The Final Move (Part One)

An hour later, Xia Lun and Little Green had finished their final preparations.

With everything ready, Xia Lun set out alone from the docks toward the Council Cave. As it happened, he ran into Rahu along the way. Rahu was an influential figure surrounded by followers, so he paid Xia Lun no attention.

The passage outside the Council Cave was still packed and noisy. The cavern was hot and stuffy, and the cloying sweetness of Yin Longevity Pills mingled with the stench of sweat, filling the passage with a smell that set everyone on edge.

Xia Lun glanced toward the entrance to the Council Cave and saw that Rahu was no longer assigning work there. Another Mind Fasting Sect leader, one he did not recognize, had taken his place. Xia Lun did not look twice. He slipped into the shadows outside the cave, then, when no one was watching, manifested the last Mining Explosives charge and wedged it upright into a hollow in the stone wall.

The cavern lay deep inside the mountain, but Xia Lun had inspected it up close. In many places, its supporting structures were already under immense strain, and the stone walls bore too much pressure. A small push from an explosive in the right spot would be enough to trigger a massive collapse.

After placing the charge, Xia Lun let the fuse fall to the ground. He drew it along behind him as he slipped silently into the crowd, then picked a chair and sat down.

There were only two ways to disrupt the ritual.

Either kill the Man in the Flesh at the Nexus so she could not revive, or blow up the ritual site and render every preparation worthless.

Xia Lun intended to do both. He would combine an explosion with an assassination,