CHAPTER 315: CHAPTER 15 BLUFF_1

(I hesitated here for a moment, not wanting to switch perspectives at this point. Still, I also felt the need to change the point of view. Perhaps this is the difference between an online novel update and a TV drama presentation style. Anyway, I wrote this in a willful manner — Dragon’s note.)

...

A Ming had asked, was something missing?

Indeed, something was missing. His name was Xue Three.

Small, short, long.

Siniang replied, "Nope."

It wasn’t that Siniang hadn’t noticed Xue Three’s absence; rather, she thought it was normal for him not to be there. Either he was already dead, killed during the breakout, his body riddled with arrows like a beehive, or he had gone where he needed to go, to do what he had to do. As an assassin, of course, he should be hidden.

Last time in Yin City, he had launched a desperate charge against Mr. Chen. That was out of desperation. But now, inside the city, people were panic-stricken. Outside, swords gleamed. It was a complex and chaotic night, an assassin’s favorite backdrop.

Xue Three was inside the city.

At first, he wanted to go to the city gate. He wanted to seize the opportunity to kill the Qian general because that general gave him a completely different feeling. The city was still being defended, held up by a group of panicked soldiers, all sustained by that single commander. But there were too many people around that general. Moreover, the general was very sharp and revealed no flaws. Xue Three observed for a while but still decided not to act. There was a certain probability of failure. If he were captured and hanged from the city gate, Xue Three had no interest in letting My lord and his men reenact a drama like Li Yunlong in Ping’an County Town. Most importantly, My lord didn’t have an Italian cannon.

As an assassin, he had plenty of patience.

His patience was so great that he could even leave the city wall and stroll around the city, just wandering and looking around.

The moonlight shone on Xue Three, casting the shadow of a three-legged figure behind him.

Actually, Xue Three wasn’t flustered at all; he quite enjoyed this feeling. ŸYou all are fighting your battles, while I’m taking a leisurely stroll here. The subtlety of this feeling is beyond words.

Xue Three first went to the government office, which had already been vacated.

This was expected. After all, last time, My lord and the Zombie had killed people here—a group of government officials. The Yan people had returned outside the city; these officials certainly wouldn’t hide here again. Additionally, the city had lost many residents due to the severed trade route and its previous breach. As a result, this border military fortress finally possessed some of the quietness it should have always had.

Xue Three wanted to find that pillar. He found it but noticed fresh lacquer marks on it.

Xue Three found brush and ink in the room and rewrote on the pillar:

"Zheng Fan, Commander of Green Willow Fortress, Yinlang County, Yan, took a tour here with his general, Xue Three."

Xue Three thought this line was somewhat ridiculous, but he didn’t mind this ridiculous feeling. No matter whether My lord and his men could breach the city tonight, he had left his mark. It was just like many people who travel in later times; it’s hard to tell whether they really want to relax on their journey or just want to take a picture to post on their social media.

Xue Three smacked his lips, left the brush and ink behind, and took a step forward.

His figure gradually disappeared.

「 」

Man Le, shivering from the cold, asked, "Prince, are you cold?" He still took off his silk gown, wanting to put it on Prince Fu.

"Get it away. Your clothes are so small. Keep them for yourself," Prince Fu said, kicking Man Le while sniffing.

The two of them were hiding in a stable.

Mianzhou City had once been a transit point on the Silk Road, where goods from East and West passed through Qian State, Yan State, and the desert for exchange, and Mianzhou City had prospered because of it. However, the Yan people invaded, and soon after, severe friction at the border between the two sides escalated, eventually severing the trade route. Although major merchants probably still had other ways to transfer goods, they undoubtedly used hidden channels and could no longer openly pass through the city. As a result, the city’s warehouses had long been empty, and the stables once used to feed mules and horses were also deserted. However, the smell inside was still very unpleasant; old horse droppings seemed to have fused with the walls and floor tiles.

Prince Fu was currently lying in a pile of straw, with Man Le huddled against him. The two guards remaining by Prince Fu’s side had been dispatched by the Prince to check the situation at the city gates.

Man Le asked, "Prince, do you think Meng Geng can hold the city?"

"Meng Geng is very talented; he should be able to," Prince Fu replied, though when it came to his own life and survival, he wasn’t quite as confident.

He was sure Meng Geng was a capable man. Indeed, the trusted followers of Tattoo-faced Master—though most had been suppressed or dispersed—the few who remained had all shown brilliant performances in Qian State’s various military conflicts over the years. Tattoo-faced Master was like a signboard; who knew how he had managed to attract so many heroes to serve under him back then.

Prince Fu also had informants in the court. This wasn’t strange; every influential family did.

Therefore, he knew that with the increasingly aggressive Yan people at the borders, Minister Han in the court hadn’t been having a comfortable time lately.