Snatching My Disciple and Accusing You of Abuse of Power

When Lord Gavin Lin finally reacted and rushed out with a large force of Bloodcloak Guards, he saw Serena Feng leading her own squad of escorts straight toward them. She looked every bit the arrogant young noble bringing her gang to snatch someone right out from under their noses. From her posture, it was clear Serena was here to take Simon Sun from the Bloodcloak Guard by force.

"Serena—Serena Feng, what do you think you're doing?" Lord Lin, though tempted to use her disruption as an excuse to arrest her, was also terrified of being blamed for lax security.

If Serena Feng managed to break Simon Sun out, he'd be in serious trouble—his colleagues were the type to kick a man when he was down. A flash of worry crossed Lord Lin's eyes, and he immediately regretted taking tonight's assignment.

What am I doing?

Serena Feng let out a cold laugh and glanced at Lord Lin, ignoring him completely. She waved to her escorts behind her: "Go. Find Young Master Simon Sun. If anyone tries to stop you, beat them—just don’t kill anyone. If you cripple them, Feng Manor will take care of it."

"Yes, ma'am." The reinforcements brought by Mira Tang and Jada Tang weren’t numerous, but their presence was nothing like the Bloodcloak Guards who spent their days loafing in the capital. These were hardened veterans—men who had traded blood for their futures on real battlefields.

"Serena Feng, you—you dare… you really dare…" Lord Lin was so frightened his face went pale and his hand shook uncontrollably. He’d thought this was his chance to claim credit, but he hadn’t expected Serena Feng to be so reckless.

"Lord Lin, why don’t you see for yourself whether I dare or not? Are you going to hand Simon Sun over, or not? If you give him up, we can still talk about tonight’s incident." Serena stood with her hands folded, radiating lethal authority. The Phoenix Empress Hairpin—bestowed by the late Emperor—sat in her hair, softening her edge just enough.

"Serena Feng, barging into the Bloodcloak Guard Dungeon and trying to snatch a suspect is a capital offense." Lord Lin and the Bloodcloak Guards retreated step by step as the Feng Manor escorts closed in.

"A suspect? Just because you say my disciple is a suspect, he’s a suspect? Do you have any evidence? Lord Lin, you accuse me of breaking into the Bloodcloak Guard Dungeon, but I haven’t even charged you yet for abusing your authority and unlawfully detaining an innocent citizen."

My disciple’s reputation in the capital is well known, and so is yours, Bloodcloak Guard. Anyone with eyes can see who’s right and who’s wrong here. You’re colluding with Shunning Marquis Manor to falsely accuse my disciple, and now you’re torturing him to force a confession. Lord Lin, just wait—at dawn I’ll file a complaint at the Court of Judicial Review and we’ll see who’s in the wrong.

Serena Feng pressed forward, voice sharp and commanding. Seeing her escorts still hesitating, she turned and snapped, "What are you standing around for? Move! If anything happens to Young Master Simon Sun, you’ll pay with your lives."

"Yes, ma’am, yes!" The Feng Manor escorts didn’t hesitate any longer. Gripping their swords and shields, they charged forward. If you looked closely, you’d see their blades weren’t even sharpened—they were blunt. A blow from these wouldn’t kill, only injure.

Inside the narrow corridor of the Bloodcloak Guard Dungeon, the Feng Manor escorts clashed with the Bloodcloak Guards. The guards had greater numbers, but in such a cramped space, numbers became a disadvantage—they kept hitting their own men by mistake.

The Bloodcloak Guard suffered heavy losses from this. Their long spears were useless in the corridor, getting jammed at every turn. The Feng Manor escorts raised their shields and smashed into the Bloodcloak Guards, then swung their blunt swords, striking the guards on the head with the flat of the blade.

Smack, smack—blow after blow rang out. Heads split open, hands broke, the Feng Manor escorts fought like wild beasts. They raised shields to block the Bloodcloak Guard’s spears, then, protected by their comrades, surged forward with their blades. As long as they didn’t use too much force, no one would die.

Serena Feng stood at the rear, coldly watching the chaos. The bloody scene unfolding before her didn’t affect her at all—she simply watched, eyes icy, as these men gambled their lives.

After waiting for ages, the Bloodcloak Guard still hadn’t summoned Lucan Lu. Serena Feng realized Simon Sun’s case was anything but simple—the longer Simon stayed in their hands, the greater the danger. If someone saw her return, they might even order Simon killed on the spot.

With Simon’s father and mother both gone, even if the capital’s nobles took his life, there wouldn’t be anyone left to speak for him.

That’s what it means to be a child with no parents to protect you. Just like she’d once been—even if her corpse lay in the street, no one would have claimed her.

The sounds of fighting echoed through the Bloodcloak Guard Dungeon. More and more Bloodcloak Guards poured in, surrounding Serena Feng’s group from all sides. Just then, a deafening explosion went off, sending shock and panic through the crowd.

"What was that sound?"

Before Lord Lin could finish speaking, another explosion echoed, followed by the crash of collapsing buildings.

"Thunder-blast grenades? It’s thunder-blast grenades!" someone shouted, catching the scent of gunpowder. Instantly, chaos erupted among the Bloodcloak Guards.

Thunder-blast grenades? There’s no way there are that many. Serena Feng’s lips curled in a mocking smile. Taking advantage of the chaos in the Bloodcloak Guard Dungeon, she signaled her escorts to withdraw.

As for snatching Simon Sun?

Was there even a need? He’d already been rescued.

The Bloodcloak Guards were terrified by the thunder-blast grenades. The Feng Manor escorts took the opportunity to withdraw. As long as they weren’t actively kidnapping anyone, the Bloodcloak Guard had no reason to stop them. Besides, after tonight, Serena Feng would definitely be charged with leading a mob to storm the Bloodcloak Guard Dungeon. Tomorrow, the authorities would come for her.

Many of the Feng Manor escorts were wounded, and Serena Feng led this battered group out of the Bloodcloak Guard Dungeon. To outsiders, it looked like she’d suffered a crushing defeat. But inside the carriage, Mira Tang and Jada Tang knew the truth: tonight’s battle was a complete victory, because—

Young Master Simon Sun was already inside the carriage.

That’s right—Mira Tang and Jada Tang were kneeling in the carriage, carefully tending to the blood-soaked Simon Sun. As Serena Feng approached the carriage, the driver, who’d kept his head down the whole time, suddenly spoke: "Serena Feng, remember you owe me another commission."

"Zane Shore? Why is it you?" Serena stopped in her tracks, momentarily forgetting to climb into the carriage.

Zane slowly raised his head, his glassy eyes meeting Serena’s. He asked with a puzzled look, "Why couldn’t it be me?"

"I didn’t hire you." She was sure she’d asked Mira Tang and Jada Tang to bring all of Feng Manor’s shadow guards, so why hadn’t they acted—and instead, this mercenary troublemaker had?

"I helped you rescue your man, and faked a thunder-blast grenade attack. Mission accomplished. What, you don’t want to pay me?" Zane’s eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint flashing within.

If Serena Feng dared say no, he’d turn hostile in a heartbeat.

"Fine, I’ll pay, I’ll pay—how much silver?" Serena realized that with Zane around, her life might be safe, but her wallet was doomed.

"Tell me how to make thunder-blast grenades." Zane didn’t want silver—if he wanted money, he’d just take assassination jobs and no one would stop him.

"I don’t know how." Serena refused without a second thought.

"Liar. If you didn’t know how, how did you use firecrackers to fake the smell of a thunder-blast grenade explosion?" Zane crossed his arms and blocked the carriage door, looking for all the world like a stubborn child throwing a tantrum—if she didn’t answer, he wouldn’t let her in.

He was acting exactly like a spoiled brat.

Serena Feng was speechless. What kind of disaster had she brought into her life this time…