An Accomplice

Boldness was all well and good, but he still had to run.

After discussing it with Old Ma and the others, Chen Wu decided to flee immediately.

Chen Wu had been the main killer. He had slain two people in broad daylight, and they were both Concentrated Spirit Realm and Mystic Realm experts from the Crown Prince's Mansion. In the eyes of the authorities, it was the height of arrogance and lawlessness.

Staying in Jincheng Prefecture like a fool and waiting for the Crown Prince's Mansion to muster its forces and arrest him wasn't boldness. It was just asking to get his head cracked.

Wu Chengyi also had to flee at once. After all, he had only just escaped from prison, and he had shown up at Daya Hall. It didn't take much imagination to know he'd made the authorities' wanted list.

The only one who didn't need to hurry was Monk Zhongcheng. He had merely sparred with Zhang Iron Ruler. The assassination had nothing to do with the master, so don't go slandering an innocent man.

After settling on a plan, they immediately went their separate ways.

Chen Wu waited there until nightfall, then returned to Jincheng Prefecture under cover of darkness.

Shui Family Garden, guest courtyard.

Chen Wu vaulted over the wall and landed outside a room.

The curtains had been drawn, but the light inside was still on. A familiar silhouette was cast against the window.

"Ahem—"

Chen Wu cleared his throat and tapped lightly on the window twice.

Creak—

The door opened, and Chen Wu slipped inside to find Wang Zhenyi smiling at him.

"You've got some nerve!" Wang Zhenyi said. "You killed someone from the Crown Prince's Mansion, and instead of fleeing at once, you came back into the city!"

"I wanted to see someone."

"Don't tell me you wanted to see me?" Wang Zhenyi stared at Chen Wu.

"This..." Realizing how ambiguous that sounded, he hurriedly corrected himself. "I wanted to see General Shui, but Shui Family Garden is huge, and I don't know where he lives. I came to ask you."

"Oh—" Wang Zhenyi's tone was complicated as she asked, "When did you meet Senior Brother Shui?"

"Not long ago."

"Forget it. It's none of my business," Wang Zhenyi said. "Come with me!"

Wang Zhenyi led Chen Wu along a route the servants rarely used. They passed through a stretch of landscaped gardens and artificial hills, reaching a courtyard enclosed by a two-story building.

"That courtyard over there!" Wang Zhenyi pointed to the second floor. "The room in the northwest corner with the light on is where Senior Brother Shui lives."

"Thank you!" Chen Wu bowed and was about to vault up.

"Chen Wu—" Wang Zhenyi called out. "Are you leaving tomorrow?"

"Indeed!"

"Then remember, I'm now with the Department of Astronomy and Mathematics at the Dashun Academy of Sciences. If you reach the Capital City, you can come find me."

"I still have to choose a site for the observatory, so I'll be staying in Jincheng Prefecture for a while. Don't come too soon."

"All right—" Chen Wu looked at Wang Zhenyi deeply, then vaulted over the wall.

Shui Ziyi was bent over his desk, writing a letter with a quill pen.

The navy had to write aboard warships all year round, with waves tossing them about. Hard-tipped pens like quills were more convenient than brushes, so they had become popular. After years in the navy, Shui Ziyi had long since grown used to writing with a quill.

The scratching never stopped, and soon he had finished the letter to his eldest son.

Just as Shui Ziyi was about to put the letter away, a figure suddenly appeared outside the window.

His true qi stirred. Shui Ziyi immediately rose and grabbed the saber hanging on the wall.

"Is General Shui there?"

Hearing the voice, Shui Ziyi relaxed. "Come in!"

Chen Wu pushed open the door. Shui Ziyi was alone in the room.

"You're certainly bold!" Shui Ziyi spoke first. "After making such a huge mess, you should be running for your life, yet you came back into the city."

"I've only come to return something of yours!" Chen Wu took a medal from inside his robe. It was Shui Ziyi's Sea-Settling Medal. "General Shui helped arrange for me to meet Yang Yuchun. That favor has been used up, so I should repay it."

Shui Ziyi shook his head and smiled. "Before today, I definitely would have taken it back. But today you killed Yang Yuchun and Li Changgeng. With such an impressive display, I don't even want to take that favor back anymore."

"If you want to befriend someone, it comes down to owing each other favors. You owe me one, then I owe you one, and the more we owe each other, the stronger the friendship. Now I truly want to befriend a master like you, so I really don't want to take this medal back."

Shui Ziyi spoke frankly. His words were rather calculating, but they weren't unpleasant to hear. He had even slipped in a subtle compliment to Chen Wu. He truly was a clever, worldly man, with more cunning than Bi Gan had heart.

Chen Wu understood. "General, one thing is one thing, and another is another. Since I used that favor, I should return this medal. Whether you take it back is up to you. Whether I return it is up to me."

"You're right."

Shui Ziyi nodded, took back the Sea-Suppressing Medal, then brought out a wooden box and placed it inside.

Chen Wu had sharp eyes and spotted dozens of medals of various sizes in the box.

If this were his previous life, Xunzong would have been drooling with envy.

Shui Ziyi put the box away and smiled. "After what you've done, you can't possibly stay in Jincheng Prefecture. Have you decided where to go?"

"I have."

"Good. I won't pry," Shui Ziyi said. "I have a son who serves as a fleet commander in the Southern Ocean Fleet. If you truly have nowhere else to go, you can seek him out in the Southern Ocean. It's not like the mainland—the place is a jumble of fish and dragons, and the court turns a blind eye to some things. You could hide there for a few years. It's a way out."

"Thank you, General. If it comes to that, I'll certainly seek him out."

"What about Shopkeeper Ma? I heard the authorities sealed the West Wind Inn, and Shopkeeper Ma's whereabouts are unknown."

"Old Ma's cover as an informant has been blown. He'll definitely have to flee with me."

"How about this..." Shui Ziyi thought for a moment. "You've committed a major crime, so you have no choice but to run. But Shopkeeper Ma doesn't need to."

"He's only an informant for the Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower. He didn't take part in the assassination himself. Even if the court investigates, I can protect him with my influence."

Chen Wu clasped his fists in a salute, knowing he now owed General Shui another favor.

"Chen Gawa, thank you!" Standing by the Yellow River, Old Ma spoke with heartfelt gratitude.

"Why thank me? You should thank General Shui. He's the one who protected you."

"How could I not know? General Shui was willing to protect me because he saw how formidable you are," Old Ma said.

"No need to talk about that between us. I'm off!"

With that, Chen Wu kicked the sheepskin raft on the bank into the Yellow River, then climbed aboard.

Wu Chengyi had headed west with a caravan that day, past Xingxing Gorge. He wouldn't return to the Central Plains for a year or two. Chen Wu, meanwhile, would ride a sheepskin raft downriver to the east and seek out the master of the Golden Wind and Drizzle Tower.

Traveling by river along the Yellow River would let him bypass one checkpoint after another and catch them off guard.

As Chen Wu climbed onto the raft and drifted away from shore, Old Ma suddenly bellowed at him across the water.

"Chen Gawa! This is all I'll ever amount to, but you—you must become a Grandmaster! No, you must become a great Grandmaster!"

"Become a great Grandmaster!"

Chen Wu heard him, laid down his oar, and drew his treasured sword.

Humm—

True qi surged, ringing through the air with the sword's cries, a farewell to Old Ma.

Old Ma heard the sword ringing over the river. Beneath the vast sky and broad waters, with mountain peaks rising one after another, Chen Wu stood on his raft and sped into the distance.

Two hot tears streamed down his cheeks.