{"id":3729,"date":"2026-06-03T02:50:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T02:50:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/pursuit-of-jade-49\/"},"modified":"2026-06-03T03:03:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T03:03:47","slug":"pursuit-of-jade-49-2","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/chapter\/pursuit-of-jade-49-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Pursuit of Jade 49"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chapter 49

Fan Changyu’s entire attention was focused on the man she was escorting.

He was far too cunning.

Along the way, he had deliberately tried to engage her in conversation, hoping to distract her. At one point, he had almost tripped her and seized the knife from her hand.

After that, Fan Changyu became much more vigilant.

No matter what he said, she ignored him completely. Whenever he annoyed her too much, she would simply cut a small wound on him as a warning.

Now that they had reached the city wall, she only had time to glance briefly at the situation below. She didn’t immediately recognize that the man wearing the green ghost mask was Xie Zheng.

Seeing the long line of captives tied together like a string of dumplings, Constable Wang was utterly bewildered.

Looking at the magistrate, he asked, “My lord, this is…”

The magistrate was still somewhat frightened by the hostile rebels below, but after realizing Qingping County had been saved and suitable scapegoats had been found for the people’s anger, his confidence returned.

If he could claim credit before Jizhou Prefecture for suppressing the Qingping County rebellion, promotion might even be within reach.

The fat on his body immediately stopped trembling.

Putting on the inscrutable air of a seasoned official, he declared,

“The grain requisition was supervised entirely by the generals sent from Jizhou Prefecture. Now that the people are filled with resentment, someone must answer for it. Thus, despite overstepping my authority, I ordered these military gentlemen to be arrested.”

As he spoke, he glanced at Fan Changyu.

Seeing that she had no intention of exposing the fact that he had actually been the one imprisoned, he became even more smug.

The servants from the magistrate’s residence all wore strange expressions.

Still, they had spent years serving as the magistrate’s lackeys.

If he said white was black, they would nod along with their eyes closed.

None of them would undermine him now.

Fan Changyu showed not the slightest reaction.

To the magistrate’s men, she simply looked like an honest, sensible girl who knew when to step back and let others take the spotlight.

As for Constable Wang, who knew nothing of the true circumstances, he completely overlooked her.

All his attention was on the magistrate.

Though he still had some doubts, the facts were before him.

For the magistrate to dare arrest these soldiers took genuine courage.

He praised sincerely, “My lord is truly righteous.”

The magistrate thought to himself that Constable Wang had been the one guarding the city gates, and it was Wang’s people who had captured the enemy commander.

When rewards were distributed by Jizhou Prefecture later, Constable Wang would undoubtedly receive the greatest merit.

If the magistrate wanted to steal some of that credit, he first had to flatter him.

Thus he said,

“The rioters were unable to enter the city thanks to Constable Wang’s foresight in bringing men to guard the gates. To lower the vigilance of the soldiers from Jizhou, I deliberately dismissed him from his post. As expected, Constable Wang did not disappoint me.”

Constable Wang felt deeply guilty.

“Humble servant Wang Chuanxian is ashamed…”

He was about to explain that the idea had actually come from Fan Changyu when he looked up and saw her frantically winking at him.

Fan Changyu desperately wanted the magistrate to claim all the credit.

She wasn’t stupid.

The man she had captured was an official from Jizhou.

If he died and his superior, some dog general named Wei Xuan, learned her name, he would certainly hold a grudge against her.

She was just an ordinary commoner.

At best, she’d be rewarded with some gold and silver and become the most famous person in Qingping County.

But in exchange, she’d earn the hatred of an official even more powerful than the magistrate.

Someone like that could crush her with a single finger.

Whether she’d even live long enough to enjoy any reward was another matter entirely.

Besides, if the man in her custody survived being handed over to the people for revenge, he would definitely remember her.

She had already hinted that she was acting on the magistrate’s orders, but the magistrate looked far too cowardly to seem like the mastermind behind everything.

Now, in his greed for merit, the magistrate had woven an elaborate story and successfully attracted all the hatred toward himself.

Fan Changyu was delighted.

Constable Wang, meanwhile, was utterly confused.

Seeing her signal him not to speak, he swallowed the rest of his words.

At that moment, the people below the city wall saw the magistrate arrive and immediately begin acting like an official again.

Countless people were displeased.

Someone shouted,

“Dog official! How are you going to pay for the lives lost in Ma Family Village? Will you use the lives of your entire family as compensation?”

The magistrate had never heard such crude insults in his life.

His mind had been entirely occupied with dreams of promotion and future success.

Hearing the curses, his mustache trembled with rage.

“Impudent peasants! How dare you insult a court official!”

The public anger that Xie Zheng and Constable Wang had painstakingly soothed exploded once more because of that single sentence.

The agitators immediately seized the opportunity.

“See that, everyone? This dog official still doesn’t regard us as human beings! He never intended to give us an explanation!”

“If we let them trick us into going home, tomorrow the yamen dogs will come knocking with clubs and beat us to death!”

“Kill the magistrate! Demand justice!”

The farmers’ anger surged again.

Raising their farming tools, they roared.

The tiny city gate seemed like a lone boat in a stormy sea.

One great wave and it would be smashed into splinters.

The magistrate saw the crowd becoming uncontrollable and panicked.

Quickly, he ordered the soldiers to be brought forward.

“I’m only a county magistrate. How could I possibly decide matters of grain requisition? Everything was supervised by the officials from Jizhou Prefecture!”

“As for Ma Family Village, I knew nothing about it!”

“If you want justice, then despite violating proper authority, I have arrested these men to give you an explanation!”

Then he ordered,

“Open the gates and hand them over!”

Xie Zheng’s gaze had remained fixed on Sui Yuanqing the entire time.

When he saw the cold smile curl at Sui Yuanqing’s lips and noticed several agitators among the crowd repeatedly glancing toward him, he said coldly,

“This man cannot be released.”

Constable Wang hurriedly agreed.

“My lord, the gates cannot be opened! If they’re opened, all those rebels outside will flood into the city, and the people inside will suffer!”

Only then did Fan Changyu recognize Xie Zheng’s voice.

Realizing the masked man was him, she looked over in surprise.

Hearing that voice, Sui Yuanqing also frowned and began scrutinizing the masked man standing nearby.

While the magistrate and Constable Wang continued arguing, several sharp whistling sounds suddenly cut through the air.

Sleeve arrows shot from within the crowd toward the city wall.

Their targets were the magistrate and Fan Changyu.

At the same time, grappling hooks flew upward and latched onto the battlements.

Men dressed as farmers rapidly climbed the ropes, stepping on one another’s shoulders and scaling the walls with astonishing speed.

Constable Wang was horrified.

Drawing his blade, he shouted,

“Protect the magistrate!”

Seeing the sleeve arrow flying directly toward her face, Fan Changyu instinctively turned her head to avoid it.

The man she was holding suddenly leaned toward the blade in her hand.

Avoiding his throat, he dragged his shoulder across the knife edge, opening a bloody wound and cutting through the ropes binding him.

By the time Fan Changyu realized what had happened, the wound on his shoulder was already pouring blood.

Yet he flashed her a vicious, unruly smile.

Her heart immediately sank.

Acting on instinct, she leaped backward.

But Sui Yuanqing was faster.

The moment he broke free, he snatched a saber from a nearby yamen runner and slashed toward her.

His killing techniques had been honed on battlefields littered with corpses.

Every move was ruthless and lightning-fast.

Fan Changyu’s boning knife was far too short.

Against his long saber, she was at a severe disadvantage.

The moment their weapons collided, the impact numbed her hand.

After intercepting the sleeve arrow aimed at Fan Changyu, Xie Zheng saw Sui Yuanqing break free and launch a counterattack.

His expression immediately changed.

Just as he was about to help her, the assassins climbing the walls seemed to read his intentions.

Some continued firing concealed arrows at Fan Changyu while others rushed to entangle him.

Forced to protect her while fighting them off, even Xie Zheng found himself unable to spare a hand.

The yamen runners were completely outmatched.

One after another, Constable Wang’s men fell.

The servants from the magistrate’s residence had never witnessed anything like this before.

Terrified out of their minds, they fled toward the stairs.

Not only did they fail to help, they exposed themselves and were quickly cut down.

For a moment, Sui Yuanqing’s side gained the upper hand.

Driven back repeatedly by his fierce swordsmanship, Fan Changyu’s hands grew numb.

The force of their clashes split the skin between her thumb and forefinger.

Blood seeped out.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, she knew perfectly well that her earlier success in capturing him at the magistrate’s residence had only been possible because he had been caught completely off guard.

Now he attacked relentlessly, every strike aimed at a vital point.

Though she knew martial arts, she lacked real combat experience.

He was more ruthless, more experienced, and wielded a superior weapon.

She was being completely suppressed.

She wanted desperately to grab a longer blade.

But his attacks came so relentlessly that she couldn’t spare even a moment to reach one.

All she could do was defend herself with the short boning knife.

Finally finding an opening, she hurled the knife at him like a hidden weapon.

Forced to dodge, Sui Yuanqing tilted his head aside.

Fan Changyu immediately crouched and reached for the saber of a dead yamen runner.

Yet Sui Yuanqing’s blade seemed to have eyes.

The next instant, it sliced past her fingers.

To save her hand, she had no choice but to abandon the weapon and roll away.

Only then did she avoid the second slash aimed at her head.

A grin spread across Sui Yuanqing’s face.

His eyes gleamed with the amusement of a cat toying with a mouse.

“You stabbed me quite a few times. It’s only fair I return the favor before skinning you and hanging you from the city gates.”

Fan Changyu spat viciously.

“I just didn’t bring my butcher’s knife today! Otherwise I’d show you exactly how pigs get bled before New Year’s!”

Realizing she was comparing him to a pig, Sui Yuanqing’s face darkened.

The amusement vanished instantly.

Raising his blade, he advanced.

“You’re courting death.”

Fan Changyu was equally reckless.

Instead of retreating, she charged directly toward the incoming blade.

Seeing this from afar, Xie Zheng’s phoenix eyes turned icy.

He suddenly snatched a saber from one of the assassins and hurled it at Sui Yuanqing.

The assassin screamed.

His arm bone had been broken outright when Xie Zheng seized the weapon.

The flying blade flashed through the air.

Sui Yuanqing’s pupils contracted.

To save himself, he had no choice but to abandon his attack and block.

The two weapons collided with an ear-splitting metallic crash.

His saber snapped cleanly in half.

The sheer force shocked him.

Unable to help himself, he looked toward the man in the green ghost mask.

The voice had sounded familiar from the beginning.

And on the battlefield, he had only encountered one person capable of such monstrous strength.

Could this man be\u2014

The thought had barely formed when a vicious elbow smashed into his jaw.

His entire body flew backward.

For several moments, his jaw was completely numb.

His teeth felt loose.

Blood filled his mouth.

The impact had even rattled his cheekbones.

A loud ringing echoed through his ears.

He could barely hear anything.

Suddenly, he wasn’t so certain the masked man was the Marquis Wu’an.

After all, even an obscure country woman from Qingping County possessed terrifying strength.

Perhaps there were other hidden monsters here as well.

Fan Changyu was still holding a grudge.

Earlier, he’d bullied her because she lacked a proper weapon.

Using a long saber, he’d forced her to defend herself with a knife barely longer than a dagger.

After smashing his jaw with her elbow, she immediately picked up a fallen saber and attacked again.

Now holding only a broken blade, Sui Yuanqing’s eyes darkened.

In the end, he chose to retreat.

The situation instantly reversed.

Now Fan Changyu pursued relentlessly, slashing without pause.

Sui Yuanqing retreated step after step.

Deep blade marks nearly an inch deep appeared across both sides of the city wall.

Mu Shi and several assassins finally noticed their heir being chased.

They immediately disengaged and rushed over to help.

At that moment, the distant sound of galloping hooves echoed across the road.

Looking up, they saw the banners of Jizhou whipping violently in the cold wind.

The civilians below had already become completely confused by the fighting atop the walls.

The powerful “farmers” who had climbed the walls were strangers to them all.

Without the agitators directing them, nobody dared act recklessly.

Now, seeing Jizhou’s army arrive, they quickly moved aside.

They feared the soldiers might mistake them for accomplices of the assassins.

While several assassins surrounded Fan Changyu, Mu Shi helped Sui Yuanqing back to his feet.

Looking toward the approaching troops, he urged,

“Your Highness, as long as the green hills remain, there will always be firewood. Let’s withdraw first!”

Sui Yuanqing stared at Fan Changyu.

Seeing that even more than a dozen assassins could no longer hold back the masked man, he suddenly drew Mu Shi’s saber and charged toward the magistrate.

The magistrate screamed in terror.

Constable Wang, already covered in wounds, rushed forward to save him.

There was no way Fan Changyu could watch Constable Wang die before her eyes.

With Xie Zheng still trapped by waves of assassins, she swung her saber toward Sui Yuanqing’s strike.

Unexpectedly, it was only a feint.

Sui Yuanqing suddenly abandoned his weapon.

His arm wrapped around her sword arm like a vine.

Using some strange technique, he applied force.

Fan Changyu instantly lost all feeling in her arm.

Her saber crashed to the ground.

“I’ve changed my mind.”

Grinning broadly, Sui Yuanqing seized the rope attached to a grappling hook with one hand and grabbed Fan Changyu with the other.

“It would be a waste to skin someone with looks like yours and hang you on the wall.”

“Come back with me and be my concubine instead.”

Laughing loudly, he leaped backward over a damaged section of the battlement.

Pulled off balance, Fan Changyu stumbled.

Before she could recover, she was dragged over the edge as well.

Instinctively, she cried out,

“Yan Zheng!”

At that critical moment, another strong hand shot out from atop the wall and seized her arm.

Even through the mask, the murderous aura surrounding Xie Zheng was terrifying.

With one hand gripping Fan Changyu, he swung his long saber at the arm holding her.

The attack was so ruthless that no one doubted it could sever the limb entirely.

Sui Yuanqing cursed and released her immediately.

Even so, the blade’s wind sliced off a lock of hair and opened a shallow cut on his face.

Looking up and meeting the savage gaze beneath the green ghost mask, Sui Yuanqing felt a jolt of alarm.

With one arm secured by Xie Zheng, Fan Changyu finally had support.

Without hesitation, she kicked Sui Yuanqing squarely in the face.

At the same time, she shouted,

“Quick! Cut the rope! Let this bastard fall to his death!”

The grappling rope attached to the wall was instantly severed.

But as he fell, Sui Yuanqing repeatedly kicked off the wall to slow himself down.

His personal guards also grabbed the rope to help cushion the descent.

When he landed, he was completely unharmed.

The only difference was a black footprint stamped across half of his handsome face.

Seeing that, Fan Changyu couldn’t hide her disappointment.

As Xie Zheng hauled her back onto the wall, she continued muttering resentfully,

“How did that guy not die…”

The next moment, she was suddenly pulled into a broad, solid chest.

The embrace was so strong it felt as though an iron wall had locked around her.

Her muttering stopped abruptly.<\/p>","protected":false},"parent":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"novel":[],"class_list":["post-3729","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3729","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3729"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3729\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3730,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/3729\/revisions\/3730"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"novel","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/velvetink.xyz\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/novel?post=3729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}