AUBTN -Chapter 165 The Assassin

Before the two of them could even gather the scattered fragments of their emotions, a soaking-wet errand boy came stumbling into Wutong Garden, a terrified scream tearing through the early morning calm.

“Something’s happened! Miss Su, Miss Yu! Something terrible has happened!”

Both of them felt their hearts drop.

“What’s the panic? What happened?” Yu Qing suddenly stood up, but rising too quickly made her vision blacken for a moment.

“Captain Wan… is dead!”

Wan Niang was the security captain of the guild that Yu Qing had personally appointed just a few days ago.

She was skilled in martial arts and known for her straightforward and righteous nature.

Just yesterday afternoon, she had laughed with Yu Qing, promising to guard the guild’s entrance so well that not even a fly could get in.

“Where?” Su Hewan’s voice was cold as ice.

“Right… right in the dead-end alley behind the guild!”

By the time the two arrived at the scene, a circle of onlookers had already gathered, pointing and whispering.

The officials from Jingzhao Prefecture had not yet arrived, and the scene was chaotic.

Wan Niang lay on her back in the sewage-filled alley, eyes wide open, unseeing in death.

Her body bore more than ten cuts, and the blood had long since been washed pale by the rain.

Most shocking of all was her right palm.

The flesh had been gouged away, leaving a strange, bright-red pattern carved into it—like a blooming rose.

“Ugh…”

Yu Qing glanced at it and her stomach turned violently. She clutched her mouth and rushed to the corner, retching dryly.

Su Hewan bit her lip hard.

She forced herself to squat down, eyes fixed on the rose symbol.

At this moment, anger overwhelmed fear.

In this era, was it so difficult for a woman to do anything?

First there was Lady Zhao pushed into a well, now Wan Niang brutally killed in the street.

Did the dirty hands lurking in the shadows really think that by killing the leaders and scaring the rest, these women would obediently return home to mind their families, just like before, allowing themselves to be butchered at will?

“Wan Wan…”

Yu Qing, pale from vomiting, steadied herself against the wall. But in her eyes, a spark of fire had ignited.

It was the unyielding anger of a modern woman.

“I’m not going back right now.”

Wiping her mouth, her voice trembled slightly, but her words were firm.

“At least until we catch this bastard, I’m not leaving.”

Su Hewan stood up and supported the wavering Yu Qing.

Their eyes met in midair, reading the resolve in each other.

What did love matter?

What did men matter?

In the face of a life soaked in blood, all those trivial matters of romance seemed so absurdly petty.

Su Hewan took a deep breath and glanced toward the alley entrance, where two carriages had just stopped.

They bore the insignias of the Eastern Depot and the Jinyiwei.

“Let’s go,” Su Hewan said coldly.

“Time to deal with those two bastard men.”

At the alley entrance.

Shen Jue and Lu Yan had just dismounted, their expressions taut with tension.

Last night, they had heard the breakup declaration in the corner and spent the entire night in dread.

This morning, upon hearing that the case involved the guild, they had rushed over without stopping, fearing that these two ladies might do something rash in their anger—or even vanish entirely.

Su Hewan and Yu Qing walked straight toward them.

Though pale, their eyes were startlingly bright.

“Lord Lu, Captain Shen,” Su Hewan said, her tone strictly professional, with no trace of personal emotion, “may we speak privately?”

Lu Yan froze for a moment, instinctively glancing at Yu Qing.

【What are you looking at! I don’t have time to fall in love with you right now! Solve the case quickly, or I won’t be able to swallow this anger!】

Yu Qing’s thoughts exploded in Lu Yan’s mind like a rapid-fire volley.

Lu Yan felt a chill in his heart, but instead of being angry, he exhaled in relief.

Good. She hasn’t lost all hope yet.

The four of them arrived at a secluded private room in a nearby teahouse.

Su Hewan immediately spread out a handkerchief, revealing the rose symbol she had just copied.

“Wan Niang is a trained fighter. Normally, three to five ordinary men couldn’t get close to her. To have slaughtered her like this, the opponent has to be a top-tier expert,” Su Hewan analyzed calmly.

“This symbol… have you seen it before?”

Shen Jue, who had been staring at Su Hewan’s slightly reddened eyes, shifted his gaze to the symbol. His pupils constricted sharply.

“Western Continent Blood Rose.”

Shen Jue’s voice was dark.

“It’s an assassin organization active along the Western Continent’s border. They’re ruthless, specializing in contracts to assassinate royal relatives and high-ranking officials. But ten years ago, the late emperor sent an army to wipe them out. By all rights, this organization should have been destroyed long ago.”

“Destroyed ten years ago?” Su Hewan immediately caught the key point.

“Then why are they appearing in the capital now?”

“Unless…” Lu Yan’s brows knitted tightly as he picked up the thought.

“Unless some slipped through back then and were taken in by someone.”

The air froze instantly.

In the minds of all four, almost simultaneously, the same name surfaced.

The Eldest Princess, Li Yunxi.

She had married into the Western Continent back then!

And had stayed there for a full eight years.

“If it’s her, then everything makes sense.”

Yu Qing ground her teeth in anger.

“No wonder that woman is so arrogant—she’s been raising a pack of mad dogs!”

“No evidence.”

Shen Jue coldly cut through Yu Qing’s fury.

“Li Yunxi’s status is noble. Without concrete proof, even if we slap this rose symbol in front of the emperor, she could claim someone framed her.”

“Then we’ll make the evidence ourselves.”

Su Hewan suddenly lifted her head, a calculating gleam in her icy eyes.

She looked at Shen Jue, then at Lu Yan.

“Since they want to see us collapse, want the business association to fail, and want us betrayed by everyone…”

A cold, thin smile curled at the corner of Su Hewan’s mouth.

“Then we’ll put on a show for them.”

【If they want to wipe us out completely, don’t blame us for fishing with a trap. When it comes to acting, who can outplay Yu Qing—the fugitive Oscar-worthy actress?】

Hearing Su Hewan’s thoughts, Shen Jue’s previously gloomy mood unexpectedly lightened a bit.

He raised an eyebrow. “How do we act?”

Yu Qing slammed her hand on the table, instantly getting into character.

“Isn’t it simple? From now on, we’re done with each other! I’m closing the business, I won’t make money anymore, I’ll just be a cowardly turtle and roll out of the capital! As soon as I’m alone, that mad dog won’t be able to resist coming after me.”

Lu Yan’s expression changed. “No! This is too dangerous!”

He absolutely wouldn’t agree to use Yu Qing as bait.

“Master Lu,” Yu Qing rolled her eyes.

“You can’t catch the wolf without the child. Besides…”

She suddenly leaned close to Lu Yan, lowering her voice and growling fiercely: “If you can’t even protect me, then you might as well take off that hat of Commander of the Embroidered Guards and use it as a ball to kick!”

That very afternoon, the capital was rocked by two shocking pieces of news.

The first: The Women’s Business Association, shaken by a murder, faced widespread panic. President Yu Qing, overwhelmed by the pressure, publicly announced the dissolution of the association and declared she would liquidate its assets and leave this place of heartbreak.

The second: Commander of the Embroidered Guards Lu Yan had a major quarrel with Yu Qing in the street. Lu Yan strode away in anger, while Yu Qing crouched on the ground, crying her heart out.