Notes on Longevity

Chapter 84 The Pear Garden is adorned with red lanterns to welcome joy, while the cold moonlight illuminates misfortune.

The front yard of the pear orchard was deserted, though lights were on.

After prying open the door with a knife, a man in black did not rush to push it open, but instead carefully observed through the crack in the door.

After confirming that no one was in the front yard, he pushed open the door halfway. Carrying his knife, he cautiously stepped inside, looked around, knocked lightly on the door, and then continued walking forward.

Behind him, after the knock on the door, a group of about ten men dressed similarly and carrying knives filed in, until the last man in black entered.

He gently closed the door, then turned to look at the dozen or so men in the darkness before him and said, "There's only Zhang Ze'an in the courtyard now. A few of you go and distract him. The rest of you do as we discussed before. After it's done, go to Liangguantang to collect your money, and then leave the capital first."

"Yes!" the men in black responded softly.

The man in black at the door slowly raised a hand and flicked it at them. They then leaped up onto the open space above the passageway in the front yard.

They walked along the eaves, carefully hunching over as they moved forward.

Passing through the central courtyard, it was far more bustling than the front yard. Seven or eight Peking Opera disciples were busy hanging lanterns or couplets on the old trees in the courtyard. The couplets were full of congratulatory words, such as "A gentleman and a noble person, a beautiful story between heaven and earth."

The men in black leaned against the eaves, keeping their bodies low, and moved slowly.

Their mission was actually to kill everyone in the Pear Garden. Logically speaking, with such skills, what was there to fear from a few Pear Garden disciples?

Or perhaps the man in black at the gate had mentioned that there was a man named Zhang Ze'an in the garden. Although born into a merchant family, his martial arts skills were quite good, only slightly inferior to Li Chengru's. He was better at studying than Li Chengru, but that was only a few years ago.

They walked slowly, finally stopping at the junction of the central courtyard and the backyard. The man in black at the front looked towards the backyard, where he saw a woman and a man sitting at several stone tables.

The woman was saying something to the man, who nodded as he listened, occasionally showing a puzzled expression.

The man in black watched the disciples bustling in and out of the backyard and guessed and confirmed in his mind: This person is dressed in rich clothes, so he must be Zhang Ze'an. Then the woman in front of him must be Xie Xiaoshuang.

Once he was certain, he turned back to the other men in black behind him, pointed in the direction of Zhang Ze'an and Xie Xiaoshuang, and whispered, "Zhang Ze'an is at the stone table in the backyard. I'll take a few men and lure him away. Once you can no longer hear us fighting him, kill everyone here, except for Xie Xiaoshuang, leave no one alive."

They didn't speak, they just nodded at him.

Then, he pointed to the three people closest to him, and then pointed behind him with his thumb, indicating that they should follow him and be responsible for drawing Zhang Ze'an away.

He signaled the end of the conversation, then turned back to look at the backyard again, where he saw Zhang Ze'an pacing back and forth. He was curious, but now was not the time to concern himself with that. He took another step down and stepped onto the eaves of the backyard, forgetting to lower the knife in his right hand as well.

A cold glint fell into Zhang Ze'an's eyes. He frowned, walked to Xie Xiaoshuang's side, and pulled her behind him to protect her. After the man in black took a few steps forward, the three others followed closely behind.

After turning around and seeing that the people were following him, he stuck his head out to check the situation in the courtyard so he could find an opportunity to make his move. But what he didn't expect was that the moment he stuck his head out, his eyes met those of Zhang Ze'an and Xie Xiaoshuang.

His pupils contracted sharply, and Xie Xiaoshuang also looked surprised. How could there be someone on the roof?
Seeing that he had been exposed, the man in black stopped hiding. He stood up, his two sharp, murderous eyes fixed on Zhang Ze'an, and then he jumped down.

The other men in black hadn't quite figured out what was going on, but seeing that he had already jumped down, they immediately followed. The first man in black to jump landed and went straight for Zhang Ze'an, brandishing his chilling knife at him with a look of deep hatred.

Seeing the man jump down, Zhang Ze'an shouted "Go!" to Xie Xiaoshuang and then engaged the man in combat.

Xie Xiaoshuang ran back in a panic. He reached the back gate and shouted towards the courtyard, "Help! There's an assassin!"

As soon as Xie Xiaoshuang finished speaking, three more men in black jumped down. Zhang Ze'an dodged their attack, and then one of them showed an opening. He immediately turned around and kicked the man in the chest, sending him flying like a football.

Seeing this, the remaining three men, including the man in black who had been earlier, pointed his knife at Zhang Ze'an and said, "You hypocrite with your clever words, I will kill you today."

As soon as he finished speaking, the knife rose again.

The three men launched another attack on Zhang Ze'an, wielding three swords and two fists. Zhang Ze'an should have been at a disadvantage, but they couldn't even get close to him.

Soon, Xie Xiaoshuang's shouts brought over a dozen men, all armed with knives. Xie Xiaoshuang frantically pointed at Zhang Ze'an, who was locked in combat with them, and cried out, "Quickly, go help Young Master Zhang!"

A new group of people appeared in the pear orchard. They rushed into the courtyard and headed straight for Zhang Ze'an.

The man in black looked nervously at the suddenly appearing people, trying to think of a solution. But the Pear Garden disciples didn't give him time to consider; they charged forward. He had no choice but to fight.

"Zhang Ze'an!" Just as they were about to face each other with swords drawn, a voice rang out from behind them.

Everyone looked over at the sound and saw a man in black, who had no weapon in his hand, choking Xie Xiaoshuang by the neck and staring at Zhang Ze'an with eyes full of resentment.

The man in black was very strong; he was gripping Xie Xiaoshuang's neck so tightly that she could barely breathe.

"Who are you?" Zhang Ze'an asked, glaring at the man.

In truth, he had a hunch and suspected it was someone from the Second Prince's faction. However, he dared not confirm it, since a bad relationship with the prince was not a good thing, and it was best not to speak directly to someone he wasn't certain about.

The man in black remained silent, but a familiar voice came from the other side of the door, "Zhang Ze'an, weren't you so powerful? You even threatened me with Father Emperor's sword! What, you're not taking it out now?"

As the voice faded, Xie Xiaoshuang looked at the person slowly walking into the pear orchard with extreme fear in her eyes.

The Second Prince, Zhang Ze'an, gritted his teeth upon hearing the voice, until he entered the courtyard and saw the man's face clearly. It was indeed him!

The second prince walked into the courtyard and casually touched the face of Xie Xiaoshuang, who was being held captive by the man in black. Her cheeks and the corners of her mouth twitched strangely. Then he put his hand, which had touched Xie Xiaoshuang's face, under his nose and sniffed it, before putting it in his mouth and sucking on it.

"She smells so good! She is indeed a woman of exceptional quality."

(End of this chapter)