After the two arrived at the mansion, Lao Liu’s expression remained dark, and finally he looked at Old Qi and asked, "What do we do now, should we just go back? I’m afraid at that time the Family Head might think we’re incompetent."
Old Qi glanced at Lao Liu and said, "Even if you want to go back now, you don’t have the strength, do you?"
Upon hearing this, Lao Liu’s face became even more bitter, and he said hatefully, "That little girl, I’ve remembered her, and I’ll definitely seek justice for today’s matter in the future."
"Are you sure you can seek justice? Not to mention now, but before you weren’t her match."
Hearing this, Lao Liu was so angry that he spat blood.
"Old Qi, what’s your deal? Why are you siding with outsiders? I’ve suffered such serious injuries now, and you don’t help but keep saying such discouraging words."
Old Qi said no more, but his face was a picture of contemplation.
After calming down, Lao Liu frowned and said, "Today’s mission failed, and I don’t know if we’ve been exposed. After all, that little girl seems like she’s from the Yin sect. Why didn’t Madam tell us her background at the time? If we’d known earlier, we could’ve been more prepared."
"We were indeed careless this time. Why didn’t we think to ask the Family Head properly before going on the mission?"
At first, Lao Liu didn’t quite understand, but after a while, his eyes widened, "You mean... there’s something strange about this mission?"
Old Qi glanced at Lao Liu, "This time the task was issued to us by the old madam. We didn’t suspect anything after seeing the warrant. But this mission had so many unexpected changes, which never happened before. Looking back, whenever the Family Head issued a task, he would always provide us with the details. But this time we got nothing. We initially thought it was simple, hence no information, but actually it was harder than usual. Why didn’t the Family Head explain it? That’s unlike him."
After coming to his senses, Lao Liu’s expression gradually turned cold.
"So this time, did the old madam issue us the mission privately?"
But saying it out loud, Lao Liu found it impossible.
"How important is the warrant? If Family Head didn’t agree, how would it have reached the old madam? Could it be... she stole the Family Head’s warrant? That’s... impossible."
Old Qi didn’t say much, but looked at Lao Liu and said, "There’s no use guessing here. You need to take care of your injuries first, while I go out for a bit."
"Where are you going?"
Old Qi gave Lao Liu a sidelong glance, "Don’t ask so much. Just heal well. This place is very hidden; others won’t find it, not even others from the team." After that, he left quietly.
Old Qi originally planned to try his luck, and unexpectedly, his luck was good. Just upon arriving at the old Ding family residence, he found Mr. Ding.
"Master, we failed the task you assigned us. It was our incompetence; please punish us."
Upon hearing Old Qi’s words, Mr. Ding looked at him puzzled, "Old Qi, what’s this about? Besides... I haven’t asked you to do anything recently, have I?"
Seeing Mr. Ding’s reaction, Old Qi felt somewhat enlightened, but on the surface acted surprised, "Master, didn’t you previously have the old madam issue us an order to assassinate a woman named Ding Yuejun?" "What..."
Mr. Ding stood up in shock, and finally frowned deeply, "What’s going on?" But he didn’t have time to worry about it now, and urgently asked, "What about the woman named Ding Yuejun? How is she now? Did you harm her?"
Since meeting Ding Yuejun, he had been pondering over this matter, eventually sending people to investigate, and finally learning that the person was named Ding Yuejun. When he heard this information, his heart pounded, for the woman also bore the Ding surname, which stirred hopeful feelings within him.
Unexpectedly, he now heard Old Qi say they were ordered by Chen Meilian to target Ding Yuejun, enraging him.
Old Qi was also surprised by Mr. Ding’s reaction, initially thinking Mr. Ding would just ask about the matter’s details, but unexpectedly he showed great concern for the woman named Ding Yuejun, hinting there was a deeper issue.
He then recounted the events without embellishments, and finally said, "The woman is fine, but her daughter is quite formidable; Lao Liu was disabled by her. I narrowly escaped, eventually bringing Lao Liu along to flee."
Hearing this, Mr. Ding finally breathed a long sigh of relief and said, "That’s good."
Though reassured, he then glared at Old Qi like a sword, "Have you regressed? Someone gives you orders, and you just follow them without checking first if it’s truly me giving the instruction."
While angry, Mr. Ding knew he couldn’t blame them entirely.
Originally, it was agreed that seeing the warrant was equivalent to seeing him, just proceed with tasks directly. They didn’t expect Chen Meilian to exploit this loophole.
But this incident left his heart racing.
He was initially uncertain, but Chen Meilian’s reaction suggested his suspicions might be correct.
This realization left Mr. Ding restless, prompting him to ask, "Do you know where the woman named Ding Yuejun is now?"
"This... I don’t know, she should be in the hospital."
"What... why in the hospital? Didn’t you say she’s unhurt?"
Upon seeing Mr. Ding’s near ravenous expression, Old Qi quickly explained, "She’s unhurt, but her daughter has minor injuries, and one of her young guards is seriously injured." By now, he was certain Ding Yuejun’s identity wasn’t simple, as the Family Head seemed deeply concerned, making him answer cautiously.
Hearing this, Mr. Ding indeed relaxed somewhat, but worry returned upon learning Ding Yuejun’s daughter was injured.
"In that case, I’ll have someone investigate."
Old Qi hesitated for a moment before speaking, "Master, and... Madam’s side?"
Hearing this, Mr. Ding took a deep breath, finally allowing his previously excited mood to calm down. He looked at Old Qi and asked, "Were you discovered when you came?"
"Rest assured, Master, no one discovered me."
"Oh... so you came secretly to find me. Did you sense something odd about the previous mission?"
Old Qi saw Mr. Ding regain his usual wise demeanor and swiftly spoke the truth, "After the mission failed, I pondered a lot and couldn’t figure some things out, which led me here to find Master discreetly."