The security outside Xiao Ruo Di's room was so tight that it was impossible to avoid making any noise. Li Man'er had the space to hide, but she couldn't phase through walls. She couldn't just walk through a wall in plain sight, could she?
She didn't intend to go into the room and kill Gong Xiao. She just wanted to create a diversion. These people were protecting Xiao Ruo Di, and they would never expect the assassin to be targeting Gong Xiao. This way, she could seize the opportunity and achieve her goal smoothly.
As expected, the guards outside fell one after another with thuds, like dumplings being dropped into water. This commotion finally alerted the people inside the room and the guards outside.
Before anyone could react, Li Man'er exited the space and hid in a secluded spot outside the courtyard, immediately re-entering her space.
The hidden guards on the rooftop, due to their height, were not affected by the sleeping gas and did not notice Li Man'er's departure. By the time people came out of the room, the gas had dispersed. Li Man'er was already hidden, and the scene was trampled over by more than a dozen people, leaving almost no trace.
"What's going on?" Xiao Si and Gong Xiao walked out together. Seeing the guards at the door lying on the ground, their hearts immediately skipped a beat.
The guards who rushed into the courtyard all held swords and torches, trying to find the hiding spot of the intruder.
Gong Xiao stepped forward, reached out, and felt under the guard's nose. "They're just unconscious." While relieved, he was also furious. This audacious intruder dared to cause trouble at the prefectural yamen.
"Young Master, I will lead my men to search for the intruder. They shouldn't have gone far. Young Master, you must stay by the General's side and not leave him for a moment."
Xiao Si nodded and immediately ordered the guards to surround the entire house.
Gong Xiao, meanwhile, led his men outside the courtyard and began a thorough search. wΑp.kanshu伍.net
Li Man'er's hiding spot was quite concealed. She took the opportunity to follow Gong Xiao and his group, and no one noticed. Everyone's attention was on Xiao Ruo Di. No one would have thought that this audacious assassin would be following those who were hunting the assassin.
This was probably the "darkness under the lamp."
Gong Xiao was methodical. He gathered his men, divided them into small teams, and ordered them to conduct a carpet search. The teams formed a pincer movement, and it would be difficult for anyone without skill to escape this encirclement.
Fortunately, Li Man'er was no ordinary person, and she was engaging in the "darkness under the lamp" tactic.
The only snag was that she had to get back to her own courtyard when these people searched it. The sooner she acted, the better it would be for her.
With this thought, Li Man'er stopped holding back. She took a steel wire from her space, quietly followed behind the group, suddenly looped it around the neck of the last person, choked him tightly, and instantly entered her space.
The person in front seemed to hear something and turned to look, but saw nothing unusual, only that his teammate behind him was gone.
"Xiao Si, went to relieve yourself again." He didn't pay much attention at first. After walking a few more steps, he suddenly felt a mosquito bite on the back of his neck.
*Slap*
He smacked it hard and actually felt blood. "Strange, it's almost New Year, and there are still mosquitoes?"
Before he could finish speaking, he felt his strength drain away, his vision went black, and he lost consciousness, falling to the ground.
Li Man'er quickly caught the man's body and entered her space again.
Gong Xiao was too arrogant. His team was the smallest. When they reached the most secluded southeast corner of the prefectural yamen, Gong Xiao belatedly realized something was wrong.
His attention had been focused on searching for the assassin all along. After searching for a long time with no results, he finally realized the problem.
The footsteps of his team were not right; they seemed too uniform and too quiet.
Gong Xiao suddenly turned back, only to find that there was only one person following him. This person was dressed in black, slightly petite, and clearly not one of his subordinates.
Gong Xiao was so scared that sweat broke out. He ignored everything else and opened his mouth to shout, "Come..."
As Gong Xiao uttered the first syllable, he suddenly found his voice sounded strange, muffled, like a broken drum.
Pain.
Gong Xiao looked down and saw that his neck was bleeding.
The wound was extremely thin, so he didn't feel the pain at first. Only when the blood began to gush uncontrollably did the pain become noticeable.
Gong Xiao struggled to reach up and press his hand against the wound on his neck, but the blood flowed faster and faster. He felt all his strength draining away.
Such a fast knife.
Gong Xiao thought of something. With his last ounce of strength, he slowly said, "You, you are..."
With a thud, Gong Xiao fell. After twitching a few times on the ground, he lay still. His eyes were wide open, as if he had died with regret.
Li Man'er only glanced at him before quickly leaving and heading towards her courtyard.
Not long after she left, someone discovered Gong Xiao's body and, not far away, the bodies of several other patrol soldiers.
The entire prefectural yamen was in an uproar. Everyone knew the capabilities of Vice-General Gong Xiao, yet he had been killed so silently. How high must the killer's martial arts be?
Soon, the search party arrived at Li Man'er's residence. Before Liu Ya could open the door, someone kicked it open with a bang. Then, seven or eight guards with swords rushed in, stating they were there to catch the thief and assassin.
However, they hadn't expected Miss Xiao Qi to be there too, eating heartily with Li Man'er.
"Miss Qi, your prefectural yamen is quite lively. You catch thieves every few days, busier than the Jingzhao Yin." Li Man'er put down her chopsticks. "I've really opened my eyes. If I had known it was so interesting here, I would have come earlier."
Anyone could tell the sarcasm in Li Man'er's words. The guards weren't fools either; they all knew the true relationship between Xiao Qi Niang and Li Man'er.
"What's going on? Didn't you see I was dining with Miss Li? You kick the door open just like that, what immense authority! If people didn't know better, they'd think everyone from Mobei is uncivilized!"
"Miss Qi, your subordinates did not mean to. We truly did not expect you to be here."
Li Man'er leaned back on her chair and chuckled, "Oh, if Miss Qi wasn't here, you would have acted with impunity, wouldn't you?"
"Miss Li, forgive us. We didn't mean it that way. It's just that the matter is of great importance..." The leader hesitated before saying, "There have been lives lost, several of them. Your subordinate dare not be negligent."
Li Man'er snorted, "Who died?"
"General Gong Xiao."
"What?"
Xiao Qi Niang stood up abruptly. "General Gong is dead?"
Li Man'er's face also showed a look of shock. "Impossible. He was fine this afternoon?"
Xiao Qi Niang immediately said, "Man'er, stay in the room and don't come out. I'll go take a look."
Li Man'er said, "It's so cold, why would I go out. Miss Qi, you be busy!"
Xiao Qi Niang then said, "I was with Miss Li the entire time. She has no suspicion."
"Yes!"
"Let's go."
Xiao Qi Niang left with the guards.
Liu Ya closed the precarious door and gave Li Man'er a deep look.