NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 26 – Plan failed
Let's see if there's any clue on her. After searching for a while, he found a pouch and a dagger in her arms.
Opening the pouch, there were a few silver notes inside, totaling about six hundred taels, along with some loose silver coins, and nothing else.
Damn it, not even an ID. I don't even know who I killed.
And these silver notes, they have a mark on them, a stamp in the lower right corner, probably a personal name stamp—Wu Jiang.
Huang Ye dejectedly stuffed the silver notes back into the pouch. Wu Jiang was likely the City Lord's name, so these notes were probably useless.
The dagger's sheath was quite exquisite. He gently pulled out the dagger, and it gleamed with a cold light.
This dagger isn't bad. He pocketed the loose silver and the dagger, put the pouch back, and looked at the body, feeling a bit troubled.
Should I bury her? But without tools... Forget it, I'll just find a discreet place to leave her.
He glanced around and saw a dense bush behind a big tree. Grabbing the woman's body, he was about to throw it in.
Just before he did, his eyes caught sight of a black ring.
What is this ring for? Could it signify something? Better keep it for now.
He slipped off the ring and tossed the body into the bush, then leaped into the mansion.
With a few more leaps, he was back at the door. He gently pushed it open and slipped inside the house.
"Is that you, young master?"
"Yes!"
Qing'er immediately lit the lamp.
Seeing Huang Ye unharmed, the two women rushed over and hugged him tightly.
"What are you doing?"
"We were worried about you, afraid you'd encounter danger."
"Young master, that woman didn't hurt you, did she?"
"You underestimate me too much. Such a minor character couldn't possibly harm me," Huang Ye boasted shamelessly.
"Young master, that woman wasn't a minor character. She was someone close to the City Lord, surely she had some skills."
"Could you really beat her?"
"I should be able to."
"What do you mean by 'should'? Once you fight, there's bound to be a winner."
"We did fight, but she seemed to underestimate me, and I wasn't sure of my own abilities."
"So we only exchanged one move."
"Then you must have won and scared her off."
"Not exactly."
"What do you mean?" the two women asked in unison.
"We only exchanged one move, and she died!"
"Ah!" the two women exclaimed in surprise.
"Young master, you're amazing!"
"I'm a bit confused myself. I punched her, she struck me with her palm, and when our fist and palm met, it was evenly matched, but I used the inch force to attack her internally."
"I didn't expect her to be so fragile, unable to withstand the inch force's impact."
"Ah! Is that the inch force from the Wing Chun you taught us?" Yue'er asked.
"That's right, it's the inch force."
"Inch force is so powerful, I never imagined," Qing'er marveled.
"She didn't expect me to exert force at such a short distance, giving me an opening."
"In a real fight, it would be hard to kill her in a short time."
"Sigh! I wanted to capture her and ask some questions, but she couldn't speak anymore."
"I don't even know her combat strength, it was a wasted fight."
The two women exchanged glances.
"We didn't find anything useful on her either."
"I officially announce that our first plan ended in failure," Huang Ye said dejectedly.
"Young master, failure is the mother of success. We can't really say it was a failure."
"At least the first half was successful, it was just at the last moment you accidentally killed her," Qing'er consoled.
"That's right, sister is correct. I think the young master at least proved his combat strength is formidable."
"To easily kill someone close to the City Lord, you must be on par with those three Martial Kings."
"Perhaps, but not knowing my own combat strength is still dangerous."
"There's a saying, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.' We don't even know our own strength, so we'll make mistakes in judging our opponents."
"This is a world where the strong prey on the weak. One wrong step could cost us our lives."
"You're right, young master, but we're still in the dark. No one knows our strength has increased."
"Even if someone wants to deal with us, they won't send strong people. We just need to gradually find ways to test our strength."
"Qing'er, tomorrow, ask those guards about the martial artist realms and what each realm can achieve."
"Also, find out about the 'Jade Maiden Heart Sutra.'"
"They probably haven't practiced the techniques in it, but I feel that technique is strange. Practicing it in reverse can turn it into an immortal technique."
"Alright, I'll go tomorrow. Young master, let's practice!" Qing'er looked at Huang Ye eagerly.
"Yes, let's continue practicing. As long as we become strong, nothing can stop us."
The familiar sounds of practice echoed from the small courtyard.
Early the next morning, Huang Ye heard a commotion from the mansion.
The two women tidied up and left the courtyard separately.
Before long, they both returned.
"Young master, the disappearance of that woman last night has alarmed the guards. They're searching everywhere."
"What did you do with her body?"
"I just threw it in the dense forest behind. If they find it, they can take care of her burial."
"That's good. No one knows you killed her anyway."
"Young master, will they go after my family because you killed that woman?" Yue'er asked worriedly.
"Silly girl, with her dead, your family might be safer."
"She probably arranged the assassination, and only the mastermind and she herself knew about it."
"Whatever methods that woman used, the mastermind might not even know."
"Now that she's dead, the assassination plan will definitely change."
"That's a relief," Yue'er said, gently patting her chest.
"Don't be too happy yet. If there's a new plan, you'll still be their first target."
"Ah, why is my fate so bitter?"
"There's no choice. Everyone in the mansion knows Qing'er's feelings for me, so they definitely won't target her."
"For now, you'll stay with me at night, so they won't have a chance to find you."
"I understand. The young master means if they can't find me, they can't use my family to threaten me."
"Qing'er, am I right? This girl is quite smart."
"The young master has the best judgment," Qing'er said, already admiring Huang Ye wholeheartedly.
"You two just need to keep disguising yourselves."
"We still don't know who the mastermind is. Although this woman was close to the City Lord, it doesn't necessarily mean she was acting on his orders. It could also be one of the wives."
"We haven't found any clues from the information gathered these past few days, so we'll have to find the answer slowly."
"We should prepare a few plans. The first is to simply run away."
"Although this plan can avoid some risks, where would we go? Would we be hunted down? The path ahead is uncertain."
"If I were alone, it wouldn't matter, but with you two, the dangers of the martial world are still hard for you to handle."
"In theory, staying in the City Lord's mansion is the safest, so I still want to survive here."
"The second plan is to announce that I've regained my senses, bringing the conflict to the surface."
"Right now, my actions are limited, and it's inconvenient to do anything. Once I'm back to normal, I can handle many things myself."
"We're all cultivators now. Honestly, we don't know what level we're at, what the techniques can achieve, or what level we can reach."
"Although we've been cultivating recently, our progress has slowed, indicating that our techniques have issues."
"To enhance our strength, we must learn more about cultivation."
"We can't find any reference materials here, so I want to go to a real Immortal Sect to learn, and once I find the right path, I'll come back to teach you."
"Moreover, I feel my strength has increased, and in the future, when we engage in dual cultivation, it will greatly enhance your strength."
"Young master, we want to go with you."
"No, you're too weak. At most, you can spar with those guards."
"We're not afraid to die!" Yue'er said.
"Even if you're not afraid, I am. If I take you with me, I'll have too many concerns."
The two women felt a tremor in their hearts, sensing Huang Ye's sincerity.