I asked you to go hunting, and you ended up wearing a yellow robe?

Qi Shan remained silent.

He stood there, knife in hand, looking up at the dark green figure on the roof beam.

My mind was racing.

Li Long is desperate.

Although the secret letter was not leaked, the fact that the young leader of Black Dragon Stronghold died at his hands meant that Zhao Wuji must have put pressure on Li Long.

Furthermore, with County Magistrate Zhao Bingkun appointing him as the head constable, Li Long's influence in Qingyang County was significantly diminished.

Li Long couldn't swallow this insult.

That's why he sent Hongchan to kill him.

If killing him doesn't work, then use the lives of all the people in the city to force him to submit.

Qi Shan suddenly laughed.

"What are you laughing at?" Hong Chan squinted.

"I'm laughing at your stupidity."

Qi Shan casually slung the knife over his shoulder.

"Do you think Li Long would actually order the massacre of the entire Black Dragon Stronghold for the sake of a bandit?"

"If he dares to massacre the city, even if the imperial court is completely incompetent, it will still have to send troops to wipe him out."

"The border troops massacring the city is treason."

"Can his brother-in-law, Commander Liu, handle this?"

Hongchan's face stiffened, and she stopped smiling.

She stared at Qi Shan, her gaze turning cold.

"Officer Qi certainly has a sharp tongue."

She stood up from the roof beam, her toes touching the crossbeam, looking like a black cat.

"Unfortunately, you won't be leaving this room today."

As soon as she finished speaking, she leaped down.

A cold glint flashed from his sleeve, and two short daggers aimed straight for Qi Shan's throat and heart.

fast.

It's really fast.

Most people would have been killed in that moment.

But Qi Shan is no ordinary person.

He is a special forces king who crawled out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

In his eyes, Hongchan's skills were no different from those of a novice.

Qi Shan stepped aside to let him pass.

The dagger grazed his chest, slicing off a piece of his clothing.

The cicada landed, twisted its toes, and stabbed again with its backhand.

Qishan did not retreat but advanced.

He reached out with his left hand and precisely grabbed Hongchan's wrist as she held the knife.

He flipped the back of the knife in his right hand and slammed it hard into her shoulder blade.

Click.

The sound of bones breaking echoed in the side room.

Hong Chan let out a muffled groan, and her entire right arm drooped limply down.

The dagger slipped from his hand and clattered to the ground.

Fear finally showed in her eyes.

I want to withdraw.

Qi Shan didn't give her a chance.

He released his grip and kicked Hong Chan in the chest.

That kick was extremely powerful.

Hong Chan was sent flying backward, crashing through the screen and slamming heavily against the wall.

A dark red stain spread across the dark green silk.

She slid down the wall and collapsed to the ground, blood foaming from her mouth.

"you……"

Qi Shan walked over, squatted down, and looked at her.

"You hide poison under your fingernails, needles in your sleeves, and a soft sword at your waist."

He counted them out one by one.

"The preparations are quite thorough."

Hong Chan's eyes widened.

She doesn't understand.

How did Qi Shan manage to spot all these hiding places at a glance?

How did you know?

Hong Chan's voice was hoarse, and with each word she spoke, a spurt of blood would flow from the corner of her mouth.

Qi Shan stood up, shook the blood off his knife, and didn't waste any more words with her.

Hongchan looked at him and suddenly smiled.

He laughed terribly.

"You...you won't live more than three days..."

"Commander Li has already mobilized two hundred border troops, and they will enter the city tomorrow..."

"you……"

He hadn't finished speaking.

The courtyard gate was kicked open.

Four figures rushed in, each wielding a long sword and exuding murderous intent.

The assassins sent by Li Long.

Their expressions changed when they saw the red cicada lying paralyzed on the ground.

"Kill this brat!"

The four of them pounced on him at the same time.

Qi Shan drew his sword.

A cold glint flashed from the knife in the candlelight.

The first assassin rushed forward and slashed down with his long sword.

Qi Shan turned to the side, the blade grazing his nose as it fell.

He swung his knife backhand, slashing diagonally upwards from the opponent's ribs.

Blood splattered all over the wall.

The second one hadn't even reacted yet.

Qi Shan had already closed in, his knee striking the opponent's lower abdomen.

The moment the man bent over, the back of the knife struck the back of his neck.

Click.

Cervical spine fracture.

The third one was so frightened that his legs went weak and he turned to run away.

Qi Shan swung his knife with a flick of his wrist.

The blade slipped from his hand and embedded itself in his back.

The person collapsed to the ground, twitched twice, and then remained still.

The fourth assassin stood still, his knife clattering to the ground.

He saw Qi Shan walking over and knelt down with a thud.

"Spare me! Spare me!"

Qi Shan pulled the knife out of the corpse and wiped the blood off his shoulder.

"I have a few questions for you."

"Ask away! Ask away!"

"How many people did Li Long mobilize?"

"Two...two hundred border soldiers, all disguised as bandits, entered the city!"

"When will you make your move?"

"Tomorrow at noon!"

"Which city gate should we enter through?"

"North Gate!"

Qi Shan stared at him.

"What about Black Dragon Village?"

"Zhao... Zhao Wuji sent over a hundred people to ambush outside the city tonight!"

"As soon as Commander Li makes a move, they'll storm in and massacre the city!"

Qi Shan listened without expression.

He stood up, the tip of the knife pressed against the assassin's throat.

"you……"

The assassin's eyes widened.

"You promised you wouldn't kill me!"

"I didn't say that."

The blade was thrust forward.

The assassin clutched his throat and collapsed.

Qi Shan turned and walked out of the side room.

Corpses lay scattered haphazardly in the courtyard.

The smell of blood was so strong it was pungent.

He had just reached the courtyard gate when he bumped into Chen Chong.

Chen Chong arrived, panting, with seven or eight constables.

He was stunned when he saw the yard full of corpses.

"this……"

"Li Long's men."

Qi Shan wiped the blood off the knife and sheathed it.

"Hong Chan is an assassin sent by Li Long, as are the four in the courtyard."

Chen Chong's expression changed.

"Does Li Long really dare to make a move?"

"Two hundred border troops will enter the city at noon tomorrow."

Qi Shan looked at him.

"More than a hundred people from Black Dragon Stronghold are lying in ambush outside the city tonight. As soon as Li Long makes a move, they will massacre the entire city."

Chen Chong gasped.

"This is fucking treason!"

"So we have to make our move tonight."

Qi Shan walked out.

"Take me to see the county magistrate."

Chen Chong followed him.

"What's the point of you going to see the magistrate now? Li Long has two hundred border troops, while our constable squad only has fifteen capable fighters! How can the rest of the county soldiers compare to the regular army?"

Qi Shan's steps never stopped.

"Fifteen people are enough."

"Are you crazy?"

Qi Shan turned around and glanced at him.

"Tonight, Li Long must die."

Chen Chong opened his mouth, but couldn't utter a word.

He saw the look in Qi Shan's eyes.

He had seen that look before.

I've seen it on the battlefield.

It's the kind of look that comes from having already calculated all possible escape routes, leaving only one path to rush forward.

Chen Chong gritted his teeth.

"Okay, I'll go with you."

The two walked quickly across the bluestone path towards the county government office.

The night was as dark as ink.

The faint sound of a night watchman's gong could be heard in the distance.

Bang bang bang.

It's past midnight.

The streets were deserted, with only a few lanterns swaying in the wind.

Qi Shan suddenly stopped.

Chen Chong stopped as well.

"What's wrong?"

Qi Shan remained silent.

He stared at the street corner ahead.

There stood a man dressed in a gray cloth jacket.

The man saw Qi Shan and ran over quickly.

It's Meng Da.

"Officer!"

Meng Da was covered in sweat from running, and he kept his voice very low.

"There's some commotion outside the north gate. I've had the brothers keep an eye on it!"

Qi Shan patted him on the shoulder.

"here you go."

"Go to the county government office now and call Wang Tiezhu and the others."

Meng Da was taken aback.

"Should we call them all?"

"Call them all."

Qi Shan looked at him.

"There's going to be a tough battle tonight."