Imperial envoy Shen Lin's investigation revealed that the situation was largely consistent with the memorial submitted by Feng Luan.
Shen Lin gazed at the files spread across the desk. He picked up his brush and placed a question mark next to the name of the woman who had appeared to preside over the final stage of the interrogation and arrests.
After she had processed the cases of Yu Dabuo and handed over the list of involved individuals to Lin Xie, she had vanished without a trace. To address this, Shen Lin made a special trip to Qilin Long Temple.
"You speak of Benefactor Luan!"
Shou Yi recounted what he knew. Standing beneath the solemn Buddha statue, he deliberately omitted the stark contrast between Luan Feng Jiu's two vastly different personas.
Shen Lin gained no useful information from Shou Yi. After he departed, Shou Yi turned towards the Buddha statue and murmured Amitabha.
A day later, Shen Lin sealed the results of his investigation. Through the Directorate of Transmission, they were dispatched by express rider to the capital.
"Sir, shouldn't we be hurrying back?" the guard asked Shen Lin.
Shen Lin shook his head. "No, no hurry!"
He re-examined Yu Dabuo's relatives and obtained an identical list. If that list was true, then the moment his re-verified findings, along with the list, were presented before the Dragon Throne, it would unleash unprecedented waves and usher in a prelude of bloodshed and storm.
…
"Giddy up, giddy up!"
The Directorate of Transmission courier, carrying Imperial Envoy Shen Lin's re-verified findings, galloped his horse.
Hooves struck the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.
The cold wind whipped dried branches against the air, making sounds like the crack of a whip.
"Swish!"
An arrow tore through the air, aimed at the horse's legs.
The courier yanked hard on the reins. The steed whinnied, rearing up on its forelegs, its body almost vertical. The arrow grazed the horse's front hooves and plunged into the muddy earth, the entire shaft buried save for the fletching at the tail, which remained visible.
Before the horse had even stopped, several figures darted out from the woods.
The Directorate of Transmission had offices throughout the land, responsible for delivering memorials submitted by officials from various provinces to the capital, which would then pass through the Ministry of War to the Grand Secretariat, and finally be presented to His Majesty by the Grand Secretariat.
In all these years, no one had ever dared to intercept a Directorate of Transmission courier mid-journey.
Today, a precedent was set.
Seeing the attackers, the courier did not panic. He dismounted and drew his dagger, stabbing it into the horse's hindquarters. The steed let out a mournful cry, and in its pain, charged rapidly towards the direction from which the assassins were approaching. He, meanwhile, turned and fled in the opposite direction.
The assassins swung their blades, severing the steed's throat. The horse tumbled forward, skidding for over ten meters on the ground before crashing down with a "thud."
Although the horse did not manage to stop the assassins, it slightly slowed their pursuit. The Directorate of Transmission couriers might not have been skilled in martial arts, but their Qinggong was exceptional. In the blink of an eye, they had covered several hundred meters.
The assassins pursued relentlessly. One of them, running at full speed, drew a long arrow from his quiver, drew back the bowstring, and the arrow flew through the air, shot towards the courier's back.
Wu Cheng was now like an iron fortress. After several failed assassination attempts that resulted in the loss of men and resources, the individuals hiding in the shadows dared not extend their reach into Wu Cheng so readily. They did not know how much Feng Luan knew, nor whether she had already sent the list to the capital. However, fortunately, the Emperor and the Regent were at loggerheads. Even if the Regent presented the list to the Emperor, the Emperor would certainly doubt its authenticity. Therefore, as long as the imperial envoy Shen Lin's memorial en route to the capital was intercepted, there was still room for maneuver.
This courier had to die.
The long arrow behind him pierced the air. The courier's ear twitched. He planted his right foot and leaned his body to the left. The arrow grazed his neck and pierced through a tree trunk.
Missing with the first shot, the assassin drew three more arrows and fired them simultaneously. The courier dodged two arrows, but the last one entered from his right rear shoulder and shot through, the spurting blood drops painting a magnificent arc in the air before falling to the ground.
The courier grunted but did not stop.
Nan Shiying crouched in the tree. The sound of hurried running grew closer. She looked towards the source of the sound and, from a distance, saw the courier in the official uniform of the Directorate of Transmission.
"Huff, huff~"
The clothes on his right side were soaked with blood, dripping onto the ground from his sleeve. The courier's breathing grew rapid, his footsteps heavy, and the distance between him and the assassins was shrinking bit by bit.
Not much further, and he would be able to escape the dense forest. Not far outside the forest was Jingyu County, and there was a sentry post outside the county. As long as he appeared within the range visible to the sentry post, he would be saved.
"Quick, he can't be allowed to leave the forest."
Seeing that they were nearing the edge of the forest, the archers drew their bows again. Instead of aiming, one of them directly took out five arrows and fired them all at once, then drew another five from his quiver and shot them out again.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~"
An arrow shower rained down. The courier lunged forward, rolling on the ground, narrowly dodging each incoming arrow. However, he was injured, and the loss of blood made his vision blur. His legs suddenly weakened, and he stumbled uncontrollably.
He forced himself to get up. An arrow pierced the air, aimed at his forehead.
The arrow was as fast as lightning, leaving him no time to dodge. His eyes widened in rage, his face contorted in a look of terror.
"Zing~"
At that very moment, he heard the whistle of a long sword slicing through the air. Then, a cold gleam emanated from behind him. The sword energy, with its accompanying gust of wind, brushed past his cheek. A figure, like a ghost, suddenly appeared beside him. The person held a sword, and with it, struck the incoming arrow from above, horizontally. The arrow instantly shattered into powder, and its arrowhead embedded itself diagonally into the trunk of the tree beside the courier.
Ying Yi drew his sword and attacked the nearby assassins.
Nan Shiying leaped down from the treetops and threw a bottle of wound healing medicine to the courier. "Stop the bleeding first!"
The courier instinctively reached out to take the medicine, staring fixedly at the person before him.
Seeing his hesitation, Nan Shiying flashed him a brilliant smile, then reached inside her collar and pulled out a token. "Use it with confidence, it's Feng Clan's exclusive wound healing medicine!"
The courier: "..."
Seeing the token, he already knew the identity of the person before him. He just hadn't expected to meet her here, nor that her personality was so... so... The courier found it hard to describe, but subconsciously, he protected the memorial in his arms.
Nan Shiying clicked her tongue.
She waved her hand at him. "Get going!"
The courier glanced at Feng Luan, then turned and ran towards Jingyu County.
Ying Yi quickly finished off the assassins.
Nan Shiying waved at him. Ying Yi bent down and searched the assassins' bodies. He found nothing particularly noteworthy, and Nan Shiying didn't care. She hadn't expected to find anything on them anyway, nor did she want Ying Yi to keep anyone alive for interrogation; it would be a waste of time.
Nan Shiying looked up, gazing into the distance.
Did they really think intercepting the courier would grant them a sliver of hope? Truly foolish, and somewhat cute!