Half a cup of tea later.

They found a spacious section of the official road. Looking out, beyond the distant mountains, there wasn’t even an obstruction in sight.

Those who could work in government offices were all extremely shrewd. San Pang and the others deliberately walked far away.

Li Buyan, Zhu Qing, and Huang Qi each went to high ground to observe the situation around the official road.

The remaining three had frost settling on their faces.

No one spoke. They were all shaken by that heart-stopping scene just moments ago.

Over the years, Xie Zhifei and Pei Xiao had followed the Imperial Grandson and encountered no small number of dangers.

However, they had never before encountered a danger like today’s—without warning and defying all reason.

Pei Xiao’s eyes were unfocused. “What are your thoughts?”

Xie Zhifei looked at Yan Sanhe’s pale face. “It was definitely aimed at us.”

Yan Sanhe said nothing, but Pei Xiao spoke hoarsely. “We haven’t made enemies or grievances with anyone here.”

“Well said.”

Xie Zhifei raised his voice. “Then—who are these people? Why do they want to kill us? And why did they suddenly retreat at the end?”

Three questions in succession, like whips lashing at the souls of the three.

No one could answer.

Xie Zhifei: “Yan Sanhe, we need to analyze this.”

“Right!”

Pei Xiao’s expression was serious. “If we can’t figure it out, we have no way to move forward. How many more ambushes, how many more assassins lie ahead… all unknown.”

“Come, let’s analyze.”

Yan Sanhe was accustomed to using questions to find the truth bit by bit.

“Xie Zhifei, what was our purpose in coming here?”

“To help Old Madam Ji resolve her obsession and exorcise her demon.”

“Everything was safe and sound before, so why did trouble come as soon as we crossed North Cang Bridge and entered Great Qi territory?”

Xie Zhifei looked at Yan Sanhe’s eyes, which were deep as a pool, and remained silent for a long time.

This question—he’d thought about it over and over, with no answer.

Yan Sanhe’s gaze shifted, suddenly looking toward Pei Xiao. “You speak?”

Pei Xiao bit his teeth without speaking. After a long while, he stretched out his foot and lightly touched Xie Zhifei’s.

Xie Zhifei knew what he meant—

Could it be people from the capital?

Could it be people from the Han Prince?

The Han Prince excelled at warfare and military strategy, and indeed had raised a group of death warriors behind him, but…

No motive!

They weren’t the Crown Prince or Imperial Grandson. Even if the two of them died hundreds of times, it wouldn’t change the state or the realm in any way.

Xie Zhifei shook his head very firmly.

Having eliminated that person from the capital, Pei Xiao’s speculation grew bolder. “Could it be that someone doesn’t want us to find Wu Guanyue?”

“Who?”

Yan Sanhe’s eyes brightened. “Who doesn’t want us to find Wu Guanyue?”

Xie Zhifei frowned. “Only Wu Guanyue himself, or his descendants, wouldn’t want us to find him. Besides that, there’s no second option.”

Pei Xiao pondered. “Assassins with that level of skill—only people with high positions and great power could afford to keep them. It must be Wu Guanyue and his son.”

Yan Sanhe took a breath and asked again.

“When we came to Nanning Prefecture, no one knew our real purpose. When we went to Hu Family Village, we were using the pretext of visiting Old Madam’s ancestral home, correct?”

Xie Zhifei: “Correct!”

Pei Xiao: “Correct!”

Yan Sanhe: “From entering Nanning Prefecture until today, a full eleven days, we were safe and sound, everything went smoothly—until today. Correct?”

Xie Zhifei: “Correct!”

Pei Xiao: “Correct!”

Yan Sanhe: “Besides the six of us, who knew the purpose of our journey?”

Pei Xiao: “Only two groups knew we were setting out today. One group is the people at Guanyin Chan Temple. The other is Nanning Prefecture Magistrate’s office.”

Xie Zhifei: “We stayed at the prefectural office for no more than half an hour in total.”

Pei Xiao: “Then only one possibility remains.”

At this point, Yan Sanhe made the final determination. “So that means Wu Guanyue and his son are very likely hiding in the temple?”

Xie Zhifei’s voice trembled slightly. “Temples have many monks—those on the register and those not. If someone really wanted to hide a person, it wouldn’t be difficult.”

This time Pei Xiao had a different opinion. “I have one doubt.”

Xie Zhifei: “Speak.”

Pei Xiao: “We lodged at the temple. If they really wanted to kill us, they could have acted through the food. Why make such a big show?”

Xie Zhifei looked at him. “Because you, Pei Daren, were there.”

Pei Xiao’s heart jumped suddenly.

Right!

He was there.

In those bald monks’ eyes, he was the official sent from the capital by the Emperor specifically to inspect temples in Guangxi Prefecture. If something happened to him at the temple, the matter would become enormous.

After crossing North Cang River, it was different.

Great Qi’s people were fierce and bold, and the common folk held prejudices against Great Hua people.

If something happened to him here, everyone would only think it was Great Qi people who did it. Besides that, they wouldn’t think of other possibilities.

And the coincidence was just that—Li Buyan and the other three had excellent martial skills, plus Magistrate Zhou had assigned them eight guards…

Having thought through this point, Pei Xiao said, “I have no more questions. Continue your analysis.”

What else was there to analyze?

The situation was already very clear.

Yan Sanhe said calmly, “Next—we discuss what we should do.”

“Yan Sanhe, I think this is a good thing.”

Xie Zhifei’s voice carried a hint of joy. “You just told me you wanted to lure the snake out of its hole, and the snake came out on its own.”

“Indeed, it’s a good thing.”

Yan Sanhe nodded. “From another angle, it proves Wu Guanyue and his son are definitely still alive.”

Xie Zhifei: “They’re hiding right beside us, very close, or perhaps spying on us.”

Yan Sanhe nodded again. “Precisely so.”

Pei Xiao looked at one, then the other. “But… you still haven’t said what we should do next?”

Xie Zhifei looked at Yan Sanhe with indescribable eyes for a good while. “Yan Sanhe, what do you say we should do?”

Let me think!

I need to think carefully!

Yan Sanhe turned around, looking at the distant green mountains and white clouds, remaining silent for a long time before speaking.

“Rather than searching the Great Qi like finding a needle in a haystack, I think we should grab onto this thread of a clue—how about one hidden, one revealed?”

Xie Zhifei and Pei Xiao both suddenly looked at her.

Pei Xiao: “How hidden, how revealed?”

Yan Sanhe: “Wu Guanyue and his son are the perpetrators of the Zheng family massacre. Nanning Prefecture definitely has portraits of them.”

Pei Xiao: “And then?”

Yan Sanhe: “Taking their portraits, have Buyan and Zhu Qing secretly investigate at Guanyin Chan Temple. That’s ‘hidden.'”

Pei Xiao: “And ‘revealed’?”

Yan Sanhe enunciated each word: “Show goodwill toward Wu Guanyue and his son.”

Hearing this, Xie Zhifei felt as if struck by lightning. Before Pei Xiao could ask, he blurted out, “How do we show goodwill?”

“Find a way to tell them we’re not Embroidered Uniform Guards, nor do we represent the Great Hua court.”

Yan Sanhe: “We have no ill will toward the father and son. We just want to fulfill an old lady’s wish.”

Xie Zhifei’s face turned green. “How do we tell them?”

Yan Sanhe slowly turned around, her eyes looking toward Pei Xiao. “You go.”

“Me?”

Pei Xiao thought to himself: Divine sorceress, what joke are you making? I don’t have three heads and six arms, how could I possibly…

A thought suddenly struck his mind.

Pei Xiao’s eyes widened as large as a frog’s. “Yan Sanhe, you mean?”