Chapter 44 This is not their signal

Pei Zhiwei's hand, which was gripping the short blade, was firmly held.

The force wasn't great, but it landed precisely on the most tricky part of the blade, making it impossible for her to push it forward even an inch.

Just as Pei Zhiwei was about to change her move, she heard a familiar voice with a hint of laughter: "If Madam Pei's knife goes in any further, it will leave a hole in my heart."

She then turned around and saw who it was. Xiao Yunzhan stood in the moonlight, still carrying a trace of the perfume from Yihonglou. He held her short blade in his hand, and a mischievous glint shone in his eyes.

"How come it's you?" She sheathed her dagger. "I thought it was Ding Jin who had caught up with us. The way he looked just now, he didn't seem to be planning to let this go."

Xiao Yunzhan sighed dramatically, his tone laced with mischief: "If I, a prince, were to really die under Lady Pei's blade, wouldn't it become a laughingstock in the capital?"

"He was investigating a case, and instead of being caught by the criminals, he died at the hands of his own people. This injustice is so great that even the King of Hell would laugh."

Pei Zhiwei couldn't help but glare at him: "Who told you not to call me beforehand? You saw it yourself at Yihonglou. With Ding Jin's temperament, he's probably still chasing after us right now."

"Don't worry, he can't catch you. Your lightness skill is such that even if I try my best, I can only barely keep up with you."

Ding Jin jumped out of the window and chased after him, but after only a few steps he veered off course and is probably still circling the alleyway right now.

He changed the subject abruptly, saying seriously, "By the way, I overheard Ding Jin's conversation with the madam outside the private room. I have something important to tell you."

Pei Zhiwei hadn't expected that he was actually hearing some crucial information.

"What did they say? Was it related to Cold Food Powder?"

"It's not just Hanshi San (Cold Food Powder). The madam told Ding Jin that Shen Yizhi bought Hanshi San from her."

Imagine, Shen Chengzhang's health-enhancing wine was laced with that stuff, and Shen Yizhi kept urging his father to sell Suhetang.

Just a few days ago at Yihonglou, he said he wanted to "kill the old man," so he can't escape suspicion now.

Pei Zhiwei nodded. She had suspected Shen Yizhi of being highly suspicious when she found out that he had suddenly paid off his gambling debts.

Now that it's linked to Hanshisan (a traditional Chinese medicine), all the clues are connected.

"Then we must quickly interrogate Shen Yizhi!"

"No rush." ​​Xiao Yunzhan shook his head.

“Shen Yizhi is in jail and can’t escape. There’s something else more important right now.” He leaned forward, lowering his voice even further.

"Ding Jin also told the madam that his 'young sheep in the pen' had not yet been transported out."

Do you remember Lin Acui? She was abducted for over a month, but was murdered outside the city last night.

I suspect those 'young lambs' are the missing woman.

"It's them?" Pei Zhiwei's heart skipped a beat.

"Then let's quickly notify the authorities and send men to search the Taihu Gang's headquarters. We'll be afraid if we're too late..."

"We can't go rashly." Xiao Yunzhan grabbed her arm.

"We only know that Ding Jin is a member of the Taihu Gang, but we don't know if those women are hiding in the manor of his branch."

"If they're hidden somewhere else, and we rashly lead people to search, Ding Jin's men might panic and kill them all to silence them, just like they did with the smuggled salt."

Pei Zhiwei was stunned. She had only been thinking about saving people as quickly as possible and hadn't considered this risk.

She composed herself and said, "Then what do you suggest? I'll do whatever you say."

"I've already sent my guards to inform Lord Pei and Gu Boheng." Xiao Yunzhan took out a flag from his pocket and handed it to her.

"Let them lead their men to ambush near the Taihu Gang's headquarters, and we'll go scout ahead first."

If they find where the woman is being held, they should set off this flag and fire. Once they see the signal, they should rush in immediately.

This way, we won't alert the enemy, and we can rescue people in time.

Just then, the soft sound of horses' hooves came from the alley entrance.

The guards led two fast horses out of the shadows. The black horses were shiny and smooth, clearly top-quality warhorses.

"Your Highness, Lady Pei." The guard bowed and said, "The guards at Xumen City Gate have already made arrangements. Once you two arrive, please open the city gate immediately."

Xiao Yunzhan nodded and then instructed him, "You stay in the city and keep an eye on Ding Jin's movements. Don't alert him; just follow him from a distance."

If he comes into contact with anyone else, remember their appearance and where they go, and report it to me later.

"Understood, sir." The guard replied and retreated into the shadows at the end of the alley.

Xiao Yunzhan and Pei Zhiwei did not delay any longer and leaped onto their horses.

"Do you think Ding Jin might have already noticed?" she asked Xiao Yunzhan, turning her head to look at him.

"When he was making a deal with the madam at Yihonglou, his arm was injured by a masked man, and he couldn't catch up with him. What if he regained his senses and sent a signal to the manor to strengthen its defenses?"

"It's unlikely." Xiao Yunzhan cracked his whip, and the black horse quickened its pace.

"He was furious when he chased after them, probably thinking it was some enemy coming to his door, and didn't think about the government investigating the case."

The Taihu Gang is used to being arrogant outside the city; even the yamen runners don't dare to mess with them easily. He never expected we'd find him so quickly.

Before they knew it, they had arrived at Xumen. The city gate guards saw Xiao Yunzhan's token and, as expected, did not ask any questions. They simply opened half of the city gate and let the two horses gallop out.

The two horses stopped about half a mile from the village.

Xiao Yunzhan and Pei Zhiwei dismounted, tied their horses to trees by the roadside, and, under the cover of night, used their light-footed skills to gallop towards the manor.

At the entrance of the manor, two guards with swords at their sides paced back and forth, their eyes warily scanning their surroundings.

"Come up to the roof," Xiao Yunzhan whispered in Pei Zhiwei's ear.

"Go around from above, split up and search. You search the west side, I'll search the east side. If you find anything, blow a whistle. Don't act on your own."

Pei Zhiwei nodded, lightly touched the ground with her feet, and floated up like a leaf, landing steadily on the roof of the manor.

Xiao Yunzhan followed him to another rooftop, and the two parted ways under the moonlight, their figures quickly blending into the night.

Pei Zhiwei lay on the roof, looking down by the moonlight.

The courtyard in the manor was very large. Several guards were drinking and making a lot of noise in the front yard, but the back yard was very quiet, with only a few rooms lit up.

She moved slowly along the rooftop, her eyes scanning each room, but she didn't see a woman in sight.

Is it really not here?

Just as I was pondering this, I suddenly heard a faint rustling sound coming from the woodshed to the west, as if someone was moving around inside.

She quietly slid down from the roof, hid behind a haystack next to the woodshed, and peeked inside.

There was a lot of dry grass piled up in the woodshed, and there was a dark hole in the corner of the wall, like a secret passage. The noise just now came from inside.

Pei Zhiwei was overjoyed. She crouched down and slipped into the woodshed, taking out a luminous pearl from her bosom. Her mother had specially found it for her so that she could carry it with her at night.

The light from the luminous pearl was soft and wouldn't attract attention like a lantern. She used the light to walk into the secret passage.

After walking for about half an incense stick's time, a light suddenly appeared ahead, and the voices of two people talking could be heard.

Pei Zhiwei's heart tightened, and she quickly put the luminous pearl into her bosom.

He pushed off the walls of the secret passage with both feet, his body soared upwards, his hands and feet braced horizontally on either side of the passage, his entire body pressed against the ceiling, even his breathing was extremely shallow.

Two guards carrying lanterns walked over, and as the lanterns' light swept across the floor of the secret passage, the two men passed under her.

She held her breath and listened to their conversation.

"Why haven't these young lambs been transported away yet?" a guard complained. "I'm stuck guarding this wretched place every day, my heart is in my throat, I'm terrified the authorities will come knocking one day."

“Who says otherwise?” another guard sighed.

"Last night, the leader took too much Cold Food Powder and went too far, killing one of them. The body was dragged out and thrown into the river by the brothers on duty last night."

I think if we don't get rid of them soon, it's better for us brothers to benefit from them; it's better than letting them rot here."

"Don't get any ideas," the first guard quickly stopped him.

"The head of the hall said he would go and ask the higher-ups about the regulations tonight, to find out exactly when the shipment will be made."

If he doesn't give any instructions yet, when he comes back tomorrow, I reckon all these young lambs will be slaughtered.

It's better to leave it unfinished and avoid any unforeseen complications.

"Kill him?" Another guard's eyes lit up.

"Before we slaughter them, can we let the brothers have some fun first?"

There are a few pretty girls in this batch; it would be such a waste to kill them like this.

"Keep your voice down!" The first guard slapped him on the shoulder.

"If anyone hears this and tells the hall master, you'll be in big trouble!"

"Let's get out of here, stop chatting idly."

As the sound of their footsteps faded into the distance, Pei Zhiwei finally dared to breathe a sigh of relief and jumped down from the top of the secret passage.

What she had just heard sent chills down her spine.

They killed one person, and then they slaughtered everyone else. These people are utterly inhuman!

She dared not delay and crept over quietly in the direction the guards had come from.

This time she didn't dare use the luminous pearl again, and could only slowly walk forward by the faint light in front of her.

After walking a few steps, I saw a large house in front of me. The door of the house was made of iron and had a lock on it.

She peered through the crack in the door and saw a dark mass of people inside. Dozens of girls were huddled on the floor, some sobbing softly, some staring blankly upwards, and others huddled together, trembling.

They are the missing women!

Pei Zhiwei's eyes welled up with tears. She desperately wanted to rush in, unlock the door, and take them out, but she knew she couldn't.

There are so many guards outside; if they are alerted, these women will only be in greater danger.

She gritted her teeth, quietly slipped out, and retraced her steps.

As soon as I got back to the rooftop, I saw that Xiao Yunzhan had also returned.

When he saw Pei Zhiwei, he immediately crouched down and came over.

"So, have you found anything to the west?"

"Yes!" Pei Zhiwei lowered her voice and spoke quickly.

"There is a secret passage in the woodshed, and below it is an iron house where dozens of women are imprisoned. They should be the missing people."

Ding Jin's men said that if there were no instructions by tomorrow, they would kill them all, and that they had already killed one of them last night and thrown her into the river.

It might just be Lin Acui!

Xiao Yunzhan's face darkened completely.

"These beasts."

I checked too. There aren't many guards in the front yard, but the back yard is mostly guarded for the secret passage.

"Let's signal now to let Lord Pei and the others in."

Pei Zhiwei nodded and was about to reach out to catch the flag when a red light suddenly rose from the direction of Suzhou City and exploded in the sky like a dazzling flower.

Both of them froze, turning to look towards the city—this was not their signal.