Chapter 464: This is a heaven‑sent opportunity

Xiao Er quickly stepped forward, first grabbing Tuan Tuan from the door crack and pulling her behind him, then he peered out through the crack.

He saw two men standing on the third-floor balcony, looking down and talking.

One was about forty, with black hair and a short beard; the other was a young gentleman.

Xiao Er narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment: "Zhou Jing'an!"

Xiao Ningyuan had already stood behind him, holding his sister in his arms; Tuan Tuan said: "Yes! It's him! I can't even remember his name."

Xiao Er continued spying: "Just now the waiter said the third floor is the private area of this Incense Tower's owner; the man beside Zhou Jing'an must be Xue Jiangtao."

"They went inside."

Xiao Ningyuan frowned: "This is Qing Wang's estate; Zhou Jing'an is the son of Marquis Jinghai—what is he doing here?"

Tuan Tuan snorted: "Bad guys looking for bad guys!"

Xiao Er suddenly turned around: "The waiter is coming."

Xiao Ningyuan picked up his sister, and everyone hurried back to the table.

After the waiter served the dishes and left, Xiao Ningyuan jerked his chin toward the roof: "Go listen to what they're saying."

Xiao Er stood up, smiled: "Yes, Brother Lu, I'll leave the young lady to you."

Lu Qi nodded: "All right, be careful—this is, after all, someone else's territory."

Xiao Er grunted, slipped silently out the window, pushed off the eaves like a night cat, and climbed silently onto the third-floor roof.

He looked carefully; this should be the room behind that railing.

He lay silently on the tiles, held his breath, focused, gently lifted the edge of a blue tile, and pried open a narrow gap upward.

Flickering yellow candlelight and the voices of the two men seeped out.

Zhou Jing'an wore an embroidered cloud-pattern robe, leaning sideways in his chair, while Xue Jiangtao sat opposite him at the table.

"Mr. Xue," Zhou Jing'an said haughtily, "the thing my father had me bring is now yours."

Xue Jiangtao set down his teacup: "Young Master Zhou, rest assured—since it's Qing Wang's order, I will see to it."

"That's good." Zhou Jing'an curled his lip: "The Blood Blade has been struggling for so long without success; Qing Wang must be frustrated."

"A few days ago, His Highness received a flying letter from the Blood Blade saying that damned girl seemed to be heading for Yu Province, so he ordered me to make this trip personally."

"By His Highness's order, everyone except that damned girl may be killed."

Xue Jiangtao nodded: "With this Nine-Star Repeating Crossbow, the Blood Blade would indeed gain wings like a tiger."

Xiao Er's fingers gripping the tile tightened suddenly: "Nine-Star Repeating Crossbow?"

Zhou Jing'an's face was full of pride: "This is my father's cleverness."

"Without moving the finished products or the blueprints, they simply smuggled out the useless components from the Private Workshop bit by bit."

"Since the parts were scrap, no one inspected them closely—that's how it stayed unknown to gods and ghosts."

"Still, Qing Wang is resourceful, able to summon skilled craftsmen to reconstruct and reassemble them, then poison them—making them far more effective than the Private Workshop's genuine articles."

Anger surged in Xiao Er's chest—the leak of the Private Workshop's Nine-Star Repeating Crossbow was actually the Marquis Jinghai's doing!

Xue Jiangtao rose, clasped his fists: "Marquis, your strategy is admirable."

"It's getting late; Young Master, you must return to the capital tomorrow—please rest early."

Zhou Jing'an glanced at him: "When do you plan to finish it, Mr. Xue? I need to report back to Qing Wang."

Xue Jiangtao replied: "The Blood Blade has sent no word; after seeing you off tomorrow morning, I must leave the city."

Seeing Zhou Jing'an's brow instantly furrow, he said unhurriedly: "Young Master Zhou, don't worry—I'll be back at the Incense Tower in just a day and won't leave until the Blood Blade arrives."

"I will not fail your trust."

"Never mind." Zhou Jing'an waved his hand lazily, seeing him off.

Xiao Er gently replaced the tiles, then floated back along the same path to the upstairs private room.

Xiao Ningyuan had just placed a piece of spicy chicken in Tuan Tuan's bowl when he looked up and saw his face shift between pale and green, his chopsticks pausing slightly.

"Eat first," Xiao Ningyuan said calmly. "We'll talk later."

"Uncle Two! Hurry up and sit down to eat—this is delicious! It's also really spicy!" Tuan Tuan's little face turned red from the spice, and she hastily shoved a mouthful of rice into her mouth.

Xiao Er sat down as told, forcing out a faint smile.

After they finished eating, they wasted no time and headed straight back to the inn.

Entering the guest room, Lu Qi closed the door, then Xiao Ningyuan asked: "What's wrong? Your face looks awful—what did you hear?"

Xiao Er took a deep breath and recounted everything he had seen and heard on the roof, word for word.

Tuan Tuan jumped up from her chair with a "whoosh", her little face flushed with anger: "For those crossbows, I almost lost my father! Feng Zhou has been imprisoned for so long! And Third Elder Brother!"

The more she spoke, the more agitated she became, her eyes rimmed red: "What a lousy marquis—utterly corrupt!"

Xiao Ningyuan hastily pulled his sister into his arms, gently rubbing her back: "Be good, it's all right—don't upset yourself."

Lu Qi slammed his fist on the table: "Utterly audacious!"

Xiao Ningyuan is mild-tempered and rarely angry, but thinking of how his father barely survived after being struck by that poisonous crossbow bolt, and how his beloved sister almost lost her life trying to save him—

Holding his sister's warm small body, his face turned ashen, his chest surged with hot blood, his eyes flashed with near‑murderous cold: "Zhou Jinghua and his son deserve death ten thousand times over—no punishment could be too harsh!"

Xiao Er had never seen this eldest young master truly angry; even though he was battle‑hardened, it sent a chill through him.

Xiao Ningyuan said slowly: "It seems Qing Wang and Prince Chen could occupy the capital so smoothly only with their secret assistance."

He looked at Xiao Er and Lu Qi: "Now the urgent task is that batch of crossbows."

According to them, although we've tried to avoid them all along, those black‑clad fighters called the Blood Blade will still track us here.

Their martial arts are uncanny—if that poisoned Nine‑Star Repeating Crossbow fell into their hands…

Xiao Er declared firmly: "Absolutely not!"

Lu Qi also said: "Right!"

Xiao Ningyuan pondered: "It seems they don't realize that the former dynasty's treasure is hidden right under their noses."

Also fine! We need to find the treasure, we need to find the crossbow too—might as well search for both together!

Tomorrow early morning, Zhou Jing'an departs back to Jingcheng; Xue Jiangtao also needs to leave the city, only returning the day after tomorrow—this is a heaven-sent good opportunity.

Tomorrow evening, let's go again to scout that Incense-burning Tower.