"Selling candied hawthorns! Sweet and sour candied hawthorns~".
"Young master, please buy a bouquet of flowers."
Xiao Xiyou and Zhou Zhizhi arrived at the West Lake, where the cries of vendors filled the air, creating a peaceful and lively scene.
"I'll have a bouquet," Zhou Zhizhi said to the little girl selling flowers. She paid, picked out a bright red flower, and held it in her hand.
"Your Highness, this is for you." Zhou Zhizhi smiled brightly and reached out her hand to him through the crowd.
This is the second time Zhou Zhizhi has given him flowers.
Xiao Xiyou's heart stirred slightly, and he reached out to accept the flowers from her.
He wasn't particularly fond of flowers, a common item that women often liked, but he couldn't bear to refuse the flowers that Zhou Zhizhi gave him.
In his life, he has had few things that went smoothly and as he wished. There were always many obstacles to the things he wanted to do, forcing him to give up.
In this small matter, he thought he could indulge himself just this once and stop being so cautious.
When Zhou Zhizhi saw Xiao Xiyou accept the flowers, she understood that this was a sign of a thaw in their relationship.
"Two strings of candied hawthorns, please."
"What is this? It smells so good!" Zhou Zhizhi followed the scent to a stall.
"Young master, these are our local specialty flower cakes. Would you like to try a couple?" the vendor enthusiastically promoted.
“I’ll buy it,” Zhou Zhizhi said cheerfully.
"Give me two baskets of xiaolongbao, and I'll have meat buns."
"Give me two ounces of dragon beard candy," Zhou Zhizhi said happily as she strolled along the snack street.
Xiao Xiyou followed behind him, his face full of black lines. This guy can eat way too much, buying so much.
In no time, Zhou Zhizhi had swept through most of the street. She was carrying large and small bags of shopping bags, and even Xiao Xiyou couldn't escape taking a bunch of things that Zhou Zhizhi bought.
The street vendors, seeing such a powerful customer, were all eager to make a purchase.
But this handsome young man was accompanied by another man of equally striking appearance, radiating an aura of boundless power. For a moment, no one dared to approach and promote their products.
“Young master, I see that you are handsome and have an extraordinary temperament, which is a perfect match for the Yunnan Shu embroidery that has just arrived in our shop.”
"Why not head over to one of the smaller shops and pick out an outfit that suits your taste?"
At this moment, a bold shop assistant from a clothing store went up to talk to Zhou Zhizhi.
Having eaten and drunk her fill, Zhou Zhizhi figured she had nothing better to do, and besides, she felt there was no need for her to dress as a woman anymore. So she decided to buy a suitable dress and put it on, and readily agreed to the waiter's invitation.
"Young master, please come in." The shop assistant was always very enthusiastic towards customers with strong purchasing power.
He bowed and scraped as he ushered Zhou Zhizhi and Xiao Xiyou into the store.
[The Good Deeds System warns you that danger lies ahead.]
The system's mechanical words interrupted Zhou Zhizhi's happy shopping trip, and she immediately became alert upon hearing them.
In the blink of an eye, the moment the two stepped into the shop, the man in black rushed out, brandishing a short sword and thrusting it straight at Zhou Zhizhi.
Thanks to the system's reminder, Zhou Zhizhi was prepared and handled the unexpected situation with ease.
With just one move, Zhou Zhizhi turned the tables and took the initiative, leaving Xiao Xiyou no chance to help her.
Just as Zhou Zhizhi was preparing to take the next step, completely subdue the assassin, and inquire about his purpose...
The assassin suddenly collapsed to the ground, spitting out blood.
"Hey! No way! I didn't use any force!" Zhou Zhizhi looked at the situation in front of her, her face turned pale, and she complained inwardly.
[The system has detected harmful behavior and the user will be eliminated soon.]
[The system has detected harmful behavior and the user will be eliminated soon.]
The system's mechanical voice played on a loop in Zhou Zhizhi's mind. Ignoring Xiao Xiyou's strange look, Zhou Zhizhi fled as fast as she could.
"System, system, this must be wrong! I didn't hit the assassin's vitals at all. I'm sure I didn't kill him!" Unknown shouted frantically at the system while hiding in a deserted corner.
[The system has detected harmful behavior and the user will be eliminated soon.]
[Countdown to annihilation: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6...]
"System! Can't you hear me?!" Zhou Zhizhi roared angrily as the countdown drew closer.
If someone were standing nearby, they would definitely find it strange that this person is talking to himself and is so angry.
[Private Marseille, Cheese Sauce, Wadashi, they've made another mistake.]
[This man was a suicide soldier; if he failed in one strike, the mission would be a failure. After the mission failed, he bit into the poison in his mouth and died from the poison.]
Once again, Zhou Zhizhi couldn't help but swear, "I'm going to chop this damn system to pieces and use the money to kill dogs!!"
Zhou Zhizhi, who had survived the ordeal, sat on the ground, trying to calm herself down after experiencing such a rollercoaster of emotions.
Meanwhile, Xiao Xiyou, who witnessed Zhou Zhizhi's assassination and then hurriedly left, had a gloomy expression.
He grabbed the waiter who had greeted them at the door and demanded, "Speak! Who gave you the order!"
Xiao Xiyou used all his strength; with just a slight twist, he could have snapped his throat.
"I...I didn't know anything about it." The waiter gripped Xiao Xiyou's hand tightly around his neck.
Xiao Xiyou did not receive a satisfactory answer, his eyes darkened, and he tightened his grip.
"Yes, yes, it's the shopkeeper, the shopkeeper!"
After extracting some useful information, Xiao Xiyou released his grip, signaling him to continue.
The guy who had narrowly escaped death clutched his neck, gasping for breath. When he felt Xiao Xiyou's gloomy gaze, he quickly told him everything he knew.
After all, he was just a worker, and he didn't want to lose his life over it.
"It was the shopkeeper. He just instructed me to make sure you two were welcomed in, but he didn't tell me anything else. I really didn't know there were assassins behind the counter!"
"Every word I said is true; I dare not utter a single falsehood." The clothing store clerk nervously watched the face getting closer and closer.
"Mmm, mmm~"
Upon hearing the waiter's words, Xiao Xiyou guessed that the shop owner had already fled, and chasing after him now would probably be futile.
So he stuffed the pills he was carrying into his waiter's mouth, covered his mouth, and made him swallow them.
"This is the missing piece of the whole moon, the most potent poison in the world," Xiao Xiyou said calmly, looking at the frightened shopkeeper.
"I don't care what method you use, I'll give you half a month. When the person who instructed you this time shows up, you need to stall him and go to the Second Prince's residence to inform the guards."
The person who ordered him was probably not the one in actual power here, someone who could recognize him and the Grand Preceptor and dare to carry out an assassination in broad daylight.
There must be a huge and complex network of relationships behind it, otherwise they wouldn't dare to act so blatantly.
"Young Master Xiao." Zhou Zhizhi, having calmed down, returned to the shop and happened to witness this scene.
To avoid revealing her identity to outsiders, she addressed Xiao Xiyou as "Young Master".
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