Ultimately, the Regret Remains

Yangquan County's docks had originally stood outside the city, but later, as waterways spread in every direction and commerce flourished, the county seat expanded its walls several times, until in the end even the dock district was wrapped inside.

Meng Yue was bold because his skills were high, and he deliberately chose quiet, secluded alleys to pass through. He lengthened his stride, and the closer he drew to the docks, the stronger and more piercing the reek in the air became—a mix of fish stink, sweat, and some unspeakable, unnameable rot.

Meng Yue frowned and lifted his eyes to look.

Night had only just fallen, and the docks were still lively. A clamor of noise rushed straight at him.

On the Yudai River, several small grain barges were still moored. Their decks were brightly lit, shadows of people moving back and forth. Some laborers, voices hoarse, went "huff, huff" as they shouldered hemp sacks or wooden crates and kept carrying them down the gangplanks.

"Faster, faster! Want a taste of the whip?"

The steward on the grain barge stuck out his belly, still disgusted that the laborers were moving too slowly and delaying his rest. The whip in his hand had been dipped in water, and it cracked through the air with sharp snaps.

Meng Yue noticed that on the docks, several men in short fighting clothes, carrying cudgels, had their jackets hanging open to bare their chests. They patrolled back and forth through the crowd, swinging the sticks in their hands every so often to intimidate the laborers.

These vicious men were all Yan Tieshan's subordinates, sent to the docks as overseers. Any laborer who dared slack off would immediately be dragged away and served a round of killing-awe cudgels.

Beside the docks was Fishery Street, where the rotten fish-stench was even stronger. By now, naturally, there were no fishmongers hawking their wares. Meng Yue covered his mouth and nose as he walked on.

At the most conspicuous part of the dock district, a large area had been fenced off with wooden planks, forming a spacious enclosure.

Around the enclosure stood sixteen tree stakes, each two zhang high, arranged in a ring. Lanterns hung high from them, lighting up the whole area.

Around the perimeter, tough, capable men patrolled from time to time. In their hands were not only cudgels; steel sabers also hung at their waists.

All of this was because at the center of the enclosure stood a two-story gambling den—Yan Tieshan's lair.

Meng Yue had only just approached, still some distance from the enclosure, when someone shouted him to a halt. "Stop! Who are you?"

Several vicious men drew long sabers and cudgels, surrounding Meng Yue in a tightening ring as they barked questions at him.

"I'm here to see Third Master Yan..."

Before he could finish, a man interrupted him, the tip of his blade nearly pressed to Meng Yue's nose. "You think Third Master is someone you can see just because you want to? Kid, take off that bamboo hat."

Meng Yue opened his palm and showed the small wooden token, saying calmly, "Give this to Third Master. Once Third Master sees it, he'll naturally understand."

"Fuck your mother..."

The man still wanted to curse, and even raised his hand as if to chop at Meng Yue's palm, but another man with a scarred face suddenly pulled him back and held him fast.

The scar-faced man looked Meng Yue over a few times, took the small wooden token, and said, "Wait here."

Then he turned and hurried into the building.

Before long, the scar-faced man came back out and cupped his fist to Meng Yue. "Third Master has prepared a private room on the second floor. Please!"

Meng Yue immediately followed the scar-faced man into the building.

It had already sounded extremely noisy from outside, but the moment he entered the first-floor hall, all kinds of sounds and foul smells swarmed over him, a murky haze of smoke and chaos.

More than a dozen tables were packed tightly into the small hall. The crowd inside was crammed together—some drinking, some gambling with cards, and still others dragging sobbing, struggling girls straight toward the side rooms.

Meng Yue's expression was indifferent, as if he had seen nothing. He followed the scar-faced guide straight up to the second floor and stopped outside a sealed private room.

"Third Master, the man is here!" Scarface said, bowing.

"Come in!" A low voice came from inside.

Only then did Meng Yue remove his bamboo hat. He pushed open the door. Inside, only a single candle was burning, making the room rather dim.

Meng Yue narrowed his eyes, adjusting to the light. In the middle of the room sat a burly man with the bearing of a warlord on a throne, his face hidden in darkness and hard to see clearly.

Apart from him, there were four other people in the room: two leaning by the door on either side, and two standing guard at the burly man's flanks.

"Your Excellency is Yan Tieshan, Third Master Yan?"

Meng Yue glanced back, then turned to look at the man in the center.

"Cut the unnecessary nonsense. I, Old Third Yan, am a straightforward man, and I hate beating around the bush most." Yan Tieshan waved a hand and said bluntly, "Back then, I owed Mr. Cui a favor. You've come with his token. What do you want me, Old Third Yan, to do?"

"I'd like to ask Third Master to kill someone."

"Who?"

Meng Yue did not answer at once. He hesitated, glancing at the four guards in the room.

Yan Tieshan snorted. "The reputation I, Old Third Yan, have in this line of work—which great household in the county doesn't know it? If you don't trust me, just leave."

"Third Master jests. I have heard of your reputation." A trace of killing intent flashed through Meng Yue's eyes as he said calmly, "A disciple of the Yang Family Martial Arts Hall—Hong Yuan."

"The Yang Family Martial Arts Hall?" Yan Tieshan was slightly surprised. "Yang Erhu is not someone easy to provoke."

"What? Is Third Master afraid?" Meng Yue laughed softly.

"I'd be afraid of Yang Erhu? Haha!" Yan Tieshan laughed a few times, then suddenly slapped his palm down on the table before him, producing a dull thud.

"Perfect. Yang Erhu and I had some old grievances that hadn't been settled yet. This time, new grudges and old hatred can be counted together... Go back. Within half a month, you'll hear good news!"

"Half a month?" Meng Yue frowned, feeling that the time was a little too long. Just as he was about to say something, a shrill scream suddenly came from outside.

Bang, bang, bang!

Immediately afterward, heavy impacts rang out one after another, as if several people had been sent flying at the same time and smashed hard to the ground. Right after that came the ringing clash of metal against metal.

The lower floor fell into utter chaos. Footsteps became frantic and disorderly, with piercing screams mixed in from time to time.

Meng Yue could already picture the gamblers panicking, clutching their heads and scurrying like rats. He could not help casting a glance at Yan Tieshan opposite him. "Third Master, it looks like you've run into trouble here."

"Trouble? What does a little squall like this count for? It'll be settled very soon."

Yan Tieshan gave a cold laugh and did not move an inch. Even the four guards likewise did not leave.

Meng Yue, on the other hand, was starting to sit still with some difficulty. He was just thinking of getting up to take a look when several piercing whistles suddenly rang out from downstairs, followed immediately by another burst of clamorous noise.

Before long.

Five men in fitted martial attire, lean of build, dark-skinned, and light-footed enough to make no sound, arrived outside the room.

Meng Yue looked them over at once. Though the five appeared thin on the outside, their auras were capable and fierce, their gazes extremely sharp. They carried stiff bows and arrow quivers on their backs; thick calluses covered their right hands, and there were obvious pressure marks on their thumbs, index fingers, and other places. His heart stirred.

"Hunters? Old Third Yan actually managed to recruit five hunters?"

Yan Tieshan had already begun speaking. "Did you catch him? Which blind fool dared come looking for trouble with me, Yan Tieshan? Work him over hard for me."

The five hunters all remained silent.

Yan Tieshan looked at them, then suddenly rose and overturned the table in front of him. "You didn't catch him? What are you good for? Have I been raising a pack of trash?"

Outside the gambling den, a pitch-black figure darted swiftly through the shadows. He ran with extreme speed, and in the blink of an eye had burst out of the dock area and slipped into a dark alley.

The pitch-black figure leaned against the wall, tore away the black cloth covering his face, and took a breath. He looked at his arm. His lapel had been pierced through by an arrow; fortunately, he had dodged in time and only had a bit of skin scraped.

"In the end, I still couldn't let it go."

The face revealed beneath the black cloth was none other than Yang Erhu's. At this moment, he let out a deep sigh.

Back when he had investigated Qin Ziyue's whereabouts, he had found that those scoundrel friends of Qin Ziyue's were Yan Tieshan's men. At the time, he had secretly clashed with Yan Tieshan several times and killed some of the other man's thugs, yet in the end, limited by the strength of one man alone, he had been unable to do anything more to Yan Tieshan.

And today, when Master Qin had come to bid him farewell, that walking-corpse look of his had once again ignited Yang Erhu's fury. Thus, under cover of night, Yang Erhu had come and attacked the gambling den.

He had lain hidden in the night, originally intending to slip quietly into the gambling den and see whether there was any chance to kill Yan Tieshan. Who would have thought his presence would still be exposed, forcing him to strike ahead of time?

He had erupted suddenly, killing seven or eight people and injuring more than a dozen in the briefest of moments. Just as he was about to fight his way upstairs, hidden arrows had abruptly shot out in succession from the dark, forcing him to flee at once.

"Today I beat the grass and startled the snake. From now on, Old Third Yan will only be on even heavier guard. If I want to assassinate him again, it'll be even harder."