Chapter 445
Inside the carriage, Zhan Feiyu lifted the curtain and looked towards the pier, shrouded in the pale moonlight. Apart from the sound of the flowing water and the gentle breeze, the silence held a sense of danger.
"Lord Yao had people clear out the pier during the day," He Sheng, who was driving the carriage, said in a low voice.
Originally, there were some laborers moving goods and guarding warehouses at the pier. The constables had been searching ship by ship and room by room.
After everyone was driven away, Lord Yao sent constables and yamen runners to strictly guard the three entrances to the pier. Now, there was no one on the pier in plain sight.
Zhan Feiyu remembered this favor. She jumped down from the carriage, holding a lantern, and scanned her surroundings. Unfortunately, her meager skills couldn't detect any hidden figures. "Ah Sheng, let's go."
She walked step by step towards the pier. In the quiet, her footsteps seemed particularly noticeable. She reached the small marketplace in the middle of the pier, where damaged goods were usually sorted out and put up for sale.
"Miss Zhan, are you well!" a sinister voice called out from the darkness. Jin Xu walked over with his men from the alley on the left. If looks could kill, Zhan Feiyu would have been hacked to a thousand pieces by now.
Jin Xu shed his usual gentle demeanor, his face etched with deep hatred. His left leg was noticeably limping as he walked. Recalling the rumors of the past few days, it was likely he had injured his knees from being punished to kneel in the ancestral hall.
"Young Master Six." Zhan Feiyu smiled faintly as she observed the more than ten burly men in fitted clothes lined up behind Jin Xu. "Release Ah Nuan and let Master Jin Nine come out. You, Young Master Six, are not qualified to negotiate with me on behalf of Master Jin Nine."
Thinking that everything today was Zhan Feiyu's doing, and hearing her dismissive tone, Jin Xu, who was already provoked, completely erupted. He abruptly drew the long sword from a nearby man. "Zhan Feiyu, aren't you afraid I'll order my men to kill that lowly maid immediately?"
"If you're not afraid of the entire Jin family being buried with Ah Nuan, then feel free to act!" Zhan Feiyu was completely unfazed. She raised her left hand. "Attack!"
Before Jin Xu could react, a whistling sound of hidden weapons cutting through the air echoed in the stillness. Four of the burly men standing beside Jin Xu suddenly clutched their throats, their powerful bodies collapsing with a thud.
Gasp! Jin Xu turned around abruptly, only to see the four men making muffled groans, black blood oozing from their mouths. They had all been shot through the throat by crossbow bolts, mere inches long. The arrows were poisoned, and the four men, struggling in agony, died with their eyes wide open.
"You..." Jin Xu instinctively took two steps back, looking at Zhan Feiyu, who was holding the lantern, with terror. The warm yellow light illuminated her fair and delicate face, her features exquisite. Yet, with a single move, she had killed four people. What's more, Jin Xu had no idea where the crossbow bolts had come from.
Applause suddenly rang out. Dozens of figures shot out like arrows in all directions, instantly disappearing into the darkness.
Zhan Feiyu glanced in the moonlight. On the rooftops and walls not far away, she could vaguely make out figures. The battle seemed imminent.
"Miss Zhan's actions are not like those of a scholar," a clear laugh echoed. A row of lanterns suddenly lit up in the darkness, and Master Jin Nine walked out from the light.
Following closely behind Master Jin Nine was He Nuan, held captive by two burly men in fitted clothes.
"Master Jin Nine, are you planning to defect to the barbarians?" a crisp voice rang out. Although Zhan Feiyu only had He Sheng by her side, she showed no fear. "It's a pity that Minhe Prefecture is hundreds of miles away from the barbarians. Even a fast horse would take a day to get there."