When the clapper sounded at midnight, the usually bustling long street was deserted.
After the assassination of the prince, the royal capital, which had not had a curfew for decades, once again entered a state of alert. Shops could only be opened until midnight at most, and residents were not allowed to stay out overnight. This ban seemed to strengthen the security of the capital, but in fact it opened the door to convenience for Xia Fan.
At night, when there are no pedestrians or lights, this is the best cover.
Everyone climbed up to the roof of the building across the street from the Privy Council Palace - these brick and stone houses facing the street basically have three floors. The ridge of the roof has exceeded the top of the wall, and they can easily peek into the situation behind the wall.
After walking around the Privy Council Palace, Li returned to his hiding spot and nodded to everyone, "Everything is normal. The guards' defense is basically the same as during the day."
Xia Fan took a deep breath.
"Very good. Once Xinwu is in place, we'll start taking action."
"So you were prepared in this way when you entered the Luo family's room before?" Luo Qingqing suddenly asked in a low voice.
"Uh... It's easier to do it alone, but the process is basically the same... Why do you ask this so suddenly?"
"No... I just think I'm quite expert. No wonder the guard disciples I arranged are useless. Now that I think about it, it's normal to lose to you."
Xia Fan was speechless.
"Does the listener even teach this? Heaven really knows everything." Qianzhi sighed.
"I don't think so," Li curled his lips. "It's more like his daily life accumulation - he must have done this a lot when he was wandering around with his master."
Hey, hey, the more you talk, the more outrageous it becomes.
Just when Xia Fan wanted to defend himself, a burst of noise suddenly came from the direction of the gate of the Privy Council Palace.
Several alchemists were seen rushing out of the street, seemingly trying to break into the Privy Council Palace, but they were forced to stop by the Imperial Guards with spears. The alchemist did not use magic, but argued loudly with the guards. In the quiet night, they could vaguely hear the sound even though they were more than a hundred meters away and hidden on the roof.
"I have important things to do, why can't I enter the headquarters?"
"Can you bear the responsibility for delaying the affairs of the Privy Council?"
"His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has issued an order that all registered alchemists must be investigated. Are you planning to disobey the order?"
"Get them!"
This conflict attracted patrols from both sides, and the street became a brief blind spot.
—The time agreed with Xin Wu was almost the same.
"action!"
Xia Fan immediately put away all distracting thoughts and said in a deep voice.
"Immortal technique, dragon scale." Luo gently summoned a thin flying sword, and Qianzhi immediately tied a bundle of hemp rope to its end. Then the former controlled the flying sword to cross the long street and the wall of the Privy Council Palace, and wrapped the rope around a tree.
"Then... let's go."
"Be careful." Fang Xiandao said seriously.
"Don't worry, I will." Xia Fan nodded.
"In case...I mean if something happens, please send Qian Yan out. She can't make any mistakes." He added.
Xia Fan immediately took back all the good comments.
"Master, you have a crow's mouth." Qianzhi muttered.
"This is a kind reminder!"
While talking, Li turned into a fox and easily stepped on the rope to reach the house.
"Next."
Qian Yan also walked like flying, his light body almost weightless, and he passed the long street at a trot.
Although Luo Qingqing was slightly larger than the living dead and could not clearly see things in the distance, with her body's flexibility and strong sense of balance, she was able to walk over the rope.
To be honest, this is not what Xia Fan expected. He originally thought that everyone would have to grab the rope and climb over, but he didn't expect that his teammates were all very skilled, and he ended up being the slowest one.
But the matter has come to this point, and everything is secondary. He rolled up his sleeves and began to cross the street holding on to the rope.
At this time, an accident happened suddenly.
While the guards at the door were still tying up the alchemists, a small team unexpectedly broke away from the crowd and walked towards the corner of the street.
Since it was an unconventional patrol route, it only took them about thirty breaths to get around the corner.
The first person to notice this situation was Fang Xiandao. He immediately gestured to Xia Fan, but at this time Xia Fan had already climbed to the middle of the road, and it would take the same amount of time to return or continue forward.
For the alchemist, this time is enough time to reach the destination, but the hemp rope still in the air will become a clue to expose everyone!
"Qianzhi, good at adapting to situations." The little girl pointed to the path the other party was coming from, "Ice... Technique!"
A patch of inconspicuous frost quickly spread on the ground, and because it was covered by the shadow of the wall, it was impossible to detect it with the naked eye.
The soldier at the front stepped on it without warning.
Then he fell down and fell to the ground.
"Damn! This place is so slippery!"
"Hahahaha... look at you like this."
"Did you drink too much horse urine yesterday?"
His fall not only did not arouse any alarm, but instead caused a burst of laughter from his teammates.
"Can you blame me for this?" The other party cursed and got up, "It's just a waste of time. Why don't you give it a try?"
"Okay, that's how it is in winter. Frost is nothing. Heavy snow and ice are the trouble. Start walking, and don't stop here to make other people laugh."
As the captain spoke up, the laughter gradually subsided.
The team only stayed for a short while, but this time was enough for Xia Fan to climb into the towering courtyard wall and recover the hemp rope.
"The main hall of the Ministry of Records is located to the east of the Privy Council Palace, and the door is also guarded." Li Hui, who was responsible for the investigation mission, reported, "Not only that, the lights in the hall are on, and it seems that there are still people active."
"It's normal. I'm afraid His Royal Highness also wants to find something inside." Xia Fan looked at the top of the hall, "We'd better go from the top of the building. According to Qian Yan's memory, the terrace there can lead directly to the case file room. Next, let's look at Fang Yanni's .”
Facts have shown that the Fang family in Lingzhou does not only produce magic sticks.
Although the eldest disciple lacked confidence in what he said, the actual effect was better than everyone expected. As soon as everyone walked along the wall to the vicinity of the main hall, they saw the guards above cursing and running away from their stationed position. Following him, It was a buzzing swarm.
"Well done, that girl." Li praised.
"Compared to the eldest disciples of the Fang family in their heyday, this level can only be said to be barely adequate." Qian Yan's evaluation was quite strict.
The seven or eight meters height of the Lubu Hall did not present any difficulty for the four of them. With Fang Yanni's cover, they quickly crossed the ridge of the roof and entered the hall from a terrace.
It was brightly lit inside.
In Xia Fan's eyes, this place is simply a library. The hall is divided into several floors. You can see regular wooden shelves and tightly arranged books everywhere.
Compared with this, the recording department in Jinxia City is as crude as a roadside bookstore.
I'm afraid the only thing that can compare with it is the Luo family's library.
Luo sniffed it gently and frowned slightly, "It smells of blood."
"Really?" Xia Fan leaned down and looked down along the gap in the stairwell - he saw more than a dozen corpses lying in random directions in the hall on the first floor, and the blood dyed the granite floor red. Some of the corpses were wearing Imperial Guard armor, while others were wearing Privy Council black robes.