Since the city wall was far enough away, the people on it wouldn't be able to see her location, so Huangfu Yue confidently retrieved the off-road vehicle from her spatial dimension and drove back to Midian Town with Xiao Hei.
Just like when they arrived, despite the poor road conditions, the off-road vehicle could still maintain a speed of seventy to eighty kilometers per hour. In just over half an hour, Huangfu Yue and the others arrived outside Midian Town.
Huangfu Yue got out of the car with Xiao Hei, recalled the off-road vehicle into her spatial dimension, and then stealthily slipped into the town, successfully returning to the Tongfu Inn where the Dai Prince’s retinue was staying.
At this time, all the rooms in the Tongfu Inn had their lights extinguished, and everyone had already gone to sleep. No one noticed that Huangfu Yue had gone out and returned.
After returning to her room, Huangfu Yue first lit a candle, then sat down, and asked her spatial dimension to send her a bottle of mineral water.
She was a little thirsty.
“Xiao Hei, you should drink some water too. You must be thirsty,” Huangfu Yue said, pouring half a bottle of mineral water into a teacup to feed Xiao Hei after retrieving the water.
“Thank you, Master.” Xiao Hei immediately went to drink the water; it was also a bit thirsty.
“Master, what is this water? It feels a bit different, purer and sweeter than the water I usually drink,” Xiao Hei said, its keen senses detecting the difference in the water produced by its master after drinking a few sips.
“This is mineral water,” Huangfu Yue replied with a smile while drinking.
“Mineral water? I’ve never heard of it.”
“This is mountain spring water from the border region, so you naturally haven’t heard of it,” Huangfu Yue fibbed. “Let’s go to sleep after we finish drinking.” It was already past midnight, and it was time to rest.
“Master, you sleep. I won’t be sleeping. I’ll go out for a stroll… Crows are nocturnal animals; they don’t sleep at night and only sleep in the morning,” Xiao Hei said.
Huangfu Yue nodded. She had momentarily forgotten that crows are nocturnal creatures and operate in reverse to humans; crows sleep during the day and are active at night, unlike humans who are active during the day and sleep at night.
“Alright. You can sleep when you want to sleep after dawn. You can sleep soundly until you wake up naturally, don’t worry about me… I probably won’t need you during the day, so it’s fine if you sleep until evening,” Huangfu Yue said gently and considerately.
“Thank you, Master. Master, you are so kind.” Xiao Hei once again marveled at its good fortune in encountering the best master in the world.
“Go ahead,” Huangfu Yue waved her hand.
Xiao Hei flew out the window. After taking another sip of mineral water, Huangfu Yue prepared to get into bed to sleep.
She reached up, removed her veil, and placed it down. Then, she took out the hairpin that had pierced the killer’s ankle earlier and looked at the dried bloodstains on it, a look of disgust appearing on her face.
This hairpin was dirty and unusable!
She should throw it away…
No! Huangfu Yue immediately shook her head. If someone saw it after she threw it away, finding blood on it would surely arouse suspicion. It was better to burn it.
Huangfu Yue entered her spatial dimension. Inside her dimension, there was a small stove that could burn the hairpin.
That small stove was something she had acquired specifically for use during missions.
When she was a soldier before, she often encountered peculiar and unusual missions; the mission for which she needed that stove was one such instance.
Huangfu Yue quickly took out the stove, found a few pieces of firewood from the prince’s manor kitchen, put them in the stove, and started a fire.
When the flames grew higher and the fire larger, she threw the blood-stained hairpin into the stove.
The hairpin was made of wood, and as soon as it entered the stove, it immediately caught fire and burned up, disappearing quickly.
Huangfu Yue yawned, a trace of sleepiness creeping onto her face.
She quickly extinguished the fire in the stove, left her spatial dimension, and went to the bedside to undress.
The hairpin was disposed of, and she could finally sleep with peace of mind.
Huangfu Yue took off her outer garments, leaving only her inner tunic and trousers, and got into bed. Just as she was about to lie down, she suddenly remembered that she still had two hairpins in her hair that needed to be removed, otherwise, they might poke her if she tossed and turned in her sleep.
Although women were not supposed to adorn themselves or wear much jewelry during mourning, the women of the Dai Prince’s manor were of noble status. It would be too plain if they didn't wear anything in their hair, which would be seen as shabby. Therefore, the women of the Dai Prince’s manor all wore two or three wooden hairpins and hair ornaments.
Although the wooden hairpins and ornaments looked simple, they were still decorative items, yet not ostentatious or extravagant.
Huangfu Yue quickly removed one hairpin and reached for the second one, but she couldn't find the wooden hairpin in the place she remembered it being.
How could it be gone? Had it fallen out?
Impossible.
Huangfu Yue frowned slightly. When did this wooden hairpin fall out? Could it have been when she encountered Leng Yu Sheng in the capital and was dodging his sword?
What bad luck! Huangfu Yue knitted her brows tightly.
She hoped Leng Yu Sheng wouldn't pick up her dropped hairpin… But even if he did, she wouldn't worry, because Leng Yu Sheng wouldn't be able to trace her using that wooden hairpin.
She recalled that the wooden hairpin was given to her by her mother, who had committed suicide for love, when the original owner and her parents still lived in Biancheng last year. Her mother had said she saw it while wandering the streets, thought it was simple and elegant, and bought it as a gift for her.
No matter how capable Leng Yu Sheng was, he shouldn't be able to investigate into enemy territory.
The Biancheng where the original owner and her parents had originally lived had fallen into the hands of the enemy country and was now occupied by a large enemy army.
With this thought, Huangfu Yue relaxed. She placed the only remaining hairpin on the pillow, then lay down, rested her head on the pillow, and went to visit the Duke of Zhou…