Chapter 174: Blade Light in the Dark Room

In the dim room, a razor-sharp blade edge was inserted into the door gap, nimbly prying open the bolt.

They had been waiting outside for over an hour, waiting until the candle in the room went out and estimating that the person inside was asleep, before entering to carry out their task.

The door was pried open, but the person inside remained completely unaware, still curled up in the quilt, fast asleep.

One person crept forward, the razor-sharp blade in their hand suddenly slashing down toward the person on the bed!

Yet this slash felt strange; there was no spray of blood.

Just as they were puzzled, a streak of bright blade light flashed from above, striking down like a lightning bolt, leaving no time for reaction, cleanly and efficiently chopping the person to the ground.

The assassin following behind was shocked to see their companion struck down in the blink of an eye; it turned out the person in the room had long been aware, hiding on the rafters beforehand to catch them off guard.

That man surnamed Cui was a menace; he said it was just a wet-behind-the-ears brat in his teens, but he didn't mention that his skills were so good, and he didn't hesitate at all when killing.

These few men were all personal guards of Zou Huaiyi from the Water Surveillance Office; they were deeply involved in Zou Huaiyi's business of hijacking ships, killing people, and selling goods.

Against the assassin's open and aggressive military style, they naturally held the upper hand.

Jia Cong saw that the man was still holding a hand crossbow in his left hand, and his heart was shocked; this type of hand crossbow was standard military issue, most commonly equipped among the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

He saw Jing Hui standing there, pale as a sheet, with a steel blade held to her neck, and an overturned bamboo basket on the ground, with bamboo charcoal scattered everywhere.

Just as he opened the door and rushed out of the courtyard, he heard the sound of wind and cranes; in the crisis, he tilted his body violently, and a black shadow grazed his arm, pinning itself into the door panel behind him.

Ordinary bandits and thieves wouldn't have this kind of thing.

Having just chopped down one person, he became even calmer, slightly turning his body to dodge the long sword, the curved blade's tip—with its large arc—grazing the sword's body as it swept forward.

The blade tilted up, and the hook-like tip eerily sliced open a wound on the opponent's arm; the assassin's long sword fell to the ground with a clang.

He was intimately familiar with the placement of objects in his room, so even in the darkness, he faced no obstacles, which gave him another advantage.

Taking advantage of the gap while the assassin's right hand was injured and the long sword had fallen, he grabbed a stool from beside him and smashed it down with all his might, knocking the opponent to the ground, then followed up with another strike.

But to escape the Great Zhou, one needed a travel permit, and that man surnamed Cui was the one with the power and connections to provide it; it was just that it required the life of the boy in the room to trade for it.

Then this person likely had an inseparable connection to the Embroidered Uniform Guard or the Water Surveillance Office.

Being able to serve as Zou Huaiyi's personal guard, his skills and courage were not mediocre; although he saw his companion struck down, he did not retreat, and his long sword stabbed out like lightning.

Jia Cong's curved blade had a strange shape, different from ordinary swords and blades, and he had learned the close-quarters assassination techniques of Qu Hongxiu, attacking the enemy through gaps in a mysterious and unpredictable way.

That day, because they were on duty at the main camp, they didn't go to the Zou residence to offer birthday greetings, luckily escaping a disaster.

"Your two accomplices are already dead. If you let her go, I will let you go!" he said, tightening his grip on the curved blade.

Moreover, he had been on guard in his heart, so he stuffed pillows and clothes into the quilt while he himself went up to the rafters.

Suddenly hearing a scream from the courtyard, he was greatly alarmed; that voice was Jing Hui's.

Back when Liu Hai of the Water Surveillance Office led officials to guard the temple construction site, Jia Cong had also seen them equipped with this type of hand crossbow.

Now, the Zou Huaiyi case had too many implications, with nets spread across the land; only by fleeing overseas could they solve the problem once and for all.

Fortunately, because Jia Cong felt uneasy last night and hadn't extinguished the candle for half the night, the assassin had been wary; he woke up as soon as the light went out, and because the room was cold, he got up to add charcoal, just in time to hear the movement in the courtyard.

After the incident, he relied on his old connections to evade the search and arrest by the Judge's Court and the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

Seeing that his two companions had entered the room and never came out, the man knew they were likely dead; he hadn't expected this youth to be such a tough nut to crack, and he was filled with extreme fear.

The two companions who had entered the room to act were both better at martial arts than him, and he had been left outside to stand guard; now, alone and isolated, he was no match for the other party and had already developed the intention to retreat.

Jia Cong saw him move the sharp blade away from Jing Hui's neck, but he didn't dare to be careless at all; he saw the man push Jing Hui violently and shoot an arrow at him with lightning speed.

This type of standard hand crossbow was small in size and could be cocked once to fire multiple times.

He shot this arrow at Jia Cong not expecting to hit him, but just to block the enemy; before Jia Cong could dodge, the next arrow was shot at Jing Hui's back, and then he turned and ran.

Firing these two arrows was enough for him to win a chance to escape.

From the moment he stepped out, Jia Cong's gaze had never left Jing Hui and the hand crossbow in the man's hand; he didn't even really try to dodge the arrow shot at him.

Just after the man fired the first arrow, he had already leaped toward Jing Hui; he couldn't imagine the consequences if Jing Hui were shot at such close range.

Just as Jia Cong tackled Jing Hui to the ground, he felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder; the assassin had taken the opportunity to run away without a trace.

Seeing Jing Hui pale and lying in his arms, but fortunately safe and sound, Jia Cong couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

That arrow had slanted through the clothes on his right shoulder, slicing a deep wound on his shoulder, only two fingers' width from his neck; if it had been slightly off, it could have pierced his neck.

Although he avoided the vital spot, blood quickly soaked half his clothes, looking quite frightening; Jing Hui was so scared she didn't know what to do, only holding him and shedding tears.

Jia Cong comforted her: "It's not a fatal wound, I won't die. Help me back to the room first."

By now, the sky was gradually brightening; the fight just now had actually been very short, and hadn't even caused much commotion, but lights had already turned on in the neighboring courtyard.

Jia Cong helped Jing Hui into the room and bolted the door.

Enduring the sharp pain, he checked the two people on the ground; one was already dead, and the other, who he had struck with a blade after leaping from the rafters, hadn't been killed instantly, but had long since lost consciousness from his severe injuries.

He found the medicinal powder Qu Hongxiu had given him; when Jing Hui undid his clothes, she discovered his shoulder was mangled, and blood wouldn't stop flowing with the slightest movement, making her burst into tears.

After cleaning the wound, she taught Jing Hui how to apply the medicine; fortunately, Qu Hongxiu's medicine was always effective, and it quickly stopped the bleeding, but Jia Cong, having exhausted his mind after the injury, couldn't hold on any longer.

By now, the east was already turning white, and the faint morning light shone in from outside the window, wiping away the dimness in the room bit by bit.

Those fears and bewilderments buried deep in Jing Hui's heart, whose roots were hard to name, seemed to gradually dissipate in this warm morning light.

It was like being cleared of layers of fog, and the full tenderness rising from the bottom of her heart was clear and firm.

The room was in disarray with tables and chairs, one dead and one injured lay on the ground, and the air was filled with a bloody smell.

Yet it was also filled with a gentle, warm atmosphere; Jing Hui helped Jia Cong sit by the bed, leaning gently against him, while Jia Cong's right hand half-held her, the curved blade tightly gripped in his palm already tossed aside.

Abbess Xiushan discovered that Jing Hui had gone to deliver bamboo charcoal to Jia Cong early in the morning but hadn't returned for a long time; she sent someone to check, only to find that something had happened.

Panxiang Temple was under the jurisdiction of Wuxian; by the time the Wuxian yamen received the news and arrived, it was already past the hour of Mao (5-7 AM).

Under Jia Cong's prompt, the leading constable found a physician, and the severely injured assassin's life was also saved.

This assassination attempt was highly likely to involve the Water Surveillance Office; Jia Cong had seen Cui Bowang on Le Yu Street that day, and even the Jin Ling Guard Station was implicated. Under such circumstances, it was natural to keep the assassin alive.

When the Wuxian Magistrate learned that the person assassinated was Jia Cong, the Chengshi Lang who was now famous throughout Jiangnan, and that the assassin was likely a remnant of the Jin Ling Water Surveillance Office, how could he be the least bit negligent?

On one hand, he detained and treated the prisoner, and on the other, he urgently sent a document to the Yingtian Prefecture to negotiate the subsequent handling of the matter.

After all, one assassin had escaped, and it involved the major case of the Jin Ling Water Surveillance Office; no one could be sure if the assassin would return.

If this Chengshi Lang were to meet with an accident in Wuxian's jurisdiction, not to mention the court's accountability.

Even the public opinion and criticism from the Jiangnan scholar-official class would be enough to make him lose his footing in Wuxian. For the sake of absolute safety, he moved Jia Cong into the county yamen's rear office to recuperate.

After all, no matter how arrogant the assassin was, they wouldn't dare to break directly into the county yamen to commit murder.

Ever since Jia Cong was injured, Jing Hui had never left his side for a single step; although she still couldn't remember the past, these things didn't seem important anymore.

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 175 =====