Chapter 60 Capture

The Empress arrived in haste and departed in equal haste, departing without even crossing paths with the Empress Dowager.

Although one held the title of Empress Dowager and the other of Empress, placing them a generation apart, they were in reality only a single year apart in age. How could the Empress possibly not understand Hua Ruxue?

Watching the Empress truly leave without a backward glance, Hua Ruxue stared blankly at her retreating figure.

"Yuanchun, did Your Majesty understand?"

"Rest assured, Your Empress Dowager, Her Majesty naturally understood!"

Only after the Empress's figure disappeared from view did Hua Ruxue lie back down on her recliner.

Yuanchun hurriedly took two steps forward, draping a thick blanket over Hua Ruxue while murmuring, "Your Empress Dowager, it is so cold outside. We should return indoors!"

"Inside the room, I feel like a walking corpse. It is much better outside; here, I can feel that I am still alive!"

Though she did not fully grasp the Empress Dowager's words, Yuanchun did her utmost to tuck the blanket in securely, ensuring the brazier beside the recliner burned at its hottest.

Within the stronghold of the Golden Feather Gang, after their previous fierce battle with the Fierce Tiger Gang, both sides had suffered casualties and disrupted the order of the Eastern District, leading to a thorough disciplining by the local yamen that finally forced them to behave.

When Gao Wu accompanied the three women to this place, he suddenly remembered that there was still an unresolved murder case.

Wondering how Zhao Feifei was faring, he pondered whether she was still pestering Brother Feng.

A sudden thought struck Gao Wu: could Brother Feng keeping a courtesan outside and getting caught by his wife have anything to do with Zhao Feifei?

"What are you thinking about?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I drifted off!" Roused by Yingbao's reminder, Gao Wu came back to his senses. "This is the territory of the Golden Feather Gang. Are you certain this is the place?"

Zhou Zhiruo stated with absolute certainty, "Right here. I can sense them!"

As the four of them drew closer, they discovered that the spot Zhou Zhiruo pointed to was actually a dry well.

"Inside?"

"Yes!"

Taking the lead, Yingbao drew her long saber and held it at the ready. "I'll go in first!"

"There's no need. We'll simply force them out!"

With that, Zhou Zhiruo released her aura, sending dense waves of dark energy plunging down into the mouth of the well.

"Who's there!"

Two dark figures shot up from the well.

Both figures had disheveled hair, appearing like malevolent ghosts.

Chen Xuanfeng's complexion was sallow and yellowish-brown like red copper, resembling a corpse and exuding a gloomy, terrifying aura. It was no wonder he was known as the "Copper Corpse."

Meanwhile, Meichaofeng's face was pitch-black like dark iron, earning her the moniker of the "Iron Corpse."

Her face similarly showed no emotional variation, rigid as a corpse.

More importantly, Meichaofeng was completely blind, her gaze hollow and devoid of light, chilling to behold.

"Who are you people? Why do you also carry the aura of the *Nine Yin Manual*?" Chen Xuanfeng's voice was extremely hoarse, sounding as though it had been grated over dry, cracked sand.

"Senior Brother!" Meichaofeng's perception was exceptionally acute; she had already discerned that among the four newcomers, three possessed strength far surpassing their own.

"Senior Sister, fear not!" Possessing a robust and sturdy build, Chen Xuanfeng stepped forward, shielding Meichaofeng behind him.

"Was it you two who broke into the imperial treasury on the first day of the lunar new year and startled the Empress Dowager?"

"Ah, imperial running dogs, members of the Seven Star Tower?"

"Indeed. The two of you should come quietly with us back to the Seven Star Tower!"

Naturally, the Black Wind的双煞 (Twin Evils of the Black Wind) had no intention of submitting obediently. Meichaofeng's fingers suddenly lengthened and sharpened like eagle talons, leaping out from behind Chen Xuanfeng to hurl herself straight at Zhou Zhiruo.

The night was dark and the wind was high, howling through the night sky like ferocious, giant beasts.

Meichaofeng's figure moved like a ghost, her ten fingers hooked like claws, bringing with them a sharp, whistling gale as she thrust directly for Zhou Zhiruo's face. This was Meichaofeng's most formidable technique: the "Nine Yin White Bone Claw."

However, this time she crossed paths with Zhou Zhiruo, who was not only intimately familiar with the Nine Yin White Bone Claw but whose internal cultivation also vastly surpassed her own.

Zhou Zhiruo merely executed a light, graceful pivot, drifting like willow catkin in the wind to evade the fierce strike. Simultaneously, her Heavenly Sword flashed from its scabbard, vibrating to send forth a flurry of sword blossoms that thrust directly at Meichaofeng's throat. Executed with flawless timing, it was the move known as "A White Rainbow Piercing the Sun."

Realizing the danger, Meichaofeng attempted to pull back and retreat, her dual claws tracing arcs through the air accompanied by a mournful whistling of torn wind.

Yet, Zhou Zhiruo moved as one with her sword, her blade dancing to deflect Meichaofeng's attacks one by one while her left hand formed a claw, lunging outward with sudden ferocity to grab Meichaofeng.

Caught completely off guard, Meichaofeng was seized squarely by the very same "Nine Yin White Bone Claw."

Having used this exact move to take countless lives, she never imagined she would fall victim to it herself.

Their exchange was as swift as lightning, deciding the outcome in the blink of an eye!

Seeing his junior sister captured, Chen Xuanfeng cried out, "Junior Sister!"

He lunged forward, desperate to rescue Meichaofeng.

Zhao Liying, who had been eager to test her skills, leveled her long saber horizontally. "Your opponent is me!"

Driven by desperate anxiety to save his junior sister, Chen Xuanfeng roared, "Get lost!"

With that, he unleashed a fierce palm strike—the "Heart-Destruction Palm," which, much like Zhou Zhiruo's "Heart-Destruction Fist," originated directly from the *Nine Yin Manual*.

The Heart-Destruction Palm surged toward Zhao Liying with the overwhelming force of a collapsing mountain.

"Snow-Breaking Saber."

A blinding flash of blade light crashed against the mighty palm force, producing a thunderous explosion as shockwaves rippled outward in all directions.

Realizing his initial strike failed, Chen Xuanfeng pressed his attack instead of retreating. Moving like a ghost, he circled behind Zhao Liying and delivered another ferocious palm blow.

Reacting with lightning speed, Zhao Liying sidestepped and slammed directly into Chen Xuanfeng's body with the technique known as "Ramming Mount Nan."

Despite Chen Xuanfeng's boundless strength and iron-forged physique, he was ruthlessly sent flying by Zhao Liying's domineering impact.

That was not all. The instant she blasted Chen Xuanfeng away, Zhao Liying executed a reverse-blade counterattack known as the "Turning Horse Slash." The blade gleamed with an icy, frigid light as it swept across Chen Xuanfeng's waist.

Collapsing heavily to the ground with severe injuries, Chen Xuanfeng—whose expression rarely betrayed his emotions—finally revealed a look of despair. Looking toward Meichaofeng, his lips trembled as faint words escaped him: "Junior Sister, your senior brother is incompetent and unable to protect you!"

The commotion of the battle had long since alerted the local overlord of this region, the Golden Feather Gang.

Gang Leader Liang Dahai had already led his men to lie in wait nearby. Once the Black Wind Twin Evils were captured, Gao Wu crooked a finger at him.

Liang Dahai scurried over with eager obsequiousness, stammering, "Lord Gao, you've personally come to handle a case!"

"Obviously!" Gao Wu retorted irritably. What kind of nonsense was that to say?

"These two are major criminals wanted by the court, yet they appeared right on your turf! I could easily pin the charge of harboring fugitives on you and ruin your life!"

Liang Dahai was frightened out of his wits; this was a completely undeserved disaster!

"My lord, I am wronged! This humble subordinate has never colluded with criminals. These villains simply ran here on their own!"

"Then I could still pin you with the charge of knowing about a crime and failing to report it!"

"That—that is even more unjust! How could this humble subordinate have known that villains were hiding in this dry well?"

"How long has this dry well been here? Could it lead to other places?"

Gao Wu bantered idly with Liang Dahai for quite a while, solely to draw out information regarding the dry well from the gang leader.

He always felt that the matter was far from over. As the local overlord, how could Liang Dahai possibly not have known that two such extraordinary individuals were hiding right in his own backyard?