Extrapolating from her existing knowledge, there was not one killer who was extremely highly skilled.
Moreover, as a last resort, she could flash a trump card which could preserve lives.
They hid in their horse carriage as their eyes followed Baishao and Baiji, who were visiting each horse carriage to comfort the families and to gather leads.
"Progress is looking good."
Lin Mengya was seated behind the window, fixing her eyes on the few people she sent out.
She purposely asked Baizhi and Baishao to create some stir.
Meaning to attract the attention of the killers, she wondered if they would take the bait.
As Lin Mengya observed the things that were going on outside, she did not realize that her own horse carriage had veered further away into a more secluded area.
At this moment, they had entered a more densely wooded area.
"What happened? Why have we come here?"
Baisu opened the door slightly as she questioned the coachman.
"There are some problems with the shaft of the cart. Let’s take a break while I fix the problems."
Lin Mengya nodded. It was no wonder she could feel that the ride was becoming bumpy a moment ago.
Baisu and Baizhi helped Lin Mengya alight from the carriage and sat down on a rock by the roadside and waited.
The procession of horses and carriages of the Crown Prince proceeded quickly as if they were fleeing for their lives. They had not even stopped to take any rests.
Despite some of the carriages stopping occasionally, the Crown Prince continued on by riding his own carriage. By this time, he was seen as a little black dot afar off.
"Master, the Crown Prince is fleeing so fast. Does he not care about the life and death of the people traveling behind him?"
Baizhi was gently massaging Lin Mengya’s calf as she looked on. A feeling of contempt towards the Crown Prince rose inside her.
"His status is different from ours. The lives of all the people added together is not as precious as his. Don’t you think so?"
Lin Mengya had seen through the Crown Prince’s character long ago. She was not surprised to see him running away so fast when things went wrong.
How could a man with such lousy character become the emperor of Dajin?
"That’s so true, Master. Are you hungry? Would you like me to go grab you some food from inside the horse carriage?"
Baizhi asked Lin Mengya as she realized that they had not eaten anything for quite some time since they set off in a hurry.
"Not far from here is the temporary imperial residence outside the boundaries of the capital. Let’s try to get there first."
They supposed it would be reasonably safe in the temporary imperial residence since it was rather heavily guarded.
"Oh yes, I thought Baishao and Baiju brought with them just a few guards? Where are the rest of the guards now?"
The surrounding started getting quieter.
They also had not encountered any other horse carriages bypassing them from behind for a good while. Lin Mengya, the two girls accompanying her and the coachman were the only people at the clearing.
"You’re right. How about I go up to the coachman to ask about them?"
Baizhi was starting to find it strange too. Their guards were unlikely to leave them without letting them know. Why had they disappeared?
"No, don’t go."
Lin Mengya, who was usually sensitive, could smell something fishy in the air. Something was not right.
She gave Baisu a pinch on her arm as a hint and the three of them started looking around vigilantly.
"Your Highness, the horse carriage has been fixed. Let’s continue on our journey."
The coachman who had fixed the shaft of the cart walked up to them slowly as he spoke softly.
"Where are those guards? Weren’t they with us just now?"
The coachman lowered his head, so much so that Lin Mengya was unable to read his expression.
Nevertheless, she sensed something was not right.
"Oh those guards, they are already waiting for you ahead of us, so let’s get going."
The coachman who was looking down suddenly lifted up his head.
From the look of his face, he seemed like a battered man, but at this moment, there was a sinister smile on his face.
It was no wonder that Lin Mengya felt something was amiss. The killer had been hiding right here. He was disguised as the down-to-earth coachman.
"You--- don’t you come nearer! I’m warning you not to come any closer!"
Baizhi stood between the coachman and Lin Mengya as she cried out in fear.
"How can I not come to you? How else can I drive your horse carriage?"
The three girls retreated step by step into the woods behind them.
The coachman killer drew out his waistband and closed in on them.
"Master, what he’s holding in his hand is a bunch of Ice Silk Threads. That was why we only got that little bit of silk threads."
Baisu said nervously, as she seemed to recognize what he was holding in his hand.
Lin Mengya nodded. Never would she expect that the killer would use the method of severing her head on her.
How great was the grievance that the killer had resorted to this brutal method of taking her life?
"I’m warning you not to get any closer, otherwise I will strikeout."
Lin Mengya stepped out in front of the two lasses to protect them as the three continued to retreat.
"Hey, Princess Yu, you can stop your struggle now. I’ll be honest with you. You are our ultimate target. We have killed all those men so we could slow you down."
The killer’s words stunned Lin Mengya in that instant.
How was she their ultimate target?
She pondered for a second but that did not make sense to her. How was her influence so great that Peach Blossom Dock had to sacrifice so many highly skilled killers one this mission?
"You better be obedient and come over here--- ah---"
Just when the killer was about to take Lin Mengya’s life, he slipped and fell into a deep snare.
The three had temporarily escaped the crisis, not forgetting that Night was also following secretly behind them.
Night, who had been keeping an eye on the entire situation in the dark had discovered and confirmed who the rat was long ago.
When the horse carriage entered this clearing just now, she already knew the exact location of a snare dug out by the hunters.
After the three of them scanned the surrounding to make sure that the coachman did not have any other companions, they walked up to the side of the snare boldly.
Lin Mengya had instructed men to set up overnight, large spikes which were used to trap preys at the bottom of the snare.
Even if a bear, not to mention a human, were to fall into the trap, it would be pierced through and through.
Lin Mengya stood by the side of the pit as she looked at the shocked expression on the dead coachman, and she could only let out a sigh.
She had told him not to come closer.
What happened to the mutual trust between man and man? She had given up.
"Master, I’m guessing that he wouldn’t resurrect?"
Baizhi could not bring herself to look into the pit, although she thought the killer was deserving of death.
Lin Mengya and Baisu exchanged looks and Lin Mengya said, "Rest assured, he is dead as a dodo. Night, get some men to fill up the pit."
"Yes, Master."
Although Night was nowhere to be seen, his voice seemed to have echoed through the air from all directions. Not even Baisu was able to pinpoint where the voice was coming from.
"He’s really impressive. Not many people could master the art of invisibility to this level."
Baisu expressed her admiration for Night from the bottom of her heart. Both Night and Qinghu were tiptop martial artists hard to come by.
"That’s enough, stop being envious. I believe there are not many girls of your age who have attained your level of skills too."
Baisu was only around fifteen to sixteen years old, yet she was poised and highly skillful in martial arts. She supposed Xiaoyu must have put in much effort in training and nurturing his talents.
Lin Mengya had been surprised that he would so easily give Baisu to her.
Once back in the horse carriage, Baisu searched the entire inside of the carriage to make sure there was nothing suspicious before she let Lin Mengya and Baizhi in.
"What shall we do now that none of us know how to drive the horse carriage?"
Baizhi turned her eyes to Lin Mengya as she was confident that her mistress was all-powerful and would know how to do literally anything.
Lin Mengya let out a dry laugh as she remembered the fact that the only thing she had not achieved in the modern world was getting her driver’s license.
She had failed the driving test three times consecutively and was now one of the oldest students in the driving school.
Little did she expect that after traveling back to ancient times and already being the one to exploit others in this life, she had to enter such a desperate situation.
"I... I’ve no idea how to drive a horse carriage."
The three of them exchanged looks and finally sighed and let out a helpless laugh.
"Let me go look for Baishao. I suppose there will be someone among the guards who knows how to drive a horse carriage."
Baisu leaped off the horse carriage and ran back.
Thank goodness that Baiji and Baishao were not too far away, otherwise Lin Mengya would not know whether to laugh or cry in such a desperate situation.
She could not possibly ask Night to show himself and have him, highly-skilled martial artist, to drive the horse carriage for her.
She thought it would be such a beautiful image.
"Master! Master! Are you alright?"
Lin Mengya heard the loud voice of Baishao after approximately fifteen minutes.
Lin Mengya was appreciative of Baishao in many ways, except that her voice was getting louder.
Sometimes when Baishao was berating the servants in the courtyard, her voice would travel far and wide. It was as if she were turning into the stewardess of the household.
"Both Master and I are alright, how about you?"
Baizhi welcomed her companions back into the horse carriage and the moment Baishao boarded the carriage, she held on tightly to Lin Mengya and looked her up and down.
"I’m indeed alright, don’t get all worked up."
Lin Mengya let Baishao and Baiji scrutinize her for a moment.
"We were just behind you, but all of a sudden, you disappeared. At that moment, however, we were unable to just walk away from what we were doing. You made us so worried."
In reality, the coachman killer did not kill the guards. He merely diverted them somewhere to borrow some tools. Thank goodness that there was someone among them who knew how to drive the horse carriage.
"Alright, now tell us what you’ve found out."
Seated in the carriage, Lin Mengya began analyzing the information reported by the two maidservants.
"Just as you expected, the ministers who were murdered had met with their servants just before they died. These were either sidekicks, maidservants or guards who found an excuse to see their master. We also realized that these servants had all disappeared mysteriously afterwards."
Lin Mengya went into deep thoughts after hearing Baishao’s words.
The methods which these people used were not considered brilliant.
Moreover, servants asking to see their master was not usual.
As for their disappearing, this could not be explained away with coincidence.
"We’ve taken care of that coachman who turned out to be a killer, but I guess we will attract more attention from the killers soon, so let’s gear up for the possible storm that is approaching."
Lin Mengya was not sure if Peach Blossom Dock was really targeting her.
Combing through the information she gathered, Lin Mengya realized that the ministers who were killed were either neutral or belonging to parties that were not for the Crown Prince.
On the other hand, the fretful way the Crown Prince fled for his life did not seem like a pretense.
What exactly was happening?
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