Nage had truly had enough. He was the mighty chieftain of Iron Mountain, a notorious bandit in the Western Regions—not some person's oversized pet. He had thought breaking free of the Unrivaled King's control would be a good thing, but it turned out women simply couldn't lead. Aside from her vicious streak, the Iron Mountain mistress had nothing in common with the Great Head God.
Although he could have crushed the young mistress to death with a single finger, Nage was powerless to do so. The Great Head God had been dead for years, but his authority still lingered. No one dared change the rules he had laid down, and no one dared lay a hand on his daughter.
Unless they were outsiders.
For a time, Nage had hoped the young mistress's eccentric temper would get her killed. But recent events had shown that the powerful were strangely tolerant of her. If she ever did bring trouble down on herself, it would likely be a calamity from the heavens, dragging all of Iron Mountain down with her. So, after consulting with his most trusted brothers, he decided to strike first.
Finding a killer from outside wasn't easy. The man needed a plausible reason to kill the young mistress; otherwise, afterward, the various factions would seize on the matter and investigate it endlessly—and might even use the opportunity to swallow up Iron Mountain.
Shi Qingjue was close to perfect in many respects. He was a defrocked monk, cut off from the Four Truths Blue Lotus, with no real ties to any faction. Though he had joined the Dragon Army, he had been there only a short time and was a mere clerk—hardly even a marginal figure. When he had stormed Hundred Prosperity Tower alone, he had shown courage and recklessness, both