Chapter 15

Soon after, a carriage bearing a wooden plaque with the character 'Lin', carrying one man and one woman, drove away from the main gate of the Lin Family Medical Hall.

At the end of Ning'an Street, above a three-story wine house.

A man dressed in coarse hemp clothes and wearing a bamboo hat stood at the window of a private room, peering through the gap at the approaching carriage; beside him lay a five-foot horse-chopping blade, his eyes carrying a hint of disdain:

"Just this young lad, is his head worth three hundred taels?"

Beside a table in the rear sat a man cloaked in a hooded robe, holding a teacup:

"It is your life that is worth three hundred taels, not his. For safety's sake, I hired you to act; if the matter goes awry, you know the rules."

The blade-wielder quite liked these words, yet still asked:

"What background does this lad have?"

"His surname is Xie, given name Jinhuan; born in the third year of Changping, originally from Wan'an County, Luojing. His father, Xie Wen, once served as the Judicial Clerk of Wan'an County; three years ago, he was transferred to Nanning, Ruizhou, for negligence in a case, and has just returned alone to the Central Plains."

"What is his strength? Why kill him?"

The hooded figure fell silent for a brief moment before explaining in detail:

"This youth has studied in recent years at Fengling Valley, a minor sect in the Jianghu; his martial arts are passable. Yesterday, he reported my warehouse to the government office, causing me to lose several thousand taels in goods; he must pay the price."

The blade-wielder's gaze showed a hint of confusion:

"With the current situation so tense, searching for demons and bandits everywhere, and a major disturbance erupting in the East Warehouse District just yesterday, it is rather irrational for Your Excellency to ignore the danger and instead hire an assassin for revenge."

The hooded figure took a silver note from his sleeve and placed it on the table:

"Walking the Jianghu, asking too much brings you no good. Will you take this job?"

The blade-wielder looked at the silver note on the table and finally nodded:

"I'll take it. Such a simple job; not taking it would be fighting against the silver itself."

The hooded figure then took a black medicine bottle from his sleeve and placed it on the table:

"The situation is indeed tense recently; try to poison him first; if that fails, then act."

The blade-wielder picked up the small black bottle to examine it, frowning:

"This seems to be a bottle from Sanhe Lou; how do I not recall Sanhe Lou selling poison?"

"I just found a bottle at random to hold the medicine. Get to work quickly."

After speaking, the hooded figure rose and left the room.

Holding the small black bottle, the blade-wielder pondered thoughtfully, but finally tucked it into his bosom...

——

Cold rain fell continuously, a thousand streets locked in mist; the uneven buildings along the street were shrouded in rain and fog, turning the entire city into a dark, somber black-green.

The carriage moved forward along the East City market street; the driver and guard, Jia Zheng, sat outside the carriage wearing a bamboo hat; perhaps finding the journey dull, he hummed a desolate little tune:

"Heaven is bitter~ Earth is bitter~ From south to north, a hundred thousand li, merely a hero's grave~

"Buddhism or not~ Daoism or not~ Wandering east and west for eighty years, ultimately bones in a grave~..."

The carriage was drawn by two horses abreast; the interior was quite spacious, with a small table by the window on the left.

Lin Wanyi, wearing gold-rimmed glasses and maintaining a proper demeanor, sat on the inner side, stroking Meiqiu's fluffy head, while her peripheral vision occasionally glanced at the young master in white robes opposite the small table.

Xie Jinhuan sat with his back to the window, holding the thirty-six-section Tiangang Mace, carefully wiping the mace's body with a handkerchief; his eyes seemed to reject others from a thousand li away, yet secretly held a gentle warmth; not only was his expression flawless, but even his posture, movements, and the details of his gaze were perfectly appropriate, making anyone who saw him want to look again...

Lin Wanyi felt Xie Jinhuan's demeanor was somewhat too perfect; even practicing form since the age of three might not produce such a stance; after a moment of silence, she could not help but speak up:

"Xie Jinhuan, are you thinking about something?"

Xie Jinhuan had too many things on his mind; right now, he only wanted to survive; hearing the question, he came to his senses:

"Nothing, just lost in thought."

Lin Wanyi nodded slightly; since they had just met and had no topics in common, she made conversation by asking:

"Does this weapon hold special significance for you?"

This Tiangang Mace of Xie Jinhuan's, like Meiqiu, was bought from a flea market.

At that time, it cost two taels of silver; the merchant boasted it was an 'ancient divine weapon', but in reality, it was just a big iron rod, good for nothing except being sturdy.

However, when introducing it to others, one certainly needed some explanation; after thinking, he made up a story:

"I initially used spears and staffs, taking 'the longer the weapon, the stronger the advantage'; later I switched to blades and swords, breaking enemies with technique; then I stopped caring about weapons, as flying flowers and pinched leaves could injure people. Forging this mace was not to use it as a weapon, but to warn myself."

"Warn yourself of what?"

"The mace, with four edges and no sharp edge, is a 'virtuous weapon among arms'; it takes the path of justice and peace, intending to punish and deter, not to take lives or maim limbs..."

"Oh..."

Lin Wanyi nodded slightly, holding Xie Jinhuan in even higher regard.

Amidst such fabrication, the carriage arrived near the Academy and stopped outside a gold-painted archway; the sudden rain shower gradually ceased.

Outside the gold-painted archway was a dedicated parking area filled with carriages and sedan chairs; inside was a super-large market with many merchants, and even quite a few foreigners with brown hair and blue eyes.

After getting off the carriage, Lin Wanyi walked ahead, putting on her veil; yet because of her large chest and wide hips, her figure was too alluring, still causing many passersby to glance sideways.

Xie Jinhuan walked beside her, observing the stalls along the way; when passing a shop, he saw a crowd gathered at the entrance.

Inside the spacious shop, no goods were displayed; instead, a row of boxes was placed there.

All the boxes were painted red, with brass locks and latches, sealed with labels reading 'Military Equipment Bureau', varying in size.

Many passersby in various disguises carefully selected in front of the boxes, whispering among themselves:

"Inside should be short weapons..."

"Are the boxes not fake?"

"Who in Danyang City would dare forge the seal of Danyang Academy..."

Seeing the 'blind boxes', Xie Jinhuan could not help but stop in his tracks:

"Does this kind of street swindle work in Danyang?"

Lin Wanyi hadn't been here in a long time. Seeing the 'Duobao Pavilion' sign on the shopfront, she felt puzzled:

"Jia Zheng, what does this shop do?"

Jia Zheng followed behind and quickly replied:

"It's a shop that just opened. The owner is supposedly a noble from Wencheng Street. Inside are all sorts of things trafficked from the Academy: weapons and armor, all sold for thirty taels."

The Military Equipment Bureau of Danyang Academy mainly researched city-defense machinery, weaving, water conservancy, and so on, but it also had a Department of Artifact Refining, teaching students to refine magical artifacts and blades.

With students and teachers conducting research, all sorts of tools were naturally produced. To recover costs, the Academy sold them to the public.

But to avoid tarnishing the reputation of Danyang Academy, whatever leaked out was absolutely top-tier; not a single item was cheap junk.

Hearing it was only thirty taels of silver, Lin Wanyi couldn't help but feel curious:

"Is it the real thing?"

"The goods are guaranteed authentic, but you can't inspect them before buying; nine out of ten times you lose. However, a few days ago, someone managed to get hold of soft armor, became rich overnight, and earned a thousand taels of snow-white silver..."

Lin Wanyi became interested, glanced around briefly, then turned and walked toward the shop:

"You go inquire about the Longyang Flower seller first; I'll come over later."

"Alright."

Seeing this, Jia Zheng immediately ran toward the depths of the market district.

Xie Jinhuan was considering how to evade the imperial court's pursuit and had no interest in participating in such street swindles. However, just as he followed in and entered the shop, the night demoness who had been following him like a shadow appeared at his side, raised a finger, and pointed at a box:

"This one."

Xie Jinhuan paused mid-step, quietly glanced left and right, and seeing no one notice his personal ghost, moved a bit closer:

"What's inside?"

Ye Hongshang shrugged slightly: "Anyway, the material is special; you won't lose money. If I tell you directly, where's the fun in that?"

Seeing this, Xie Jinhuan went to the shelf, picked up a small wooden box the size of a human head to inspect. It felt quite light, but he couldn't determine what object was inside.

Lin Wanyi wanted to buy one to test her luck, but thirty taels of silver was Jia Zheng's salary for over three months; it was certainly no small sum. Just as she hesitated, she noticed Xie Jinhuan staring at the box and asked:

"Is there something good in this box?"

Xie Jinhuan felt that with Ye Hongshang's abilities, she wouldn't cheat him out of silver; the contents of this box were probably the grand prize.

But all the silver he had on his entire person added up to just over twenty taels; he couldn't afford it!

Seeing Lin Wanyi's curiosity was quite strong, Xie Jinhuan hesitated repeatedly, then finally forced himself to offer the flower as a gift:

"It looks good. You buy it and try. If we profit, we split it fifty-fifty; if we lose, it's on me."

Hearing this, Lin Wanyi naturally became interested. She quietly picked up the box, took out silver to hand to the clerk, and left the shop together:

"So light. Could it be soft armor inside?"

Xie Jinhuan wasn't clear on what was inside either and observed from the side:

"Open it and you'll know."

Seeing this, Lin Wanyi held the small box and left the shop. Only after avoiding the gaze of the crowd did she support the box with one hand and peel off the seal. Because she had spent a huge sum of thirty taels of silver, she felt a little nervous at this moment.

Xie Jinhuan and Meiqiu poked their heads over to look together. After the box was opened, a beautifully embroidered pouch was visible inside.

?

Lin Wanyi was stunned. She handed the box to Xie Jinhuan, took out the pouch, and untied it. Inside were two pieces of black fabric.

The folded fabric was only palm-sized. The texture was extremely smooth; just by looking at the sheen, one could tell the material was precious and the value high.

"Is this Ice Soul Silk?!" Seeing the astonishing texture of the fabric, Lin Wanyi's apricot eyes brightened slightly: "It really is soft armor. How did you tell?"

Ice Soul Silk was special thread created by the Military Equipment Bureau using a secret method. It was said to be "one tael of silk worth a hundred taels of gold." Soft armor crafted from it had an astonishing price.

Xie Jinhuan, who had agreed to a fifty-fifty split, was quite surprised to find that the night demoness had truly picked the grand prize. But seeing the palm-sized pouch, he frowned slightly:

"Is this soft armor a bit small?"

"Hmm?"

Lin Wanyi covered the small pouch and examined it, feeling it was indeed a bit too small. She took out one piece to inspect.

As the folded black fabric unfolded, a very strange pair of 'pants' appeared before the two of them.

The pants were like gentle, thin gauze, semi-transparent, with excellent elasticity. Below the lower abdomen were intricate embroidery patterns. Whether they had any protective power was unknown, but if worn by a woman, the difference from wearing nothing was truly negligible...

Thieves' Excitement Pants?

(End of this chapter)