Catching Monsters

Chapter 749 Wu Tongzhan

Huang Jincheng paused for a moment, stepped forward and took the stack of wanted posters. Somewhat puzzled, he asked, "Head镖师 (bodyguard/escort), who is this person?"

After saying that, he glanced down at the words on the wanted poster, his expression changed slightly, and he couldn't help but say, "Commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard? Traitor to the enemy?"

"I remember now, could this person be the son-in-law of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion?"

As a bodyguard, he traveled the world quite often and naturally heard of Jiang Yun. After all, he was the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and a powerful figure in the capital. In Qin'an County, many storytellers in teahouses would tell his story.

Huang Jincheng had heard of this person when he had tea with many of his fellow bodyguards.

"Those storytellers seem to be making things up. They say that Jiang Yun is dignified and handsome, which is why the young lady of the Duke of Zhenguo's mansion fell in love with him. But looking at this portrait, he's not much to look at. He looks shifty and rat-like."

"Oh, right, Chief Escort, this brother woke up and wants to see you. I'll show these wanted posters to the other brothers first." After saying that, Huang Jincheng took the stack of wanted posters and left.

Jiang Yun, who was following behind him, felt a sinking feeling in his heart upon hearing these words.

I've become a wanted criminal? The imperial court has issued a warrant for my arrest?

Of course, Jiang Yun knew Xiao Jingzhi's personality very well and understood that Xiao Jingzhi alone would definitely not do such a thing.

It is likely that Fang Tianzong and Chu Qinghe forced Xiao Jingzhi to do this, using the administrative order of the Zhou Dynasty to find him.

Guo Chengnian smiled and looked at Jiang Yun. He pointed to the chair next to him and said, "Young man, please sit down. How is your injury recovery?"

As the saying goes, clothes make the man, and judging from the quality of Jiang Yun's clothes, one can tell that he is a man of high status.

My own security escort agency rescued him, and if we can send him home, we might be able to make a lot of money.

Jiang Yun forced a smile, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Thank you for your concern, Chief Escort. My injuries have not yet fully healed. I came here to discuss with you whether I can stay here to recuperate for a while longer. Once I have recovered, I will ask the escort agency to send me home."

Jiang Yun's injuries have not yet fully healed, and even if they had, he probably wouldn't be able to easily show himself now.

Once he shows himself, Chu Qinghe and Fang Tianzong will not let him go.

Right now, the most important thing is to stay here and recuperate, at least to get the injury healed.

Guo Chengnian nodded with a smile, glanced at Jiang Yun, and said, "May I ask what your name is, young man, and who your father is?"

Jiang Yun calmly said, "My name is Zeng Yunfan. My family are businessmen from the Zeng family in the capital. Some time ago, I was traveling with my family's caravan when we were robbed by bandits."

Jiang Yun made up an alias on the spot.

This place is quite far from the capital. Even if Guo Chengnian wanted to investigate, sending someone to the capital would take more than ten days round trip.

Once my injuries have healed somewhat, I will leave this place.

Upon hearing this, Guo Chengnian patted Jiang Yun on the shoulder and said, "Brother Zeng, please rest and recover here with me."

After exchanging pleasantries, other guests arrived outside the hall, so Jiang Yun took his leave and returned to his own courtyard.

After Jiang Yun left and after meeting with the guests, Guo Chengnian found a bodyguard and instructed him, "Go to the vicinity of Kailin Mountain and the mountain strongholds along the upper reaches of the river to inquire whether they have recently robbed a merchant caravan from the capital and whether a young master named Zeng Yunfan has escaped."

"Yes." Upon hearing this, the bodyguard quickly nodded.

The relationship between Tiger Head Escort Agency and the local bandits was actually quite good.

The escort agency business involves transporting extremely valuable items. If bandits come to rob them, even if they can defeat them, it would be difficult to explain if the items are damaged in the fight.

In fact, the escort agency would pay a fixed amount of money to the local bandits every year.

Most of the cooperation was very pleasant, and these bandits would not easily go against the escort agency. After all, the people in the escort agency were tall and strong, and if a fight broke out, the bandits would not be able to handle it.

So most of the time, they only robbed ordinary caravans.

When they returned to the mansion, Huang Jincheng and the others were chatting while holding the wanted posters.

"Hey, young man, you're back." Huang Jincheng greeted him with a smile, while Jiang Yun stepped forward with a smile and said, "May I take a look at this wanted poster?"

"Look, it's nothing valuable." Huang Jincheng said, casually picking up a bill and handing it to Jiang Yun. He then chatted with his companions, saying, "But speaking of which, I heard that Jiang Yun is a top-notch figure in the capital, with immense power and influence, and he enjoys the favor of our current emperor. Why would he suddenly think of rebelling?"

The bodyguard sitting next to him, resting and chatting, said, "You don't understand. These important figures don't collude with the enemy or betray their country. They just offended His Majesty the Emperor and were given a crime."

"Or is he just bored and has nothing better to do than treason?"

"Whom is this communication with? Is it with the Northern Barbarians?"

The people present chatted and laughed.

Jiang Yun lowered his head and looked at the wanted poster seriously. First of all, although Jiang Yun did not know who drew the portrait, he was sure that the person who drew it should be someone he had a good relationship with.

Let alone people who don't know Jiang Yun, even if Jiang Qiaoqiao came, she wouldn't recognize him when she saw this portrait.

The notice contained nothing particularly unusual; it simply stated that he had colluded with the enemy and betrayed his country, was wanted nationwide, and was to report any news about him to the local government immediately. Then, another bodyguard whispered, "But this time the court is probably truly enraged. Several Imperial Guards have been dispatched to Qin'an County to oversee the search for Jiang Yun."

"The Embroidered Uniform Guards have all arrived? Isn't Jiang Yun the head of the Embroidered Uniform Guards?"

"Hey, these corrupt officials, who knows how many bribes they've taken from their subordinates in the Imperial Guards. If Jiang Yun is caught alive by the court, he'll spill all the dirty secrets about his men."

"Won't his men suffer along with him?"

"If you ask me, his men are probably the ones who want him to die right now."

"That makes sense."

When these bodyguards talked about these important figures, they all engaged in lengthy and eloquent discussions.

"What's your name?" Huang Jincheng looked at Jiang Yun, who had just finished reading the wanted poster and was looking worried, and walked over to him with a smile: "Why do you look so distressed?"

Jiang Yun smiled and replied, "Zeng Yunfan."

“Brother Zeng,” Huang Jincheng asked, “when are you setting off for home? It’s fate that we met. When I see you off, I, Old Huang, will be there too…”

"I'm not leaving for now. My injuries haven't fully healed, so I'll have to stay here for a few days," Jiang Yun said with a smile.

"Stay for a few days?" Huang Jincheng looked Jiang Yun up and down and nodded. "That's right. You're not fully recovered and can't handle the bumpy ride. You should stay here for now."

"I live right next door to you. If you need anything, just let me know."

As they were talking, suddenly, a figure walked in from outside.

"What are you all doing, sitting on the ground slacking off?" A 28-year-old man walked in, his face stern, and said, "Get up and practice your boxing."

"If you all slack off and don't strive for improvement, it will be too late to regret it when you encounter real danger and lose your life!"

The person who came in was Wu Tongzhan, whose face was grim. He quickly woke up the bodyguards and made them continue practicing.

After exchanging glances, none of the bodyguards present argued with Wu Tongzhan, and they all got up to practice their skills.

"Alright, Brother Zeng, you should go back to your room and rest. I need to practice my skills." Huang Jincheng whispered to Jiang Yun, "This is Wu Tongzhan, a seventh-rank master of the Tendon Refining Realm in our escort agency."

Jiang Yun: "What's wrong with him?"

Huang Jincheng said in a low voice, "What can happen? Originally, the chief镖头 (chief镖头 is a person who is very skilled in escorting goods) wanted to marry the young lady to him, but the young lady didn't have any feelings for him, so the marriage has been delayed for a long time."

"Whenever he gets a sour look from the young lady, he has to find someone to vent his anger on..."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yun nodded slightly, smiled faintly, and whispered, "Since his cultivation is quite good, he shouldn't lack women, so why does he have to marry the young lady?"

"Who knows what he's thinking?" Huang Jincheng shook his head, indicating that he also couldn't quite understand.

The two of them were quite far from Wu Tongzhan, several tens of meters away, and Huang Jincheng's voice was very soft.

However, he underestimated the hearing of a seventh-grade master of the Tendon Refining Realm. Wu Tongzhan heard everything he and Jiang Yun had just said.

Wu Tongzhan's gaze immediately turned towards the two of them.

Today, Wu Tongzhan wanted to invite Guo Qingyi to see a play, but Guo Qingyi made an excuse to refuse.

She also made it clear to Wu Tongzhan that she had no interest in him, which made Wu Tongzhan very angry.

Unexpectedly, Huang Jincheng dared to mock him in a low voice.

"What did you just say?" Wu Tongzhan strode up to Huang Jincheng, while also glancing at Jiang Yun.

Jiang Yun was a freight forwarder for the escort agency, and according to the rules, he couldn't easily cause trouble for Jiang Yun.

It wouldn't be a problem to cause trouble for Huang Jincheng.

He grabbed Huang Jincheng by the collar, lifted him up, and said coldly, "Are you looking for death?"

Huang Jincheng gave an awkward smile and said, "Brother Wu, I didn't say anything, I didn't say anything."

“We’re all men. If you have any complaints about me, tell me to my face. If I hear you talking badly about me behind my back again, this won’t be so easy to let go of.” After saying that, Wu Tongzhan pushed Huang Jincheng to the ground.

Huang Jincheng naturally dared not resist.

Then, Wu Tongzhan looked at Jiang Yun and said coldly, "Kid, you're just a ticket for our escort agency. Don't ask too many questions or interfere in our agency's affairs, or you'll be asking for trouble."

After saying that, Wu Tongzhan looked at the other bodyguards and said, "What are you all standing there for? Get back to training!"

Jiang Yun expressionlessly reached out and pulled Huang Jincheng up before turning around and returning to his room. He had no interest in getting involved in the messy affairs of the escort agency.

(End of this chapter)