Liu Fengchun caught his balance and stared in shock at the tall, straight figure stepping out from behind Ning Chen.

"Who are you?"

Liu Fengchun asked.

"Purple coat of the Inspectorate, Geng Jing!"

Liu Fengchun's face changed.

He himself was a master with a name on the Wind and Cloud Rankings.

But among the first-rate fighters on the Wind and Cloud Rankings, Geng Jing ranked in the top three.

When the late emperor's remains were stolen, Geng Jing had very nearly been stripped of his post as purple coat, and even now he was only keeping it for the time being.

So he had come to Cangzhou with Ning Chen this time, hoping to earn it back.

They had come to the Hidden Sword Manor together, but moved separately.

Ning Chen out in the open, Geng Jing in the dark, ready in case he was needed.

Geng Jing leveled the long saber in his hand and said harshly, "Stealing the late emperor's remains is a crime beyond pardon. Give yourself up now... Say one word of no, and you die where you stand."

Geng Jing had a fire burning in him. The imperial tombs had been robbed, and he'd very nearly been thrown out of office for it.

Liu Fengchun sighed and looked at the Hidden Sword Manor's disciples being cut down one after another, his eyes full of sorrow. Slowly he raised his sword.

"This old man was too lax with his own, and has shamed all his ancestors... The Hidden Sword Manor has met with catastrophe. All this old man can do now is live or die with the Hidden Sword Manor!"

Geng Jing didn't bother wasting words. He attacked at once.

Clang!!!

One stroke of the saber, and Liu Fengchun was sent flying backward.

Ning Chen turned his attention to Mo Yangshuo, still pinned by Tantai Qingyue.

He walked over.

Mo Yangshuo's face was deathly white. He knew the game was up.

"Ning Chen, even if you kill me, you'll never get the late emperor's remains back... Why not let me go? I promise you, once I'm…