Chapter 22: The Night Assassin Strikes

Jiang Yi felt that his wife was too easily satisfied when Shen Rong suddenly embraced him. She was hardworking and frugal, understanding, and most importantly, obedient.

“Let go for now. I’ll teach you to read tonight, starting with the numbers one to ten.”

They began with the simplest characters, learning about ten each day, accumulating knowledge little by little. After a year, she would know quite a few characters—enough for daily writing and reading.

Jiang Yi taught Shen Rong to recognize characters with utmost seriousness, guiding her hand as she wrote in her practice book. Unconsciously, it grew late into the night, and Jiang Yi began to feel drowsy.

“Husband, you should sleep first. I’ll practice a little longer and wake you in the second half of the night.”

“All right, I’ll rest for a bit. If there’s any commotion outside, be sure to wake me immediately.”

Jiang Yi had a premonition that assassins would come for them tonight. Before sleeping, he loaded two three-eyed guns with powder and lead bullets and prepared a fire starter.

Shen Rong sat by the windowsill practicing characters, glancing outside occasionally, worried someone might come to kill them for their wealth.

“When you have no money, everything is difficult. When you do have money, you worry about being targeted, and it keeps you from resting.”

As midnight passed, Shen Rong saw Jiang Yi sitting up.

“Go back to sleep. As long as the oil lamp is still burning inside, those thieves wouldn’t dare barge in openly.”

Jiang Yi shook his head gently. “Assassins don’t care whether the lamp is lit; they kill and run.”

Assassins chose the dead of night to strike when everyone was asleep, making it easier to carry out their mission.

“You sleep. I’ll handle them. No matter what happens, don’t come out.”

Jiang Yi got out of bed, carried Shen Rong back, and told her to rest easy. He had sensed danger outside as soon as he woke. The assassins were motionless in the snow, waiting for the perfect moment.

Jiang Yi extinguished the oil lamp and kept a vigilant watch on the window.

Shen Rong was too anxious to sleep, watching her husband move to the door, holding the three-eyed gun, his gaze icy as he stared outside.

“Stop hiding. If you’re here to kill me, come on, show yourselves.”

As the assassins approached, Jiang Yi fired his three-eyed gun, wounding the one closest. The shot wasn’t powerful enough to kill outright, especially from a distance on a windy night.

The loud gunfire startled nearby dogs into barking.

He lit two more fuses, firing twice more. Although the assassins were hit, they remained agile. If it were a flintlock gun, the damage would have been far greater.

“This thing’s power is too weak,” Jiang Yi muttered.

He grabbed another three-eyed gun, lighting it repeatedly, aiming at the approaching assassins. Though weak, multiple shots would add up in harm.

The running assassins grew more furious; in the open, there was nowhere to hide.

What seemed like an easy assassination was turning out to be more complicated due to poor intelligence.

After firing his last shot, Jiang Yi charged with his blade drawn. Close combat was no problem for him.

His military skills from before traversing time were not learned in vain. Though his body was somewhat weakened now, he could easily handle two assassins.

Through the window, Shen Rong saw her husband about to engage in close combat and worried for his safety.

She was no fighter herself, and rushing to help might only hinder him.

She stayed inside, trusting his advice, believing that was the best support she could offer.

“May my husband defeat these assassins safely. If he is injured and can no longer fight, then I will fight them to the death.”

Shen Rong took a knife from the bedside, ready to defend herself if needed.

The two assassins attacked Jiang Yi from front and back, confident they could kill him easily.

A faint smile curved Jiang Yi’s lips—he was a battle-hardened soldier from the 21st century. Handling two assassins was as easy as slicing through melons.

The assassin behind struck first while the one in front distracted Jiang Yi. They had some tactical sense but were no match for him.

Jiang Yi swiftly charged the front assassin, while the one behind turned and ran towards the hut, intending to kill Shen Rong and force Jiang Yi to turn back.

Jiang Yi quickly turned, gripping his knife, and with all his strength, threw it.

The assassin collapsed, pierced by the blade, which was thrown with deadly precision.

Jiang Yi then dashed back to retrieve a three-eyed gun from the ground.

The three-eyed gun could shoot bullets and serve as a weapon in hand-to-hand combat.

Holding the wooden handle with both hands, Jiang Yi charged the remaining assassin.

He would not let any assassin live, sending a clear message to whoever had sent them.

Jiang Yi struck down hard with the three-eyed gun, the assassin blocked with his knife but immediately felt his arm go numb as his blade was knocked away.

The weapon slammed heavily into the assassin’s chest as Jiang Yi unleashed his fury.

Even if he asked who had ordered the attack, the assassins likely didn’t know and certainly wouldn’t say.

These assassins were either hired mercenaries or fanatical retainers of the powerful, knowing nothing beyond completing their task.

Jiang Yi guessed it was the current prime minister, Cao Zhang, who had sent them.

The emperor of Yongkang might be unaware of the assassination attempt, but Cao Zhang had surely made meticulous preparations.

The assassins were utterly defeated with no chance to retrieve their weapons.

Knowing the mission had failed, one gritted his teeth and soon succumbed to poison.

“These two assassins had some skill. Fortunately, there weren’t more; otherwise, it would be difficult to handle.”

Jiang Yi planned to find time to train and improve his nutrition so he could easily dispatch any future assassins.

Shen Rong, seeing her husband kill the two assassins, finally relaxed.

Next, they needed to deal with the bodies. If the village chief was informed tomorrow, he could notify the authorities.

The couple might face trouble since they had killed men.

Shen Rong brought two sacks to put the bodies in.

“Husband, what should we do with these bodies?”

“Throw them into the mountains as food for wild beasts. I don’t want to tell the village chief or the government; it will only cause us trouble.”

There were few people Jiang Yi trusted, so they chose the simplest way to dispose of them.

Together, they loaded the bodies onto a mule cart, intending to take them to Ox Head Mountain later.

After getting ready, they gathered all their money.

Shen Rong used an iron shovel to scrape away the bloodstains and snow from the ground, ensuring no trace was left before they left.

The gunshots earlier must have disturbed the nearby villagers.

It was bitterly cold at night, and naturally, no one wanted to come out.

The villagers believed staying home was safest, sensing unrest around Hanyang City’s outskirts.

“They sent two assassins this time. What if they send more next time? What will we do then?”

Shen Rong worried for her husband after witnessing the fight.

If the mastermind learned their attempt had failed, surely more assassins would be sent.

“Send as many as they want to kill, I want to see how many they can send.”

Jiang Yi was unconcerned. Soon, he would personally craft a flintlock gun.

Its power was much greater than the three-eyed gun, with a far longer range. Within a hundred paces, it could kill an enemy with a single shot.