Li Nuo finally understood where his beautifully written characters came from.
He looked at the Law Code floating in front of him, and it seemed that he could invisibly acquire the abilities of the criminals listed on it, such as the assassin woman's calligraphy, the goat-bearded thief's stealing techniques, and even use them without his knowledge.
But calligraphy was one thing; what was this stealing skill that even Housekeeper Wu and his wife, both Martial Path experts, failed to notice? Even if True Qi wasn't externally manifested, their perceptions should be much stronger than ordinary people's.
If he was caught stealing unconsciously in the future, how wronged he would be...
He also wondered whether this skill was permanent or temporary. From now on, he had to be careful. Being caught stealing in public would be terribly embarrassing.
With these thoughts in mind, Li Nuo glanced at the Law Code and noticed that the number on the cover had updated.
"Name: Li Nuo."
"Lifespan: ten days."
His remaining lifespan had changed from eleven days to ten. Li Nuo didn't know the exact time now, but it seemed that it had passed midnight. It seemed that the time on the Law Code refreshed daily at midnight.
Li Nuo turned off the light and climbed into bed to sleep.
For his former self, midnight was still early for sleeping; he often worked all night.
That's why he was here now.
Rejecting staying up late, starting from now.
After a tiring day, both physically and mentally, Li Nuo quickly fell asleep.
Meanwhile, in another courtyard of Li Mansion, a room was still lit.
Housekeeper Wu placed a packet of pastries on the table and said with a smile, "It's truly a blessing from heaven. The young master bumped his head and suddenly became smarter. He can add thousands and immediately give the answer. And today at the County Magistrate's Office, he showed a bit of his father's demeanor from his younger days. It's just a pity that his father didn't see it..."
In front of the room's desk stood a middle-aged man.
The middle-aged man was tall and upright, with a handsome and dignified appearance, sharp facial features, and a sense of authority and wisdom in his eyes. His upper lip and chin were adorned with three strands of neatly trimmed beard, adding a bit of composure and steadiness.
He picked up a piece of pastry and slowly chewed it. His face was expressionless, showing only a slight fatigue between his brows, only softening when Housekeeper Wu mentioned the young master.
Housekeeper Wu began, "The young master really has changed. Doesn't the lord want to see him?"
The middle-aged man's gaze drifted towards another dark courtyard and he gently shook his head, saying, "He has already gone to sleep; let's not disturb him. Let him rest properly."
"The lord comes home less frequently, always arriving late and leaving early. It's been a long time since he last saw the young master..." Housekeeper Wu sighed and said, "But then again, the young master was indeed quite disturbed today, so it's good for him to rest."
The middle-aged man asked, "Have you figured out the identity of the assassin?"
Housekeeper Wu suddenly knelt on the ground, reproaching himself, "It was the daughter of Qinghe County Magistrate Gu Wenhan, whom the lord sentenced to death by decapitation a year ago. It's all this old servant's negligence that allowed her to infiltrate the mansion, nearly causing a great disaster. Please punish me, my lord!"
The middle-aged man personally helped him up, saying, "You need not blame yourself. There are many in the world who wish to kill me, and even with utmost care there are oversights. This is not your fault... It's late; go rest."
The older man nodded and advised, "The lord should also rest early."
As he reached the door, the middle-aged man suddenly asked, "The mansion shouldn't be short of maids. Who recruited her into the mansion?"
Housekeeper Wu was taken aback and responded, "A month ago, three maids in the mansion had saved enough redemption silver to leave. The lord once said not to make it difficult for servants to leave, so I gave them their indentures and let them go. With three maids gone, we were short-staffed, and I recruited three others from outside. I never imagined that the female assassin was amongst them. She had no background in Martial Path, and I was unguarded..."
The middle-aged man stroked his beard and asked, "Did you personally recruit them?"
Housekeeper Wu shook his head, "At the time I was with the young master catching crickets, and I delegated the task to Nanny Wang to pick them at the broker."
"How long had the maids who left been in the mansion?"
"Let me think... two for three years, one for four years."
The middle-aged man spoke slowly, "When these maids entered the mansion, they had no money, with a monthly salary of one tael of silver, twelve taels a year. The household expenses are very low, aside from buying makeup and occasionally some pastries and preserved fruits to satisfy their cravings, hardly spending anything. Even if they saved ten taels per year, three years make thirty taels, four years forty taels, redemption silver one hundred taels... Did you ever consider where the money for their redemption came from?"
Housekeeper Wu was startled, scratching his head he said, "I indeed hadn't thought that far..."
The middle-aged man shook his head and then asked, "What about Nanny Wang?"
Housekeeper Wu replied, "She should be asleep by now. Speaking of Nanny Wang, it seems I didn't really see much of her today..."
The middle-aged man sighed softly, "Nanny Wang..."
Housekeeper Wu suddenly realized something, abruptly looking up in shock, "Does the lord mean that someone gave those three maids the redemption silver to create a shortage of staff, then took the chance to have Nanny Wang bring in the assassin to attempt on the young master's life..."
He suddenly slapped his thigh, realizing too late, "Damn that Nanny Wang! I was wondering why she was so overly attentive that day; it turns out she had a plan all along, that thieving ingrate, I'll go find her!"
With that, he rushed out like the wind.
The middle-aged man stood by the table, picked up another piece of pastry, and unhurriedly placed it in his mouth.
Moments later, Housekeeper Wu returned, murmuring, "Nanny Wang is gone, that damned woman ran away..."
The middle-aged man's expression was unchanged, seemingly unsurprised by the news.
He slowly walked over and retrieved three sticks of incense from a cabinet next to the desk. After lighting them with candle fire, he inserted them into the incense burner, speaking regretfully, "If I remember correctly, Nanny Wang has been with us for a decade, right?"
Housekeeper Wu replied angrily, "A whole decade, ten years raising an ingrate, even raising a dog would have been better!"
The middle-aged man shook his head slightly and said, "In life, many things are beyond our control."
Watching the three sticks of incense slowly burn in the incense burner, he bowed toward the incense burner.
Housekeeper Wu curiously asked, "Three sticks of incense, master, who are you paying tribute to?"
The middle-aged man didn't explain and simply responded, "It's getting late, go rest."
...
That night.
Outside Chang'an City, by the river.
The small boat gently rocked, creating ripples that spread out towards the distance.
A plump middle-aged woman moved a chest into the cabin of the boat, where a man was already waiting. Unable to resist, he opened the chest, and the moonlight reflected streams of gold, turning his eyes golden.
Greed appeared on the woman's face as she said, "With so much money, we can enjoy the rest of our lives..."
The man, slightly fearful, said, "What if your master finds out? If we get caught and taken back, we'll likely be skinned alive..."
Mentioning the master made the woman's face pale, but she feigned composure and said, "What's there to fear? As long as he doesn't catch us. Tonight, we leave Chang'an, leave Daxia, and go to Chu, to Qi. His reach cannot extend that far... What are you doing?"
Her speech was interrupted as her voice suddenly turned sharp and pained. She looked down in disbelief at the dagger sticking out of her chest, then difficultly raised her head to face the man opposite her.
The man, with his palm against the handle, pushed the dagger deeper into the woman's heart until the blade was fully embedded, then smirked, "Who would want a lifetime with you? With so much gold, what beautiful woman can't I find? Why settle for someone past her prime..."
The middle-aged woman stared, her eyes filled with unwillingness as her hands gradually fell limp.
As the man concealed the wooden chest and was about to push the woman's body into the water, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Men truly are good for nothing. She risked her life to gather all this gold for the sake of eloping with you, and yet you heartlessly kill her. Are you even human..."
"Who's there!"
The man was startled and turned around, only to realize that a slender figure had unexpectedly appeared at the bow of the boat.
In the dim moonlight, he couldn't make out the person's face, only discerning a soft voice, but it was not that of a woman.
The man's throat moved as he was about to speak, but then he noticed a flash of white. Soon after, the world seemed to spin—seeing the moon above and then below, left and then right...
Splash!
It seemed something had fallen into the water, then he knew no more.
Clang!
The slender figure at the bow of the boat sheathed his long sword, looking at the two bodies and said coolly, "This is a quicker end. With your abilities, you could never have escaped. If you'd fallen into that man's hands, death wouldn't have been this swift, so you should thank me..."
Then, he stepped over the headless body of the man and the woman's unblinking corpse, picked up the blood-stained chest with some distaste, lightly touched his toes, and left the boat, disappearing over the rippling surface of the water.
Before long, the boat was engulfed in flames, consuming everything...
Deep into the night, within an underground chamber of a mansion in Chang'an.
Two figures were whispering.
"You said you had succeeded, didn't you?"
"Yes, I succeeded—I infiltrated Li Mansion and personally destroyed his heart channel with the Secret Technique, ensuring he had no breath or pulse. I even falsely relayed a message through that little maid, setting things up so that when she acted, nobody would suspect us. Even that effeminate master might think they did it. Then we can leak the news, let Li Xuanjing fight them, and we can watch the fight from the sidelines like fishermen benefitting from the troubles of others..."
"But he's still alive."
"It's absurd!"
"How are we going to explain this to His Highness? Maybe you should try to assassinate him again?"
"If you think so, you go. After this, Li will surely be cautious. If I go now, wouldn't it be like walking into a trap? You know the methods of Li Xuanjing. I made it clear beforehand—if I fall into his hands, don't blame me for betraying you..."
"Forget I mentioned it."
"Still, I can't understand how that fool survived, given that he clearly had no breath or pulse. Maybe the Secret Technique was rusty from years of disuse..."