Red Sleeve House

"Three-Fold Cloud Dragon," a supreme technique of the Shushan Sword Sect, made its practitioner as agile as a soaring dragon. Just as their upward momentum ran out, they could twist in midair and immediately rise higher, without pushing off anything.

Repeating this for three successive rises allowed them to reach even the summit of a steep mountain with ease.

It ranked among the finest sixth-rank lightness arts, but was rather difficult to master.

Su Yunsheng and Sun Lang had discussed it for days, yet could still only use it crudely, unable to grasp its essentials.

When Cao Jinxing asked, the two hurriedly pointed out everything they did not understand.

Cao Jinxing answered their questions one by one, effortlessly explaining the technique's true principles. After three questions, Su Yunsheng and Sun Lang were utterly awestruck.

They were convinced!

What terrifying comprehension did it take to master a Sixth-Rank Spiritual Martial Art so thoroughly after just a few glances?

Their own aptitude was by no means poor, and their strength had always placed them among the leading General Banners. Unfortunately, their backgrounds worked against them. Their fathers had been implicated in the Great Rites Controversy early in Jiajing's reign, making them descendants of disgraced officials. They had suffered constant exclusion ever since.

With no money, no connections, and unfavorable backgrounds, winning promotion was harder than reaching heaven.

This opportunity had only come because Liu Zhenyuan valued Cao Jinxing and wanted to find him two assistants with clean records and no ties to any dubious factions. That was why he had dug them out of their obscure corners.

After teaching them, Cao Jinxing found a long corridor and began trying to incorporate Three-Fold Cloud Dragon into Lightning Movement Step.

Lightning Movement Step had no flashy flourishes. It focused on one thing alone: explosive acceleration.

Precisely because of that singular focus, its raw speed far surpassed other lightness arts, but it was much less suited to combining with martial techniques.

Usually, it could only be used to flee.

The expert from the Thieves' Gate who created it had intended it to make scaling walls and traversing rooftops easier, allowing thieves to quickly put distance behind them after stealing a treasure.

Until it fell into Cao Jinxing's hands.

Combined with the Xinyou Saber Manual's quick-draw technique and the Cold Toad Art's powerful bursts of force, it had become a major asset in his killings.

In his hands, Lightning Movement Step already let him move freely through an army, killing and taking heads as easily as reaching into his pocket!

Three-Fold Cloud Dragon uses layered force for three successive bursts. That could be applied to Lightning Movement Step...

And so he began.

Lightning flashed back and forth through the corridor. After three successive accelerations, his figure vanished completely, and even the flashes grew dimmer, silent as a ghost.

At its fastest, it was almost like teleportation!

"An excellent lightness art."

Clap, clap, clap!

Someone applauded softly.

Cao Jinxing stopped. Countless afterimages swirled behind him as he turned to look toward the end of the corridor.

A man emerged there, handsome and dressed in a Qianhu's Flying Fish Uniform, with a longsword at his waist.

The sword was ornate, its sword intent chilling!

The moment it appeared, Cao Jinxing felt [Snow Soul] tremble lightly at his waist, giving a low hum as though responding to that sword.

"Don't be surprised."

The newcomer said, "[Snow Soul] and [Condensed Light] came from the same furnace, forged from the same piece of Kunlun ten-thousand-year cold iron. One took its cold, the other its sharpness. You could call them brother swords."

He strode closer. "I never expected this sword to end up in your hands. What a coincidence. My name is Shen Xiang. Brother Cao, a pleasure to meet you."

Information flashed through Cao Jinxing's mind.

Shen Xiang ranked twelfth among the North-South Pacification Commission's Thirteen Guardians. He was also a once-in-a-century genius of the Shushan Sword Sect, with a reputation that reached far and wide.

Since the thirteenth had died in battle in the northwest six months ago and his position remained vacant, Shen Xiang had also become the youngest of the current Thirteen Guardians.

A Deputy Qianhu stood only half a rank below a Qianhu, but a difference was still a difference. Properly speaking, he ought to offer a formal greeting.

Unless he encountered someone he particularly disliked, Cao Jinxing did not mind such things.

"Greetings, Qianhu Shen."

He cupped his fist in salute.

"No need."

Shen Xiang said, "We're both Qianhu, and fate has given us swords from the same furnace. Let's dispense with the formalities. What brings you here?"

Cao Jinxing said, "The Pacification Commissioner assigned me to guard the Imperial Prison."

"Ha!"

Shen Xiang laughed. "I suspect he sent you here for some time off. I'm the Qianhu currently guarding the Imperial Prison. Since he hasn't told you to replace me, he's merely putting your name on the roster so you can come and go freely."

They both understood how things worked.

Cao Jinxing made no attempt to hide it. He smiled. "Yes. I have some personal business over the next few days and might need to leave at any time. I hope you'll accommodate me, Qianhu Shen."

"No problem."

Shen Xiang said casually, "I've just finished a mission myself and came here to rest. Making things easier for others makes things easier for yourself. The Imperial Prison is riddled with mechanisms-once you enter, there's no way out. Other forces also guard it in secret, so there's no need to tie down two Qianhu here. Still, it holds plenty of vicious criminals, so there are a few things you should be aware of. Come, I'll show you around."

"Good."

Cao Jinxing readily agreed.

While Cao Jinxing followed Shen Xiang around the Imperial Prison, Lu Kunlun was secretly following Old Zhou, watching him without so much as blinking.

The old fellow's Thousand Transformations Divine Art was extraordinary. Without a close watch, he could change his face in the blink of an eye.

This time, Lu Kunlun was especially careful.

After Lu Kunlun successfully followed him out of the Ghost Market using luminous powder, Old Zhou seemed to relax.

Even after daylight rendered the luminous powder useless, Lu Kunlun could still trail him at a distance without being discovered.

From the market's close before dawn until that afternoon, Lu Kunlun watched him for several hours. Old Zhou simply sat drinking tea at a little stall beside a crossroads far out in the countryside.

The tea stall was utterly unremarkable. Its only advantage was perhaps its remote location.

Neither the proprietor, the waiter, nor the cook knew any martial arts. Even the passersby were mostly local farmers.

He must be waiting for someone...

Lu Kunlun thought, They certainly went to some trouble, choosing a place like this to meet...

He had a feeling the visitor would most likely be the person who brewed the peach blossom wine. It was the most expensive wine and offered the greatest profit, so it made sense for Old Zhou to collect it first.

But things did not unfold as he expected.

Old Zhou waited until sunset, even closing his eyes to rest for a while along the way, yet no one came.

At first, Lu Kunlun thought Old Zhou had spotted him and was deliberately making a fool of him, leaving him crouched in a tree for most of the day. But as the worry on Old Zhou's face deepened, he sensed something was wrong.

At last, a swift horse arrived.

A messenger dismounted, glanced over the people at the tea stall, and handed Old Zhou a letter.

Old Zhou took it, tore open the envelope, and pulled out the letter. One look made his expression change dramatically. He immediately unleashed his lightness art and dashed away!

He moved so fast that he was gone before even Lu Kunlun could react.

"Fuck! My legs have gone numb!"

Lu Kunlun was just about to get up and follow when his thigh muscles cramped. He nearly fell out of the tree and could only watch helplessly as Old Zhou disappeared into the countryside.

Judging by his direction, he seemed to be heading into the city.

Only the bewildered messenger remained.

He was merely delivering a letter. He had no idea what it said, and it was none of his business.

He mounted his horse to leave.

"Wait!"

A shout came from the distance.

The messenger looked up and saw a beggar inching down a large tree a hundred meters away. After reaching the ground, the beggar walked with a limp.

"Don't leave yet! I need to ask you something!"

Lu Kunlun's attire invited contempt. Worried that the messenger would ignore him, he took out a tenth of a tael of silver as he walked and tossed it over.

Sure enough, the messenger reined in his horse, dismounted, and waited for him to approach.

"What just happened?"

Lu Kunlun pressed several acupoints in succession, using his true qi to soothe the channels in his legs until they gradually returned to normal.

The messenger said, "Someone gave me a letter yesterday. He said that if he hadn't come to collect it by the end of the late-afternoon period today, I should bring it to Crossroads Slope and give it to the old gentleman sitting by the corner wall in the tea stall."

"What did that man look like?"

"Uh..."

The messenger hesitated. It was not that he could not tell him, but that he was considering how to put it. The man was a customer, after all. Talking behind his back was one thing, but speaking ill of him too seemed rather indecent.

Lu Kunlun handed him another tenth of a tael of silver.

"Extremely ugly!"

The messenger said, "He was short and stubby, and quite fat, with a protruding belly and a pockmarked face. He was unkempt, too, and smelled... well... like a rat from a filthy ditch."

Never mind his appearance-that smell alone made him unforgettable.

"He certainly had money, though."

Envy appeared on the messenger's face. "After giving me the letter, he went straight into the Red Sleeve House and headed upstairs with his arms around two girls. Clearly a regular. He certainly had his share of female company."

Lu Kunlun asked, "The Red Sleeve House?"

The messenger said, "You're not from around here, are you? The Red Sleeve House is one of the finest brothels in the capital. Its girls are beautiful and accomplished, especially its star courtesan, Su Miaoyun. She plays the zither wonderfully. Everyone who hears her calls it heavenly music!"

"Heh."

Lu Kunlun sneered inwardly. What fucking heavenly music could a whore possibly play? A bunch of ignorant common fools!

Looks like the problem lies with this Red Sleeve House... That man may have sensed he was heading for trouble and left Old Zhou a letter just in case. No telling what he wrote, though. I'll have to be careful...