Listening Wind Tower

The two men in black froze slightly, as if they had not expected to be discovered so quickly.

"Go!"

The two apparently had no desire to tangle with Ji Qing and turned to flee.

Clang.

Ji Qing drew his blade.

With one slash, a streak of blade light flashed past like a startled swan.

The two had excellent Lightness Skill and narrowly, perilously avoided Ji Qing's slash.

A trace of surprise flashed through Ji Qing's eyes.

His Thirteen Fast Blades had now reached the "perfected" realm. His strikes were no longer bound by set forms; every gesture seemed flawlessly natural.

Even without using a "finishing move," it was not something an ordinary martial artist could withstand.

Yet the two before him had both evaded it?

The black-clad man farther from Ji Qing had already leaped down from the rooftop and was about to vanish into the night.

Ji Qing no longer held back.

Swish.

A dazzling sheet of blade light shone through the dark night.

"Thread of Sky!"

Ji Qing unleashed the finishing move he had only just comprehended.

The black-clad man's heart and soul jolted.

As he stared at that dazzling streak of blade light, it seemed that nothing remained in his sight but that single slash.

"Young Master Ji, spare my life..."

The black-clad man suddenly snapped awake and cried out.

"Hm?"

Ji Qing raised a brow, and the blade in his hand shifted slightly aside.

Splat.

The slash still fell.

The blade light skimmed past the black-clad man's cheek, severing several strands of hair and cutting off his right ear. Blood streamed freely.

"You know me?"

Ji Qing used his blade to lift the black-clad man's face covering. It revealed an unfamiliar face; Ji Qing did not know him.

"Speak. Who are you?"

"Young Master Ji, spare my life. My name is Ge Er, and I am from Listening Wind Tower."

"Listening Wind Tower?"

"It is an organization in the Jianghu that specializes in selling intelligence..."

Listening to Ge Er's explanation, Ji Qing understood.

So they were men from Listening Wind Tower, and their purpose had been to investigate Ji Qing's whereabouts.

Ji Qing was now one of the hottest names in the Jianghu.

Any intelligence concerning Ji Qing was worth money.

After all, with a bounty of a thousand taels of silver, who would not be tempted into a daze?

Ji Qing seized Ge Er and leaped back into the room.

"How did you know I was here?"

"Young Master Ji, after you caused trouble in Liang City, we at Listening Wind Tower thoroughly investigated Ji Manor. We discovered that there were no young children among the corpses in Ji Manor, so..."

Ge Er's gaze fell upon Ji Yao, who was sleeping soundly on the bed.

Perhaps Ji Yao was simply too exhausted. Even such a huge commotion had failed to wake her.

Ji Qing immediately understood.

His trail had not actually been exposed, but the fact that he had Ji Yao with him was an extremely conspicuous trait.

Listening Wind Tower lived by intelligence, so naturally it noticed countless details that ordinary people overlooked.

When Ji Qing brought Ji Yao to the mule and horse station, Listening Wind Tower's people noticed them.

But Listening Wind Tower could not be certain, so it had sent Ge Er and his companion into the inn to gather information and confirm Ji Qing's identity.

"Young Master Ji, we bear no grudges against each other. Please spare my life."

Ge Er immediately dropped to his knees and kowtowed, his desire to live written all over him.

"You want to live? Your companion's Lightness Skill is rather good."

Ge Er gritted his teeth and immediately said, "My companion is named Liu Shiwu. That Lightness Skill is merely an ordinary third-rate technique called Grass on Wings. Liu Shiwu has simply cultivated it to major attainment. I know Grass on Wings as well. If you do not disdain it, Young Master, I will write it down from memory and offer it to you."

Ji Qing directly took out paper and brush and placed them before Ge Er.

Ge Er immediately wrote down Grass on Wings from memory.

"How can one enter your Listening Wind Tower to buy intelligence?"

Ji Qing asked again.

"Young Master Ji, here is a token called the Listening Wind Token. As long as one holds a Listening Wind Token, one can enter Listening Wind Towers in major cities and towns to purchase all kinds of intelligence, and one can also sell intelligence."

Ji Qing accepted the Listening Wind Token.

"Fine. You may go."

Ji Qing waved a hand, allowing Ge Er to leave.

After all, Ge Er's companion had already escaped back, so Ji Qing's whereabouts would certainly be exposed. Killing Ge Er would only make an enemy of Listening Wind Tower; the loss would outweigh the gain.

"Thank you, Young Master Ji."

Ge Er covered his ear and prepared to leave.

"Wait."

Ge Er's entire body stiffened.

Had Ji Qing changed his mind and decided to kill him to silence him?

Ji Qing pointed upward and said blandly, "Hand over all the silver on you. You punched a hole through the inn's roof; shouldn't you compensate them?"

"Uh..."

Ge Er took out all the silver on his person, then used his Lightness Skill and vanished into the night.

"Ji Yao, wake up."

Ji Qing woke Ji Yao and swiftly packed their belongings.

"This place is no longer safe. We need to leave at once!"

Ji Yao obediently climbed into the back basket, and Ji Qing then went to the inn's main hall.

"Shopkeeper, I'm checking out. This is silver for repairing the roof..."

Ji Qing tossed down the silver and turned to leave.

"The roof?"

The shopkeeper hurried to the guest room. Staring at the huge hole in the roof, he looked somewhat dazed.

"That is a true hero—he punched through the roof and still left silver in compensation..."

The shopkeeper weighed the silver in his hand. Not bad; after repairing the roof, there would still be some left over.

Ji Qing had no idea that, in the shopkeeper's eyes, he had become a "true hero" over a few taels of silver.

Knowing his whereabouts had been exposed, Ji Qing quickly left the mule and horse station.

Ji Qing's destination was Anyang City.

He needed to send Ji Yao to Anyang City and get her settled.

Otherwise, taking Ji Yao with him through the Jianghu was still far too dangerous.

His identity would also be easily exposed.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed.

As time went on, news of Ji Qing spread throughout the world.

A thousand-tael bounty was no small sum, enough to draw many people of the Jianghu into risking their lives to intercept and kill Ji Qing.

Thus, Ji Qing traveled only along side paths.

Fortunately, he used his remaining Origin Point to raise Grass on Wings to minor attainment.

With Lightness Skill, even when Ji Qing moved through mountain forests and narrow paths, he traveled as though walking on level ground, making the journey much easier.

That day, dusk gradually fell.

Ji Qing prepared to find somewhere sheltered from wind and rain for the night.

But this place was too desolate, with no village ahead and no inn behind. Ji Qing searched for a long time before finally finding an abandoned temple, barely enough to keep out the wind and rain for one night.

Ji Qing set down the back basket.

A little head rustled its way out of the basket.

"Brother, I'm so hungry."

Ji Yao's stomach was growling with hunger.

"I caught a wild chicken along the way. Tonight, I'll roast it for you."

"Wonderful! We finally get to eat meat."

Ji Yao drooled with anticipation.

Over the past half month of travel, Ji Qing had basically taken only forest paths. He neither entered cities nor stayed at inns, living exposed to wind and dew and enduring untold hardship.

Ji Yao had not eaten anything particularly good along the way either.

Ji Qing skillfully gutted and cleaned the wild chicken. Before long, a rich aroma of meat filled the ruined temple.

Just as the two were eating the roast chicken with great relish, a chaotic clatter of footsteps came from outside. It seemed that many people were approaching the ruined temple, and they could even faintly hear cart wheels crushing over gravel.

"We are escorts of the Weiyuan Escort Agency. Seeing that night is drawing near and the road ahead is difficult, we wish to borrow this place for the night. We hope the friends within the temple will grant us this convenience; we would be deeply grateful!"

The voice was full of force and echoed through the mountains, proving that the caller's Internal Force was far from weak.

Yet after the voice faded, no reply came from within the temple for a long while.

The people of the Weiyuan Escort Agency exchanged glances, looking at one another in blank dismay.

There had clearly been firelight in the temple just now, which meant someone had to be inside.

Why was no one answering?