Just as Gu Mu was about to catch the gray-robed man, the system suddenly issued a task.

[Hero Saves the Beauty - In female-oriented novels, whenever the female lead is in danger, the male lead appears like a divine intervention to rescue her from peril. Reward: Male Lead Value +5. Reminder: Act quickly!]

Gu Mu looked at the system task and the gray-robed man not far away.

He could catch up with the gray-robed man in a very short time, but subduing him would likely require a fight.

The fact that the system issued this task at this moment indicates that Shen Ling is already in danger.

Intuitively, Gu Mu knew that this assassination attempt must be related to the real Zhang Banxian. If they caught this person, they might be able to get clues about Zhang Banxian.

However, if he gets entangled with this person, Shen Ling may fall into an unknown and dangerous situation.

Gu Mu looked at the three words "as soon as possible" in the system task, his eyes darkened, and he took out several hidden weapons from his sleeve and stabbed them at the gray-robed man. The hidden weapons were poisoned by Shen Ling.

This poison was created by Shen Ling, who has an exceptional talent for poisons, and only Shen Ling can cure it.

Even if we capture the gray-robed man, we might not be able to get any information out of him, so it's better to leave him no survivors.

After dodging several hidden weapons, the gray-robed man's arm was still grazed by one of them.

This is called "an eye for an eye." The gray-robed man had previously used a poisoned arrow to assassinate Gu Mu, and now Gu Mu has taken his revenge.

Seeing the blood seeping from the sleeves of the gray-robed man, Gu Mu's lips curled into a cold smile as he said to the parchment scroll, "Follow him, and it would be best if we could sign a deal."

Then Gu Mu turned around and headed towards the inn.

This system is awful. Although it told him to save Shen Ling, it didn't tell him where Shen Ling was, and even told him to hurry.

If he fails to figure out Shen Ling's whereabouts in time, he may miss the opportunity to rescue her.

As expected, Shen Ling was no longer in her room at the inn. Their previous pursuit had not alerted anyone at the inn. Based on Gu Mu's understanding of Shen Ling, although she seemed indifferent, she was actually quite arrogant.

Because Shen Ling had learned many things from a young age, she developed an independent personality that didn't rely on others.

She is very likely to develop her own opinions and handle some problems.

While worrying that Shen Ling hadn't notified anyone else and was going to do something herself, Gu Mu, clinging to a sliver of hope, opened the door and summoned the inn's guards.

There were far fewer guards in the inn.

Gu Mu inexplicably breathed a sigh of relief.

The guards all knelt down upon seeing Gu Mu: "We failed in our duty, allowing His Majesty to be assassinated!"

"This is not the time to talk about these things. Where is the Empress? And the other guards?" Gu Mu asked anxiously.

"The Empress, along with some guards and her two personal maids, went to the prison where Qingqiu and Zhang Banxian were being held. Before she left, the Empress instructed us to stay around the inn and not to wander around, lest we be captured in one fell swoop."

The guard recalled Shen Ling's instructions.

Gu Mu nodded.

The fact that she didn't send anyone to help him demonstrates Shen Ling's calm and confident demeanor.

Because Shen Ling believed that Gu Mu's pursuit of an assassin would not endanger his life, and that even if he encountered danger, he could escape back to the inn, she sent people to guard the area around the inn to provide timely assistance to Gu Mu.

If Shenling sends people to chase after the assassin in the direction Gu Mu is pursuing, firstly, the guards' lightness skills are not as good as Gu Mu's, and secondly, although they know the general direction Gu Mu is pursuing the assassin, they may change direction midway.

Secondly, if Gu Mu returns and the guards haven't received the news, they might continue searching for him and, due to their small numbers, be captured in one fell swoop.

Gu Mu admired Shen Ling for remaining so calm in such a chaotic situation, even analyzing that the enemy's target was likely Zhang Banxian, who was heading towards the prison with his guards.

Since that person was after Zhang Banxian, even though Gu Mu didn't catch up with the gray-robed man, having Zhang Banxian around would serve the same purpose.

Gu Mu immediately ordered, "Everyone from the inn, follow me toward the prison."

Since Shen Ling, accompanied by guards, could still encounter danger, Gu Mu had to take it seriously. Therefore, he brought along all the guards he had brought from the capital.

Upon entering the prison where they were being held, a jailer respectfully opened the cell door for Gu Mu at the main entrance.

"Has the Empress gone in?" Gu Mu did not go in immediately, but stood at the entrance of the prison and asked the jailer.

The jailer bowed and smiled, saying, "The Empress has gone in, accompanied by many guards. She went in not long before His Majesty. If His Majesty wants to find the Empress, just go to the innermost cell. The two people who were imprisoned in the innermost cell yesterday are now imprisoned in the deepest part of the cell."

"The Empress hasn't come out yet?"

"Not yet." The jailer didn't know why His Majesty asked that, but he answered whatever His Majesty asked, appearing very honest.

"Besides the exit you're guarding, are there any other exits from this prison?"

Gu Mu checked again. If this was the only exit, it meant that Shen Ling was in danger in the cell but had not yet alerted the people outside the prison.

His step into this territory is no small matter.

The jailer assured him confidently, "Of course there's only one exit, Your Majesty. This is a place where prisoners are held. If there were more exits, wouldn't it make it easier for those prisoners to escape? Rest assured, Your Majesty, we would never do that."

After thinking for a moment, the jailer added, "By the way, Your Majesty! You don't need to worry about the prisoners digging tunnels or anything like that. We inspect the prison every day, and I can assure you that under our supervision, the prisoners will not be able to create a second escape route on their own."

Gu Mu looked at the jailer's confident expression.

It didn't seem like he was saying these things to curry favor; there was a hint of pride on the jailer's face—pride in his dedication to his work.

Gu Mu nodded, deciding to believe him for the time being.

He raised his hand almost imperceptibly, making a gesture.

To others, this gesture might just be His Majesty moving his hand, but to the assassins, it was a secret code between them.

The assassin, hidden from view, nodded and then, without anyone noticing, quietly entered the prison to gather information for Gu Mu.

Gu Mu then extended a portion of his consciousness into the Hidden City.

If any of the assassins encounter any problems in the prison, they will enter the Hidden City and report to Gu Mu.

The prison door was open, but because there was a downward staircase to get into the prison, you couldn't see anything from the doorway.

Meanwhile, the assassins quietly sneaked into the prison and went down the stairs.

You can see some ordinary people imprisoned in jail cells. Their eyes are dull and calm. Everything seems very ordinary.