Princess Dongyang

The man in black said the gatekeeper lived inside and that they used nightingale calls as a secret signal, seven long and four short. However, Qin Sang couldn't imitate a nightingale, so he hid in the shadows and summoned Yanwang.

"Go in..."

Qin Sang stared at the courtyard. Yanwang lacked intelligence and couldn't distinguish between people. He hesitated for a moment, then said in a deep voice, "Kill everyone inside!"

Yanwang phased through the wall. Qin Sang then used his strength to vault over the wall and enter the courtyard. He happened to see Yanwang extracting the soul of a middle-aged man.

This person's appearance was exactly as the man in black had described. He was the gatekeeper!

Having found the main culprit, Qin Sang secretly rejoiced and immediately began his interrogation.

What he cared about most, naturally, was how many people knew that Old Wu and the man in black had appeared at Green Goat Temple.

If this gatekeeper had reported it, he would pursue them relentlessly, even if it meant going after the leader of Jiangshan Tower, no matter the cost!

Qin Sang understood that even when facing martial arts experts, Yanwang remained invincible.

Old Wu, the man in black, and the gatekeeper were all top assassins from Jiangshan Tower, considered first-class experts in the martial arts world. Yet, they had died silently, without any resistance.

No matter how profound one's martial arts, it couldn't stop Yanwang.

Moreover, he could obtain the most accurate intelligence.

Qin Sang quickly got the information he wanted, and his tense expression immediately relaxed.

It turned out that the organization of Jiangshan Tower was even more tightly structured than he had imagined, with branches in every commandery. Although the gatekeeper was a core figure in Jiangshan Tower, to prevent their network from being exposed and their branches dismantled, the gatekeeper did not know the locations of the branches, nor did he have the authority to contact them directly.

Even for urgent matters, he had to send out a signal and wait for contact from the branch.

This gatekeeper had not been lurking in Three Witches City for long. Today, when a mission was assigned, the branch contacted him for the first time. Therefore, although he had records of his affairs, they had not been reported yet.

The man in black had gone to Green Goat Temple to investigate tonight and had informed the gatekeeper, but the gatekeeper had not widely publicized it before the results were out.

Hearing this, Qin Sang felt relieved. As long as he destroyed the gatekeeper's records, all clues would end here.

However, to completely clear Green Goat Temple, some measures were still needed. Qin Sang immediately began questioning the gatekeeper about the identities and hiding places of all the assassins lurking in Three Witches City. Due to the mission, the gatekeeper had sent out a message to gather the assassins, and they were now hiding in a residence outside the city.

After asking everything, the gatekeeper's soul was nearing its time to dissipate.

Qin Sang now had some understanding of Jiangshan Tower's mission. Not only had all six assassins under the gatekeeper's charge been activated, but there were other gatekeepers lurking in Zhenshui Commandery, all converging on Three Witches City. This operation was gathering nearly thirty assassins.

What was their target that warranted such a large mobilization?

Out of curiosity, Qin Sang asked, and received an answer that shocked him.

"Princess Dongyang!"

Their target was none other than Princess Dongyang, the daughter of King Dongyang and the current emperor's niece!

A mere assassin organization in the martial arts world dared to oppose official power and assassinate a princess. This was hard for Qin Sang to imagine. Wasn't the leader of Jiangshan Tower audacious enough to fear utter annihilation?

He learned that this was not the first time Jiangshan Tower had assassinated an official. Even ten years ago, the assassination of Governor Ma in broad daylight, which shocked the Great Sui, was the work of Jiangshan Tower.

After this incident, the late emperor was furious, yet Jiangshan Tower continued to thrive.

Furthermore, the name Princess Dongyang caused Qin Sang's expression to shift erratically. He couldn't help but recall the young lady on the boat who had never shown her face. Could it be Princess Dongyang?

He quickly asked for the details.

According to Jiangshan Tower's intelligence, Princess Dongyang had publicly gone to Chunyang Villa to escape the summer heat many days ago. However, she had secretly left and disappeared.

Jiangshan Tower had tracked her down, and only recently found some clues. Princess Dongyang and some of her retinue had disguised themselves as merchants and secretly entered Zhenshui Commandery. If nothing unexpected happened, they would arrive in Three Witches City by noon today.

The Three Witches City branch planned to set an ambush at Luoma Mountain outside the east city.

Qin Sang was familiar with the people from Wuwei Escort Agency and had seen their maps. He had carefully studied the terrain around Three Witches City and knew that Luoma Mountain was sparsely populated and precipitous. The paths on the mountain were carved along cliffs, with a thousand-foot drop to the roaring river below. The terrain was extremely treacherous, making it ideal for an ambush.

Qin Sang wanted to ask for more details, but the gatekeeper's soul reached its limit and dissipated into a mist of souls.

Qin Sang needed to think carefully. There were two paths before him.

One path was to pretend he knew nothing, handle his own affairs, and leave.

The second path was to take a gamble and save the princess.

Not to mention that Bai Jianglan, his savior, might also be there, so he had to go to repay the favor.

The Yanluo Banner and Yanwang's strange abilities made Qin Sang basically certain that the Netherworld Scripture was definitely not ordinary martial arts, but very likely a cultivation technique for immortality.

To ordinary people, he could now be considered an immortal master.

Perhaps "demon" or "devil" would be more fitting.

He knew nothing about cultivating immortality. Both the Netherworld Scripture and the Yanluo Banner were obtained from the black-clothed demon. Using ghosts to kill people was extremely evil. If he rashly sought immortality and encountered someone like the sword-wielding youth who hated evil and sought to eliminate demons, he would truly weep without tears.

Moreover, the world was vast, and finding an immortal destiny was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Using powerful figures to contact other immortal masters and slowly inquire about the world of cultivation might be a more prudent approach.

While his mind was racing, Qin Sang's actions did not stop. The east was turning white, and dawn was approaching. Time was running out for him.

He entered the house and found a stack of books under the floor tiles beneath the gatekeeper's bed. These were the gatekeeper's records, but they were all fake.

For every record, this person would write one true and one false account. The false one was left here, while the true records were with a Li Xing Shou in Red Dust Alley nearby.

This Li Xing Shou was also an assassin for Jiangshan Tower. She had a somewhat eccentric personality, preferring to hide in pleasure quarters and entertain with her beauty. The gatekeeper trusted her implicitly; they were even lovers.

To make the act complete, although the records were fake, Qin Sang took them all.

To avoid alerting them, he did not disturb the gatekeeper's house and immediately went to Red Dust Alley.

Even at this hour, there were still quite a few people moving about Red Dust Alley. Qin Sang spent some effort disguising himself before managing to sneak into Li Xing Shou's room.

Li Xing Shou was currently playing with a client in his room. Qin Sang could only apologize. He found the real journal, took it out, and burned it all. Then, he left the city to find the other three assassins, leaving none alive. Finally, he set the house on fire to thoroughly muddy the waters.

After a flurry of activity, dawn had broken. Qin Sang mounted his horse and galloped east. He decided to seize this opportunity, ideally by infiltrating Princess Dongyang's side and slowly learning about the world of cultivators!

Fearing Jiangshan Tower's informants and wanting to avoid drawing attention, Qin Sang dared not take the main road through Luoma Mountain. He cut through the smaller paths.

It wasn't until the end of the chen hour that he circled around Luoma Mountain. Qin Sang reined in his horse for a brief pause, looking back in the direction of Three Witches City. He wondered if Jiangshan Tower would still make a move after his disruption.