from the imperial court, who are you?” The leader dared not act rashly, wanting to bluff with words.

But the man didn’t even look at him, instead giving Jiang Xuan a thumbs up. “Brother Xuan, not bad, you look like a man’s Aura now!”

Jiang Xuan heard this, his mouth pouted, and tears fell again. “Elder Brother, I knew you would come to save me.”