Chapter 241: The Sound of the Bronze Mirror

He chose Xiao Yu as his target after repeated deliberation.

Xiao Yu's stunning beauty was the greatest bait for Wei Yutian.

He knew full well that Wei Yutian was actually far more lecherous than himself; otherwise, he wouldn't keep three maids of no small beauty by his side, indulging in debauchery and abuse day after day.

Xiao Yu was a person of the Yuanshun Escort Agency, and Wei Yutian was naturally afraid, but as long as he helped him eliminate the crisis, Wei Yutian, this starving ghost of lust, would take the bait himself without needing any urging.

"The Helmsman went to Yuanyang Prefecture yesterday. Even with a fast horse, just considering the distance, it will take three days to go and return!"

"I will give you a detailed layout map of the Yuanshun Escort Agency. I have marked the location of the courtyard where Xiao Yu stays."

"It is almost the end of the year, and the Escort Agency has no business left. The Escorts in the agency who should go home have all gone home."

"With your martial arts, entering and leaving the Escort Agency is like entering a place with no one around. If you kidnap her and bring her out, who could catch you?"

"Once you kidnap her to the prefecture, you can immediately hold the ceremony. Before the Helmsman returns, Xiao Yu will have already turned into dry bones. Even if she is dug up, no one will be able to recognize her."

Luan Jingfu's words stirred Wei Yutian's lustful heart. Because, upon careful thought, he found that it was indeed as Luan Jingfu said; this matter seemed doable.

"If the Helmsman returns, wouldn't he be able to guess that I did it?" Wei Yutian rubbed the lid of his teacup with his hand, unexpectedly becoming somewhat nervous.

Luan Jingfu said: "As long as you don't admit it, what can the Helmsman do to you?"

Wei Yutian was clearly still hesitating.

Luan Jingfu sighed and said: "That is why I said this matter depends on whether you have the guts. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If it weren't for the unrest at the Hall, the Helmsman wouldn't go to the Prefecture City during the year-end. If you miss this time, you won't need to think about this matter in the future."

Xiao Yu's beautiful appearance and slender figure flashed through Wei Yutian's mind again, and a wave of heat rose in Wei Yutian's heart...

The next afternoon, just after finishing lunch, Sun Huang was in the courtyard, setting up a large iron pot to braise beef...

Once the beef was braised, he would put it into a jar and seal it; it could be eaten at any time throughout the first lunar month. When guests came, whether stir-fried or served cold, it was a substantial dish.

The braised beef filled the whole courtyard with fragrance. Sun Huang used chopsticks to poke the beef and found it was already braised through. Just as he was preparing to scoop the meat out, at that very moment, a knocking sound suddenly rang out at the courtyard gate.

Sun Huang put down the chopsticks and went to open the courtyard gate. Upon seeing the person standing at the gate, Sun Huang was stunned for a moment.

"What? Escort Head Sun, don't you welcome me!" Luan Jingfu smiled.

"How could that be?" Sun Huang immediately made way: "Mr. Luan, please come in!"

Sun Huang really did not expect that Luan Jingfu would come.

Luan Jingfu smiled: "I won't go in. I came because there is a matter to tell Escort Head Sun. This morning, we received a Letter Escort to be sent to a neighboring county. But seeing that the end of the year is approaching, the Escorts have almost all left, and the brothers have worked hard usually, so let everyone have a good rest during the New Year. My meaning is, for this Letter Escort, I will go on the trip together with Escort Head Sun, I wonder if that is possible?"

Hearing this, Sun Huang felt suspicious in his heart, but still smiled: "Since Mr. Luan came to invite me personally, how could I dare not to comply?"

Luan Jingfu smiled: "That is good. Half an hour later, we will set off from the Escort Agency. Escort Head Sun can pack up."

After Luan Jingfu finished speaking, he turned and left. Sun Huang stood at the courtyard gate, watching Luan Jingfu's departing figure, his eyes flickering.

Sun Huang was standing there pondering when his wife, in the courtyard behind him, was holding a freshly slaughtered fish, preparing to hang it in the courtyard to dry.

His wife stood in the courtyard and asked: "Who came just now?"

Sun Huang turned his head and said: "Mr. Luan from the Escort Agency just came. He said there is a Letter Escort and asked me to go with him to deliver it."

"You are too easy to talk to. During the New Year, why don't they look for someone else instead of coming to you for this kind of thing."

"It's just in the neighboring county, I can come back tonight!"

His wife snorted coldly, hung the fish in the courtyard, and turned into the kitchen.

Sun Huang returned to his room to change into his Escort clothes and prepared to go out. He walked to the courtyard gate and shouted to the kitchen: "The beef is braised. You scoop it out."

After Sun Huang finished shouting, he went out of the courtyard gate. His wife came out, spat on the ground, and said: "Always finding trouble for me."

Luan Jingfu and Sun Huang rode their horses along West Street.

Usually, Letter Escorts are sent along with Goods Escorts, which is cheaper. But for a single Letter Escort like this, the price is very expensive. Unless it is a very urgent and important matter, ordinary people will not entrust a single Letter Escort.

Moreover, the Escort Agency has a rule that regardless of whether it is a big or small escort, it cannot be delivered by a single person. There must be at least two people so that if something happens, there is someone to look out for each other. To put it more bluntly, if someone dies, at least there is someone to collect the body.

The people on West Street in the afternoon were all those purchasing New Year goods. The two horses' hooves went *da-da* as they walked slowly past.

Luan Jingfu said: "Escort Head Sun, we have had some friction over the years, but it was actually just a misunderstanding. I called you out this time to shake hands and make peace, hoping that we can live in harmony in the future."

Sun Huang's heart stirred. He had been guessing what Luan Jingfu meant, but he didn't expect that as soon as they left the Escort Agency, he would bring it up himself.

Sun Huang said: "Mr. Luan is so humble as to associate with me, this subordinate is terrified. Regarding some things in the past, I, Sun, also had stubborn and inflexible moments, and I hope Mr. Luan will be magnanimous."

Sun Huang was actually just saying polite words; he did not believe that Luan Jingfu was truly willing to live in harmony with him.

Luan Jingfu smiled: "With your words, this trip was not in vain."

In fact, Luan Jingfu dragging Sun Huang to the neighboring county to deliver the Letter Escort was actually just to create an alibi. Sun Huang was a direct subordinate of Xiao Zongting, and his testimony was the most convincing.

With Sun Huang as a witness, the kidnapping of Xiao Yu would have nothing to do with him at all.

At midnight, the streets of Xiangu County were quiet. The night watchman, who was striking the watch, walked on the street with his neck hunched. Where the cold wind passed, the two night watchmen shivered with cold...

Inside the Yuanshun Escort Agency, the night-patrolling Guards were holding their hands and yawning...

A team of patrolling Guards had just walked past the Martial Arts Arena. In the dark tree shadows in the corner, a black shadow flashed and leaped onto a pine tree.

Wei Yutian wore a night-traveling suit and covered his face. He stood on the pine tree, using the branches as cover, and took out the internal layout map of the Escort Agency that Luan Jingfu had given him.

Wei Yutian used the dim light projected through the gaps in the branches to look at a location marked with a red dot on the map. Wei Yutian put away the layout map, stood on the tree, and looked toward that certain place; that was exactly the direction leading to Xiao Zongting's courtyard.

Wei Yutian's figure slid down like a nimble civet cat, landed lightly and silently in the tree shadows, darted, and then slipped into the alley next to it...

Inside Xiao Zongting's courtyard, it was pitch black, with only the window of the east wing room showing a faint light; that was exactly Xiao Yu's boudoir.

Xiao Zongting and Zhu Xiaoqi had already gone to sleep.

But Xiao Yu had not slept yet; she was still standing in her boudoir practicing her stance.

She had been practicing the Hunyuan Stance for several hours in a row. At this moment, a layer of fine sweat had seeped out on her forehead, and heat was steaming from the top of her head...

March after the New Year would be the day for the selection of Registered Disciples for the Taiyi Sect. She hoped to achieve the Great Success Realm of the Inner Breath Realm Fourth Layer before then, so her training in the recent period had been even more diligent.

Seeing that the time was already late, Xiao Yu was preparing to disperse her energy, but suddenly a black shadow flashed at the door, and a masked man in black wearing a night-traveling suit had already stood in front of her as fast as lightning.

Xiao Yu's whole body trembled as if struck by electricity, and she shouted: "Who is it?" Almost at the same time she spoke, the saber at her waist was already drawn and slashed toward that person.

That person's figure swayed and he was already at Xiao Yu's side, and a palm strike hit the back of Xiao Yu's head.

Xiao Yu's heart turned cold; this person was clearly highly skilled in martial arts and should be a Martial Artist of the True Qi Realm.

A flash of deathly intent crossed Xiao Yu's heart.

Just as that person's palm-strike hit the back of her head, Xiao Yu used her last shred of clarity to channel her Internal Breath, flicked her wrist, and threw the blade in her hand toward the Copper Mirror on the vanity beside her!

That vanity was right next to Xiao Yu, and as the tip of the Qingling Saber struck the Copper Mirror, a crisp, vibrating "Dong" sound rippled out into the pitch-black night...

(End of chapter)