Assassin A

All the way north.

When we arrived in the capital, there was a heavy snowfall.

The bustling streets and alleys are full of excitement because of the coming New Year.Those who sell fireworks and firecrackers, those who sell Spring Festival couplets and New Year pictures, and those who sell all kinds of new year goods, shouted one after another.

Fifteen got out of the car, with a look of panic on his face when he first arrived in Guidi, but there was still a little bit of joy in his eyes.Pretend to ask all the way and search all the way, doing enough gestures of looking around and scratching your head.

Finally, I stopped at the end of a noisy and dirty alley.

He raised his hand, trembling with excitement.He knocked heavily on the door panel three times, paused, and knocked lightly again twice.

The door creaked open.

A woman with a crooked leg was stunned, and the next moment she rushed forward crying: "Da Niu! Da Niu! Why did you come to Beijing? I miss my sister to death, Da Niu~~my brother! My sister can't think of it! I’m alive to see you~~Da Niu~~~”

The corner of Shiwu's mouth twitched invisibly, and he also wailed loudly: "Sister~~I miss you too! Woooooo~~"

There was a thin voice next to my ear: "How long shall we cry?"

Shiwu violently let go of the woman, with snot and tears all over his face, stumbled to the side of the carriage, grabbed his bundles, and said like a treasure: "Sister, I brought you something good. Where's brother-in-law?"

The woman also wiped away the tears from her face with her cuff, "Look at me, it's so cold that I'm chattering at the door! Come inside to warm up." She raised her eyes and smiled, inviting the handlebars to come in for a sip of hot tea .

The coachman brother loves this guest very much, and he never treats him like a real person along the way. Now that his brother and sister love each other deeply, how can he bother him if the family is reunited?

Say a few auspicious words and drive away.Daniu ran over and handed him a handful of copper coins, saying that he asked the eldest brother to find a small restaurant to drink wine to warm up before going on the road.

After the handlebar was connected, I was very grateful, and then I drove the car.

"Siblings" happily entered the house.

After letting my younger brother to the warm kang, a one-armed man came in with a pot of hot tea.

Shiwu grinned and cried again: "Brother-in-law~~I miss you~~"

Sister Hong had a kind face, crying and laughing, muttering: "This child! This child!" She rubbed Shiwu's shoulder with her hands, and beat her a few times from time to time.

The three of them cried together and groaned for a long time. Suddenly, Shiwu pushed the two of them away, wiped his face, "Okay, okay, the people have already withdrawn!" Then he grinned: "Sister Hong, don't attack so hard. I really brought you something good."

The woman's eyes were still red, but her expression had become sharp, "After finishing the work, you brought back two tails? You are getting more and more promising!"

The one-armed man also lowered his face, "Go away?"

Fifteen shook his head, "This time I'm just being suspicious, and those two people just escorted me along the way. After the new year, you two will find another place to live. This place has already been known, so be careful."

"Hmph, what you said is easy." Sister Hong limped and sat on the edge of the kang, beating her legs: "I and the fourth day of junior high school have only that little salary every month, and now they are useless wrecks. Is Xuanjiying willing to spend an extra fortune for us? Find another place to live? A joke!"

As Sister Hong waved her hand, the teacup in front of her turned into a hidden weapon.Fifteen dodged sideways and stretched out his arms to scoop it up. Like a gibbon, he grabbed the tea bowl back steadily, but the half-full tea in the bowl was not spilled at all.

"Sister Hong, you are still so pungent." With a bright smile, there was an indescribable taste in the extremely ordinary facial features, especially the curved curvature of the corners of the mouth, which was as bad as it could be.

Reaching out for the burden piled up in the corner of the kang, digging through it, taking out a small cloth bag and throwing it on the low table, with a bang.

"100 taels of gold, 30 taels each for the three of us, how about saving [-] taels to buy a real estate and decorate a new house?"

Proudly.

into the night.

Fifteen lay on the heated kang, wrapped tightly in a thin quilt.

Sister Hong and Fourth Brother are not greedy for money, but Xuanji Camp has always been harsh on disabled old assassins like them.Not to mention not being able to leave the capital for life, with that little salary every month, if you don’t save some savings for your daily work, it will be really difficult.

But compared to those colleagues who were caught and tortured, or died without a whole body in the end, Sister Hong and the others still had a better end...

This time, with the one hundred taels of gold gifted by the King of Qingnan, it can be regarded as giving them something to rely on in old age.

He turned over and pushed the dagger under the pillow inward.

30 taels per person, whether it's sister Hong or fourth brother, together with himself, he can live a prosperous life in the future, right?

From the looks of it, it was a pretty good job.

I went to bed after reminiscing about the good wine and food of Qingnan Palace again.

early in the morning.The heated kang had already turned cold, and Fifteen curled up in the quilt to sleep soundly, and was suddenly awakened by a small broom flying across.

"Get up! Those two tails haven't left yet, go out with me to buy new year's goods."

Fifteen sat up in silence, picked up the "weapon" that beat him from the quilt, looked at it, and tossed it casually, and the small broom landed firmly on the corner of the kang.

The king of Qingnan is a bastard!How long will these two spies follow?

Shiwu followed behind Sister Hong, with a happy smile on her face after the reunion of relatives.

Sister pointed and told him to look at this and that.Just use him as an old hat from a foreign country to Beijing, and introduce various old shops in the capital, selling candies, pastries, cooked food, sauce meat, and groceries.

He very cooperatively acted as if the old farmer was not enough to go to the city, "Sister, we are rich now, let's buy more delicious food and go home!"

Sister Hong smiled all over her face: "Okay! We haven't seen Hun Xing for many days."

After shopping around, Fifteen turned into a big old cow, on the shoulders, on the arms, on the hands, or on the back or carrying or carrying, carrying the big and small bags home.

Sister Hong also went to a tailor's shop, and specially chose some decent new clothes for the father and two, while she pulled a piece of gorgeous fabric and sent it to the tailor's shop.

Everything is done in accordance with the model of the poor who finally have money in hand, and work hard.

After five consecutive days like this, the spies from the Southern Region finally withdrew in the first small year.Fifteen packed up his things, rolled up a small bundle, and planned to return to Xuanji Camp.

Sister Hong stopped him: "Don't forget to take your gold."

Fifteen turned around and smiled: "You and the fourth brother will keep it for me first. I will pick up the flowers on the day I come down." But, he may not have the opportunity to enjoy the money...

Sister Hong stood there leaning against the door frame.As the veteran of the Xuanji Camp, the only survivor of the eight "roses" back then, he knew the meaning of the phrase "the day I came down".

There was a layer of softness between the sharp eyebrows, and the voice was still cold: "Okay, you go." Turning his head back to the room, his eyes were wet.Sitting at the table lost in thought for a while, he suddenly called out: "Fourth brother! Come on, let's add up."

The former fourth day came out of the room, and sat silently opposite Ah Hong. The dim light outside the window quietly hit the man's knife-like face.

Ah Hong glanced at him.This was also the No. 30 assassin in the Xuanji camp back then!Now my shoulders are collapsed, my back is bent, and I am in my [-]s, with faint gray hair on my temples.

"He didn't take the gold?"

"No."

The hands on the table trembled slightly on the fourth day of junior high school, and he spoke with a bit of choking: "This kid was only so old when he first entered the camp. He was 14 years old and looked like a monkey. I, I didn't expect, I didn't expect One day I will live by his light, I..."

Ah Hong's face became softer, and she comforted softly: "Fourth brother, you are also a master of fifteen, and he should respect you. It's just that there are so many people... there are not many now."

On the fourth day of the lunar new year, he covered his eyes with his only hand and turned his head away, whimpering like an old and seriously injured beast in his throat.

A hazy smile floated on Ah Hong's face, and she rubbed her broken leg, "The days to come will be better, just, better."

It was already dark, among a group of vendors cleaning up their stalls, Shiwu walked through the alleys familiarly, and finally turned into a small door of a residential house.

The narrow yard was empty except for a small stone mill for grinding beans.

Entering the main room, there was a thin old man sitting at the table with a small basket in front of him, squinting his eyes and carefully sorting soybeans.Throw the good ones into the basin, and hold the bad ones in the palm of your hand.

Fifteen bowed respectfully, "Second Uncle, hello."

The old man picked up two beans with his right hand and flicked them, and Shiwu turned around to dodge them.Looking up again, the old man still had the same bean-picking behavior, as if nothing had happened.

Fifteen nodded at him, then raised the curtain and went into the inner room with a small bundle in his hands.

Walking to the closet in the room, he probed and twisted an inconspicuous earthen jar next to it, and the closet creaked and moved a distance of one person's width away.He entered sideways, turned the mechanism inside, and the only light source behind him closed.In the dark and secret passage in front of my eyes, there are lights like beans every ten steps.

There is still a trap at the end of the secret passage, open it, and the heat and the smell of the food will blow your face.

kitchen.

The cooks all pretended not to see a person jumping out from the corner where the miscellaneous grains were piled up. They were cooking vegetables and washing rice, but a burly man who was chopping bones with a knife raised his two fingers and gestured at him.

Seeing Shiwu clenched his right hand on his chest and stretched out his five fingers in reply, the man lowered his head and continued to chop his flesh and bones.

After leaving the kitchen, the world suddenly opened up.

There are pines and cypresses in the spacious courtyard, and the snow has been swept clean.The servants passing the dinner shuttled in the corridor. Although there were many people, none of them dared to make a noise, and they all hurried past with their heads down.

Walk along the corridor into a certain side courtyard. There are no flowers and plants in the courtyard, and there are neat huts on three sides, with a single door and a single window.

"You're back~~" Thirty'er happily ran out of a certain room, "Did you bring me pine nut candy?" After saying that, she reached into his arms and fumbled.

Fifteen left him a pair of white eyes, pulled the hairy hand away, pulled out a paper bag from the small bundle, and stuffed it: "Here!"

Thirty'er smiled brightly: "Master Li ordered you to call back immediately when you come back." He tilted his head and said playfully, "This time you did a good job, the Lord may reward you. Don't forget me if you get something good!"

"Well."

Without further ado, he went straight back to his room.There is a wooden sign above the door frame: fifteen.

Put down the burden and go to answer.When I went out, two figures in the yard jumped up and down, "This is my thank you from Shiwu, if you want to eat, go buy it yourself!"

The other refused to let go: "Fart, it's clear that you blackmailed Fifteen. It's like this every time, don't you think I don't know? Anyone who sees the fraud will have a share!"

These are the most noisy second treasures in Xuanji Camp, one is nineteen and the other is thirty.Originally, only one Thirty'er was enough to give these assassins a headache, but the little Nineteen who was added later was even more troublesome than Thirty'er.

Well, the other 28 have long been used to it.

When Fifteen walked out of the side courtyard silently leaning against the wall, people from other rooms came out one after another. They all stood aside with their arms around each other, quietly watching the two fight back and forth, and occasionally commented: "Good fight!"

People from the Xuanji camp do not need to be notified when they enter Lord Li's yard.

Seeing him coming, the steward next to the lord just nodded slightly, raised his finger and pointed in the direction of the bedroom, "The prince is taking a bath."

Master Li is none other than King Geng Li Zan.Fifteen has always wondered why he asked all the assassins and spies in the Xuanji Camp to call him "Master" instead of the title of prince.

However, this is the master's business and has nothing to do with him.

Li Zan never needs to be attended to when taking a bath, so Shiwu stood outside the door, cupping his fists: "My lord."

"Fifteen? Come in."

It was freezing cold outside, and there was fine residual snow blown up by the north wind, while the house was as warm as spring with steaming water.

Li Zan's voice was gentle and gentle, "I've been on this trip for several months, it's been hard work."

Fifteen knelt on one knee, lowered his head and replied, "Thank you for your concern."

"Why didn't the two people who fell on you get rid of them on the way?"

"Returning to my lord, the subordinate was not exposed in the Qingnan Palace. The Qingnan King only regarded his subordinate as a tea farmer, and happened to save his life."

"Well, that's fine." With the sound of splashing water, Li Zan finished bathing.After a while, she came out from behind the gauze curtain, only a thin silk gown was loosely wrapped around her body.

Fifteen's head hangs lower, only a pair of bare feet and the hem of the clothes sweeping over the insteps can be seen.

Li Zan went to the soft couch next to him and lay down, "Stand up and answer."

During the conversation, Master Li only asked some trivial questions about King Qingnan himself.

For example, how many young masters there are in the mansion, who they are, and their family history.Whether the legendary Qingnan palace night banquet is really singing and dancing all night, the terrain of the palace, the daily expenses of the palace, etc.On the contrary, he didn't mention a word of the spying information. As for how Fifteen rescued Qingnan King, he didn't even ask how he got the list.

Fifteen naturally means that the master will answer whatever he asks.

Li Zan was leaning on the couch, his wet long hair loosely loose, suddenly raised his finger and pointed to the soft cloth towel on the shelf beside him: "Wipe my hair dry."

Squinting to enjoy the fifteenth service, she smiled slightly: "In Xuanji camp, you and the first day of junior high school are the most worry-free for me, and I keep in mind the errands that I didn't explain. People around these details will definitely not pay attention , as everyone knows, it is often here to spy on a person's truth and falsehood."

As he said that, he stretched out his hand to hold Shiwu's wrist, and looked up at him: "Did you know that Second Uncle said that among the assassins in the Xuanji Camp, those who survived the first day of the junior high school could not hide from Shiwu?"

Carefully observe the expression of this spy.I saw that he was still wiping the long hair in his hands unhurriedly, even his eyes were as calm as a pool of stagnant water, and he didn't jump for joy after hearing the praise at all... Very good.

"After two days of rest, you will replace Xiao Nineteen to monitor Cen Shilang from the Ministry of Industry."

"Yes!"

Li Zan closed his eyes and stopped talking.

Fifteen stood behind him and continued to brush his hair carefully.Looking up slightly, you can see two rows of wet eyelashes that are curly and long, and a high and straight bridge of the nose.

In fact, every time he saw Mr. Li, every part of his body was tense.Not only because this person is his master, not only because this person controls his life and death, not only because he is loyal to this person...

Replace Xiao Nineteen?So, where is Little Nineteen going?He made a mistake?Crashed an errand?Or... just disappear like those other spies who disappeared inexplicably?

The hair was already half-dried, and Shiwu used a wide-toothed comb to gently smooth it through twice, and then he clenched his fist at Li Zan: "My lord, this subordinate will leave."

However, Li Zan grabbed the corner of his clothes, half-closed his eyes, and smiled on his lips: "Fifteen, it's good that you're back."

Fifteen backed away slowly, watching his clothes being pulled out slowly between Li Zan's fingers, until he was completely evacuated, then he clasped his fists again and left the room.

I trembled all over when I went out the door, I felt goose bumps on my head...