Black Stone, the Four Great Secret Agents

Black Stone.

A hidden assassin organization.

Organizations like it were countless throughout the martial world, and the assassination trade was fiercely competitive.

Yet Black Stone had carved out a path uniquely its own: assassinating officials.

In this regard, they had never failed.

What truly made Black Stone famous was that three years ago, they had consecutively assassinated the Minister of Justice, the Minister of Personnel, and the Minister of War.

Afterward, they assassinated the successors of two Ministers of Justice and the Minister of Personnel.

All told, they had forcibly assassinated seven ministers!

Even Azure Robe Tower, the most feared assassin organization in the Ming State martial world, could not have accomplished such a feat.

Thus, Black Stone's reputation soared, and it faintly gained the name of the number one assassin organization in the Ming State martial world.

There was even a saying: "If you want to become an official, worship Black Stone."

It meant that only officials approved by Black Stone could take office smoothly; otherwise, they would die before assuming their posts.

As for how one gained that approval, naturally, it was through money.

Who stood behind Black Stone was also a great mystery.

People in the martial world all said that the one secretly controlling Black Stone was most likely Grand Secretary Pei Ju.

This was because Cabinet officials could not concurrently serve as ministers of the Six Ministries, much less the Grand Secretary.

Pei Ju had been able to serve as Grand Secretary while also concurrently holding the posts of Minister of Justice and Minister of Personnel because Black Stone had consecutively assassinated the ministers of those two departments and their successors, terrifying the court officials so badly that none dared accept the positions.

Pei Ju could then use that as a reason to concurrently hold the two ministerial posts.

Thus, the person behind Black Stone was actually Pei Ju.

However, that was merely crude folk gossip.

Anyone who truly understood the situation at court would know that Pei Ju had already been the leader of a major court faction three years ago. Otherwise, the late emperor would not have promoted him to Grand Secretary.

Minister of Justice and Minister of Personnel were both positions he had once held.

When he left those offices, he had the right to submit a list of candidates to the emperor.

With Pei Ju's abilities, the people on the list he submitted would naturally all be his own followers.

In other words, even if Pei Ju could not concurrently hold those positions, the power of those two ministries would still remain firmly in his grasp.

The people who took over after the assassinations were likewise all his followers.

Pei Ju would have had to be mad to assassinate his own people so frantically.

As for who the true mastermind was, it was likely those who wanted the power of those two ministries but could not get their hands on it.

They could only use such dirty methods to vacate the seats occupied by others and make room for their own people.

But they had not expected Pei Ju to choose to concurrently hold the two ministerial positions.

Even more absurdly, the late emperor had agreed.

Helpless, they could only give up.

As for whether that person was Cao Zhengchun or Zhu Wushi... either was possible.

The key to this matter was that Pei Ju would certainly retaliate against Black Stone afterward.

Yet three years had passed, and Black Stone still remained.

Wherever there was a martial world, there was the Azure Dragon Society.

But even the Azure Dragon Society had been unable to eliminate Black Stone.

One could not help but marvel at just how formidable Black Stone was.

However, Zhou Ming understood the plot, so he naturally knew that the reason Black Stone had evaded even the Azure Dragon Society was that its leader was not in the martial world, but outside it.

To be precise, in the imperial palace!

Not the emperor, not a prince, nor any woman in the palace.

But a eunuch!

He was not even a famous or high-ranking eunuch, but merely a lowest-ranked ninth-grade eunuch!

The Azure Dragon Society's reach extended into every corner of the martial world. Even some princes, nobles, and court ministers might be members of the Azure Dragon Society.

Yet only within the imperial palace could the Azure Dragon Society not extend its hand.

Even if they did reach inside, they likely would never imagine that the famed leader of Black Stone was actually just a lowest-ranked eunuch!

Unfortunately, Zhou Ming had never entered the imperial palace.

Thus, there were very few people in the palace who bore marks.

So although he knew Black Stone's leader was a eunuch in the imperial palace, he did not know exactly which one.

Fortunately, Zhou Ming's mark ability had now awakened a new function and could spread through sound as a medium.

After waiting for a while, the imperial palace would likely be filled with people bearing marks.

Then, finding Black Stone's leader would naturally be effortless.

Perhaps I can also use that opportunity to speed things up... Zhou Ming thought.

A few days later, Yang Yuxuan and his entire family were exiled from the capital.

Logically, as the Minister of War, even with irrefutable evidence, he could not possibly have been exiled so quickly.

But Cao Zhengchun truly hated the man to the bone, so he accelerated the process precisely so that once Yang Yuxuan's family left the capital, the Eastern Depot could act conveniently.

The Eastern Depot's most elite Black-Clad Arrow Squad also departed with them.

Almost at the same time, Dragon Guard Manor made its move.

And Shangguan Hai, the master of the Number One Manor Under Heaven, acted repeatedly.

Zhou Ming had one of his three squads remain behind to continue watching Shangguan Hai, while the other two followed them out. They were only to observe in secret and were forbidden from taking action.

As for Zhou Ming himself... naturally, he stayed home and rested properly!

Did they expect him to act personally?

How could that be possible!

He was Pei Ju's adopted son and the Azure Dragon Society's prospective young master, not some workhorse!

For matters like this, he naturally remained home and directed everything from afar. Why would he personally take action?

Besides, when he already knew the answer, why was it worth making the trip himself?

A few days later, the two squads returned with their findings.

Zhou Ming took the results and went to see Pei Ju.

The entire sequence of events was very simple. The Eastern Depot's Black-Clad Arrow Squad made its move, then two heroes suddenly appeared and dealt with them, saving Yang Yuxuan's family.

However, while Dragon Guard Manor could save them, it could not change their fate of exile.

They could only return and find another way to clear their names.

Pei Ju looked over the intelligence. "The Black-Clad Arrow Squad? Cao Zhengchun certainly was willing to spend dearly! And Dragon Guard Manor sent two people... Duan Tianya and Gui Hai Yidao?"

Zhou Ming was surprised. "Godfather, you know them?"

"Of course. Zhu Wushi, like me, never married or had children, so he adopted two sons and a daughter. Since their teens, the three of them have helped Zhu Wushi share his burdens. They are extremely capable!"

"..."

Zhou Ming somehow felt that his godfather's words were implying something, but he did not ask.

Pei Ju set down the intelligence report. "I did not expect Zhu Wushi to send his two adopted sons rather than dispatch the Four Great Secret Agents. In that case, if we wish to uncover the identities of the Four Great Secret Agents, we will likely need to find another opportunity."

Zhou Ming said, "Godfather, do you think it's possible... I mean, just possible, that Zhu Wushi's three adopted children are actually three of the Four Great Secret Agents?"

"Hm?"

Pei Ju froze for a moment, then his face showed sudden realization. "So that's it. It truly is possible! If so, then Shangguan Hai, master of the Number One Manor Under Heaven, is actually Zhu Wushi's adopted daughter, Shangguan Haitang? Heh, dressed as a man!"

This world differed from the original plot.

In the original story, Dragon Guard Manor had existed for over a decade, and Duan Tianya and the other two had long used their secret agent identities and worked for many years. Thus, many people knew exactly who Dragon Guard Manor's Four Great Secret Agents were.

But in this world, Dragon Guard Manor had only begun preparations for its establishment three years ago.

Subtracting the preparation period, it had only truly begun operating for one and a half years.

As for the Four Great Secret Agents, they had only gradually taken office a year and a half ago, so few people knew the identities of those four.

As the saying went, the more one did, the more clues one left behind.

Even without this incident, if the Four Great Secret Agents acted a few more times, Pei Ju would likely discover their identities.

"However, if that is the case, those three are only three among the Four Great Secret Agents. Who could the fourth be?"

Pei Ju asked with a frown.