It had just snowed, and when the snow melted, the roads near the city gate were extremely difficult to walk on.
But in Zhengzhou, a prosperous city known as the commercial capital, the streets are still bustling with people and cars.
The woodcutters carrying firewood, the peddlers carrying shelves on their backs, the peasant women riding on ox carts, and the soldiers wearing armor and holding long spears, all came and went on the muddy road covered with a thin layer of snow.
Crowds of people flowed in and out of the grand and majestic city gate.
Because of this flow of people, many vendors gathered on both sides of the road inside the city gate.
Some set up tea stalls, and some sell food and snacks.
It provides a place for people who are rushing out of the city or returning from a long journey to rest and fill their stomachs.
From time to time, one or two horse-drawn carriages carrying wealthy families would creak past on the muddy ground, with the wooden wheels splashing mud and causing pedestrians on both sides to duck.
A young man selling steamed buns was mingling among the vendors on the roadside. He used the load in front of him as a cover to carefully observe every carriage returning from outside the city.
His name is An, and he is an assassin.
An couldn't remember his exact age, maybe seventeen, or maybe eighteen.
He only knew that there were not many of his companions who could live to his age.
Among the Deadpools who trained with him, only one girl survived the cruel ordeal with him.
Their master Jie gave them names. The girl was named Yang and he was named An.
But now, the girl named Ayang is no longer seen.
A'an had been waiting by the roadside for most of the day and felt a little hungry.
The aroma of the fire burning on the burden in front of him wafted out and entered his nostrils, but he never stretched out his hand.
The action that was about to begin did not allow him to have the food he had just eaten in his stomach, as that would most likely cause him to vomit during the intense action.
Even the slightest mistake in the action could cost one's life.
An received the message that the target was about to arrive.
The target this time was a man with crippled legs sitting in a carriage.
The man was a high-ranking official of the State of Jin, who had just returned from a diplomatic mission. His name was Zhou Zixi.
An had heard this name a long time ago.
Once upon a time, his only friend Ayang sat next to him and asked, "An, have you ever liked anyone?"
An doesn't understand what love is. There are only two things in his life: complete the mission and continue to live, or fail the mission and die.
The friend who grew up in the swamp with him had a look in his eyes that he couldn't understand, and his face was slightly red. "I like my target, his name is Zhou Zixi."
"You can't do this, you won't live long." An said.
"Yes, because I fell in love with him, I thought I might die soon." Ayang answered softly.
As expected, Ayang died soon after.
A'an's only friend whom he could talk to was gone.
The sound of horse-drawn carriages could be heard on the road.
Because of the dense flow of people, the carriage slowed down.
There were many guards surrounding the front and back of the carriage.
After a long journey, he finally arrived at the gate of his own country.
The guards' expressions were visibly relaxed.
They chatted leisurely and discussed where to go in the evening to have a drink of strong liquor to relieve fatigue.
The curtain of the car window was lifted, revealing a handsome and elegant face.
This is A'an's goal.
A'an neither hated nor liked this man, but he wanted to take his life.
He has done this countless times, using other people's lives to exchange for his own survival.
He took up his burden and walked towards the carriage.
On the noisy street, young men and carriages passed each other.
The horse pulling the cart seemed to be startled by something. It neighed loudly and ran away, knocking over the young man who was carrying the burning load.
The golden fire spread all over the ground, and the boy selling fire rolled into the mud, holding his legs and screaming in pain.
The carriage was quickly controlled by the guards.
The crowd gathered around.
Ah An rolled on the ground, pretending to be seriously injured and crying out in pain.
A wheelchair stopped in front of him, with a gentle man sitting in it.
"How are you, little brother? Are you seriously injured?" The man stretched out his hand and asked with concern.
Great, the target actually got out of the car and was about to approach me.
A'an was secretly glad in his heart. He had originally just wanted to force the carriage to stop and wait for an opportunity to take action.
He looked around quietly and found several of his companions in the crowd, who were secretly signaling to him, ready to support him at any time.
The timing is perfect!
A'an pulled out the dagger and stabbed the man who was so close to him!
Zhou Zixi's guards reacted and pushed the wheelchair hard. The wheelchair slipped on the snow and fell to the ground with Zhou Zixi, narrowly avoiding the fatal knife.
The crowd of onlookers suddenly became agitated.
For a moment, the squeezing crowd separated Zhou Zixi and his guards.
A'an swung his knife at the disabled man lying on the snow.
The man raised his head, and a pair of clear eyes looked at him.
For some reason, Ayang's voice suddenly rang in A'an's mind.
"I think I'm going to die because of falling in love with him."
Ayang died for him.
A'an paused for a very brief moment.
Just at this moment, a hand reached out from the side and grabbed his blade, preventing him from stabbing any further.
This is a girl who is about his age.
The woman held a short blade and exchanged more than ten moves with him in a flash.
Between masters, it only takes a few moves to know the strength of the other party.
A'an knew that his mission had failed this time. He could not take the target's life at the hands of this woman.
He risked his life to get stabbed, broke through the encirclement and escaped.
The girl was Ajia. She lifted up the wheelchair, helped Zhou Zixi who was lying in the snow, and placed him in the wheelchair: "Master Zhou, are you okay?"
"Thank you, I'm fine." Zhou Zixi took a breath and calmed down, "Miss Ajia, why are you here?"
"The lord was also attacked by an assassin a few days ago. He was worried about you and sent me to pick you up." Ajia said. She looked up and saw the place in front of her. "The lord is here in person."
Not far away, Cheng Qianye was sitting on a horse.
She gripped the reins tightly in her hands, looking at the chaos in front of her, her anger burning in her eyes.
If she hadn't thought of it, or had come a step too late.
Zhou Zixi, who had just returned to Zhengzhou, would die at the gate of his own city, right in front of his own eyes.
The assassins were mixed in with the crowd and were fleeing in all directions.
Countless Jin soldiers came with weapons, searching for the assassin.
"Close the city gates immediately. No one is allowed to enter the city but leave. We must catch the assassin." Cheng Qianye gave the order.
Among the assassins who tried to kill Zhou Zixi, there was a very special young man whose body color was pure black.
Black without any impurities.
Cheng Qianye had never seen a person who was purely black.
Obsidian in sunlight.
She wanted to find the assassin and the people behind him, and make them pay the price for their stupid behavior.
Return to the palace.
Cheng Qianye sat down with a sullen face. She pulled Ajia's hand and turned over her palm. She saw a hideous wound across the palm of her hand. Ajia's hand was covered in blood.
At the critical moment, Ajia used this hand to grab the enemy's blade and saved Zhou Zixi's life.
Cheng Qianye sprinkled medicine on the wound and bandaged it himself: "I'll call the military doctor to take a good look at you later."
Ajia's eyebrows curved and he showed a standard smile: "It's just a minor injury, my lord, don't worry about it."
"It obviously hurts, why are you still smiling?" Cheng Qianye looked up at the girl who was only sixteen or seventeen years old. She was so young, but she was already accustomed to pain. If it weren't for the blood on her hands, you would never know from the outside that she was so badly injured.
"Ajia, people only smile when they are happy. They cry when they are sad." Cheng Qianye wrapped the bandage in circles. "You don't have to go against your own heart so deliberately. When you are in pain, you can let yourself be in pain. When you are angry, you can let yourself be angry."
Ajia was stunned for a moment and blinked: "But my master told me that no matter what time, you should not show your true expression. Only when the enemy cannot see through your expression can they not guess your true actions. To be a qualified Deadpool, you don't need to have your own heart. You don't need to have your own expression."
Cheng Qianye stopped talking. There was still too much darkness in this world, in corners that she had never seen.
"Master Zhou, who do you think sent these assassins?" Cheng Feng asked. "A few days ago, the lord encountered an assassin. He was about 40 years old, thin, and had superb martial arts. Ajia and I attacked him, but we couldn't stop him."
Zhou Zixi thought for a moment and said, "There is a confidant of Song's Crown Prince Ji Ang named Jie, who looks very similar to the assassin you described. Last time we forced Song to cede territory and pay compensation, Ji Ang hated me to the core. With his temperament, it is possible that he planned such a despicable thing."
He recalled the girl Ayang who died for him, and felt sad: "The young man who assassinated me today also reminded me of an old friend of mine. Although they look different, they have many similar characteristics. That person is a dead servant of Song State."
The snowy season is the most difficult time of the year for the poor.
Even in a relatively prosperous city like Zhengzhou, there are many refugees who are lacking food and clothing and have no place to live.
In the Xicheng District, where slums are concentrated, there are dilapidated shacks everywhere that cannot withstand the wind and snow.
A boy of seventeen or eighteen years old walked hurriedly through the snow.
His face was dark and his hair was tangled, so his features could not be seen clearly. He was wearing a ragged cotton-padded jacket and holding a piece of pancake in his hand, chewing it as he walked.
At the foot of the wall there was a starving little beggar, who was emaciated by the sight of a piece of bread. He was drooling with envy as he looked at the half piece of bread in his hand.
In the end, he couldn't resist the temptation of hunger, and holding up the broken bowl in his hand, he stopped the boy who was much older than him.
"Brother, please give me something to eat. I'm really starving."
The young man kicked the iron basin away and saw the broken basin rolling on the ground, making a rolling sound. He laughed as if he had done something funny.
The little beggar picked up his bowl in disappointment. He was so hungry that he was panicking.
He would rather be beaten if it meant he could have a bite of that half pancake.
Even though he knew in his heart that even if he was beaten, the cake would not fall into his hands.
With a snap, half a piece of pancake fell into his bowl. He rubbed his eyes in disbelief and quickly picked up the pancake and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Thank you, thank you." He sobbed with snot running down his nose.
He looked up and saw that the young man had walked away, and waved to him nonchalantly with his back turned.
A carriage slowly drove around the corner.
A corner of the car curtain was lifted, and a cold voice was heard.
"That's the guy, catch him."
The little beggar was horrified to see a red-clothed guard standing out of the car. The man drew his bow and shot an arrow, which hit the young man who had just shared the pancake with him.
The young man was hit by an arrow in the back and fell down for a moment, but he quickly turned over and ran forward.
The red-robed guard shot two more arrows, piercing the boy's legs and knocking him to the ground.
Countless soldiers emerged from the street, pinned the boy who was struggling to escape to the ground, and tied him up.
Ajia jumped off Cheng Qianye's carriage and said coldly, "Stop his mouth and don't let him commit suicide. Take him back and interrogate him carefully."