Wen Qingkong's gaze was sharp as lightning. Under that gaze, both Jiang Asheng and Zeng Jing felt slightly embarrassed.
One had once been the son of the Grand Chancellor, wielding the Sansha Swords; the other had once been Black Stone's top assassin. Both were far older than Wen Qingkong.
Yet before the enemy had even arrived, they had already lost heart.
Compared to the calm, resolute youth before them, they seemed more like immature children.
"Black Stone may be powerful, but to Prince Jiu, King Runner's death is not what matters. What matters is whether Mingzhou can continue providing him with millions of taels of silver every year."
"If the new King Runner is smart, he will only send a small number of people to investigate King Runner's death. He will focus his real efforts on the silver."
"Only by securing the silver can he secure his position and power."
"This is the primary contradiction. We must seize hold of it."
"So the most important thing is that we cannot reveal even the slightest flaw. All the Black Stone assassins in Mingzhou City have already been killed."
"Now there is only one final question: besides King Runner, who else in Black Stone might have known that they had found clues to Miss Zeng Jing?"
Wen Qingkong analyzed the matter calmly. The entire chain of events surrounding King Runner's death had begun with the discovery of clues about Drizzle. Therefore, no matter who came to Mingzhou to investigate King Runner's affairs, if they knew that King Runner had been searching for the assassin Drizzle before he vanished, they would certainly begin with Drizzle—and might trace the matter back to them.
What they needed to do was snuff out that lead, ensuring that the new King Runner had no idea what King Runner had been doing before his disappearance.
Zeng Jing frowned slightly and quickly thought of someone.
"Fatty Chen."
"He was practically Black Stone's steward and King Runner's confidant."
"He definitely knew that King Runner had found clues about me."
"Good!"
"Jiang Asheng, go burn down King Runner's residence. Leave no clues behind."
"Zeng Jing, come with me to kill Fatty Chen. Make sure we do not kill the wrong person."
Wen Qingkong made his decision at once. Today, they would sever every lead completely.
Jiang Asheng and Zeng Jing both agreed.
Then the husband and wife exchanged glances. Before they knew it, Wen Qingkong had begun issuing orders and assigning them tasks.
More importantly, the two of them had instinctively obeyed.
Without realizing it, Wen Qingkong had already taken the leader's position within their trio.
Jiang Asheng smiled unconcernedly, while Zeng Jing pressed her lips together slightly.
At fifteen, neither of them had possessed the wisdom and martial skill of the youth before them.
"Move out!"
Wen Qingkong rose to his feet, and Jiang Asheng and Zeng Jing hurried after him.
After parting ways, they headed straight for their respective targets.
Jiang Asheng went to burn King Runner's residence, while Wen Qingkong took Zeng Jing to Fatty Chen's hiding place.
Fortunately, King Runner and Fatty Chen did not need to contact each other every day.
Only a day had passed since King Runner's death, and Fatty Chen had yet to notice anything amiss.
He ran an oil shop in Mingzhou City. Fair and plump, he greeted customers with a smile at all times. No matter how one looked at him, he did not resemble the steward of an assassin organization.
Yet it was precisely this shrewd, crafty merchant's appearance that kept people from suspecting his true identity.
"Wait a moment. There are too many customers right now."
Wen Qingkong watched the constant flow of people through the oil shop and thought that Fatty Chen's business was doing quite well.
The two found a restaurant, ordered tea and pastries, and waited until noon. By then, business at the oil shop had died down, and there were no more customers.
Wen Qingkong and Zeng Jing entered the oil shop.
Fatty Chen did not recognize Zeng Jing. Smiling, he greeted them, "Are you two here to buy oil?"
Zeng Jing nodded slightly. "Two taels of oil."
"Coming right up!"
Fatty Chen turned around to fill the order. Wen Qingkong walked over beside him, and the sight of a fifteen-year-old boy did not arouse Fatty Chen's vigilance.
Pfft!
An almost inaudible sound flickered past.
Fatty Chen's eyes widened. In disbelief, he lowered his head to look at Wen Qingkong beside him.
A silver needle had pierced into his waist. Wen Qingkong's powerful inner force clung to it, instantly crushing Fatty Chen's kidneys and taking his life.
Fatty Chen tried to let go and grab Wen Qingkong.
Zeng Jing darted forward and held Fatty Chen's hands, as though the oil he was carrying was about to spill and she was hurriedly catching it.
Under Wen Qingkong and Zeng Jing's control, Fatty Chen soon stopped breathing.
Wen Qingkong propped him up in a recliner, making him look as though he were asleep.
Then the two left the oil shop with their two taels of oil and blended into the crowd.
As they were nearing home, a noisy commotion reached their ears. Following the sound, they saw black smoke billowing in the distance, with flames shooting into the sky.
Wen Qingkong recognized it as King Runner's residence.
Jiang Asheng had also completed his task smoothly.
The two returned to Zeng Jing's home. Not long afterward, Jiang Asheng returned safely and gave Wen Qingkong a detailed account of what had happened.
There had been no one at King Runner's residence, nor were there any traps. The operation had gone exceptionally smoothly.
Had Jiang Asheng not needed to make sure no one was following him, he should have returned even faster than Wen Qingkong and Zeng Jing.
"Good. Now every lead has been completely cut off."
"Live peacefully. Set up your stall if you need to set up a stall, run errands if you need to run errands. There will be no more trouble."
Jiang Asheng and Zeng Jing both felt as though a great weight had been lifted. They let out long breaths.
Wen Qingkong took his leave.
When he returned home, his steps paused slightly. In an inconspicuous corner by the wall was a blooming white lotus.
This was the White Lotus Sect's mark. It meant that someone from the White Lotus Sect had discovered the mark he had left behind.
Wen Qingkong did not go there immediately.
Without drawing attention to himself, he rubbed away the mark and returned home.
The next day, after breakfast, Wen Qingkong left home and headed directly for the Bureau of Music.
Upon arriving at the Bureau of Music, Wen Qingkong booked a private room. A servant attended to him eagerly, pouring tea and water. "I see this is your first time at the Bureau of Music, young master. Shall I introduce you to a couple of girls?"
Wen Qingkong knew that some of the girls had paid the servant to recommend them whenever he encountered an unfamiliar customer.
"No need. Bring me your top courtesan."
"Also, I have a friend. If he arrives, bring him directly to me."
"This is for you."
Wen Qingkong tossed him a piece of broken silver.
The servant agreed repeatedly and withdrew with a beaming smile.
Before long, a soft, delicate voice sounded outside the door.
"Young master, may this humble woman come in?"
"Come in."
The door opened, revealing a woman in a red dress. Her figure was graceful and alluring, while her limpid autumn eyes held a trace of sorrow. Her expression was cool and distant, like the cold moon in the night sky—fit to be admired from afar, but not defiled.
Wen Qingkong glanced at her. "You are the top courtesan here?"
"This humble woman is Zhou Miaotong. I cannot be called any sort of top courtesan."
Wen Qingkong heard a trace of resentment in her words, but he did not care. The Bureau of Music differed from other brothels. The women here had originally been daughters of prominent families and officials, forced into this lowly profession by the collapse of their families' power. It would have been stranger if they bore no resentment.
What made Wen Qingkong curious, however, was that he happened to know of another girl named Zhou Miaotong. He did not know whether the woman before him was the same person, though judging solely by her cold, deathly aura, the two were remarkably alike.
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