lcionline Chapter 495 Who is the mastermind behind this?
Chapter 495 Who is the mastermind behind this?
It was Shimazu Chiyo who shielded Liu Ye from this fatal blow.
Unlike the others, her attention was focused on Liu Ye, which is why she noticed the hostess's actions. Fearing she might accidentally injure Liu Ye with the knife, she hastily raised her left hand to block the stab. Although the long hairpin was deeply embedded in the back of her hand, causing excruciating pain, she managed to ensure Liu Ye's safety.
The young girl was clearly not a well-trained assassin; after missing her first strike, she stood frozen in place, bewildered. Shimazu Chiyo tossed her sword into its sheath with one hand, then swung the blade and sheath, striking the girl's neck with a "smack," knocking her unconscious.
At this moment, Xu Hongji was dealing with the assassin. Because he had no weapon, he threw a table but missed his opponent and was chased around the room in circles, with the assassin brandishing a knife in pursuit. The young masters of the Fushe Society, who had been so confident and magnanimous just moments before, had completely lost their composure. They were yelling and scrambling to hide in all directions. Zhang Pu, pale-faced, hid behind a pillar. Chen Zilong, who was near the door, rolled out of the room with a lazy roll. Wu Changshi simply crawled under a table, leaving only his buttocks sticking out. Hou Fangyu was even worse off, hiding behind the girl next to him, clinging tightly to her shoulders as a human shield, his whole body trembling.
The usually shrewd and charming Gu Hengbo, who was adept at entertaining guests, reverted to the true nature of a young woman in her early twenties. She screamed and scrambled to Liu Ye's side, trying to find protection in his arms. In her mind, Liu Ye was safest with a female warrior protecting him. Caught off guard, Liu Ye felt a slender, soft body fall into his embrace, a natural fragrance mixed with the scent of rouge filling his nostrils.
Shimazu Chiyo was tearing a piece of cloth from her sleeve to wrap the wound on the back of her left hand when she saw Gu Hengbo's appearance and frowned. The girl who had just tried to assassinate Liu Ye was one of this madam's girls; she had almost fallen for her trick. Who knew if this madam was also using a honey trap? She reached out her right hand, grabbed Gu Hengbo by the back of her collar, gave a soft shout, and lifted her up, dragging her several steps away.
Gu Hengbo was stunned for a moment, not knowing what had happened, and looked around blankly.
Liu Ye snapped at her, "Don't be silly, go out and call someone in to help."
Gu Hengbo then realized what was happening, stumbled to her feet, and ran out the door.
Xu Hongji was chased by the assassin and went in a big circle before finally arriving in front of Liu Ye. He cried out, "Brother, save me!"
Liu Ye gave the order to Shimazu Chiyo: "Capture this assassin, but keep him alive!"
"Yes, Master!"
Shimazu Chiyo slung her sword back into her waistband and charged at Xu Hongji and the assassin with her bare hands, shouting at Xu Hongji, "Get down!"
Having witnessed her skill in killing two people with a single strike, Xu Hongji believed her words without a doubt. Without thinking, he pounced on the ground in a doggy-style position.
Shimazu Chiyo swept over Xu Hongji, spun around in mid-air, turned her back to the assassin, dodged his blade, and crashed headfirst into his arms. This was the secret technique she had learned from the Yagyu family—the no-sword technique.
Before the assassin knew what was happening, his opponent had already crashed into him. The next moment, the knife in his hand was snatched away, and he lost his balance from the impact and fell to the ground.
After disarming the assassin, Shimazu Chiyo intended to subdue him and interrogate him closely. However, the assassin, upon falling to the ground, bit down without hesitation, a trickle of black fluid flowing from the corner of his mouth. Shortly after, he convulsed, his eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness. Shimazu Chiyo quickly checked his breathing, then turned and shook her head at Liu Ye, indicating that he was beyond saving.
“Master, he had poison hidden in his mouth beforehand; he's a suicide soldier.”
Liu Ye cursed angrily, "Damn it! All three assassins are dead. How can we find out who the real culprit is?"
Seeing that all the assassins had been killed, the chaos in the room gradually subsided. Zhang Pu and the others sat down on the ground, panting heavily, looking as if they had survived a disaster.
Liu Ye looked at the three assassins on the ground. They were all wearing black waterproof suits and were soaking wet. It seemed that they had climbed out of the water. No wonder the guards at the door hadn't made a sound.
After Gu Hengbo ran out, shouting and yelling, a lot of footsteps soon came from the stairs. The personal guards of the Duke of Wei's mansion and Liu Ye's sword-wielding squad came up. Some of them guarded the door, while others rushed in, crowding the private room to the point of being impassable.
After Hou Fangyu came to his senses, still in shock, he casually pushed away the girl who had been acting as a human shield and tried to leave.
Liu Ye said coldly, "An assassin suddenly appeared in Mei Lou. Something is fishy. Everyone drinking here is a suspect. No one is allowed to step out of the room without my permission."
Hou Fangyu, enraged, retorted, "The assassins were clearly after you. We were innocent bystanders, so why are they still picking on us?"
Xu Hongji, panting heavily, echoed Liu Ye's words: "No matter who did this today, I'm not done with them. No one is allowed to leave until we find out who the mastermind is."
At this moment, Gu Hengbo peeked out from the doorway. When he saw the three corpses and a large pool of blood on the ground, he realized that people had died in his Meilou, and three of them had died. He couldn't help but scream in fright.
Liu Ye looked in the direction of the shout and frowned, saying, "Bring him in."
Shimazu Chiyo walked over, grabbed her, dragged her in, and pushed her to the ground. Gu Hengbo completely lost her previous elegance, crawled a few steps on her knees, hugged Liu Ye's leg, and pleaded, "Lord Pingnan, it really has nothing to do with me. Please, for the sake of a weak woman like me, let me go."
At this moment, Hou Fangyu walked out again, and said loudly, "My father is the Minister of Revenue, and I also have the title of Juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations). I don't have to kneel when I see officials. Do you dare to stop me?"
Liu Ye said impatiently, "What's so great about a former Minister of Revenue who's been imprisoned? What's the point of a Juren degree? It's nothing in my eyes! Anyone who dares to test my bottom line, come and try. Let's see if your neck is tougher than my knife!" He had almost lost his life, and all his previous forbearance and restraint had vanished. He no longer treated these young masters with any respect.
The samurai of the sword-drawing squad all understood their master's Chinese. Upon hearing this, they shouted "Ha!" and drew their katana in unison, the blades gleaming with a captivating light under the candlelight.
When the young masters of the Fushe Society saw that there was a group of fierce-looking Japanese pirates at the door, they were so frightened that they took several steps back. Hou Fangyu was so frightened that he sat down on the ground. After that, no one dared to make a sound, and the room was completely silent.
Chiyo Shimazu pointed to the unconscious girl on the ground and reminded her, "Master, this one is still alive and is part of the same group. She can be tortured."
Liu Ye nodded in agreement: "You ask."