A husband found in the village? I bought a regent for a penny!

Gu Xixi even had the mood to joke, "As expected, Mu Nanzhao is more hated than your brother He Jinghui."

She sighed again, "I just don't know about Master Liu's side..."

Before he could finish speaking, the door slammed shut.

Suddenly, Master Liu burst in, covered in sweat. He looked anxious and was panting heavily. He only stopped when he saw Gu Xixi.

Master Liu stared at the two unharmed people for a moment, then suddenly smiled with relief, "That's great! Boss Gu, you're alright! You're both alright! That's wonderful!"

At the same time, Gu Xixi and He Jinglan were also looking at Master Liu in surprise.

He was dressed in a slightly worn indigo robe, with a cloth tied around his head, still in his usual scholarly attire. However, in his right hand, he was carrying a huge four-ringed sword, the widest part of which was bigger than his own face.

This scene... is simply amazing.

Master Liu whistled a few times, signaling the people outside to leave.

Because Mu Nanzhao had previously stated that he could not disrupt the daily life of Gu Xixi's family.

Unless absolutely necessary, the Shadow Guards' operations must be conducted in secret, without the villagers noticing.

In fact, assassins had been approaching the village for the past two days.

However, whenever Liu Fuzi's men discovered an intruder, they would deal with him in advance, far away from residential areas. Their actions were generally silent, swift, and cleaned up promptly.

That's why the He family's shadow guards, who were stationed around Gu Xixi's house, didn't notice anything unusual.

Before dawn this morning, Master Liu and his team had already tracked down the intruder.

Unlike before, many people came today, in twos and threes, one wave after another.

There were also some unconventional intruders, but they were quickly defeated by the Shadow Guards.

Originally, Master Liu thought that the person behind the assassin was in a hurry, so he used a human wave attack.

It wasn't until he captured a killer that the killer's arrogant words revealed some clues.

Master Liu sensed something was wrong and immediately used the most cruel interrogation methods, making the assassin confess in no time.

It turns out that these people were just a smokescreen.

The purpose was to draw fire and disrupt the shadow guards' line of sight, allowing the person truly tasked with the mission to successfully infiltrate the village.

Although Master Liu looked grim and was about to leave with his knife in hand, he wasn't overly panicked.

Until he heard the assassin's sinister laugh behind him, "Too late, even if you could fly, it's too late now!"

"Do you think the He family's shadow guards are there to buy you some time?"

"Unfortunately, they were lured away by our bait and are now following Miss He around outside to protect her."

"Anyway, the orders from above are that all actions should prioritize capturing the woman surnamed Gu. It would be best if we could capture Miss He, but if we can't, it won't be considered a mission failure."

Master Liu was shocked and furious, but he had no time to waste. With a gloomy face, he left with the words "Kill them" and hurriedly led a few men back.

As the assassin lay dying, he still yelled, "That guy was the most ruthless among us, and he was highly skilled in martial arts. You guys combined would be lucky to even fight him to a draw!"

"Besides, she's just a young woman! How could she possibly escape?! Hahaha..."

When Master Liu pushed open the door to Gu Xixi's house, he was already prepared to "fight to the death today and do everything in his power to bring her back."

But to his utter surprise, Gu Xixi and He Jinglan were standing peacefully in the courtyard.

After listening to Master Liu recount the general events,

Gu Xixi pondered for a moment and said, "It's exactly what Jinglan predicted."

Master Liu was terrified just moments before. Suddenly relieved of his tension, he felt weak in his legs and quickly stuck his broadsword into the ground to use as a walking stick.

Then he turned to look at the black-clad corpse on the ground.

There were no obvious external injuries, and no signs of much struggle. It seems that he died quickly and peacefully.

Master Liu looked at Gu Xixi and He Jinglan in surprise, his mind in turmoil.

There shouldn't be anyone else in this courtyard, right?

Who killed him?!

Isn't this guy a top-tier assassin?

He's dead?

……

Gu Xixi seemed not to notice the questioning and shocked look in Master Liu's eyes.

She clapped her hands lightly. "Oh right. I almost forgot."

"Should we treat him as a robber and hand him over to the authorities, or should Mr. Liu handle it as well?"

Master Liu roared inwardly: How could you forget about such a huge dead body lying right here?!

However, he remained calm and composed, saying, "I'll handle it."

"This matter is inherently confidential and there is no need to go through the authorities."

He Jinglan pointed to the house behind her and lowered her voice, "Keep it down, there are children in the house, don't scare them."

Master Liu understood.

Soon someone came, put the body into a sack, and carried it away; the whole process took no more than the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

With Gu Xixi's consent, Master Liu decided to set up another layer of defense around Gu Xixi's house.

He said with remorse, "It was all my oversight today."

"I was entrusted by Lord Mu, but I almost caused Boss Gu to fall into the hands of the enemy."

"If it weren't for Boss Gu saving himself, I would probably be guilty of a thousand deaths."

Gu Xixi waved her hand, "Mr. Liu has worked so hard these past few days that I was completely unaware and could sleep soundly every night. Today, thankfully, everything turned out alright. I can only express my gratitude to Mr. Liu."

"As for what you and that person have to say, that's between you two."

Master Liu sighed and bowed to Gu Xixi again.

To avoid frightening the villagers when he returned with a knife, Master Liu temporarily left his four-ringed knife at Gu Xixi's house.

Aunt Zhang rarely goes to the pharmacy in the backyard; it's safe to hide there.

It was almost noon, and lunchtime had already passed.

Gu Xixi calmed down and felt a pang of hunger. "Let's go find something to eat."

As she walked toward the kitchen, she muttered to herself, "Strange, why has my aunt been gone for so long today? She hasn't come back even though it's time to eat."

He Jinglan laughed and said, "You really get so busy that you don't know anything else."

"When I came back at noon, I ran into my aunt who was going out to Zhao the matchmaker's house for a feast. She had cooked cold noodles for us in advance and hung them in the well. She had also prepared the dressing and vegetables, as well as Xiaohua's cat food, all of which were placed upside down on the kitchen table."

“Your aunt also said she had told you beforehand, and you know that.”

Gu Xixi froze, then raised her hand and slapped her forehead.

"I remember now, she said a few words to me outside my window, and I just casually agreed."

The three people and the cat had a late lunch.

In the afternoon, Shi Tou went out to play with his friends. When the old doctor returned from his house call, Gu Xixi and He Jinglan went out to greet him and help him carry his medicine box.

He Jinglan asked with a smile, "Has Grandpa Jiang eaten? There's cold noodles at home."

The old doctor smiled and said, "I've already eaten. The patient's family was so kind as to invite me to stay for dinner, I really couldn't refuse."

He walked into the courtyard, suddenly stopped, and wrinkled his nose.

Gu Xixi and He Jinglan watched from the sidelines, their hearts pounding in their throats.

Even though it had been cleaned repeatedly, mugwort water was still spilled on the floor.

Will the old doctor find out that someone just died on the ground?