Chapter 48: Bandit Stronghold
Prince Ding's Manor
"My Prince!" The steward came forward with an anxious face. Seeing Mo Xiu Yao, without even saluting, he hurriedly said: "My Prince, something bad has happened."
Mo Xiu Yao fiercely raised his head, "What has happened?"
"Earlier, the subordinates came and reported. Don't know how it happened, but there are rumors outside that a flower thief has kidnapped Ye family's Third Young Miss—" Suddenly, a piercing gaze cut through the steward, pausing his words. The steward shivered and looked fearfully at the man sitting in the wheelchair in front of him. "My Prince…"
Mo Xiu Yao closed his eyes. Suddenly, they opened and he asked, "What happened?"
"Reporting to the Prince, this subordinate also doesn't know. People were sent out to buy things for your Highness's grand wedding and heard these rumors everywhere. They didn't feel it was right and immediately returned to report to this subordinate. This subordinate did not dare to delay, this…"
Mo Xiu Yao raised his hand, cutting off the steward's words. He said: "Immediately send someone to the Minister's Manor to see if Ah Li has returned. Also, send someone to investigate what happened after Ah Li left the Imperial Palace and the situation inside the Imperial Palace.
"Yes, this subordinate will go immediately!" The steward did not dare delay and immediately disappeared into the hallway.
"Ah Jin, inform Third Feng. Regardless of the methods used, this Prince does not want to hear whatever rumor in the capital." In the quiet study, Mo Xiu Yao said lightly. His cold voice made others want to shiver from fear.
"Yes."
"My Prince." The steward that had just left appeared at the door.
"News?"
"Xu family's Eldest Young Master sent an invitation, asking your Highness to immediately go to Xu family's Manor."
Mo Xiu Yao lowered his eyes, "This Prince knows."
Xu Manor's Welcoming Hall
In the main courtyard, Qing Yu weakly fell into a chair. There was a small cut on her left arm, staining the entire sleeve red. On the ground, the two men sent after her by the one-eyed man laid unconscious. Xu Hong Yu sat stiffly on the host's seat. Below sat Xu Hong Yan and Xu Qing Chen. Xu Qing Ze and others sat on the side; without exception, they all had a particularly unsightly face.
"What are the rumors outside?" Xu Hong Yu asked in a quiet voice.
Xu Hong Yan said: "Someone deliberately spread it. According to Qing Yu, from the moment Ye Li was kidnapped, an hour hadn't passed before the news spread throughout the entire capital."
"In the capital, there are already people secretly searching. It's just… Afraid that Ye Li is no longer in the capital." Xu Qing Chen frowned.
"It was obviously under the boot of the Emperor. With so many people, they kidnapped two weak women. How are the guards of the capital fed?" Xu Qing Feng's anger burned furiously.
Xu Qing Chen frowned and said: "We will talk about this later. Are those two going to wake up?"
Qing Yu reported: "This servant used Drunken Argawood; they will awaken in a bit." She originally wanted to directly bring these two back to Xu Manor, but she didn't expect that they were extremely alert and discovered her intentions. In anger, they wanted to kill her and eliminate a witness. She spent a lot of time and effort to turn the two into this state before she could report to Eldest Young Master. However, she didn't expect the news of her Young Miss's kidnapping to have already spread throughout the capital.
"Since this is the case, just hand things over to this Prince." A faint voice drifted from the doorway. Everyone turned to look. Mo Xiu Yao was dressed in a white silk robe. His sat in a wheelchair with a chilly face. He stared intently at the two people on the ground. Ah Jin kept a straight face as he pushed the wheelchair into the room.
"Your Highness." The group of people stood up.
Mo Xiu Yao raised a hand. "This is more important. No need for the ceremonies. Ah Jin."
"Yes, my Prince." Ah Jin stepped forward. He produced a thin whip. BAH! The whip was long and thin. At the top of the whip, there was a bunch of small barbs. Under the light, the whip emitted a chilling light.
"Hah—" The whip landed on the two men on the ground. With a loud ripping sound, the whip came down on the two and tore off their flesh along with their shirt. As everyone stood stunned, Ah Jin, without any mercy, added another strike. "Hah—"
"Hah—"
With no more than five strikes, the sound of pain was heard. One of the men opened his eyes first. The whip greeted him like a viper. "Ah!"
"Hah—"
"Ah…"
"Help. Please spare me. Forgive me… Ah!"
Mo Xiu Yao leaned back against his wheelchair. His face was cold. He asked indifferently: "Tell this Prince, where did you take the people?"
"No… I don't know. Please spare me life…. Your Highness, please spare my life!"
"Hah—"
"Ah, hurts… no. Your Highness, spare me. This lowly one really doesn't know…"
"This Prince just wants to know where the people are. If you speak, this Prince will spare you this life." From high above, Mo Xiu Yao's piercing gaze stared down at the people on the ground. The people he stared at couldn't help but tremble.
He begged and shouted: "This lowly one… really doesn't know."
Mo Xiu Yao lightly nodded his head. "This Prince admires your strong will and hopes that this strong will could also help you live." Mo Xiu Yao moved his wheelchair towards the bodies on the ground. The man struggling with pain stared straight as he approached. Closer and closer. There was a flash of happiness in the man's eyes. When Mo Xiu Yao was close enough, the man suddenly jumped up and rushed towards Mo Xiu Yao. But the person in the wheelchair was obviously faster. At the moment right before he reached Mo Xiu Yao, the man fell to the ground. Before the body hit the ground, others could only see Mo Xiu Yao use some sort of strange method to quickly hit various spots on the man's body. Afterward, there was a series of sounds. The horrible sounds were accompanied by terrifying screams. The person that rushed up was now like a rag, falling next to the wheelchair. Mo Xiu Yao took the handkerchief Ah Jin presented. He slowly wiped the right hand that had touched the man. He looked sideways at the other person on the ground. "Now, are you willing to tell this Prince the location?"
Everyone's eyes fell on the rags on the ground. It was really a pile of flesh and cloth. Originally, it was a strong and tall body. Using some kind of weird method, this tall body was twisted into a different shape. As if all the bones had disappeared. Now it was a soft pile of flesh on the ground. But the scariest part was that this person was still alive.
Xu Qing Yan, the youngest in the room, saw the scene in front of him and felt a chill run up his spine. As quietly as he could, he hid behind Xu Qing Feng. He felt no sense of security next to his Fourth Brother. Of the group of them, Third Brother's martial arts was the best.
The person that was unconscious started to tremble. "Spare…me… Your Highness, please spare my life…"
"Where are the people you guys kidnapped?" Mo Xiu Yao asked.
"Not in the capital. The boss… the boss got the people and left the capital…"
"Where?"
"Oh… I really don't know. The boss said that our stronghold isn't secure. After the last job, we switched. I…I… haven't been there…" A tall, brawny man was scared to the point of crying and sobbing.
"Then say where your original stronghold is.”
"Beyond the capital…. Sixty li from Dark Cloud Peak…. Oh.. Oh… Your Highness, please spare my life."
"Hand them over to Third Feng. See if he can get any more information. Immediately go and prepare. This Prince wants to leave the capital."
"Yes." Ah Jin wound up the long whip and picked the two people up. He immediately left the room. The picture of a slender young man carrying two men twice his size was striking, though it did not seem that the young man was trying his hardest. He walked as if he were flying.