"How's it going? Did you find out anything?" In the alley behind the Elegant Red Pavilion, a man in a jet - black robe was pacing back and forth. When he saw the cloaked girl, he quickly stepped in front of her.
His tone was urgent, and his hand that grabbed hers was trembling. "A Qing, say something."
"Brother Li, they said... they said Jia Xing isn't dead..." A Qing came to her senses after a long while. She tugged at the corner of Li You's robe, and even her voice began to tremble.
Hearing this, Li You froze. He grabbed A Qing's arm tightly, his eyes wide open. His words were full of disbelief.
"It's impossible. We clearly killed Jia Xing back then. He can't be alive. Is this false? Is all this false!"
Li You was in a panic. He held A Qing's hand tightly, and his tone was almost hysterical. At this moment, he was extremely uneasy and his whole body was shaking violently.
Indeed, anyone would feel uneasy when facing such a situation.
A Qing reached out and hugged the trembling Li You. She gently patted his back and whispered, "It's okay. I found out that Jia Xing is now in a villa on the outskirts. He wants the investigators to help him."
A Qing paused for a moment. A hint of fierceness flashed in her phoenix - like eyes. Her voice was low as she said word by word, "Since we've already killed someone, we're not afraid of killing one more."
"A Qing... If all this is a trap, then we're like turtles in a jar and have no chance of escape." After being soothed by A Qing's gentle words, Li You gradually relaxed. After calming down, he thought that all this might be a trap.
It was designed to lure the murderer into the net.
After hearing this, A Qing lowered her eyes and looked levelly at Li You. "But Brother Li, if we don't take a risk, we'll never be able to get rid of Jia Xing. If he really saw what we look like, no matter what, our end won't be good."
"But..."
"Let's take a gamble. Life or death is just a momentary thing."
A Qing's voice was soft, but her face was full of determination, which told Li You that she was serious.
She had been trapped in the nightmare of Jia Xing for a long time. It was time to end it.
No matter what the result would be.
"Okay." Li You was silent for a while and finally agreed to her proposal.
As for the villa on the outskirts where Jia Xing was hiding according to A Qing, Song Yan had already led his men to ambush there. Within a radius of ten miles, there were investigators everywhere.
Now all they had to do was wait for the murderer to walk into the trap.
"Master, will the murderer come?" Mo Xu was standing in a corner on the second floor. He yawned due to lack of sleep and raised a question about the situation.
Old Yang remained highly vigilant. He simply replied to Mo Xu's words, "Talk less and do more."
...
Alright, alright. Seeing this, Mo Xu had nothing more to say. He hugged his sword and stood in the shadow of a pillar, waiting for the murderer to be caught.
I don't know how much time had passed when suddenly there was a sound of footsteps in the forest. Song Yan was standing on a high building, looking down. He saw two people staggering towards them, supporting each other.
When they got closer, he recognized the girl who had been sneaking around and asking questions at the door not long ago.
They walked unsteadily in the forest, looking scared as they glanced around.
"Jia Xing shouldn't live in such a spooky place." Li You surveyed the surrounding scenery. He felt weak all over. He gently patted A Qing's hand and said timidly.
A Qing frowned slightly. She held his hand back firmly and said, "It's okay, it's okay."
When the two of them reached the villa, from afar they saw a figure standing by the door. The figure's build was similar to Jia Xing's. He was standing by the window, looking down at a book.
"R - really... It's really Jia Xing... He... He's not dead!" When Li You saw this figure, his whole body trembled, and his voice almost broke from fear.
It was A Qing who quickly reached out and covered his mouth, preventing his voice from disturbing Jia Xing in the room.
She calmly approached the window all the way. She took out the hairpin from her hair. One corner of the hairpin had been sharpened, and now it glinted coldly in the moonlight.
They nodded slightly at each other, and Li You took out a rope, ready to strangle Jia Xing from behind.
But before his hand could reach Jia Xing's neck, his hand was grabbed firmly by someone. The other person was much stronger than him, and Li You had no ability to resist.
He looked up at the 'Jia Xing' who had just been standing by the window. This was no longer Jia Xing, but just a person with a similar build.
The man pinned Li You's hands behind his back and shouted harshly at A Qing who was standing not far away, "The investigators are handling a case. I advise you to surrender obediently."
"A Qing, save me quickly!" Seeing this situation, Li You who had been caught immediately panicked. He shouted loudly in A Qing's direction, but she didn't even glance at him.
A Qing held the hairpin in front of her. She looked around and slowly backed away, planning to escape after getting out of the investigators' sight.
But she was too naive after all. How could the investigators send only one person to handle this case? She had only taken a few steps back when she bumped into someone's back.
"I advise the girl to surrender obediently, or we won't show any mercy."
The voice came from above her head. A Qing turned around suddenly and saw that there was a person standing behind her at some point.
As if to prove their point, no less than a dozen people immediately appeared around her. A Qing sneered and said, "Humph, the investigators actually sent so many people to catch a weak girl like me. I'm really flattered."
Although her words said she was flattered, her facial expression didn't match at all.
She suddenly stabbed the hairpin in her hand at the investigator who was holding Li You, aiming straight at his vital point. The investigator was startled and let go of Li You to block the attack.
As he let go, the restraint on Li You was gone. He quickly ran outside. The investigators behind A Qing all took out their swords from their waists.
Facing so many sword blades, it was impossible for A Qing not to be afraid. She didn't know much martial arts, and she knew that she had no chance to fight back against these investigators.
Then she could only...
Look for an opportunity to escape.
Thinking like this, A Qing took a few quick steps forward and grabbed Li You's collar. Her action made Li You stop running and almost fall.
Then A Qing pushed Li You backward, and all the sword blades that were pointing at her pierced through his body.
"A Qing... Why...?"
Li You's words were intermittent. Blood oozed from the corner of his mouth. When he finally looked at A Qing, his eyes were full of shock.
The investigators were in a panic because of this sudden move.
Men were really unreliable.
A Qing didn't look in Li You's direction anymore. She quickened her pace and ran deeper into the forest. The most important thing now was to escape. No matter what would happen later, at least she was still alive.
But her idea was quickly shattered.
"Alright, Miss A Qing, stop playing this cat - and - mouse game."
The young man's voice was clear. A Qing looked at the tip of the sword that was only a hair's breadth away from her. If she took one more step forward, the tip of the sword would cut her neck mercilessly.
She looked into the eyes of the young man standing in front of her. The young man's vermilion robe fluttered gently in the night wind. His good - looking eyebrows and eyes were still radiant even in the darkness.
She had seen this person before.
He was Song Yan, the director of the investigators.
"I'll go with you." Looking at the tip of the sword not far from her neck, A Qing knew that she had no chance to escape.
Since there was no chance, all she could do was to compromise.
"Is Jia Xing dead?" On the way back, A Qing asked this question. Her voice was soft, but it was especially clear in the quiet night.
Song Yan tied A Qing's hands with the rope he carried with him. After making sure that she couldn't break free, he pulled one end of the rope and walked forward. After hearing this, he replied calmly, "He's dead."
"So all this is just a trick you used to lure me into the trap?" A Qing smiled slightly. When she said this, she felt unusually relaxed.
"This is just a means to catch the murderer."
"Although Jia Xing's death is related to me, I was just acting in self - defense. Director Song shouldn't blame all the previous cases on me, right?"
A Qing's words made Song Yan stop for a moment. After being silent for a while, he slowly said, "Maybe."
...
A Qing smiled. She took a few steps forward and stood beside Song Yan. She nudged his shoulder with hers and whispered with a smile, "Are you worried about the murderer of the previous cases?"
Song Yan didn't respond to her words. He just silently took a few steps to the side, keeping a distance from her. He frowned slightly and didn't show any interest in her words.
A Qing didn't mind. She continued on her own, "When I tried to kill Jia Xing before, I saw that murderer. It was him who stabbed Jia Xing in the chest."
"Is what you said true?" After hearing this, Song Yan stopped and turned back to meet her gaze. His tone became colder.
A Qing covered her lips and smiled. Her voice was soft, with a hint of charm unique to a courtesan. "If Director Song promises to spare my life, then I'll tell you what I saw back then."
Saying this, she paused for a moment and got a bit closer to Song Yan. With a mixture of three parts smile and seven parts charm, she said, "I'll also tell you what he said to me. Director Song, this is a really profitable deal. You should know that."
...
Song Yan's expression gradually darkened. He hesitated about her request.
Indeed, as she said, this was a good deal. But could he really let go of the murderer in front of him?