Jian Zhaoxing

Chapter 167: Capture the thief first and capture the king first

After returning to the courtyard, Lin Zhiqing stayed indoors until dusk before having a carriage prepared for her to go out.

At the same time, Lu Huai and Lin Shi'an also prepared to go out and find other ways out.

The group happened to bump into each other on the only road they could pass.

When Lin Shi'an saw Lin Zhiqing, he seemed to avoid eye contact for some reason.

He took a step back and turned his body to the side.

But his movements weren't as quick as Lin Zhiqing's eyes.

Lin Zhiqing saw the sword at his side.

Lin Shi'an rarely carried a sword.

Moreover, he had changed his clothes into casual everyday clothes, and his boots were now a pair of old ones.

This is clearly an outfit for going out.

"Where are you going?" She looked at Lu Huai: "Lu Huai, you were busy half the night last night, you should get some rest."

Lin Zhiqing noticed that he already had dark circles under his eyes and couldn't help but feel concerned.

"It's alright, I'm fine." Lu Huai shook his head.
"As for you, you've been busy for so many days and haven't had a proper rest. You should take this opportunity to rest a bit more."

“That’s right, Zhiqing.” Lin Shi’an didn’t quite agree with him either: “Young Master Jiang is injured and is resting.”

“Your sister and Nan Yue are guarding outside. Why don’t you let Nan Yue take a look too? It would be bad if her health deteriorated.”

Lin Zhiqing didn't feel tired at all. She didn't feel tired when she was seriously investigating the case: "I can rest after the matter is settled."

Upon hearing this, Lu Huai and Jiang Liuyun exchanged a glance, both of them catching the key word in Lin Zhiqing's words—"settling things."

You see, it was precisely because they couldn't find a way out after much deliberation that the two decided to go outside again to see if they could find any useful clues.

"How do you plan to resolve this? Do you have any ideas?" Lin Shi'an asked.

"There are some, but we need to conduct on-site investigations to know if they are feasible," Lin Zhiqing replied truthfully.

She wanted Liu Mang to confess, so she needed to familiarize herself with the environment first.

"On-site inspection?" Lu Huai raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised.

Lin Shi'an was also somewhat surprised: "You're going to the Liu residence too?"

The moment Lin Zhiqing heard these words, he understood that the two of them were planning to go to the Liu family.

She pretended not to know and followed up on Lin Shi'an's words, asking, "What do you mean by 'also'? Are you going to the Liu family too?"

Although there were no flaws in her demeanor and words, Lu Huai always felt that Lin Zhiqing's target was not the Liu family.

The simplest logic is that if she were to go to the Liu family, she would definitely seek out people with martial arts skills like Lin Yangyang and Lin Shi'an, rather than acting alone.

Moreover, his and Lin Shi'an's purpose in going to the Liu family was impure and extremely dangerous.

If Lin Zhiqing knew, she probably wouldn't agree to them going there.

Thinking of this, Lu Huai was about to tug at Lin Shi'an to signal him not to let it slip.

But because of his trust in Lin Zhiqing, and because Lin Shi'an felt that Lin Zhiqing shared the same destination as them, his mouth moved faster than his brain:
"That's right, we're on our way to the Liu family to see if we can find an opportunity to capture Liu Mang alive. To catch the thief, you have to catch the king first."

Lu Huai's hand froze in mid-air.

Lin Shi'an not only spoke, but he spoke very clearly.

Lin Zhiqing's expression gradually darkened upon hearing these words.

This time, Lin Shi'an noticed this point even without Lu Huai's reminder.

He pursed his lips: "Zhiqing, you... what's wrong?" "Cousin." Lin Zhiqing's tone changed: "They should have already told you what happened last night."

"The Liu family mansion not only has experts guarding it, but also a hypnotic array, making it a veritable den of demons."

"If you don't go with someone who understands the philosophy of mind, you will certainly not return. Why would you risk your own safety?"

"Zhiqing, I've discussed it with Brother Lu." Lin Shi'an's expression was very firm:
“Aunt Chun is dead and cannot be a witness, but Liu Mang is still alive.”

“If we tie him up and make him tell us everything himself, then the Dali Temple will definitely not bypass Liu Mang to execute Uncle Si.”

His idea was correct, but his process was ridiculously wrong.

"I'm asking you, how confident are you?" Lin Zhiqing rarely showed that slightly angry look in front of his cousin.

Lin Shi'an was stung by that gaze and realized he had been somewhat rash; his tone immediately turned somber.
"Five points."

Upon hearing this number, Lin Zhiqing shook his head: "You underestimate Liu Mang. He's not stupid. He doesn't think we can rest easy just because we were turned away by the Dali Temple."

"Moreover, we have broken all the hypnotic arrays he set up. Given his cautious nature, he will definitely set them up again."

"Besides, we all know he's the only key to breaking the deadlock. Do you think he wouldn't have thought of that?"

Lin Zhiqing pointed out several points of rebuttal, leaving Lin Shi'an speechless for a moment.

Lu Huai silently shifted his body slightly, but before he could move more than a few steps, Lin Zhiqing turned her gaze to him:

“My cousin didn’t witness the dangers of hypnosis, but you know Lu Huai.”

"You were almost injured by that white-haired expert. You've just escaped one danger only to fall into another?"

"You're so smart, you should know what I just said, so why do you still want to put yourself in danger?"

Although Lin Zhiqing's tone was stern, his eyes revealed genuine concern.

Lu Huai wanted to explain that he and Lin Shi'an felt the Lin family had reached a dead end, so they wanted to take a gamble.

But faced with such a vibrant Lin Zhiqing, his heart softened, and he nodded.

Seeing Lu Huai nod, Lin Shi'an also nodded.

Seeing how obedient they were, Lin Zhiqing realized that she had spoken too harshly.

She blinked: "I know you're just worried, but it's far from time to fight to the death."

“Lu Huai, cousin, you must not act so impulsively next time.”

"Okay." Lin Shi'an's voice was a little muffled.

However, he knew that Lin Zhiqing was worried about them, so he didn't think too much about it.

"Okay." Lu Huai responded, but unlike Lin Shi'an's bitter face, his smile was quite bright.

Even Lin Zhiqing glanced at him a couple more times.

Then, remembering the purpose of her outing today, Lin Zhiqing banished his smile from her mind:

"Don't go to the Liu family's place. Come with me to another place."

"Another place?" Jiang Liuyun scratched his head. He had almost forgotten that Lin Zhiqing was also going out.

Although he didn't know where he was going, Lin Shi'an nodded without hesitation:
"Alright, things are bound to be unsettled in the city these next few days. I'll go with you to protect you, but where exactly are you going?"

"You'll know when you get there." Lin Zhiqing kept him in suspense, then looked at Lu Huai beside her, asking for his opinion with her eyes.

The place she was going to was very special, and a complete route map had to be made, with not a single line wrong.

This is clearly Lu Huai's forte.

“No problem.” Lu Huai was in an exceptionally good mood, but his smile faded when he thought about the two-day deadline.