I am the villain in the book

"What?! ! !"

He stood up abruptly, his eyes wide with disbelief.

When the man in black told Gongsun Yan of Lu Yuansong's death, the latter was clearly shocked to the extreme.

Yes, he did have issues with Lu Yuansong, and even wished the latter would die sooner rather than later.

But Gongsun Yan never expected Lu Yuansong to die so unexpectedly.

"Who did it?!"

He turned his head sharply to look at the man in black, and asked urgently, "The First Prince? Or the Third Prince?"

"I don't know yet."

The man in black immediately answered truthfully, "I only know that an assassin infiltrated Changding Hall and killed everyone in the hall, including the Second Prince, in less than a quarter of an hour."

"And the assassin also killed Celestial Master Huang who went to rescue them."

"."

There were many witnesses to what happened in Changding Hall, so it wasn't a secret.

And the man in black probably held a high position in the palace, so he quickly told Gongsun Yan the whole story.

After listening, the latter didn't ask any more questions, but just sat back in his chair blankly, and remained silent for a long time.

The candlelight flickered, and the study was silent, with a faint fragrance of ink wafting in the tense air.

Seeing that Gongsun Yan didn't speak, the man in black just stood quietly, until after an unknown amount of time, he heard a low murmur that seemed to be a soliloquy.

"He killed him..."

"."

His pupils shrank subconsciously, and the man in black turned his head sharply to look at Gongsun Yan, his expression somewhat surprised.

Because this sentence contained two layers of meaning.

First, Gongsun Yan had already guessed the real murderer of Lu Yuansong.

Second, Gongsun Yan knew this person.

"Master, this person..."

After hesitating for a moment, the man in black was just about to ask something, but was interrupted by Gongsun Yan before he could finish speaking:

"You can leave now."

". Yes."

His eyes momentarily stagnant, the man in black cupped his hands and quickly bowed out of the study.

Only Gongsun Yan was left in the room again, but the news brought by the man in black made the former's state of mind completely different from before.

Without a doubt, Gongsun Yan had already guessed that Wei Changtian killed Lu Yuansong.

As for why he killed Lu Yuansong and not others, the truth was not difficult to deduce by combining it with what happened at the horse market this morning.

Help me kill my mortal enemy, and also help me sit on the dragon throne...

Gongsun Yan was a businessman, so he naturally understood the principle of "equivalent exchange".

He believed that he had nothing that the latter would value.

What others dreamed of was particularly tangled for him.

After all, Gongsun Yan not only understood "equivalent exchange", but also knew that the greater the profit, the greater the risk in business.

So, should he take this risk?

His brow furrowed, his mind was like a mess, with gains and losses all mixed together and difficult to distinguish.

Gongsun Yan struggled with this for a long, long time, and then finally, at a certain moment, he suddenly gritted his teeth and shouted:

"Someone!"

"."

"Master."

The door opened again, and the man in black who had just left immediately appeared in front of Gongsun Yan.

This time, the latter didn't hesitate any longer and immediately ordered in a deep voice:

"There is an inn in the south of the city called Zhuwu. Take someone to ambush around it immediately."

"If people from the yamen want to check the guests staying at the inn, give them some money to send them away."

"But remember, do not disturb the people in the inn!"

"Do you understand?"

". Yes, I understand."

The man in black's answer was slightly slower, showing that he didn't understand what Gongsun Yan was going to do.

After responding, he was about to go out to do this, but at this moment, Gongsun Yan behind him suddenly added:

"Notify all the branch offices in each county, and all the masters above the middle third rank must set off for the capital immediately!"

Sending someone to "scout" Zhuwu, and ordering all his masters to come to Yongding City immediately.

Obviously, Gongsun Yan was still unwilling to miss this opportunity after all, and decided to take a gamble.

At this point, with the last gust of east wind gradually rising, the destruction of Da Hui had entered the countdown.

Half an hour later, when Zhang San told Wei Changtian that there were several more pairs of "eyes" outside the inn, the latter understood everything.

"Okay, it's not in vain for me to spend so much effort."

"Go to sleep, see you tomorrow..."

Soon, the candlelight in the small courtyard was completely extinguished, and it became silent in the bamboo forest.

Wei Changtian didn't care about the people Gongsun Yan sent at all, and didn't care about the bursts of horses' hooves in the city. After washing up, he went to bed.

He was in a relaxed mood, practicing the Luoqiong Sword in the Dream Dao with great enthusiasm.

But among the few people guarding outside the inn, one person's mood was completely opposite to his.

"Hoo..."

Staring intently at the Zhuwu in the night not far away, Chu An took a deep breath.

He received an order to come here with the man in black.

Because his status was just an ordinary retainer, Chu An didn't know what he and the others were here to do.

It was precisely because he didn't know that he was so uneasy.

After all, no matter what Gongsun Yan wanted to do, since he was making such a big fuss, it must be a big deal.

And once involved in this kind of thing, the life and death of ordinary people would no longer be up to them.

"Brother Zhang..."

Quietly walking to the man in black, Chu An said softly, "Let's talk for a moment."

"Huh?"

The man in black surnamed Zhang was stunned for a moment, hesitated, and then walked to the side with Chu An.

"What's wrong? Speak quickly!"

"Brother Zhang..."

Chu An lowered his voice and asked, "What does the Prince want us to do here?"

"Why are you asking this?"

The man in black frowned, staring at Chu An with a strange expression, his eyes full of suspicion.

Chu An hesitated for a moment, and then answered truthfully with some difficulty:

"Brother Zhang, to be honest, the shopkeeper of this Zhuwu is actually my... unmarried wife."

"What?"

His eyes widened slightly, and the man in black obviously didn't expect Chu An to say such a thing.

But he quickly came back to his senses and squinted his eyes and asked:

"Are you afraid that what we are going to do will affect her?"

"Yes..."

Chu An lowered his head and sincerely requested, "Brother Zhang, although I don't know what the Prince wants to do, she is just a commoner and must be unrelated to this matter."

"I wonder if you can allow me to take her to another place to avoid it first?"

"This is not possible."

Without any hesitation, the man in black shook his head and refused, "You have been working under the Prince for more than a year, and you should know the rules."

"But you don't have to worry so much."

"This time, the Prince ordered us to protect the people in this inn, and there probably won't be any conflicts."

"Is that so... I understand."

Lowering his eyes, Chu An didn't say anything more after all.

He just turned his head and glanced at the bamboo forest across the street again, and a ghost-faced red dragon was churning in his dantian.

《Classic of Mountains and Seas·Great Wilderness Classic》: Outside the northwest sea, north of the Red River, there is Zhangwei Mountain. There is a god with a human face and a snake body, and red, straight eyes riding upright. When he closes his eyes, it is dark, and when he opens his eyes, it is bright. He does not eat, sleep, or breathe, and the wind and rain are his servants. He is Zhujiuyin, also known as Zhulong.

Zhulong, the way of destruction.