Quite a few of the townsmen were startled by Jiang Xiaoyi’s beast-like roar, hurrying towards that alley. They also saw the crazily running Lin Xi.
Lin Xi didn’t have time to greet these people. In just a few minutes of time, he already jumped into the ash-colored small alley.
The instant he saw Jiang Xiaoyi hug the woman, Lin Xi’s mind relaxed a bit. However, when he saw the blood on this woman’s chest, and then at her eyes that were growing more and more dim, his expression became more and more cold.
His entire body shook, seeing Bian Linghan who ran back from the alley ahead.
“What exactly happened?”
The instant she saw Lin Xi, Bian Linghan immediately shouted this.
Her expression was extremely pale. Even though Jiang Xiaoyi previously said that he didn’t know this woman, from his current pain, she knew that his feelings for this woman weren’t that simple.
Jiang Xiaoyi’s roar and his current appearance left her filled with hidden anguish.
She didn’t know what exactly happened, why this woman would be stabbed before her and Jiang Xiaoyi’s eyes. However, when her words just sounded, she immediately knew that they were unsuitable, knowing that Lin Xi similarly needed an explanation right now. As such, she quickly said with a pale face, “I just arrived in East Port Town today… Jiang Xiaoyi said that he saw this girl whose face was covered in scars before, seemingly having some hidden troubles which were hard to mention. We decided to follow this girl to ask her what is going on, but when we entered this alley, this woman was instead already stabbed.”
Lin Xi nodded slightly, expressing that he heard her clearly.
He already recognized who this woman was.This woman was one of the girls rescued during the Silver Hook Lane case.
Back then, all of these girls had given oral confessions in the Enforcer Office one by one, he carefully reviewed all of them as well. This girl whose face was covered in scars was named Wang Simin, someone from Deereast City’s Wide Root Town. Because of this woman’s confession, they were able to follow some clues and find more than ten officials and merchants involved in the case. Those officials and merchants involved were already convicted, tomorrow’s execution of Xu Chengfeng was merely the final tune to this Silver Hook Lane case.
The bloody scars on Wang Simin’s face and on her body were all created because of her strong nature, wounds received because she wasn’t willing to listen to Silver Hook Lane’s arrangements.
Lin Xi took into consideration that the women of this world regarded their chastity heavily, fearing that even if these women were rescued, they still might not have any places to go. That was why previously, he already made arrangements for the Enforcer Office to deal with the aftermath, having Du Weiqing inquire and explain things one by one in private. If they already couldn’t go back, then they would try to find a place for them to settle down.
Lin Xi understood extremely clearly that just like how Xu Ningshen definitely had supporters in Martial Sector, Silver Hook Lane case’s officials weren’t limited to these. However, without any concrete proof to examine, this case also already winding up, how could they be proven to have any relationship with this weak woman?
Why would anyone suddenly attack this woman?
“Am I becoming Conan here?”
He thought about how before he arrived at East Port Town and assumed office, East Port Town rarely had homicide cases, but now that he arrived in East Port Town, there were events of life and death wherever he went. Today was supposed to be a time of leisure, yet even this type of thing would appear. The somewhat ugly expressioned Lin Xi couldn’t help but speak some ‘nonsense’ again.
“Conan?” Bian Linghan was stunned, unable to understand Lin Xi’s intentions at all.
Lin Xi didn’t reply to her question, only immediately asking, “Did you see the one who attacked her?”
“I didn’t.” Bian Linghan shook her head. Just now, she also used the fastest speed to rush into the small alley where this young lady was, but that small alley was already completely empty by the time she arrived.
While shaking her head, she couldn’t help but feel a bit vexed… it was because right now, Lin Xi was still extremely calm. Normally, she admired Lin Xi’s cool-headedness greatly, but right now, when he encountered this type of thing, Lin Xi’s calmness instead made her couldn’t help but feel a bit angry.
“There should still be enough time.”
However, right at this moment, Lin Xi quietly said this, making her couldn’t help but look at Lin Xi’s face with shock.
“We’ll meet again in a bit.”
What left her even more indescribably shocked, making even Jiang Xiaoyi couldn’t help but suddenly raise his head was that Lin Xi said this.
“Return…”
Lin Xi took a deep breath. He looked at his two good friends, and then said this word. The ‘green roulette’ in his head completely moved.
Time returned to ten minutes ago.
…
Lin Xi and Xing Derong were still chatting happily. Xing Derong was currently consulting Lin Xi for guidance, asking about how to use less silver to purchase the large amounts of seasonal golden pomelo.
Under Auspicious Virtue’s father and son pair’s shocked gaze, Lin Xi stood up, picked up the wooden chest he used as a chair, and then carried it.
“I have something urgent I need to take care of, it might not take long. I must ask you two to wait for a bit here.”
As soon as his voice sounded, Lin Xi already pushed open the window, jumping out.
His head was slightly lowered as he looked into the distant alley, the summer sunlight a bit blinding.
His sense of time might be more accurate than anyone else’s in this world. He knew that right now, Bian Linghan and Jiang Xiaoyi should have just seen that girl in that alley, and right now, that assassin should also be hidden in that street, observing that woman’s activity. After around four minutes of time, that assassin should be waiting in that alley for that woman, completing the assassination.
He didn’t have that much time to spare, but he didn’t immediately hurry towards that alley, instead narrowing his eyes, staring at the blinding sunlight, carefully observing that alley.
Several breaths later, he moved quickly, first walking into a small shop that specialized in fishing nets, raincoats, conical bamboo hats, and other objects closest to him.
“Young Sir Lin!”
Under this shop boss’ pleasantly surprised cry, Lin Xi immediately made a gesture for him to not raise his voice, quietly saying, “I am handling a case, I’m going to borrow a raincoat and hat to use as cover. I’ll return a bit later to pay the bill.” Under this shopkeeper’s stunned expression, immediately reacting, then shutting his mouth and nodding, Lin Xi already quickly put on a raincoat and a hat, walking out of the shop.
He quickly made his way into a small lane, making his way out through this path. When walking, not even the commoners who walked past his side noticed that this was the Young Sir Lin they admired and respected.
Lin Xi then walked into another alley, his movements suddenly becoming faster. He leapt onto a house’s roof, quickly moving under some roofs’ shadows, climbing up to a third floor attic.
This building was located at a corner of Black Cloth Alley, belonging to a Beauty Workshop which specialized in the embroidering of clothes, the tallest place in this Black Cloth Alley.
Right now, there were quite a few people talking about business inside, but no one noticed Lin Xi who quickly climbed into the shadows of the roof, hidden in the wormwood, and then opened the wooden chest on his back.
After just producing the Divine Pear Longbow from the wooden chest, Lin Xi saw Wang Simin who carried an embroidery basket in his line of sight, seeing her walk towards the Black Cloth Alley where he was.
A moment later, Jiang Xiaoyi and Bian Linghan also appeared in his line of sight.
He didn’t make any excessive movements, his left hand holding the Divine Pear Longbow in an extremely stable manner, right hand silently clasping a Dendrite Iron Arrow.
Bian Linghan and Jiang Xiaoyi disappeared from his line of sight, only this woman was left. He quickly adjusted his breathing, making himself enter the most optimal state as quickly as possible.
It was because he already used his ten minutes rewind ability, so he couldn’t make any mistakes on this arrow.
However, his brows furrowed slightly, because he saw that if she moved a few more steps, this woman would already enter that curved narrow alley leading into Black Cloth Alley, yet there was no one else in this alley.
Could it be that that individual noticed his whereabouts, abandoning his assassination attempt?
…
What left Lin Xi stunned was that this woman instead suddenly moved a bit faster, walking into that narrow alley.
When the woman walked into the alley, there was still no one who appeared. Lin Xi’s heart became increasingly bewildered, but the moment the woman walked past a tightly shut wooden door in the alley, one of the wooden doors suddenly opened.
The woman was startled, turning around.
When that wooden door opened, she only saw that the one who walked out was a peasant farmer with bare legs.
She lowered her head in a somewhat absent-minded manner. However, right at this time, this peasant instead reached out a hand towards her.
In that instant, Lin Xi completely understood what happened.
Once this assassin completed the task, he only needed to close the door again, and then he could walk out from the back door. After just five or six steps, he could enter another alley in Black Cloth Alley.
That alley was filled with teahouses and ordinary wine shops. Who would expect this peasant to be the true murderer?
Because the timing was right, Lin Xi didn’t have the slightest hesitation. The instant this peasant reached out a hand, before he even took a step out, the Dendrite Iron Arrow in his hands already shot out, turning into a transparent streak of light that was hard to make out with the naked eye.
A three-edged long needle appeared in the peasant’s right hand, flickering with pitch-black dark light. At the same time, his left hand also produced a black oil cloth from his chest.
When the three-edged needle stabbed through this woman’s body, if there were some droplets of blood that flew out, they would be blocked by this black oil cloth, preventing them from landing on his body.
Chi!
This peasant whose appearance Lin Xi couldn’t see clearly, heard a strange wind noise. Then, he heard the sound of a sharp object stab into his flesh. Because of the first noise, he already turned around, his head raised slightly towards the sky behind him, but before even he saw anything, his left arm suddenly felt extremely heavy.
A wave of intense pain that left half his body feeling numb and the heavy impact made him react, realizing that the second noise was caused by a sharp weapon entering his own flesh. The instant he suddenly turned around, he released a miserable scream.
