A flash of shock and panic crossed the masked man’s eyes. He imdiately moved to bite his tongue and end his own life!
However, Shen Yanchuan gave him no such opportunity.
With a single chop to the neck, the masked man’s eyes rolled back, and he passed out.
The door opened and Lian Zhou slipped in silently. His expression tightened when he saw the scene inside the room.
"So they couldn’t hold back after all."
Shen Yanchuan flicked the man’s mask off with the tip of his dagger, revealing an unfamiliar face that looked to be no older than twenty.
"Xu Jie is definitely behind this. We haven’t even reached Changzhou, and he’s already sent soone."
’A pity. I wonder if Xu Jie overestimated himself or underestimated , thinking he could take out just by sending a moderately skilled assassin.’
Lian Zhou stepped forward, took out a rope, and swiftly tied the man up.
He twitched his nose, catching the faint, cloyingly sweet scent in the air, and let out a soft "heh."
"This one ca prepared, even brought Soul-devouring Incense. An ordinary person just needs a whiff of this smoke to fall into a deep, oblivious sleep for the entire night."
Shen Yanchuan had sensed soone under the bed the mont he entered the room. To avoid alerting his foe, he had deliberately waited until nightfall to deal with it himself.
Lian Zhou tied the rope into a dead knot, then dislocated the man’s jaw to prevent any further suicide attempts. Only then did he let out a satisfied grunt.
"Too bad for them. They clearly don’t know that Su Mu’s greatest skill is poison. Even though he isn’t with us on this trip, he prepared all sorts of antidotes for us well in advance."
’Compared to Su Mu’s skills, this is just child’s play.’
Shen Yanchuan toyed with the dagger, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Still, for Xu Jie to send only one person... He must have been away from the Capital City for so long that he’s lost his grasp of the situation."
Lian Zhou said, "Hah! He probably heard you were injured a while back and thought you hadn’t fully recovered yet!"
For this journey, Shen Yanchuan had specifically chosen to travel by carriage.
To an uninford observer, his condition would indeed be difficult to discern.
Lian Zhou said proudly, "They’d never guess that thanks to Second Miss Ye, you’re already fully recovered!"
Shen Yanchuan froze.
The irritation that had been stirring in his heart from the cloying scent of the incense inexplicably subsided.
He tilted his head slightly. Outside the window, the rain fell without end.
’It’s raining so heavily here. I wonder what the weather is like over in Qingzhou?’
"Master? Master?"
Lian Zhou called out twice before Shen Yanchuan snapped out of his daze.
Seeing his master’s rare mont of distraction, Lian Zhou wouldn’t dare ask what—or who—was on his mind. He cleared his throat and asked cautiously, "So... what are your orders for this man?"
The faint glimr in Shen Yanchuan’s eyes turned to ice.
"Hand him over to Xi Su for interrogation. Afterward, clean him up and send what’s left to Lord Xu’s estate."
A chill went down Lian Zhou’s spine. "Yes, Master!"
He rose, clapped his hands twice, and two more figures vaulted silently in through the window.
Lian Zhou tossed the masked man to them, and the two figures vanished as quickly as they had appeared.
Aside from a gust of rainy autumn wind that blew in through the open window, no trace remained in the room. It was as if nothing had ever happened.
Lian Zhou spoke again. "Master, there’s sothing strange about Shiluan City."
Shen Yanchuan lifted his gaze.
Lian Zhou’s expression grew serious. "I was investigating today and saw a few n on the street returning from the mines."
Shen Yanchuan’s eyes narrowed. "I was not aware Shiluan City had any mines."
"Apparently it’s a small iron mine. I made so inquiries; they said it was discovered last year. It didn’t attract much attention because it’s so small."
A large iron mine would have to be reported to the governnt, but smaller ones like this are usually claid by private parties.
"Normally, that wouldn’t be anything noteworthy, but..."
Lian Zhou paused, his expression growing more somber.
"I have a feeling those n were not as simple as they appeared."
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