Chapter 18: The Madman

“Yi’er!”
“Xue Ru!”

Hearing Ding Sansi’s furious shout, Xia Wanwan and Zhu Yu suddenly realized that Chen Yi and Lin Xueru had been abducted and were struck with terror.

However, the old man selling sweet soup grinned at them, his two half-missing front teeth contrasting with his dark, aged face, evoking an inexplicable sense of unease.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, they’re all treasures, worth a fortune, hehe…”

With that, he twisted his body and, like a ghost, slipped past several guards, running off with a black sack on his back.

Seeing this, Xia Wanwan cried out for Yi’er and fainted to the ground.

Zhu Yu quickly steadied her, pale-faced but forcing herself to say, “Quick, go after them!”

“And inform the Marquis of Wu’an’s residence, the Duke of Xing’s mansion, and send word to the Black Armored Guards and the City Garrison. He must not escape!”

The guards understood the urgency and, without waiting for formalities, swiftly dispersed to act.

Before all this, Ding Sansi had already recklessly given chase.

But as the distance between them grew, his heart sank heavier and heavier.

He couldn’t catch up.

With his cultivation at the Sixth Grade Return Origin Realm, he simply couldn’t keep pace with that strange old man.

Though his movements seemed slow, the old man could appear dozens of meters away in the blink of an eye.

His speed and agility were terrifying!

“You can’t run away!!”

“Catch me, catch me, and I’ll let you hehe…”

Damn it!

Chen Yi cursed under his breath, holding the unconscious Lin Xueru as he pondered their options.

Judging by Ding Sansi’s cultivation, the old man who abducted them was no weakling.

At least Sixth Grade Return Origin Realm, possibly even Fifth Grade Pill Grasping Realm.

And his speed was incredibly fast.

This was evident from how within merely ten breaths, the noisy clamor of Baohua Street faded away.

With this assessment, Chen Yi frowned slightly.

Though his post-Foundation Building body possessed the strength of three swords, he could at best kill a Seventh Grade Transformation Origin Realm martial artist.

Facing someone with higher cultivation and faster speed at Sixth Grade, it would be difficult to resist.

With this in mind, Chen Yi made a decision, gripping his small jade sword and concentrating to listen for any sounds outside.

“Let’s go quickly, the Baohua Street Lantern Festival has already begun.”

“Brother Ge, today we won’t get drunk and leave!”

“This place isn’t far from the Kyoto Academy, young masters…”

Baohua Street, Wangjiang Tower, Kyoto Academy…

Chen Yi rapidly reviewed the topographical map of Kyoto Prefecture in his mind, confirming their current location—Changle Ward.

Situated in the southeast of Kyoto Prefecture, near the eastern city wall of Outer Dun City.

“He intends to leave the city?”

Chen Yi furrowed his brow.

To abduct them on Baohua Street, one only needed to choose the right moment; a Sixth Grade Return Origin Realm martial artist could manage that.

But to break through city defenses and escape, it would require at least a Fourth Grade Spirit Aperture Realm, unless someone allowed passage.

Not long after, several shouts rang out.

“Who dares to break into Kyoto Prefecture at night!?”

“Stop immediately, or we’ll shoot…”

“Pursue!”

“Do you think you can catch me? Hahaha…”

Fourth Grade!

Chen Yi’s heart sank; this was the outcome he dreaded most.

After a moment of distraction, he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

Recalling the old man’s words during the abduction, Chen Yi knew they were safe for the time being.

“Words like 'great harvest' and 'treasures' indicate both Xueru and I are valuable.”

“Something valuable isn’t killed lightly.”

“There’s still a chance!”

Chen Yi steadied himself, unwilling to give up.

Then he feigned unconsciousness, silently memorizing the path based on the sway of his body.

…

By now, Kyoto Prefecture was in an uproar.

Even Wei Huang, residing within the imperial city, had learned of Chen Yi and Lin Xueru’s capture and nearly executed the Black Armored Guard responsible for patrolling Baohua Street on the spot.

He immediately ordered the Imperial Guard and Night Watch to pursue and ensure the safe return of the captives.

Meanwhile, at the Marquis of Wu’an’s residence.

“Yi’er…”

Xia Wanwan was nearly a tearful wreck, weakly collapsing into Zhu Yu’s arms.

Only the old Madam Chen and a few female family members were present, with even Zhou Wanyi coming over, her belly swollen with child.

“Wanwan, my husband has already set out. Yi’er and Xueru will be fine.” Zhu Yu fought back tears as she comforted her.

“Yes, Second Uncle and Third Uncle have already taken people in pursuit. Believe that Yi’er, blessed with great fortune, will be safe.” Zhou Wanyi echoed.

“He’s still so young. What if he doesn’t come back?”

Madam Chen’s face was grave as she spoke sternly, “No matter if they chase to the ends of the earth, our Chen family will never let him go!”

At that moment, a guard hurried in with news.

“Madam, we have received word from the City Garrison: those who abducted Young Master Yi have already left Kyoto Prefecture.”

Xia Wanwan clutched her chest again, eyes brimming with tears, struggling to breathe.

“Second Madam!?”

“Where is the healer?”

Seeing the chaos in the hall, Zhou Wanyi was helped to her feet by maids, speaking with a complicated expression:

“Grandmother, please take care of Sister Wanwan. I’m going to beg Grandfather to intervene!”

Saying so, she ordered preparations for a carriage and headed outside.

…

After an unknown length of time, when the outside had fallen silent, Chen Yi felt the body stop moving.

He knew the old man had halted and tightened his hold on Lin Xueru, maintaining the appearance of deep sleep.

“Come out, time to collect the goods!”

At that moment, the mad old man shouted.

Soon, a distant hoarse and low voice replied.

“The money is under the third tree to your left.”

The old man grinned, went over to find the money pouch, weighed it, then frowned and cursed:

“Damn bastard, not enough money, not enough!”

“Crazy old man, you want to rob forcibly?” the voice said with dissatisfaction.

“No, no, I’m a man of rules,”

The old man opened the bag and pointed at the two children, Chen Yi and Lin Xueru, saying, “This boy is worth five hundred, the girl one thousand.”

“Girl?”

The voice hesitated, silent for a few seconds, as if assessing.

Then cursed loudly, “Crazy old man, who told you to kidnap that girl?!”

The old man looked at Lin Xueru, blinking his slanted eyes, “She looks handsome and has guards; I thought she might be worth something.”

“If you don’t want her, then kill her…”

“Wait,” the voice shouted in frustration from afar, “Fine, one thousand gold coins, I’ll buy her!”

“Should have said so earlier, take the money.”

Footsteps followed, then quickly faded away like the wind.

“Got the money, hehe… now I can buy wine. Grandpa doesn’t care if tomorrow is life or death…”

Hearing the old man leave, Chen Yi breathed a sigh of relief.

With a Fourth Grade Spirit Aperture Realm cultivator present, even with his three-sword strength, escape would have been impossible.

He just hoped the rest weren’t as strong.

At that moment, Chen Yi suddenly saw the glowing screen emerge from the darkness before his eyes.

[At thirty-two years old, your swordsmanship had reached a minor accomplishment, but you were sold to human traffickers.]

[Unbelievable fate, +2 counterattack points.]

Human traffickers?

Reading this, Chen Yi’s eyelids twitched and he clenched his teeth fiercely.

Damn it, that old man is doomed!

He said it!