After saving the Empress, I became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

There were originally four muskets in the secret compartment of the carriage. Three were tied to the leather bag, and the remaining one was hidden in the secret compartment.

He left a note for Erlai on the carriage, outlining the general plan, including the final musket. He left the rest to Erlai to figure out on his own... such as where the pit was, where the wooden box was placed, who should be hidden in the pit, when to notify Qian Sijin, and when to notify Sanzhuang... He left all these questions to Erlai to decide on the spot... Fortunately, Erlai was not bad and made good decisions.

This open space behind the mountain is where they killed Li Liang. There is a large pit in the middle. After killing Li Liang and the other two, the pit was mostly filled in, but there are some small pits around it that can be used as traps, suitable for hiding people.

He knew where the wooden box containing the quilts was located, and he walked towards that place.

To avoid alerting the assassins, San Zhuang and his men were even positioned two hundred feet away, a full mile away along the mountain road, to put the assassins at ease.

I was initially quite nervous, since this was a risky situation, and I didn't know if Erlai could execute his plan perfectly.

Once he fails, there's no chance to regret it. But the thought of someone watching him makes him feel like he's being watched from behind.

Waiting for the Embroidered Uniform Guard to find his enemies was too long and too passive. Every time someone who wanted to kill him failed, their next plan would be more refined.

We cannot give them that opportunity.

If we want to find out who is behind this, today is the best opportunity.

In the days to come, opportunities will only get worse and worse.

The other party arranged for Zhang Darui and his group to ambush him, and their actions were very meticulous. There's no reason why they wouldn't have considered the possibility that Zhang Darui's ambush would fail.

Assuming the other party had a backup plan, he made a ruthless decision.

We're going to find them today!

Li Jiacun has his own elderly mother living there. If he doesn't let the other party target him, they might turn their attention to his mother instead.

Even if we bring my mother back to Nanjing, with such an enemy lurking in the shadows, my mother and I are not necessarily safe.

After entering the bamboo forest alone, he was worried that the enemy would suddenly make a move, so he lit the tinderbox in advance and also revealed his musket to intimidate the enemy.

Fortunately, the other side was genuinely afraid of firearms and kept them hidden.

I was on edge the whole way, thinking that if the enemy used a bow and arrow, my chances of survival would be very slim.

But if he could dodge the first arrow, he would have a chance to fight back. Fortunately, his opponent wanted to extract the gunpowder formula from him, so they hadn't used a bow and arrow along the way.

"Damn it," Ning Nan spat on the ground, picked up the last musket with both hands, "We're too short-handed... I need to make money to support them..."

"boom--"

The sword and the spear clashed violently, even sparking a string of sparks.

Qian Sijin wielded his spear with exceptional skill, and with a single thrust and flick, he slashed the man's arm.

However, the assassin's swordsmanship and movement were also very graceful, dodging many deadly moves. Although Qian Sijin was able to suppress the opponent, it was difficult for him to completely defeat him in a short time.

However, with two thugs wielding knives constantly circling around the perimeter, blocking the man's escape route, they weren't worried about him getting away.

At this moment, Qian Sijin's shoulders slumped, and he stepped forward to thrust his spear!

The assassin sheathed his sword to block, then seemed to steel himself, his body tilting back as he flung the sword at Qian Sijin. With a series of thuds, Qian Sijin staggered back several steps, leaving a trail of footprints on the ground. He then raised his spear and struck, sending the assassin's sword flying several feet through the air.

"Don't come any closer! Don't move!"

But then, the assassin pulled a musket from the leather bag on his back, held it with both hands, and with the flintlock pinned between his right fingers, aimed it at the matchlock.

"My ears are very sharp," he said, aiming at Ning Nan. "The moment you two make a sound, I'll make sure Mr. Ning's head explodes."

Qian Sijin and Er Lai immediately stopped in their tracks, their eyes serious.

Ning Nan revealed a strange smile, lit a firecracker, and pointed his gun at him.

"Friend," Ning Nan narrowed one eye, aiming at the other person, "what's your name?"

"Gentle and kind," the assassin said.

"Hello, Wenliang."

With a hiss, Ning Nan lit the fuse and laughed.

"I'll send you to your death."

Seeing the smoke rising from the enemy's muskets, Wen Liang sighed inwardly.

It also ignited the fuse that was stuck on the serpentine pole.

"Let's die together..." he thought. Even if the enemy's shot missed him, he would still die at the hands of the Imperial Guards.

He pulled the trigger, the serpentine lever snapped down, and the burning matchlock ignited the gunpowder in the musket's powder bath... Then... with a hiss... the musket emitted billowing smoke, but to his surprise, there was no explosion, nor was any bullet fired from the barrel.

Wen Liang's eyes narrowed, and before any doubt could arise, a chill ran from the soles of his feet straight into his brain.

"boom--"

With a loud bang, Ning Nan fired his musket...

Ning Nan believed that his shot was both stylish and decisive.

But perhaps wanting to see the interesting expression on the other person's face to satisfy his own perverse sense of humor, he still lowered the muzzle of the gun by an inch.

The musket bullets struck the ground beneath the opponent's legs, sending dirt flying and a plume of white smoke rising.

When Ning Nan approached, he saw that Wen Liang's pupils were fixed, his face had turned pale, his hands had gone limp, and he could not even hold the musket steady, which visibly drooped.

Upon closer inspection, he discovered that the other person's pants were even wet.

"Oh."

Ning Nan twitched the corner of his mouth... satisfied.

The gunpowder in the barrels of those three muskets wasn't properly packed, and there were no lead bullets inside.

The lead bullets were all in his arms.

"Tie him up." Ning Nan waved his hand.

San Zhuang led six servants to flank from the south, while Xu Cheng led four lightly wounded Imperial Guards to flank from the north. What the two sides saw was Wen Liang, who had completely lost his will to fight.

The Erhu River flows gently.

Beside the stone slab bridge spanning the river, sits Er Laizi's house.

After Erlai's father left, Erlai was left alone in the house.

Ning Nan took a nap on the recliner at Er Lai's house.

When I woke up again.

The night outside was terrifyingly deep.

Ning Nan sat up from the recliner and let out a long breath.

I looked around and saw Sanzhuang sleeping against the wall, snoring.

There were some noises in the backyard; it must be Qian Sijin and the others still interrogating Wen Liang.

But I didn't see Erlai.

Ning Nan then asked Xu Cheng, the gatekeeper.

Xu Cheng said that a little over an hour ago, the village head, Li Baoxin, sent someone to find Young Master Ning and ask why he hadn't gone to him to get his household registration sorted out yet.

Upon hearing this, the two Lai brothers' eyes widened, and they immediately became furious. They believed that the reason Mr. Ning was attacked was because Li Cunzheng had called Mr. Ning back, so they angrily went to question him and had not yet returned.

They're probably still arguing at the village head's house... Ning Nan pursed his lips.

They've been fighting with Li Baoxin since they were kids; arguments are a regular occurrence.

He also suspected that Li Baoxin might have taken money from Wen Liang this time, so he told a little lie to trick him into coming back.

If he really accepted it, then that old bastard should at least be forced to pay back three times the amount, or we'll report him to the authorities and make sure he can't even stay as village head.

Anyway, with the Embroidered Uniform Guard around, there's no need to worry about him denying it, since there's no more reliable witness in the world than the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

At this moment, Qian Sijin and the others came out from the backyard and said that they had finished interrogating Wen Liang.

"He was invited by the people from the Northern Dynasty's Sticky Pole Office."

Qian Sijin said,

"Wen Liang is actually quite famous in the underworld. His family used to be a wealthy family in the Northern Dynasty, but they were later raided by the Northern Tartars... He used to be a young master, and even after falling into prominence, he still likes to call himself a young master, nicknamed Young Master Wen. He often takes on murder jobs and has never failed... This time, he's been hired by a guard from the Northern Dynasty's Imperial Guard. We'll take him back to the Imperial Prison to have his portrait painted, and later we'll question the Northern Dynasty's embassy in the capital..."

"A Northern Dynasty person..." Ning Nan slowly exhaled, his eyes flickering slightly.

I was thinking that if the formula for such sophisticated gunpowder were leaked to the Northern Dynasty, it would cause a lot of trouble.

But to his surprise, his words came true in such a short time that the other party actually set their sights on him... Ning Nan silently let out a sigh of relief.

Wen Liang was dealt with, and the mastermind behind the scenes was found, but some doubts remained in his mind. If the other party wanted the gunpowder formula, why kill him?

Although the other party also demanded that he write down the formula, it was clear that the best solution would be to kidnap him, torture him to extract the formula, conduct experiments, and only kill him after the experiments were successful. If they killed him directly, and the formula was wrong, wouldn't they have no idea what had happened?

Could it be… Ning Nan narrowed his eyes slightly… that the other party already knew the recipe from the Southern Dynasty, and that he was just giving them the recipe so that they could verify it, so it was dispensable.

At the same time, would he kill himself to prevent himself from developing a better, more sophisticated gunpowder formula?

One idea after another flashed through Ning Nan's mind.

He looked up and asked Xu Cheng what time it was. Xu Cheng replied that it was probably midnight.

Ning Nan then stood up, intending to personally interrogate Wen Liang.

At this time.

Footsteps sounded outside the door.

"Which one is Ning Nan?" A man dressed as a constable barged in, followed by a dozen or so constables carrying torches and knives.

The firelight illuminated the entire courtyard.

What a grand display… Ning Nan, Qian Sijin, and the others immediately frowned.

Before Ning Nan could speak.

Someone popped out and pointed timidly toward Ningnan.

Ning Nan narrowed his eyes... Village head Li He.

The constable's eyes sharpened instantly as he stared at Ning Nan and said in a deep voice, "Ning Nan."

"The matter of you instructing your fellow villager Li Erlai to murder Li Baoxin, the village head of Lijia Village, has been solved, and Li Erlai has been arrested."

"Now—" the constable drew his knife, his voice fierce, "you must surrender!"