reaction."Mr. Wu, there's been a misunderstanding. I'm not here about the money this time."Then what do you want from meRipple's facade of composure eased somewhat, and she asked in a puzzled tone."Do...Little Master Li Ji Zu of the Li family finally came to his senses. He had originally wanted a one-time solution, but ended up only getting five thousand taels of silver bills. This was far less than the rumored ten thousand taels of wealth left behind by Wu Youcai. Therefore, the original body was able to avoid being killed and was spared.

Li Jizu knew that to get Wu Youcai's wealth, he had to start with the original owner. So, he quickly left with his servants.

The next morning, he put on a show of nothing having happened. He arrived at the Wu family's residence with his servants, pretending to be a distant relative there to offer condolences. By this time, the Wu family's small courtyard was surrounded by government officials. Corpses were being carried out one after another, making it almost a massacre. Naturally, this alarmed the local county magistrate.

And the arrival of Li Jizu made the county magistrate even more concerned. He hadn't expected that a seemingly unremarkable wealthy family from a small town would actually have relatives in the capital. Immediately, he dispatched personnel to start searching for clues, determined to catch the culprit.

Actually, the original body knew that yesterday's attacker was from the Li family when they saw Li Jizhu on the second day. Because Li Jizhu, this prodigal son, had the habit of wearing perfume from noble families in the capital city, even after changing his clothes, the original body could still smell it.

The original was terrified out of her wits, truly stimulated by the bloodshed. Added to that, she was young and only knew how to cry; she didn't provide any useful information, mainly because she didn't dare to speak. She knew that if she showed even a hint of abnormality, the only fate awaiting her would be silence.

Ripples suddenly opened her eyes, interrupting the reception of the original owner's memories. As she left the spirit hall, she looked up at the sky. There was less than half an hour left until midnight.

All the servants in this courtyard were loyal retainers left behind by her father. It was because of these people's tragic deaths that she had no one to rely on, and after being brought to Li Mansion in the capital, all those around her were placed there by the Li family, making every move she made under surveillance, subjected to the control of the Li family. Naturally, there would be no good ending. As the mission executor, Lian Ri's ancestor would not give the Li family such an opportunity.

She rose and walked out of the side hall, beckoning to her close maid, Luo Ying, who was burning paper there. The maid immediately tiptoed out of the spirit hall and whispered:

"Miss, is there something the matter"

"Losheng, I'm tired, I want to sleep for two hours. You watch the time, and remember to wake me up when it's time."

The ripples spoke softly.

"Miss, I will now serve you to rest."

After he finished speaking, he pushed the other maid, Luo Huai, who was leaning against the pillar and dazed, awake. He whispered:

"Luohuai, go burn some paper, don't let the incense for my ancestors run out. I will attend to Miss and let her rest for a while."

Luo Huai was only two years older than the original body, at the age of fourteen. It was precisely when he loved to sleep most. At this time, after being woken up, he yawned, rubbed his sleepy eyes, and got up, obediently replacing Luo Ying's position.

Only then did Luo Ying follow Ripple into the inner courtyard's boudoir, changing her mistress's clothes for mourning robes and attending to her until she fell asleep. After tucking in the blankets, she prepared to rest her feet briefly.

"Luo Ying, you don't have to stay with me. Go and watch over your father at the mourning hall."

"I don't feel safe with Miss [Name] alone."

Luo Ying, however, was very diligent and responsible. She frowned and said.

"Don't worry, I'm not a child anymore. From now on, I'll be the one in charge. You won't listen to me anymore, and no one else will either."

Ripples frowned,

Luo Ying looked out the window at the sky. There were only two and a half hours left until dawn. When it was daylight, she would have to greet the mourners. All of this required her to prepare early. Before his death, her master had sent the steward out to handle matters, and he wouldn't be back until tomorrow morning at the earliest.

So she no longer hesitated, letting her young mistress rest easy, and then turned to leave the room.

Only after the footsteps had completely disappeared did Lian Ri lift the quilt and sit up. She got out of bed, tucking her clothes under the blanket to make it look like someone was sleeping there.

Next, he took a pair of suede boots from his closet and put them on. Then, wearing a white silk undershirt, he left his room and went to his father's bedroom. Everything here had been tidied up, with eight cedar chests placed on the floor.

She dashed straight to the box where clothes were stored, finding a black short-sleeved shirt that belonged to her father and pulled it on. She haphazardly tied a black sash around her waist, securing the ill-fitting garment to her body. Then, from another box, she retrieved a dagger and tucked it into her waist. It was custom-made by someone for her father before his death, meant for self-defense.

With preparations made, ripples slipped to the backyard stable. There was a dog hole near the hay storage where she had once sneaked out with her maid. This time, ripples chose this path too, so as not to wake anyone up.

Pulling open the mat woven from weeds, ripples crept out effortlessly. Under the moonlight, it glanced at the back alley, which was pitch black with no sign of anyone, only the distant sound of the night watchmen's calls.

After confirming the alley was empty, Lian Yi swiftly rose and dashed out. She circled around the back alleys until she reached the front of her house. A white lantern hung by the door, and a white flower hung on the Wu family signboard above it, indicating that mourning rites were being held inside.

She picked up a stone from the roadside, as big as her two fists. She gently squeezed it and the stone crumbled into small pieces. Then she put all the pebbles in her pocket. Things happened so suddenly that she could only use these pebbles as weapons. After all, she had previously used even date pits to kill.

Then she quickly walked out of the street where Wu's small courtyard was located, preparing to meet Li Jizu and the others. They should have already left their temporary residence and were coming in the direction of Wu's house by now.

After Lián Yī walked out of the street, she darted into a shadowed alleyway. Within a few moments, footsteps could be heard approaching. Of those who came, only five had martial arts training; their steps were light and silent. The rest were ordinary household servants.

When those people showed their faces, Lian Yi immediately recognized that the one surrounded in the middle was Li Jizzu. They were all in black with covered faces, clearly unwilling to reveal their identities.

The ripples caught the pebbles, and he raised his hand to strike out with five or six stones in his grasp. The people surrounding Li Jizu immediately fell to the ground, groaning in pain. Four guards quickly surrounded Li Jizu. They never would have thought that anyone would be ambushing them here.

The ripples wouldn't give them a chance to react. Grasping fistfuls of pebbles, she flung them with all her might while using the shadow as cover to flip and break through the fallen servants surrounding her. She landed on her feet at the feet of the four guards.

She wasn't tall, so a single decisive strike was impossible. Her first move was to sever the tendons of the four guards' legs. As they instinctively bent down towards the ground, she pierced their throats or hearts.

The entire process was like ripples, breathing steady but fast and fierce. It swirled around once, like a whirlwind, and resolved the four highest martial artists.

Li Jizu was so scared that he collapsed to the ground, trembling as he crawled out. He was utterly humiliated.

At this moment, a man in black outside noticed something was wrong and immediately turned to protect Li Jizu and run away. He only ran five steps before he fell headfirst to the ground.

"Help! Help!!!"m swept over. Fortunately, they were hiding in the stone pile and had cover, so they safely passed through the storm.After the wind died down, he immediately mounted the white dragon and prepared to r...