Qinghe had spent so many years finally obtaining the Ouyang family's black pearl from Yuesheng. According to Chen Xin, the pearl seemed to be something truly remarkable, said to regenerate flesh and whiten bones. She had come looking for it early, hoping to find Ouyang Ming someday, ready for a rainy day. Now that Ouyang Ming had been found, the item was in her possession, but Chen Xin, the only one who knew how to use it, had yet to arrive...
A few days later, after Shen Xin personally led the investigation, he appeared before Wang Yanzhou with a secret letter from Qinghe: "My Lord, I received the news. There is indeed news from the eldest princess, but the messenger seems to have encountered some trouble along the way."
When Wang Yanzhou read the secret letter, his expression turned pale and red. After reading it, he didn't say anything, but just stood there as if he was thinking about something.
Chen Xin didn't dare to speak, but seeing that he had been thinking for a long time, he was also very curious about the content on the letter: "Master, could it be that something happened in Qinghe County?"
“…You can take a look too.”
After reading it carefully, Chen Xin also revealed the same expression as Wang Yanzhou: shock and full of suspicion: "The Prince Consort has returned? Or he found it by the Ming River? It's too much of a coincidence."
The contents of the secret letter were truly shocking. After Ouyang Ming disappeared in Mingjiang, Wang Yanzhou had devoted almost all his energy to searching for him, ultimately concluding based on clues that Ouyang Ming's survival was highly unlikely. But now, this man's sudden appearance in Mingjiang was truly surprising. Mingjiang had always been secretly controlled by the forces of the Princess's Mansion and Qingliang Valley; how could they have been so unaware of the existence of such a crucial figure? Rather than a case of concealment, it would be more convincing to suggest that someone with ulterior motives had orchestrated this scheme.
After a long discussion, Wang Yanzhou and Shen Xin said, "We're too concerned. There must be something fishy about Ouyang Ming in Qinghe County right now. Pack up your things and head back immediately."
"So, what about the Black Crow thing?"
Wang Yanzhou felt a headache when he heard about Black Crow. But there was nothing he could do. If he couldn't find him, he would be heartbroken. "Have someone continue to search. I want to find him alive or dead. I need to get valuable information. Otherwise, Tang Chen... Oh, by the way, have someone investigate Black Crow's background and see if he has any enemies."
"yes."
As for Black Crow's current location, he had no idea. He only knew he was imprisoned in a dark place, with only deaf-mute people delivering him things every day, unable to offer any help or gain any insights. Crucially, aside from a few almost insignificant candles, there was no other light, making it impossible to determine his location.
But looking at these people, it seemed as if their shoes were never covered in mud. This place was extremely cold all day long, and sometimes there were drops of dew on the walls. He guessed that this was either a mausoleum or a dungeon in a family's courtyard.
Black Crow sat listlessly in the dark cage, eating some unnutritious wild vegetables every day and drinking very little water. In order to save energy, he basically only slept except for eating, drinking, defecating and urinating.
Today, this dark and quiet place finally had some footsteps that were different from before. Black Crow sat on the straw mat, eyes closed, but his ears moved slightly.
"Your Excellency is Black Crow?"
Hearing the sound, Black Crow opened his eyes, then quickly squinted them again. The candlelight before him was much brighter than he usually saw.
Under the candlelight, Heiya could see five or six people standing behind the railings. Aside from the deaf-mute man holding the lantern, they were all large and strong men. One of them had his face covered by a thick cloak, making it difficult to see his height or appearance.
Black Crow looked at them and said impatiently, "You're asking even though you already know the answer. Either let me out now, or don't disturb my sleep."
The masked man whispered something in the man's ear, and the man seemed to relay it, saying, "There's no rush to leave now."
The black crow raised the corner of his mouth. He was a coward. He covered his body with a mask, and dared not even make a sound. He was probably worried that he would have a chance to escape and retaliate. "Oh, if you have the guts, tell me yourself."
The person next to the masked man continued, "It seems Brother Black Crow has had enough of staying here. I'm afraid we haven't treated him well enough. In that case, Brother Black Crow may leave, but you must leave behind your tongue and hands."
Hearing this, Black Crow slowly stood up, holding onto the wall. Having not eaten a proper meal in a while, his eye sockets were noticeably sunken, and his complexion was extremely grim. He spoke in a tone that was even more scathing: "Ugh! I've been in this business for so many years, and I've only known living on the edge of a knife. I've heard of people being murdered to silence witnesses, but I've never heard of someone not paying me after a job is done, and actually asking me to keep some of my treasures. It seems that the cripple I dealt with earlier must have a very interesting background."
The masked man seemed to realize he had misspoken and quickly had someone relay the message, "I don't have a great background, but I just have to be on guard."
The masked man waved his hand, and the rough-hewn men behind him drew their gleaming blades, opened the gate, and were about to attack. Black Crow took advantage of the men's lax defense and underestimated their enemy, and before they could react, he snatched the knife and grabbed the masked man with a swipe.
He'd heard it when they arrived; these guys' martial arts skills were at best average. As for the masked man, his heavy footsteps betrayed his frailty. These people were looking down on Black Crow, a renowned assassin after all. Did they think they could easily kill him just by starving him for a few days?
The masked man was held tightly by Black Crow. When he felt the chill on his neck, his struggling movements became noticeably lighter: "You!"
Black Crow looked at the bound person in his hands. His eyes changed slightly before returning to their previous coldness. "Oh, I didn't realize it was a girl. If you don't want to die, take me away from here immediately."
The deaf-mute man holding the lamp had never seen such a situation before, so to protect himself, he quickly abandoned the lamp and fled somewhere unknown. As for the other strong men with knives, Black Crow originally thought he had captured the man giving the orders, and they were worried about his life and would not dare to approach easily.
Unexpectedly, after exchanging glances, these men raised their knives and started hacking at people without any regard for the life of the woman in his hands. Black Crow did not like to kill innocent people, even after all these years as a killer.
Before accepting an order, he would first investigate the life of the target person. If he was a good person, he would have no choice but to save his life while ensuring that he could complete the task. If he was a wicked person, even if he died, it would be the retribution of karma.
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