Chapter 119 Encountering the Heavenly Decree
"Hehe, now that we're in Kyoto, we're on my turf! Don't worry, with me protecting you, I won't let anyone bully you!"
Zhou Jiming snapped open his folding fan, looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, and said with a smug look on his face.
When Shao Yanzhe and the others saw him like this, they couldn't help but smile.
"Alright, then we're going to stick with you!" Shao Yanzhe joked.
"Come on, come on! See my long, thick legs? Here, you can hug them!"
Zhou Jiming said in a very cooperative manner.
The group chatted and laughed, and seeing that it was getting late, they boarded a carriage and entered the capital through the city gate.
Shao Yanzhe lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside. He saw that the road outside was wide and smooth. The carriage was traveling in the middle of the road, and Kyoto residents were walking on both sides of the road. There were shops on both sides of the road.
To his surprise, there were very few roadside vendors; most of the shops were for customers who would enter the shops on both sides of the road. The town seemed more organized than the towns he had seen before.
"Help!"
"Murder!"
"The people of Tianluo Zhao are treating human life like dirt!"
"Help me!"
"I don't want to die!"
"Someone, please save me!"
A sudden shout broke the tranquility of the street, and a man in a somewhat tattered long robe stumbled and ran towards the road ahead.
His hair was disheveled, his face was covered in mud, and his dark eyes, peeking out from between his hair, were filled with panic and unease.
He ran around frantically, glancing behind him every now and then, and trying to approach anyone he saw for help.
But the pedestrians backed away one after another, as if they had seen something disgusting and ignored him.
The man's face grew even more desperate upon seeing this. He looked behind him as if some extremely terrifying beast was following him.
It was at this moment that a group of people dressed in black appeared at the end of the road. As they walked, the hem of their clothes fluttered, revealing a touch of crimson.
Their faces were cold and stern, one hand resting on the hilt of the long sword at their waist, while the other hand hung at their sides.
Upon seeing this group of people, the surrounding pedestrians involuntarily made way for them, their eyes filled with fear.
Many people turned around and left immediately after seeing these people. Judging from their hurried manner, they wished they had eight legs so they could leave even faster.
Shao Yanzhe looked at those people and immediately recognized them as members of the Tianluozhao.
He lowered his eyes, not expecting to see the people of the Heavenly Net Order as soon as he entered the capital.
What incredible luck!
"Don't come any closer!" the man's terrified voice rang out.
At that moment, the coachman's displeased voice rang out from outside.
"Hey! What are you doing! Get out from under the carriage right now!"
At the same time, Shao Yanzhe felt as if something had hit him from under the carriage, and immediately guessed that the man had crawled under his carriage.
He looked at the others in the carriage: "It seems we need to go out and see what's going on."
"You guys stand behind me, I'll take care of things, they definitely won't do anything to you!"
Zhou Jiming said with great confidence that he put away his folding fan, stood up, reached out and lifted the carriage curtain, and jumped down nimbly.
"Who dares to touch my young master's carriage!"
Outside the carriage, Zhou Jiming's voice was extremely arrogant, carrying a hint of haughtiness, befitting a spoiled brat.
Shao Yanzhe couldn't help but smile. He lifted the curtain and looked out of the carriage, where he saw Zhou Jiming standing with his hands on his hips in front of the group of people with the Heavenly Decree. Zhou Jiming then got off the train and stood behind him without saying a word.
The leader of Tianluozhao was a young man around thirty years old. He had a scar on his right eyebrow that cut off his thick black eyebrow, which made him look more heroic than scholarly.
When the young man saw Zhou Jiming suddenly appear in front of him, he raised his eyebrows slightly, a flash of surprise in his eyes.
Then, he glanced at Shao Yanzhe and the others behind him, but didn't pay them any attention, and turned his gaze back to Zhou Jiming.
He bowed and greeted Zhou Jiming, saying, "Greetings, Prince Zhou!"
He appeared respectful and polite to the Prince Zhou he mentioned, but his attitude was actually quite casual.
Upon seeing the newcomer's demeanor, Zhou Jiming immediately pointed at him and began to curse, "You, surnamed Zhao, don't put on airs in front of me! We all know each other! Who are you trying to cause trouble for now?"
The man surnamed Zhao who was scolded was not angry. He crossed his arms and looked at him, saying, "Tianluo Zhao acts according to the rules. I advise you not to meddle in other people's business. You've finally come back. You should go back to your Changping Marquis's mansion. Otherwise, you will lose your title of Changping Marquis."
"You're the one who's meddling!"
Zhou Jiming retorted, but he didn't respond to the latter part of his sentence. Instead, he kept it in mind, wondering if something had happened at the Changping Marquis's residence during the time Zhou Jiming was away.
As he spoke, he turned to look under the carriage and saw a disheveled man lying under it, his dirty fingers gripping the carriage wheel tightly, peering through the gaps.
"What's wrong with this person?" he asked.
“He killed Miss Zhao and then fled. We finally found him after a lot of trouble, but I never expected him to come here,” the man surnamed Zhao said.
Zhou Jiming frowned upon hearing this. Although the person in front of him had a bad reputation, he would not wrongly accuse someone.
Thinking of this, he glanced at the people under the car and waved to them.
"Since he's a murderer, you'd better get rid of him quickly! Be careful with my carriage; if you damage it, you won't be leaving!"
The man surnamed Zhao nodded, then waved to his subordinates behind him.
"Go, get them out."
"yes!"
Then, ten men emerged from behind the man surnamed Zhao and surrounded the carriage to prevent the man inside from escaping. One of them then crawled under the carriage and pulled the man out.
"Let go! Don't grab me!"
"Help!"
"Help me! I didn't kill anyone! I didn't kill Miss Zhao!"
"You must believe me! I really didn't kill anyone!"
The man struggled fiercely, but he possessed the weak physique typical of most scholars, and had no ability to resist those who issued the imperial edict.
"Whether you killed someone or not isn't something you can just say. You are now a suspect in the murder of Miss Zhao. If you have evidence to prove that you didn't kill Miss Zhao, don't worry, you will definitely be released," the man surnamed Zhao said.
He spoke to the man, but his eyes were fixed on Zhou Jiming.
Zhou Jiming didn't care about any of that; it was none of his business anyway.
"Alright, get them out of here! Can't you see this area is completely blocked?"
The man surnamed Zhao offered a half-hearted apology: "Sorry, we've blocked Young Master Zhou's way. We'll make way for you right away!"
As he spoke, he looked at his subordinates. Apart from the one who had grabbed the man, the others stood apart on both sides of the road, giving the carriage enough space to pass.
Zhou Jiming nodded in satisfaction. He snorted at the man surnamed Zhao and then turned to look at Shao Yanzhe and the others.
"Alright, the problem is solved, let's go!"
Shao Yanzhe and the others nodded, then glanced at the man surnamed Zhao before getting back into the car.
The man surnamed Zhao, who was standing still, watched the carriage slowly drive away, and the smile on his lips vanished instantly.
"Go and find out who those people with Zhou Jiming are."
"yes!"
The man surnamed Zhao glanced at the dishonest man, his eyes darkening. The pressure emanating from them sent a chill down the man's spine, his face turning pale. He dared not cause any more trouble and obediently allowed himself to be led away.
After the farce ended, the bustling street became lively again.
Inside the carriage, Shao Yanzhe asked Zhou Jiming curiously, "Do you know that person?"
Zhou Jiming nodded and said, "I know him. That man is the deputy commander of Tianluo Zhao. Don't let his youth fool you; he's very capable, and he keeps his men completely under his thumb. However, he's not a good person. He enjoys torturing prisoners, and anyone who falls into his hands and manages to leave alive is never in good health. If he causes you any trouble, just mention my name."
"Thank you very much, Brother Zhou!"
The group thanked him profusely. They were unfamiliar with the area, and Zhou Jiming's care made them feel much more at ease.
Shao Yanzhe lowered his head and touched Xuan Yao, feeling that something had been off about him since the beginning.
However, now is not the time to ask. We can ask when we get to our accommodation.
Soon, the carriage stopped in front of a house.
Shao Yanzhe and his companions disembarked from the carriage and looked around the mansion in front of them. The plaque above the mansion read "Zhou Mansion" in gold lettering, and two imposing stone lions stood on either side of the steps at the entrance, making it look very grand.
Zhou Jiming said, "This is a house I bought outside, so you can stay here without worry!"
Shao Yanzhe and the others exchanged glances and did not refuse.
"Thank you very much, Brother Zhou."
"Given our relationship, there's no need for formalities! However, there aren't any useful people inside. I'll go find a slave trader later and buy some servants to help clean the house. You can give them any orders you want!"
As Zhou Jiming spoke, he stepped forward, opened the courtyard gate, and led Shao Yanzhe and the others into the courtyard.
The mansion was very large. After walking through several covered corridors, we arrived at the back courtyard.
"These rooms are all empty; you can stay in whichever one you like."
Shao Yanzhe and the others didn't stand on ceremony. They each chose their preferred accommodations, chatted for a while, and then went back to pack their luggage.
Zhou Jiming then left to buy servants and acquire some necessary items.
Shao Yanzhe led Xuan Yao into the room, put him down, and then began to tidy up the room.
It was probably because someone usually cleaned it, so there wasn't much dust. After tidying it up a bit, he took out his luggage.
He then looked at Xuan Yao, who seemed to be in poor spirits.
"What's wrong? Are you sick?" he asked with some concern.
Xuan Yao shook his head, jumped onto the bed and lay down. The cat still looked listless.
"Meow! I'm fine, I just felt a little uncomfortable after being exposed to the fumes."
Shao Yanzhe was a little puzzled. He hadn't smelled anything strange along the way.
Thinking back, Xuan Yao's mental state began to deteriorate after he encountered the people of Tianluo Zhao.
"What happened?" he asked, a guess forming in his mind.
Xuan Yao said, "It's that person from the Heavenly Net Decree; he stinks!"
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