The young man immediately frowned, murmuring to himself, “Isn’t this age a bit old for a death warrior?”

Between twenty and thirty years old was the peak period of a man’s physical strength; after that, it was all downhill.

Generally speaking, death warriors were mostly in this age range.

Older ones were rare—after all, most wouldn’t survive that long.

The middle-aged man, still in shock, heard the young man’s muttered words, and his expression couldn’t help but twist.

Was he being looked down upon?

The woman also couldn’t help but twitch the corners of her lips, suddenly feeling she didn’t understand the man before her well enough.

Was Prince Kaiyang really not deliberately insulting this person?

The young man poling the boat was none other than Wei Han, while the woman was Luo Sheng in disguise.

Zhaohua, one of Princess Qingyang’s four chief maids, was a master of disguise. Back then, Luo Sheng had also learned some basics from Zhaohua’s master.

One could only say that many skills depended on natural talent, and disguise was especially so.

Luo Sheng had no particular talent in this area—when she said she’d learned the basics, it truly was just the basics.

However, using it to disguise herself as Xiu Yue was sufficient.

Because of her disfigurement, Xiu Yue already concealed her original appearance, and she rarely showed her face in public. As long as there was a general resemblance, it would pass.

People only remembered that there was a disfigured cook at Youjian Tavern. As for what the cook actually looked like, who cared?

Wearing the clothes Xiu Yue usually wore, styling her hair the way Xiu Yue usually did, with patches of scars and bruises covering her face—that was Xiu Gu, the cook from Youjian Tavern.

This was also Luo Sheng’s confidence in replacing Xiu Yue at Jinshui River.

As for Prince Kaiyang—

Luo Sheng looked deeply at the man blocking her view.

The man had broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His back, just beginning to shed its youthful thinness, wasn’t yet broad and solid enough, but it was sufficient to set one’s mind at ease.

Agreeing to let Wei Han accompany her was something Luo Sheng had carefully considered.

The other party had clearly specified in the letter that only Xiu Yue could come alone, and the meeting place was on Jinshui River itself—this blocked the possibility of openly bringing a large group of people.

The situation least likely to attract the other party’s attention would be to choose one companion to disguise as a boatman and bring “Xiu Yue” over.

And considering martial skills, Luo Sheng naturally had no need to refuse Prince Kaiyang, who had volunteered.

This was the cold-faced King of Hell who struck fear into Northern Qi people—among those she could choose, he was the one who could best guarantee safety.

Wei Han squatted down, reached out to grip the middle-aged man’s chin, and examined him carefully before saying flatly, “Only one poison tooth.”

The middle-aged man: “…” Why did he hear contempt in that tone again?

Wei Han didn’t actually mean to look down on anyone—it was just that after years of dealing with Qi people at the northern border, with spies and death warriors emerging endlessly and having seen all kinds of tricks, he was accustomed to being a bit more cautious.

However, with only one poison tooth and being on the older side, this death warrior was indeed not particularly qualified.

“Speak up then—where is Xiao Qi?” Wei Han knew this was the question Luo Sheng most wanted answered right now, so he didn’t ask anything else.

The middle-aged man tightly closed his mouth.

“Won’t talk?” Wei Han furrowed his brow.

The middle-aged man glanced at him and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth: “Dead.”

Luo Sheng’s expression changed abruptly: “Say that again.”

A large hand grasped hers, warm and dry.

The man’s voice was even warmer in the cool night of late autumn: “Don’t panic. He’s lying.”

The middle-aged man’s expression became even more rigid.

Wei Han’s tone was certain: “Since your objective is the life of Youjian Tavern’s cook, you won’t harm Xiao Qi before confirming whether you’ve succeeded—at least you won’t take his life.”

They had previously considered that the other party might make some demands, and had also considered threats to Xiu Yue’s safety, but for them to demand Xiu Yue’s life right off the bat was somewhat unexpected.

What was the other party’s purpose?

It couldn’t be jealousy over Youjian Tavern’s good business and wanting to eliminate the tavern’s head chef, could it?

Analyzing rationally, such a possibility was almost nonexistent.

Youjian Tavern was different from other taverns. Although the food was so delicious it drove people crazy, the prices were extraordinarily high, so the regular customers were ultimately limited and didn’t affect other taverns’ business.

Wei Han stared steadily at the middle-aged man, his eyes calm: “Let me introduce myself—I am Prince Kaiyang.”

The middle-aged man’s eyes contracted.

He could tell the young man before him was no ordinary person, but he never imagined it was Prince Kaiyang.

Prince Kaiyang, renowned throughout the realm, naturally relied on more than just martial prowess.

Another boat silently approached.

The one poling it was Shi Yan.

Wei Han pointed at the middle-aged man and said flatly, “Interrogate him.”

Shi Yan clasped his fists, then lifted the middle-aged man with one hand and transferred him over.

The approaching boat gradually moved away from Luo Sheng’s line of sight.

The bamboo pole parted the water’s surface, creating rippling waves.

Wei Han stood up and thoroughly searched the small boat the middle-aged man had left behind, finding a bundle of hemp rope, a stone, and a set of half-worn clothing.

The clothing was ordinary. The uses of the hemp rope and stone were self-evident—they were for weighing down a corpse.

Luo Sheng came closer, her voice cold: “Looks like the other party was targeting Xiu Gu’s life from the very beginning.”

Wei Han turned his head to look at her.

The sky was full of moonlight and starlight, the river dotted with countless lights, but brighter than all these were his eyes.

He gazed intently at the young woman before him, his voice carrying a power that calmed the heart: “Don’t worry. We’ll find Xiao Qi.”

Luo Sheng nodded slightly, neither saying she believed nor that she didn’t.

The sudden silence made the surroundings instantly quiet.

Autumn insects hidden in the water grass chirped softly, interweaving with the distant sound of strings and bamboo into a nocturne unique to Jinshui River.

Wei Han lowered his eyes, staring at the slender pale hand hanging at the young woman’s side. He hesitated for a moment but ultimately didn’t dare to take it.

Miss Luo would be angry.

Luo Sheng completely ignored this intimate and peaceful moment of solitude, staring intently at the boat moored not far away.

She urgently awaited news about Xiao Qi.

Twelve years ago, while still in swaddling clothes, Xiao Qi had experienced a storm of blood and violence. If twelve years later, in the present, Xiao Qi came to harm because of Xiu Yue, she would feel deeply guilty.

She was very clear that whether it was Xiao Qi or Xiu Yue, both were merely weapons the other party was using against her.

This calamity was coming for her.

“I can’t figure out the other party’s objective.” After a long while, Luo Sheng murmured.

Even if Wei Qiang had become suspicious of Xiu Yue’s true identity, he shouldn’t immediately go for the kill—that didn’t serve his interests.

Speaking of enemies Miss Luo had made, there were even more, but if they truly wanted revenge, making such a huge fuss to target a cook didn’t quite make sense.

Just then, the covered boat in the distance suddenly moved, arriving before them in almost the blink of an eye.

“Did you get anything out of him?” Wei Han asked.

Shi Yan clasped his fists: “We did. This man is a stable hand from Duke Anguo’s household.”

Duke Anguo’s household?

A face suddenly surfaced in Luo Sheng’s mind: Zhu Hanshuang, the second young lady of Duke Anguo’s household.

Whether or not it was jumping to conclusions, this was her first reaction upon hearing Shi Yan’s words.

And following that came another reaction.

Luo Sheng looked at Wei Han and sighed inwardly: After being confused for so long, she seemed to have found the reason.