Chapter:31Thud!

Xu Yi landed hard. A flash of steel – his dagger plunged deep into the skull of the wolf mauling the agent’s arm. Without pausing to retrieve it, he snatched the fallen agent’s sword and drove it brutally into the neck of the wolf attacking the man’s leg.

He yanked his dagger free, spared not a glance for the man he’d just saved, and sprinted for the trees.

He hadn’t gone ten paces when a massive wolf, easily twice the size of the others, exploded from the undergrowth beside him. Xu Yi had no time to react. It slammed into him, knocking him flat.

The Alpha.

The Alpha’s jaws, filled with dagger-like teeth, clamped onto Xu Yi’s back. It jerked its head violently, tearing the pack from his shoulders. Silver coins scattered across the ground like hail. The force sent Xu Yi tumbling.

The Alpha pounced again, its massive forepaws pinning Xu Yi’s chest. Its maw opened wide, aiming straight for his throat.

Desperate, Xu Yi threw his arms up, grabbing the beast’s thick neck with all his strength, holding the snapping jaws at bay. His right hand, still clutching the dagger, stabbed wildly upwards into the beast’s underbelly.

Warm, foul-smelling blood gushed over his face, blinding him. Ignoring everything else, Xu Yi kept stabbing, driven by pure survival instinct.

“It’s dead.”

The voice cut through his frenzy. Only then did Xu Yi register the heavy stillness of the Alpha on top of him.

He wiped the blood from his eyes with his sleeve, gasping for breath… a bitter smile twisting his lips.

The Imperial Agents had finished off the remaining wolves and now stood around him. One of them hauled the massive Alpha carcass off Xu Yi’s chest.

Xu Yi looked up at them, his smile bleak. He knew escape was impossible.

After catching his breath, he sat up, looking at the scattered silver coins. “Take the silver. All of it. Let me go?”

The Captain shook his head. “The Emperor’s command is paramount.”

“I just saved your man!” Xu Yi gestured towards the injured ag

The Captain nodded curtly. “Apologies.” He signaled another agent.

The man produced manacles and leg irons from his gear.

Xu Yi silently held out his wrists. The agent clamped the manacles on. But when he moved to apply the leg irons, the Captain stopped him with a gesture.

“Lan Xing,” the Captain said, using Xu Yi’s alias, “we’ll forgo the irons. Do not make us regret it.”

Xu Yi offered no reply, his expression grim.

The Captain ordered two agents to find their scattered horses. The well-trained mounts hadn’t gone far.

While they waited, the agents gathered the spilled silver coins and confiscated Xu Yi’s dagger. The agent Xu Yi had saved from the wolves had his wounds treated; they weren’t life-threatening. He limped over to Xu Yi.

“Back there… thank you,” he said, his voice tight with pain and sincerity.

Xu Yi raised his manacled wrists, a bitter edge to his voice. “Quite the way to show gratitude.”

The agent flushed with shame. “I’m sorry. We’re following orders.” He hesitated. “Lan Xing… the Emperor’s will cannot be opposed. But you saved my life. I am indebted. If… if there’s anything you need done… unfinished business… tell me. I’ll see it done.”

Xu Yi was silent for a long moment. “A decent meal before the end? That shouldn’t be too much trouble?”

“No! No trouble at all…” The agent quickly opened his own pack, pulling out travel rations and handing them to Xu Yi, followed by a waterskin.

The Captain walked over. “Lan Xing, what exactly did you do? You saved my man. Perhaps… I can pull some strings. Get the sentence commuted?” They had orders only to capture ‘Lan Xing’, not the specifics of his crime.

Xu Yi gave a hollow laugh. “Every child in the capital knows: no one walks out of the Imperial Investigation Bureau alive.”

“There are ways. Perhaps we can help.”

Xu Yi shook his head. “You can’t. I took the Fifth Prince hostage. And I beat him senseless. Can you help with that?”

The agents stared, stunned. Taking a royal prince hostage and assaulting him? That was a crime punishable by extermination of one’s entire clan. A heavy silence fell over the group. Matters involving the Imperial family, especially a prince, were beyond even their formidable Captain, Geng Jing. No one could save him.

Xu Yi ate the rations in silence. He knew it was truly over. He hadn’t even lasted three months in this world. Wonder if I’ll get another shot at this ‘transmigration’ thing after this?

The missing horses were soon rounded up. The agents mounted, taking Xu Yi with them back towards the capital.

By that afternoon, Xu Yi was delivered to the Imperial Investigation Bureau and thrown into a cell. His life was now on a short, grim countdown.

Strangely, he felt no fear. Maybe dying once already numbed you to it. His mind even drifted to schemes – how to drag Xu Ziming and his family down with him? A man who abandoned his wife and child, calling him ‘scum’ was too kind; he was lower than vermin. Taking a few such villains down with him might just make this whole transmigration ordeal worthwhile.

Emperor Jing’s face was grim, etched with worry. Beside him stood the Crown Prince and Old General Chen. The General wore a similarly troubled expression. He’d only learned the previous night, from Qi Yuanzhong, that Xu Yi had taken a warhorse. That’s when he realized something terrible had happened.

The Crown Prince kept his head bowed, silent. He’d just endured another scolding from the Emperor – his third since yesterday. He was used to it.

A young eunuch entered silently on soft soles, knelt, and announced, “Your Majesty, Lord Geng requests an audience!”

Lord Geng was Geng Jing.

“Admit him,” Emperor Jing ordered immediately.

The eunuch withdrew, returning moments later with Geng Jing. The tall man, clad in his purple scale armor, began to kneel in formal greeting, but the Emperor cut him off. “Formalities later! Did you find him?”

Geng Jing, who had been investigating the ‘Black Yama’ affair under Imperial orders, knew Xu Yi’s true identity. He was intensely curious – why was the Emperor so concerned about the fourth son of the Minister of Rites, Xu Ziming, a boy seemingly despised by his own father?

“Your Majesty, the target has been apprehended,” Geng Jing reported. “As per Your Majesty’s instruction, Xu Yi is now secured within the Bureau’s dungeons.”

A flicker of relief crossed the Emperor’s face. “Good. Very good… The boy is unharmed?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Xu Yi is well. In fact…” Geng Jing paused, “he saved one of my men.”

“Oh? Explain.”

Geng Jing recounted the encounter with the wolf pack.

As the tale unfolded, Emperor Jing’s expression transformed. A broad, genuine smile spread across his face. “Foolish boy! Running for his life and he stops to play the hero? Didn’t spare a thought for himself!” He chuckled, shaking his head. “This lad… he constantly surprises me. Ha!”

The others exchanged stunned glances. Emperor Jing was famously impassive. Such open laughter was rare. And the tone… it was filled with unmistakable fondness and approval for Xu Yi.

The Crown Prince felt a sharp pang of jealousy. Who’s the real Imperial son here?

“Geng Jing,” the Emperor continued, “let him stew in that cell for now. Leave him be… but see that he wants for nothing. Not a hair on his head is to be harmed, or I’ll hold you accountable. Understood?”

Geng Jing was bewildered but dared not question. “Your Majesty’s command is my duty!”

Old General Chen was utterly lost. Xu Yi? Who is Xu Yi? Weren’t we talking about Lan Xing? Has the Emperor forgotten about Lan Xing? Fear for Lan Xing’s safety choked him, but interrupting the Emperor was unthinkable. Beads of sweat formed on his brow.