The Bodyguard King’s CEO Wife Chapter 1739: Citywide Manhunt

Shangguan Jian drew his sword and charged down, encountering a few imperial guards approaching him. He didn’t hesitate and knocked them down with a few swift moves, but at that moment, more guards spotted their whereabouts.

"They’re upstairs, hurry up and go kill them."

"By the lord’s order, kill them without exception."

"Kill!"

"Xue San, quickly take them to the kitchen," Shangguan Jian shouted.

Whoosh.

Shangguan Jian cried out in pain as an arrow pierced through his left arm, causing blood to flow profusely.

"Shangguan, are you okay?" Man Cang shouted.

"Don’t worry, you go first," Shangguan Jian gritted his teeth, endured the pain, and forcefully pulled out the arrow. He tore a strip of cloth to bandage the wound.

"Where are they? Shoot arrows and kill them."

"Master, be careful." A Hidden Guard reached out and pulled Shangguan Jian over; they hid behind a cabinet as arrows flew like rain in the tavern. The citizens, seeing the imperial guards enter, panicked and fled, only to be killed by the guards at the door. Mi Wen didn’t care about a few lives...

"Quick, quick, go!" Shangguan Jian urged everyone to retreat, lifting a table and blocking in front. Outside the kitchen was a small door leading to the market, where the tavern shopkeeper brought in the ingredients, and not many knew about it.

"Charge up, kill them."

"Move the tables and chairs to block them," Shangguan Jian commanded the nearby Hidden Guards to block the path with tables, his hands each holding a chair, directly smashing it toward the soldiers.

"Smash them."

"Release arrows."

Man Cang, strong and powerful, directly lifted Hehua and ran to the kitchen. Xue San, most familiar with the terrain, naturally led the way.

"Go, go now," Shangguan Jian shouted loudly, glancing at a wine jar on the side.

"Is there any fire?"

"Yes." A Hidden Guard took down an oil lamp and handed it to Shangguan Jian.

"Quick, smash the wine jars out." Shangguan Jian leaned against a cabinet, swung a wine jar with his right arm, and threw it straight ahead. The jar shattered, spilling all the wine inside.

"Smash them." The Hidden Guards followed suit, throwing all the wine jars from the wine cabinet, narrowing the tavern space with tables and chairs blocking the way. The imperial guards couldn’t push through.

Shangguan Jian seized the chance and threw the oil lamp across.

Boom.

The spilled wine ignited instantly, engulfing the tavern in a sea of flames. Even the well-trained imperial guards couldn’t be without pain; the front row of dozens of soldiers burned and turned toward the exit in chaos.

"Water, get me water."

"Water."

"Kill them," the officer outside ordered, as the rear archers released a volley of arrows, shooting down all the escaping soldiers.

"General, those rebels set the tavern on fire, what do we do now?"

"Chase after them, they must have escaped through the back door, chase them, don’t let a single one get away."

"Yes."

"Yes."

The tavern, back door.

"Quick, quick!" Shangguan Jian shouted loudly; they were in danger now, here in Linxiang City, Mi Wen’s territory, with so many imperial guards deployed, escape wouldn’t be easy. Covering his injured arm, Shangguan Jian ran forward in pain.

"They’re behind, chase them quick."

"Follow me," Xue San saw the situation and hurriedly led everyone toward the market, where many citizens could help hide them. Though some might get wounded, Xue San couldn’t worry about that now, leading over a dozen people directly into the chaos, knocking over all the stalls, with "vegetable leaves flying everywhere."

"Official business, all unauthorized personnel disperse."

"Move, move aside."

Xue San pulled out a cloth bag from his sleeve, tossed the flour inside into the air...

"Stay close to me," Xue San advised. The market was already crowded and chaotic, and now with flour raining down, it was like releasing two "smoke bombs," causing the Chasing Army to lose their targets.

Cough, cough, "Master, where do we go now?"

"Damn it, split up and search, find them at all costs."

"Yes."

"Yes."

.....................................

"Damn it, what’s going on, why are we being chased?" Man Cang punched the wall in anger. Everyone looped around the city several times before returning in batches to the hideout. Fortunately, the guards didn’t chase them further.

"I... I don’t know." Hehua sat in a corner, crying in anguish. She might already realize her mistake; besides fear, guilt weighed heavier as they were well-hidden. Why were they surrounded by imperial guards at the tavern? The sole explanation was that Hehua was tracked, and she remained unaware.

"Enough, don’t blame Hehua, she’s not trained to detect being followed." Shangguan Jian said calmly after cleaning the wound, "Moreover, it was us who brought her. We didn’t plan well enough."

"Lord Shangguan, are you okay?" Hehua asked.

"Don’t worry, it’s just an arrow wound, flesh wounds aren’t a problem." Shangguan Jian waved his hand.

"If these people really tracked Hehua to the tavern, it means Mi Wen has long been keeping an eye on her." After calming down, Xue San analyzed.

"No way, I’ve left the palace and visited the market a few times before, and there were no imperial guards." Hehua shook her head.

"Could it be..." Xue San murmured, thoughts racing, "Could it be that when you passed a message to your sister-in-law yesterday, the guards outside noticed?"

"Right now, we shouldn’t be discussing how it got exposed, but thinking about what to do next." Man Cang said.

"Indeed, we lost four brothers this time, and Mi Wen is aware of us now. Though this hideout hasn’t been exposed, it’s likely very dangerous." Shangguan Jian nodded, saying all city dwellers are recorded in the official registers, including all the businesses. The guards will search homes nationwide, reinforce the city gates, and might even shut down; escape will be difficult.

Additionally, if Mi Wen relocates He Linghan, moves her elsewhere, then everything they’ve done will be in vain.

Despair, bleakness; everyone in the room remained silent, the atmosphere lifeless...

"No, we absolutely cannot give up now." After a long pause, Shangguan Jian slowly stood up. With Ye Shikai not present, he was everyone’s "backbone." If he gave up, all would be nearing death.

"Shangguan, what should we do next?"

"We act early; this tunnel must be dug through before sunset tomorrow."