A Hidden Blade in Tea, Taking Only Heads

The tea is Junshan Silver Needle.

The water is Plum Blossom Snow Water.

The cup is Ding Kiln White Porcelain.

Ji Ye held the teacup, gently blowing away the needle leaves floating on the surface. Steam wafted up, blurring his excessively calm face.

Xiao Hongxiu sat opposite him, playing with the tattered page Ji Ye had thrown on the ground, her eyes full of amusement.

The man in black still stood behind her, like an inanimate Iron Pagoda, but Ji Ye could feel a faint, elusive energy constantly locking onto his sword-wielding right hand.

"How is the tea?" Xiao Hongxiu suddenly asked.

"The tea is good." Ji Ye took a sip and put down the teacup. "Unfortunately, the water is a bit too hot, ruining the essence of the tea."

"Too hot?"

Xiao Hongxiu smiled, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. "The water in this Capital City has always been hot. If you're afraid of getting burned, why did you come to stir up this muddy water?"

"Whether the water is hot or not depends on how thick the drinker's skin is."

Ji Ye looked up, his gaze clear. "This commoner is a rough man with thick skin. I can drink this water."

"A very thick skin indeed."

Xiao Hongxiu slapped the tattered page onto the table, making a soft sound.

"Since you can drink this cup of tea, I won't beat around the bush. Tingxue Tower's chief has a monthly salary of a hundred gold, and is bestowed with fine clothes and food, but this is just for show."

She leaned forward slightly, and in that moment, an aura of overwhelming influence pressed down.

"The substance, however, is earned with one's life."

"This commoner's life is not worth much."

Ji Ye's fingers gently rubbed the rough sword hilt. "But it's not cheap either. Your Highness, if you want it, you'll have to pay the price."

"The Supreme Induction Chapter."

Xiao Hongxiu uttered five words.

Ji Ye's fingers stopped.

He showed no surprise, nor greed, merely narrowing his eyes slightly.

"Your Highness has indeed investigated me."

"There are no impermeable walls in this world."

Xiao Hongxiu said calmly, "A down-on-his-luck scholar who was a constable in Black Stone County in the northern territories two years ago suddenly disappeared, only to reappear in the Capital two years later with astonishing martial arts. It's not hard to guess what you want."

Ji Ye smiled.

He wasn't surprised. With the Grand Princess's intelligence network, it would be strange if they hadn't found out about him.

"Since Your Highness has been so direct, I'll be direct too. I want to read books."

"Alright."

Xiao Hongxiu agreed readily. "As long as you do one thing for me, I'll take you into the Imperial Palace's library. Even that tattered volume, I can let you have a look."

"What is it?"

"Kill someone."

Xiao Hongxiu drew a portrait from her sleeve and pushed it towards Ji Ye.

The portrait depicted a foreign merchant with a brutish face, sinister eyes, and a missing piece from his left ear.

"This man's name is Tuli. On the surface, he's a fur merchant from the Western Regions, but in reality, he's an informant planted in the Capital by the Barbarians."

Xiao Hongxiu's voice turned cold. "He will be hosting guests at 'Zuisheng Tower' tonight. I want you to bring me his head."

Zuisheng Tower.

The biggest money pit in the Capital City, raking in gold daily.

But those in the martial world knew that the waters there ran deep, because behind Zuisheng Tower stood the Zhenbei General's mansion, the Qin family.

Killing a Barbarian envoy on the Qin family's turf.

This was killing two birds with one stone. It would eliminate a spy and also stir up trouble with the Qin family. More importantly, it was forcing Ji Ye to make a Pledge of Allegiance, completely offending the Qin family.

Ji Ye looked at the portrait, not taking it immediately.

"Can't Lord Shadow kill this person?" he glanced at the man in black.

The man in black snorted, his voice like the grinding of two pieces of iron. "Zuisheng Tower is full of experts. If I were to make a move, the commotion would be too great and would alert those old fossils in the Qin family."

"So, you need an unfamiliar knife."

Ji Ye understood.

He was an outsider, a wandering swordsman. If he killed someone and fled into the martial world, the Qin family wouldn't be able to get their hands on him. Even if they did, the Grand Princess could claim it was a private feud.

A pawn.

From the very beginning, he was being used as a pawn.

"What? Scared?" the man in black taunted. "Where did the momentum from that sword strike go?"

Ji Ye ignored him.

He reached out, picked up the portrait, folded it, and tucked it into his robes.

"Tonight, at midnight."

Ji Ye stood up, picking up the iron sword.

"This commoner will return for another cup of tea."

"I hope the water temperature is just right then."

With that, he turned and left.

No bow, no farewell.

His retreating figure was aloof, like a drawn sword.

Watching Ji Ye's departing back, the man in black frowned deeply.

"Your Highness, this person is arrogant and untamed, and his ambitions are vast. The Supreme Induction Chapter is a royal taboo. Are you truly going to let him see it?"

Xiao Hongxiu picked up her teacup again, watching the tea leaves float in the cup, a knowing smile playing on her lips.

"That is a good blade."

"A good blade should be used to kill the hardest targets."

"As for after he reads the book..."

She blew gently.

"If the blade becomes dull, it can simply be broken."

Night fell.

The lights of the Capital City illuminated half the sky.

Zuisheng Tower was brightly lit, with the sounds of music and singing never ceasing, and the scent of perfume drifting for miles.

This was a place where men squandered their fortunes, and heroes found solace.

On the third floor, in a private room labeled 'Heaven'.

Tuli was embracing two scantily clad dancers, drinking strong liquor imported from the Western Regions. His table was piled high with gold and silver, along with several unopened letters.

Outside the door stood four burly guards. Their waists bulged, concealing curved sabers.

In the lobby downstairs, Ji Ye found a corner and sat down.

He ordered a pot of the cheapest shaodaozi and a plate of peanuts.

The iron sword rested across his knees.

He was waiting.

[Martial Dao Heavenly Eye] activated.

The entire Zuisheng Tower became a transparent honeycomb in his eyes.

He saw the red dots in the private room on the third floor—these were warriors with vigorous Blood Essence.

He also saw several hidden, obscure auras—these were experts planted by the Qin family to guard the place.

He even saw a familiar figure in a room on the second floor.

The person who had once pierced his heart with a single sword strike.

Qin Wuji.

Ji Ye's fingers tapped lightly on the sword sheath.

Enemies meet on a narrow road.

He hadn't expected to meet again so soon in this lifetime.

Qin Wuji was listening to music on the second floor, not accompanied by many guards, only an old servant. However, he himself was at the peak of the Organ Tempering realm, even having one foot in the Meridian Opening realm, a master whose strength was equivalent to a thousand men.

"Interesting."

Ji Ye took a sip of the shaodaozi, the spicy liquor rolling down his throat.

If it were just to kill Tuli, it would be as easy as flipping his hand.

But since Qin Wuji was also here...

A hint of madness flashed in Ji Ye's eyes.

He not only intended to kill Tuli, but also to give Qin Wuji a "grand gift."

"Waiter."

Ji Ye beckoned.

"Yes, sir, what can I do for you?" the waiter scurried over obsequiously.

"This wine is too weak."

Ji Ye pulled a silver ingot from his pocket; it was all the money he had left.

"Get me a pot of your best wine. The strongest you have."

"Coming right up!"

A moment later, the waiter brought a pot of potent liquor called "Immortal's Fall."

Ji Ye pulled out the stopper and took a whiff.

It was indeed strong.

He didn't drink, but instead, holding the wine pot, he stood up unsteadily, feigning drunkenness, and headed upstairs.

His steps were unsteady, his eyes unfocused, and he hummed an unknown tune.

He looked like a drunkard who'd had too much and wanted to find a woman upstairs.

The guards at the stairwell blocked him.

"Stop! Those are VIP suites upstairs, no unauthorized entry!"

"VIP? Hic..."

Ji Ye let out a drunken hiccup, his mouth reeking of alcohol, "I've got money... I'm a VIP too..."

As he spoke, he stumbled forward.

The guards impatiently reached out to push him, "Get lost!"

The instant the guard's hand touched Ji Ye's shoulder.

Ji Ye's body seemed boneless, collapsing with the motion.

The wine pot in his hand "accidentally" slipped.

"Crack!"

The pot arced through the air, smashing precisely onto a glazed lamp on the second-floor railing.

The glazed lamp shattered.

The lamp oil mixed with the potent liquor, instantly igniting a large fire.

The flames, following the curtains on the railing, whooshed up to the third floor.

"Fire!!"

Ji Ye shouted, his voice shrill and filled with terror.

That shout, coupled with the leaping flames, instantly set the entire Zuisheng Tower ablaze.

Screams and the sounds of toppling tables and chairs erupted.

Chaos.

This was the cover Ji Ye needed.

Taking advantage of the guards' stunned moment, the drunkenness in Ji Ye's eyes vanished completely.

His foot slipped, and like a swimming fish, he darted into the chaotic crowd, moving against the flow.

His target: the third floor.

The slaughter, begins.