It doesn't matter what the lord is.

“We have cooperated before.”

Reed patted his luggage, inside of which was a passbook with 500,000 gold coins.

Xiang Zhehua looked at Lid helplessly:

"Are you so short of money?"

Reed nodded without hesitation.

Xiang Zhehua seemed to have a sudden inspiration, sat closer to Lid, and said in a low voice:

"You know, we, the peace-loving faction, are also a noble family with a history of hundreds of years. As long as you can help my grandfather clear his suspicion, we can discuss anything you want."

Lid yawned and rolled his eyes at her:

"No, you are always a step behind others in everything you do. When your grandfather introduced you to me, he said you were a famous genius girl in Nanchu. Is that it? Never mind Xiang Linglong's identity. We have only been in Jinxiu City for a few days, and the money they sent has arrived. What about you? You have been following me all the way, and now you think of writing a bad check."

Xiang Zhehua was suddenly furious.

She felt that she had been irritated more in the past few days than she had ever been since she was a child. She immediately covered her head with the quilt and planned to go to sleep. However, she was getting angrier and angrier in her bed, and she felt a little aggrieved. It was not that she was slow to react, but that she had been raised in the palm of others' hands since she was a child. When would she need to cater to others? She had seen a lot of things in the ways of the world, but she had never participated in them.

Thinking of this, Xiang Zhehua secretly poked her head out from under the quilt again, wanting to retort a few words after the fact, but found that Lid was not looking at her.

He still sat there, his attention completely focused on Feng Lingzi's account book.

He was very focused, and his eyes and temperament were completely different from those of the noble families Xiang Zhehua had met before. Many of the noble young masters of her age were also talented and graceful in their every move. After all, people from great families couldn't be bad. But for some reason, Lid looked much more mature than them.

Xiang Zhehua stared at Reed blankly until sleepiness came over her and she fell asleep in a daze.

Half asleep and half awake, she vaguely felt Reed crawling into her bed, his movements were so natural, as if this was the relationship between the two of them. Then, she felt her clothes being taken off one by one, and her skin could feel Reed's body temperature.

Xiang Zhehua felt that she should struggle, but she didn't.

She didn't know why she let her body fall into a deep sleep. At the moment when her consciousness fell into the deep sea, it seemed that many scenes passed through her mind. There was her family, the way Li De saved her, and his daily life with her.

A faint sigh escaped from Zhehua's lips, and her tense body slowly relaxed.

The next morning, someone knocked briefly on the door, then violently removed the lock and pushed the door open.

The person who came was Xiang Linglong, the lord of Jinxiu City.

Xiang Linglong looked at Li De and Xiang Zhehua, who were sleeping in the same bed in dishevel, opened her mouth, smiled and said good morning.

41. The Assassin Enters

Xiang Zhehua looked at his bare shoulders, and without hesitation, he picked up the pillow beside him and hit Xiang Linglong in the face. This time, he used his internal force. If Xiang Linglong was not prepared, this pillow could directly separate his head and neck.

At the critical moment, the captain of the guards beside Linglong stepped forward and split the pillow thrown at Zhehua into two halves with one sword.

The voice of Xiang Zhehua was icy cold, and the eyes were like a pool of autumn water:

"Xiang Linglong, if you've had enough of living, just say so. Just for breaking into my room and trying to molest me, my grandfather can fire you. Do you believe it? Get out right now!"

Xiang Linglong also looked guilty. She immediately turned her back and apologized repeatedly:

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I thought you lived next door, niece. Who would have thought you would sleep in the team leader's room... Blame me. You can kill me or chop me up later. It's up to you, niece."

After Xiang Linglong led his men out, Xiang Zhehua turned to Li De and shouted in a low voice:

"You too, what are you looking at?"

Lid immediately raised his hands above his head, closed his eyes and looked like a saint. He breathed a sigh of relief after he exhaled to Zhehua and checked his body. He found that he had no signs of being bullied, so he breathed a sigh of relief.

She glanced at Reed and wanted to ask him to turn around, but then she thought that this was no different from covering one's ears and stealing a bell. In the end, she simply ignored him and took her clothes from the cabinet beside the bed and put them on.

After getting dressed, Xiang Zhehua turned around and noticed that Lid was only wearing a pair of shorts. His face flushed as he asked:

"Did you know Xiang Linglong would be here today?"

Lid whispered:

"I'm not a fortune teller. I just think that he's such a cautious person that he wouldn't easily believe in our relationship, so he has to come and confirm it with his own eyes. Yesterday I asked him for a confession, and he chose to give it to us right away, but then I'm afraid the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was wrong, and there's a high probability that he'll come to test us today. Maybe the two things will become one, and he'll come and catch us in bed together today."

Xiang Zhehua's hands were actually still shaking a little, and her voice was trembling a bit:

"Who is colluding with you? I am doing this for my family... and how are you going to explain it to my grandfather later?"

Reed made a gesture to keep quiet, then put on his clothes and said in a voice that could be heard outside:

"Help me up, my waist still hurts... I told you not to exploit me so harshly, do you understand sustainable development?"

Xiang Zhehua put the sword on his waist, feeling angry, so he said expressionlessly:

"You only have five minutes at a time. I can only make up for the quality with quantity."

A low laugh came from outside. Lid pulled open the door, and Xiang Linglong and the guards outside immediately stood up, with serious faces, as if the laughter just now came from a parallel world. Lid also tensed his face and asked Xiang Linglong in a bad tone:

"The city lord disturbed people's sleep for no reason. Shouldn't he give us a reason?"

He bowed to Linglong and replied with a pleasing look:

"I was rude, but I was also concerned about the safety of the team leader. Yesterday, my subordinates captured a group of assassins and found the [Yutai Order] on them. Team leader, you don't know that [Yutai Mountain] is the largest civilian assassin organization in Nanchu, with countless masters in various fields... After interrogation, Yutai Mountain has issued a kill order against the team leader. I'm afraid that there will be an endless stream of assassins coming to the door. I was worried all night, and this morning I wanted to send more guards to the team leader's side, but when I got here, I found that no one responded when I knocked on the door, so I broke in in a hurry. Please forgive me, team leader."

This excuse is quite convincing.

Lid smiled, patted his shoulder and asked:

"Compared to the hidden guards of Yutai Mountain and Lingwu, who is stronger?"

Xiang Linglong didn't know why Lid asked this, but still answered:

"Yutaishan has always kept to himself and the Hidden Guards, and there has been no actual fighting. However, in terms of strength alone, the Hidden Guards should be stronger. No one they targeted survived."

Lid nodded and said:

"I once survived an assassination attempt by the hidden guards. I think their killing methods are quite boring. They just crush the opponent with their strength, and they don't have many tricks. Coming to Nanchu, it's a good opportunity to see the assassins in Jiangnan. Maybe I can learn something new. There's no need to send more guards. What if they are scared away? Come if you want. My door is always open to them."

Xiang Linglong was stunned for a moment, but didn't know where to start complaining. Lide's words seemed outrageous to him. What level were the hidden guards of Lingwu? How could they survive if they targeted them? Yutaishan was an organization that could call the wind and rain in Nanchu. There were so many assassins who could kill people without anyone noticing. Should we say that Lide was ignorant and fearless, or that he was not afraid of boasting?

After thinking for a long time, Xiang Linglong could only say:

"Please be careful..."

Lide waved his hand, indicating that the topic was over. Xiang Linglong had no choice but to give up the idea of ​​placing guards around Lide and said:

"Yesterday, the team leader asked me for the confessions of Feng Lingzi and the old general. I wonder if we got anything out of it? Excuse me, the situation is unclear now. Even Yutaishan has been involved in the chaos. We still have to give an explanation to all parties as soon as possible, otherwise Nanchu may face even more serious internal friction."

Lide waved his hand again. Xiang Linglong was stunned for a moment and dismissed the guards beside him. When there were only three people left, Lide said to Xiang Linglong:

"I've read those two confessions. The hole you've dug is too big, and it's hard for ordinary people to cover it up. Jiang Yuesheng's confession was very well written. Let me ask you, is it really difficult for him to move freely now? If so, the only way to get away with it is to make Jiang Yuesheng a dead man."

Hearing this, Xiang Zhehua turned his head and glanced at Lid.

Reed spoke very seriously, and it didn't seem like he was faking it at all.

Xiang Linglong's gaze moved between Xiang Zhehua and Lide several times, then she sighed and replied:

"Even if I don't answer, the team leader will know it sooner or later. Jiang Yuesheng's confession is indeed true, and this is what I find most troublesome. I know that it is difficult for him to commit the shocking crime of killing 32 people with his physical condition, but I still have to sentence him like this because I am really scared... As for what the team leader said about killing Jiang Yuesheng, I cannot agree with this. After all, Jiang Yuesheng is a general who has done a favor to my Nanchu, not to mention that if he dies here, I will have to bear all the charges..."

A sneer flashed across Reed's eyes.

He said to Xiang Linglong expressionlessly:

"Then I'll think of another way. Or you can find Jiang Yuesheng and convince him to rewrite a confession. Once this is made public, it will definitely cause an uproar, and even gods won't be able to save you."

Xiang Linglong nodded in agreement, and the two sides chatted for a few more words. Lid insisted on refusing the additional guards sent by Xiang Linglong, so Xiang Linglong had no choice but to return home.

After his figure disappeared from sight, Reed turned around and said to Origami:

"Pack up and prepare to deal with the endless stream of assassins."

He paused and continued:

"Besides, I have a rough idea of ​​what's behind the blood-stained clothes case."

42. It’s time to change people

Xiang Zhehua was stunned on the spot and asked in disbelief:

"Do you know the truth behind the bloody clothes case?"

Lid nodded:

"I almost guessed it."

Xiang Zhehua's face was full of disbelief:

"But we still don't have any evidence at all... Even the confession from Feng Lingzi that we got yesterday was overturned by you, wasn't it?"

Lid let out a breath:

"Yes, this situation seems to be getting more complicated. At the beginning, I suspected that Xiang Linglong was a peace advocate, just like you, so we put on this show for him. Then we visited Sai'an Village and found that the people there had been replaced. Later, we got the confessions of Feng Lingzi and Jiang Yuesheng, confirming that Jiang Yuesheng was innocent, and learned that Xiang Linglong might be an undercover agent of the war advocates. But then we began to doubt the authenticity of this view, but we had no evidence to prove or disprove it."

Lid brought Xiang Zhehua back to the room, closed the door, and continued:

"So Xiang Linglong came here in person today, on the one hand to confirm our relationship, and on the other hand to force us to abdicate. The legendary Yutai Mountain was most likely invited by them. Xiang Linglong planned to use this method to force us to leave as soon as possible... Look, Xiang Zhehua, since we joined the investigation team, every step we took was calculated by others. We have been led around by the nose by others."

Lid stroked the iron box between their pillows and said with a smile:

"Because of the assassination attempt, we had to act separately; because we were rejected in Jinxiu City, we had to go to Sai'an Village to investigate; because we couldn't see Jiang Yuesheng, we could only get two confessions; and because of the confessions, we got the iron box buried by Feng Lingzi... If there were no external forces, we would still be busy dealing with the assassination in Yutai Mountain and focus all our attention on the fight with Xiang Linglong. Maybe by then we will dig up new clues and find more plausible answers, and this case will never be completed."

Xiang Zhehua thought about it carefully and replied:

"So you still think you are in the trap, but who can set up such a complicated trap? We have only been here for a few days."

Reed shook his head:

"We have only been here for a few days, but it has been almost a month since the bloody clothes case."

Lid paused, put down the iron box in his hand, and said to Zhehua:

"This case seems to be riddled with holes because we can stop at any point and regard any point as the final result of the case. For example, the account book we found yesterday. As long as we take it back, it will prove that the war faction framed your grandfather. You will become a vassal and the war faction will suffer huge losses. But is this the truth? You and I both know it is not."

Xiang Zhehua grabbed his left arm with his right hand and said in a somewhat lonely tone:

"I hope this is the truth. At least, it will make me feel better."

Lid exhaled and said to Origami:

"I'll give you a chance. You can take this iron box back with you."

He raised his eyebrows to Zhehua and said:

"how about you?"

Lid stood up and replied:

"I was planning to fight them, but the traditional method doesn't seem to be able to achieve the goal. I have to change my strategy. If you want to leave, it's probably not too late. After all, you are the granddaughter of the leader of the peace faction. It's unlikely that you will be killed directly. At most, you will be kidnapped."

Xiang Zhehua's tone was somewhat bitter:

"What's the point of me going back? It won't be long before the whole of Nanchu knows that I slept with you. My future has been ruined since I met you... It doesn't matter to me whether I go back or not, I just want my family to be okay."

Lid patted her shoulder and said to her:

"If a bird in a cage stays in the cage forever, it will die with the cage. If you want freedom, you have to fly out first."

Xiang Zhehua did not respond. She pursed her lips and said to Lid:

"Anyway, I'll stay. At least when I'm here, I can help you cover at night, and you can go out and move freely. You said you wanted to use unconventional methods, what exactly do you plan to do?"

Reed waved to her.

Moved closer to Zhehua.

Lid's breath sprayed on her earlobe, and Xiang Zhehua shuddered. Then she heard clearly what Lid said, her face changed instantly, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably.

Lid only said one sentence:

"The first step is to kill Xiang Linglong."

Seeing Xiang Zhehua's reaction, Li De did not continue to speak, nor did he explain to her why he did this. But Xiang Zhehua had a vague feeling that when Li De said this, or when Li De had this idea, Xiang Linglong was already half dead.

This man always does what he says.

Moreover, even though he had been threatened by Xiang Linglong this morning, and the City Lord's Mansion had already fully staffed its guards, Li De still made such a decision. For a moment, Xiang Zhehua thought he had gone crazy and she couldn't go crazy with him, but when she saw Li De's eyes, Xiang Zhehua realized that maybe there was no possibility for her to jump ship.

Reed said to her:

"I won't tell you how to kill him or what to do after killing him. It's not because I don't trust you, but because knowing too much is not good for you. You are Xiang Geling's granddaughter, and this identity is a talisman for you. If I tell you the whole plan, this talisman will not be able to protect you. If anything goes wrong and you fall into their hands, the less you know, the safer you will be."

Xiang Zhehua stared at Lid blankly.

After a moment, she calmed down and said to Lid: