Of the four, only Shangguan Fei had ever entered Six Kill Hall. It was Golden Peng Fortress's temple for worshipping its ancestors through the generations, and women were forbidden entry. Shangguan Fei and Shangguan Yushi both found this deeply unfair, which only strengthened their resolve to steal from it.
From memory, Shangguan Fei drew the inner and outer layout of Six Kill Hall. The great hall faced a cliff to the north and stood atop a vast, towering Stone Foundation. From the right angle, it could be seen from many places in Golden Peng Fortress. Nearly a hundred paces beyond the hall stood a tall, curved Stone Wall, completely separating the hall from the inner residence.
The great hall differed greatly from ordinary temples. It was a north-south rectangular structure. Aside from the north side, half of both its eastern and western sides bordered cliffs as well. Numerous windows opened high along the walls, more than a zhang above the ground. The two rows of windows were staggered, so that as the sun rose in the east and set in the west, its light would shine through the windows onto the opposite walls, illuminating murals of the ancestors from every generation.
Six Kill Hall housed several dozen people akin to priests, and many mysterious stories surrounded them. Rumor had it that they had all once been highly skilled assassins who, for various reasons, had voluntarily laid down slaughter and sworn to guard the temple alone, never stepping beyond the Stone Wall for the rest of their lives. In Golden Peng Fortress, they were called "Spirit Masters."
"I've seen a few. They were all decrepit old men—nothing to be afraid of."
Shangguan Fei said it lightly, placing little stock in the rumors. The other three did not feel the same, especially