Fengqingzi stared blankly at these people, his mind a complete haze. Since when did he have so many enemies?
But the assassins did not care what he was thinking as they lunged toward them.
In an instant, Guanyue Tower descended into utter chaos. Wealthy merchants, desperate to save their own lives, fled toward the exit. The assassins used this to blend into the crowd, lurking like venomous serpents, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Zhang Ming and Fengqingzi drew their weapons at the same time, warily scanning their surroundings. Over a dozen assassins were slowly closing in on them in a flanking formation.
When one of them was only five paces away, he was the first to strike, springing forward like a fierce tiger while thrusting a dagger outward.
Zhang Ming reacted swiftly. With a sweep of his blade, he knocked the dagger away and thrust forward in the same movement, piercing the assassin's throat with the tip of his weapon.
“Dammit! Don't fight them individually! All together, charge!”
Seeing their companion killed, the remaining assassins swarmed them instantly. Zhang Ming and Fengqingzi were forced to fight back, but the sheer number of assassins and their ferocious onslaught made it difficult for the two to hold them off.
Zhang Ming cast a subtle glance at Fengqingzi beside him. Although the young swordsman parried many of the assassins' lethal blows, he had already sustained several cuts across his body, looking quite battered.
With this level of strength, it would have been impossible for him to wipe out Prince Ning's Residence. Even the Guard Commander of the residence alone would have been enough to deal with him.
Could it be... he had truly guessed wrong?
Zhang Ming's hands kept swinging his blade without pause as countless thoughts raced through his mind. Just as he spun to dodge a blade slashing from behind, he happened to spot Jiang Moran behind him.
Four assassins were relentlessly besieging him, yet he merely held a single chopstick in his hand, effortlessly parrying every attack. Not even a single thread of his clothes had been torn.
Every strike either grazed past him by a hair's breadth or was precisely deflected by his chopstick. His footwork was even more bizarre and unpredictable, making it entirely impossible to discern any pattern!
Shock washed over Zhang Ming. This level of composure was deeply ingrained in the man's very bones; it was absolutely impossible to fake.
Staring at Jiang Moran's indifferent face, a bold hypothesis formed in his mind. If it were him...
“The Six Doors is here! Bold scoundrels, surrender now!”
Just then, a thunderous shout erupted from the entrance as a crowd of men clad in Six Doors uniforms rushed inside.
At this sight, the remaining assassins exchanged glances and immediately disengaged, dispersing rapidly. Their movements were neat and efficient, making it obvious at a glance that they were highly trained.
Out of the dozen or so assassins, only three were left captured; the rest had all escaped.
An agent wearing a Golden Crow Token walked in slowly from outside, his gaze sweeping over the captured assassins like burning torches before he finally let out a cold snort.
“Take them down for interrogation.”
“Understood!”
The other Six Doors agents departed to carry out their orders, and soon only the four of them remained. The agent's sharp eyes scrutinizingly swept over Fengqingzi and Jiang Moran.
Seeing this, Zhang Ming took a step forward, cupping his hands. “These two were invited by me.”
Upon hearing Zhang Ming's words, the agent finally withdrew his gaze and said indifferently, “If that is the case, then you should head back early. There are still matters to handle here.”
Hearing this, Fengqingzi let out a sigh of relief. He quickly nodded in agreement and hurriedly dragged Jiang Moran away. Before leaving, Jiang Moran casually took the flask of Spring Tea Wine with him.
By now, only the two of them were left inside Guanyue Tower. The agent slowly walked over to Zhang Ming, stopping an arm's length away.
He slowly fished out a token from his robe. It was neither a Bronze-Rank, Silver-Rank, nor Gold-Rank token, but a black one. Carved upon it was a book bound by iron chains, though the chains were shattered, and the book was half-open, revealing a single eye inside.
Zhang Ming took the token and swapped it with the Six Doors Bronze-Rank Token at his waist. The Golden Crow Token agent took a step back and bowed slightly to Zhang Ming.
“Commander-in-Chief.”
It turned out that the person before them had never been some Bronze-Rank Agent named Zhang Ming, but rather the Commander-in-Chief of the Six Doors—Di Renjie!
“Are there any clues inside the Prince's Residence?” Di Renjie asked, looking at him.
“No. Someone reached the residence ahead of us and swept away all the clues. Now, only some jewelry and treasures remain in the Prince's Residence.”
Di Renjie nodded slightly. Taking only key information while leaving behind the wealth—it seemed the waters behind this residence case ran deep.
“Let us make another trip to the Prince's Residence.”
In front of Prince Ning's Residence, several Silver-Rank Agents had already been waiting. From afar, they spotted the figures of Di Renjie and the Gold-Rank Agent.
“Commander-in-Chief!”
Di Renjie nodded and walked straight into Prince Ning's Residence. The bodies inside had already been cleared away, leaving behind only blood-stained crimson floors.
A faint scent of blood still lingered in the air, drifting through the estate.
He crossed the courtyard, walked along the corridor, and arrived at Prince Ning's study. The interior had already been ransacked into a complete mess, with books scattered all over the floor.
Di Renjie ignored the mess and kicked the bookshelf next to him, sending it crashing to the ground and instantly splintering into pieces.
The Gold-Rank Agent said in a hushed tone, “My Lord, Prince Ning is a prince after all. Isn't it somewhat inappropriate for us to do this?”
“The dead cannot speak, but the truth must be uncovered,” Di Renjie said indifferently, his eyes staring like burning torches at something on the floor.
It was a yellowed letter that had been flung out from the cracked break of the collapsed bookshelf.
Originally, there hadn't been a single trace of any seam at the fracture. If the bookshelf hadn't been destroyed, it would have been impossible to discover. The craftsmanship of the person who hid this letter inside the bookshelf was nothing short of miraculous.
“It is Luban engineering! Only a woodwright from the Luban lineage could achieve such a level of craftsmanship,” the Gold-Rank Agent exclaimed in admiration.
Di Renjie ignored his commentary, stepping forward to pick up the letter. More than anything else, he cared about the contents written inside.
After all, a letter hidden with Luban engineering was bound to be highly intriguing.
Tearing open the envelope, Di Renjie unfolded the letter to inspect it.
What met his eyes caused his pupils to contract instantly. There were only a few scrawled words at the top, yet the weight of the information they held was not to be underestimated.
“Secret Agreement: Presenting one hundred thousand gold taels to Third Prince Ji Chen. Upon his future ascension to the throne, Prince Ning shall be enfeoffed as the Prince of Equal Standing!”
The Gold-Rank Agent leaned in to take a look and instantly gasped. Prince Ning had privately gifted the Third Prince one hundred thousand taels of gold!
This sum of one hundred thousand taels of gold was enough to equip six thousand elite troops. Was this a plot to stage a palace coup?!
“My Lord, this is...”
Di Renjie raised his hand to signal him to be quiet. Tucking the letter away carefully, he said in a low, grave voice, “Zeng Tai, I want you to enter the palace at the Hour of the Rat tonight to seek an audience with His Majesty, and deliver this secret letter to him.”
Zeng Tai was the Gold-Rank Agent's name.
As the two planned their arrangements for tonight, they were entirely unaware of a dark shadow flashing across the eaves.
Their conversation had already fallen into someone else's ears.
...
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