Chapter 46

The Emergence of Killing Intent

The night had deepened when Nan Yi exited from the Third Courtyard where Lady Gantang was staying, just in time to run into Xie Que Shan, who was returning to the manor.

She glanced at him briefly, then immediately took a few steps back and greeted him respectfully.

Xie Que Shan immediately noticed that the young girl was angry.

She was certainly upset with him for letting Qiao Yin Zhi escape. She had probably been cursing him silently for the entire day.

However—what was wrong with the clothes? Why wasn’t she wearing the new clothes?

Xie Que Shan was baffled. Was it that she didn’t like the new clothes? Or was the design unappealing? The embroiderer had clearly said that the color and satin fabric would surely be loved by the ladies.

In this trivial matter, his mind had already spiraled into confusion. There were things in this world that even he, Xie Que Shan, couldn’t understand.

“Master, I’ll return to my courtyard now.” Seeing that he remained silent for a while, Nan Yi couldn’t guess his thoughts and decided to slip away.

“I have a task for you,” he finally snapped back to reality and said sternly.

“Master, I’m helping Lady Gantang prepare for the New Year banquet. I’ve been very busy these days.”

“Tomorrow, Second Sister will be taking Qian Ge’er and Ah Fu to Tiger Kneel Mountain to pay respects to Big Brother. Follow them secretly and come back to tell me where Second Sister went and who she met.”

Qian Ge’er and Ah Fu were Lady Gantang’s son and daughter, twelve and three years old, respectively.

Nan Yi was startled, realizing that Xie Que Shan suspected Lady Gantang. She certainly didn’t want to be his accomplice, so she instinctively refused, “How could I follow people! Master, you think too highly of me.”

“Just imagine you’re trying to steal something from her, but haven’t succeeded yet, so you’re quietly following her.”

“But didn’t you say I shouldn’t steal things?”

“That’s why I said you should imagine it.”

“But didn’t you say before that I only need to keep an eye on Xie Xiao Liu and find out where King Ling’an is?” Nan Yi was still trying to find an excuse to avoid the task.

“Did you find out?” he countered.

Nan Yi fell silent, realizing she couldn’t find an excuse anymore. Whether she agreed or not, she had to agree.

Xie Que Shan pulled a small, delicate sleeve arrow from his sleeve and handed it to Nan Yi.

“Take this for self-defense.”

Nan Yi curiously looked at the small arrow case in her hand, which was somewhat heavy. “How do you use this?”

Before she could finish her sentence, whoosh—an arrow shot straight at Xie Que Shan. Fortunately, he reacted quickly and immediately tilted his head to dodge.

His face darkened.

After a few moments of silence, Nan Yi threw out a casual remark, “I got it, I got it. No need to teach me. Thank you, Master.”

Nan Yi ran off with lightning speed, as if she were escaping the wind.

The fresh snow that had just piled up in the backyard was trampled, leaving behind a series of loose footprints.

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Lady Gantang took her two children to Tiger Kneel Mountain to pay respects, but she didn’t bring any of the Xie family’s servants, only a bodyguard, Tang Rong, whom she had brought back from Yu City.

For a lady of Lady Gantang’s status, it would be normal to have eight female attendants by her side, and no one would question it. But the fact that she had brought a male bodyguard, and one whom no one in the family had seen before, naturally raised some suspicions.

However, given the war, people speculated that perhaps this bodyguard had been arranged by the Duke of Pingnan to protect Lady Gantang’s safety, so it didn’t seem too strange.

They even brought several boxes of sacrificial offerings. Judging by the draft of the ship, it seemed there were far more than just the boxes visible.

Hidden in the shadows, Nan Yi almost confirmed her suspicion: Lady Gantang was delivering supplies to people in the mountains. She couldn’t be seen handling this matter herself, so she had Nan Yi do it. After all, Nan Yi was just a lowly widow from the Xie family, and no one would pay attention to her.

But what kind of people was she hiding in the mountains?

Though Nan Yi was only following Xie Que Shan’s orders, her curiosity was piqued.

Lady Gantang also seemed cautious. Upon reaching Tiger Kneel Mountain, she entered a restaurant to eat. Afterward, she secretly changed her clothes, leaving all the supplies behind in the restaurant and quietly sneaking out through the back door, wary of anyone following her.

This caution made Nan Yi more alert, and sure enough, she noticed someone posing as a hunter, secretly following Lady Gantang’s group.

No matter who it was, they definitely had ill intentions.

Nan Yi slipped into the restaurant, and seeing that Lady Gantang had left her clothes behind, she took the opportunity to switch into them. She then misled the pursuers into heading deeper into the mountains, while she took a shortcut to follow Lady Gantang.

It didn’t take much effort. Since Nan Yi was hiding in the shadows and acted unexpectedly, it worked to her advantage.

This commotion gave her a vague sense of how things were moving—who was in the open and who was in the shadows, and how these positions affected the situation.

She became even more cautious in following Lady Gantang.

At first, it seemed they were indeed heading toward the tomb of Xie Heng. However, halfway there, they veered off course and headed toward a valley.

Nan Yi followed them until she arrived at the dilapidated Daoist temple she had visited before. What she saw there greatly shocked her.

The old temple had clearly turned into a military camp, with at least a few hundred soldiers inside. Some were training, others keeping watch. Upon seeing Lady Gantang, the soldiers respectfully saluted her.

The camp displayed the “Yu” military flag. Nan Yi recognized the character—Yu, the same as in Yu City, and recalling that Lady Gantang had just returned from there, she quickly pieced together that this army must belong to Yu City.

It seemed that Tang Rong, the bodyguard, was one of Yu City’s soldiers, as he ordered a group of men to move the supplies from the restaurant.

Nan Yi’s jaw nearly dropped—Lady Gantang was hiding an entire army in Tiger Kneel Mountain?!

The Xie family certainly had some ruthless people.

Nan Yi dared not look any longer, fearing that making a sound would bring death upon her. She hurriedly left.

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At the ferry terminal by the river in Lidu, a desolate teahouse stood.

There were hardly any people passing by in the winter.

Yet, a young master had been sitting in the drafty teahouse for several hours. His face was concealed under the hood of his large cloak, and when the tea waiter brought him hot water, he could only see a pair of indifferent eyes.

It was as though his gaze drifted far from this world, like a wandering spirit.

The waiter didn’t dare look at him for long. After setting down the teapot, he quickly hid behind the curtain.

A small boat stopped at the dock, and a young man disembarked.

Luo Ci hurried over and whispered in Zhang Yuehui’s ear, “Boss, we lost the person.”

Zhang Yuehui took a sip of tea and asked, “All of them?”

“The widow from the Xie family was initially following Lady Gantang, but she noticed our eyes and secretly led the people away… The obstacles in the mountains were too much, and we lost them.”

Zhang Yuehui furrowed his brow, a rare show of concern.

The soldiers from Qi couldn’t just launch a large-scale search of Tiger Kneel Mountain without a reason, because the Yu City army was a trained force. If they alarmed them, a fierce battle could ensue, and that would not benefit the situation in Lidu.

The best approach was to quietly find the enemy’s location and wipe them out in one fell swoop.

After a moment, Zhang Yuehui raised his hand to rub his forehead and then relaxed, a faint smile curling at the corners of his lips. “What a troublesome woman.”

Luo Ci knew his boss well. When he spoke like that, it usually meant he had murderous intent.

“Don’t touch Lady Gantang. Let the little widow die in Tiger Kneel Mountain. She’s been ruining my plans every time; it’s really annoying.” Zhang Yuehui left a silver ingot on the table, deciding there was no need to wait here any longer. “If she dies, it won’t matter. Later, we’ll say it was bandits in the mountains.”

Luo Ci immediately understood. If the Xie family’s young mistress died in Tiger Kneel Mountain, the Lidu government could use the pretext of fighting bandits to send troops into the mountains for a search.

The excuse would be ready.

Meanwhile, Nan Yi, on her way back, was still contemplating how to report to Xie Que Shan, completely unaware that danger was already quietly approaching.

Deep down, Nan Yi admired Lady Gantang greatly.

When she first saw her sister’s secret, she was deeply shocked. Unlike the dramatic and bloody conflicts involving Xie Xiao Liu, Lady Gantang didn’t flaunt anything. She moved her family as though she were just an ordinary housewife, but beneath her skirts, she concealed immense power.

She was determined to keep this secret for her sister. After all, Xie Que Shan stood with the Qi people.

Xie Xiao Liu and her third uncle, in the end, weren’t really a big deal. It was understandable that Xie Que Shan wanted to protect his family. But Lady Gantang was different—she was hiding an entire army!

If the Qi people found out, her sister might not even survive.

But she also had to lie to Xie Que Shan, and she felt uneasy about it.

Should she just say she lost track of Lady Gantang?

She’d have to make it believable, maybe even get herself injured, so she could claim she fell in the mountains and lost the people.

Thinking of this, Nan Yi stopped in her tracks, looking around to see if there was a small slope where she could pretend to trip without injuring herself too much.

It wasn’t noticeable at first, but when she looked more carefully, she noticed a faint thread of silk glistening under the sunlight.

If she took one more step forward, she would step right into a trap and become a sitting duck.

Her heart skipped a beat—an ambush!

Nan Yi immediately tried to run, but before making any move, she forcibly held herself back. She realized that since there was a trap here, there were likely eyes on her nearby. If she ran, those people would catch up to her.

Running would mean turning her back on the enemy.

Thanks to Xie Que Shan’s subtle influence, she had come to realize that fleeing wasn’t always the best option when faced with danger.

Nan Yi pretended nothing was wrong as she scratched her head and started looking around her, as though searching for something.

While pretending to search, she muttered, “Ah, I left my purse at Lady Gantang’s place! I need to go back and get it.”

Nan Yi turned around and began walking back, her steps casual, but her heartbeat was already in her throat.

Every gust of wind felt as though it carried a murderous intent, raising the hairs on the back of her neck. Not far ahead, withered trees stood like skeletal arms, their branches reaching for the sky like clawed hands.

Nan Yi walked on, clutching her right wrist, where the sleeve arrow given to her by Xie Que Shan was tied.

Her life hung by a thread. She was highly alert, her mind racing. Whoever set this trap was either trying to capture her or kill her.

But she was just a small fry—she didn’t matter. The Yu City army hidden in the mountains was the real prize. She had probably just stumbled into this deadly situation.

If she made her way back to the Yu City army’s camp and sought Lady Gantang’s help, she would be safe. But doing so would expose the location of the Yu City army to the eyes watching her.

What should she do?

If it were Xie Que Shan, what would he do?

Hide in the shadows, use others as tools, and eliminate all threats without hesitation.