The Ming Dynasty's henchmen, working from nine to five

Chapter 37 Fat Orange Cat

Due to the time constraints, Shen Lang had not yet had time to investigate Pei Ci's past experiences.

But based on his recent brief exchanges, he had roughly figured out the man's temperament.

Now, with just a slight gesture and a few words of flattery, Pei Ci has been coaxed into becoming an embryo.

Pei Ci's lips twitched, about to turn upwards, but he quickly suppressed it.

His face was tense, and he tried hard to maintain an arrogant demeanor as he spoke:

"I never boast, but when it comes to insight, no one in the same realm can surpass me!"

"My eyes are my ruler!"

As he spoke, he quickly placed the longsword against his left chest, shifting his posture so that his left cheek was facing Shen Lang, and continued:

"Shortly after leaving the city, I discovered that someone was following Princess Changning, and not just one group, not two groups, but three groups!"

"Among them, there is one who is a rank-one martial artist!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang's expression immediately turned serious.

When he heard yesterday that Princess Changning had left the city, his first reaction was that something big was about to happen.

Because he put himself in the thief's shoes, he couldn't find any reason why the thief wouldn't take this opportunity to act.

Only now did he finally understand why the princess was able to return safely.

It turned out that Pei Ci's appearance had startled those people away!

Pei Ci, oblivious to the change in Shen Lang's expression, remained lost in his own world and continued arrogantly:

"Lord Shen wasn't present at the time, so he probably can't imagine what happened."

"I merely snorted coldly, and the cowardly, low-ranking martial artist immediately retreated!"

"He must be from Yujing, and has heard of my name..."

Pei Ci boasted for a while, then snorted coldly and scared away the martial arts master, and then gave eight masked villains with a single glance.

But Shen Lang's mind was no longer on this.

For various reasons, he never had the chance to communicate with Princess Changning. Now, through Pei Ci's few words, he has guessed the general idea.

The princess intended to use herself as bait to lure out the thieves.

Therefore, he specially brought one hundred guards with him when he left the palace.

Princess Qingping must have felt uneasy after learning about her plan, so she transferred a servant from the Marquis's residence, namely Pei Ci, to accompany her.

Pei Ci's arrival disrupted Princess Changning's plans.

After all, any normal person would think twice before approaching a martial arts master of a certain rank.

It was precisely because of this that Princess Changning successfully escaped a calamity.

In fact, her plan was quite thorough: of the hundred armored and armed guards, twenty were in the open and eighty were in the shadows.

Some were responsible for surveillance, while others were responsible for going into the city to seek help at any time. They looked after each other and cooperated with each other, which was indeed able to handle the vast majority of situations.

The only flaw in this plan was that Princess Changning was not a martial artist and did not have a clear understanding of the strength of martial artists of different realms.

She didn't know that even the lowest-ranking martial artist could easily wipe out her entire group of one hundred.

Thinking of this, Shen Lang felt a chill of fear.

If it weren't for Pei Ci's unexpected turn of events, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"Brother Pei, thank you very much."

"And Princess Qingping, I will certainly pay her a visit in the future to express my gratitude!"

Shen Lang interrupted Pei Ci's long speech, his expression turned serious, and he clasped his hands in a salute.

Pei Ci was taken aback for a moment, then returned the greeting somewhat awkwardly: "Brother Shen... there's no need for that."

"Since I have received the Marquis's support, I should do my best to serve the Marquis's family. There is no need for further words."

Shen Lang nodded slightly, his impression of him improving considerably.

Pei Ci asked, "The princess is merely experiencing a poisoning episode; some herbal medicine will suffice. Why is Brother Shen making such a fuss?"

"What are you looking into?"

Shen Lang concealed the crimson light in his eyes and told him about the princess's assassination.

Pei Ci's background is legitimate, and his purpose is simple: he is indeed here to protect the princess and the noblewoman. There is no need to hide these things.

To everyone's surprise, Pei Ci shook his head resolutely after hearing this: "Impossible!"

"Last night, I, Pei, searched the Prince's residence several times but found nothing unusual."

"If any thieves were to infiltrate, they would not be able to hide it from me!"

Shen Lang smiled and didn't argue with him, saying, "Whether it is or not, we'll find out after checking."

"Brother Pei, please stay here and don't move. I'll be right back."

After saying that, he called over Da Hu and led him to a quiet room.

The door closed, and a wisp of gray mist spread from Shen Lang's eyes.

"Unfold the palace for me!"

With a low shout, the enormous Jing'an Prince's Mansion suddenly began to shrink and transform, eventually becoming a virtual realm that appeared before his eyes.

Guards, servants, red carp swimming in the pond...

Every blade of grass, every tree, and every corner of the Prince's mansion was under his control.

Because the area was too large to trace back, Shen Lang could only use a laborious method: dividing the area into regions and checking them one by one.

"The side courtyard is all normal."

"The back garden is all normal."

"Cross-department... huh?"

When the view shifted to the northwest corner of the Prince's Mansion, to a courtyard adjacent to the inner residence and backed by a bamboo grove, his gaze suddenly sharpened!

Shen Lang moved closer to check again, then whispered:

"There's one more cat."

This is a separate courtyard with a main house and a side room, surrounded by a fence on all four sides.

The courtyard is filled with flowers, trees and shrubs, and there are also a few uniquely shaped wooden houses and some cattail cushions scattered on the grass.

At this moment, a group of cats are lying down, licking their paws, and leisurely sunbathing.

Princess Changning loved cats. Whenever she went out, if she encountered a thin or injured stray cat, she would bring it home.

This courtyard was a place she personally decorated, specifically for keeping the cats.

Shen Lang remembered very clearly that Princess Changning kept a total of thirty-six cats here.

At this moment, the thirty-six cats turned into thirty-seven.

He never hesitates to do what is right.

On his very first day, he used the virtual realm to firmly imprint every detail of the Prince's mansion into his mind.

He knew everything about each courtyard, each corridor, the types of flowers and trees planted there, and even the fish swimming in the lotus pond.

A cat inexplicably appeared in the courtyard, which seemed like a trivial matter.

But for Shen Lang, a variable is an anomaly, and an anomaly must be thoroughly investigated!

"Let me see where you came from."

Shen Lang fixed his gaze on the orange cat that was basking in the sun with its two front paws tucked in.

"With your shiny fur and being so fat, are you really a stray cat?"

The orange cat had its two front paws tucked together over its belly. Now, as it lay down on the cushion, its flesh was practically spilling out. Judging by the look of it, it weighed at least fifteen pounds.

This is not how a stray cat should behave.

Shen Lang zoomed in as close as possible, giving the orange cat a close-up.

Just then, the orange cat suddenly moved!

It opened its eyes, quickly shook its head, then put its front paws on the ground, arched its rear end high, and stretched out a big yawn.

Then, it nimbly climbed up the tree trunk to the treetop.

Its four furry paws crouched in one spot, gazing into the distance towards the location of the Xiulou Pavilion. A strange, eerie red light flashed in its amber pupils.

"I've found you."