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墨書 Inktalez
The light was soft, but the Night Phantom sitting next to me suddenly held his breath.
"You..."
"What's wrong?" Before I could finish my words, he raised his hand to stop me.
"Someone just passed over the roof." He listened for a moment and then leaned in close to whisper in my ear, "There are quite a few of them, heading north. They’re not coming here. Remember, don’t go outside. I’ll take a look."
It sounded ominous. Night stood up but realized that his sleeve was still caught in my hand.
"Be careful," I urged him.
"Yeah, don’t worry." He naturally clasped my hand back and squeezed it tightly, warmth radiating from his palm.
The Night Phantom opened the window and with a slight sway of his figure, he vanished.
Hearing about the recent mysterious deaths in Chang'an City made me uneasy. Now, knowing that someone was stealthily moving across the rooftops—more than just one or two people—felt particularly dangerous. After thinking it over, I decided to tell Nie Qiuyuan about this.
I quickly got dressed and ran to Nie Qiuyuan's door, gently knocking on it. No response. I knocked harder a few more times, but still no sound. Someone as sharp as him couldn’t possibly not hear me; he must not be home.
I then went to knock on Luo Dachun's door, but he wasn’t there either.
I really didn’t want to feel that apocalyptic sensation again. The last time I knocked and they weren’t home, I had an unfortunate encounter with Ren Pingsheng. Fortunately, my urgent knocking finally brought Han Meilan out.
She rubbed her sleepy eyes and mumbled, "Liuying, what’s going on? It’s late at night..."
"Melan, I heard someone sneaking across the roof heading north, and Brother Nie and Brother Luo are both missing!"
"What?" She instantly woke up. "What should we do? Let’s go look for them!"
Honestly, I thought our plan was a bit foolish. However, I wasn’t worried about them; with their intelligence and strength, they would be fine. I just really wanted to know what was happening that made it impossible for me to stay home quietly. Oh my gosh, that was simply out of the question.
"Let's go!" I said to Han Meilan. "Change into something black. If we move quietly, we should be fine!"
I was initially worried about where to go, but as soon as we stepped out of the inn's courtyard, we heard a commotion outside. A group of soldiers was rushing by, some on horseback and others running, all heading north with torches in hand.
We hurriedly followed them in the shadows. It turned out that the gathering point for the soldiers was just over a thousand meters from the inn, at the residence of Jiang He, the owner of Chang'an's third-largest granary.
The soldiers poured into the Jiang Residence, and soon people who had been awakened by the noise began to gather around. I was about to blend into the crowd to see if I could sneak into the house when suddenly I felt a numbness in my lower back, and I stumbled backward.
It seemed I was destined to be ambushed; everyone was coming over to pressure my acupoints, and I felt like I was being turned into a sieve. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of Han Meilan; she seemed to be falling back as well. Alas, having martial arts skills didn't help at all.
Then I was hoisted by those who had pressed my acupoints and taken up to a room without me realizing it. The onlookers seemed oblivious, as if they were blind to what was happening.
The people carrying me leaped into the back courtyard of the Jiang Family and took me to a dark garden. The location was secluded and quiet; the soldiers had just arrived and hadn't begun their search yet.
A few lanterns hung in the garden, so I could see somewhat clearly. In that garden stood more than ten figures dressed in black, masked individuals who had kidnapped us—there were four or five of them.
This is bad! I thought to myself. Night Phantom—many had just crossed over from the rooftops; they must be skilled martial artists who travel at night. Could this be them?
The Jiang Family seemed to be a major commercial household in Chang'an; could they be connected to those serial killers? If so, we were doomed!
"What are you two doing running around with such pathetic skills?" one of the masked men holding Han Meilan said. "Are you stupid? Dressed in black and trying to squeeze into a crowd of onlookers? Do you think that won't raise suspicion with the soldiers?"
Ah, that's strange; why does that voice sound so familiar? Isn't that Luo Dachun's voice?
"Cousin!" Han Meilan exclaimed. "Why didn't you say anything? You scared me to death!"
I felt another wave of numbness wash over me, but then my blood started circulating again. The masked man who had been carrying me set me down and pulled off his mask.
Oh my gosh, isn't that my idol Nie Qiuyuan? Could it be that the night travelers we heard about were actually them? But who were the rest of these masked figures?
As soon as my heart settled back into my stomach, the surprise had not yet faded when the leader of the black-clad figures across from me pulled down his mask. Oh my, this time it was not just surprise, but sheer fright.
The figure in front, dressed in dark attire and masked, was none other than my Brother, the current Emperor Li Shimin!
A dignified emperor sneaking around at midnight in night clothes, leaping from rooftop to rooftop—it was truly… hard to evaluate.
“Liuying, Melan, let’s not waste time. We should retreat to your Inn to talk,” the emperor spoke.
Among the dozen or so people beside him, seven or eight immediately took off silently in different directions. The remaining four or five followed us as we leaped back to the Inn.
Han Meilan's lightness of foot was decent; though not exceptional, she managed to keep up. Only I, embarrassingly, needed someone to carry me back. Fortunately, Nie Qiuyuan took it upon himself to do so, which made me feel both awkward and happy.
When Nie Qiuyuan set me down, the emperor playfully winked at me. I understood his meaning; he knew I liked Nie Qiuyuan and was thinking, “Look at you, making progress!”
Sigh, it was truly complicated.
We entered Nie Qiuyuan's room, where his bedding was neatly arranged as if he had never slept there. After lighting a lamp, the black-clad figures slipped outside, and Li Shimin's expression grew serious.
“Did you two see clearly? Is it really… Snowfall Villa?”
As soon as the words "Snowfall Villa" left his lips, Han Meilan suddenly gasped, her eyes wide with shock.
Luo Dachun said, “Snowfall Villa hasn’t involved itself in the affairs of the martial world for many years and doesn’t engage in clandestine dealings. Therefore, they rarely conduct night raids. So while their night attire is black, they wear white undergarments and white sashes that clearly reveal their true identities. From their clothing alone, it does seem like them.”
“And what else?”
“There’s someone skilled with a blade, but the encounter was too brief to discern much.”
Snowfall Villa? What on earth is that!
"Earlier, I heard someone went north from the rooftop, and to the north lies the Jiang Family's residence. Was it you who crossed over from the rooftop?" I strategically asked, casually replacing what Night Phantom had heard with "I heard."
"It wasn't us," Li Shimin personally answered my question. "What you heard was likely the footsteps of the Murderer. They were headed to kill Jiang He, and since they were discovered by my Shadow Guard, I came to check it out. I didn't expect to run into Qiu Yuan and Da Chun. Together, we drove the Murderer away."
"So they are Shadow Guards..." I finally understood the identity of the more than ten men in black surrounding us.
Li Shimin smiled, "The Shadow of Strategy is a group of Shadow Guards selected by me from the Strategy Bureau's Confidants. They are quite formidable. Very few people even in the palace know of their existence, so it must remain confidential."
Inadvertently, I had learned one of the emperor's secrets, which was a dangerous thing to know.
However, for a ruler of a nation to secretly establish an underground armed force carries profound implications; it might even suggest that his current position is not as secure as it seems.
"We are in a tumultuous time," the candlelight reflected in Li Shimin's eyes, dancing lightly like ripples on water. "That's why I didn't call you into the palace; I came to see you myself. There are many eyes watching me, and it's better if those eyes don't focus on you. But regarding the matter of Snowfall Villa, after much thought, I believe it's most appropriate to consult with you."
All topics and actions revolved around Snowfall Villa. Observing everyone's expressions, I sensed that everyone was well aware of Snowfall Villa's significance, while I remained completely in the dark.
Usually, at times like this, Luo Dachun would kindly come over to help clarify my doubts in my heart. But this time, his expression was grim; he seemed entirely uninterested in speaking.
So this time, Nie Qiuyuan took on the task of answering my questions. While Li Shimin and Luo Dachun discussed the events of today, he briefly explained the situation regarding Snowfall Villa.
To my surprise, it turned out that this had once been a vast force in the martial world that could rival Mirror Gate.
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