Chapter 25: Ambush

With the spring breeze boosting his spirits, Fu Zizhou waved his whip, the gloom of recent days vanished, and his star-like eyes sparkled with excitement. His graceful and tall figure made countless passersby stop in awe—men felt ashamed of themselves, while women stared at him, wishing they could dig out their eyes and place them on him.
Uncle Er had begun to hesitate.
Though he still refused, Fu Zizhou could tell this trip wasn’t in vain.
To be honest, Fu Zizhou held some disdain for Uncle Er, Fu Chunjian. A man of great learning, yet spending his days among commoners was behavior a true scholar would despise.
But he had to admit that Uncle Er indeed possessed extraordinary talent in governing, so much so that no one in the entire Great Han Kingdom could compare to him. If he could be persuaded to step in, in just a few years, his father could achieve achievements that would make all other government offices look insignificant. With a little maneuvering, and given the emperor’s advanced age and lack of courage to use harsh measures, returning to court wouldn’t be difficult.
“Liu Shun!”
As the city gates approached, Fu Zizhou turned to look at the scribe boy who was a horse’s length behind.
“Master, what instructions do you have?”
Liu Shun hurriedly urged his horse forward.
“After we return to the city, find out if Zhou Zhengye has any hobbies,” Fu Zizhou said.
“Mm!” Liu Shun nodded.
Fu Zizhou said no more. In his original calculations, Zhou Zhengye would surely be demoralized by this setback, but unexpectedly, the man proved resilient, recovering within days. That was why Fu Chunjian was hesitating.
Fu Zizhou believed that if he could drive Zhou Zhengye completely down, Fu Chunjian, who was already utterly disappointed in his favorite student, would surely lose heart. If he could also get the students of Qiushui Academy to complain more about not getting a spot for one of their scholars, Fu Chunjian would have no choice but to return to Qiufeng Mansion with him.
The two sped into Xilan City, drawing increasing attention along the way. Fu Zizhou wasn’t affected by this; the glances from commoners weren’t enough to fill him with vanity. But Liu Shun, though relying on his master’s prestige, seemed to be the center of attention himself. He waved his whip arrogantly and occasionally snapped at passersby to move aside.
As they reached Zhenglong Street, Fu Zizhou was thinking about how to make the students of Qiushui Academy resent Fu Chunjian when his horse suddenly neighed and plunged forward abruptly.
“Master…”

Seeing Fu Zizhou tumble down, Liu Shun was horrified and quickly pulled back on the reins. He was about to dismount to investigate when a sudden gust of wind blew past his ear. Before he could turn around, a severe pain struck his head, and he lost consciousness before falling off his horse.

Fu Zizhou staggered to his feet. In his line of sight appeared a pair of blue-black cloth shoes. His heart tightened as he tried to lift his head, but another blow hit him instantly. In a daze, he heard a voice that sounded somewhat like Wang Liuzhi, an employee at Lin’s Inn: “Move aside! I’m the son-in-law of the county magistrate. If anyone dares to report this, don’t blame me if I’m harsh with them.”

When he woke up again, Fu Zizhou felt a dull pain in his head. He tried to move, but his body seemed to be restrained by something. As his vision gradually cleared, the first thing he saw was a dirty, dead-end alley. Then… Fu Zizhou’s gaze froze, and he immediately snapped, “Shopkeeper Lin, what do you mean by this?”

Lin Dong crossed his legs and tapped his fingers on the stool rhythmically, unhurriedly. Fu Zizhou struggled desperately. Although he had learned some cultivation techniques, he was only just starting out and was even less skilled than Lin Dong. The rope, as thick as his thumb, tightened slightly with each struggle.

Struggling further was futile. Fu Zizhou slowly calmed down, his gaze sharp as a blade as he stared at Lin Dong. “Shopkeeper Lin, have you ever thought about the consequences of what you’re doing?”

“I just came to watch the excitement,” Lin Dong said indifferently.

Fu Zizhou sneered coldly, “Do you think this will allow you to distance yourself from your connections?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Lin Dong said nonchalantly. He really had come to watch the chaos. As a boss, he had to act like one. With Wang Liuzhi, Sanjiaoyan, and Liu Hao—all those hooligan employees around—it would be unreasonable for him to get involved.

“Let me go! Release me now…”

Meanwhile, Liu Shun, who was also tightly tied, woke up. He immediately started struggling and shouting loudly. This reminded Lin Dong of a classic saying: Keep shouting! Even if you shout your voice hoarse, no one will come to save you.

“Lin! So it’s you?” Liu Shun finally understood what was going on. He glared at Lin Dong, his small eyes blazing with anger. “Let me and the young master go right now, or you’ll regret it!”

Wang Liuzhi, Sanjiaoyan, and Liu Hao stepped forward, smirking as they struck their palms with wooden sticks.

“What… what do you want?” Liu Shun cried in terror. “Release us! Do you know who we are?”

Wang Liuzhi suddenly swung the wooden stick in his hand and slammed it hard at Liu Shun’s shoulder. With a thud, Liu Shun fell to the ground, his jaw hitting the ground, blood bubbles forming in his mouth.

“I… I remember you now. If you’ve got the guts, kill me. Otherwise, I’ll make sure you die a horrible death.”
“Pretty brave. Hope this can continue.”
Wang Liuze swung his stick again, causing Liu Shun to scream in pain. The man with the triangular eyes and Liu Hao also stopped watching idly; each found an open space and joined Wang Liuze to form a triangle, raining blows down on Liu Shun.
The screams kept coming one after another, sounding to Wang Liuze and the others as beautiful as music. At the entrance of the alley, the thin man with the bamboo pole and Zhang Ye glanced back from time to time, their eyes filled with envy.
“Save me! Sir, save me… Please, let me go. I won’t dare do it again… Please spare my life, sir…”
Liu Shun’s cries grew weaker, his once-strong voice gradually fading until all that remained were pleas for mercy as he writhed in pain.
Wang Liuze was the first to stop, and the two men with the triangular eyes also ceased attacking. Having spent years on the streets, they knew when to stop beating someone—going any further could result in death.
Liu Shun thought his pleas had worked. After spitting out a few blood bubbles, he finally managed to say weakly, “Th-thank you, sir, for sparing my life. Thank you.”
“Boring. He’s even weaker than the last one. At least the last one could hold out until my hands got sore.”
Wang Liuze spat at Liu Shun and turned his gaze to Fu Zizhou, who remained calm.
“I hope you can last a little longer, kid.”
Fu Zizhou smiled coldly. By now, he had fully regained his composure. Just a despicable shopkeeper and a bunch of violent henchmen—against ordinary people, maybe none of them could gain an advantage.
But was he ordinary?
Fu Zizhou believed that if he simply claimed any identity, these ants—no more than petty scoundrels—would be terrified.
Liu Shun hadn’t spoken while being beaten because Fu Zizhou needed a reason, a reason to kill these people. Kidnapping a prominent young man from a great nation might be enough to condemn them to death, but Fu Zizhou thought it wasn’t enough. His father had too many political enemies, and no secret could stay hidden forever. Someone might use this to damage his reputation. He didn’t want to be known as someone vengeful and narrow-minded.
Only if he was harmed would he give them an excuse.

His servant, who had followed him for over a decade, was beaten half to death. In a fit of anger, he killed them. If this became known, it wouldn’t give others an excuse to attack him; instead, it would earn him a reputation for caring for his subordinates. As Wang Liuzhi raised his wooden stick high, its blood-stained end glowing red, Fu Zizhou’s lips curled slightly. As the stick came down, he spoke in a calm voice, “I am a renowned figure in the capital!”