Chapter 38

She had never imagined that she would die at this man's hands, and in such an inexplicable way. She had clearly felt some goodwill toward this fat man. Not only had she not harmed him, she had even kindly told him much information about the rules he had violated. She had even been looking forward to that sky-high-priced candied hawthorn skewer. Yet now, death had suddenly come knocking.

And yet, strangely enough, there was not the slightest resentment in her heart. She only felt sorrow, though she did not know what she was grieving for.

Grieving the injustice of fate? Grieving her unfortunate life?

She was only fifteen, at an age as bright as sunlight, merely a flower bud waiting to bloom. She had yet to fully embrace the sun, embrace the butterflies...

A mist of tears welled up in her eyes, and everything before her blurred, as though separated by a pane of glass beaded with moisture, impossible to see clearly again. Everything that should have been beautiful began to grow hazy and drift farther away. She felt pain, pain coming from near her throat. Then her face grew scorching hot, everything in her vision was veiled in blood-red, followed by the sound of some heavy metal object hitting the ground.

Was this how she died?!

Linglong wanted to speak and ask herself, but discovered that she could not make a single sound. She raised a hand as if struggling, only to find that she could still move. She wiped her eyes hard, and the blurred world gradually became clear again, the bloody color slowly fading. She saw blood covering both her hands. It was still warm, steaming in the air. Instinctively, she lowered her head and discovered someone lying before her. It was Ning Chang'an.

The blood on her face had been spat out by Ning Chang'an.

At a complete loss, Linglong crouched down and felt Ning Chang'an's pulse. It was still beating, and exceptionally strongly at that, but his body was terribly hot, hot enough to burn. She instinctively shook Ning Chang'an by the shoulder, but he did not react at all. She wanted to say something, yet no matter how she tried, not even the faintest sound emerged from her throat.

She had lost her voice.

People had always praised her sweet voice. They said her laughter was especially pleasant, and that when she sang ballads, she sounded like drifting immortal music. But now, she discovered that she had lost her voice. Linglong's face turned deathly pale, and great tears rolled from the corners of her eyes down her cheeks.

When she had faced death just moments ago, there had not been a shred of hatred in her heart. Perhaps everything had come too suddenly, too shockingly. But now, she suddenly hated the fat man on the ground. She hated him so much that she wished she could kill him immediately.

When a person was alive yet had lost everything beautiful, it was more unbearable than death.

A tiny knife appeared in Linglong's hand, its cold light flashing. She gripped the knife and stared coldly at Ning Chang'an, her hand trembling. She was considering where to cut first. She was also wondering whether she could truly bring herself to cut.

Blood ran down her neck, staining half her body red. Though Ning Chang'an had greatly withdrawn the force of that sword strike at the final moment, it had still left a shocking wound at her shoulder and neck.

After a long while, desolation appeared in Linglong's eyes. She quietly put away the small knife in her hand, made a vicious expression, then grabbed the Gloomy Cold Soul Severing Sword with one hand and Ning Chang'an's hand with the other. Thus, she dragged him forward step by step until she knocked on the back door of Master's Tower.

In the end, she had not attacked Ning Chang'an, though she had left several wounds on his body. She was a strong-willed girl unwilling to suffer losses. Though she was not vicious, neither was she especially merciful. For someone who could gain a foothold in Blood Stained Alley, mercy had always been an unnecessary luxury.

Three days later, Ning Chang'an slowly woke up, his face terribly pale.

The moment he opened his eyes, he discovered that he was lying in a soft bed in a dim room. The window was open, though it was very small, and several beams of light shone in through it.

Someone stood by the window. Ning Chang'an recognized at once that it was Linglong's back.

Linglong held a candied hawthorn skewer in one hand and a black wooden box in the other.

Ning Chang'an slowly sat up, only to immediately feel agonizing pain throughout his body. He grimaced from the pain, but eventually managed to sit up and lean against the headboard.

"I'm not dead yet?!"

Ning Chang'an exclaimed.

Linglong slowly turned around by the window, taking small, savoring bites from her candied hawthorn skewer. Her face was somewhat pale, and her usual adorable smile was gone.

Seeing the bandages around Linglong's shoulder and neck and her haggard face, Ning Chang'an could not help but freeze. Some blurry fragments surfaced in his mind, and his expression gradually turned ugly.

"Linglong..."

Ning Chang'an found himself unable to speak.

Linglong gave him a bland glance, put away the black wooden box in her hand, took out a letter and casually tossed it to Ning Chang'an, then continued enjoying her candied hawthorn skewer.

Inside the envelope was a contract and a stack of silver notes. It was a Guest Official contract for Master's Tower. Everything had already been written out, and it was signed "Soul Severing," though no thumbprint had yet been pressed onto it.

"This is for me?"

Ning Chang'an asked.

Linglong nodded.

Ning Chang'an got up and sat down at the table. After examining the Guest Official contract for a while, he opened the inkpad box on the table and pressed down his thumbprint. The contract came in two copies. Ning Chang'an kept one for himself, while Linglong took the other to deliver to the person in charge of Master's Tower.

Ning Chang'an always felt that Linglong was acting strangely, and he could not understand why she did not say a single word. Although he had only known Linglong for a short time, she had not seemed like a woman of few words in his memory, and she had been far warmer than she was now.

Watching Linglong push open the door and leave, Ning Chang'an reached into his robes and felt around. When he discovered that the jade pendant and key were still in his inner pocket, he let out a breath of relief.

Only now could he finally relax. Successfully becoming a Guest Official of Master's Tower meant that he had gained a certain foothold in Yongan Prefecture. From the hands of the behemoth that was Master's Tower, he could obtain many things he wanted but had been unable to acquire. Next, he needed to go to Ning Manor and investigate the truth.

Though this undertaking had been a life-risking gamble, now that he had successfully become a Guest Official of Master's Tower, every sacrifice seemed worthwhile. Ning Chang'an could say with certainty that those who wanted him dead would never have expected him to make such a move. Even if they had thought of it, they likely would not have expected him to succeed in becoming a Guest Official of Master's Tower.

What he needed was a springboard like Master's Tower, a neutral springboard with enough weight behind it.

Master's Tower could exist as a neutral presence in Yongan Prefecture precisely because it was neutral. It handled matters beneath the table for the important figures in every manor. Master's Tower had remained standing because it belonged to no person and no faction. It existed solely because a special place like Yongan Prefecture had special needs. It appeared independent, yet its inner workings were tangled with roots and branches. It was almost every great lineage's enemy, yet also every great lineage's friend. It was a double-edged sword that existed only in Yongan Prefecture.

Outsiders only knew the sharpness of this blade, but could never know its internal structure. Those people drinking large bowls of tea in Master's Tower merely wished to borrow a sliver of Master's Tower's edge.

Whether they were Guest Officials or elders of Master's Tower, or those so-called servants and lackeys in Blood Stained Alley, they all did only one kind of work—beneath-the-table work that could not see the light of day, much like an assassin's trade. Of course, Master's Tower could do far more than an assassin organization ever could.

The reason Master's Tower was so sought after was its reliability. Whether one was a Calamity Star or a member of Blood Stained Alley, no matter what transaction one engaged in or whether the transaction succeeded, none of its secrets would be known to anyone besides Master's Tower and the employer. So long as one had money—enough money—there was no task Master's Tower would not dare accept.

Neutrality and reliability were the foundations of Master's Tower's existence.

Ning Chang'an's codename was Soul Severing, and everyone in Master's Tower would only address him by those two words. What his real name was did not matter to Master's Tower. So long as a capable Guest Official could handle difficult matters and undertake dangerous missions, he could bring Master's Tower considerable value. There was no need for Master's Tower to get to the root of everything, because Master's Tower itself was a gathering place for thugs, an institution born for profit.

Ning Chang'an was still recovering from his injuries in Master's Tower. Only Guest Officials and elders could have a tiny place to live within Master's Tower. All other dependents of Master's Tower could at most find a foothold in Blood Stained Alley, and some had no fixed residence at all. Linglong began to seem withdrawn. She no longer showed Ning Chang'an any warmth or curiosity, nor did she mention candied hawthorn skewers again. She seemed to have forgotten the matter entirely, and she no longer spoke to Ning Chang'an. Though she lived right next door to him, as they spent more time together, they gradually became like strangers passing on the road. The lonely, tedious days of recuperation left Ning Chang'an feeling inexplicably uneasy and irritable. He vaguely felt that Linglong's change might be because of him, but since Linglong would not say anything, he could not understand it either. Fortunately, he had already received a mission. At this moment, he was looking through a stack of materials in his hand, having decided to set out tomorrow night.

His purpose in coming to Yongan Prefecture had naturally not been to while away his days in Master's Tower. It was to find Erhu, obtain the belongings left behind by his parents, seek clues to their deaths, and avenge their blood feud.

Liu Ruyan's letter had said that the current situation in Ning Manor was extremely complicated, repeatedly reminding Ning Chang'an to be cautious. Ning Chang'an believed that Liu Ruyan would not deceive him. Thus, from the moment he arrived in Yongan Prefecture, although he did not know how many pairs of eyes were watching him from the shadows, he had remained extremely careful and decisively chosen to join Master's Tower.

Master's Tower was like a black box. Ning Chang'an entered through Blood Stained Alley, and when he emerged, he was Soul Severing. Unseen, he had gained another identity, one that would be of great help in his future secret dealings.

Lying quietly on the bed, Ning Chang'an slowly closed the volume of Master's Tower's secret records in his hand, then slowly shut his eyes. This confidential volume, which was not circulated outside, recorded in detail the general circumstances of nearly every manor in Yongan Prefecture. It explained the distribution of Yongan Prefecture's visible powers with perfect clarity. Piece after piece of information surfaced in Ning Chang'an's mind, and his understanding of Yongan Prefecture gradually became fuller and clearer.

Next door, the melodious sound of a flute began at some unknown moment.

The flute song was clear and graceful, carrying a faint flavor of quiet sobbing.

The flute song could speak!

Ning Chang'an breathed slowly and listened attentively to the flute song, his body and mind gradually calming.

Night slowly descended.

A dark night without stars or moon.

Clad in deep-black night attire, Ning Chang'an silently leaped out of Master's Tower beneath the heavy darkness. Blood Stained Alley at night always seemed deathly still and cold, like an abandoned empty alley left untended for years. Only the stench of blood was especially piercing.