Time Travel: I'm a Flower Thief

Xie Xiaoyi will set off on a chosen date.

Hua Lingshu and Hua Suwen accompanied them all the way to the mountainside before turning back and giving them repeated instructions.

Only after the two figures completely disappeared at the end of the mountain road did Xie Xiaoyi's gentle and harmless expression slowly fade away.

He raised his hand and tossed the ordinary wooden sword into the air. With a burst of inner energy, he lightly touched the ground with his feet and rose into the air on the sword.

The next moment, the sword light pierced the air and headed straight for the Forbidden City, the capital city.

He pondered to himself while suspended in mid-air:

As a prince, Wang Yu was heavily guarded. Rushing forward would only alert the enemy, and if they failed, it would be difficult to kill him again.

I'll deal with those henchmen who bullied Mu Pingting first, then seize the opportunity to assassinate Wang Yu. I'll do whatever it takes, even the slightest chance...

......

Xie Xiaoyi entered the capital and traveled discreetly all the way. Only when the night was deep and quiet did he quietly find his way to the Imperial Guards' guard post at the Donghua Gate of the Forbidden City.

The palace walls were high and the lights were dim. Armored soldiers patrolled every few feet, and the defenses were very tight.

He knew in his heart—

As the second prince, Wang Yu possessed a noble status. How dare he humiliate Mu Pingting in such a way, and yet he still allowed his subordinates to act recklessly?

Those people must be his most trusted confidants and loyal followers; otherwise, ordinary people wouldn't be able to get even a step closer to the prince.

Those imperial guards stationed in the Forbidden City, serving in the imperial city year-round, are the most well-informed and must know everything about the inner workings of the palaces, halls, and the confidants of the princes.

To accurately identify Wang Yu's confidants, all that's needed is to capture two isolated Imperial Guards and interrogate them briefly; the truth will surely come out.

Xie Xiaoyi waited quietly in the shadows. Before long, he saw two Imperial Guards yawning and walking together to the corner of the palace wall to relieve themselves.

"I'm exhausted. This late-night job is really tough."

"You have to endure it, though. Getting a job at Donghua Gate is something countless people would kill for. By the way, I heard from my brother the other day that a new courtesan has arrived at Suiyue Tower..."

"All you know is women. You spend all the money you earn in brothels. No one will care if you die someday."

"You don't know anything! If I don't have my fill while I'm still young, wouldn't I be letting my manhood down when I'm old?"

The two were having a great time chatting when suddenly everything went dark, and a figure suddenly appeared beside them.

So fast that it didn't even make a sound.

The two imperial guards' expressions changed drastically. Just as they were about to shout, Xie Xiaoyi moved like the wind, pointing out with his finger.

The two men felt a numbness all over their bodies. Even their iron armor couldn't stop the force of the finger strike, and they were instantly unable to move, leaning limply against the palace wall.

The two armored soldiers were greatly alarmed—

Clad in heavy black iron armor, as elites of the imperial city, what kind of masters hadn't they seen?

To be able to strike a pressure point with a single finger while wearing thick iron armor, leaving no time for the other person to react, is an unheard-of technique!

Xie Xiaoyi didn't give them a chance to cry for help. He grabbed them by the throats with both hands, one in each hand, his fingers gripping them tightly with great force.

The two men immediately blushed, their eyes bulged, and they couldn't utter a sound. Their limbs twitched, but they couldn't break free even a little.

"Don't scream. If you dare to scream, I'll crush your throats right now."

The two imperial guards were terrified and nodded frantically.

Xie Xiaoyi loosened his grip slightly, but still held them by the throat, demanding:

"You'll have to answer whatever I ask you next, or I'll crush your throats."

The two trembled with fear and hastily managed to squeeze out a "hmm" from their throats.

He loosened his grip: "How many trusted confidants does the Second Prince Wang Yu have who are always by his side?"

Upon hearing that they were people inquiring about the Second Prince, the two men turned deathly pale.

Leaking the prince's secrets would mean certain death, so neither of them dared to speak. They stammered, their eyes darting around, not daring to utter a single word.

Xie Xiaoyi frowned, and with a slight exertion of his fingertips, the soldier on the left was struck on the "Tian Ding" acupoint on his neck and immediately lost consciousness.

He turned to the armored soldier on his right and sneered, "I've already crushed this one. Are you going to talk or not?"

The remaining man was so frightened that he was scared out of his wits. He really thought his companion had been strangled to death. In order to save his own life, he didn't care whether Wang Yu was the Second Prince or not.

"I'll talk! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything! Please, sir, spare my life!"

"Speak, and if you satisfy me, I'll spare your life!"

"Four...four...all His Highness's personal guards..."

Upon hearing this, Xie Xiaoyi instantly recalled the scene of meeting Wang Yu in the East China Sea.

Beside his carriage stood four guards dressed in tight-fitting clothes, each with a sword at their waist, their cultivation level likely around the seventh rank.

Could it be just those four?

"What are the names of those people?"

"Zhang... Zhang San, Li Si, Wang Wu, Zhao Liu... they're practically inseparable from His Highness, except when he goes to bed..."

What a casual name!

Xie Xiaoyi refused to believe it and tightened his fingers again, almost making the soldier cry out in pain.

"Don't try to fob me off with some random names. Do you really think I won't crush you?"

"Please spare us, sir! Those aren't their real names, but those other names were indeed bestowed upon them by His Highness the Second Prince."

Xie Xiaoyi struck several more times with heavy blows, causing the armored soldier excruciating pain, yet he kept repeating the same old story.

He guessed that the man wasn't lying, but telling the truth, so he released a burst of internal force from his fingertip, knocking him unconscious to the ground.

After a moment of silence, he turned and strode into the depths of the night.

The next day, a gasp of surprise echoed from Liu's Butcher Shop in the capital city—

When the shop owner, Lao Liu, opened his shop early in the morning, he was shocked to find that his heavy and powerful pig-slaughtering knife, which he had used for more than ten years, had disappeared!

......

A dark night for murder, a windy day for arson.

With a raised hand, life and death are decided; with a single step, blood is spilled.

The night was as dark as ink. In a secluded alley deep in the capital, the smell of alcohol mixed with the scent of perfume wafted through the air.

Li Si had just emerged from a life of pleasure, his steps unsteady, his face reeking of alcohol, a sword slung across his waist, and he walked with a swaying gait.

He kept humming to himself: "Holding her waist, my soul is floating; rubbing her chest, my heart is aroused..."

But the moment he stepped into the alley, he abruptly stopped, and his drunkenness instantly sobered him up by a third.

His hand instinctively tightened around the hilt of the horizontal sword, his eyes flashing with a fierce light as he shouted and cursed at the empty shadows:

"Who's following me? Even you, Li Siye, dare to track me? You're asking for trouble!"

As the shout fell, Li Si took a step forward, lowered his waist, and immediately assumed a sword-drawing stance.

The blade was concealed at his waist, and his inner energy was gathered and ready to be unleashed. He was like a fully drawn bow, waiting to strike and kill.

In his mind, he had already mastered this skill to perfection.

Let alone a living person, he can even chop down a tree as thick as a water bucket!

He was absolutely certain that if the person hiding in the shadows dared to show their face, he could cut them in two on the spot.

"You cowardly coward, come out and take my knife if you dare!"