Heavenly Dao Engine
Chapter 977 - 977 0584 Kidnapping in the Street 1_2

Chapter 977: Chapter 0584: Kidnapping in the Street 1_2 Chapter 977: Chapter 0584: Kidnapping in the Street 1_2 Qi Tian looked up at Jianwu Palace, just a street away from the Prince Manor, and then at the serious expression on Su Jinghan’s face, and said, “Eunuch, is it really that dangerous?”

The corners of Su Jinghan’s mouth curled into a cold smile as he said, “It’s not just dangerous, it’s downright a dangerous place. If you’re not careful, you might be swallowed up so completely that not even your bones will remain. Master Qi, I’ve warned you about all that I should. Whether you heed my advice is entirely up to you. It’s all in your hands.”

Having said this, Su Jinghan flicked his whisk and resumed his air of nonchalance, his steps light as he descended the stairs in front of Prince Manor and set foot on the street outside.

The street between Zhao Shibo’s Prince Manor and Jianwu Palace was only a street away. This main street, running east to west, spanned the entire Eastern Capital City. Perhaps as a gesture of respect for each Prince, the street was divided into six segments, each bearing a different name. The part that lay between Prince Zhao Shibo’s Prince Manor and Jianwu Palace was called Jianwu Street. It stretched roughly 300 meters from east to west and was about twenty meters wide from north to south.

The entrance of Prince Manor faced west; upon leaving the Prince Manor, one would first need to head north along the street before reaching Jianwu Street. After reaching Jianwu Street, one would turn east and cross about 150 meters over the street before finally arriving at the gates of Jianwu Palace. The entire journey was roughly 500 meters.

Seeing Su Jinghan speaking so seriously, Qi Tian didn’t know how much of what he said was an exaggeration, but he believed there must be some truth to it. Considering his own safety, Qi Tian dared not take it lightly. He quickly followed Su Jinghan’s instructions, mimicking his steps and keeping a distance of about one step behind him.

As Qi Tian took a few steps onto the street, he noticed something was off. When he came to the Prince Manor last night, despite the late hour, the street was still bustling with people coming and going, and there was constant traffic. But now, the street was eerily quiet, barely anyone in sight – it was very strange.

Almost subconsciously, Qi Tian activated the Heavenly Dao Engine, using its ability to detect Spirit Qi to scan the surroundings for miles around. Very soon, Qi Tian noticed several areas with extremely intense fluctuations in Spirit Force. Each spot was about the same as Su Jinghan, or even a little stronger in one specific area, than the Spirit Force emanating from Su Jinghan.

Qi Tian couldn’t help but shudder. Last night when he came to the Prince Manor, he had used a similar method to check the surroundings, but he hadn’t detected anything unusual. Only a few hours had passed, and there had been significant changes. He even began to suspect that these changes were aimed specifically at him. If they weren’t aimed at him, why would they occur? And why would Su Jinghan have sternly warned him?

The more Qi Tian thought about it, the more alarmed he became. His hand clenched tighter, his palm began to sweat, and his fingers almost subconsciously rubbed the Wuhang Ring. To be on the safe side, Qi Tian transferred some items into the ring, including the Wolf Teeth Knife and the Gold Core Thunder Talisman. He didn’t know if these could help him when he encountered danger, whether they would work to fend off attacks from others.

In the blink of an eye, Su Jinghan had led Qi Tian nearly a hundred meters away from Prince Manor. A few dozen more meters, and they would step onto Jianwu Street. Just at that moment, several figures emerged from the shadows, stepping out and strategically blocking Su Jinghan’s path, halting his advance.

The person standing at the forefront of these individuals was also an eunuch, dressed in the same eunuch attire as Su Jinghan and holding a whisk in his hand, indicating that he, too, was a Chief Guard.

This Chief Guard named Li Mijia did not serve Emperor Jianwu, but another prince with seniority even greater than Emperor Jianwu’s—the Huoyang Emperor. This time, he had come upon the Huoyang Emperor’s orders to block Su Jinghan’s path.

“Eunuch Su, what are you up to so early in the morning?” asked the Chief Guard who blocked the way, with a smile that was anything but sincere.

Su Jinghan hesitated briefly and said, “We servants are all destined to toil away. Just this morning, the Prince ordered me to bring a young fellow into the palace for an audience. Old Li, you and I haven’t sat down together for a good chat over tea in quite a while. I’ll definitely invite you for tea when I’m free; I’ll take out the tribute tea bestowed by the Prince, and we can appreciate it together, what do you say? You’ll have to give me this face. Anyway, I won’t keep you any longer, I need to rush back to the palace to report. Otherwise, if the Prince blames us, neither of us can bear it.”

As he spoke, Su Jinghan tried to push his way forward, but Li Mijia simply smiled and did not move out of the way. A gentle aura suddenly rose from his body, blocking Su Jinghan’s path, and Su Jinghan ran headfirst into it.

Li Mijia had no intention of harming Su Jinghan, so when Su Jinghan collided with him, it was as if hitting a soft wall—there was no injury, only a force of repulsion that made Su Jinghan stagger two steps back.

Su Jinghan’s face darkened immediately. Staring at Li Mijia, he said, “Old Li, we have known each other for many years. You should understand my character. I never dare to neglect the tasks the Prince entrusts to me; I always strive to fulfill them with all my might. Are you sure that you really want to stop me?”

Li Mijia chuckled and said, “Eunuch Su, you’re taking it too seriously. With the years of brotherhood between us, how could I mess up your good deeds? It’s just that I, too, have received the Prince’s orders, and I wish to invite the young gentleman behind you to come with me to Huoyang Palace for an audience with my Prince. Once the Prince has seen him, I will personally escort him to Jianwu Palace. How does that sound?”

Su Jinghan’s expression became more unsightly as he said, “Old Li, there should still be order in how things are done, just like when inviting guests. Let alone the fact that I was the first to invite Master Qi on the Prince’s orders, even without this occasion, don’t forget that Master Qi has already accepted Prince’s invitation, has taken up residence in the Prince Manor, and has become a revered guest there. According to the agreement reached among the Princes, Master Qi is now one of our own; whatever he does, he needs to consider our interests first, just like now. When both Princes summon him at the same time, he should see my Prince first instead of running off to some Huoyang Palace.”

Li Mijia said, “You make a good point. However, just like you, I must fulfill the Prince’s orders, even if it means risking my life. I don’t care about the agreement between the Princes; all I know is that now that the Prince has given his orders, I, as a servant, have to do my utmost to execute them. So please forgive me.”

Perhaps Li Mijia had already arranged it beforehand—no sooner had he finished speaking than the people he brought with him flanked Su Jinghan from both sides and pounced toward Qi Tian who was close behind him.

The men Li Mijia brought were all no pushovers, each of them a strong warrior in the Gold Core Realm, and not a single one was at the early stage; they were all at the mid-stage of the Gold Core Realm. Each of their strengths was no less than that of Zhao Haiying, extremely formidable. To pick any one of them for a one-on-one fight with Qi Tian, it would be quite a struggle for Qi Tian to win, and a moment of carelessness could even lead to defeat. But now several of them were acting together against Qi Tian, which showed not only the importance they placed on him but also the determination they had to secure him.