Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

At the end of Hai hour (9-11 PM), when Shen Lang and Jiang Shangxian came out of the brothel, Jiang Shangxian still looked like he hadn't had enough.

"That girl was absolutely gorgeous, with a great figure and a beautiful voice. She made my bones feel weak and tingly. What do you think of that chest-pumping move?"

"If you like it, that's fine, but next time please don't drag me into it, okay?"

"I understand what you mean. You're afraid that my royal nephew will misunderstand, right? Hehehe."

Jiang Shangxian smiled knowingly.

"Actually, I saw it a long time ago. You two have been eyeing each other for a long time, but you just like to keep it hidden. Ever since you and my nephew first met..."

I was absolutely certain that you two would end up together, but what I never expected was...

You've done so much for our nephew, I'm truly stunned!

Shen Lang shrugged: "Alright, enough with the nonsense. We've seen the play and listened to the music. It's time to go back to the inn and figure out what to do next."

Jiang Shangxian yawned: "Alright, it's almost midnight, let's go back and get some rest."

The two quickened their pace back to the inn.

Just as we were passing through Hengren Lane, the only way to the inn, a faint fragrance of flowers and grass suddenly wafted through the air.

"Hmm? What flower is this fragrance? Even someone as knowledgeable as me has never smelled it before?"

Jiang Shangxian took a deep sniff and immediately felt refreshed.

"It's the intoxicating fragrance!"

As he spoke, the dagger was already spinning in Shen Lang's palm.

"Come out."

As soon as he finished speaking, the sound of a bamboo cane striking the ground echoed in the empty alley.

Ten paces away, a blind beggar stood leaning on his cane.

"You detected someone in the alley so quickly; it seems your cultivation level is extraordinary."

Shen Lang glanced at his opponent, then casually replied, "Are you alone?"

"hehe."

The beggar smiled.

The next second, the blacksmith appeared behind Shen Lang and Jiang Shangxian.

The blacksmith swung his spiked club in the air, and the moment it landed, a spiderweb-like crack appeared on the ground.

"Wind-wielding staff? You're from the border army?"

"That's right!"

The blacksmith slung his spiked club over his shoulder, his face contorted in a grimace.

"I joined the childhood camp at six, went to the battlefield for the first time at twelve, retired at thirty, and now I'm a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) person. By the way, my name is Han Po!"

"Humph."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang merely gave a soft snort.

"Where is the other person?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a woman dressed in a pink outfit floated down from the darkness, stood on the wall, and quietly looked in Shen Lang's direction.

"Xia Xiaoling pays her respects here."

Upon seeing this, Jiang Shangxian's eyes lit up, and he immediately whispered in Shen Lang's ear, "Brother, this girl is hot, so don't go too far."

Shen Lang narrowed his eyes, speechless: "Your Highness, can you be serious for once?"

Jiang Shangxian retorted, "You're overthinking it. What I mean is, those two men are probably of impeccable character."

"Interrogating him would be quite troublesome, so it's better to start with that woman. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing; I'll definitely subdue him completely."

In his heart, he thought: This is great. My wife at home knows that I am coming to Suzhou on business, so she specially asked me to take three hundred taels of silver to hire two maids back with me. But maids in Suzhou are damn expensive. If I send these maids to her and train them well, wouldn't I be able to save the money and keep it for myself?

Shen Lang, unaware of his thoughts, simply asked, "You mean, kill the men and spare the women?"

"You can't say that. I'm being very serious."

"If you're serious, there's no one in this world who's not serious. Don't worry, I understand."

By the way, don't you feel any discomfort, like drowsiness, chest tightness, or shortness of breath?

No, why do you ask that?

Shen Lang frowned upon hearing this. Seeing Jiang Shangxian's flushed face, he didn't delve into the details of how Jiang Shangxian remained unharmed despite being poisoned by the Intoxicating Herb.

"I am Meng Shouchang, and I am truly sorry, but someone is offering to pay for your life."

The old man twirled his bamboo cane and slowly drew out a section of a long sword.

The sword's edge radiated a chilling aura in the darkness, yet remained exceptionally dazzling.

The result is the next second.

boom--

A gunshot rang out, and a bullet struck Meng Shouchang precisely in the forehead, startling even Shen Lang.

Meng Shoutang's action of drawing his sword seemed to be paused, and his white pupils involuntarily contracted.

puff~

A drop of blood spurted from his forehead, and Meng Shouchang's hunched body quickly withered away.

He then fell backward to the ground without saying a word, never displaying the strength expected of a half-step immortal.

The already quiet alley is now even more suffocatingly silent.

"call--"

But then Jiang Shangxian blew on the muzzle of Browning's gun and calmly said something.

"What kind of time is this to still be playing the hand-to-hand killing game? Why go through all that trouble when a single shot would suffice?"

"You're right, but..."

Shen Lang sighed softly halfway through his sentence, then turned and sped off towards Han Po.

"Good timing! Take this!"

Han Tang shouted sharply and quickly swung the spiked club in his hand.

jingle--

"Tai Xu · An Ya".

puff-

A clear, crisp sound of wind chimes echoed through the night sky.

By the time Han Po realized what was happening, Shen Lang had already passed him by.

Immediately afterwards, spurting blood gushed out from the wound on his chest, forming a cloud of blood mist that spread in all directions.

"I still want to give these people of the martial arts world a dignified way to die."

After finishing the sentence he hadn't finished speaking, Han Po's body slowly fell backward.

He never understood how Shen Lang had managed to cut open his breastplate with such an inconspicuous dagger until his death.

Also, how can his knife be so fast!

However, he can only find the answers to these questions in the underworld.

"what!"

Standing atop the wall, Xia Xiaoling was so shocked by the scene before her that she trembled with fear.

Previously, the three of them had planned many schemes to kill Shen Lang in the noodle shop, and had also anticipated many possible scenarios.

However, in just a few breaths, Meng Shouchang and Han Po died.

This led her to greatly underestimate Shen Lang's abilities.

"retreat!"

Knowing that she could not kill Shen Lang tonight, Xia Xiaoling immediately decided to leave the scene quickly.

She immediately leaped into the air, but...

jingle--

A clear, melodious wind chime rang in her ears.

Shen Lang's figure flashed past him like a phantom.

puff-

"what--"

A sharp metallic screech echoed as Xia Xiaoling's body fell uncontrollably to the ground.

She gritted her teeth and looked down, only to see that her left leg was bright red and even bleeding.

Shen Lang severed the Achilles tendon in his left leg with a single strike, completely extinguishing his will to escape using his movement technique.

Before she could prepare her next move, Shen Lang's iron hand had already pinched his mouth hard.

Instantly, a pool of blood spilled from the corner of Xia Xiaoling's mouth, and the pain made her involuntarily open her mouth.

Taking advantage of the situation, Shen Lang expressionlessly shoved the dagger into his mouth.

"Ah~"

Amid Xia Xiaoling's intense pain, Shen Lang withdrew a dagger containing a broken tooth.

Hidden in the tooth was a small, deadly poison that would kill upon contact with blood.

The whole process was as smooth as flowing water, and to some extent it could be considered a pleasure to watch.

"Brother! Calm down! Calm down!"

Jiang Shangxian rushed forward shouting, fearing that Shen Lang might accidentally kill someone again in a moment of madness.

"Let me do it, let me do it!"

Shen Lang ignored Jiang Shangxian and stared coldly at Xia Xiaoling, whose mouth was full of blood.

"Just answer whatever I ask you later, and you'll suffer less. Of course, it doesn't matter if you're stubborn; no one who falls into my hands can't talk."

After saying that, Shen Lang sealed all the vital acupoints in her body, and then knocked her unconscious with a reverse-blade dagger.

At this moment, Jiang Shangxian finally ran to Shen Lang's side.

Before he could even open his mouth, Shen Lang simply tossed Xia Xiaoling to him.

"Let's go, Your Highness, and question them thoroughly when we get back."

Jiang Shangxian held the beauty in his arms, making soft, regretful noises, before taking out a bandage to bandage the wound on her foot.

"You really don't know how to cherish women, but you've improved, at least you didn't kill her on the spot."

After saying that, he picked up Xia Xiaoling and followed Shen Lang towards the inn.

But in his heart he was thinking: Heaven have mercy, I finally don't have to eat it while it's hot!