The Killer's Cleansing Manual

Chapter 123 Encountered an interception on the road

"Your Highness, the butler is here." Yue Liu said.

Qi Zhaomian subconsciously sat up straight, vaguely guessing that he would have the information he wanted to know, and couldn't help but feel a little bit of anticipation: "Let him in quickly."

The butler had limited time to move around freely, so he hurried in, bowed, and got straight to the point:

"A month ago, the Qingzheng Division sent a man on a flying horse to pick up Bai Shu, who was searching for evidence. Ji Shihan learned of this and subsequently dispatched ten assassins, divided into teams of four and six, to assassinate that man."

"The first four people who went were killed. The leader of the six people just now came back to report. Ji Shihan had a secret conversation with him. I only heard him say, 'Blow that guy up,' and then there was no more news."

Qi Zhaomian's hands trembled as he recalled the news he had just received yesterday: "An inn in Huhe County exploded and no one staying there survived." All the fish food in his palms spilled into the pond.

She still had a glimmer of hope: "...Then, what about the people sent by the Qingzhengsi?"

The butler shook his head, "No... no news."

Qi Zhaomian's face turned pale, and he gripped the armrests of his chair tightly. After the housekeeper left, he waved to Yue Liu, "Go find someone and ask around along the way."

There was a barely perceptible tremor in her voice. Yue Liu had followed her for many years, so he naturally heard her worry and quickly agreed.

Just as she was about to leave, Qi Zhaomian stopped her again.

"Wait!... Come back, don't go there."

Yue Liu looked at her in surprise: "Your Highness?"

Qi Zhaomian rubbed his forehead and stood up unconsciously:

"I'm too upset. You should stay in the capital. If Ji Shihan knew you were leaving the capital, he would definitely guess that she was the one who went to meet you."

"If Ji Shihan knew that Juan'er had left the capital, the combination of old and new hatreds would make it the perfect time to kill her. By then, she would probably face even greater danger. I... still believe that she can... escape this danger."

Yue Liu had never seen Xihe His Highness so flustered.

Although she still looked dignified and expressionless, she had said too much in her explanations.

Qi Zhaomian had never explained something so clearly before, which made Yue Liu feel——

She was not explaining to "Yue Liu", but was using so many words to convince herself.

Yue Liu sighed inwardly. Seeing his master so worried, he had no choice but to hide his worries and comforted him:

"Don't worry, Your Highness. The Prince Consort is so skilled, nothing will happen to him. Perhaps she has escaped danger. You should return to your room first. I caught a cold a month ago, so don't get caught in the cold again."

Qi Zhaomian was still thinking with his head down, muttering something inaudible.

Seeing her like this, Yue Liu knew that it was useless to say more, so he turned around, took out a cloak, and gently helped her put it on.

……

After Lin Shanjuan escaped from the inn, he never stopped and ran eastward in one go. Finally, he met Bai Shu who was driving a wobbly carriage!

"Boss?" Bai Shu rubbed his eyes, thinking he was seeing things. "Why are you here? And...dressed like this."

Lin Shanjuan knew that he was being targeted when he was in the inn, and the other party must have remembered his body shape, so he simply bought a larger set of clothes and put some cotton inside to make him look a little more bloated.

After all, they finally reconciled. Lin Shanjuan breathed a sigh of relief: "You don't even know that I almost lost my life coming all the way to pick you up!"

Bai Shu was horrified and looked around: "What? What? Someone wants to kill me?"

Lin Shanjuan took a sip of water from his kettle and paused for a few seconds before answering him: "Let's talk while we walk. Let's take a smaller path."

Bai Shu whipped the carriage without hesitation and drove it onto the small road. Only then did he listen to Lin Shanjuan's story and was shocked by the truth.

"So this Chu Kuo... is too audacious! Not only did he steal the questions, he also concealed his identity and even murdered someone to silence them!"

He subconsciously turned around to look at the carriage carrying Wang Xing's parents. "I was wondering why they were the only family so wealthy, with tables and chairs made of sandalwood. They even said it was donated by their son's friends in the capital. They're really good at pretending!"

Lin Shanjuan shook his head thoughtfully, "No, his parents probably don't know. If they knew the truth, how could they be so confident in following you back to Beijing?"

Bai Shu nodded, still sighing: "I can't believe this Grand Tutor is so bold as to manipulate so many evil things."

Lin Shanjuan closed her eyes and pondered. She thought of a key point - in this imperial examination, Qi Yili specifically pointed out that Ji Shihan did not need to intervene, so how did he know the test questions?

Or... there is another person between him and Chu Kuo.

An official position larger than Chu's, but smaller than Ji Shihan's, and also a civil official, and also a second-rank official or above...

If it isn’t Jin Hong, then who else could it be?

Moreover, they dare to do such a thing, and do it so flawlessly, so this must not be the first time they have used this trick.

I'm sure several of the ministers in the court came from this background. After so many years of occupying the magpie's nest and secretly moving through Chencang, if there hadn't been a flaw in this case, I'm afraid they would have been able to conceal it.

It was always unsafe outside the capital nowadays, so the most important thing was to return to the capital as soon as possible. The two men drove the carriage at full speed, and everyone was divided into two groups, driving the carriage day and night, changing horses every once in a while.

Seeing that they were less than seven days away from the capital, Bai Shu's spirit was visibly relaxed, but Lin Shanjuan felt vaguely uneasy.

She looked at the map and saw that the small road and the main road intersected in the woods ahead. This proved that if Ji Shihan had sent more people, setting an ambush in this forest would be the best opportunity.

The sun moved to the middle of the sky, but was blocked by the dense treetops in the blink of an eye. Several carriages entered the dense forest, and the leaves rustled. Everyone's vigilance was instantly raised to the extreme.

After walking forward a dozen meters and turning the corner, I saw a man sitting astride a tall black horse. He was wearing a conical hat, a pure white mask on his face, and a black robe with soft armor. He was holding a long sword, as if he had been waiting for a long time.

Lin Shanjuan's expression became even more solemn - if it was a group of men in black, she would not be so afraid. After all, the more they rushed forward in a group, the less strong their individual strength would be.

But if there is only one person who looks pretentious, it will be more difficult to deal with him.

That's right, this man's appearance was indeed very pretentious. Lin Shanjuan let out a soft "tsk". Bai Shu was panicked and asked in a low voice: "Is he very powerful?"

Lin Shanjuan shook his head: "I just feel that our appearance is too low compared to his."

Bai Shu: What?

Before he could ask, the man opposite him spoke first: "What's in the car?"

Lin Shanjuan didn't hide it and answered with his arms folded: "It's your target."

Qisi suddenly raised his eyes, his fox eyes seemed filled with murderous intent. This feeling of being stared at by a wild beast was not pleasant. Lin Shanjuan secretly took out the dagger hidden at his waist, ready to attack at any time.