Chapter 332: His Confession 1

Hearing that Qi Qingyao was back, the three little kids who were sleeping got up immediately. They ran to the hall to wrap their arms around Qi Qingyao’s legs. They were all behaving very cuddly.

“Mommy, you’re back.” Erniu reached out for a hug.

Qi Qingyao smiled and asked, “How have you been these two days? Have you been good?”

Erniu pursed her lips and said, “I was very good!”

“You really are mommy’s obedient child!” Qi Qingyao exclaimed. Erniu nodded. Her face was tender, like a cute little bun.

After Erniu was given a hug, Dabao and Xiaobao rushed forward, wanting to get theirs as well.

Qi Qingyao hugged all three of her little kids, taking in their milky scents. Realizing something, she let go of them immediately and said seriously, “I want to take a hot bath!! ”

The children, “…!!”

Was it the time to say something like this? It was obvious that the most important thing to do now was to give them hugs!

Qi Qingyao quickly ordered the servants to prepare hot water. When it was ready, she took her bath comfortably. After the soak, she changed her clothes and walked out, saying refreshingly, “It feels great after taking a bath.”

The children were holding bowls at the door, looking as if they were waiting for everyone to have a meal together.

Qi Qingyao smiled.

She went to have breakfast with the kids. Although it was technically just breakfast, there was a large table full of dishes. Si Jin scooped some dishes for her from time to time while he just ate plain congee! After Qi Qingyao was done with her meal, she rubbed her belly and sat on her chair in a daze.

The children were a little clingy after eating.

They wanted to sit together with Qi Qingyao.

Qi Qingyao was not sure whether to laugh or cry right now.

Xiaobao said earnestly, “We’ve never been apart from mommy for so many days! Dabao and Erniu miss mommy a lot.”

“Don’t you miss me?” Qi Qingyao patted the little guy on the head leisurely.

Xiaobao tightened his lips awkwardly; he lowered his eyes and whispered, “I do.”

Qi Qingyao played with the kids until noon before they got a little tired. They told her that they wanted to take a nap. After Qi Qingyao coaxed them to sleep, she walked to the side and picked up the arrow that was removed from Lu Yan’s chest. She looked at the arrow for a while and brought it with her as she went to Lu Yan’s courtyard.

As soon as she entered, she saw Lu Yan sitting on the soft couch in the main room, meditating. Qi Qingyao raised her eyebrows and said, “It’s better for your body to rest more. It’s good for healing.”

Lu Yan was now busy drinking tea and he did not respond to her words. He just looked at the arrow in Qi Qingyao’s hand and said, “The arrow in your hand is the arrow from that day, right?”

Qi Qingyao responded affirmatively. She then stepped forward enthusiastically and plopped down onto one of the chairs. She handed him the arrow and said, “Since you don’t want to rest, let’s discuss it.”

Lu Yan said briefly, “I asked Dong Jing about it already. The trail broke off the moment your investigation reached Na Lanjie of Wushuang City.”

Qi Qingyao asked, “What do you think?”

Lu Yan was silent for a long time, then he said, “Na Lanjie of Wushuang City… If he’s the one making a move, there is no chance of survival.”

“Through the elimination method, it could only be him,” Qi Qingyao said calmly.

Lu Yan’s eyebrows drooped—he was being dead serious. He elaborated, “His arrows and arrowheads are poisonous. It’s a special poison from the ghost organization. Once the arrow hits, his target will definitely die.”

Qi Qingyao said solemnly, “But according to the information given by Dong Jing that day, it is impossible for a retainer of the Shen Family from Eastern Ling, Gao Zhongchan, and the Southern Ming head of imperial guard, Wuying, to try and assassinate me. That only leaves the man that you guys mentioned, Na Lanjie.”

“I’ve thought about this too.” Lu Yan pondered for a moment. His weary eyebrows still carried a hint of seriousness. “It is impossible for the people in the Southern Ming Imperial Palace to come to Qingzhou City. The retainer of the Shen Family from Eastern Ling will not come to Qingzhou City as well. However, if it were really Na Lanjie, no one would’ve ever survived that.”

“…” ‘Is this person that strong?’ Qi Qingyao was silent.

Lu Yan said unhurriedly, “He is the top archer of Xuanwu Administration. He is responsible for long-range sniping assassinations. When Na Lanjie strikes, there will be no survivors.”

Qi Qingyao muttered, “But you survived. Could he be in a bad mood and made a mistake?”

“Even if the arrow is not poisonous, with an attack from a rank-nine archer, whether it’s me or you, once the arrow lands, it is impossible to survive,” Lu Yan said anxiously. He coughed and said with cold eyes, “I am acutely aware of my own injuries. The assailant didn’t mean to kill. The force of the arrow was well-controlled.”

“…” Qi Qingyao was silent.

A chill flickered in Lu Yan’s eyes as he said, “If this hidden party tried to assassinate you, there is only one problem.”

Qi Qingyao noticed that he paused again. “Go on, speak. You’re making me very anxious.”

Lu Yan looked at her with half a smile. After a while, he said, “Their intentions were not to kill you.”

Qi Qingyao blinked. Smiling blankly, she said, “They sent a rank-nine archer for the assassination, but the purpose was not to kill. What’s their goal then?”

Lu Yan said, “This, I have to ask you.”

“Ask me???” How the heck would she know?

Lu Yan raised his eyebrows and his eyes darkened. He said, “There might be two reasons. First, the other party wanted you to be injured but he didn’t want you dead. The arrow landed on my chest. Based on the height calculation, if I didn’t block it, that arrow would have probably struck your shoulder!”

“…” Qi Qingyao fell into deep thought.

Lu Yan continued, “If he just wanted to injure you without killing you, then the purpose of this arrow is probably… as bait.”

“Hmm?” ‘To bait who?’

Lu Yan’s voice was very soft as he spoke slowly, “Si Jin is always by your side and the boy’s skills are, at the moment, a mystery. It is rumored that he is of rank nine.”

“He said he’s rank eight,” Qi Qingyao murmured.

Lu Yan smiled half-heartedly. “After collecting the corpses, the corpse collector from that day checked the injuries of all the dead. It is said that there was no indication that the horse-faced boy suffered any injuries at the time. If he’s rank eight, it would seem that he overcame the assassination attempts that night a little too easily. But if he’s rank nine, it would be odd that there isn’t a single bit of information about him in the world.” As Lu Yan spoke, he quietly observed Qi Qingyao’s expression, trying to see if she knew anything.

Qi Qingyao did not know what Lu Yan was thinking. She was still analyzing it very seriously. “So, what you mean is that someone wants to test his prowess using Na Lanjie’s arrow?”

She did not seem to know anything. Lu Yan sighed and said, “It’s possible. But one thing that the other party didn’t consider is that I was next to you that day and Si Jin was accompanying the children to buy candied haws.” It was the other party’s miscalculation.

Qi Qingyao raised her eyebrows. “If Si Jin was by my side that day, and if he is rank nine…”

Before she finished speaking, Lu Yan said firmly, “Wait, something’s wrong.”

He spoke too loudly at that moment and it immediately affected the injury on his chest. The pain made him wince.

Qi Qingyao, “?”

Lu Yan pondered for a while and said, “If they were trying to test whether or not Si Jin is rank nine, it is unreasonable for them to use a similar rank nine archer to test it.” An archer’s long-range snipe was not a melee attack. A rank eight archer would be enough to test if Si Jin was a rank-nine. It would be overkill to send a rank-nine archer. “The Ghost Administration dispatched their top rank-nine archer from the Xuanwu Administration. Everyone knows that once a rank-nine archer strikes, no one could survive it. Even if the target was a top rank-nine powerhouse, it is impossible to stop the arrow of the rank-nine archer! The only one who can stop the arrow is a grand master-level expert.”

“You mean…” Some parts of the picture were beginning to form in Qi Qingyao’s mind.

Lu Yan’s eyes narrowed into slits and he said nonchalantly, “The Zhaixing Administration can’t find any relevant information on Si Jin. If he is rank nine, then he is the only rank nine with no existing information or history. However, he is also currently in Qingzhou City! The Zhaixing Administration might be suspecting that Si Jin is a grand master expert and that he was the one behind the Lingyun Restaurant massacre that day. So, the Ghost Administration sent the top archer of the Xuanwu Administration to test him. It turned out that things went awry… and they did not get to test him.”

Qi Qingyao jumped up from the chair suddenly, “Si Jin is a grand master-level powerhouse? How could it be possible?”

‘You’re talking about grand master-level.

‘Are you freaking kidding me?’

Lu Yan motioned for her to sit down. He said, “I also feel it’s impossible. There are only seven grand masters in the world. Grand masters are not as common as cabbages! Even I am only a rank six. Think about it, rank nines are already very rare, let alone grand masters. How old is Si Jin? It’s impossible for him to be at the grand master level.”

After she listened to him, Qi Qingyao said, “The people from the Ghost Administration are crazy.”

Lu Yan raised his eyebrows and remained silent.

‘How could the people of the Ghost Administration be this delusional?’

‘Even though the Zhaixing Administration could not find out information of Si Jin, Si Jin had told Qi Qingyao that he was rank eight. However, during that battle, Si Jin showed the strength of rank nine. What’s even going on?’

‘Could it be that… he really has the strength of a grand master?’

However, Lu Yan immediately denied this possibility.

It was most likely because Si Jin looked like he was only seventeen or eighteen years old.

How could a child of seventeen or eighteen years old be a grand master? The Ghost Administration must be mistaken!

Before Qi Qingyao and Lu Yan were done with their conversation, Steward Zhang came to report that someone was looking for her outside.

Qi Qingyao walked out while asking who it was.

Steward Zhang said it was the Head Grand Secretariat.

Qi Qingyao, “??”

‘Who is the Head Grand Secretariat!?’

As she was about to ask the question, when she suddenly recalled that Jiang Yeqian might be this Head Grand Secretariat…

However, what could have made the Head Grand Secretariat come to the Qi Residence so publicly… What did he come here for?

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