I can only beat noobs.

Chapter 229 If anything were to happen to him...

"It should be right here."

Outside a narrow alley, five men dressed in the robes of officials from the Six Doors stopped and looked at the house at the very end of the alley.

The group consisted of four men and one woman, two of whom had blood on them.

The tallest man said, "Lord Gu lives in that house."

After he finished speaking, no one moved an inch; they stood there motionless.

The capable woman angrily retorted, "A bunch of cowards! If it weren't for Lord Gu stepping forward today and holding off those two third-rank experts, would we all be alive? Now that Lord Gu's whereabouts are unknown, you don't even dare to go to his family's door to inform them?"

These five men were Chen Ming's five subordinates. After escaping danger, they had searched everywhere for him but couldn't find him, and they thought he had met with some misfortune. So after leaving the Six Doors, they prepared to go to his home to tell his family what had happened.

Zhang Dingce said with a wry smile, "How could we forget Lord Gu's kindness? But I always feel that he will most likely be alright, so why make his family worry?"

Lei Chun sneered, "Don't think I don't know you're afraid of being scolded. Don't you think about it? With the government office in such a mess, who has the heart to look for Lord Gu? The only right thing to do is to tell his family as soon as possible and let them go find him. If you don't dare to go, I'll go myself."

After saying that, he stepped inside.

Deng Wei immediately followed, and the other three thought what she said made sense, so they caught up with her and said, "There's no reason for you to go alone. If Lord Gu's family comes after us, we'll all suffer together. Anyway, Lord Gu gave us our lives. We'll have no complaints even if we're beaten to death."

In aristocratic families, if a servant fails to protect his master and causes him to be in danger, the only recourse is to atone with his death.

The situation is similar in the Six Doors (a government agency). If a direct superior gets into trouble while the subordinate is still alive and well, that is a serious crime of dereliction of duty.

If Lord Gu's family were to investigate, how could they possibly be spared?
The five men braced themselves and went to the mansion. After knocking on the door and identifying themselves, they were invited inside. They were led to a courtyard where, through a gauze curtain, they met a woman.

"Gentlemen, what brings you here?" The woman's voice was very pleasant, and she sounded quite young, with the demeanor of a lady from a prominent family.

Lei Chun asked, "May I ask what the relationship is between Miss and Lord Gu?"

The woman behind the curtain said, "I am his... sister."

"So it's Miss Gu." Lei Chun said with a sorrowful expression, "Today, the Six Doors suffered a sudden incident. Several thieves broke into the prison. After a fierce battle with two third-rank thieves, Lord Gu went missing. It's likely that he was kidnapped by the thieves—"

Bang!

Something broke.

"What did you say?" the woman behind the curtain exclaimed in alarm. With a whoosh, the curtain was lifted, and the woman appeared before them in a flash.

The five men were stunned. What a stunningly beautiful woman she was, with unparalleled beauty that could captivate anyone's soul. Yet, at this moment, she was pale, breathing rapidly, and asked in a trembling voice, "Then...where did the thieves take him?"

Lei Chun felt a pang of regret, realizing that it was a sin to have caused such a beautiful woman to lose her composure.

She lowered her head in shame, "I don't know either..."

"When...did this happen?"

"One hour ago—"

The stunningly beautiful woman trembled, her face drained of color, and she almost lost her balance. A maidservant stepped forward to support her, then glared at them fiercely.

"Miss Xia, there's no need to worry. Lord Gu is a lucky man...he's blessed..."

By this point, Lei Chun knew exactly who the woman was.

With such beauty, she must be none other than the peerless beauty, Peony, the daughter of the leader of the Money Gang, who is listed on the list of most beautiful women. She is Lord Gu's wife.

Unexpectedly, she was so deeply in love with Lord Gu.

Rumors circulated that her beloved was the peerless young master, but now it seems that this was nothing but nonsense.

Lei Chun was even more heartbroken. Lord Gu had just married a beautiful wife, but now her whereabouts were unknown, and her fate was uncertain.

"Ugh."

She didn't know how to comfort Miss Xia.

The four men beside her didn't dare to say a word, for fear of offending the beauty.

"Qin'er, go... fetch my sword!"

At this moment, Xia Mudan struggled to stand up from the maid's arms and said anxiously.

Zhiqin pleaded, "Miss, you haven't recovered yet, you mustn't!"

Xia Mudan said softly, "I knew it. He must have paid a huge price to help me expel the sword intent from my body, which is why... he fell into enemy hands... I'm the one who harmed him..."

As she spoke, tears streamed down her face.

Zhiqin, standing to the side, shook her head frantically, tears streaming down her face, but she couldn't utter a word.

Xia Mudan wiped away her tears, her expression gradually calming down. "If anything happens to Brother Gu... I will not live on alone—"

Upon hearing this, Lei Chun was greatly shocked. Seeing her sorrowful expression and the resolute look in her eyes, she blurted out, "No, absolutely not! Even if Lord Gu were to be alright—and even if he were—Lord Gu would never want you to do such a foolish thing—"

After she finished speaking, she saw that Xia Mudan looked indifferent, and a strong sense of regret suddenly welled up in her heart. She shouldn't have come this time.

Xia Mudan simply repeated what she had just said, "Bring the sword." Zhiqin cried even harder, but dared not disobey her. She went into the house and took out the "Longyuan Sword."

After Xia Mudan took the sword, the peerless weapon emitted a buzzing sound, as if it sensed its master's will. The sound of the sword carried a sense of killing intent.

She said, "Let's go."

"How to do?"

Lei Chun and the other four exchanged glances, their eyes filled with anxiety. They were terrified that Miss Xia might not be able to find them and might have taken her own life, which would be an unforgivable sin on them.

The five people could only follow behind her.

Just as he stepped out of the courtyard, someone suddenly rushed in, shouting, "Young Master is back!"

Everyone subconsciously looked up and, sure enough, saw the tall and elegant Gu Xianyu coming from outside. They were all overjoyed, exclaiming, "My lord, you've finally returned!"

Thank God!

The five people were so excited they almost cried; they had been suffocating under the weight of their guilt. Now, the storm had finally passed.

Xia Mudan stood frozen in place, staring intently at the approaching figure. Her vision blurred instantly, and only one thought remained in her mind: May the Bodhisattva protect her!

I'm so glad he's alright.

Chen Ming walked over, looked at his five men, and nodded, saying, "I'm relieved to see you're all alright. But what are you doing at my house?"

The five of them looked at each other, all with embarrassed expressions.

Zhang Dingce was quick-witted and forcibly changed the subject, "Sir, where did you go? We thought you had been kidnapped by that thief, and we were very worried."

"I'll tell you more when I have the chance," Chen Ming said, glancing at the sky. "Since you're here, have some food before you leave."

"this--"

Lei Chun glanced at Xia Mudan subconsciously, feeling that he shouldn't stay; the master probably had a lot to say to his wife right now.

Chen Ming didn't give them a chance to refuse; he summoned the steward of the manor and made the arrangements.

Then, he looked at Xia Mudan standing behind him, nodded, and said, "I'm back."

Xia Mudan shifted slightly, then stopped, all her unspoken words condensing into one sentence: "It's good that you're back!"

……

"Have you noticed that there seems to be something strange between Lord Gu and Miss Xia?"

In the front hall, only the five subordinates remained. After the maid served tea, she withdrew. Seeing that no one was around, Liu Yan spoke softly.

The other four remained silent, a fact they could naturally discern.

Zhang Dingze rolled his eyes at him. "You're so stupid, you don't believe me. The master clearly returned a long time ago and even heard what Miss Xia said. He ran back to the gate and went back in. He even had the servants announce it loudly. You can't even tell?"

Liu Yan didn't believe it. "Why doesn't the lord just show himself? No one could remain unmoved after hearing such words. Sigh, if there were a woman who would be so devoted to me even in death, my life would be worthwhile."

Lei Chun also said, "Old Zhang, don't make wild guesses or say things that have no basis in fact."

“I’m not making this up. I heard it from the gatekeeper when I went to the outhouse.”

"Then, sir, why did you do that?"

“You don’t know this,” Zhang Dingze lowered his voice. “You know that I have a sworn brother who has been transferred to the capital. He wrote me a letter a couple of days ago, mentioning Lord Gu. Apparently, our Lord Gu has already fallen for someone, and because of this, he has rejected a marriage arranged for him by his family. She is the daughter of a prince.”

Liu Yan exclaimed in surprise, "Is that really true?"

Zhang Dingze said, "It's absolutely true. Otherwise, how could you think that someone with your exceptional talent, which is rare in the world, would be exiled to Xiazhou City? It's all to give that prince an explanation."

"boom!"

Suddenly, Lei Chun slammed her hand on the table, startling the four men. She said indignantly, "What about Miss Xia? She is so devoted to you, sir. Are you going to be a heartless man?"

All four of them were taken aback and wished they could rush up and cover her mouth.

Zhang Dingce said urgently, "Be careful what you say. This is an official's private matter. How can you or I have any say in front of the official? You must not say this in front of the official."

"What are you saying in front of me?"

Unfortunately, Lord Gu's voice came from outside the door, startling all five people present into a cold sweat.

Lord Gu walked in with a smile. "What, are you here to complain to me?"

Fearing that Lei Chun might blurt things out without thinking, Zhang Dingce quickly interjected, "Sir, we are guilty."

"What's the crime?"

"We thought you had been kidnapped by that thief, and we were worried about your safety, so we came to your residence to tell Miss Xia about your disappearance. She was so anxious that she may have aggravated her old injury. This is all our fault, and we beg you to punish us, sir."

(End of this chapter)