Bloody Kyoto

Li Nanle returned to the capital three days later, entering through the west gate as before.

When the dockworkers saw her, they all cheered.

"Aunt Li, you're back. Are you opening the shop tomorrow?"

Li Nanle smiled and nodded, then pointed to the donkey cart behind him, "We got a lot of spices this time, enough to last us for quite a while."

Upon hearing this, everyone laughed even more heartily.

During the few days Li Nanle was away, A Niu returned. Not only was he given a new household registration as a law-abiding citizen, but his appearance was also altered. At first glance, he looked like the old A Niu, but upon closer inspection, he didn't resemble him at all.

Ah Niu can now appear in public freely.

He sat at the shop entrance and saw a familiar figure in the distance. He grinned and went to greet him.

"Second Aunt, you're finally back! Little Tiger has been waiting for you for days."

Li Nanle stared at the boy in front of her for a moment, then reacted and asked with a surprised expression, "Little Tiger, what brings you to the capital?"

"Of course I've come to rely on my second aunt." Ah Niu, now with a different name, feigned a look of loss and sadness.

Li Nanle cooperated and comforted him, "Don't be sad. Your aunt's shop is short of employees. Your arrival will make things easier for her."

Those who overheard the conversation immediately imagined that the young man's family had suffered a major misfortune and he had no choice but to seek refuge with his aunt.

"Don't worry, Auntie, Little Tiger is a very capable worker." He then took the rope from the donkey and said with a fawning smile, "I'll help you lead the donkey, Auntie."

Li Nanle smiled and nodded, "Okay."

Back in the shop, Ah Niu recounted what had happened to him.

"Miss Nanle, the Zhao family is simply amazing." He said, giving a thumbs up.

"Just let me sleep, and my face changed."

Li Nanle was also very surprised. She carefully examined A Niu's face but could not see any trace of the marks.

Just like modern cosmetic surgery.

"The household registration was also helped by Lord Zhao of the Jingzhao Prefecture."

Li Nanle: "Do you know what kind of family the Zhao family really is?"

Ah Niu looked at Li Nanle in disbelief and asked in utter surprise, "Miss Nanle, don't you know that the Zhao family is a reclusive family?"

"It's still ranked third." He held up three fingers, his eyes full of admiration.

Li Nanle knew that the bearded man was very powerful, but he never expected that he was also from a reclusive family.

Thinking of Lord Zhao Rongyuan of the Jingzhao Prefecture's ability to hypnotize people, she felt even more wary of the reclusive family.

At the same time, there is also the question of why the Zhao family did not come to Yunxia's aid when she was in trouble.

Thinking this, she unconsciously asked the question. Upon hearing this, A Niu immediately replied, "Miss Nanle, when Madam had her accident, the young master of the Zhao family, Zhao Moyan, was not in the capital."

The people living in Huaihua Lane were completely unaware of the lady's accident until after her death, when the news finally reached them.

Li Nanle nodded.

However, Zhao Moyan isn't in the capital, but isn't Zhao Rongyuan there? Didn't he notice anything amiss either?

"Wasn't Zhao Rongyuan in the capital when Yunxia had her accident?" She looked up at A Niu.

Ah Niu sighed helplessly, "Miss Nanle, you don't know, that Lord Zhao is a very busy man, he is almost never free."

"What do you mean!" Li Nanle asked in confusion. Based on what she had seen and heard during this period, this Lord Zhao did not seem to be that busy.

Ah Niu explains: "Lord Zhao is a good official who stands up for the people. He personally goes to the scene to check on everything."

"With so many people in the capital, a dozen or even twenty people would report to the authorities every day for trivial matters."

"And this Lord Zhao had no intention of handing the case over to his clerk. He personally investigated every case reported to the authorities, which kept him extremely busy."

Li Nanle: "Then why haven't you been busy lately?"

“It wasn’t recently; it was after the news of Madam’s death spread that he stopped doing everything himself and spent the extra time investigating the cause of her death in private.”

That's it!

Li Nanle felt grateful; he was indeed a good official.

*

At the end of Hai hour (9-11 PM), Li Nanle put on a black robe, walked out of the room, climbed over the wall, and left the shop.

Startled by the sound of the door opening, Ah Niu saw her come out and prayed in his heart that Miss Nan Le would return safely.

Perhaps because Li Nanle mostly committed his murders at night, the streets were more lively than usual tonight, with imperial guards patrolling from time to time.

Li Nanle couldn't walk directly on the main road, so she had to walk through alleys and avoid the main roads.

It took twice as long as usual to reach the vicinity of Liu's residence.

I glanced at my watch in the space; it was already three in the morning. I had to hurry, or the officials who were supposed to attend court would have to get up.

She cautiously peeked out from behind the wall at the Liu family's residence, only to find a patrol of imperial guards passing by. She immediately ducked back inside.

After the Imperial Guards left, she didn't go out, but instead threw out a seed of sesame vine.

The seeds fell to the ground and quickly grew along the wall, but instead of growing thick and strong, they became very thin vines.

Once the vines extended to the Liu family's house, she amplified her supernatural abilities, and the vines instantly became thicker.

It grew into a tree right in front of the Liu family's house.

She ran quickly over, and when she reached the vines, she waved her hand, and something was hung on the tree.

Just then, a troop of Imperial Guards rode up at top speed.

A lantern hung at the entrance of the Liu family's house, casting a faint light. By this dim light, they could make out the suddenly appearing giant vines and…

A string of dark shadows hanging from the vines.

In addition, there was a dark figure standing under the tree, and the Imperial Guards were naturally aware of the vine-related murders.

Upon seeing the dark figure, they all instinctively reined in their horses.

Everyone broke out in a cold sweat, stopped in their tracks, and stared at the dark figure, trembling.

Li Nanle sneered inwardly. She had been avoiding them all the way here, but it turned out they were afraid of her too!

She raised her head and walked slowly toward them, a slight smile playing on her lips, her eerie red eyes fixed on the Imperial Guards.

Some of the Imperial Guards were so frightened by her expression that they fell off their horses.

Others felt dizzy and fainted.

Li Nanle was in a good mood. She stopped some distance away from them and let out a low laugh.

Hearing the laughter, the Imperial Guards dared not breathe, feeling as if their necks were being choked.

When they could no longer hold their breath and gasped for air, they realized that the 'demon' in black robes and with red eyes had already left.

Knowing that these imperial guards were afraid of her, Li Nanle made no special effort to avoid them along the way, and would throw out vines to tease them whenever they encountered them.

As a result, they were all so scared that they wet themselves.

In fact, the Imperial Guards were not only afraid of the vines, but also frightened by her pair of red eyes.