Parting

The man in black snorted coldly and snapped, "Still talking tough? We'll see if you confess in a moment!"

Before his words had even faded, the man in black suddenly vanished from where he stood.

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

Qin Sang had never encountered an enemy like this. When sparring with Yang Zhen's disciples at the Wuwei Escort Agency, he had always been able to read his opponent's moves in advance with his sharp eyes and deal with them at ease. This time, however, his eyes failed him.

For this man in black to vanish right under his nose, even if he was not one of those mysterious Immortal Cultivators, he was still a master of the martial world.

No!

Qin Sang's gaze suddenly sharpened. He still caught a trace of something unusual: the air before him was faintly distorted. Only his eyes could see it.

Qin Sang's thoughts churned like rivers and seas, though in reality only an instant had passed.

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

If Qin Sang counterattacked now, he still had time to throw a punch. But the man in black's movement technique was too bizarre. Qin Sang did not dare act rashly and immediately activated the Yanluo Banner without hesitation.

"Kill him!"

With Qin Sang's low roar, Yanwang pounced out from the Yanluo Banner, charging at the man in black with a ferocious grin.

Bang!

The man in black smashed headfirst into the edge of the bed and lay sprawled there without moving. A moment later, Yanwang floated out while biting the man's soul, looking at Qin Sang with an ingratiating expression.

Like Old Wu's, the man in black's soul stood there with dull eyes, utterly motionless.

However, when Qin Sang tore off the man in black's mask and discovered that his soul and physical body had exactly the same face, he realized that Old Wu had most likely been disguised.

This was Qin Sang's first encounter with such danger. Still shaken, he took several breaths and steadied himself before immediately beginning his questions. As expected, the man in black's soul would soon turn into soul mist as well.

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

The man in black answered expressionlessly, "Monitor the ferry and await assignments."

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

"Today, the gatekeeper sent down an assignment. I used a carrier pigeon to contact Old Wu, but received no reply."

So those pigeons belonged to Old Wu!

Qin Sang cursed inwardly and pressed on. "Who is this gatekeeper? What assignment? What kind of people are there in your Jiangshan Tower?"

After Qin Sang's barrage of questions, a look of deep astonishment surfaced in his eyes.

The so-called Jiangshan Tower was actually a top-tier assassin organization in the martial world, renowned throughout the jianghu and claiming never to have failed a mission.

The gatekeepers were messengers connecting assassins with Jiangshan Tower. Jiangshan Tower issued missions to its assassins through gatekeepers, while the assassins themselves rarely contacted one another.

This man in black was also an assassin and Old Wu's partner of many years. The two had lurked in Three Witches City together.

As for the target of this mission, he would only learn it after meeting the gatekeeper at dawn tomorrow.

Old Wu's martial arts were not among the best, but his skill in disguise had reached a profound level. He had posed as a refugee fleeing disaster and lurked at the ferry as a towman. One purpose was to monitor the ferry, while the other was to wait for assignments from Jiangshan Tower.

Sometimes, it was normal for assassins to go a year or two without a mission. During that time, they disguised themselves as ordinary people. Thus, Old Wu had lived at the temple for more than half a year. Who would have thought that such a grand assassin would die muddle-headedly at Qin Sang's hands?

The jianghu had abruptly lifted a corner of its iceberg for 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 and did not allow too much contact between assassins. The two of them each communicated only with their own gatekeeper and knew nothing of other assassins' missions or whereabouts.

That was for the best!

Qin Sang nodded. He did not care who Jiangshan Tower's target was. What concerned him more was whether Green Goat Temple would be implicated. "If you don't return, will Jiangshan Tower send others to investigate?"

"Yes! If an assassin disappears for no reason, the gatekeeper will report it to Jiangshan Tower. They will certainly send people to investigate until the truth is uncovered."

Qin Sang frowned deeply. "Who else knows you came to the temple tonight?"

"The gatekeeper."

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

"The gatekeeper."

"Will he report it?"

"I don't know."

"Where does he live?"

"Willow Lane in the southern district of Three Witches City, Number Thirteen, Earth Character..."

"Do you have any secret signals 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, clutching his head as he sat blankly for a long while. Then he suddenly remembered something and quietly ran to the old Daoist and Mingyue's room. Through the window, he saw that they were sleeping soundly.

He stood there watching quietly for a while, then murmured, "Daoist priest, Mingyue, a man must bear responsibility for his own deeds. I will never drag you into this."

Then he returned to his room, packed up the Yanluo Banner and his other belongings, and put on a set of clothes. He did not touch anything else in the room, only taking a bottle of Healing Ointment prepared by the old Daoist.

Finally, he placed the man in black's corpse on the bed and searched it. There was a sleeve arrow strapped to his arm and a flexible sword in his belt, but nothing else.

The man in black had never expected Qin Sang to kill him in an instant. He had only just drawn his sword.

Qin Sang removed the sleeve arrow. Its mechanism was simple, and he quickly figured it out before tying it to his own arm. Then he drew out the flexible sword, picked up an ironwood staff from the corner, and gave the room where he had lived for a year one final look from top to bottom. Taking out several fire starters, he tossed them in all directions.

Aside from its stone frame, the house was made entirely of grass, wood, and bamboo. There was also a large pile of firewood in the outer room, and flames quickly leaped up.

"I wonder whether this can clear Green Goat Temple of suspicion."

Qin Sang sighed softly. Once the fire had caught, he walked out of the temple without looking back. Only when he reached the mountainside did he hear someone shouting about the fire.

Passing Old Wu's grave, Qin Sang walked up before it. The flames from Green Goat Temple had already stained half the night sky red. With a bitter smile, he said, "Old Wu, Old Wu, why did you have to choose Green Goat Temple in the first place?"

Ever since he had finished refining the Yanluo Banner, Qin Sang had considered leaving the temple. He had not expected to leave in this manner.

The man in black's horse was tied up in the woods below the mountain. Qin Sang mounted it and galloped straight toward Three Witches City.

Racing on horseback, Qin Sang arrived at Three Witches City while the sky was still dark and the city gates had not yet opened.

However, because trade at the ferry was frequent and the commercial roads thrived, a side gate by the southern gate of Three Witches City remained open all night for goods to pass through. Qin Sang hid the sword, staff, and horse outside the city, spent a little silver, slipped into the city among a merchant's cargo, and headed straight for Willow Lane.

It was still early, and not a single pedestrian could be seen along Willow Lane.

The lane was inhabited entirely by wealthy households, with high walls and vermilion gates. Qin Sang quickly found Number Thirteen, Earth Character.

The residence was not large. Its outer walls were built from blue bricks and stood four or five men high, while its main gate was tightly shut.