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The longsword pierced through Xin Youhen's chest, protruding more than half a foot from his back.

Drops of blood fell from the sword tip, soaking into the earth.

Seeing the disbelief written across Xin Youhen's face, Chu Qing felt somewhat helpless. Xin Youhen had already become "Xin Youjian"—what was impossible about that?

The longsword was pulled from his chest and, accompanied by Xin Youhen's muffled groan, slid back into its sheath.

"From the moment you told me to draw first... you were already a dead man."

Xin Youhen clutched his chest and looked at Chu Qing.

"So that's how it is... If I, if I had been at my peak, if I hadn't been injured... you, you would not have been my match...

"Damn it... Damn it!

"If, if only Valley of Ten Thousand Nights' secret inheritance were still with me..."

He reached out, though it was impossible to tell whether he wished to seize Chu Qing or the secret inheritance he spoke of.

But before his arm could fully extend, his corpse crashed to the ground with a thud.

Commission completed!

Successfully killed Xin Youhen. Obtained one 'Random Martial Arts Treasure Chest.'

Chu Qing looked at the notification and let out a soft breath, then turned to look at Wu Qianhuan.

Intimidated by the killing intent in his eyes, Wu Qianhuan instinctively took a step back.

Her expression was also filled with uncertainty and shock.

Was he truly Chu Qing?

If so, where had this murderous aura come from?

And what was with that sword technique?

That sword strike from just now—Wu Qianhuan asked herself that, had their positions been reversed, she would likely have died even faster than Xin Youhen.

What kind of sword technique was that?

Simple, pure, and incomparably fast.

And beyond that, there were his calculations, his scheming...

Chu Qing had never been exceptionally clever.

If the Chu Family truly had to name a prodigy, it would be Chu Tian, not Chu Qing.

If he truly was Chu Qing... what had he experienced during those seven vanished years to become like this?

Was he unwilling to meet her in his true appearance because he had some unavoidable hardship?

Wu Qianhuan stared at the person before her, then suddenly took a deep breath.

"I will prepare a thousand-tael silver note for you, without the seal of Heavenly Dance City's City Lord's Mansion.

"You may exchange it at any Myriad Treasure Bank under heaven.

"But you must tell me—how am I supposed to find you?"

Chu Qing smiled faintly. The killing intent in his eyes had already vanished without a trace.

"At midnight tonight, at Duhua Pavilion east of the city. I shall await Eldest Young Lady's arrival."

"A promise is a promise."

Wu Qianhuan gazed at Chu Qing for a moment before turning to leave.

But Chu Qing suddenly spoke.

"Wait."

"Is there something else?"

Wu Qianhuan paused in her tracks.

After pondering briefly, Chu Qing finally said,

"Young Miss Wu is, after all, one of my employers. So I'll give you a piece of news for free.

"On the road to Heavenly Dance City, I once encountered a Heavenly Dance Guard whose legs had been severed.

"He still had one last breath in him then, and he told me something."

Wu Qianhuan's breathing immediately quickened.

"You saw him? What did he say?"

"He said... tell Green Leaf Sword hilt day day day."

Wu Qianhuan: "?"

As though she had mastered the art of changing faces, her expression swiftly cycled through surprise, anticipation, and a whole range of are you fucking kidding me?.

At last, she asked,

"What does that mean?"

"...That should be a question for you."

Chu Qing rolled his eyes.

"I relayed every single word that man said before dying without leaving out a single one. As for figuring out what it means, that has nothing to do with me."

"Very well. Thank you."

Wu Qianhuan reined in her emotions, but after a moment's thought, she asked again,

"What should I call you?"

What should she call him?

Chu Qing hesitated awkwardly before finally shamelessly saying,

"You can call me... Night Emperor."

The moment he said it, goosebumps rose all over his body.

When he had left that name behind before, he had not found anything strange about it. But now that he had to say it aloud, it felt unbearably childish.

It could not be helped. He had wanted to pick a less childish name, but unfortunately, he possessed no talent for naming things.

Wu Qianhuan's expression shifted slightly.

"So you are Night Emperor... You were the one who killed the Seven Iron Horse Thieves?"

Chu Qing nodded and smiled.

"That's right. By the way, before they died, they mentioned having an inside man in Heavenly Dance City."

Wu Qianhuan was not surprised.

"You know who it is?"

"I do."

Chu Qing nodded without the slightest hesitation.

Wu Qianhuan was stunned again. This person actually knew? How did he know so much?

She immediately asked,

"Who is it?"

"Young Miss Wu, that first piece of news was a gift. If I give you this next one too... people will start suspecting whether you and I have some secret private arrangement."

Chu Qing smiled.

"Or is it that the dignified Eldest Young Lady of Heavenly Dance City enjoys catching a white wolf with empty hands?"

Wu Qianhuan raised her brows slightly.

"You... have you fallen into a money pit?

"How much?"

Chu Qing held up five fingers.

"Fine. I'll give it to you along with the rest tonight. Speak!"

Wu Qianhuan was wealthy and imposing, and did not care about this in the least.

Chu Qing nodded in satisfaction.

"As expected of Young Miss Wu—straightforward enough.

"In Heavenly Dance City, the one secretly colluding with the Seven Iron Horse Thieves is Liu Shijie, deputy hall master of Falling Rain Hall."

Wu Qianhuan's expression did not change upon hearing this, though her gaze grew slightly contemplative.

Chu Qing was somewhat surprised.

"You guessed it long ago?"

"Falling Rain Hall appears to have a clean background, but there are actually many suspicious things about it... At the Chu Family today, I had also been testing that Tang Xi..."

At this point, she paused and gently shook her head.

"These matters have nothing to do with you. This information is very important to me. Thank you. Farewell!"

"Please."

Chu Qing cupped his fists. Wu Qianhuan gave him one last look, then turned and hurried toward Heavenly Dance City.

Only after Wu Qianhuan had completely vanished from sight did Chu Qing look toward Xin Youhen's corpse.

After searching it briefly, he shook his head in disappointment.

Xin Youhen had come this time to kill someone as well, and with Chu Yunfei still in the Chu Family, it was difficult to say whether he would return alive. Thus, apart from a few scattered pieces of silver, he carried nothing else.

He did not even have a silver note for starting a fire... So Chu Qing could only gather some dry grass from the side and use his firestarter to ignite it, finally coaxing the flames to life.

Watching the blazing fire and the billowing smoke.

Chu Qing looked out at Heavenly Dance City in the distance.

He let out a quiet breath.

"Valley of Ten Thousand Nights, Heavenly Dance City, Falling Rain Hall, Mirror of Sin... There really is one good show after another in Heavenly Dance City.

"From what Wu Qianhuan said just now, Chu Yunfei's banquet this time was not so simple either.

"Valley of Ten Thousand Nights dared to make a move against Wu Qianhuan. It seems that although the surface is calm and tranquil, beneath it, things have already become irreconcilable.

"Could the ones who hired assassins to kill Chu Yunfei be Valley of Ten Thousand Nights?

"If that is truly the case, what comes next will likely be rather troublesome..."

As he sorted through the information he had obtained, he suddenly looked toward the grass to one side, his expression faintly surprised.

"Gone?

"Never mind him. There is still one matter that must be settled."