Chapter 181: Two Characters Become Three

That subordinate of Li Danqing led troops to guard Chitong Pass, which was a mandatory city on the route to the Kingdom of Zhongtong, regardless of whether one took the main road or the small paths. This letter of his was meant to instruct Li Danqing's subordinate, Yong Xiaoqiang, to intercept Baili Xian. Naturally, deploying a large army was out of the question, as such a crowd would be too conspicuous and bound to be noticed by others.

The letter instructed Yong Xiaoqiang to contact the January Organization in that region and act in coordination. Their target was none other than the Virtuous Prince. They aimed to eliminate the Virtuous Prince covertly on his journey as an envoy to the Kingdom of Zhongtong, making him vanish completely from this world.

However, there are exceptions to everything. Although all overland routes passed through Chitong Pass, there was also a water route to the Kingdom of Zhongtong. This waterway bypassed Chitong Pass, but traveling along it meant moving against the current. While it was feasible, very few people were willing to do so.

After waking up early, Liu Ling'er and the others enjoyed breakfast prepared by the family hosting them before bidding them farewell. Truthfully, Liu Ling'er felt a sincere yearning for the ordinary, domestic life of this young couple.

Four people sat inside the carriage as before, while Hu Li and Afu sat outside. The only difference was that Afu was driving the carriage today. Since they failed to enter the city yesterday, they hadn't been able to purchase a carriage, so Liu Ling'er and her companions had discussed buying one at the next city. In the meantime, they would all share a single carriage.

Taking turns driving between Afu and Hu Li was also part of their arrangement. To this, the honest Afu merely smiled and submissively agreed.

Hu Li looked listlessly at the wildflowers and weeds by the roadside, growing more bored the longer he stared. He then looked up at the sky and happened to catch sight of a white bird flying in the distance. With a twitch of his eyes, he pulled a net from inside his tunic, flipped and leaped onto the roof of the carriage, and cast the net into the air. With a swift swoosh, it enveloped the white bird.

This move was fast, precise, and executed with split-second timing, far more dazzling than any acrobatic performance. Hu Li beamed with delight. "Heh heh, it's actually a pigeon! Looks like we'll have roasted squab for today!"

Flipping down to sit at the front of the carriage, Liu Ling'er asked curiously, "Hu Li, what did you catch? Look how happy it's making you."

Xiao Zhen'er had only seen Hu Li capture something with his net, but his movements were too fast for her to clearly see what kind of bird it was. Driven by curiosity, she directly lifted the carriage curtain and snatched it right out of Hu Li's hand.

Now, the four people inside the carriage saw it clearly. It turned out to be a white carrier pigeon. Its feathers were as snow-white as jade, without a single stray hair, clearly meticulously cared for by someone every day. Gazing at the pigeon's small, round eyes, Xiao Zhen'er instantly grew fond of it and could not bear to put it down.

Xiao Yixiao had sharp eyes and immediately noticed something tied to the pigeon's leg. "Hey, look! There's a slip of paper tied to the pigeon's leg. Take it down and let's see what it says."

This carrier pigeon had indeed been dispatched by Li Danqing's subordinate in Jiangdong City. Carrier pigeons were not machines; although they were capable fliers, they still got tired. Having just flown all the way to Liu Ling'er and her group and feeling somewhat exhausted, it had prepared to descend from high altitude to rest in a tree for a moment.

Hu Li had been staring listlessly at the sky from the carriage. There was nothing up there except the blue sky—not even a wisp of white cloud. The carrier pigeon's white plumage made it particularly conspicuous. Who could have guessed that a quirky fellow like Hu Li would carry a catching net on his person? Thus, it was hard for this pigeon not to meet a tragic fate.

Both of the carrier pigeon's legs had messages tied to them. Xiao Zhen'er untied the slips of paper from the pigeon's legs. "Ugh, it's a dead knot. Should I rip the string apart?"

"No, the string might still be useful. Have you forgotten that our Afu is the best at untying these kinds of stubborn knots? Afu, get inside," Xiao Yixiao called out to the outside of the carriage.

Afu gave an affirmative grunt, handed the two reins to Hu Li so he could drive the carriage for a moment, and squeezed himself into the carriage. Xiao Yixiao handed the two paper strips bound by strings to Afu. "Untie them without causing any damage."

Afu nodded honestly, then his hands moved like butterflies weaving through flowers. No one could have imagined that such large, rough hands possessed such dexterity; it completely subverted human imagination.

Before long, the two knotted strings were completely untied intact. Afu said honestly, "Second Master, it's done. I'm going back outside."

Inside the carriage, Liu Ling'er and Xiao Zhen'er each picked up a strip of paper and unfolded it. The note Liu Ling'er held read: "Go to Changle Lane and hire the assassins of January the Second to intercept and kill Baili Xian." Meanwhile, Xiao Zhen'er's slip of paper contained the secret passphrase for contacting January the Second. With this passphrase, one could command the assassins of January the Second.

Xiao Zhen'er dropped her jaw in exaggeration. "The Virtuous Prince? Who wants you dead badly enough to hire an assassin organization? What is this 'January the Second'? Are they famous?"

"The January Organization is the premier assassination syndicate in the Eastern Chu Kingdom. It seems he is utterly determined to have me killed," Baili Xian said in a cold voice.

"Whoa! Virtuous Prince, you have people trying to assassinate you at any given moment on your way to act as an envoy in the Kingdom of Zhongtong. No wonder you wanted to take the small roads! But this is so thrilling. This princess has decided not to change carriages; I'm going to tag along with you all. I want to see what being hunted down by assassins looks like. Do those assassins wear masks with only their two eyes exposed?" Xiao Zhen'er had never encountered such a thing before and insisted on witnessing it no matter what.

Xiao Yixiao's expression shifted drastically. He pulled Xiao Zhen'er over and whispered in her ear, "Third Sister, have you lost your mind? Those assassins are desperate men walking the edge of a sword. If anything happens to you, how could I possibly bear the responsibility?"

Xiao Zhen'er cast a look of utter disdain at Xiao Yixiao. "Second Brother, I never expected you to be so cowardly, wasting all those years learning fine martial arts. The Virtuous Prince is practically in mortal danger right now, and you're turning tail and running away. This is hardly the behavior of a sworn brother! Earlier you spoke so boldly about hitting it off instantly as kindred spirits—how could you even utter such hypocritical nonsense?"

Chastised so severely by his own sister, Xiao Yixiao flushed red with embarrassment. He stammered, "Who says I'm abandoning them? I'm just worried about you and telling you to look out for your safety."

Liu Ling'er grasped Baili Xian's hand. "Virtuous Prince, do not worry. I have a way to resolve our current crisis."

"Oh? What method?" Baili Xian asked.

Liu Ling'er replied with absolute confidence, "As long as the Virtuous Prince provides brush and ink, Ling'er will naturally defuse this crisis."

That was hardly difficult. Brush and ink were prepared in no time. Liu Ling'er added an extra horizontal stroke to the character "Er" (two) in January the Second, instantly transforming it into the character "San" (three). Though it was merely a single stroke, the meaning differed as vastly as heaven and earth. Even if Yong Xiaoqiang ran his legs to the bone, it would be impossible for him to secure the assistance of the January Organization.

As for the other slip of paper, Liu Ling'er directly tore off one of the sentences. The originally complete passphrase was reduced to a mere fragment. Even if Yong Xiaoqiang managed to stumble upon January the Second by a stroke of luck, he could never mobilize the assassination organization with only half a passphrase.

A brilliant stratagem! Simply marvelous! Xiao Yixiao clapped his hands in applause. "The Prince's Consort is truly endowed with a brilliant mind and ingenious thoughts. She has averted a crisis with just a few simple strokes. This fellow Xiao is deeply impressed."

Liu Ling'er smiled at Xiao Yixiao. Who wouldn't be gladdened upon hearing such lavish praise? Afterward, once the ink had dried, she rolled up the slips of paper once more, tied them securely with the string, and released the modified carrier pigeon out through the carriage window.