Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 197 Killing Zhou Zhao

Gongzi Yu sniffed and gave Su Changying a sweet smile. "Brother, I smell something sour."

Su Changying gave a soft "hmm" and took out a small cloth bag from her bosom. "Dried apricots, they're a bit sour. Don't eat too many in one day, or they'll make your teeth ache. Has anything happened lately? If you've been wronged, tell your brother."

Gongzi Yu's hand groped in the air for a few moments, then touched Su Changying's arm, and from there followed the arm to his palm, before happily grabbing the cloth bag.

“I didn’t suffer any injustice. Sister Yinfang tells me about things happening outside every day.”

As he spoke, he grasped Su Changying's hand and lowered his voice, "Brother, I heard from Sister Yinfang that your name is now Su Changying and you've become a general. Don't work for them anymore. You almost died back then; they're not good people. Brother, just take care of yourself and don't worry about me!"

The blind boy spoke, biting his lip, and looked in Su Changying's direction with his empty eyes.

"I don't want to be a burden to my brother. You must seize this opportunity..."

Su Changying felt a chill run down her spine as she watched.

He sensed a pair of eyes looking in his direction from the window of the main house in the courtyard.

He reached out and gently patted Gongzi Yu's head. "This is something adults have to worry about. You just need to grow up well. When you can go out in the future, your brother will take you to eat Furonglou's Furong cake and take you to see an eye doctor."

A glimmer of hope flashed across Gongzi Yu's face, but he lowered his head again, gently shaking it and clenching the dried apricot in his hand.

Su Changying withdrew her hand, stood up, and walked towards the main house in the courtyard.

In the past, his younger brother would have been a hindrance to him, but now he knows that it was all a lie.

Thinking this, he placed his hand on the doorframe and gently pushed. The instant he stepped across the threshold, a long sword flew from behind the door, aiming directly for his chest. The sword strike was swift and fierce, like a summer thunderstorm, carrying a fierce killing intent.

Su Changying's expression hardened, and his long sword was already drawn from its sheath. Without dodging, he thrust the sword, carrying an overwhelming stench of blood, directly towards the man's throat.

The Su Changying of the past practiced the gentleman's sword; the Su Changying of today practices killing techniques.

This longsword that accompanied him had slain countless vicious criminals; even though it was still gleaming, it carried a chilling, bloody stench when drawn.

The man wielding the sword was fast, but Su Changying was even faster.

Almost instantly, the two exchanged blows, and with a muffled groan, the two longswords instantly separated.

Su Changying glanced at the bloodstains on her longsword, then looked coldly toward the corner of the opposite wall.

A man dressed in black stood in the corner, his hand hanging limply, blood flowing down the back of his hand, dripping onto the ground.

"How do you want to die?"

Su Changying opened his mouth and asked, his voice was exceptionally cold, his eyes were filled with bloodlust, and his lips were slightly upturned, giving him a somewhat roguish look. Killing a master seemed to be as simple as eating and drinking for him.

He had never shown this side of himself in front of Zhou Zhao.

This is the appearance of a ruthless, unpredictable outlaw.

"Silver Ring, step back. Thousand Faces, sheathe your sword."

Su Changying sheathed her sword and looked into the shadows, where she saw a human hand appear.

With a gentle wave of his hand, the man in black, who was clutching his wound, vanished instantly, leaving only two people in the room. "Godfather."

Su Changying cupped her hands in greeting to the person in the shadows.

"Your martial arts have improved again. Have you made any progress? Has Zhou Zhao suspected your identity?"

Without any hesitation, Su Changying blurted out, "Now I have full control over the curfew in Chang'an, and I have dealt with all the troublemakers among my subordinates. Everything is under control. Zhou Zhaotong's adoptive father said that he is a suspicious person, but she did not get any information out of him."

Today we went to the Lu Marquis's residence, and I believe I will soon become the young Lu Marquis.

Su Changying hesitated for a moment before continuing, "I suspect that Han Ze is a spy planted by the dog emperor next to me. Su Changying has been missing for four years and has returned from Tianying City. It is no easy task for her to gain the trust of the higher-ups and completely take control of the Northern Army."

Because he and Zhou Zhao were watching me closely, I couldn't act rashly and was unable to save Yin Yan.

The man in the shadows waved his hand, his tone still indifferent, "They were just a bunch of useless people. They died a worthwhile death, serving as your stepping stones. Thousand Faces, you are my number one expert. The success or failure of our great undertaking rests entirely on your shoulders."

"Interrogate those people in the Northern Army prison, as well as Zhu Litong and Yin Yan. The more ruthless you are, the less Zhou Zhaotong and Han Ze will suspect your identity."

Su Changying listened and cupped her hands in greeting to the person in the shadows, "Yes."

He lowered his head, and only the ground could see the coldness in his eyes.

Seeing that he obeyed without hesitation, the person in the shadows seemed to relax a bit. He stepped out of the shadows, his large sleeves stirring up a gentle breeze.

Standing not far from him, Su Changying twitched her nose slightly, catching a faint, almost imperceptible scent of ink.

Su Changying glanced at the man out of the corner of his eye and could only see the man's boots, half in the shadows and half out. He raised his eyes slightly and could only see the pale mask that looked featureless in the dim light.

"However, Zhou Zhao cannot be allowed to stay."

Su Changying remained unmoved. He raised his head, his eyes filled with murderous intent. "When does Godfather plan to make his move? What should I do?"

"If you succeed, you don't need to do anything but stand by and watch her die. If you fail, you take the opportunity to kill her."

"Yes, Godfather."

The person in the shadows didn't speak again, but simply stretched out their hand and moved it slightly.

Su Changying seemed to have seen this a thousand times before. She remained silent, slowly retreated, and closed the door behind her.

Young Master Yu was nowhere to be seen in the courtyard, and the dried apricots had all been taken away. The cloth bag containing the dried apricots was placed on the stone table in the courtyard. Su Changying picked up the cloth bag and put it in his pocket. His ears twitched, and he left the courtyard directly.

As soon as he left, the silver ring with the injured hand reappeared in the house.

"how?"

"Reporting to Godfather, his breathing and footsteps are steady, and he showed no signs of distress because you wanted to kill Zhou Zhao. I haven't noticed anything unusual. However, Godfather, his martial arts skills are getting increasingly advanced, and I'm worried..."

The person in the shadows remained silent.

Su Changying is indeed a martial arts prodigy, the most talented person he has ever seen. In just four short years, he has grown to this level.

After a long while, the man finally said, "Kill Zhou Zhao."