Chapter 604 - 607: Coming Prepared
The rafter was barely four inches wide. A normal adult man lying up there was in constant danger of falling.
But Li Ji lay there perfectly steady.
He propped his head on his hand, his dark eyes cast downward.
From this angle, he had a perfect view of Hua Manman on the bed.
Their eyes met through the gloom of the night.
Hua Manman couldn’t help but ask, "You’re not planning on sleeping on that rafter all night, are you?"
Li Ji replied, "Mm."
Hua Manman couldn’t stand it.
’How could anyone sleep up there? What if he accidentally falls?’
She relented, offering, "Why don’t you sleep on the bed instead?"
’Even though I’m not used to sharing a bed, the circumstances are special. I can bear with it.’
But Li Ji didn’t move.
He said slowly.
"Back when I was on campaign, conditions were far harsher than this. Just sleeping on a rafter is nothing to me."
Despite what he said, Hua Manman still felt guilty.
Li Ji saw what she was thinking and said with a half-smile.
"If I were to actually sleep in the same bed as you, I can’t guarantee I wouldn’t do something to you."
’The woman I love is lying right beside me, her guard completely down. If I didn’t have any ideas, I wouldn’t even be a man.’
The moment she heard that, Hua Manman immediately dismissed the idea of sharing a bed with him.
She rolled onto her back and pulled the blanket up higher.
The room fell silent.
Just when Li Ji thought she had fallen asleep, he suddenly heard her ask a question.
"Why did you come to Lingxi City? Was it for me?"
Li Ji chuckled. "I was starting to think you wouldn’t ask."
How could Hua Manman not ask?
In fact, the question had popped into her head the moment she saw Li Ji.
But she was always with Yue Niang and never had a chance to speak with him alone, so she couldn’t ask him.
But now, late at night, it was quiet, and they were the only two in the room.
It was the perfect time to ask.
Li Ji gazed at her intently, speaking each word with deliberate care.
"You abandoned me once. I will not give you a second chance to do so.
Hua Manman, it doesn’t matter if you only ran to Lingxi City.
Even if you run to the ends of the earth, I will hunt you down and drag you back."
Hua Manman’s heart began to race. Her fingers, clutching the blanket, tightened unconsciously, wrinkling the soft fabric.
She defended herself in a small voice.
"I didn’t run away."
Li Ji said, "I know. My father is the one who abducted you. He’s the one who wronged you. You don’t have to be angry. Someone will deal with him when he gets back."
Hua Manman asked, "You and your father were finally reunited. You must be happy, right?"
Li Ji sneered.
"I was happy, at first. But now... not necessarily."
’Not only had his father kidnapped his wife, he’d even given her money to hire prostitutes.
Hah. Happy?
The fact that he hadn’t already gotten into a fistfight with his father was the absolute limit of his self-control.’
Hua Manman was about to say more, but she heard Li Ji whisper.
"Someone’s coming."
Hua Manman’s heart clenched.
’I was so engrossed in our conversation I’d almost forgotten about the assassins.’
She immediately fell silent, not daring to make another sound. Her hand, hidden beneath the blanket, gripped her dagger tightly.
Someone gently pushed on the door from the outside.
But since the door was barred with a wooden bolt, it was stuck and couldn’t be opened.
A moment later, a thin bamboo tube poked through the paper window and into the room. A faint wisp of white smoke was blown out from it.
It was knockout smoke, designed to make anyone who inhaled it go limp and powerless.
Li Ji and Hua Manman immediately covered their mouths and noses and held their breath.
Once the smoke had mostly filled the room, a thin dagger was slipped through the door’s seam and pushed upward.
The wooden bolt behind the door was nudged open, little by little.
The door was pushed open from the outside, and four masked assassins in black crept in silently.
They carried weapons like swords and sabers and had hemp ropes coiled at their waists.
A single glance was enough to tell they had come prepared.
Hua Manman kept her eyes tightly shut, feigning sleep, but her ears were pricked, listening intently for footsteps.
The footsteps drew closer and closer.
She knew the assassins were approaching her.
Having learned their lesson from the previous night, the assassins had a clear division of labor this time.
Two of them headed for the bed while the other two remained at the door, both to keep watch and to provide backup.
The two assassins stopped beside the bed. Looking at Hua Manman, who appeared to be sound asleep, they guessed the smoke had rendered her unable to resist.
But just in case, they still prepared to hold their blades to Hua Manman’s neck.
Just then, Hua Manman’s eyes flew open, and she forcefully flung the blanket forward.
The assassins, caught completely off guard, jumped in surprise.
The large blanket enveloped both of them.
Hua Manman seized the chance to leap out of bed and flee.
Seeing this, the two assassins at the door immediately drew their weapons and rushed toward her.
Hua Manman snatched the bamboo basket from the low cabinet beside the bed and dumped all the soybeans inside onto the floor.
Soybeans scattered everywhere. Anyone who stepped on them was bound to slip.
Unable to keep their footing, the assassins simply used their Qinggong to leap into the air, flying toward Hua Manman in unison.
As they flew, they happened to spot Li Ji, sitting leisurely on the rafter.
Only then did they realize there was another person hidden in the room!
They were horrified.
They had been on full alert since entering, yet they hadn’t sensed any presence besides their own and Hua Manman’s.
This showed just how masterful the man on the rafter was at concealing his presence.
Li Ji hooked one hand onto the rafter. Then, as if kicking balls, he sent the four assassins flying backward with a kick for each.
Four successive screams echoed through the room.
Just hearing the sounds made Hua Manman wince in pain.
She rubbed her arms. "You didn’t kill them, did you?"
Li Ji landed steadily on the table. "No."
He hadn’t used his full strength. The four assassins were likely only seriously injured and wouldn’t die anytime soon.
However, many assassins carried poison to commit suicide upon failure and prevent information leaks.
So, without delay, Li Ji leaped over and knocked out the four assassins one by one.
By now, Li Liao, who was in the adjacent room, had also dealt with the masked assassins who had come for him.
Hearing the commotion in Hua Manman’s room, he went to check, running into Yue Niang at the door, who had come for the same reason.
The inn’s attendant had also rushed over to see what was wrong.
Yue Niang had heard the screams and was terrified something had happened to the Young Master.
She was in such a hurry that she didn’t even knock, simply pushing the door open and rushing inside.
"Young Master, are you... AH!"
Her feet slipped from under her, and she fell to the ground in a heap.
The inn attendant who followed her in also slipped and took a tumble.
Clutching his bruised backside, he wiped his other hand on the floor, felt the soybeans, and couldn’t help but ask,
"Who would do something so malicious? Scattering soybeans all over the floor!"