"Take what from me?"
Lin Ke looked at the scrawny, withered beggar before him with a half-smile.
"Take you as a spouse," the beggar said solemnly. "To tell you the truth, that is exactly why I came. Lord Qiu of the Left Office of the Prefect of the Capital saw what a fine-looking man you were, so he wanted to..."
Before he finished, while everyone was still stunned, the beggar turned into a streak of light and fled outside.
"Hmph." Li Chungang gave a soft snort. Vast, surging literary qi poured forth, pinning the beggar flat against the ground in an instant.
This time, before anyone could do anything, the beggar's head exploded with a bang.
Jingang swept his right hand, and flames engulfed all the scattered brains, blood, and flesh, burning them away.
"A death-sworn agent, then." Li Chungang snorted coldly. "The Left Office of the Prefect of the Capital would never leave evidence against itself."
Lin Ke nodded slightly, then began considering how to defend himself.
Right now, he was out in the open, while the Left Office of the Prefect of the Capital lurked in the shadows.
Or rather, he was outside the government, while the Left Office of the Prefect of the Capital held power within it.
Defending himself would be difficult!
"In that case, the female assassin earlier wasn't sent by the Left Office of the Prefect of the Capital," Jingang mused.
Everyone nodded.
Indeed.
If those two had been working together, what had just happened would never have occurred.
Still, this also made Lin Ke reassess his safety.
Having the Bamboo Staff protect him did not seem foolproof.
Neither did having Li Chungang and the others around.
Assassins had all sorts of ways to circumvent those defenses. Besides, Lin Ke often mingled with crowds.