Lu Kunlun of the Beggars' Sect

The road had been clear all the way, but the closer Cao Jinxing got to the capital, the more vigilant he became.

The Opera House lot were being remarkably patient. They were probably preparing something big.

Sure enough.

On the afternoon of the second day, Cao Jinxing had just entered Baoyang Commandery when he sensed someone following him.

The capital, Shuntian Prefecture, was less than half a day's journey away. Any closer and they would be right under the emperor's nose, where trouble could easily escalate. This was the best place to ambush him before he reached the capital.

Cao Jinxing casually turned his horse into the dense woods southwest of the main road.

The man behind him kept his distance, secretly following while leaving markers for the others to find and regroup.

He wore a dog mask. It was none other than Soul-Seeking Dog, the best tracker in the Opera House's Twelve Zodiac Killer Group.

Two days earlier, they had failed to intercept Cao Jinxing in Lu'an Prefecture. That same day, they had stationed men along every major road into the capital.

Wary of ambushes, Cao Jinxing had taken a long detour. They had no such concerns and had rushed back at full speed, finally getting ahead of him to seal off the approaches.

Soul-Seeking Dog possessed a secret technique that made his nose extraordinarily sensitive, even sharper than an ordinary dog's. He could pick up scents from two to three kilometers away!

The moment Cao Jinxing appeared on horseback, he knew.

"Let's see where you can run!"

Soul-Seeking Dog was certain of victory.

But as he followed, he suddenly sensed something wrong. The horse had slowed down.

Growing even more cautious, he crouched in a tall tree and parted the thick foliage to look down. The horse was still there, but its rider had vanished...

Something's wrong!

Soul-Seeking Dog kept twitching his nose, sniffing the lingering scent in the air. He's still nearby, isn't he? What's going on? Did he spot me? Or is he relieving himself somewhere?

"What are you looking for?"

A voice suddenly sounded behind him.

Soul-Seeking Dog's hair stood on end!

His experience in countless battles saved him from freezing. Without a word, he drew his saber and slashed behind him!

He was fast, but Cao Jinxing was faster. With a casual finger strike, he hit the Life Gate Acupoint on Soul-Seeking Dog's lower back, then followed with a palm strike!

The sword energy of Heavenly Sword-Linked Finger tore through his dantian, while the unmatched force of Cloud-Discharging Palm shattered his bones!

Those two blows sent Soul-Seeking Dog flying into a thick tree opposite him, leaving his entire body limp as a heap of mud!

"Pfft!"

Soul-Seeking Dog spat out a mouthful of blood and collapsed weakly beneath the tree, his face beneath the mask filled with horror!

Cao Jinxing landed lightly, strode over to Soul-Seeking Dog, and crouched before him. "Who sent you?"

Soul-Seeking Dog gritted his teeth and held out without a sound.

"Heh."

Cao Jinxing smiled. "I like the stubborn ones. Normally, I'd give you a round of Tendon-Splitting Bone-Crushing Hand, but that's too gentle. I generally don't get hands-on with interrogations. Not because it's tiring, but because I'm afraid people won't survive..."

Cao Jinxing held two fingers together in a sword gesture. They turned a chilling ice blue, and the cold around him intensified!

"This is called Heavenly Sword-Linked Finger. It has two uses. One is the sword energy you just experienced. The other is finger force. There are thirty-six fatal acupoints throughout the body. An ordinary finger technique only causes weakness, numbness, or dizziness when it strikes them. But with this technique, cold poison invades your body, making you wish you were dead! Are you sure you won't talk?"

"..."

Fear appeared in Soul-Seeking Dog's eyes, but he kept his lips tightly shut and said nothing.

"Very good."

Cao Jinxing struck his Chest Center Acupoint with one finger. Instantly, cold surged through the acupoint into his internal organs!

Soul-Seeking Dog's eyes bulged. The spot where the finger had struck felt as though it were burning, while the rest of his body was chilled to the bone. It was like thousands of blades slicing through him, a pain worse than death!

Cao Jinxing's expression darkened, and his voice turned cold.

"Talk!"

"..."

Soul-Seeking Dog could no longer endure it. Even being sliced into a thousand pieces could be no worse. Fighting through the agony, he said, "It... it was the young master... Yan... Yan Shaoting..."

When Yang Qiancheng's carrier pigeon had reached the Yan residence that day, Yan Song and his son Yan Shifan had been discussing affairs in the Grand Secretariat. Only Yan Shaoting had been home to take charge.

In recent years, Yan Shaoting had grown into adulthood and become a chiliarch in the Pacification Commission, establishing a foundation in both strength and influence. Yan Shifan had begun paving the way for him, placing some of the Opera House's forces under his command.

These were all insignificant figures, given to him for practice. Even if he got them all killed, it would not affect the bigger picture.

Yan Shaoting relished the thrill of controlling both the lawful world and the underworld, and grew increasingly lawless.

The moment he saw the Millennium Fire Tortoise mentioned in the letter, he wanted it.

His grandfather was almost seventy. He was the pillar holding up the Yan Family. As long as he lived, the reigning emperor could not do without him.

Besides, in recent years, the Yan Family had dominated the court, their word absolute. With the emperor's indulgence, they had slaughtered the upright officials until scarcely any remained.

Jiajing's willingness to turn a blind eye had fed the ambitions of all three generations.

Yan Song was old, after all, and could still restrain himself. Yan Shifan and Yan Shaoting could no longer do so.

Yan Shifan had even dared to make the Ministry of Revenue withhold the imperial princes' annual stipends, forcing them to scrape together money to curry favor before releasing the funds.

Although Jiajing's own dislike of them was partly responsible, it still showed just how arrogant Yan Shifan had become.

Yan Shifan thought nothing of the emperor's own sons. His son went one step further, daring to lay hands on tribute intended for the emperor himself.

"He's asking to die!"

Cao Jinxing was speechless.

The foundation of the Yan Family's position was their single-minded dedication to pleasing the emperor.

You can act this arrogantly only because you serve the emperor's wishes. He takes the lion's share and doesn't mind leaving a little for the people who do his bidding.

Now you actually dare reach into his plate...

He had thought Yan Shifan incapable of doing something this stupid. So it had been his son...

"Who's coming?"

"The Twelve... Twelve Zodiac..."

"So besides you, the dog, there are eleven others? Tell me their martial arts, and I'll make it quick. Start with the rat."

"He can..."

Soul-Seeking Dog drew out the words, a gleam of excitement flashing in his eyes as his scheme succeeded. "...burrow underground!"

A flash of saber light erupted from beneath the ground!

The attacker was Burrowing Rat of the Twelve Zodiac. He had trained in Eastern Japan and learned the ninjutsu technique Earth Escape, allowing him to move swiftly underground.

Burrowing Rat had come with Soul-Seeking Dog. One had tracked their target aboveground while the other moved beneath it.

Soul-Seeking Dog had fallen too quickly for him to help, so he had hidden underground, waiting for the chance to land a killing blow.

Now his chance had come!

Burrowing Rat unleashed his gathered strength, delivering his strongest, fastest slash! The saber light blazed brilliantly. He could almost see Cao Jinxing's head falling to the ground!

Excitement seeped into his triangular eyes.

But in that very instant.

Cao Jinxing moved.

"I know."

He showed no surprise at the attack from behind and did not even turn his head. [Snow Soul] flashed from its sheath, struck, and returned in the blink of an eye-while Burrowing Rat was still in midair, his head was gone.

"Keep talking."

Cao Jinxing stared coldly at Soul-Seeking Dog, his voice utterly calm, as though he had casually slaughtered a chicken.

"??!"

Soul-Seeking Dog's eyes widened like bronze bells. Beyond Cao Jinxing, he saw Burrowing Rat's severed head flying through the air, its mouth open wide enough to swallow an egg!

Thud!

Burrowing Rat's saber-gripping body fell stiffly to the ground. His round head rolled like a ball to Soul-Seeking Dog's feet.

"Aah!!!"

Soul-Seeking Dog trembled all over with terror!

He nearly passed out!

Are we the assassins, or are you?

Why does killing seem to come more naturally to you than to us?

"Talk!"

Cao Jinxing was losing patience.

Soul-Seeking Dog jolted and hurriedly described the martial arts of the remaining ten. He was surely hiding something, but Cao Jinxing did not mind. It was only a reference.

When he finished, Cao Jinxing sent him to the next world with a palm strike.

It was a release for him, too.

"What a nuisance."

Cao Jinxing stood, leaning on his sword, and sighed. "That bastard Yan Shaoting. He just has to make my life difficult..."

"Then... would you like some help?"

A clear, bright voice suddenly rang out.

Cao Jinxing looked toward a tall tree to the southeast. A young beggar in tattered clothes sat among its branches, about twenty-five or twenty-six, with a red gourd at his waist.

His Breath Concealment Technique was so refined that neither assassin had noticed him.

Cao Jinxing had only detected his presence through keen intuition and the faintest trace of his aura.

His clothes were ragged but clean. He looked at Cao Jinxing with a broad smile, revealing a neat set of white teeth.

"I like making life difficult for people, too. Especially the Yan Family."

The beggar leaped from the tree, landing with a heavy thud, then flicked out his hand and tossed over the wine gourd at his waist.

His technique was exquisite. The seemingly casual throw carried powerful internal force, but Cao Jinxing thought nothing of it. He caught the gourd easily and dispersed the force.

The beggar gave him a thumbs-up, looking even happier.

"Impressive, brother."

He smiled. "I'm Lu Kunlun of the Beggars' Sect. What you're holding is the 'Do Not Laugh' wine I just bought. I'll let you have the first sip."

Cao Jinxing pulled out the stopper, tipped his head back, and took a drink. He smacked his lips. "Not bad."

"Not bad?"

Lu Kunlun's eyes widened. "That's Junshan's specialty wine! Famous far and wide, a name you can trust. I had someone bring it all that way just for me, and you call it merely 'not bad'?"

Cao Jinxing said, "It's a little worse than the Heavenly Fragrance Tower's huadiao."

"The Heavenly Fragrance Tower?"

Lu Kunlun's eyes lit up as he remembered. "Do you mean those jars of thirty-year-old huadiao? Then yes, this doesn't compare."

Cao Jinxing asked curiously, "You've had it?"

Lu Kunlun nodded. "I stole some."

"..."