“Smack—”
The bamboo basket in the corner suddenly fell to the ground.
Li Fu froze in place, his palms beginning to sweat.
This feeling was so familiar. It carried Zhang Shun’s presence. It was the feeling that someone was about to leave this world. It was a feeling that…
“Miss Ji, save meeee—!”
Li Fu shouted toward the sky with all his strength. The next moment, he passed out on the floor.
“Not good!”
The instant the words left her mouth, a figure shot toward the assassin. With a metallic ring, a long sword was drawn, its blade stabbing straight into the man’s shoulder.
The rear courtyard immediately descended into chaos.
The clash of blades rang out without pause. Ji Zhaoxi coldly forced back the black-clad man in front of her, and from the corner of her eye, she caught sight of another assassin stealthily circling around behind Xu Ancheng.
She frowned. “Young Master Xu, watch out!”
Ji Zhaoxi twisted sideways and drove her elbow into the man, then kicked him squarely in the chest. He cried out in pain and slammed into the wall.
Another sword came stabbing from behind. Fu Xianyan frowned and kicked the attacker to the ground.
In her dazed state, Ji Zhaoxi thought seriously, Fu Xianyan’s body was already so frail, and he still went around kicking people. Wasn’t he going to break his leg?
In her eyes, Fu Xianyan was practically made of paper.
Qin Qiwu struggled to drag Li Fu away, trying to get him somewhere safe.
The black-clad men seized the opportunity to attack Qin Qiwu. Fu Xianyan turned and blocked the strike, while Ji Zhaoxi raised her sword to stop a short blade. Their figures crossed and shifted in the darkness.
The entire courtyard was in disorder. Before long, the group had fought their way into the main hall, the sounds of battle echoing nonstop.
The guests who had come downstairs to watch the commotion were so frightened by the scene that they immediately fled back upstairs.
The black-clad men had not expected Ji Zhaoxi and the others to be so difficult to deal with. Gritting their teeth, they launched another attack.
At that moment, Zhou Cheng was hiding upstairs, his face deathly pale and his body trembling uncontrollably. The county magistrate really had sent people to kill him.
Xu Ancheng was surrounded by two black-clad men. Just as he was about to break free, one of them kicked him hard in the chest. He staggered back several steps, and the oil lamp on the table swayed.
“Crash—”
The oil lamp hit the floor. Lamp oil spread across the boards, and the nearby curtains gradually caught fire. No one noticed.
One of the black-clad men suddenly threw a hidden weapon. Fu Xianyan’s eyes turned cold. With a flick of his folding fan, the weapon veered off course and embedded itself in a nearby wooden post.
The next moment, they suddenly smelled something burning.
Ji Zhaoxi turned her head. The curtains were already ablaze, the flames racing upward along the fabric.
“Fire!”
Ji Zhaoxi’s vision went dark. She could already imagine the innkeeper standing there with his hands on his hips, cursing them out. There were still so many guests upstairs.
The black-clad men froze as well. They had originally intended to eliminate the group without making a sound.
Their leader gritted his teeth. “Kill them first!”
The gleam of blades closed in once again. Ji Zhaoxi stepped forward, borrowing the force of her opponent’s attack. The tip of her sword plunged straight into his heart.
The firelight turned the entire main hall crimson. Several of the black-clad men had gone berserk with bloodlust, and Xu Ancheng was also beginning to struggle.
Just as they passed one another, he suddenly heard a dull thud behind him. One of the black-clad men was sprawled on the ground in an extremely twisted position, his entire body seeming to have gone limp.
Ji Zhaoxi had just finished dealing with the men in front of her when she glanced at the gray-faced assassin on the ground behind her, a trace of confusion in her eyes.
The last remaining black-clad man saw the strange scene and his expression changed. He instinctively turned to run.
“Did I say you could run?”
Ji Zhaoxi slammed him to the ground and said impatiently, “Try running again and I’ll kill you!”
She held him down firmly and tied him up.
Qin Qiwu was huffing and puffing as she put out the fire, sweat covering her entire face.
Just like Ji Zhaoxi, she had hoped to settle the matter without alarming anyone else.
The moment Xu Ancheng saw Qin Qiwu, he hurried over to help her put out the flames.
Fortunately, the fire had not spread to anything else. Only most of the curtains had been burned away.
Ji Zhaoxi lined the assassins up one by one. Once she finished, she was so exhausted that she was panting heavily.
“Why have they turned purple?”
Ji Zhaoxi crouched on the ground, frowning at the assassins.
The assassins she had killed still had normal complexions, but the faces of several others had turned from purple to black, and a revolting liquid was oozing from them.
“Miss Ji, that’s filthy.” Fu Xianyan, carrying a bucket of water, glanced at her.
“Fu Xianyan, their faces are turning black.” Ji Zhaoxi hurried over to him, her expression full of concern.
What if the poison was contagious?
Fu Xianyan looked at the ash on her face. He took a handkerchief from inside his robes, dipped it in some water, and gently wiped her face.
“Mm,” he answered softly.
“It looks like poison.” Ji Zhaoxi’s expression grew solemn. She closed her eyes and allowed Fu Xianyan to wipe her face.
Fu Xianyan sighed. “Go rest for a while. I’ll take care of this later.”
Ji Zhaoxi’s brows drew tightly together. “No. You’ll be poisoned.”
She glanced at them again, but the few black-clad men had begun to give off a foul stench. Just as she was about to take a closer look, the cool handkerchief covered her face once more.
“Are you hungry?” Fu Xianyan asked softly.
Ji Zhaoxi felt that Fu Xianyan had been far too interested in food lately. The situation was so dangerous, and he was still thinking about filling his stomach.
“Should I make you a bowl of noodles?”
“Yes!”
“All right.” A faint smile appeared on Fu Xianyan’s face. “Go sit over there for a while.”
The fire in the main hall had been extinguished. The walls were blackened, and several tables and chairs had also been burned.
Qin Qiwu and Xu Ancheng were trying to figure out how much they should compensate the innkeeper.
Ji Zhaoxi secretly glanced at the assassins lying on the floor and nearly threw up. She quickly looked away.
The bound assassin closed his eyes in despair.
Ji Zhaoxi took the silver from inside his robes. Xu Ancheng watched her, looking as though he wanted to say something but thought better of it.
“Young Master Xu, Miss Qin, he has silver too!” Ji Zhaoxi exclaimed happily.
That meant they would not have to pay as much.
Qin Qiwu’s face lit up, and she joined Ji Zhaoxi in searching the others. Together, they took all the silver from the remaining assassins as well.
This time, they were probably going to have to pay quite a lot in damages.
But what about the assassins who were still oozing poison…
Ji Zhaoxi looked at them hesitantly. What if they had silver too? If she did not search them, wouldn’t their deaths have been for nothing?
They were partly responsible for the fire as well. They ought to pay some price too, shouldn’t they?
Ji Zhaoxi told Fu Xianyan what she was thinking.
Fu Xianyan was in the kitchen cooking noodles. When he looked at Ji Zhaoxi’s expectant expression, the corner of his mouth twitched.
He simply refused. “No.”
Ji Zhaoxi’s face fell. Just as she was about to leave the kitchen, she suddenly realized something.
“Fu Xianyan, have you forgotten who’s in charge here? I’m the Chief!”
How dare a Deputy Chief question her?!
Besides, he had no idea how to save money. He needed to grow up a little, too.
Fu Xianyan continued calmly cooking the noodles. “Even the Chief can’t do that.”
Ji Zhaoxi wilted at once. “Fine.”
She frowned at Fu Xianyan’s back and sighed.
Managing a sect was truly a learned art. Just look at how fierce this Deputy Chief was.
