It doesn't matter what the lord is.

From his words, it can be seen that he was once an undercover agent sent by the Lord of Cangzhou, lurking in Yuxi City. Because of problems within Cangzhou, he is now homeless.

If handled properly, he could even be counted as a member of the Anbu organization and incorporated into my harem... bah, added as my subordinate.

I didn't go out today. I sat in the City Lord's Mansion and thought silently all day.

41. Buy it out step by step

When I found Changqing, he was stunned for a moment. Obviously, he didn't expect me to come to him so early.

But he was a smart man and he realized that something was wrong right away.

The conversation was not going well at first. Chang Qing told me directly that he was no longer young and was not willing to do such a shady job. No matter how I persuaded him, he always said the same thing:

"I, Chang Qing, keep my promises. If you want my life, you can take it. I don't have anything else in this world to cling to, so I'll die if I die. But if you want me to die for you, I'm sorry, you're not qualified yet."

He can be considered a man of iron will.

However, it is impossible for people in the world to have no expectations at all.

Perhaps experiencing a lot of things will make people numb, but it does not mean that people’s desires will be extinguished.

No matter how I persuaded him, Changqing refused to cooperate until I suddenly asked:

"What if I say I can help your former boss get justice?"

Changqing narrowed his eyes, and the slanting scar on his left eye was particularly conspicuous. He was silent for a while, clasped his hands together, and asked me:

"Do you have this ability?"

I smiled and said:

"You are in Yuxi City. You know the speed of Yuxi City's development very well."

Chang Qing sneered:

"That's because He Yue and Bai Huang are capable. Otherwise, how could you have gotten to where you are now? You should be thankful that they didn't abandon you when you were at your lowest point. But now it seems that you have no intention of repenting. Even the city lord is so careless. What future does such a city have?"

I didn't argue with him and just waved my hand:

"Changqing. Are you in charge of intelligence or internal affairs?"

Changqing didn't say anything.

I said:

"Perhaps for He Yue, my ability or not directly affects the development of Yuxi City. But I think, for people like you, isn't a city lord like me the best choice? At least I won't let the people below take the blame, because I don't have a good reputation to begin with, so it doesn't matter if I bear more infamy."

Changqing frowned, and his eyes as sharp as a knife cut into me, looking me up and down.

After a moment, Chang Qing nodded and said:

"Okay. But don't let my two brothers know about this. They are homeless people in Yuxi City. They are good people with clean backgrounds. Unlike the rest of us..."

It was not strange for Changqing to accept my offer. Only when one is alone can one be truly free from worries. Changqing has two younger brothers behind him. According to Changqing's personality, it is impossible for him to let those two people suffer with him all the time. Accepting my offer means that he has changed from a hiding rat to an ordinary person who is harmless to humans and animals. The days of licking blood on the blade are not easy, but it is better than wandering outside in the frost and snow.

After a brief agreement, Chang Qing first gave me a brief account of his situation:

"I was sent to this city more than ten years ago. You should know that Cangzhou and Yunyang are mortal enemies. Yuxi City is the westernmost part of Yunyang Territory, close to the demon clan. If this city collapses, the demon clan is likely to penetrate into the belly of Yunyang Territory, which is what the Lord of Cangzhou would like to see. So he sent me and two others to Yuxi City, hoping to secretly destroy the city defense of Yuxi City. But because it is really despicable to use the hands of the demon clan to fight against compatriots, this matter must be kept absolutely confidential."

"My direct superior at the time was codenamed Feng. He was one of the four top officials in Cangzhou's Anbu and took orders directly from the Lord of Cangzhou. But that year, before I had the chance to take action, I didn't know who had exposed the matter. Later, I guessed that it was probably one of the remaining three top officials who deliberately leaked it, otherwise such confidential documents would not have been leaked."

At this point, Changqing's eyes changed obviously.

He gritted his teeth, his face full of anger. I could understand his feelings, after all, being stabbed in the back by one's own people would be unpleasant for anyone.

Changqing sighed and continued:

"You can see it, right? Although his prestige is declining year by year, the king is still there, so he has the power to issue orders. In recent years, what he has done most is to integrate the power of the thirty-six lords to resist foreign invasions. The demons in the west, the giants in the north, the deep sea tribes in the south, and the dragons in the east, none of them are worry-free. This has also formed a mainstream trend in recent years, that is, internal fighting is allowed, but as humans, we must not be vague in fighting against foreign races. The Lord of Cangzhou used the demons to take over the Yunyang territory, which was an extremely bad thing at the time, and someone had to take the blame. Because the three people who came to Yuxi City, including me, our direct superiors are Mr. Feng, so all the blame that year was given to Mr. Feng."

"He was obviously a very good person. He treated us very well. It is said that when he died, he did not complain at all and went to the execution ground calmly. The people were cursing him, but he just smiled and his head rolled to the ground. If I were the Lord of Cangzhou, I would find a crack in the ground to crawl into."

I asked:

"You said three people came to Yuxi City, what about the other two?"

Changqing said:

"Dead. I buried their bodies in the wasteland with my own hands. After Mr. Feng died, in order to make this matter completely dead without any evidence, Cangzhou once sent several waves of assassins to kill the three of us. Among the three of us, one died at the hands of the assassins, and the other died soon after due to worry and illness. Only I managed to save my life by faking my own death, but from then on I could only wander outside, and I dared not mention the past at all. If I said one more word, I might die unclearly."

Chang Qing narrowed his eyes and said finally:

"Who would be willing to join the Anbu if they were not desperate? In my opinion, people have feelings. If you let a person with feelings stay in one place as an undercover agent for many years, there is no guarantee that he will not have other ideas. Unless you completely erase that person's feelings and make him a cold-blooded person, no one can guarantee that their own pawn will not change his heart."

I don't know why, but when Changqing said this, the first person I thought of was the assassin named Xiluo, with those eyes that looked like those of a dead person.

I told Changqing about my current idea. I wanted to establish an Anbu organization with him and Shiloh as the main force, but he needed to get some information about Shiloh first.

Changqing thought for a while and replied:

"That little girl is very cautious. Even though we saved her life, she refused to say anything. We can't ask for all the information you mentioned. We can only ask one. Otherwise, it will definitely arouse her vigilance."

I said:

"Then ask her why she left a note at the City Lord's Mansion before setting fire to the food and grass."

42. All-out assassination

In order to cooperate with Changqing's actions, I asked Heyue to spread the news that an assassin had come to Yuxi City, and also made public the fact that Xiluo tried to burn the food and left a note before burning the food. At the same time, I told everyone that although the assassin was very cunning, Baihuang and the patrol team almost brought her to justice several times, so the people don't need to worry too much.

"If you see a suspicious person, you can report it to the City Lord's Mansion. If you successfully catch the assassin, the informant will be rewarded with ten gold coins."

Finally, I added this sentence.

The reason why we want to make this news public is that originally only Xi Luo and a few people in the City Lord's Mansion knew about this matter. If Chang Qing asks about this matter, his identity will be exposed immediately, so we need to help him cover up.

But even if we provide him with good cover, the progress on Changqing's side is still not smooth.

Xi Luo did not let down his guard against him, and remained silent no matter how he tried to probe. About a week later, Chang Qing came to me and opened his mouth:

"Shiloh is gone."

My eyes widened. Perhaps realizing that his words were ambiguous, Chang Qing quickly waved his hand and said:

"Rather, she left us. No one knows where she went. She should have recovered... Actually, we knew this day would come. She was used to being alone and wouldn't stay with anyone for a long time. But there is good news. Shiloh talked to me a little the night before she left."

Changqing still looked sloppy, and was out of place with the precious ornaments surrounding the City Lord's Mansion.

He sat down in a chair, clasped his hands together, and said:

"Shiro admitted that she was an assassin sent to Yuxi City. But she refused to reveal her origins. However, she did answer the questions you asked me to find out."

Changqing paused and said in a low voice:

"She hoped that Yuxi City would stop expanding outward. This was what her superiors wanted. She was also faithfully carrying out this order, but her superiors had told her not to be discovered, and not to make a mortal enemy with Yuxi City. So at the beginning, she just sneaked into the military tent to peek at Fang Shisan's formation, and then secretly conveyed the military situation to Li Neng's men, causing Fang Shisan's attacks to be frequently frustrated. But Fang Shisan's ability to respond was much higher than she had imagined. That day, Fang Shisan calmly lured the tiger away from the mountain, and then suddenly marched to the gates of Rivet City. Xi Luo had no choice but to take the initiative to assassinate Fang Shisan. But she still remembered the order from above, not to make a mortal enemy with Yuxi City, so she did not kill Fang Shisan, nor did she kill Alayya. She just made a slight threat to force Fang Shisan to withdraw his troops."

I asked:

"But she didn't expect Fang Shisan didn't retreat?"

Chang Qing nodded, narrowed his eyes, and continued:

"Fang Shisan chose to take a gamble. She bet that the assassin would not kill her, and continued to attack Rivet City, as if she was risking her life. At the same time, she sent Fileta and Alayya back to prevent her from making a mistake in judgment and dragging them down. Xi Luo had no choice but to come to Yuxi City to burn the food and grass, saving the country in a roundabout way."

Now comes the point.

I tapped my fingers on the table and asked:

"Then why did she leave a note before she took action? Most people wouldn't expose their whereabouts like this. To be honest, if she had sneaked into the granary that day, she might have succeeded. Yuxi City is not able to deal with an assassin of this level right now, and the security around the granary is useless to her."

Chang Qing said with a complicated look:

"She said...if she burned the granary, too many people would die this winter."

I had my cheek propped up with one hand, but after I heard that, my hand slipped and my face fell on the table. I was too lazy to stand up, so I just asked:

"Gone?"

Changqing replied:

"Gone."

I raised my head with all my strength, propped it up with my hands, found a comfortable angle, and asked:

"What does it have to do with her how many people died in Yuxi City? And what if she left a note? She still walked in calmly that day and almost burned the food and grass."

Changqing said:

"I asked her. She said she reminded you that if you failed to protect the granary, you should blame yourself for your incompetence, not her meanness. She also said that she didn't know what the right thing to do was, and only this could make her feel a little more at ease... even if it was just hypocritical."

Changqing added:

"She looked a little sad when she said this. I can't put my finger on it, it's just a feeling. Her demeanor has never changed from beginning to end, it's always cold and distant. But when she said this, it was obvious that she was in a bad mood, and I wouldn't mistake that. Over the years, I've seen too many changes in human relationships."

I was silently calculating in my mind.

I have no doubts about what Chang Qing said. He was a spy sent to Yuxi City in his early years, so he naturally received professional training. He has been wandering the streets for the past ten years, so he should have a deeper understanding of people's expressions and psychology.

"So when she stabbed me that night, she didn't choose to stab my heart, but--"

Kill the chicken and the monkey!

This is the real killing of the chicken to scare the monkey!

If I think about it carefully, that knife really wasn't meant to kill me, but if she had succeeded, Yuxi City would probably not expand outward for a long time, because I would fall into deep autism. Yuxi City would also have to consider who to choose as the next heir, which might have triggered a round of power struggle.

Changqing waited for me to finish thinking and when I raised my head again, he continued:

"Lord City Lord, I advise you to give up on Xiluo. Although she looks innocent, she can clearly distinguish between good and evil in the world. Or rather, her eyes seem to be able to see into people's hearts."

I asked:

"Why do you say that?"

Chang Qing pursed his cracked lips and suddenly asked:

"My Lord City Lord, isn't it strange? Why did she, who didn't talk much before, say so much this time?"

I looked at Changqing, who sighed and said:

"It means 'clearing both sides'. Before she left, she asked me to bring a message to the city lord. She said that the city lord is very strong, but she didn't know if the city lord could stay alert to the dangers around him every night. From today on, she will not give any notice for each action, and will not hold back. She will do her best to kill the city lord."

Changqing smiled bitterly and said:

"I thought I had hidden it well. But she is too alert. In front of her, it seems that all disguises are meaningless. At the beginning, I approached her with pure kindness, so she accepted my kindness. But later, when I communicated with her with other purposes, she immediately noticed that I was different. I don't know how she found out that all this was related to the city lord, but please be careful, city lord."

43. The Birth of a Foodie

Shiloh is a man of his word.

So for nearly a week, I was attacked from all angles, 360 degrees.

The most important thing is that in order to ensure that there was no one around when I fought with Xiluo, I had to deliberately avoid the people in the city lord's mansion, eat alone, sleep alone, and go out alone. Even when Alaiya took the initiative to ask me for swordsmanship, I had to perfunctorily push it away. Because I didn't know when Xiluo would quietly appear and suddenly kill me with a knife.

Under such circumstances, my comfortable life was completely disrupted.

When I was having breakfast in the morning, I just picked up a fried egg when a knife suddenly popped out from behind me. I dodged sideways and the plate of farmhouse golden egg fried rice was knocked to the ground before I could even say "it's so delicious".

I endured it.

I was taking a nap in bed at noon, and I was dreaming that Alayya and I were wrapped in a quilt, and there were love hearts outside the quilt, and they were about to float in the clouds. Suddenly, I felt murderous and felt like I was falling into hell. I had to do a tactical roll to avoid a sword that was stabbed down when I woke up.

I endured it too.

When I was thirsty, I went to the well to draw water. When I was turning the wheel with both hands, I suddenly found that the wooden barrel that was shaken up was not filled with water, but a loli squatting in it. The loli immediately stabbed my throat with a knife. I stepped back and let go, and the bucket fell back into the well.

I still endured it.

It was just the very end, but I was squatting in the toilet, my face was red and I was trying hard, when a head suddenly popped out from above the door, and a pair of emotionless eyes took in the whole scene of me using the toilet, and I really couldn't help it:

"Fuck, you come here when I'm in the bathroom?"

Shiloh looked at me coldly, as if to tell me that she didn't mind the smell or the atmosphere. She grabbed the door with one hand, took out a knife with the other hand, and threw it directly at me. I didn't even have time to pull up my pants, and my feet rubbed the ground frantically as I backed up, and the knife brushed against my body and fell into the pit.

Shiloh turned around and left, not even giving me time to pull up my pants and rush out to chase her. She just disappeared from my sight.

As slippery as a loach.

What's even more infuriating is that in order to avoid the people in the City Lord's Mansion, I have been sneaking out before dawn these past few days. I find some deserted places to stay, or simply go outside the city, and try not to involve other people. But it turns out that when a senior lazy person who usually never leaves the house suddenly changes his temper, the people around him must be very uncomfortable.

One night, I returned to the City Lord's Mansion under the stars, and the person I met was Bai Huang, who was standing at the door with his hands on his hips.

Seeing me coming back, Bai Huang glared and asked: