r18novel Page 65
Page 65
Jiangning finally relented.
"Thank you, Junior Brother!"
Linghu Chong was overjoyed and turned to run towards the main hall.
A quarter of an hour later.
Linghu Chong then rushed towards Jiang Ning and the others.
"Junior brother, Master has agreed! He wants me to go with you."
Jiang Ning was somewhat surprised, as he thought he would have to wait a while longer.
Unbeknownst to him, Linghu Chong had just knelt down before Yue Buqun in the main hall, leaving Yue Buqun completely bewildered.
He thought Linghu Chong had done something to break the sect rules again, but when he heard that Linghu Chong actually wanted to go and get Tian Boguang himself, he was speechless.
In fact, Yue Buqun thought Jiang Ning was more reliable, and it would be most appropriate to have Jiang Ning go with him. However, since Linghu Chong knelt down and begged him, he couldn't refuse. So he compromised and let him go with Jiang Ning. Jiang Ning was steady and reliable, and it would be safer for the two brothers to go down the mountain together.
Although Linghu Chong felt it was a pity, it was enough that Yue Buqun allowed him to go down the mountain to capture Tian Boguang.
"Junior brother, let's go!"
Linghu Chong walked ahead excitedly, while Jiang Ning shook his head and followed.
"Today, we, the Twin Stars of Mount Hua, will descend the mountain once more, and capturing the mere Tian Boguang will be a piece of cake!"
They had only gone halfway when Linghu Chong started bragging to his fellow disciples.
The "Twin Stars of Mount Hua" he mentioned referred to him and Jiang Ning.
Some time ago, Linghu Chong and Jiang Ning led the Huashan disciples down the mountain to sweep away bandits, earning them the title of "Twin Stars of Huashan," meaning two rising stars of the Huashan Sect.
Whether the title sounds good or not is another matter, but judging from Linghu Chong's current performance, he seems to like it quite a bit.
After descending the mountain, Jiang Ning, Linghu Chong, Liang Fa, and their group headed straight for Hanzhong Prefecture.
Tian Boguang's last crime was committed in Hanzhong.
Hanzhong Prefecture is about 800 li away from Mount Hua. Jiang Ning and his party traveled non-stop, which would normally take more than two days, but they arrived in just one and a half days.
"Hanzhong, I'm here again."
Looking at the vast city before him, Linghu Chong's eyes held a hint of anticipation.
There is a restaurant in Hanzhong that is very famous for its wine, and he used to like to come to Hanzhong whenever he came down from the mountain.
Although he had come to Hanzhong again this time, Linghu Chong was afraid that drinking would cause trouble, so he secretly decided to temporarily abstain from alcohol and not touch a drop of it until he caught Tian Boguang.
"Come on, let's go in."
Linghu Chong was familiar with Hanzhong, and he led his fellow disciples into this bustling city.
"Huh? Why haven't I seen a single girl on the street?"
Linghu Chong was somewhat puzzled.
Although Hanzhong Prefecture is bustling with activity, all the pedestrians on the road are men; not a single woman can be seen.
Jiang Ning looked left and right, and casually replied, "It's probably because of Tian Boguang."
“This young man is right.”
At this moment, a man passing by heard Jiang Ning's words and nodded, saying, "Ever since we heard that Tian Boguang came to Hanzhong a few days ago, the women of Hanzhong have not dared to go out, for fear of being discovered by that lecherous...that man."
The man seemed afraid that Tian Boguang was nearby, so he dared not utter the words "lecherous thief" and instead used "that person" as a substitute.
"Such a large prefecture like Hanzhong is actually afraid of a mere Tian Boguang?"
Liang Fa, who was accompanying them, couldn't help but frown.
"How could I not be afraid?"
The man smiled bitterly and said, "Tian Boguang is highly skilled in martial arts and can appear and disappear without a trace. You know the Wang family in the western suburbs, right? His daughter was violated by Tian Boguang. And Zhang Xiucai from the east street, his wife was also violated by Tian Boguang. What's worse, Zhang Xiucai himself was killed by Tian Boguang."
"Leaving aside everything else, I heard that even our prefect's concubine... sigh, how dare we provoke him? We can't afford to offend him, so we can only hide and tell our wives and daughters not to go out."
The scandalous affair of the Hanzhong prefect was spread around by Tian Boguang himself the very next day, causing the Hanzhong prefect to lose all face.
Perhaps to Jiang Ning and Yue Buqun, Tian Boguang was just a lecherous thief, not their match, but to these ordinary people, Tian Boguang was their nightmare.
"Humph!"
Gao Genming snorted coldly and said in a chilling voice, "Once we catch Tian Boguang, we'll tear him to pieces!"
Upon hearing his words, the man's face showed a look of terror.
"I wouldn't dare to talk nonsense, I wouldn't dare to talk nonsense."
The man quickly distanced himself from Jiang Ning and his group, looking around anxiously, fearing that Tian Boguang might be nearby.
"It has nothing to do with me. I didn't say anything. Don't come looking for me."
As the man was talking, he suddenly ran away as if he were fleeing.
(I overslept, hehe)
(4 AM today.)
Chapter 102: The Chen Residence
After settling into an inn, Jiang Ning said to Liang Fa and the others, "Let's rest here for a while. I'll go to the prefect's house in Hanzhong to investigate later. You senior brothers, please wait here for my news."
The case involving the prefect of Hanzhong was the last one committed by Tian Boguang. The incident occurred seven days ago, and Tian Boguang had not been seen committing any crimes since then. Now, Jiang Ning plans to go to the prefect's residence in Hanzhong to see if there is anything to discover.
"Junior brother, I'll go with you."
The others had no objections, but Linghu Chong got up and intended to go with Jiang Ning.
The residence of the Hanzhong Prefect was located on West Street. Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong walked through several streets before arriving at a grand mansion.
Chen Mansion.
The prefect of Hanzhong was surnamed Chen.
Seeing that the Chen residence's gate was tightly closed, Jiang Ning stepped forward and knocked on the door.
Boom boom boom!
After a while.
Footsteps could be heard coming from inside.
squeak~
A crack appeared in the tightly closed door, and a servant-like man peeked out, his head partially visible, watching Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong warily.
"Who are you?"
Linghu Chong spoke first: "We are disciples of the Huashan Sect. We heard that you are causing trouble for Tian Boguang, so we came to take a look."
"From the Huashan Sect?"
The servant was overjoyed upon hearing this and quickly opened the gate.
"Please come in, please come in. My master has been waiting for you for a long time."
So enthusiastic?
Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong couldn't help but exchange a glance.
Upon entering the Chen residence, one finds that while it is a decent mansion, it pales in comparison to the residences of high-ranking officials in Xi'an Prefecture.
The servant led Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong toward the main hall, saying, "You two don't know, that lecherous thief is too arrogant. Relying on his superior martial arts skills, no one can catch him. We all hate him to the core. We've been waiting for you to come."
Under the servant's incessant chatter, Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong arrived at the main hall.
"Please have a seat, gentlemen. The master will be here shortly."
On the way here, the servant had already sent someone to find Prefect Chen.
Not long after, hurried footsteps sounded outside the main hall, and a thin, middle-aged man rushed in anxiously.
"Are you two disciples of the Huashan Sect?"
Seeing his anxious look, Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong exchanged a glance and nodded, saying, "That's right."
"Great."
After receiving confirmation, the middle-aged man breathed a sigh of relief, but then said, "You two are disciples of the Huashan Sect, so you must be highly skilled in martial arts. Could you please do me a favor?"
Linghu Chong spoke first: "Are we here to help you capture Tian Boguang? Don't worry, we came here specifically to capture him."
"No, no, I want you two to save my daughter's life."
The middle-aged man looked anxious.
Linghu Chong was taken aback: "Is your daughter sick?"
The middle-aged man shook his head, then took Jiang Ning and Linghu Chong's hands and walked out.
"The matter is urgent, please walk and talk."
Seeing his expression, Jiang Ning frowned, and Linghu Chong also looked completely bewildered.
"You two must have heard about Tian Boguang before you came to Hanzhong, right?"
On the way, the middle-aged man said with a grim expression.
He was referring to the incident where Tian Boguang picked flowers from his concubine right in front of him.
Jiang Ning said, "I know a little about it."
"Hey."
The middle-aged man sighed: "To be honest, since it has already happened, I am not afraid of losing face. At that time, that lecherous Tian Boguang not only defiled my concubine, but also ruined my daughter's chastity."
“Since that day, my daughter has been crying every day and contemplating suicide. Before long, she went mad and often hurts herself. Because I was worried about her, I had the maids keep an eye on her at all times, afraid that she might accidentally take her own life. But today, she climbed onto the roof while the maids weren’t paying attention and was shouting and yelling. We didn’t dare to go up and pull her up, afraid that we would agitate her and she would jump off the roof. It just so happens that you two have come to Hanzhong. I would like to ask you two to help rescue my daughter. I am willing to reward you with a large sum of money.”
This Prefect Chen only had one daughter, whom he doted on to the core. But this happened, and his daughter went insane and tried to commit suicide, causing him immense inner turmoil.
Upon hearing this, Linghu Chong's expression turned solemn, and he nodded, saying, "Please rest assured, we will definitely save your daughter."
"thanks, thanks."
Prefect Chen expressed his gratitude and thanks.
The three of them walked through the garden to the backyard of the mansion. Jiang Ning saw a figure on a roof not far away. When they got closer, they found that it was a girl dancing gracefully on the roof, with silvery laughter coming from her mouth.
"Miss, be careful."
"Miss, please come down quickly, it's dangerous up there."
A group of servants and maids stood in the open space in front, all trying to persuade the girl on the roof.
In front of them was a middle-aged woman crying and calling out the girl's name.
"Jin'er, come down. If something happens to you, how will your mother live?"
No matter how much the people below shouted, the girl above ignored them and continued to dance gracefully, giggling. Several times she reached the edge of the roof and was just one step away from falling, which frightened the people below.
Seeing this scene, Prefect Chen's face turned extremely ugly.
"Miss!"
Just then, the servants in the open space below exclaimed in surprise.
The girl on the rooftop seemed to be at the end of the dance, spreading her arms and leaping downwards, falling like a kite with a broken string.
"daughter!"
Prefect Chen cried out in grief.
call out!call out!
Two figures rushed out from either side of Prefect Chen, heading towards the girl at great speed. One of the figures was much faster than the other.
Before anyone could react, Jiang Ning leaped into the air from the side, reached out and grabbed the girl's waist, bringing her to his side before landing steadily.
Jiang Ning then released the girl's waist.
The girl still had that smile on her face, giggling, but her eyes were vacant.
Jiang Ning looked at her: "Are you planning to die like this?"