Chapter 42: The Forty-Second Kill

Xiaoyu held her breath and listened carefully to Zhou Xunran's arrangements.

Kill Li Tong and exterminate his entire family.

Zhou Yi personally carried out the operation in secret so as not to cause any disturbance in the mansion.

It dealt a heavy blow to Cao Shipeng.

His voice was calm and controlled, as if he was speaking normally, without the slightest fluctuation throughout.

Xiaoyu leaned against the cold wall, and felt that the coldness seemed to have consciousness, flowing along the skin where her shoulders touched the wall, and seeping into her bones and blood bit by bit.

The hall master once said that she was a failed and incompetent killer who would never learn to be ruthless.

Xiaoyu admitted that, especially at this moment, hearing that they were going to attack Li Tong, the ten-year-old boy, even though she knew that Li Tong's existence was a disaster to Zhou Xunran, Xiaoyu still couldn't bear it.

She stood up and wanted to tell Li Tong in advance so that his father could take him away.

But her legs seemed to weigh a thousand pounds, and she couldn't move at all.

Xiaoyu just leaned there quietly, listening to the movement inside disappear. Zhou Yi opened the door and walked out, leaving Zhou Xunran alone, and no one knew what he was doing quietly.

She felt extremely upset.

I hated myself for not informing Li Tong for Zhou Xunran's sake.

I also hate myself for still having compassion in my heart even after being in this situation.

Only when there was no movement from Zhou Xunran in the room did Xiaoyu stand up with difficulty, holding on to the wall, and left Qingwu Courtyard in a daze.

Not long after coming out, he bumped into Zhou Yi head-on.

Xiaoyu nodded at him, walked around him and wanted to go directly back to Fengheyuan.

Zhou Yi was confused, "Xiao Yu, what's wrong with you?"

The two men were standing on either side of the road, so they were not too close to each other. Zhou Yi's clothes were clean and tidy, without any stains, but Xiaoyu still smelled a strong smell of blood from him.

The smell was familiar yet strange, as if she had smelled it on him before.

Xiaoyu shook her head: "It's okay, I'm a little tired."

"Oh," Zhou Yi said without thinking, "Then you go back and rest first. I'll talk to the prince."

"Um."

At the moment when their bodies intertwined, Xiaoyu suddenly remembered that this smell on Zhou Yi was the one she had smelled on him when he was interrogating Tian Xiaohui in the private prison.

At that time, Zhou Yi was interrogating Tian Xiaohui to find out who was the mastermind behind the assassination of Zhou Xunran, so it was not surprising that he smelled of blood.

Xiaoyu shook his head, always feeling that he thought too simply.

Something flashed through her mind so fast that she couldn't grasp it.

She returned to her room and began to pack her things. She had a feeling that the clue must be in her room.

It was not until Xiaoyu saw the white jade ring left by Sixteenth Sister that she finally remembered the clue that she had always ignored: Xiaoyu had visited Sixteenth Sister in Yirenyuan on the day before her death.

The smell in her room at that time was exactly the same as the smell Xiaoyu smelled on Zhou Yi when she was in the study in Qingwuyuan.

There was a scent of powder in the blood.

So, just like today, Zhou Yi personally solved the problem for Sister Sixteen.

Zhou Xunran was the leader of Jieyou Sect, and so was Zhou Yi. They must have known the relationship between her and Sixteenth Sister, but they still ignored her face and dealt with Sixteenth Sister.

Her face? Xiaoyu sneered, what kind of face could she have?

I originally thought that Zhou Xunran and I were in a master-disciple relationship. Now that the master is gone, they should naturally take care of each other. But now it seems that the master-disciple relationship is not real.

How can she still have any face?

Her current role is to make some medicinal food for Zhou Xunran.

In that case, there is no need for her to stay any longer.

Xiaoyu opened the bag she brought with her when she came to the palace, and was stunned when she saw the things inside.

That was the "Thirty-Six Strategies of Killing" that her master left for her.

Yes, she went down the mountain to assassinate the most noble person in the capital - Regent Zhou Xunran.

This is her mission, the first and possibly the last mission she will take as a killer.

If she gave up, she would be sorry for the customer who placed the order only because he trusted her.

Xiaoyu tightly grasped the cover of "36 Strategies to Kill" and turned to the place he had not seen last time, "36 Strategies to Kill, the Fifth Strategies: When in doubt, don't hesitate, kill first and talk later."

Xiaoyu's heart skipped a beat. She felt as if the book was alive and could see into her heart.

When you hesitate, don't hesitate, kill first and talk later.

When in doubt, don't hesitate.

Kill first and talk later.

Xiaoyu closed the book and said, "Yes, kill first and talk later."

The Worry-Relief Sect has its own rules, and the killer can complete the mission at all costs. For the killer, nothing in this world is as important as completing the mission.

But where should I start?

Medicinal food is definitely not an option. If Zhou Xunran has problems eating it, according to his temper, no one in the kitchen will survive. It doesn't matter to me, but I can't let Chef Zhang and the others get hurt.

If she did it herself, although Zhou Xunran was weak, his skills were unfathomable. Especially those two times when he suddenly appeared in front of her, she didn't notice anything.

Even though he was weak at the time, he was able to achieve this.

Not to mention that he is now strong and healthy because of what she has done.

Xiao Yu was so annoyed that he wanted to slap himself twice.

She wandered around the room for a long time until Minglu came over and knocked on the door to call her, shaking the feather duster in her hand: "The New Year is coming soon, and the mansion needs to prepare to clean the house. My mother and I used to manage the Qingwu Courtyard of the prince, but now my mother has gone to take care of Miss Qingxue, so there are only two of us left in Qingwu Courtyard."

With the New Year and her wedding approaching, Minglu was in a very good mood. When she spoke to Xiaoyu, she was not as serious as usual, but much more relaxed and casual.

Xiaoyu didn't want to ruin her good mood, so she suppressed what was in her mind and went to Qingwuyuan with her.

"Have you met with Madam Zhao? How is Miss Qingxue doing recently?"

Minglu said: "She is recovering very well. Doctor Xiao Chu has almost moved to her hospital, watching over her twelve hours a day. How could she not get better?"

Xiaoyu said, "After all, she is the prince's biological sister, so it is only natural that he should take better care of her."

Minglu's face rarely showed dissatisfaction. "Dr. Xiao Chu is here, so Zhou Yi naturally goes there frequently. Miss Qingxue is in a bad mood and often finds fault with Zhou Yi, punishing him several times. The prince doesn't know about this, and for the sake of Dr. Xiao Chu, Zhou Yi can only bite his teeth and swallow it."

Xiaoyu really didn't know about this. "Why didn't Guard Zhou tell the prince?"

"He is a grown man, how can he bring it up? Miss Qingxue is aware of this and is torturing him. Even after all this, my mother won't let me tell the prince."

The two of them arrived at Qingwu Courtyard, and Minglu said, "I'll go to the study, and I'll leave the bedroom to you."

Xiaoyu nodded and asked casually, "Is the prince not at home?"

"Yes, he went out with Zhou Yi and my father. It seemed that he was in a hurry. Aren't you his accompanying maid? Didn't he tell you?"

"No, maybe I was in a hurry to leave. Sister Minglu, do you know what happened?"

Minglu said, "I don't know about that. We are not allowed to discuss or speculate about the prince's affairs."

"Let's not talk about this anymore. Let's split up. I'll go to the bedroom first."

Xiaoyu separated from her and went directly to Zhou Xunran's room.

This was not her first time here. Usually when it was late at night, Zhou Xunran did not want to sleep in the backyard, so she stayed here. Xiaoyu had slept on the small wooden couch behind the screen several times, and it was so hard that her waist was sore for a while.

She deftly wiped the tables, chairs, benches, vases and cabinets, and finally her eyes stopped on Zhou Xunran's desk.

As it was a matter of state secrets, some memorials and correspondence were personally sorted and sealed by Zhou Yi and Lin Kun. At this time, there were only some ordinary books, history books, and calligraphy and painting appreciation on the desk.

And in the corner of the desk, there is a palm-sized wooden box.

The box was very ordinary, without a lock, and without any carvings on the surface. It was just pitch black, which made people feel uncomfortable just by looking at it.

Xiaoyu felt that she shouldn't open it, but she couldn't help being curious. After all, she was the only one in the room now, so it shouldn't be a problem if she quietly opened and closed it.

The box contained a pile of letters, all of which were reports from the various leaders of the Jieyou Sect. Xiaoyu simply read two of them and prepared to put them in.

His calm gaze turned into curiosity when he fell on the third envelope.

It was a letter from the head of their Ten Women's Hall, and the date was exactly the time when she came down the mountain and entered the palace.

Xiaoyu took out the letter, read it quickly, and then could not help but read it carefully line by line.

The content of the letter was the hall master explaining why she went to the palace and assassinated Zhou Xunran.

It turned out that the guest who had tasked her with assassination was actually the head of the hall in disguise. He just thought that her skills were not strong enough and she was hindering the Ten Women's Hall, so he found an excuse to let her leave the Jieyoumen.

As for the target of the assassination, the most distinguished person in the capital, the hall master thought it was the current emperor, Emperor Wenjing. He would be in danger of death if he entered the palace, and the assassination would definitely fail.

However, she did not expect that by mistake, she mistook the target of assassination as Zhou Xunran, so she came to the palace.

It turned out that she did not come down the mountain on a mission, but was abandoned by Jieyoumen.

She was abandoned by the door of worry.

Xiao Yuzhuo restored the letter to its original state with trembling hands and put it back into the wooden box.

When he came out of the bedroom, he saw Minglu still busy in the study. Xiaoyu simply greeted her and walked out with a dazed look on his face.

There was no assassination mission at all.

Zhou Xunran is not her junior fellow apprentice either.

Then what is the meaning of her staying here?

She moved slowly towards the gate of the palace. Yes, she should go to Yangzhou to find Zheng Ying and ask about the origin of the Buddhist beads bracelet. Maybe she could find the disciple accepted by her master, her junior brother.

Just do it.

Xiaoyu went back to her room and put away the "Thirty-Six Strategies of Killing" given to her by her master, and took some banknotes she had saved during this period. While Tian Xiaohui was no longer following her, Xiaoyu successfully deceived the guards from the side and left the palace alone.

The air outside the palace was cool but fresh, and full of freedom. Xiaoyu took a deep breath and walked directly towards the city gate.

Just after crossing a street and turning a corner, Xiaoyu heard someone calling her softly.

He wasn't calling her, but Li Meir, Meir.

That was the name that Li Mantang's mother gave her.

Xiaoyu turned around and saw Li Mantang standing stealthily in the corner of the alley, waving at her with a smile: "Mei'er, it's Dad. What a coincidence that we meet again today. Come here quickly, Dad has something to tell you."

Xiaoyu had no patience for him, so he just ignored him and turned away.

Li Mantang asked anxiously, "Don't you want to know how your mother and I knew each other?"

This successfully made Xiaoyu stop and come to him, "What on earth do you want to do? I told you I won't go back to the Li family with you."

Li Mantang said with a smile: "My daughter, please don't be so confident."

As he was speaking and Xiaoyu was still thinking about how to refute him, she suddenly felt a pain at the back of her head and everything in front of her went dark.

When he was about to faint, he could still hear Li Mantang's anxious voice, "Be careful, don't get hurt."