Chapter 1396: Is There Really a Chance?

There was trouble brewing on his estate, and General Xue happened to be there. Why wouldn't he leverage such readily available help?

The two men ran through the garden, gathering more and more people behind them.

Xue Zongwu suddenly stopped and looked into the garden. Just then, a gust of wind swept through, making the garden's few wind lamps flicker and sway, creating a sense of inexplicable desolation.

Qi Yunsheng also stopped, listening intently, but he only heard the rushing wind. "What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing," Xue Zongwu replied, withdrawing his gaze.

As he rushed past the old elm tree, his heart suddenly fluttered, as if something ominous was drawing near. But when he focused and looked around, he found nothing. The feeling was fleeting. Xue Zongwu trusted his intuition; he knew danger was near but didn't know where it came from.

Wanqifeng and Wang Fubao stood guard in front of He Lingchuan's guest room, like a pair of door gods.

Wang Fubao occasionally took a couple of steps, noticing imperial guards also stationed outside Fan Shuang's room across the corridor. After all, a large-scale robbery had occurred at the inn just that evening, so Commander Zhao had reinforced security for the VIPs.

However, this imperial guard had brought out a chair and was sitting very relaxed, with his eyelids half-closed. The night was too quiet, and the sound of rain was like a lullaby; anyone sitting idle would eventually feel drowsy.

Wang Fubao, however, whispered to Wanqifeng, "You don't have to assign all the good tasks to me."

Guarding the master's door seemed boring, but compared to Wanqiliang being assigned to a damp spot under a window, it was actually a desirable post. That area was overgrown with weeds and infested with snakes and insects, but the master was expected to return from there later, so someone had to be specially assigned to keep watch and assist him.

Squatting there for several hours, Wanqiliang must have been quite uncomfortable. Wang Fubao understood that Wanqifeng made this arrangement partly to avoid suspicion and partly to prevent Wang Fubao from feeling dissatisfied.

Wanqifeng smiled. "Alright, it'll be your turn next time."

The room was empty. Their master was out on a mission tonight and needed them to provide cover, so they had to remain vigilant at all times.

The night was deep, with only the sound of wind and rain between heaven and earth. The three men guarded an empty room, wondering if their master's Mangzhou plan was proceeding smoothly.

Just then, Wanqifeng suddenly looked up, and Wang Fubao also stepped forward two paces, craning his neck to look at the wooden door across the corridor.

It was Fan Shuang's guest room.

Creaking, the door opened from within, and Fan Shuang emerged. He usually paid attention to his appearance, but now his topknot was half undone, his face flushed, and he swayed as he walked.

The imperial guard at the door quickly stood up and said, "Lord Fan, you're awa—"

Fan Shuang ignored him, however. Catching sight of the doorway across the hall, he walked toward it. "Brother He, Brother He!"

Wanqifeng and Wang Fubao exchanged a glance. The latter remained still, while the former stepped forward to intercept. "Lord Fan, our master is already asleep."

Hearing this, Fan Shuang only raised his voice. "Brother He! He Xiao! Get up, let's have a few more drinks!"

Wanqifeng's expression subtly changed. How could they let him keep making a ruckus? If their master didn't appear, people would become suspicious. But Fan Shuang was, after all, an envoy from Yaoguo; Wanqifeng couldn't simply knock him out with a chop.

The imperial guard nearby also tried to stop him. "Lord Fan, you're drunk..."

Upon hearing the word "drunk," Fan Shuang became enraged and roared, "Who's drunk? Who are you calling drunk? Bring me wine, I can still drink!"

His voice drowned out the sound of the thunder and rain. Wanqifeng quickly stepped forward to support him. "Lord Fan, the master will be here right away! The wine is all in that room; please go wait there first!"

"He Xiao..." Fan Shuang usually never called He Lingchuan by his full name, but now he had no inhibitions.

"He Xiao will be here soon, he'll come drink with you right away." With such coaxing, Fan Shuang stopped pushing forward and allowed Wanqifeng and the imperial guard to help him back to his room.

Once inside, he sat on the bed, struggling to keep his eyes open as he asked, "Where's the wine? Where's He Xiao? I have something to tell him!"

"The wine is here," Wanqifeng said, taking out his own liquor from a storage ring and placing it in Fan Shuang's hand. "Please drink this first, the ma... He Xiao will be here right away."

Fan Shuang took it, gulped down a few mouthfuls, and then suddenly fell straight backward. Both men were startled and quickly checked his breathing. Fortunately, his breathing was heavy and strong; he had just fallen asleep again.

Wanqifeng and the imperial guard exited the guest room, closed the door behind them, and returned to their posts. Wang Fubao was still standing there, not having moved at all.

"A-liang," Wanqifeng asked Wanqiliang through the eyeball spider, using the sound of the rain to cover his voice, "No issues on your end, right?" He just hoped he hadn't been lured away himself.

"Everything's normal," Wanqiliang replied steadily. "I just did a round here; no one has approached, and nothing has secretly entered the premises." Through the eyeball spider, he had heard the commotion in front of He Lingchuan's guest room and immediately became alert, checking the surroundings. With Wanqifeng's attention diverted, he had to cover for him. There was no abnormality, not even a small creature had crawled into the master's window crack.

Wanqifeng breathed a sigh of relief. Thankfully, it was just a false alarm. The young men their master had brought with him were becoming increasingly capable and proactive.

Wang Fubao also heard it, and he looked up at the curtain of rain under the eaves. Squatting in the wilderness on a rainy day must have been uncomfortable. Yet Wanqiliang remained vigilant, without the slightest slack. He, too, needed to maintain his focus and not be outdone by Wanqiliang.

West of Xiaotao Mountain Villa, in the low forest.

The Snail Toad lay silently here, disguised as a giant rock. Dong Rui was hiding inside its shell, drinking wine and patting it, saying, "No sneaking food!"

The Snail Toad was no longer the half-finished product from Lingxu City; its diet had greatly expanded. With such a pat from its master, the Snail Toad's tentacles retracted, no longer daring to secretly eat the tender grass leaves on the ground.

However, the next second, Dong Rui sat bolt upright in surprise. "What the f—?!"

The deafening explosion within the villa naturally reached him. Even the Snail Toad could feel the ground tremble. Whoever did it, that was quite a powerful blast.

Then, Dong Rui detected He Lingchuan's trouble through the eyeball spider. "Hey, are we still going through with this?" he urgently asked He Lingchuan. "Should we retreat?"

As Xue Zongwu's gaze swept across the garden, He Lingchuan happened to close his eyes. General Xue lived up to his reputation; his spiritual senses were exceptionally keen. He Lingchuan had only covertly watched him for a moment, yet Xue Zongwu had sensed something.

The Soul-Sensing Mirror in He Lingchuan's arms cursed loudly: "What the hell! What idiot would set off an explosion?!"

Until the explosion, the master's plan had been proceeding perfectly: send the problematic account books to Qi Yunsheng and Xue Zongwu, luring them into a private conversation to reduce the number of people around Xue Zongwu. He Lingchuan, disguised in the skin of Lord Boshan, slipped into Qi Manor; find Butler Yu, use the Soul Shadow Transmission technique to turn him into a puppet whose words and actions He Lingchuan controlled, and then use him to distract Qi Yunsheng. At this point, Xue Zongwu would likely be left alone in the Hall of Nurturing Heart. And that would have been He Lingchuan's perfect opportunity to strike!

The mirror lamented sorrowfully: The master had succeeded at every step. Qi Yunsheng was about to leave, Xue Zongwu would soon be alone, and He Lingchuan was about to cross the garden and infiltrate the Hall of Nurturing Heart to execute a swift, lightning-fast kill!

It was precisely at this moment that Xiaotao Mountain Villa exploded! Watching the billowing smoke rise, the mirror felt its vision go black. Qi Yunsheng rushed back as if flying, and the master and disciple were reunited, ruining all of He Lingchuan's previous efforts! Could there still be a chance to strike?

After cursing the idiotic culprit who caused the explosion in every way imaginable, it finally asked He Lingchuan, "What do we do now? Should we give up?"

Coincidentally, Dong Rui had also asked the same question through the eyeball spider. Given the sudden turn of events, should He Lingchuan leave or stay? The plan had been disrupted mid-way. Now, not only Xue Zongwu but even Qi Yunsheng was on high alert. The wisest course of action would surely be to abandon the mission immediately and retreat, right? If he hurried back now, there was still time.

In a flash, dozens of thoughts flashed through He Lingchuan's mind as he weighed his options repeatedly. He didn't hesitate for long before silently uttering, "Continue!"

"Continue?" the mirror and Dong Rui exclaimed in unison. "How can we continue now?" A forced kill?

"Changing our approach, it's actually a good idea to fish in troubled waters," He Lingchuan said quietly as he climbed over a wall, keeping pace with Qi and Xue. He dared not get close; both men were too perceptive.

"The villa explosion indicates that another group of people has infiltrated. Qi and Xue's targets are them, so I'll just follow along and adapt as needed." Plans never keep up with changes; his plans, indeed, always had unexpected twists, never failing to surprise.

"This is too dangerous!" the mirror said uneasily. "Their numbers are growing! Xue Zongwu's two hundred elite soldiers will rush in soon too." The master had originally intended to isolate Xue Zongwu, but now it was all for nothing!

"Fifteen minutes!" He Lingchuan set a time limit. Xiaotao Mountain Villa was large, and it would take at least fifteen minutes for Xue Zongwu's elite soldiers to reach him from the Resting Horse Pavilion. "If we can't succeed within fifteen minutes, we retreat!" His trip to Mangzhou was time-sensitive and critical. After the assassination, he still had to rush back to find Fan Shuang within the limited time.

Dong Rui added, "Even if the assassination in Mangzhou fails, don't you still have one last backup location?"

"Having the Black Armored Army appear in Tianshui City to assassinate a renowned general from Yaoguo carries more than double the risk compared to Mangzhou," He Lingchuan said gravely. "We must seize this opportunity today, no matter what." He was adept at assessing situations. Although unexpected events had arisen, he re-evaluated the situation within a few breaths and felt that there might still be an opportunity.

Dong Rui asked, "Where's the opportunity?"

"Insufficient manpower."

"Huh?" The villa was swarming with people.

"With guests filling the estate recently, Qi Manor must have strengthened security, but to handle this kind of sudden emergency, they likely have far too few people. That's our opportunity."

"Qi Yunsheng is the owner of the villa; he wants to capture the troublemakers and also reassure the esteemed guests within the estate. This is precisely when he's overwhelmed, so he can't possibly avoid relying on Xue Zongwu's strength," He Lingchuan analyzed. "The reverse is also true: Xue Zongwu is a high-ranking border official, a vital general of the royal court, and Qi Yunsheng's son-in-law. At a time like this, he can't possibly keep hiding behind Qi Yunsheng. Therefore, they will soon divide responsibilities!" Both men are capable of handling situations independently.

"Also—" his voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz, "those who caused the explosion wouldn't go to such great lengths to create such a massive disturbance just to let their targets hear a sound and then give up. They must have a follow-up plan."