Kill

Qin Sang's face brightened with apparent delight. "Isn't that just perfect? Brother Liu might not know, but outside the city I just received a message via carrier pigeon from General Wang Liu. Due to difficult mountain roads, he will be delayed by two days. So let us do as you suggested: send someone to notify General Mu to proceed according to plan three days from now, and open the city gates at dawn the following morning." Seeing Liu Ji and his men look unsettled and suspicious at his single remark, Qin Sang sneered inwardly. Blood Cloak Tower was far from unified. Beneath its master, Daoist Master Black Crane, were four great protectors: Elder Yue, Grass-Headed Immortal, White-Robed Scholar, and Red Embroideress. None answered to the other, and there was bad blood among them all. Qin Sang and Elder Yue answered only to Princess Dongyang. Red Embroideress was a confidante of the prince's heir. Qin Sang had seen her once and suspected that sultry, flirtatious woman was very likely the heir's mistress. Grass-Headed Immortal was aligned directly with the prince's third son and commanded the weakest faction in Blood Cloak Tower. In Qin Sang's eyes, his post was more of a pacifying gesture than anything else. White-Robed Scholar was a close confidant of Daoist Master Black Crane, and this Liu Ji was one of White-Robed Scholar's men. A single bluff had flushed out Liu Ji's treachery. Wang Liu and Liu Ji colluding together meant Daoist Master Black Crane was very likely leaning toward the prince's heir—bad news for the princess's faction. In Prince Dongyang's estate, four sons were eligible to inherit the title. The heir went without saying; among the other three, the third son was the strongest, but he still posed no real threat to the heir's position. Yet Prince Dongyang's estate had an anomaly: Princess Dongyang. Princess Dongyang had originally been titled Princess Anning. She was Prince Dongyang's eldest legitimate daughter. After the late Princess Consort Feng succumbed to illness, the prince had mourned deeply and doted on Princess Dongyang all the more. As Princess Dongyang grew, she displayed intellect far beyond ordinary people, winning the prince's favor to the point where he denied her nothing—even conferring upon her the title of Princess Dongyang. With the backing of the late Princess Consort's family, the princess possessed power not in the least inferior to the heir's. Still, she was a woman after all. The heir held legitimate authority, so it was only natural for Daoist Master Black Crane to lean toward him. The grand contest remained undecided, yet every faction was already pursuing its own petty schemes. Liu Ji suspected nothing and eagerly took the way out offered to him. "Hall Master Qin is wise. The mountains of Jiang Prefecture are perilous and the forests deep, so a delay of a day or two is only natural... We shall ask General Mu to advance slowly. That way, the timing aligns perfectly. Heaven truly aids us!" "No rush with that," Qin Sang said, waving a hand. "General Mu is already within reach. There will be plenty of time to send word out of the city tomorrow. Tonight, we will review the plan thoroughly. Tomorrow, you will take me around the county seat so I can familiarize myself with the layout, lest things descend into chaos when the time comes." Hening County had a strict curfew. Since they were unfamiliar faces, going out at night was ill-advised. "Understood!" *** It was dusk the next day when Qin Sang, Liu Ji, and the others finally returned to the shop. They had strolled openly through Hening County, making several loops to inspect the city defenses as well as the residences of the county magistrate, Chu Dazhuang, and others. Qin Sang had also inquired in detail about their daily routines. "Keep watch outside," Qin Sang instructed Water Monkey. Then he pointed to Liu Ji. "Mr. Liu, bring someone over to collect my token and take word out of the city to General Mu." Liu Ji left and returned in haste, leading a man inside and knocking on Qin Sang's door. "Come in. Close the door behind you." The two pushed the door open gently. Just as they turned to close it, darkness fell before their eyes, and they lost consciousness. Qin Sang's figure materialized behind Liu Ji. Supporting both corpses, he moved them softly into the inner room. Waiting until Yanwang hooked out their souls, he began the interrogation. Sure enough, Liu Ji was colluding with Wang Liu, acting on direct orders from White-Robed Scholar. Qin Sang sneered, not the least bit afraid. He had no desire to be an official his whole life, nor did he care who sat on the imperial throne. But the princess had promised him the qualification to receive investiture at Mount Chaosheng, so his eyes were fixed on her alone. Over the past year, no small number of fellow Blood Cloak Tower operatives had died at his hand. Anyone who blocked his path had to die. Today, let alone Liu Ji, even if White-Robed Scholar himself came in person, he would kill him without hesitation. He pressed further. Liu Ji proved relatively cooperative; the overall plan did not deviate much from what he had said before, but Liu Ji had lied about the whereabouts of his subordinates. Qin Sang committed every one of them to memory. In the dead of night, he changed into night garments and went outside. With a single palm strike, Qin Sang finished off Liu Ji's attendant, then produced a slip of paper and handed it to Water Monkey, his voice grim. "Liu Ji betrayed us. He secretly defected to the false emperor and sought to sell us out. I have already struck him dead. His men cannot be trusted. These are their hiding spots. Leave no one alive, dispose of the bodies cleanly, and meet me at the city gate when the deed is done." Zheng Kun and Water Monkey did not say a word, taking their orders immediately and departing. Circulating Shadowless Steps, Qin Sang slipped toward the county yamen in absolute silence. Magistrate Li Ji lived inside the yamen, while the Reckless Monk's Chu residence was not far away. Qin Sang's primary target was the Reckless Monk. The guard around the yamen was noticeably tighter than anywhere else, but the militia and yamen runners could only stop ordinary people; there was no way they could detect Qin Sang's movements. Only the Reckless Monk and a few servants occupied the vast estate. Qin Sang had no trouble locating his quarters. Knowing the monk possessed considerable martial skill and unwilling to take unnecessary risks, Qin Sang halted outside the room. Just as he was about to send Yanwang inside, a thunderous roar suddenly erupted from within. "Who goes there!" The shout crashed like a bolt from the blue. Qin Sang's head buzzed, leaving him dizzy and disoriented. He bit his tongue hard, the sharp agony snapping him back to his senses. Warning bells clanged wildly in his mind as he threw himself back in full retreat. The very next moment, Qin Sang felt an extraordinarily ferocious aura surge out of nowhere inside the room, erupting toward him. *Boom!* A fiery-red punch shadow blasted a massive hole clean through the wall. Wrapped in blistering, violent power, it charged forward with terrifying force straight toward where Qin Sang had been hiding. The blue-flagged ground was smashed into a deep pit on impact. Shattered stone flew in all directions, and withered leaves scattered through the air. Projection of true qi! Qin Sang's expression shifted slightly. Had the Reckless Monk already broken through to the Xiantian realm? No, there were two people in the room! An old monk stepped out from the blasted wall, followed by a tall, heavily built, corpulent monk—this one was the Reckless Monk, Chu Dazhuang. Qin Sang did not recognize the older monk. The man looked like an ordinary octogenarian, face lined with wrinkles, frame emaciated as dry kindling. Yet facing him, Qin Sang felt an impending sense of mortal danger that made his hairs stand on end. Concealed within that withered body was an astonishing reservoir of power. Qin Sang had never met anyone capable of giving him this feeling; neither Elder Yue nor Bai Jianglan could compare to this old monk. The Reckless Monk glared at Qin Sang with fierce eyes, his voice icy. "Master, this person may be an agent of the rebels!" The Reckless Monk's master—Master Yuanjue, head of Xuanji Temple's Arhat Hall! A flash of realization struck Qin Sang's mind. He had run straight into a brick wall. Master Yuanjue was the foremost expert on Xuanji Temple's surface, and many had speculated he had already stepped into the Xiantian realm. Now it appeared the rumors were true.