Chapter 272: Inside the Hall

When the clappers sounded at midnight, the long street that was usually bustling was empty.

After the assassination of the crown prince, the capital, which had not had a curfew for decades, was put on alert again. Shops could only be open until midnight, 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.

The night without pedestrians and lights was the best cover.

Everyone climbed up the roofs of the buildings across the street from the Privy Council in turn - these brick and stone houses facing the street basically have three floors, and the ridges have exceeded the top of the wall, so they can easily peek behind the wall.

After circling the Privy Council, Li returned to the hiding place and nodded to everyone, "Everything is normal, and the guards are basically the same as during the day."

Xia Fan took a deep breath.

"Very good. When Xinwu is in place, we will start to act."

"So when you sneaked into Luo's room before, did you prepare like this?" Luo Qingqing suddenly asked in a low voice.

"Well... after all, a person's words are simpler, but the process is basically the same... why do you suddenly ask this?"

"No... I just think you are quite knowledgeable. 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 teach this? The way of heaven is indeed omniscient." Qianzhi sighed.

"I don't think so," Li curled his lips, "it seems to be his daily life accumulation-when he was wandering with his master, he must have done this a lot."

Hey, hey, the more you talk, the more outrageous it is.

Just when Xia Fan wanted to defend himself, there was a sudden noise from the direction of the gate of the Privy Council.

I saw several Taoists rushing out of the street, seemingly trying to break into the Privy Council, but were stopped by the imperial guards with spears. The Taoists did not use magic, but argued loudly with the guards. In the quiet night, the sound could be vaguely heard even if they were more than a hundred meters away and hiding on the roof.

"I have important matters to attend to. Why can't I enter the General Mansion?"

"You are responsible for delaying the work of the Privy Council?"

"His Royal Highness has ordered that all registered Taoist priests must be investigated. Are you planning to disobey?"

"Catch them!"

The conflict attracted the patrol teams on both sides, and the sky above the street became a short-term 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 art, dragon scale." Luo gently summoned a thin flying sword, and Qian Zhi immediately tied a bundle of hemp rope to its tail. Then the former controlled the flying sword to cross the long street and the wall of the Privy Council, and wrapped the rope around a tree.

"Then... let's go."

"Be careful." Fang Xiandao said seriously for the first time.

"Don't worry, I will." Xia Fan nodded.

"In case... I mean in case of any accident, please send Qian Yan out. She can't be lost." He added.

Xia Fan immediately took back all the good comments.

"Master, you're such a badass." Qian Zhi muttered.

"I'm just reminding you in a good way!"

As he spoke, Li had transformed into a fox and easily stepped on the rope to reach the mansion.

"Next."

Qian Yan also walked very fast, and his light body seemed almost weightless, and he ran through the long street.

Although Luo Qingqing was a circle bigger than the living dead, and his eyes could not see things in the distance, he actually walked over on the rope with his body flexibility and strong sense of balance.

To be honest, this was not quite what Xia Fan had expected. He thought everyone had to climb over by grabbing the rope, but he didn't expect that his teammates were all very skilled, and he became the slowest one.

But now that things have come to this, everything is secondary. He rolled up his sleeves and began to hold the rope tightly to cross the street.

At this time, an accident suddenly happened.

While the guards at the door were still tying up the Taoist priest, a team unexpectedly broke away from the crowd and walked towards the corner of the street.

Since it was an unconventional patrol route, they only needed about thirty breaths to cross the corner.

The first person to notice this 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 moving forward.

For the Taoist priest, this time was enough to reach the destination, but the hemp rope still left in the air would become a clue that exposed everyone!

"Qianzhi, good at adapting." The little girl pointed to the road the other party was walking on, "Ice... magic!"

An inconspicuous frost quickly spread on the ground. Because it was covered by the shadow of the wall, they could not be detected by the naked eye.

The soldier walking in front stepped on it without warning.

Then he fell to the ground with all his body.

"Damn! This ground is so slippery!"

"Hahahaha... look at you."

"Did you drink too much horse urine yesterday?"

His fall not only did not cause any vigilance, but also attracted a burst of laughter from his teammates.

"Can you blame me for this?" The other party got up while cursing, "It's dark, why don't you try it?"

"Okay, winter is like this, frost is nothing, heavy snow and ice melting is troublesome. Let's go, don't stop here and make fun of others."

As the captain spoke, the laughter gradually subsided.

The team was delayed for a short while, but this time was enough for Xia Fan to climb over the towering wall and retrieve the hemp rope.

"The Recording Department Hall is just east of the Privy Council, and there are guards at the door as well." Li Hui, who was on a reconnaissance mission, reported, "Not only that, the lights in the hall are on, and it seems that there are still people moving around."

"Normal, I'm afraid His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also wants to find something inside." Xia Fan looked at the top of the hall, "Let's go from the rooftop. According to Qianyan's memory, the terrace there can lead directly to the case file room. It's up to Fang Yanni next."

Facts show that the Lingzhou Fang family does not only produce charlatans.

Although the eldest disciple lacked confidence, the actual effect was better than everyone expected-the crowd had just touched the vicinity of the hall along the wall, and saw the guards above cursing and running away from their stationed positions, followed by a buzzing swarm of bees.

"You did a good job, that girl." Li praised.

"Compared to the eldest disciple in the heyday of the Fang family, this level can only be said to be barely qualified." Qianyan's evaluation was quite strict.

The seven or eight meters high hall of the Record Department was no problem for the four people. With the help of Fang Yanni's cover, they quickly passed through the roof and entered the hall from a terrace.

It was brightly lit inside.

In Xia Fan's eyes, this place was simply a library. The hall was divided into several floors, and neat wooden shelves and tightly arranged books could be seen everywhere.

Compared with it, the Record Department of Jinxia City was as simple as a roadside rental bookstore.

I'm afraid that the only thing that can be compared with it is the Luo family's library.

Luo sniffed lightly and frowned slightly, "It smells bloody."

"Really?" Xia Fan leaned down and looked down along the gap in the stairwell-he saw more than a dozen corpses lying in the hall on the first floor, and blood stained the granite floor red. Some of those corpses were wearing the armor of the imperial guards, while others were wearing the black robes of the Privy Council.