Princess Dongyang

The man in black had said that the Gatekeeper lived inside and that their secret signal was the call of a nightingale—seven long notes and four short. But Qin Sang did not know how to mimic a nightingale, so he had no choice but to conceal himself in the shadows and summon Yanwang. "Go in..." Staring at the compound, Qin Sang hesitated for a moment before saying in a low voice, "Kill everyone inside!" Yanwang glided straight through the wall. Qin Sang then vaulted over the compound wall himself and landed in the courtyard, just in time to see Yanwang dragging out the soul of a middle-aged man. The man's features were identical to the description given by the man in black. He was indeed the Gatekeeper! Having caught his mark, Qin Sang felt a surge of relief and immediately began interrogating him. What concerned him most was naturally how many people knew that Old Wu and the man in black had been operating around Qingyang Temple. If this Gatekeeper had already reported it to his superiors, Qin Sang would hunt them down without pause, stopping at nothing even if he had to trace the trail all the way to the master of Jiangshan Tower! Qin Sang now understood clearly that even against experts of the martial world, Yanwang was truly unstoppable. Old Wu, the man in black, and the Gatekeeper were all top assassins of Jiangshan Tower, considered first-rate experts in the martial world, yet they had still perished without a sound, unable to put up the slightest resistance. No martial prowess could withstand Yanwang. Moreover, this method allowed him to extract the most accurate intelligence. Qin Sang soon got answers to everything he wished to know, and the tense look on his face instantly relaxed. It turned out that Jiangshan Tower's organization was even tighter than he had imagined. Every commandery had a branch altar. Although the Gatekeeper was a core figure of Jiangshan Tower, he did not know where the branch altar was located, nor was he permitted to contact it on his own, precisely to prevent outsiders from tracing clues to wipe out the branch. Even in an emergency, he had to send out a secret signal and wait for the branch altar to contact him. This Gatekeeper had not been stationed in Sanwu City for very long. Only today, when the mission was issued, had the branch altar contacted him for the first time. Thus, although he kept records of all his affairs, none of them had been reported yet. Tonight, when the man in black set out to investigate Qingyang Temple, he had informed the Gatekeeper, but before any results came in, the Gatekeeper had kept it quiet as well. Hearing this, Qin Sang was completely at ease. As long as he burned the Gatekeeper's notebook, all leads would end right here. However, severing Qingyang Temple entirely from suspicion would still require a few more steps. Qin Sang immediately began questioning the Gatekeeper about the identities and hiding places of every assassin stationed in Sanwu City. Because of the mission, the Gatekeeper had sent word to assemble the assassins, and they were all currently hidden in a residence outside the city. By the time Qin Sang clarified all of this, the Gatekeeper's soul was on the verge of fading. Qin Sang had also gained some understanding of Jiangshan Tower's mission. Not only were all six assassins under this Gatekeeper mobilized, but other Gatekeepers stationed across Zhenshui Commandery were converging on Sanwu City as well. Nearly thirty assassins were gathering for this operation. Who was their target, to warrant such a massive mobilization? Driven by curiosity, Qin Sang asked, only to hear an answer that left him utterly stunned. "Princess Dongyang!" Their target was actually Princess Dongyang, the daughter of Prince Dongyang and niece to the reigning emperor! A mere assassin organization of the martial world dared to challenge the power of the state and assassinate a commandery princess. It was almost beyond Qin Sang's comprehension. Was the master of Jiangshan Tower so brazen as to have no fear of total annihilation? Upon further questioning, he learned that this was not the first time Jiangshan Tower had targeted high officials. Ten years ago, Governor-General Ma had been assassinated in broad daylight on the street, shocking the Great Sui—and that, too, had been Jiangshan Tower's doing. The late emperor had flown into a rage over the incident, yet Jiangshan Tower had continued to thrive. Moreover, the name Princess Dongyang caused Qin Sang's expression to shift uncertainly. He could not help but think of the young miss on the ship who had never shown her face. Could she be Princess Dongyang? He hastily pressed for details. According to Jiangshan Tower's intelligence, Princess Dongyang had ostentatiously set out days ago for Chunyang Villa to escape the summer heat, but she had secretly slipped away and vanished without a trace. Jiangshan Tower had tracked her trail and only recently uncovered a few clues: disguised as traveling merchants, Princess Dongyang and some of her personal retinue had secretly entered Zhenshui Commandery. If nothing went awry, they would arrive at Sanwu City by noon today. The Sanwu City branch altar planned to lay an ambush at Mount Luoma, outside the east of the city. Qin Sang was well-acquainted with the people of the Wuwei Escort Agency and had studied their maps, giving him a thorough understanding of the terrain around Sanwu City. He knew that Mount Luoma was sparsely populated and rugged. The path winding through the mountains was carved along sheer precipices, with a raging river roaring at the bottom of the chasms. It was a treacherous bottleneck, ideal for an ambush. Qin Sang wanted to ask for more details, but the Gatekeeper's time was up, and his soul dissolved into a cloud of mist. Qin Sang had to think this through carefully. Two paths lay before him. One path was to feign complete ignorance, tie up his loose ends, and flee far away. The other was to take a gamble and save the princess. Leaving aside the fact that his savior, Bai Jianglan, might be among them... The uncanny power of the Yanluo Banner and Yanwang had all but convinced Qin Sang that the Nether Scripture was by no means an ordinary martial art. Nine times out of ten, it was an immortal cultivation method. In the eyes of common mortals, he could already pass for an Immortal Master. Or perhaps "demon" or "devil" was a more fitting title. He knew nothing about immortal cultivation. Both the Nether Scripture and the Yanluo Banner had come from that devil in black; commanding ghosts to take lives was profoundly wicked. If he rashly went searching for immortals and ran into someone like the sword-riding youth—someone who despised evil and was bent on slaying demons and vanquishing fiends—he would truly have nowhere to weep. Besides, the world was vast. Searching for an immortal encounter on his own was no different from fishing for a needle in the ocean. Using the nobility to come into contact with other Immortal Masters and gradually probe the world of cultivation might well be the most prudent and seasoned path. Even as his mind raced, Qin Sang never slowed his movements. The east was turning pale, dawn was approaching, and very little time remained. Entering the house, he pried up the floor tiles under the Gatekeeper's bed and unearthed a stack of books containing the Gatekeeper's records. But these were all fakes. With every entry, the man had written one true record and one false. The false one was kept here, while the genuine notebook was entrusted to a lead courtesan surnamed Li in nearby Hongchen Lane. This Courtesan Li was also an assassin of Jiangshan Tower. Her temperament was somewhat eccentric, and she enjoyed concealing herself in the pleasure houses, entertaining men with her charms. The Gatekeeper trusted her deeply, and the two were even lovers. To make the act complete, Qin Sang took all the fake records with him as well. To avoid alerting the enemy, he left the Gatekeeper's house untouched and headed straight for Hongchen Lane. Even at this hour, Hongchen Lane still saw plenty of foot traffic. Qin Sang went to considerable effort to disguise himself before slipping into Courtesan Li's room. Courtesan Li was inside frolicking with a patron. Qin Sang could only offer his silent apologies. He struck both of them dead, found the genuine notebook, carried it outside, and burned it to ashes. Then he left the city to track down the other three assassins, sparing none. Finally, he set fire to their hideout, thoroughly muddying the waters. After all that frantic labor, daylight had fully broken. Qin Sang mounted a horse and galloped due east. He was determined to seize this opportunity—ideally slipping into Princess Dongyang's inner circle so he could gradually learn about the world of immortal cultivators! Fearing that Jiangshan Tower's lookouts might spot him, Qin Sang avoided the main road through Mount Luoma and wound through the back trails instead. Only toward the end of the Chen hour did he finally clear Mount Luoma. Qin Sang reined in his horse, pausing briefly to look back in the direction of Sanwu City. He wondered whether Jiangshan Tower would still launch their attack after all the chaos he had caused.