Tonight, the night sky is devoid of a bright moon and dazzling stars; the darkness is inky, and all is silent, yet a sense of unease pervades the surroundings.
On a quiet street in the capital, a horse-drawn carriage slowly travels along the deserted road.
Suddenly, as if sensing something, the horse reared up and neighed, then stopped abruptly. Its hooves pounded restlessly on the bluestone slabs, making a "clattering" sound.
Suddenly, several experts dressed in black appeared around the carriage, completely surrounding it. The men in black held long swords, and their eyes were filled with murderous intent.
Despite the situation outside, the people inside the carriage seemed completely unaware, remaining quietly inside without making any reaction.
Seeing this, the men in black were puzzled. Why hadn't the people inside reacted yet?
The men in black exchanged glances. One of them stepped forward and used his longsword to lift the curtain of the carriage to see what was inside. However, to their surprise, the moment the curtain was lifted, a dense barrage of hidden weapons suddenly shot out from inside.
The man in black at the front had no time to dodge and was instantly riddled with bullets.
Those who reacted quickly were alright, but those who reacted a little slower died on the spot.
In an instant, countless men in black were killed or injured.
"We've been tricked! Damn it, let's retreat!" the leader of the men in black said angrily.
Just as the men in black were about to leave, two people suddenly flew down from the side.
"Weren't you waiting for me? Why are you getting ready to leave?" Qu Qingxi, dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, chuckled lightly. Her voice was clear and pleasant, but in the context of the heavy smell of blood, the laughter sounded slightly eerie and terrifying.
The man in black stared intently toward the source of the sound and saw two people standing opposite them, blocking their way. These were the people who should have been in the carriage, their targets.
"I'm curious to know, just how much did they offer you to send so many people to kill me?" Qu Qingxi stood opposite, slightly curious.
So far, several groups of men in black have come to assassinate me, all from the same assassin organization. They're really generous.
Seeing that they didn't speak, Qu Qingxi spoke again, "How about this, no matter how much the other party offers you, I promise you today that I will give you double the price, as long as you help me kill your employer." Qu Qingxi knew that the group of assassins in front of her were from Qingyun Pavilion, and the people of Qingyun Pavilion were always willing to do anything as long as the price was high enough, so Qu Qingxi offered a very tempting condition.
"Hmph, this has nothing to do with you. We have rules. Prepare to die." Unexpectedly, the leader of the men in black was unmoved, sneered, and attacked Qu Qingxi.
"You choose the path to heaven, but you insist on forcing your way into hell." Qu Qingxi sneered. Qingdai, standing beside her, leaped forward and blocked Qu Qingxi's path, instantly engaging in combat with the man in black before them.
Qu Qingxi simply stood there, looking at everything before her, lost in thought.
Qingdai was very skilled, so she wasn't worried at all. Sure enough, in no time, all the black-clad men who had been so aggressive and wanted to kill Qu Qingxi were lying on the ground.
"Your Highness, should we spare their lives?" Qingdai stepped on the chest of the last man in black and turned to look at Qu Qingxi.
"No need, just kill them all." Qu Qingxi said calmly, her obsidian-like eyes revealing a chilling coldness. Since the people in front of her were so professional, she might as well grant their wish. After all, she had already found out who the mastermind was this morning.
After eliminating the last survivor, Qingdai slowly returned to Qu Qingxi, her killing intent completely dissipating.
Including tonight's group, there have been five groups of men in black targeting her in the last fifteen days. At first, Qu Qingxi thought that someone wanted to kill the Prince of Nanqing and that she was just unlucky to run into them. But when the second group of men found her again, Qu Qingxi realized that these people were targeting her and that the previous assassination attempts were not coincidences.
Qu Qingxi had investigated privately and found that these assassins were all from Qingyun Pavilion, a well-known assassin organization in the martial arts world. According to her, twenty days ago, a mysterious person had been buying her whereabouts and had also hired many people to kill her.
Qu Qingxi also investigated the mysterious person, and it turned out that the person was just an unfavored concubine's daughter of the Marquis of Dingguo's mansion, named Ren Nuanyun. According to the news there, this girl named Ren Nuanyun fell into the water for no reason a month ago, and since then her personality has changed drastically. She has also suddenly gained the favor of the Marquis of Dingguo. Although she is a concubine's daughter, her status and the degree of favor she receives are almost on par with the legitimate daughter of the Marquis's mansion.
Then, for reasons unknown, she started hiring people to kill her.
Qu Qingxi was certain that she had never even seen a maid or servant in their household, let alone a young lady, so she found it very puzzling that this person who suddenly appeared and wanted to kill her was so perplexing.
Every time she goes out, she is bound to be assassinated. Today, Qu Qingxi deliberately spread the word that she was going out.
Sure enough, when she returned that evening, she encountered another group of men in black. However, this time she did not ride in a carriage. Instead, she installed a trap inside the carriage and hid in the back with Qingdai.
After Qingdai left, Qu Qingxi did not rest. Instead, she changed into a black bodysuit, avoided the guards in the Prince's Mansion, and headed towards the Marquis of Dingguo's Mansion.
I've only ever heard of someone who's been a thief for a thousand days, never someone who's been on guard against thieves for a thousand days. Qu Qingxi has always been low-key, so she was very curious as to why this girl she'd never met was so hostile towards her, to the point that she'd hired so many assassins to kill her even though they'd never met.
Qu Qingxi nimbly scaled the wall of the Marquis of Dingguo and, following the map she had seen before, quickly found Ren Nuanyun's courtyard.
Seeing the lavishly built courtyard before her, Qu Qingxi raised her eyebrows slightly. It seemed the rumors were true; Ren Nuanyun was indeed favored. She had just passed by the courtyard of the Marquis of Dingguo's eldest daughter, and its luxury was no more than this.
Qu Qingxi deftly vaulted over the courtyard and saw a person sitting in the pavilion in the center of the courtyard. Qu Qingxi hid under a tree to the side and looked over there.
The person was dressed in a white gauze robe, with part of their hair tied up with a jade hairpin. Two white lanterns hung in the pavilion. The person sat quietly inside the pavilion. A gentle breeze blew, and the white robe fluttered lightly. Qu Qingxi was almost startled.
Is this person crazy, dressed in all white and with a white lantern lit up at night? Are they keeping vigil or pretending to be a ghost to scare people? Anyone who doesn't know better would think Sadako has come to ancient times.
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