Chapter 397 - 236: Assassination

Chapter 397: Chapter 236: Assassination

"Wu Yifan was a villain through and through. This is just putting trash to good use."

Xiang Xiaoyuan giggled. "Is this what they call a wife bringing her husband good fortune?"

Luo Anning’s eyes widened, her pretty face flushing red.

She wasn’t used to Xiang Xiaoyuan’s playful banter.

Su Mu laughed heartily. Suddenly, his smile vanished, and his expression turned grim.

Just then, an angry shout came from outside the carriage.

"Who dares assassinate the Taiping Bureau Governor!"

Following the furious shout, the twang of several bowstrings echoed.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

Su Mu raised his hand, catching a Feathered Arrow just in time.

He flicked his sleeve, and with a loud BOOM, the carriage compartment exploded.

Luo Anning and Xiang Xiaoyuan leaped out of the carriage right behind Su Mu, their swords already drawn.

By this time, Shi Ziran and Yang Yungzhong were already fighting a group of men in black.

Meanwhile, that Master, Zhang Luzhong, was cowering behind a stall, practically pissing himself in terror as he trembled.

"Careful!"

Su Mu’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked up in a certain direction.

Just then, a sharp, piercing whistle cut through the air.

An arrow wreathed in flames shot toward them from a tall building in the distance.

A cold smirk appeared on Su Mu’s lips.

He had always been the one attacking others with the Five Flames Heaven-Shaking Bow. He never thought someone would use the same trick against him today.

This was clearly no ordinary arrow—it was a Profound Weapon!

He took a step forward, the Thunder Shocking Saber flashing into his hand as he slashed forward in a single motion.

A Fire Dragon suddenly materialized above the blade’s edge.

A fierce wind howled, fanning the flames.

The Fire Dragon roared and shot out, colliding with the ambushing arrow.

Li Fire Realm, Xun Wind Realm!

Though Su Mu had not yet manifested a Phenomenon, both his Li Fire Realm and Xun Wind Realm had reached Realm Perfection, and they were even showing faint signs of merging.

This strike already faintly showed the makings of a Phenomenon.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

The Fire Dragon and the arrow collided.

For an instant, it was as if all sound between heaven and earth vanished, followed by a deafening roar.

The tremendous sound made everyone who was fighting cover their ears, their faces contorted in pain.

Flames billowed through the air.

The Fire Dragon and the flame-wreathed arrow vanished simultaneously.

At that moment, the archer on the distant tall building wore a look of shock.

’He blocked it?’

’He actually blocked it!’

’Didn’t they say Su Mu was only in the Rebirth Realm a few months ago?’

’Even if he broke through to the True Essence Realm in these few months, there’s no way he could block my Profound Weapon.’

’The power of this Profound Weapon of mine is no less than the Five Flames Heaven-Shaking Bow!’

’He had gone to great lengths to borrow this Profound Weapon. With his True Essence Realm cultivation, he should have been able to kill any ordinary True Essence Realm expert with it.’

The doubt had barely formed in his mind when his pupils constricted in panic.

Because he saw a pair of wings suddenly unfurl from Su Mu’s back, and then Su Mu was flying toward him!

"Fuck! He can fly!"

The man cursed.

He frantically drew his bow and fired another arrow at Su Mu.

With a flick of his wings, Su Mu dodged the arrow at incredible speed.

BOOM! A distant building collapsed, struck by the arrow.

By this time, Su Mu had already closed in on the man. It was too late for him to draw his bow and shoot again.

A vicious glint flashed in his eyes as the man swung his longbow, bringing it crashing down on Su Mu.

CLANG!

Su Mu’s wings folded in front of him, blocking the blow.

A shower of sparks flew.

The wings parted again, and a flash of saber light suddenly bloomed.

PFFT!

The two men shot past each other.

The man’s body froze in place. A line of blood appeared on his forehead, then quickly spread downward.

His eyes were filled with terror and regret.

"You—you’re a True Essence Realm—"

A gurgling sound escaped his throat as he collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide open in death.

Su Mu gave the body a cold glance, then flicked the bow into his hand with the tip of his boot.

Then, with a flash of his Wind and Thunder Wings, Su Mu returned to the scene of the ambush.

By this time, Shi Ziran, Yang Yungzhong, Luo Anning, and Xiang Xiaoyuan had already eliminated the remaining assassins.

Incidentally, of the four, the weakest was actually the Taiping Captain from Songjiang Prefecture, Yang Yungzhong.

Not to mention Shi Ziran, both Luo Anning and Xiang Xiaoyuan were on the verge of Nascent Soul Realm Perfection, and both had also comprehended a Realm.

Yang Yungzhong couldn’t help but steal a few glances at the two women. At first, he had assumed Luo Anning and Xiang Xiaoyuan were just family members Su Mu had brought along.

But once the fighting started, he discovered that both women were stronger than him.

He was, after all, one of the strongest Taiping Captains in Songjiang Prefecture, yet he had been outshone by two women.

’As expected of Governor Su. Even his women are this strong.’

Seeing Su Mu descend from the sky, Yang Yungzhong felt a mix of admiration and shame.

"This subordinate failed in his duty to protect you. Please punish me, my lord."

Yang Yungzhong said.

Su Mu had only just arrived in Songjiang Prefecture, and he had already been targeted for assassination.

Wasn’t this a public slap in the face to their Taiping Bureau?

Even though Su Mu was unharmed, Yang Yungzhong wished he could find a hole to crawl into.

"This has nothing to do with you."

Su Mu said coolly, "Master Zhang, please inform the Lord Prefect that the welcome banquet will no longer be necessary.

"I, the Governor, was attacked in the street. I will investigate this matter thoroughly."

Zhang Luzhong crawled out from behind the stall, still in a state of panic.

He had always lived in a place of peace and had never encountered anything like this.

"Captain Yang, take all of them back. Investigate."

Su Mu completely ignored him and said coldly.

"Yes, sir."

Yang Yungzhong’s expression turned grim as he replied in a solemn voice.

"Back to the Taiping Bureau!"

Su Mu commanded with a flick of his sleeve.

...

Only after Su Mu had vanished down the street did several uncertain and suspicious faces emerge from the buildings lining the road.

"Brother Wenren, you never said you were going to assassinate Governor Su in the street!"

A middle-aged man said in a deep voice, his face filled with anger.

"It wasn’t me!"

Wenren Yuan’s face also showed shock. "I swear on the Wenren Family’s honor, this matter has absolutely nothing to do with us!"

No matter how foolish the Wenren Family was, they would never do something like assassinate a Taiping Bureau Governor in the middle of the street.

Setting aside whether they could even kill Su Mu, even if they succeeded, the Taiping Bureau would surely come to settle the score afterward.

After the incident with Wenren Jiangbo last time, Li Tingkui had already come knocking on the Wenren Family’s door.

How could the Wenren Family possibly do something to provoke the Taiping Bureau again?

Causing trouble for Su Mu was one thing—that was business, to be handled openly and fairly.

But assassinating Su Mu? That was something else entirely.

"If not you, then who? As far as we know, the Wenren Family is Governor Su’s only enemy in Xiangzhou."

A middle-aged man said, unconvinced.

"How do you know we’re his only enemy? You think you can just stay out of it?"

Wenren Yuan retorted, annoyed.

"Now is not the time to argue about this!"

A middle-aged man in a blue shirt said in a grave voice, "We should be thinking about what to do now.

"I’ve studied Su Mu’s history. Back when he was the Sima of the Outer City in Wuling City, he used a pretext to suppress all the families in one of the Outer City districts in a single stroke.

"I’m afraid he’s about to pull the same trick again."

Everyone was stunned, their faces showing confusion.

The man in the blue shirt explained, "The Taiping Bureau Governor was ambushed in the street. Who was the mastermind?

"Now, the Taiping Bureau can use this as an excuse to investigate anyone they suspect!

"Anyone who doesn’t cooperate will be labeled an accomplice to the assassins. If they’re killed, it’ll be for nothing!

"Even your Wenren Family can’t bear the crime of assassinating a Taiping Bureau Governor!"

As soon as he said this, everyone understood, and their expressions changed drastically.

"Do you think... this assassination... could Su Mu have staged it himself?"

Wenren Yuan said in a low voice.

"Does it matter?"

The man in the blue shirt shook his head. "He was attacked in the street. Everyone saw it. Even if it was fake, it’s real now.

"I don’t care what you all do. Right now, I’m going to the Taiping Bureau to pay my respects to the new Governor. This assassination has absolutely nothing to do with my Chen Family!"