Farewell

The man in black let out a cold snort and angrily said, "Still playing tough, we'll see if you talk later!"

Before he finished speaking, the man in black suddenly vanished from his spot.

Qin Sang was greatly alarmed. In that instant, the man in black had truly disappeared from his sight.

Qin Sang had never encountered an enemy like this. When sparring with Yang Zhen's disciples at the Wuwei Escort Agency, he could always anticipate the enemy's moves with his eyesight and handle them with ease. This time, his eyes weren't as useful.

This man in black could disappear right under his nose. Even if he wasn't a mysterious cultivator, he was definitely a master in the martial arts world.

No, that's not right!

Qin Sang's gaze suddenly sharpened. He still saw a trace of abnormality. The air in front of him was slightly distorted, and only his keen eyes could perceive it.

Internally, Qin Sang's mind was in turmoil, but in reality, only an instant had passed.

In the blink of an eye, the distortion in the air spread to Qin Sang.

If Qin Sang were to counterattack now, he would still have time to throw a punch, but the man in black's movement technique was too bizarre. Qin Sang dared not be careless and immediately activated the Yanluo Banner without hesitation.

"Kill him!"

With Qin Sang's low roar, Yanwang leaped out from the Yanluo Banner, a sinister grin on his face as he charged towards the man in black.

Bang!

The man in black hit his head on the edge of the bed and lay there motionless. A moment later, Yanwang emerged, carrying the man in black's soul with a grinning, fawning look towards Qin Sang.

The man in black's soul, just like Old Wu's, stood there with a vacant stare, unmoving.

However, when Qin Sang pulled off the man in black's mask, he found that his soul and physical body looked exactly the same. It was then that Qin Sang realized Old Wu had likely used a disguise.

This was the first time he had encountered such a crisis. Qin Sang was still shaken. After taking a few breaths and calming himself slightly, he immediately began asking questions. As expected, the man in black's soul would soon turn into soul mist.

"What was Old Wu's purpose in lurking in the Taoist temple?" Qin Sang asked rapidly.

The man in black replied expressionlessly, "To monitor the ferry crossing and await missions."

So it had nothing to do with the Taoist temple or himself. Qin Sang felt relieved and asked again, "How did you know Old Wu was dead?"

"The gatekeeper passed down a mission today. I sent a carrier pigeon to Old Wu, but received no response."

So those pigeons belonged to Old Wu!

Qin Sang cursed inwardly and pressed on, "Who is the gatekeeper? What mission? What kind of people are in your Jiangshan Tower?"

After Qin Sang's barrage of questions, his eyes showed deep astonishment.

The so-called Jiangshan Tower was actually a top assassin organization in the martial arts world, renowned throughout the jianghu for never failing a mission.

The gatekeeper was a messenger who connected assassins with Jiangshan Tower. Jiangshan Tower issued missions to assassins through the gatekeeper, and assassins rarely contacted each other.

This man in black was also an assassin, and Old Wu's partner for many years. They had been lurking together in Three Witches City.

As for the target of this mission, they would only find out after meeting with the gatekeeper the next morning.

Old Wu's martial arts weren't top-tier, but his mastery of disguise was extremely high. He had disguised himself as a refugee fleeing disaster and lurked at the ferry crossing as a boatman. One purpose was to monitor the ferry crossing, and the other was to await missions from Jiangshan Tower.

Sometimes, it was common for assassins to go one or two years without a mission. During this time, they would disguise themselves as ordinary people. That's why Old Wu had lived in the Taoist temple for half a year. He never expected that a formidable assassin would end up dying so foolishly at Qin Sang's hands.

The jianghu had thus abruptly revealed a sliver of its iceberg to Qin Sang.

"Besides you and Old Wu, how many other assassins are in Three Witches City?" Qin Sang asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I don't know."

Jiangshan Tower was tightly organized, preventing assassins from interacting too much. They both only had direct contact with their respective gatekeepers and didn't know the missions or whereabouts of other assassins.

This is for the best!

Qin Sang nodded. He didn't care who Jiangshan Tower's targets were; he was more concerned about whether Green Goat Temple would be implicated. "If you don't go back, will Jiangshan Tower send someone else to look for you?"

"Yes! If an assassin disappears without cause, the gatekeeper will report it to Jiangshan Tower, and they will definitely send someone to investigate until the matter is clarified."

Qin Sang's brow furrowed deeply. "Who else knows you came to the Taoist temple tonight?"

"The gatekeeper."

"Who else knows Old Wu was lurking at the ferry crossing and living in the Taoist temple?"

"The gatekeeper."

"Will he report it?"

"I don't know."

"Where does he live?"

"South City, Three Witches City, Willow Lane, Number Thirteen, Earth Character..."

"Do you have any secret codes between you?"

The man in black's soul turned into a wisp of soul mist and was swallowed by Yanwang. Qin Sang leaned against the wall, cradling his head, and sat in a daze for a long time. Suddenly remembering something, he quietly tiptoed to the old Taoist priest and Mingyue's room. Peeking through the window, he saw them sleeping soundly.

He stood there watching them quietly for a while and then murmured, "Daoist priest, Mingyue, I acted alone and will bear all consequences. I will not implicate you."

Then he returned to his room, packed up the Yanluo Banner and other items, put on some clothes, and left everything else in the room untouched. He only took a bottle of wound-healing medicine prepared by the old Taoist priest.

He placed the body of the man in black on the bed and felt his arm, finding a sleeve dart strapped to it. A soft sword was attached to his belt, and there was nothing else.

The man in black hadn't expected Qin Sang to kill him so quickly. He had only just drawn his sword.

Qin Sang unstrapped the sleeve dart. The mechanism was simple, and he quickly figured it out, strapping it to his own arm. He then drew the soft sword, picked up an ironwood staff from the corner, and scanned the room he'd been in for a year from top to bottom. He took out a few flint and steel sets and tossed them around.

The house, apart from its stone frame, was constructed from grass, wood, and bamboo. Outside, there was a large pile of firewood, and flames quickly licked upwards.

"I wonder if this will be enough to distance Green Goat Temple from this."

Qin Sang sighed softly. Once the fire had taken hold, he left the temple without looking back. It wasn't until he reached the mountainside that he heard people shouting about a fire.

Passing by Old Wu's grave, Qin Sang walked to his tomb. The flames in Green Goat Temple had already lit up half the night sky. He gave a wry smile and said, "Old Wu, Old Wu, why did you choose Green Goat Temple back then?"

Ever since he had finished refining the Yanluo Banner, Qin Sang had considered leaving the temple, but he never expected to leave in this manner.

Qin Sang found the horse belonging to the man in black tied up in the woods at the foot of the mountain. He mounted the horse and headed straight for Three Witches City.

Galloping on his horse, Qin Sang arrived at Three Witches City while the sky was still dim and the city gates were not yet open.

However, due to frequent ferry crossings and a prosperous trade route, a side gate at the south entrance of Three Witches City remained open all night for the passage of goods. Qin Sang hid his sword, staff, and horse outside the city. After spending some silver, he followed a merchant into the city and headed straight for Willow Lane.

It was still early, and there were no pedestrians on the entire Willow Lane.

This lane was inhabited by wealthy families, with high walls and red gates. Qin Sang quickly found Number Thirteen, Earth Character.

The residence was not large, with outer walls built of blue bricks, about four or five people high. The main gate was tightly shut.