Zhang Dayong followed the voice and saw a tall man with a scar on his left face approaching with several shadow guards.
His heart sank as he swiftly sprang up from the small stool, dropping to one knee with a thud.
“Sub-sub… subordinate pays respects to the Director!”
The surrounding shadow guards immediately followed suit, kneeling in unison.
Shen Yue merely lifted her eyelids without rising, continuing to pick at her bowl with chopsticks.
The Second Division’s meals were getting worse—hardly any meat to be found.
Black boots gradually approached and stopped before her.
“Did you not learn the rules when you first joined the Shadow Guard Bureau?”
“Of course I did. Article 22 of the Shadow Guard Code states that kneeling is not required during meals or sleep when encountering ranks below Captain of the Guard. I wasn’t aware the Director had been promoted to Captain?” Shen Yue smirked, meeting Qiao Er’s gaze directly.
“You!”
Qiao Er hadn’t expected such open defiance. Fury burned in his eyes, but with all the shadow guards watching, he suppressed his anger and growled, “Come receive your punishment!”
He turned and stormed off, but when Shen Yue didn’t follow, he frowned and looked back.
Not only had she not risen, she was now taking two more bites of communal pot stew with her steamed bun.
The shadow guards exchanged astonished looks.
Zhang Dayong trembled with fear. In his three years at the Shadow Guard Bureau, he’d never seen anyone dare oppose the Director.
Qiao Er’s face had turned as dark as a pot bottom. Drawing his ornamental sword, he strode rapidly toward Shen Yue.
His stance suggested he intended to cut her down on the spot.
Zhang Dayong’s heart lurched!
Summoning unexpected courage, he quickly stood and grabbed Qiao Er’s wrist.
“Director, please be magnanimous. Why bother with a junior? Especially with all the brothers watching…”
“Are you telling me how to do my job?”
A dangerous glint flashed in Qiao Er’s eyes as he kicked Zhang Dayong flying two meters away.
Zhang Dayong grunted, tumbling across the ground before vomiting a mouthful of blood.
The previously active chopsticks suddenly stilled.
Shen Yue looked up, her eyes colder than anyone had ever seen.
Qiao Er snorted, his downturned mouth curling with unmistakable contempt:
“Oh, angry? Got the guts to face this Director—”
Before he could finish, the slender figure at the table had already risen, moving like wind to stand before him, launching a fierce kick!
Boom—!
The kick was swift and brutal. Before Qiao Er could react, he was sent flying, crashing heavily five meters away.
He slid another two meters after landing, only stopping when he slammed into a table leg with a thud.
Those brief seconds left the entire Second Division of shadow guards stunned!
Never mind whether they could instantly close in on the Second Division Director and take him down—even if they had the ability, they wouldn’t dare.
The reason? Qiao Er held deep grudges. Even minor disrespect would guarantee fatal retaliation later.
So while they felt shock and confusion witnessing this scene, what dominated was exhilaration!
Of course, they couldn’t show it.
Not only could they not show it, they had to grovelingly help him up.
Qiao Er rose, glaring at his disheveled Director’s uniform with murderous intent: “Shen…”
The moment he opened his mouth, a front tooth was spat out with his breath and landed lightly on the ground.
Everyone thought, well, that’s it—the feud between these two is officially sealed.
Zhang Dayong forgot about the pain in his chest, staring worriedly at Shen Yue while mentally calculating which shop in the market offered the best value for ingot candles.
“Shen Yue, wha’ do you mean by ‘is? Plannin’ a rebellyun?”
With fresh scratches on his face and a missing front tooth that made his speech slurred, Qiao Er had completely lost his earlier imposing demeanor.
“Rebellion is out of the question, but a challenge is certainly possible.”
According to the Shadow Guard Bureau’s rules, subordinates could challenge their superiors, and the winner would take their position.
“Fine… fine…”
Qiao Er never expected the Second Division to harbor such a wolf cub and was about to accept the challenge when a shadow guard rushed in from afar to report:
“The front courtyard is under attack! By Prince Cheng’s order, the entire Second Division must mobilize to assist the Third Division in capturing the assassins!”
Qiao Er froze for a second before roaring, “Wha’ are you all shtandin’ ’round for? Move!”
The shadow guards responded in unison, drawing their ornamental swords and surging toward the front courtyard like a dark tide.
Shen Yue blended into the crowd, the corners of her lips curling almost imperceptibly.
Finally.
Any later and she would’ve had to actually duel that disgusting Qiao Er.
With over a hundred shadow guards from the Third Division on night duty still requiring backup, the attackers must be numerous.
The Netherworld Hall’s branch in Sifang City had nearly four hundred members—had they all been deployed?
In the front courtyard, shadow guards moved like lightning, swiftly joining the fray.
Shen Yue was equally fast, slipping into a hidden corner in the blink of an eye.
The rustle of footsteps grew incessant as rows of masked black-clad figures dropped from the walls.
Soon, the clashing of weapons mingled with screams.
Judging by their techniques, these were indeed Netherworld Hall assassins.
The Hall’s first rule: Traitors must be eliminated at all costs!
So their target wasn’t Prince Cheng—it was her.
Since they’d come all this way, she might as well make good use of them.
Shen Yue smirked, darting into the crowd.
Everyone saw a shadow flicker past, drawing hordes of black-clad people toward Qiao Er.
Qiao Er’s face paled in panic. Without thinking, he raised his sword to meet them.
While the shadow guards clashed noisily with the assassins, Shen Yue had long shaken off her pursuers, settling into some bushes. She pulled a handful of melon seeds from her pocket and began watching the spectacle with relish.
The Third Division guards on the left fought skillfully, each taking on two opponents.
The Second Division on the right held their own too—that lad Bai Yunfei swept through three enemies with a single move.
As for the front…
Not far ahead, the main house’s door had opened unnoticed.
A man in a black python robe, his hair crowned with jade, stood before the entrance, his eyes chillingly indifferent.
Xiao Yuheng, Prince Cheng—the emperor’s seventeenth brother, the crown prince’s youngest uncle, and Sifang City’s sole ruler.
Over the past three months, Shen Yue had seen him many times, yet she still couldn’t help swallowing hard.
Damn, he’s handsome!
The man stood nearly 1.9 meters tall, his posture straight as bamboo, his ink-black hair smooth as satin. His sharply defined face seemed carved from jade, with dark brows, phoenix eyes, a straight nose, and thin lips—beautiful to the point of bewitchment.
His guard captain, Changfeng, unwilling to let his master stand for long, thoughtfully brought a chair and small table, while the head maid Baozhu served hot tea.
Xiao Yuheng made no attempt at courtesy, sitting down directly to sip tea while observing.
Shen Yue across from him couldn’t help rolling her eyes at the sight—these bosses really loved putting on airs.
“The people this time aren’t from the same group as before.”
Xiao Yuheng spoke softly, his voice clear and mellow like a mountain stream in a secluded valley, or like jade pendants chiming against a spring.
In Shen Yue’s words, somewhat sexy.
Changfeng nodded: “Understood, Your Highness. This subordinate will immediately order them to take prisoners.”
Just as he turned to give the command, a distant assassin suddenly shouted: “Found him! Forty-Nine is here!”