Linyang County.
The Inspection Bureau's manhunt continued, but Ruan Jinyu had already received a battle report from a fellow bureau.
The faces of the countless military officers accompanying him had turned green. None dared ask how their commander felt; they simply kept their heads down and searched for the bandits, lest they return empty-handed and all be whipped into spinning tops.
At the first opportunity, ??????????.??????
Meanwhile, in a guest room at the Imperial Uncle's residence in the center of the county town.
An Yurou sat upright alone in the pitch-dark room. She had removed her cloak, revealing a silver-white, high-collared, cross-fronted jacket embroidered with an aqua-blue peacock. Beneath it was a horse-face skirt outlined with mountains and rivers. She was dressed like a lady or young mistress from an incense merchant family.
As a Later Zhou sleeper agent, An Yurou was clearly no ordinary person.
Her mother belonged to the same clan as Empress Dowager Zhou, one of the seven prominent Confucian clans, a great family that had spanned several dynasties. Her father was the heir to the Heaven-Observing Commissioner.
Twenty years ago, when Great Zhou was in turmoil, her father, as a son-in-law of Empress Dowager Zhou's family, naturally opposed the Xiao Clan's usurpation of the state. After his efforts came to nothing, he secretly defected with his wife and daughter. Unfortunately, Cao Clan troops intercepted them along the Cang River and tried to persuade him to return.
But her father was unyielding by nature. Rather than return and become a lackey of treacherous ministers and rebels, he took his own life by the river to prove his resolve. Her mother followed him in death.
An Yurou had been little then. She had watched her parents die violent deaths with her own eyes, and the hatred in her heart was easy to imagine.
After she was brought back to the capital, her Lineage and the Heaven-Observing Commissioner sheltered her, and she suffered no persecution. But neither time nor wealth and comfort could dilute the hatred in her heart. She trained hard in martial arts and eventually contacted Later Zhou, becoming a sleeper agent.
Because the Heaven-Observing Pavilion oversaw the martial world and did not involve itself in military or political affairs, it had few secrets to speak of. Her work in the past had consisted of watching the movements of Great Yan's powerful figures and searching for the Great Zhou prince who had gone missing all those years ago.
Discovering Yang Tuyan's trail this time had been an accident. She had intended to use her advantage in intelligence to get there first, but she had truly not expected the Flower Judge to be there too, much less with a follower in tow. As a result, she had suffered a heavy loss.
Even now, An Yurou carried herself with the dignified grace of a young lady from a great family, but her hand clutched the hem of her silver-white garment as she tried to forget the ordeal she could scarcely bear to recall.
But how could she forget being manhandled by a man like that?
After she had withdrawn into herself like this for who knew how long, a sound suddenly came from outside the window:
"Family head?"
An Yurou had brought three followers with her on this trip, led by her steward, Hou Chou'er.
Hearing the voice, she opened her eyes, took a gentle breath to calm herself, and went to the window to ask:
"How did it go?"
Outside the window, Steward Hou Chou'er reported in a low voice:
"The Inspection Bureau just received a report. One of Luo Xuanqing's subordinates pursued them alone outside the city and killed three bandits, Yang Tuyan among them. He has already slipped back to Qingxi..."
An Yurou's eyes filled with surprise.
"Who was so valiant? Chen Xuance?"
Hou Chou'er shook his head. "No, I believe he's called 'Ye Xingge.' He's a newcomer. They say he also caught Jiang Baichuan yesterday and drew his saber on Ruan Jinyu outside a restaurant. Could he be the one from the alley just now?"
An Yurou had been held from behind and groped and fondled, so she had not even seen what the man looked like. But after thinking back briefly, she shook her head.
"That man was just a lookout. His martial arts were mediocre. Yang Tuyan and his two companions also had the Ravine-Leaping Tiger. If that lackey had dared pursue them, ten lives wouldn't have been enough for him to lose. It shouldn't have been him..."
Hou Chou'er asked in confusion, "If he was just a lackey, how did he discover you, family head?"
"..."
What had happened was too humiliating for An Yurou to say outright. She only said:
"That lackey was hiding among the baskets. I hadn't expected him beforehand, and he gave me a fright as well. Xuanqing had already charged out, so I fled immediately."
"Oh... Did he see your face, family head? Should we silence him?"
An Yurou shook her head. "I was wearing a mask. He couldn't have seen me. He's one of Xuanqing's people, so it's best not to move against him rashly."
Hou Chou'er nodded slightly and continued:
"Yang Tuyan should have had contact with the Gold-Chasing Gentleman. The Fate-Robbing Saber is in the Gold-Chasing Gentleman's hands, and the Flower Judge may have extracted information by interrogation. What should we do?"
An Yurou frowned at this.
"The Fate-Robbing Saber concerns the fate of Great Zhou. We must investigate it. If I go to Qingxi again, I'll arouse suspicion. Find a way to keep an eye on the Judicial Review Bureau's movements first. If they make no moves in the near future, I'll make inquiries when I return to the capital."
"Yes."
Hou Chou'er nodded, then quietly departed.
After her subordinate left, An Yurou returned to the bed and sat down. Feeling a faint ache in her chest, she unfastened the fat-headed peacock to take a look.
Beneath her peony-embroidered bellyband, finger marks had been squeezed into her snowy skin, a sign of how much force had been used.
Thump-
An Yurou gently thumped the bed with her fist, her teeth grinding, but all she could do was silently swallow her bitterness...
Splash~
It was the latter half of the night. A few embroidered-clad officers still walked the streets, but the inn had fallen completely silent.
In the corridor on the second floor, a chubby black cat with the character "catch" hanging around its neck trotted up and down the building, patrolling its territory.
In the guest room, a veiled hat rested on the table, and a black dress hung over the folding screen.
Luo Xuanqing reclined in the bathtub, the hot water reaching her chest. Two full mounds floated halfway above the surface. A palm print remained on her back, white as congealed cream. It had mostly faded over two days, but her Qi channels showed no sign of opening.
At Shangjin Ferry, Luo Xuanqing had been the main force pursuing Mantanghong.
As the fifteenth in the Second Rank, she had clearly been at an absolute disadvantage against the eighth in the Second Rank, who wielded a divine weapon.
Her personal renowned weapon, the Returning Flow Pendant, inherited some of the properties of a divine weapon. It could [Divert Force and Return the Flow], dispersing some internal force through the meridians of her limbs, equivalent to a built-in seventy percent reduction in magic damage.
But Mantanghong's cultivation method came from the Cloud and Rain Tower and was extremely devious. It could wind like silk and cling to the meridians. One palm strike had locked Luo Xuanqing's governing vessel, leaving her able to use less than a tenth of her power. Only the person who tied the bell could untie it, and she could not undo it herself.
Although she had also used the Heaven-Observing Pavilion's specially made Essence-Dispersing Needle to strip Mantanghong of all her power, it was temporary. Her opponent would recover before long.
So Luo Xuanqing had lost that fight.
She was seven places below Mantanghong and had been stuck outside the top ten for years. Without a divine weapon to help her, she feared she would never surpass that damned woman Mantanghong in this lifetime...
Right, the divine weapon...
At that thought, Luo Xuanqing suddenly opened her eyes. She remembered that the Ravine-Leaping Tiger had been stolen by the Gold-Chasing Gentleman, and Ye Xingge should have heard about it too.
Now that he had seen the dagger, the young man should have asked about clues to the divine weapon, shouldn't he?
Although he had certainly been in danger just now and might not have had the mind to think of such things, Luo Xuanqing decided to try asking and rose from the bathtub.
Splash~
Her tall figure stepped out of the bathtub, smooth and lustrous as jade from head to toe. She was amply endowed in front, and the full, soft curves concealed there even made her trembling reflection by the wall look like a beauty beyond compare.
Though her figure and looks were exquisite, and her three-chi-one measurements were enough to make countless beauties green with envy, Luo Xuanqing was actually a Taoist nun-or rather, a cool and aloof fairy!
She had come from Mount Jiuhua and was a direct disciple of Perfected Jiuhua. Her Taoist name was Xuanqing, and her secular name was Luo Qingcheng.
But born in troubled times, Luo Xuanqing disliked the dull, tedious life on the mountain. After growing up, she returned to secular life on the grounds that she would "right every injustice under heaven."
Perfected Jiuhua saw that she could not sever her ties to the mortal world and did not try to keep her. Her name was removed from the Taoist register and their master-disciple lineage severed. Thus, she became the "Flower Judge" of the martial world, who killed without passing judgment, though in private she still honored Perfected Jiuhua as her master and elder.
Luo Xuanqing now took out a fresh change of clothes and put on a long green satin dress. She also arranged her hair meticulously before the dressing mirror. After looking herself over from both sides and making sure there were no flaws, she resumed the bearing of a noble consort and stepped out into the corridor.
Scratch, scratch, scratch~
The big black cat, with nothing else to do, was now at the door opposite, raising its paws to scratch at it. It seemed to want to go inside and play with the guest.
"Go to sleep."
"Meow~"
The black cat immediately turned around and obediently returned to the room.
Luo Xuanqing glanced toward the door. The breathing inside was steady, and from the sound of it, the occupant was a young married woman with a very large chest. She paid it little mind and went downstairs to the rear courtyard.
The night was deep and quiet. The attendant on night watch was resting on a makeshift bed in the main hall, and the small room to the side was quiet as well.
Luo Xuanqing softened her steps, pushed the door open, and glanced inside. A young man no more than twenty lay with his head on a pillow and a light quilt over him, breathing evenly as he slept soundly.
Click~
Luo Xuanqing quietly entered the room and closed the door. She sat sideways on the edge of the bed, her red lips parting to call him, but she did not quite want to wake the young man who had been busy for two days. Instead, she studied his face.
By the moonlight from outside the window, his brows were dark as ink, his nose bridge high, and his lips sharply defined. Altogether, he looked bright but not seductive, handsome but not pretty. His was the kind of dignified appearance fit to enter the emperor's hall.
If he passed the imperial examinations, his looks alone might well earn him the emperor's appointment as third-place scholar.
As for his physique, his chest muscles were broad and perfectly shaped, and his wrists reached past his hips. At a glance, he was excellent material for martial arts.
His abdominal muscles were even more sharply defined, leading down to his V-lines, and...
"Hmm?"
Ye Xingge was asleep when he suddenly noticed his quilt being lifted. He jolted and opened his eyes to see a green-clad beauty of unrivaled loveliness sitting beside him. Surprised, he said:
"Sister Luo? What brings you here?"
Luo Xuanqing pinched a corner of the quilt and held it up, examining the condition of his chest.
"I'm checking your injuries. Go back to sleep."
How am I supposed to sleep like this?
Ye Xingge wanted to move farther in and make room for the great beauty Luo to squeeze in beside him, but she certainly would not get in. So he merely propped himself up against the head of the bed.
"It's all right. I slept on horseback during the day."
Luo Xuanqing helped pull the light quilt up a little.
"I came to check on you and ask you something while I was here. Did you ask Yang Tuyan anything before you killed him today?"
Hearing this, Ye Xingge remembered.
"Before Yang Tuyan breathed his last, I asked him how the Ravine-Leaping Tiger Jian came to be in his hands. He said he picked it up at the black market in Wuning Pass. I don't know whether it was true."
"Wuning Pass?"
Luo Xuanqing sat sideways on the edge of the bed, her legs crossed and one hand braced on the mattress. Leaning slightly to the side, she thought carefully.
"Chu Chong of the River-Spanning Pavilion was killed by the Gold-Chasing Gentleman at the Dark Goods Wharf. By rights, the weapon should be in the Gold-Chasing Gentleman's hands. And since the start of the year, the Gold-Chasing Gentleman has been active around Jingzhou. There's no way he went all the way to Wuning Pass in the northwestern Gobi. Something isn't right here..."
Ye Xingge nodded. "I thought something was wrong too, but that was all he said. I'm afraid we'll have to find the Gold-Chasing Gentleman before we can get a clear answer. Speaking of which, why has the Gold-Chasing Gentleman been showing himself more and more since the start of the year? I feel like he's courting death."
"Men die for wealth, birds die for food. He's getting desperate."
Luo Xuanqing said this, then saw the puzzlement in Ye Xingge's eyes and added an explanation.
"There are twelve divine weapons in the world. Do you know why there are only eleven people in the First Rank?"