Even when he was furious, Su Qingcai remained vigilant. He keenly sensed the approaching danger, dodged the assassin's attack with a swift movement, and snatched the large knife from the assassin's hand, holding it to his neck.
"Speak, who are you!"
“Dead men don’t need to know this!” The assassin glared fiercely at Su Qingcai, then waved to the bandits behind him. “Brothers, now’s the perfect opportunity, kill him quickly!”
"Who is your brother?" The bandits looked completely bewildered. Instead of attacking Su Qingcai, they swarmed forward and tied the assassin up.
The assassin stared in disbelief at the approaching bandits. He struggled desperately, but he was no match for their numbers. In the end, he was bound and unable to move, and was thrown at Su Qingcai's feet without any dignity.
"Who sent you?" Su Qingcai squatted down, her eyes fixed on the assassin with utterly cold eyes.
The assassin turned his face away, displaying an attitude of preferring death to surrender.
Su Qingcai sneered and scoffed, "You think I wouldn't have guessed even if you hadn't told me? It must be that the Seventh Prince already knew I was returning to the capital, so he sent you to ambush me, right? Why didn't he send someone smarter? How laughable!"
Unexpectedly, Su Qingcai guessed his identity so easily. The assassin was speechless, thinking that he was going to die here today, so he closed his eyes tightly and waited for death to come.
After waiting for a long time, Su Qingcai did not make any move.
"Want to die? Too bad I can't let you off so easily." Su Qingcai thought for a while, but ultimately didn't make a move. "You're still useful. Since the Seventh Prince has given me such a great gift, I can't let him down."
Su Qingcai did not reveal his plan, but simply ordered the bandits to lock up the assassins, and to wait until the Black Wind Chieftain recovered before making any further plans.
...
Appendicitis isn't a serious illness, just a sudden, excruciating pain. This minor ailment was nothing to Bai Hua, and with Su Xiaoning's help, he quickly cured the Black Wind Chieftain in less than two days.
The Black Wind Chieftain had never known the cause of his illness and believed Su Xiaoning's explanation without question. As soon as he recovered, he knelt down in front of Su Xiaoning with a thud.
"Thank you, Holy Maiden, for saving me! It was all my fault before, for committing so many crimes. I deserve what I have to do with myself now! I've made up my mind. From now on, I will disband Black Wind Stronghold, take my brothers home to farm, and never be a bandit again!"
Logically speaking, it would be a good thing if there were no bandits in this area, but after careful consideration, Su Xiaoning shook her head at the Black Wind Chieftain.
“No, every place will have a few bad guys. Even if it’s not Black Wind Stronghold, it will be some other stronghold. It will probably be even more troublesome then. I want you to stay in the stronghold. Whether you farm or do something else, it’s fine, as long as you don’t harass passing merchants and the residents of the town. You can be a ‘fake bad guy’ to protect them, okay?”
"Since the Holy Maiden has spoken, we will certainly do as she says!" The Black Wind Chieftain nodded repeatedly and agreed.
Su Xiaoning nodded in satisfaction and left the inner room with Bai Hua. Before they had gone a few steps, they saw Su Qingcai walking towards them.
"Come with me, I'll take you to see someone."
After Su Qingcai finished speaking, he led Su Xiaoning and Bai Hua to the woodshed.
The assassin captured two days ago was locked in the woodshed. No one had brought him food for the past two days, and he lay on the ground, starving and on the verge of death, still glaring fiercely at Su Qingcai.
"This man was captured two days ago. I guess he was sent by the Seventh Prince to kill me. I thought he might still be useful, so I didn't rush to get rid of him. Is there any way to return a great gift to the Seventh Prince?"
As Su Qingcai spoke, her gaze fell on Bai Hua.
Bai Hua shrugged and said nonchalantly, "Just say whatever comes to mind. Xiao Ning won't object anyway; I'll listen to her."
Upon hearing the affectionate nickname "Xiao Ning," Su Qingcai's brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.
Seeing Su Xiaoning's unresponsive expression, Su Qingcai swallowed his words and said seriously, "Rumor has it that the Drunken Doctor can not only bring the dead back to life and heal the wounded, but his silver needles can also alter people's memories. I want to change this assassin's memory to show that he succeeded in the assassination, so that I can bring false news to the Seventh Prince. What do you think?"
"Tch, these rumors just love to steal other people's livelihood skills." Bai Hua scoffed, but did not deny it. "What you're asking for is something I can do. Anyway, it's for our safety, so I'll reluctantly help you out."
After saying that, Bai Hua walked up to the assassin, took out the silver needles he carried, and said with a smile, "Don't be afraid, it will only hurt a little, just bear with it and it will pass."
The silver needles gleamed coldly, and paired with Bai Hua's sinister smile, they sent chills down one's spine.
The assassin screamed and immediately fainted, losing consciousness.
After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Bai Hua successfully altered the assassin's memory using sleeping powder and silver needles. The group then threw the unconscious assassin into a forest some distance away from Black Wind Stronghold.
In the memory that Bai Hua meticulously wove for the assassin, the assassin successfully assassinated Su Qingcai and his group, and collapsed in the mountains due to exhaustion during his escape. It is believed that after he wakes up, he will return to the capital to report this "good news" to Su Qinghe.
After doing all this, Su Xiaoning and Su Qingcai gave special instructions to the Black Wind Village Chief and the residents of Narcissus Town before leaving the area.
Black Wind Stronghold spread the word that they had killed Su Xiaoning and the others with assassins. The old woman and others who returned from Black Wind Stronghold gave the same story, saying that Su Xiaoning and the others had sacrificed their lives to bring peace to Narcissus Town, and that Black Wind Stronghold would never harass Narcissus Town again.
The residents of Narcissus Town were both moved and saddened, so they spontaneously held a funeral for Su Xiaoning and the others.
On the day of the funeral, almost the entire town attended, and the sound of mournful weeping could be heard from afar.
When Su Qinghe's scouts learned of this, they quickly reported it to Su Qinghe.
"What? Su Qingcai is really dead?"
Upon hearing this "good news," the ever-skeptical Su Qinghe did not immediately believe it. His mind was filled with doubts; he couldn't believe they had succeeded so easily.
"Your Highness, I saw all of this with my own eyes. The Ninth Prince is really dead. Your Highness can now rest easy!"
The informant who came to report spoke with great certainty, just like the assassin who had previously reported that he had succeeded.
Although Su Qinghe had doubts, she couldn't find any evidence, so she could only choose to believe it and put the matter aside for the time being.
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