Chapter 146: Kidnapping Stalkers

The sun sank beneath the horizon of Crimson Vale, leaving behind a sky stained in deep amber, bruised violet, and fading crimson.

Within moments, the last warm threads of daylight dissolved into twilight, quickly replaced by the endless expanse of the night sky. Above the city, an abnormally massive, luminous moon rose high into the heavens, its pale silver glow spilling down over the tiled rooftops, narrow alleys, and grand stone avenues, casting long, dark shadows across the cobblestones.

The black-and-gold carriage rolled smoothly along the paved street, its iron-rimmed wheels delivering a steady, rhythmic sound against the stone floor.

Inside the cabin, Ye Chenxue sat perfectly upright on the cushioned bench. Her dark robes fell in clean, elegant folds around her, and her right hand rested lightly against her chest, right over the inner pocket where Lin Laifu’s wax-sealed letter lay secured next to her body.

They had barely traveled a few hundred yards from the high perimeter walls and iron gates of Lin Laifu’s estate when a subtle shift in the surrounding air caught her attention.

Ye Chenxue’s sharp spiritual sense instantly picked up the familiar, ghost-like signature lock onto their vehicle from behind. It was that same subtle, covert intent that had tracked them on their way to the estate earlier.

Inside the cabin, Ye Chenxue let out a long, quiet sigh. Her delicate brow furrowed slightly in genuine irritation. She deeply disliked the persistent, invasive sensation of being followed, as if she were prey being mapped out by hidden eyes in the dark despite being the obvious predator.

’Persistent insects,’ she thought, her eyes narrowing slightly in the moonlit interior of the carriage.

Rather than attempting to lose the tail through swift driving, or simply allowing these covert operatives to track their route all the way back to Lu Feng’s private compound, Ye Chenxue reached a swift decision. She was going to turn the tables. She would give them exactly what they were looking for and lure the stalker directly into a trap.

To keep the scout completely unsuspectful, she remained entirely motionless and said nothing to Old Ma at first. She allowed the carriage to maintain its normal, unhurried pace for over twenty minutes, slowly making its way out of the brightly lit, bustling commercial districts of central Crimson Vale.

The grand tea houses, crowded markets, and noisy wine taverns gradually gave way to quieter, residential border zones where the streets grew wider, darker, and significantly less populated.

Once the foot traffic outside had thinned down to a mere trickle of late-night pedestrians, Ye Chenxue leaned slightly toward the wooden partition dividing her from the driver.

"Old Ma, pull over up ahead near the curb," she called out through the wood, her voice smooth, casual, and completely devoid of tension. "I need to quickly step out and purchase something nearby. I will be back in less than ten minutes."

Up on the driver’s bench, Old Ma pulled gently on the leather reins, bringing the pair of spirit-bred horses to a clean stop alongside a shaded stone alcove. Although he had no idea what she could possibly need in this quiet, dimly lit section of the sector, the old veteran knew better than to question her.

"Take all the time you need, Lady Ye," Old Ma replied in his low, gravelly voice, leaning back on the bench and keeping his hands casually resting over the reins. "I’ll keep the rig right here."

Ye Chenxue pushed the carriage door open, stepping gracefully down onto the cool cobblestones. She adjusted the dark collar of her robe, pulled her aura inward, and completely suppressed her spiritual presence.

To any observer watching from the shadows, she looked like nothing more than an ordinary, defenseless young woman stepping away from her vehicle to attend to a brief, personal errand.

She turned on her heel, moving with unhurried, graceful strides back toward the mouth of a nearby side street.

She deliberately chose a narrow, winding alleyway that cut between two rows of tall, dark brick storehouses.

This particular lane was almost entirely deserted, devoid of lanterns or foot traffic, lit only by the pale, cold moonlight filtering down from above. It was an ideal, isolated location for an ambush—and as she anticipated, the tailing operative couldn’t resist such an obvious opening.

Ye Chenxue paused mid-step near a small opening where the alley connected to another quiet street.

She heard no footfall, but her heightened senses felt the subtle displacement of wind high above. However, what Ye Chenxue hadn’t entirely anticipated was the stalker’s sheer impatience.

Seeing that the target had stupidly separated herself from her carriage, her driver, and any main thoroughfares, the scout made a swift, arrogant calculation.

Believing she was an easy, vulnerable mark, the man decided to skip simple observation and capture her outright.

A dark silhouette detached itself from the edge of a high rooftop, dropping silently into the narrow alley directly behind her.

While the sudden, aggressive attack was somewhat unexpected, the speed and execution of the assault were downright laugh-inducing to someone of Ye Chenxue’s caliber.

Before the man’s outstretched fingers could come within six inches of her shoulder, her inner Qi flared instantly beneath her skin. Moving with fluid, ghostly precision, she didn’t even bother drawing her weapon. She sidestepped his forward rush so effortlessly that the man hit empty air, his momentum throwing him slightly off balance.

In that fraction of a second, Ye Chenxue struck.

She pivoted on her heel, driving a sharp, short-range palm strike directly into his solar plexus. The impact shattered his breath and sent a wave of icy, paralyzing Qi surging directly into his veins. Before he could even gasp or process the agony, Ye Chenxue followed up with a lightning-fast, backhanded chop to the side of his neck.

Thwack!

The entire encounter took less than two seconds. The scout’s eyes instantly rolled into the back of his head, his legs turning to jelly as he crumpled limply onto the cold cobblestones, thoroughly unconscious before his body even hit the ground.

Ye Chenxue looked down at the slumping, dark-clad operative with a cold, expressionless face. Without missing a beat or checking his pockets, she reached down, grabbed the heavy man by the collar of his uniform with one hand, and began casually dragging him back down the alleyway toward the parked carriage like a sack of grain.

Out on the street, Old Ma was sitting calmly on the driver’s bench, humming a quiet tune, when he heard heavy boots dragging against loose gravel. He turned his head and his jaw nearly hit his chest.

There was Ye Chenxue, looking as immaculate and serene as ever, strolling out of the pitch-black alley while effortlessly hauling a tall, muscular, unconscious man across the dirt.

Old Ma stood up on the bench, his eyes wide with absolute shock as his mouth opened to demand what on earth had just happened. "L-Lady Ye?! What in the world—"

Before he could utter another word, Ye Chenxue tossed the limp, unconscious scout onto the carpeted floorboards inside the carriage cabin, stepped up onto the wooden running board, and shot Old Ma an unreadable, decisive look.

"Drive," she commanded plainly.

Old Ma swallowed his mounting questions, snapped his mouth shut, and immediately grabbed his whip. "R-Right! Moving now!" He flicked the reins, and the carriage lurched forward, speeding away from the dark alleyway.

Inside the moving carriage, Ye Chenxue settled back into her seat, resting her boots inches away from the unconscious, bruised scout on the floorboards. She closed her eyes briefly, expanding her spiritual perception back out into the surrounding night air.

Sure enough, the second stalker the who had taken over the first shift halfway through their trip earlier, was still trailing them.

However, this second scout was clearly far more cautious and experienced than their foolish partner currently snoring on the floor. Having lost visual contact with the other scout during his ill-fated alley ambush, they had immediately grown suspicious that something had gone terribly wrong.

Instead of rushing in, they had dropped back several dozen meters further than before, tracking the carriage with extreme care from behind a row of storefront pillars.

Ye Chenxue opened her eyes, a faint, cold smile touching her lips. She leaned forward, pressing her lips close to the front wooden partition.

"Old Ma," she whispered softly through the wood, her voice carrying clear and sharp above the sound of rolling wheels. "Take a sudden, sharp left at the upcoming crossroad, then slam on the brakes and bring us to a complete stop right alongside the curb. We have another tail trailing us. I’ve already captured one; I might as well gather the set."

Up on the bench, Old Ma offered a grim, eager nod. "Got it, Lady Ye. Hold on inside!"

Further down the avenue, the second stalker, a female operative wrapped in lightweight, dark gear, watched the black-and-gold carriage execute a sharp, abrupt turn into a secondary street.

Alarmed that the vehicle might be taking an alternative route to slip away, the female scout hurried forward to close the distance. As she turned the corner, she pulled her dark cowl down over her shoulders, adjusted her posture, and intentionally slowed her stride, trying to look like a harmless, blind civilian wandering home in the moonlight.

She thought her performance was completely seamless, right up until the carriage suddenly ground to a hard halt directly alongside her on the curb.

Screeeeech!

The female scout froze dead in her tracks, her heart skipping a violent beat as her eyes widened in realization.

Before she could leap backward into the shadows, draw her hidden weapon, or unleash a escape smoke, the carriage door burst wide open.

A pale, ice-cold hand shot out from the dark cabin like a strike of blue lightning! It clamped around the female scout’s tunic collar with terrifying, unyielding strength, yanking her whole body violently off her feet and dragging her straight into the interior!

The grab was so fast, smooth, and absolute that the woman didn’t even get the chance to draw breath, let alone let out a scream for help.

Bang!

The carriage door slammed shut behind her, plunging the interior back into shadowy privacy.

The female scout tumbled roughly onto the leather cushioned bench, gasping for air as she scrambled backward to reach for her concealed weapon. But the moment her eyes adjusted to the dim interior light, the air froze solid in her lungs.

Sitting directly across from her was Ye Chenxue. Her expression was terrifyingly furious, looking precisely like a powerful, ice-cold master whose quiet afternoon nap had been rudely, repeatedly, and unforgivably interrupted by mindless insects.

A suffocating and frosty aura radiated off Ye Chenxue’s skin, dropping the temperature inside the carriage so low that the woman’s breath turned to white mist in the air.

Before the female scout could even comprehend the terrifying presence standing over her, her eyes drifted down to the floorboards.

There, sprawled out cold, bruised, and completely helpless, lay her senior partner.

Horror, absolute and overwhelming, seized the female scout. Her mouth opened wide, her throat expanding as she prepared to shriek at the absolute top of her lungs.

"If you so much as make a single sound," Ye Chenxue warned in an ice-cold, razor-sharp whisper that cut straight to the bone, her dark, frozen eyes locking onto the woman, "you will join your partner on the floor in complete unconsciousness."

The female scout swallowed hard, the sharp scream dying instantly in her throat. Looking at her battered, unconscious partner on the floorboards and feeling the unyielding, murderous cold radiating off Ye Chenxue, she realized with absolute certainty that this woman would not hesitate to break her neck where she sat.

Terrified of ending up unconscious—or far worse, dead—the female operative clamped her jaw shut so hard her teeth clicked. She pulled her knees tight against her chest, trembling violently, and shrank as far into the corner of the seat as physically possible.

For the remainder of the trip, she remained completely frozen, silent, and terrified, not daring to emit a single loud breath as the carriage rolled smoothly under the massive, pale moon, carrying them, the two captives, and Lin Laifu’s crucial reply straight back toward Lu Feng’s estate.