Chapter 34: Assassination

"Young people these days are truly something else!"

Watching Shen Yu's departing back, Mr. Chen couldn't help but sigh. At the very beginning, he could clearly feel that Shen Yu was, to some extent, on guard against him.

But after a period of conversation, the two found themselves increasingly like-minded, chatting about everything from poetry and literature to national affairs; in his excitement, Shen Yu even revealed a portion of his plans for governing Baian County.

By the end, Mr. Chen almost held Shen Yu back to keep him from leaving. He had originally thought this was merely a rising star. He had only helped him out because the other party was a conscientious and dedicated official, and he had met him in passing just to see if there was any need to offer guidance.

He hadn't expected the other party to have such profound insight, leaving him with a feeling of having met too late. He even felt that, in terms of insight alone, he himself was slightly inferior. And this was with Shen Yu holding back, not saying anything truly shocking or unconventional.

What Mr. Chen didn't know was that someone like Shen Yu, who had been baptized by the vast internet, could brag to him for three days and three nights without repeating a single thing. Just kidding—the internet is full of talent; what kind of person can't you find there?

"Pfft, what's so 'something else' about him? He's just an ordinary County Magistrate!" Lu Siyu curled her lip in disdain. She felt a wave of helplessness regarding the conversation between Shen Yu and Mr. Chen. It was supposed to be a simple meeting, but the two ended up talking for several hours, and she couldn't get a word in the entire time.

In her eyes, Shen Yu was just a small County Magistrate who had just stepped into officialdom, while Mr. Chen was the number one strategist by her father's side, a figure who made countless people tremble in fear. That the two could hit it off and be so like-minded was somewhat mind-boggling.

"An ordinary County Magistrate? Miss, you don't understand! His talent is far greater than I imagined!"

Smiling and shaking his head, Mr. Chen felt a wave of emotion. To possess such ability while still being a young man made one have to sigh that they were truly getting old; the World of the future belonged to the young after all.

"If he can make it through this hurdle, he will surely rise with the wind in the future, and his prospects will be limitless!"

"It's a pity, though; this man has great ambition and may not necessarily be used by the Lord!" Sighing lightly, Mr. Chen turned to look at Lu Siyu and said with a smile, "Miss, we've done this favor, and the necessary warnings have been given. You should come back with me now, right?"

"Go back? Well, about that..."

"Miss, rest assured. The Lord said that as long as you don't run away from home again, he won't interfere in your marriage for the time being!"

Looking in the direction where Shen Yu had gone, Mr. Chen suddenly smiled lightly, looking at Lu Siyu beside him with a teasing expression. "Miss, I actually think that Magistrate Shen is truly excellent. If you could take him as a husband, I believe the Lord would be very satisfied!"

"Him? Forget it! Uncle Chen, I finally managed to get out; I'm not going back..."

"Miss, I cannot defy the Lord's orders. Please don't make things too difficult for me!"

Meanwhile, Shen Yu, having left the Cloud-Gazing Tower, quietly looked back. The long, candid chat he had just had with this Mr. Chen had allowed him to completely set aside his prejudices about this era.

In this era, there were always geniuses; their wisdom and insight exceeded the imagination of ordinary people. Even he felt a sense of sudden enlightenment in many areas. And this Mr. Chen was definitely no ordinary person.

However, his warning was correct, especially since once the refugees began to rise up, there were far too many methods that could be used.

Whether it was deliberately inciting disputes among refugees or spreading rumors—even just poisoning the food he provided so that the refugees who ate it would be poisoned—any of these methods could leave him in deep trouble.

There is a saying that one can be a thief for a thousand days, but one cannot guard against a thief for a thousand days; constant passive defense would only lead to being caught off guard. Mr. Chen could help him once, but he couldn't help him forever, so he had to take the initiative!

"Waiter, a bowl of plain noodles!"

Arriving at a restaurant, Shen Yu called out casually. After chatting with Mr. Chen for so long, he hadn't even seen a bowl of rice. These people might not be hungry, but he was truly starving. He had thought he could mooch a meal at Wangyun Tower—stingy!

"My Lord, your noodles!" In a short while, Shen Yu's noodles were brought up. The steaming plain noodles were sprinkled with a few bits of green onion, making the already ravenous Shen Yu feel his appetite open up instantly.

But just as he picked up his chopsticks to start, a faint, ghostly blue light appeared in the corner of Shen Yu's eye—it was the light of the Jade Bead of Poison Avoidance!

"There are always treacherous people wanting to harm this official!" Looking at the now-blue bead, Shen Yu gave a bitter smile. It was truly impossible to even eat a meal in peace.

However, he didn't care in the slightest, instead swallowing the noodles in large mouthfuls and finishing off the broth at the bottom of the bowl as well. With the Jade Bead of Poison Avoidance, as long as the bead didn't turn red, a mere bit of poison was nothing to worry about!

"Good craftsmanship, good noodles!" He couldn't help but praise, then Shen Yu looked up at the waiter staring intently at him and asked with a half-smile, "Waiter, is something the matter? You've been watching me eat for so long; isn't the shop busy?"

"My Lord, it is our honor that you could come here; of course we must serve you well! The manager said to let me serve you alone!"

"Is that so?" With a *shing*, he drew the sword at his side and laid it across the waiter's neck. Shen Yu looked the other party up and down, then gave a soft hum. "Why do I feel like you're harboring evil intentions?"

"Look at you, you're here to assassinate someone, yet you don't even know how to disguise yourself properly. Look at the calluses on your hands—these are hands meant for holding a blade, right? And look at your body; there isn't a hint of cooking oil smell on you. You're full of flaws from head to toe; have you no shame!"

"This official could tell at a glance that you aren't a good person!"

"You!" To be seen through before he had even made a move, and to have a sword held to his neck—this was already humiliating enough. And then this guy kept nagging about him being unprofessional—this was truly heartbreaking! This is intolerable!

"Wait!" Suddenly, the waiter saw Shen Yu's tightly furrowed brows, and he seemed to be faintly clutching his chest; he appeared to be holding on by sheer force of will!

In an instant, the waiter made a judgment and immediately shouted, "He's already poisoned! He's just bluffing! Attack now!"

"Bang!" As the waiter's words fell, several figures flew in from all directions. The waiter beside him also had his murderous intent flare up instantly; a dagger appeared in his hand from who knows where, and completely ignoring the sword still at his neck, he stabbed fiercely toward Shen Yu's heart.

This desperate tactic made Shen Yu pause for a split second, then he drew his sword across his field of vision without hesitation. A flash of sword light appeared suddenly; the sword was like a flying rainbow, graceful as a startled swan, as if a brilliant radiance illuminated the entire hall.

That cold, ruthless killing intent seemed capable of piercing through one's entire body; without seeing it up close, one would never know what kind of terrifying murderous intent was hidden beneath such gorgeous swordsmanship.

In just the blink of an eye, by the time everyone reacted, they saw that the waiter who had just attacked had blood flowing from all four limbs, slumped on the ground in a very unsightly manner.

As for the others who had rushed up, they were all lying in pools of blood. In a single exchange, everyone who had come to assassinate him was wiped out!

And Shen Yu hadn't even stood up, as if everything that had just happened had no impact on him at all.

"Speak, who sent you?"

"Hmph!" Even though his four limbs were slashed and he was sweating profusely from the pain, the waiter remained silent; the only answer Shen Yu received was silence. After a short while, a black aura appeared on the waiter's face, and he instantly ceased to breathe.

"Dead? Poison hidden in the mouth again—a death soldier? An assassin? This Prefect has actually resorted to such methods; he really has less and less of a bottom line! As expected, I must act quickly too!"

"System, sign in!"

"Sign-in successful, obtained Sadness Breeze!"