The Young Master smiled reassuringly, “Chuxia, just focus on studying the painting; don’t worry about anything else.”
Chuxia nodded vigorously. The Young Master then stood up, “Go rest.”
Chuxia took a few steps, then turned back, catching the Young Master watching her. Her cheeks flushed, “Young Master…”
“Hmm?”
“Are you going to Yingyuan?”
The Young Master smiled but did not reply.
“You… be careful. Since the gift-giver had ill intentions… then…”
The Young Master looked into her eyes, his voice bright with laughter, “Are you worried someone might harm me… or do you want me to stay?”
Chuxia’s gaze flickered, her face turning even redder, but she did not answer, turning to run away. She closed the door behind her, her heart pounding… even faster and more violently than when Aqing scared her earlier… yet nothing happened; she still heard the Young Master’s footsteps as he left. Chuxia felt an inexplicable sense of melancholy… Does the Young Master really like Bai Xue that much? Otherwise, why would he still be out every night at such a critical time?
Chapter Ten
“Qinglong, this is a secret message from Xuanwu,” said the shadow guard, handing over a slender bamboo tube to Qinglong.
Qinglong opened the tube, extracted a thin piece of paper, and read it carefully, murmuring, “There really are Tian Gang in this world.”
He then looked up, “Where is the Young Master now?”
“The Young Master has not yet returned to the mansion.”
Qinglong pondered for a moment, “Has the Young Master seen it?”
The shadow guard responded, “He should know. Any secret message sent to the Jun Mansion is also sent to the Young Master.”
Qinglong exhaled in relief, “Good. I didn’t expect there to truly be Tian Gang. When the Young Master told me that day, I thought he was joking.”
“Sir, Tian Gang… is that the legendary group of formidable assassins?” A hint of fear flickered in the shadow guard’s eyes, “Are they here to oppose us?”
Qinglong fell silent. Over the past month, to allow Chuxia to quietly study the painting, he and his guards had thwarted more than seventy assassination and attack attempts in Shuyuan, facing the most ruthless and bizarre tactics he had ever seen. He couldn’t afford to relax even for a moment.
He thought this to himself but kept his face relaxed, laughing, “What can Tian Gang do? Over the past month, they haven’t even managed to step into Shuyuan!”
Behind him, Chuxia’s curious voice sounded, “Aqing, who are you talking to?”
Aqing turned with a lazy smile, “Just talking to myself.”
The shadows of the trees swayed, and Chuxia murmured, “I thought I saw someone, but they vanished in an instant.”
Aqing patted her shoulder, “You must be seeing things.”
Chuxia, holding two paintings, looked at the sky, “Where’s the Young Master?”
A guard outside responded, “The steward said the Young Master has just returned and is in the study.”
“Aqing, let’s go find the Young Master,” Chuxia stepped forward, “I have good news to tell him.”
Aqing frowned, “The Young Master came back so soon?”
Chuxia felt relieved and was about to speak when she heard a clear, ringing sound from above. She smiled, “It seems the ladies from Yingyuan are practicing a new tune.”
Aqing’s expression changed slightly, stepping forward, he whispered, “Go back inside.”
Chuxia, still unaware, playfully pushed his shoulder, “Trying to scare me again?”
Another faint tinkling sound came from above. Aqing, without further words, pushed her back into the room. He then shouted, and several black figures emerged from the rockeries and bushes around the small courtyard, moving efficiently to their positions. Though it was early March, with a beautiful day of budding greenery and flying birds, the atmosphere in the courtyard was as cold as winter.
A subtle shift in the air, and the sound of something breaking through the sky approached. A silver arrow shot towards a shadow guard on the roof. Although the arrow was swift, dodging it should have been easy, but as the guard dodged, subsequent arrows seemed to anticipate his movements, each faster and more precise than the last. The guard could only block with his sword, protecting his upper body, but his legs were hit, and he fell from the roof.
Qinglong furrowed his brows, about to call someone to fill the vacancy, when he saw a dense array of arrows shooting through the air, each one precisely aimed, seemingly able to anticipate every shadow guard’s reaction. They were like some kind of lethal weapon; wherever they went, shadow guards fell. Amidst the cries of agony, an attendant by Qinglong’s side exclaimed in shock, “My lord, how did they sneak in with crossbows?”
In a flash, Qinglong thought of the threads and bells, and he exclaimed, “So that’s how!” He leaped up, twisting his body through the rain of arrows, and threw the thread with bells into the air, causing a sudden cacophony. Wherever the sound of the bells reached, the arrows lost their aim and were knocked down by the shadow guards. With the situation slightly improved, Qinglong leaped onto the roof and examined the eaves closely, confirming that indeed, threads were tied everywhere. He used his fingers like a knife, swiftly cutting the threads, and the clinking sounds gradually faded, with the arrow attacks becoming sparse. Not long after, the small courtyard regained its tranquility.
“My lord… what are these?” A shadow guard picked one up, looking puzzled.
“Those crossbows were fired from outside Shuyuan,” Qinglong explained simply. “These powerful crossbows are not easy to aim; thus, they use threads with bells. The crossbowmen use their ears to gauge the external wind speed for precise aiming.” After a moment of contemplation, he commanded, “This is just the first wave of an ambush. All shadow guards, stay vigilant and do not leave your posts.” With that, he jumped down from the roof to check on his subordinates’ casualties.
As soon as he crouched down, someone timidly peeked out from the house behind him, asking, “Qinglong—” The moment she peeked out, Chuxia smelled the blood and saw bodies scattered around the yard. Frightened, she quickly closed the window and shouted from behind the wall, “Qinglong, are you… are you not dead?”
“I won’t die, don’t come out,” Qinglong replied gravely as he pressed acupoints to stop the bleeding for some of his men. “Where is the young master?”
Qinglong looked towards the study, “Didn’t the head steward say the young master had returned? With such commotion here, hasn’t anyone come to check?”
A shadow guard lying on the ground groaned softly. Just as Qinglong was about to turn him over, a flash of a knife passed before his eyes! Qinglong leaned back, narrowly avoiding it, but now he was on the defensive, dodging clumsily. He retreated to the doorway of the house before stabilizing his stance. He then saw the “corpses” in the courtyard leaping up, their blades flashing, instantly catching the shadow guards off guard, with blood spraying everywhere. The remaining four or five shadow guards took refuge in Chuxia’s studio, fighting with their backs to the wall.
“It’s you!” Qinglong kicked away an assassin, sneering, “Pretending to be the head steward, claiming the young master has returned, actually signaling your inside man to start the attack.”
The man also gave a cold smile, “Correct. I’m afraid the head steward, Cang, is now overwhelmed.” Qinglong laughed arrogantly, surveying his surroundings, “The Heavenly Dipper has quite the skill. Planning for this battle must have taken quite some time.”
“Indeed. Over the past month, we’ve lost over a hundred skilled fighters just to map out the defense system of Shuyuan and secretly replace your shadow guards.”
“So, there’s an inside man in this mansion?” Qinglong was slightly moved, “You dared to be so audacious because you knew the young master wasn’t here!”
