Assassination

It was the second watch of the night, around half past seven.

Ping An Inn, Room Jia-3.

This was the finest guest room in Pingding City.

Calligraphy, paintings, screens, porcelain, fine furniture, the Four Treasures of the Study—those went without saying.

The bathroom supplied hot water throughout the twelve double-hours, which alone left Zhang Yu marveling. When it came to the pursuit of pleasure, the ancients were in no way inferior to later generations. If anything, limited by their technology, they had come up with even more ingenious ideas.

Steam rose from the ceramic bathtub. Four herbal sachets floated on the surface, giving off a delicate fragrance.

Water splashed in all directions. Zhang Yu rose from the tub and dried himself with a bath towel, washing away all the fatigue and grime accumulated over the past several days.

In the bronze mirror stood a young man.

The young man had changed into a black robe, fastened a silver-buckled belt around his waist, and put on deerskin boots. Seven parts handsome and three parts heroic, he smiled. Compared with his previous life, this body was not only younger and healthier, but also more attractive!

"Traveling the jianghu takes more than skill—looks are capital too. This life... I've got plenty of capital!"

This brocade robe had been sent over by Qi Zhaogu. The two men were roughly the same build. Once dressed in new clothes, his bearing became even more dashing and extraordinary. He no longer looked like an ordinary cult disciple. Saying he was Wu Lianjiang's disciple was not entirely wrong. Wu Lianjiang had passed on his techniques and entrusted him with his family at the end of his life—a nameless disciple, but one with substance.

Zhang Yu was not seeking empty fame. This identity was simply a ladder that could help him establish relations with the higher-ups of the cult.

Within the Sun Moon Divine Cult, even an ordinary Deputy Flag Master would find it difficult to call a Hall Master his brother.

"Brother Zhang, are you there?" Qi Zhaogu's voice came from outside the room.

Zhang Yu opened the door. "Hall Master Qi."

"Ah, no need to be so formal. We're brothers, so just call me Big Brother Qi." Qi Zhaogu was carrying a jar of fine wine and a booklet.

"Big Brother Qi, what's this booklet?"

"The Cult Master's Precepts. Read it carefully. Every word in it is a profound truth."

Qi Zhaogu shoved the booklet into Zhang Yu's hands. He was already slightly drunk, and still held the wine jar as he laughed. "I invited you to Thousand Red Pavilion for wine and company, but you wouldn't go, so I had to bring the wine here myself. But if you went to Thousand Red Pavilion, with your looks and character, wouldn't Lady Shen, the most famous courtesan, welcome you with open arms? She'd look down on this old brother of yours even more."

Qi Zhaogu was exactly as his name suggested: he was skilled with clever turns of phrase and eloquent in speech.

The two sat down at the table. They knocked off the seal, and the fragrance of wine immediately filled the room.

Zhang Yu filled two cups and laughed. "With Big Brother Qi's status, is there really a woman in Pingding City who would dare treat you coldly?"

Qi Zhaogu sighed. "Thousand Red Pavilion belongs to Shangguan Yun. As for Lady Shen... Forget it. Let's drink, let's drink."

Shangguan Yun commanded White Tiger Hall and was known throughout the jianghu as the "Sculpture Hero." Among the twelve Hall Masters, his lightness skill was on par with that of the "Flying Cloud Divine Ape," Wu Lianjiang. He was adept at dealing with all kinds of people and, like Tong Baixiong, was also one of the cult's Ten Great Elders. His position was highly esteemed.

The two of them each drank seven or eight cups and talked about many things.

Then Qi Zhaogu lowered his voice. "The Purple Cloud Guards seized the disciples left behind at Cloud Water Hall and are torturing them on Blackwood Cliff. They're determined to establish the evidence that Hall Master Wu colluded with the Five Great Sword Sects and betrayed the divine cult. When you go up to Blackwood Cliff tomorrow, Brother, you must be careful."

When Wu Lianjiang had been ordered to attack Mount Heng, he had taken almost all the elite disciples with him, leaving only twenty or thirty people behind at Cloud Water Hall. These people were the last remaining sparks of Cloud Water Hall.

Zhang Yu picked up his cup and drained it in one gulp, looking furious. "Big Brother Qi, does the Cult Master know Yang Lianting is doing this?"

Qi Zhaogu spoke softly. "Hard to say, hard to say. The Cult Master has rarely shown himself these past few years. There are many rumors circulating outside, but Manager Yang's martial arts are weak. Although he promoted those Purple Cloud Guards, they're even more loyal to the Cult Master. He probably can't do anything to the Cult Master."

"Isn't Yang Lianting afraid this will break the hearts of the brothers in the cult?"

Qi Zhaogu set down his cup and let out a long sigh.

"Brother Zhang, how could this be the only thing that breaks one's heart? In the first five years after Cult Master Dongfang took over, what kind of power did our Sun Moon Divine Cult possess?"

"Twelve halls packed with experts, nearly thirty thousand followers, and subordinate sects that submitted to us stretching north beyond the frontier, south to Yunnan, west to the Western Regions, and even east to the ninja schools of Japan. How glorious was that? How splendid?"

"But what about now? With Cloud Water Hall destroyed, and counting the losses from before, only six halls remain: Enforcement Hall, Wind and Thunder Hall, White Tiger Hall, Azure Dragon Hall, Black Tortoise Hall, and Flying Phoenix Hall."

Zhang Yu asked, "Why did it come to this?"

Qi Zhaogu seemed to want to say something, but in the end, nothing came out. He merely kept drinking cup after cup, growing more intoxicated as he muttered incoherently. "Hard to say... hard to say. No one can... explain it clearly. I don't want to understand it either. As long as I can live one more day, I'll drink for one more day and look at Lady Shen for one more day. Brother Zhang, you're... a man of loyalty. This big brother can only advise you to take things easy. Don't get yourself trapped in a dead end."

Most of the jar of fine wine ended up in Qi Zhaogu's stomach. He looked thoroughly drunk, yet when he rose to leave, his steps were perfectly steady.

"Brot... Brother Zhang, I live next door. Tomorrow... tomorrow we'll keep drinking."

Zhang Yu saw Qi Zhaogu off, closed the doors and windows, and extinguished the other candles in the room, leaving only the silver candlestick by the bed. Its tiny flame flickered quietly without going out.

He sat cross-legged on the bed and cultivated his internal energy.

"The Twelve Meridians, the Eight Extraordinary Vessels, circulating up and down..."

With the Green Jade Thumb Ring's assistance, his internal energy rapidly circulated through the heavenly cycle before finally flowing into that pool—the "Golden Pool." In just a short time, his progress had surged forward.

The pool had gone from completely dry to holding a shallow layer of water vapor. His internal energy was a little fuller now.

The Purple Gold Lotus Seed had also gained a trace of vitality.

Thinking back to the arena in Pingyang City, when his reserves had been meager, the single thrust that had finally struck Fan Zhutian had consumed sixty to seventy percent of his internal energy. Now, his pockets were finally less empty, but his "fear of insufficient internal energy" had not yet been cured.

Zhang Yu knew perfectly well that he had gotten a late start. Even with the Green Jade Thumb Ring, he still had to work twice as hard.

Three years later, the struggle for the Bixie Sword Manual would serve as the prelude. Conflicts between the Righteous Path and the demonic path, within the Righteous Path itself, and within the demonic path itself would erupt completely, plunging the entire jianghu into a bloody storm.

If he did not want to be swallowed by the bloodshed—and still wanted enough strength left to help the people he cared about—he could only desperately cultivate his martial arts.

"If I could obtain a supreme martial art like the Great Star Absorbing Technique, that would naturally be ideal."

"At Plum Manor by West Lake, setting aside the experts secretly arranged by Dongfang Bubai, the Four Friends of Qin, Chess, Calligraphy, and Painting are each highly skilled. And Ren Woxing has a domineering, eccentric personality. Even if I freed him, he might not necessarily teach me the Great Star Absorbing Technique."

There were three supreme martial arts manuals.

The Nine Swords of Dugu was in Feng Qingyang's hands, prepared for his Mount Hua Sect disciple's grand-disciple, Linghu Chong. It also demanded extremely high aptitude. If I touched it, I would be courting death!

"As for the thing in the Lin Family's old residence on Xiangyang Alley in Fuzhou, that would actually be the easiest to obtain. It would also be the fastest to master—practically a cheat. If I hardened my heart and severed the root of my troubles..."

Zhang Yu quickly shook his head, driving away the terrifying thought.

"Don't even think about it! I want both the realm and the beauty. I'll hold on to both with both hands!"

Relying on the Green Jade Thumb Ring, Zhang Yu easily cast aside his distracting thoughts. His mind became clear, and he entered the optimal cultivation state in an instant.

Red wax dripped onto the silver candlestick as the candle gradually shrank.

At the second watch of the night, the room fell completely dark.

The window paper was pierced from outside, and a slender bamboo tube was pushed through.

A stream of knockout smoke sprayed from inside the tube.

The bamboo tube was withdrawn, and the hole in the window was plugged again.

After some time, the knockout smoke had filled the entire room. Someone pried open the window from outside and slipped in. The whole process was incredibly smooth, making almost no noticeable sound.

The intruder walked to the bedside. His wrist turned, and a black-lacquered steel sword stabbed out.

The sword pierced through the bedding, but did not pierce flesh. There should have been only a pillow inside.

This was the kind of scene an assassin saw only in nightmares.

"Not good!"

The assassin hurriedly drew back his sword to block, but intense pain erupted from his back. His kidneys were stabbed twice in succession by a sharp weapon. Immediately afterward, someone in the darkness kicked his long sword away with pinpoint accuracy.

"How is this possible? He can see in the dark."

The assassin fell to the floor. The other man pressed a sharp weapon against his throat, his voice icy.

"Who sent you?"

"I really didn't expect you to still be awake this late..." The assassin forced a bitter smile. The blood flowing from his lower back quickly soaked through the carpet beneath him.

"Not talking? Then you'll die."

The man merely smiled. His lips moved slightly, and black blood slid from the corner of his mouth. He died instantly.

Zhang Yu sighed and lit the candles in the room.

He would not be getting any rest tonight.

"Brother Zhang, are you all right? I heard fighting inside." Qi Zhaogu's voice came from outside the door.

The door opened.

Qi Zhaogu entered the room and hurriedly covered his nose.

"How much knockout powder did he use? The effects are incredibly strong!"

He saw a corpse lying on the floor, dressed in black and masked, with blood still flowing from its back.

A bloodstained silver candlestick lay on the floor.

Nothing else in the room had been damaged. Clearly, this well-trained assassin had been dealt with effortlessly.

Qi Zhaogu gave him a thumbs-up. "Brother Zhang, what incredible skill!"

"It was nothing. I happened to stay up late, and he was just unlucky."

Zhang Yu wiped the blood from his hands and walked over to the corpse. Qi Zhaogu pulled down the masked man's face covering.

"What is it? Do you know him, Big Brother Qi?"

"He looks familiar... Isn't this the old procuress from Thousand Red Pavilion? I think I saw him a few times when I went there for wine and company."

Zhang Yu looked at Qi Zhaogu and asked, "Could he be one of Shangguan Yun's men?"

Qi Zhaogu smiled and shook his head. "Thousand Red Pavilion is full of all kinds of people. It's hard to say, hard to say."