Jianghu Qimen Lu

"What can you do about it?!" Bai Shandian's anger blazed. Hong Chen was even more furious, shouting repeatedly, "Soldiers, arrest Bai Shandian immediately!" At his command, a dozen soldiers surrounded Bai Shandian by the door. Bai Shandian roared, like a thunderclap in the sky, his hands moving incessantly, one in each hand, hurling the dozen soldiers out of the courtyard like a machine gun!

Seeing his profound internal strength, how he could grab and toss enormous bodies as if they were paper figures, Hongchen was horrified. He quickly retreated a few steps, shouting angrily, "Rebellion! Rebellion! Bai Shandian has rebelled! Quickly go outside and call for more soldiers to come and capture him in one fell swoop!" A soldier hurriedly went outside to call for reinforcements. Before long, several hundred people swarmed in, brandishing spears and swords, charging forward!

Just as Bai Shandian was about to calmly engage in battle, someone grabbed his arm from behind. Turning around, he saw it was none other than his current wife, Hong Yueliang! She stepped forward and scolded the soldiers who rushed at her, "Stop! Are you bored and have nothing better to do? Do you want to kill each other?! Everyone needs to calm down and think about this. Xiang Quan is weak and on the verge of death. If she dies before we reach the capital, how will we explain it to the Emperor? Shandian means well, thinking of the bigger picture. Quickly treat Xiang Quan's illness so as not to delay your bright futures!" These words hit the nail on the head, and everyone nodded in agreement. Even Hong Chen's anger subsided considerably. He thought to himself, "For now, let's listen to my daughter and let Bai Shandian live. Saving Xiang Quan will be a good deed!" He immediately ordered, "All of you, go!" The soldiers dispersed one by one, and silence returned in an instant.

Zhang Kuang also wanted to leave with Hongchen, but Bai Shandian shouted to stop him, "Lord Zhang, please wait! I have something to ask you!" Zhang Kuang had no choice but to stop. Bai Shandian closed the door, walked up to him, stared into his eyes with lightning-fast eyes, and coldly asked, "Lord Zhang, where did you capture my wife?" Zhang Kuang was not flustered and truthfully replied, "I captured your wife at the Dreamy Mountain Villa in Shi Family Village at the foot of Plum Blossom Ridge in Yangzhou."

"Dreamwalker Manor!" Bai Shandian exclaimed in surprise. "How could she possibly live in Xuehen's Dreamwalker Manor? It's said that Xuehen, a wealthy man, built this manor at great expense to please a beautiful woman, naming it Dreamwalker Manor after her. And because of this beautiful woman's mysterious death, Dreamwalker Manor gained an even more mysterious aura. From then on, at midnight, piercing screams of a woman often echoed from the manor, sending chills down people's spines. It became a legend among the surrounding villages that the manor was haunted! This caused considerable panic in the area, and few people ventured there. Gradually, it became the talk of the town, a haunted house!"

Zhang Kuang smiled slightly and said, "It seems Lord Bai has gone to great lengths to track down your wife." Bai Shandian smiled self-deprecatingly and said, "It was precisely this eerie and terrifying haunted house that made me give up my pursuit! Alas, who would have thought that, coincidentally, my wife is hiding in this very place, leaving me searching high and low without finding her!" He then changed the subject: "Lord Zhang, who tipped you off, saying that my wife is hiding in Dreamy Manor?"

"It's that ruthless master of Dreamwalker Manor! Not only did he denounce your wife, but before the denunciation, he also set up a private torture chamber and abused her, beating her until she was covered in bruises! In a fit of rage, I immediately threw him into the Hangzhou prison!" Hearing Zhang Guang's arrogant words, Bai Shandian gritted his teeth, cursing viciously in his heart: "What an ungrateful ruthless man! If he ever crosses my line, I will tear him to pieces to vent my hatred!"

Just then, several doctors were summoned. Bai Shandian was overjoyed and hurriedly called into the house, "Moon, is Xiangquan ready?" Hong Yueliang smiled sweetly and said, "Sister has bathed, changed, and dressed. Please invite the doctors in." Bai Shandian led the doctors in and saw his wife looking refreshed, lying quietly on the bed. Although she was still unconscious, her spirits had lifted, and she seemed much better. The doctors recommended a highly respected old traditional Chinese medicine doctor to examine Xiangquan. After a long while, the old doctor said slowly, "Madam's pulse is rapid and her heartbeat is unstable, probably due to excessive fright. She has internal fever but cold skin, likely because she ate something poisonous!" He immediately wrote a prescription and ordered someone to fetch the medicine from a pharmacy on the street. He also instructed Bai Shandian to clean his wife's wounds, reduce inflammation and pain, apply Yunnan Baiyao, and bandage them. Finally, the old Chinese medicine doctor stroked his white goatee and said, "The lady has been unconscious for so long, probably due to an accumulation of toxins in her internal organs. These must be eliminated as soon as possible. The best approach is to find a suitable antidote; blindly using medication will only be futile." Bai Shandian suddenly remembered Xuehen and immediately said to Hong Yueliang, "Sister Yueliang, keep a close eye on your sister. I'll be right back!" Seeing her husband's trust in her, Hong Yueliang smiled sweetly and said, "Go ahead and do as you please!"

Bai Shandian went to the outhouse to fetch his steed—a Ferghana horse—and mounted it. He galloped away like the wind, leaving a trail of dust in his wake. In no time, he arrived at the Hangzhou prison. He dismounted and went straight to the warden, Yue Zhongyun. Unexpectedly, Yue Zhongyun harbored resentment ever since Bai Shandian blinded his right eye with a long pipe during Red Moon's escape. Seeing Bai Shandian, now free of official duties, actually coming to see him for a favor, Yue Zhongyun adopted a haughty, bureaucratic air! He sat upright at his desk, coldly scrutinizing Bai Shandian, and asked sarcastically, "Who are you? I don't recognize you!" Bai Shandian chuckled, stepped forward, and said, "Take a closer look. Do you recognize me?"

"You troublemaker, you're just looking for trouble! How could I possibly know someone like you! Get out of here! Don't play around! This is a prison, a place of serious iniquity. How dare you cause such a ruckus? If you don't get out, don't blame me for being ruthless!" Yue Zhongyun shouted. "Guards!" Several prison guards rushed in from outside the office, each wielding a broadsword and spear, and immediately surrounded Bai Shandian in the room!

"I am White Lightning! Don't you really recognize me, Warden?" White Lightning was completely bewildered, thinking he was getting old and his eyesight was failing. Unexpectedly, Yue Zhongyun coldly smiled: "How could I not recognize Lord White? How could I possibly recognize a mere commoner like you! Get out of here, or I'll have you imprisoned for disturbing public order!" With that, he waved his hand, and the jailers on both sides charged forward, swords and spears in hand! White Lightning roared, like a thunderclap from a clear sky, the sound shaking the rooftops. In the blink of an eye, he had already moved with lightning speed, his movements fluid and unpredictable, leaving the jailers stunned. Several jailers felt a numbness in their elbows, their hands going numb, and they dropped their weapons, frozen in place!

Just as Yue Zhongyun reached for the Yue Family Spear behind his desk, he felt a sudden tightening in his shoulder blades as a pair of large, eagle-claw-like hands grabbed him, instantly immobilizing him! A deep voice said, "Warden Yue, am I qualified to be White Lightning now?" Yue Zhongyun's face paled with fright, cold sweat beading on his forehead. He nodded frantically, like a chicken pecking at rice, repeatedly saying, "This humble official knows his mistake! It really is Lord Bai who has arrived! I am so sorry for not greeting you properly, please forgive me!" White Lightning laughed heartily and released him. He earnestly admonished him, saying, "I hope that in the future, Warden, you will not judge people by their official rank or appearance, and you will not be two-faced or deceitful! This kind of officialdom phenomenon is not unique to you. I have inspected the whole country and found it everywhere. It seems to have spread like a wicked trend! What's strange is that people don't resist it, but instead rush to imitate it! This disrupts the rules, corrupts the government, and how can the national atmosphere not be in chaos! It makes one worry about the future of the Qing Dynasty!" The Warden bowed his head and repeatedly agreed.

Bai Shandian suddenly became serious and said, "There's a guy named Xuehen who was just thrown into jail this morning, right?" Yue Zhongyun nodded and said, "Yes, he's an ordinary prisoner. According to the records, he didn't commit any major crimes, just illegal detention and setting up a private torture chamber." Bai Shandian smiled and said, "As expected of the warden, you really know all the prisoners in the entire jail. That's him! Please bring him over, I need to see him!" Yue Zhongyun hurriedly waved his hand and led his remaining troops out of the room.

A moment later, he led in a prisoner with a large cangue around his neck. The prisoner trembled at the sight of Bai Shandian, avoiding eye contact and lowering his head in fear. Bai Shandian rushed to him and barked at Yue Zhongyun, "You can leave now! Remember to close the door behind you and forbid anyone from entering or disturbing my interrogation!" Yue Zhongyun saw his face change drastically, becoming ferocious and terrifying, like a hungry beast ready to devour someone. He hurriedly agreed, ran out of his office, and quietly closed the door, personally standing guard. He feared that provoking this scourge would immediately cost him his life.