Chapter 18 With you by my side, perhaps I'll be safer.
Ye Xunyang, with simple luggage and a few guards, moved into the Pudu Temple, a royal temple outside the city.
To make it realistic, he actually lived in a Zen room, listening to the morning bell and evening drum every day, and eating simple vegetarian meals. At first, he found it novel, but after less than half a day, he started scratching his head in frustration.
He patiently stayed for two days, and apart from the occasional curious pilgrim looking at the male queen, there was nothing unusual.
Just as he was about to lose his composure, late on the third night, a very slight noise came from outside the meditation room.
Ye Xunyang, who had been on high alert, immediately opened his eyes, held his breath, and quietly reached for the short blade under his pillow.
The window was quietly pried open a crack, and a faint wisp of smoke drifted in.
Ye Xunyang sneered inwardly, immediately held his breath, and pretended to be drugged, making even breathing sounds.
A moment later, a dark figure nimbly climbed through the window and landed silently.
He cautiously approached the bedside, and after confirming that Ye Xunyang was unconscious, he took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket, seemingly intending to pour the contents into Ye Xunyang's mouth.
At that moment, Ye Xunyang suddenly sprang up, his movements as swift as lightning, grabbing the opponent's wrist and simultaneously drawing his short blade, pressing it against the opponent's throat!
"Don't move!" Ye Xunyang hissed.
The dark figure was clearly not expecting that Ye Xunyang had not been affected by the sleeping powder. He was shocked and struggled to escape, but Ye Xunyang's hand was like an iron clamp, making him unable to move.
At the same time, the door to the meditation room was kicked open, and Shan Lan, along with several guards, rushed in like ghosts, instantly subduing the man in black and dislocating his jaw to prevent him from biting the poison and committing suicide.
"Your Highness, are you alright?" Shan Lan looked at Ye Xunyang, her tone still cold, but with a hint of inquiry.
"It's alright!" Ye Xunyang let go of her hand, patted his clothes, and looked excited.
"We've finally caught him! Quick, let's see who he is!"
Shan Lan ripped off the mask from the man in black, revealing an unfamiliar face with fierce eyes that exuded the ruthlessness of a desperate criminal.
A sleeping pipe, a bottle of poison, and a token engraved with strange patterns were found on him.
“They’re assassins from the Shadow Pavilion,” Shan Lan said after checking the token. “They’re organizations in the martial arts world that do things for money; they’re very tight-lipped.”
Ye Xunyang frowned: "Can't get the mastermind out of them?"
Shan Lan deftly pressed several acupoints on the assassin's body, causing him to convulse in pain and break out in a cold sweat, but his eyes remained stubborn.
"The rules of the Shadow Pavilion are that a mistake means death, and the employer's information will not be revealed."
"However, finding them is a clue in itself. Moreover, the fact that he chose to act in the temple rather than on your way there suggests that he may know that the Prince's Mansion has made arrangements in Jishetang, or that there are their accomplices in the temple."
Ye Xunyang immediately said, "Investigate! Turn this Pudu Temple upside down and find out the truth!"
Just then, a bodyguard rushed in and whispered a few words in Shanlan's ear.
Shan Lan's expression changed slightly, and she turned to Ye Xunyang: "Your Highness, something has happened at Jishetang."
"What's going on?" Ye Xunyang's heart skipped a beat.
"Our men were lying in ambush at Jishetang. Sure enough, they waited until someone tried to make a move on the Blood Spirit Mushroom, but the opponent was extremely skilled and seemed to have been prepared. Our men... lost track of them. However, during the fight, the opponent dropped this."
Shanlan handed over a piece of cloth, which looked like it had been torn from the corner of her clothes. The cloth was exquisite and had a bit of special scented powder on it.
Ye Xunyang took the fabric and felt that the scent of the perfume powder was somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had smelled it before.
Has the Prince found out?
"I have already sent someone back to the manor by fast horse to report this."
Ye Xunyang made a decisive decision: "You can interrogate and search this place. I'm going back to my residence immediately!"
He had a vague feeling that the other side was using a feint, and that their real target might still be Lou Jin.
Ye Xunyang rushed back to the Jinwang Mansion overnight, and it was already dawn.
The Prince's mansion was brightly lit, but the atmosphere was not chaotic.
He went straight to the main courtyard, pushed open the study door, and saw Lou Jin sitting behind the desk wearing an outer robe. His face looked somewhat tired in the candlelight, but his eyes were still clear and calm.
Wang Quan and a wounded bodyguard were standing below, reporting.
"...The opponent's martial arts style is strange, like that of the southern border region. They are extremely familiar with the alleys of the capital. Our people lost track of them when they reached the West Market."
"This is the perfume powder that the other party left behind. Upon identification, it is similar to the perfume powder often used by a favorite concubine of the Fourth Prince." The guard presented a small paper packet with both hands.
Lou Jin took the paper package, sniffed it lightly, and his eyes suddenly became sharp as knives.
Ye Xunyang happened to hear this and quickly stepped forward: "Your Highness, are you alright? There are assassins in the temple too, they are from the Shadow Pavilion!"
Lou Jin looked at him and saw that he was travel-worn but in high spirits. He nodded slightly and said, "I'm fine. The manor is heavily guarded, and they didn't find an opportunity."
He handed the paper package to Ye Xunyang, saying, "Take a look at this."
Ye Xunyang took a sniff and immediately remembered: "This smell... I think I smelled it near the Shangwang Mansion once. I was passing by once when Lou Shang came out, and the woman next to him had this smell."
Lou Jin remained silent for a moment, then said to Wang Quan and the guards, "You've worked hard. Go and heal your wounds and rest. Keep this a secret."
After the two left, only Lou Jin and Ye Xunyang remained in the study.
"It really was him!" Ye Xunyang slammed his fist on the desk in anger.
"They tried again and again, even sending assassins to the temple to harm me. Your Highness, let's take the evidence to the Emperor right away."
Lou Jin shook his head: "A piece of fabric, a little perfume, and clues about the assassin are not enough to convict a prince. He can easily claim that the servants acted on their own or that he was framed. Father will not punish him severely based on these alone."
"So we're just going to let him get away with it?" Ye Xunyang was unwilling to accept this.
Of course not.
“Since he has decided to kill, he won’t stop. This time we’ve alerted him, and he might restrain himself in the short term, but he will definitely look for a safer opportunity. What we need to do is make him reveal even more of his true colors.”
He looked at Ye Xunyang, his tone softening: "You were frightened at the temple. Go back and rest first; this matter needs careful consideration."
Looking into Lou Jin's calm yet unfathomable eyes, Ye Xunyang knew that Lou Jin already had a plan, so he suppressed his impatience.
"Alright, I'll listen to Your Highness. But Your Highness, you must also be careful. I'm afraid he might do something desperate and harm you directly."
"Rest assured, after this incident, the Prince's Mansion will be even more impregnable."
Lou Jin paused for a moment, then continued.
"In the future, you might be safer with me by your side."
Ye Xunyang was taken aback, not quite understanding the deeper meaning of those words. He simply assumed that Lou Jin was telling him to stay home as much as possible, so he gave a vague reply and left the study.
Back in his courtyard, Ye Xunyang took a bath and changed his clothes. He lay on his familiar bed, but he couldn't fall asleep.
Tonight's experience also made him more clearly aware of the danger Lou Jin was in.
"No, I have to protect him." Ye Xunyang made up his mind to himself.
"I'll take all the open and covert attacks for him. If you want to harm him, you'll have to get past me, Ye Xunyang, first."
Lou Jin did not rest in the study in the main courtyard.
He picked up a pen and wrote a few lines on a small piece of paper, then rolled it up and stuffed it into a small copper tube.
"Bluebird," he whispered to the air.
A figure that almost blended into the night appeared, took the copper pipe, and disappeared silently out the window.
That direction leads to southern Xinjiang.
Lou Jin walked to the window, gazing at the gradually whitening eastern sky, his eyes deep and unfathomable.
Lou Shang, you've overreached. It's time you tasted the bitter fruit of your actions.
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