Chapter 264 Assassin
Chapter 264 Assassin
The Fuwei Escort Agency is on Ximen Street, only three blocks and a bridge away from the Guanglufang Noodle Shop.
After Zhang Yu and Zhao Changfeng parted ways, he put on his hat and walked straight to the west.
He also held the title of "guest official" and enjoyed the treatment of "deputy chief escort", and reported to the escort agency as usual every day.
After leaving Jinxian Street, the prosperity gradually left behind. In front of us was the Baima River that ran through the city, with three arch bridges in between. On both sides of the river were houses with white walls and green tiles. There were several rows of willow trees planted by the water, and a yellow kingfisher landed on a branch.
"Tanghulu, candied haws on ice."
"Selling candied haws!"
The old man was holding a pile of candied haws and came down from the Jinchang Bridge in the middle. He stopped in front of the willow tree. His accent was thick with Minnan Mandarin, which was difficult for outsiders to understand, but fortunately they could be understood by looking.
"Uncle, how much are these candied haws?"
"Five texts."
The old man had a pale face and grinned, revealing his half-missing front teeth. He was worried that the young customer wouldn't understand him, so he stretched out five fingers and gestured, showing that he really wanted to make this deal.
Zhang Yu counted out twenty copper coins and exchanged them for four strings of candied haws.
The wild fruits are skewered on bamboo sticks and dipped in syrup. They quickly harden when exposed to the wind. They taste sour and sweet, and still have the original fruity aroma. They are very popular among children. However, it is rare to see adult men who love sweets so much.
"The old man has a local accent, and the candied haws are not poisonous, so it seems it's not him."
Zhang Yu stood under the shade of willows by the river, bit off a candied haws, and looked at the old man's back disappearing on the street with gloomy eyes. He still felt vaguely uneasy in his heart. He always felt that someone was staring at him while walking along the way, but he couldn't find the target.
"Forget it, let's go back to the escort agency first."
Zhang Yu climbed up the Jinchang Bridge and paused for a moment at the highest point of the arch bridge. In the distance, a Wupeng river boat, the kind commonly seen in Fujian, was anchored on the river. On the other side of the bridge was Hexi. The older generation of people in Fuzhou did not say east and west of the city, but were accustomed to calling it Hedong and Hexi.
Hedong is rich and prosperous.
Hexi is desolate and sparse.
Coming down from Jinchang Bridge, the west side of the river is sparsely populated, but the willow trees are particularly lush.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Yu was passing by the willow tree at the bridge head when he saw an extremely strange scene.
It was as if a long and narrow cold blade suddenly grew out of the willow tree and slashed towards the throat of the passerby.
"Finally showed up!"
Zhang Yu felt relieved.
When the knife appeared out of nowhere, it was only three feet away from Zhang Yu and came at him with great ferocity.
An ordinary martial arts master, if he has weaknesses in his light-body skills and is a little slow in reacting, will not be able to dodge this knife.
Therefore, such news would be reported in the world every few years.
An old hero of a certain martial arts world, who was so powerful when he was young, holding a long sword, and could chop from Zhuque Street to Xuanwu Gate without blinking an eye. But when he got old, he was killed by an unknown assassin, either on a toilet or on a bed in a brothel.
This is because the reaction ability and speed have decreased.
"Whoosh!"
Zhang Yu was well prepared, and with the help of his Feiyun magic skill, he used the "Chasing Clouds and Lightning" technique and took two steps back to avoid the cold blade as thin as a cicada's wing that was heading towards his throat, but it was still very dangerous.
"die!"
Zhang Yu looked at the cold light that flashed past his eyes, only five inches away from his throat. He was shocked and subconsciously felt angry. He pinched the bamboo stick of the candied haws between his fingers and stabbed it at the willow tree that was so close.
"puff!"
"Puff puff!" Zhang Yu stabbed three times in succession.
A splash of blood appeared on the willow tree.
The assassin, who was hiding so well, let go of the cold blade and fell to the ground.
Blood flowed down the throat and all over the ground.
Zhang Yu looked closely and saw that the man was wearing a brown-gray robe that blended with the color of the tree bark. His face, neck, arms, and all exposed parts were all made up. He was standing under the tree, sticking close to the trunk, almost like a skilled chameleon, making it difficult to distinguish him.
"This doesn't look like the hiding technique of the Central Plains. Are you from Japan?"
The assassin never figured out until his death why his opponent was able to find his weak spot so quickly and didn't give him a chance to stab him a second time. It seemed that his invisibility skills, which he was so proud of, had failed...
When Zhang Yu saw the other party's pupils gradually dilating, he realized that the ruthless move he had made in a hurry had an immediate effect, and it was obvious that the assassin would not survive.
"Damn it! If I had known, I would have left him alive."
"I praised Zhao Changfeng before for his good investigation. It seems that this group of forces is quite capable. I have only been in Fuzhou for three days, but they have already targeted me and arranged an assassination attempt that is not amateurish."
He looked around and saw that no one was paying attention to this side, so he moved the assassin's body to the weeds under the stone arch bridge. After searching for a while, he only found two bottles of medicine, seven or eight taels of silver, and a token.
"Kirigakure?"
The iron token was slightly heavy in the hand, with the Chinese characters "Wu Yin" written on it. There was a relief carving on the back showing a sea boat, the sun, and a huge Fusang tree.
"He is indeed from Japan!"
Kirigakure is the most powerful pirate group among the many pirates that invaded the Ming Dynasty.
The ship owner, Kirin Raizo, is said to be the best fighter in Japan. Because he was dissatisfied with Fuso's isolation order, he had a rift with the officials in the court. He was unwilling to accept the recruitment of local rulers, so he ran to the coastal islands of Ming Dynasty to become a pirate, raised a group of ships, and often went ashore to plunder Ming Dynasty.
"It seems that the Japanese have also set their sights on the Fuwei Escort Agency. Could it be that they are also looking for the Sword Technique to Exorcise Evils?"
Zhang Yu put away the iron token and kicked the gray-robed assassin's body into the river.
About three or four miles away from the Jinchang Bridge, a Wupeng river boat was quietly anchored on the river. A man was standing at the bow. He was wearing a bamboo hat, a straw raincoat, and wooden clogs. He was obviously not from the Central Plains.
"Baga!"
The short man with a shaved head, with his hand on the sword, looked at Jin Changqiao who was blocking his view and cursed harshly.
"Mission failed, Sendou-kun!"
"It seems that the opponent is not simple. It's a pity that we lost a jonin. How could Fuwei Escort Agency recruit such a master?"
Sitting in the hold was a woman, wearing a light white gauze dress and covering her face with a white scarf, revealing only a pair of narrow eyes that were filled with murderous intent.
The word "Jun" is used as a respectful title for men in Japan.
This woman called 'Sento-kun' must have some extraordinary qualities to have earned such respect among the Japanese people, who are extremely patriarchal.
The woman in the white dress sneered, "As the people of the Central Plains say, the longer the night, the more dreams you have! Wuyin Bandan, you just kept waiting for the general's orders and delayed taking action against the Lin family, which led to the current situation. Now in Fuzhou City, there are more sharks who smelled blood and came here. If you fail to complete the mission, even if you are the general's brother, I'm afraid you will have a hard time explaining it!"
Upon hearing this, the short guy with the hair on his head turned pale and begged, "Qiandou-kun, you...you can't just stand by and watch someone die! From today on, I will follow your orders."
The woman in the white dress slowly stood up, and suddenly there was a surge of waves, which was breathtaking.
This is what makes her so special.
The dwarf with a fringe haircut relied on his height advantage, glanced secretly twice, and then quickly looked away.
The woman in the white dress looked at the water and said slowly: "The only way now is to find allies to cooperate and get what we need!"
I'm sorry. In order to get full attendance, I did something stupid at the end of the article (to make up the word count). I have revised it now. I'm sorry.
(End of this chapter)