I End My Turn. Come Kill Me.
Black and White Reflection had mentioned more than once that “Six Blades” was vastly superior to other assassination groups and had a more polished job record. Though Mystery was ranked second in League of Assassins, the gap between them was enormous.
In terms of fighting power, Mystery was only average in League of Assassins. However, Jia Yunfeng was the patriarch of Mount Hua and Orange Prince’s bodyguard, while Yu Ye held an important post in the imperial palace. Owing to their statuses, they were able to obtain valuable information from the orthodox sects as well as the imperial palace.
There were two types of people who could bypass the Seven Champion White Princes’ surveillance to assassinate their targets. The first type was those who were unimaginably skilled. The second type were those who knew the Seven Champion White Princes’ every move. Mystery was able to obtain information that unorthodox factions could never get their hands on, allowing them to design safe and sound plans that didn’t divulge their identities. Their access to the information was the reason they were the sole group able to infiltrate the imperial city and corner His Majesty – that was without accounting for the fact that His Majesty still had trump cards at the time.
Six Blades was a different animal. Annihilating them would be a momentous win for the orthodox factions since it’d be tantamount to crushing the symbol of League of Assassins. Unlike the massive Demon Sect or the elusive Sky Realm Palace, League of Assassins were often out in the pugilistic world, making them highly prone to being targeted. Six Blades was special, though. They had the privilege of demanding any form of support from League of Assassins’ headquarters, be it assistants, assassins, authority or financial funding. That privilege was a lethally attractive privilege for assassins. Accordingly, on top of outsiders, even other assassins would target Six Blades, yet they managed to stay at the top for three years. Nobody could bring them down once they reached the apex.
Following their ascension to top dog, Six Blades changed the way League of Assassins’ modus operandi was perceived. You could tell if you looked at their list of victims; their victims were increasingly famous and strong. Every successive job they took was tougher than the last one. In the past, League of Assassins would accept any and all jobs offered. Six Blades made it seem their policy was, “the harder the better”. It’d be crazy to say it wasn’t a scary to go up against them knowing that.
Their arrogance, composure, greed and absence of complacency influenced the younger generation, spurring on many of League of Assassins’ other assassins to level up to some extent. That being said, the reverence of power didn’t dim anyone’s desire to replace Six Blades. After all, how could an assassin be without a desire to kill? Yet, nobody could replace them simply because nobody was capable enough to threaten them. Time and time again, in spite of being the target of unorthodox and orthodox factions, Six Blades successfully completed one job after the next.
Six Blades was a group that were tough to catch due to their modus operandi, too. Rumour had it that they didn’t even know each other well. Even Six Blades’ employer had a rough time locating them, let alone the orthodox and unorthodox factions. Anyone who could hire Six Blades was someone not to be trifled with.
I should’ve thought of them when I heard Bronze Mask because every member of Six Blades had a signature blade and mask. The fact that I was targeted could only mean that I was the target of their mission. It was extremely unlikely they would give up after they failed, so I left Liu Shan Men via the back door and used the cover of night to take the usual route to Northern Wondrous Warrior Manor.
Just how I couldn’t find him, he wouldn’t have an easy time finding me, either. I couldn’t completely erase my presence, but you couldn’t use the typical method owing to the state of my internal energy level. Save for Bronze Mask, every other assassin was small fry to me because he was the only one who could get close without coming onto my radar.
I sent the secret signal and then entered the hiding spot. I didn’t rock up without a disguise because I lacked time; I needed to meet Zuo Siniang once as Ming Feizhen to make life easier when I needed to connect with her down the road.
Long Cheng greeted me first. “My respects, My Lord.”
“I only want to know the results: Teng still alive?”
In a quiet voice, Long Cheng replied, “Mr. Teng is still alive. He is in the back.”
“Let’s hurry.”
I followed Long Chen into the residence and made my way to the room Teng stayed.
“Let me see. Good stuff. Good stuff. I was worried sick. You’re still alive?” I remarked.
Teng: “… Why?”
“Nothing, nothing. Where is Her Highness?”
“Main building.” Teng wore a puzzled look.
You don’t need to understand, buddy. Just know you’re one of the good people out there.
I shook Teng’s hand, and he just went along.
“I’m off for now.”
I went to the main residence and notified them of my arrival. The steward led me to the hall I previously met with Zuo Suniang. She was a completely different woman this time; she seemed to have reversed her age by years. She had a young appearance to begin with, but she could convincingly pass off as Li Muye’s elder sister this time.
Unknown pill can improve beauty now, too?
“Please forgive this one for the late-night visit, Your Highness.”
“You have done nothing wrong at all, Duke Ming.” Zuo Siniang surprisingly stood up to greet me. “The pill you had delivered is nothing short of a miracle pill. My sleep has never been better.”
Are you sure that wasn’t because you passed out?
“This one only did what he was duty-bound to do. How can he ignore the orders of Fuma Jingan?”
“Don’t bring him up, hehe.”
I guess you hate his guts now.
“The pill was incredibly effective. The headache has stubbornly plagued me for years, and there was nothing that could alleviate it. Your knowledge truly amazes me.”
“It is nothing worth mentioning, Your Highness.”
Zuo Suniang wore on a bright smile. “You are young, yet you are not hungry for merits. You truly… truly…”
Zuo Suniang looked so touched.
“Uh… Did you really take it?”
“Yes…?” Although apparently confused, Zuo Suniang still maintained a smile. “I heard Duke Ming is Mount Daluo’s senior disciple and has been His Majesty’s favourite since returning from Nanjiang. I never expected your medical prowess to be so exceptional, as well.”
“Please pardon this one if this is rude, but he is genuinely curious. May he ask… if you have minor olfactory issues?”
Zuo Suniang looked even more touched. “Y-you are truly magical. You even discovered my problem from childhood?”
If your nose was operational, how would you have dared to consume the pill?!
“I was a brat when I was a kid; I loved learning martial arts, especially spearplay. Sadly, my family was against me learning martial arts and pushed for me to read more. Howbeit, I was born into a family of martial artists and never knew I would marry into an imperial family. How could I have earnt respect in the family if I didn’t know any martial arts? Moreover, it was my passion. As such, I practiced in secret, usually out in the spacious wild. I covered my head and face with a hoodie in case the cold at the northern border damaged my skin, but my nose was exposed… Eventually, my nose became blocked. I didn’t think much of it and just considered it something that was meant to be. I didn’t notice any issues once I was home, so I just let it be.
“A few years later, I mistook alcohol for water and bludgeoned my late husband at the banquet… Ah, we were not yet acquainted at the time. Needless to say, it was a big mistake. Thankfully, my late husband was fond of my straightforwardness and visited me to propose.”
In my head, I was going, “Whoa! Whoa… Whoa… Whoa!” while Zuo Suniang blushed.
“That incident brought to my attention that my sense of smell was crippled, which changed my sense of taste, as well. I surmise I damaged my nose from my younger days of training in the cold.”
You could be a woman of legend. If your son was half as diligent as you, he’d be someone worthy of respect by now. But, man, that’s crazy. Was your late husband one of those, “I like successful women” type of Princes? Never knew you could beat your way into an imperial family.
The last guy I knew with the same taste had yet to have wonton soup with Chu Yinghua.
“Based on your description, it must have been the old. Since you did not notice, there is hope.”
“You can even treat my nose?” enthused Zuo Suniang.
Yeah, I’ll pass. The first thing you’ll probably do once your nose is working will probably be to chase us down with your spear.
“There is hope. Once this one finishes up his current tasks on hand, he will try to make time to take a look. For now, we have something we need to return to the point of tonight’s visit.” I took out a pouch from my shirt. Inside the twenty-plus layers of cloth that Proprietor Shi wrapped for me were small pills, all of which were unknown pills. “There are seventeen pills here. Your headaches should be permanently cured after a few more pills. You can save the rest for unforeseen circumstances.”
“I cannot accept this!” Zuo Suniang got up to push the pouch back. “My wish has already been granted, and Fuma Jingan’s promise has been fulfilled. I cannot accept so much. Such miraculous pills would not be cheap, would they?”
That’s… not really true…
“Indeed.” I nodded whilst wagging my hand. “Mount Daluo disciples are taught to be generous and not fuss over trivial details. You need not hold back, Your Highness.”
“It would be rude for me to continue rejecting you. However, I insist on covering the cost of the pills.”
I handed Zuo Siniang the pouch and solemnly told her, “You are mistaken, Your Highness. You must pay. Otherwise, this one would be punished.”
If I gave her the pills for free, Boss, who thought I was into the widow, would rip me limb from limb.
“I understand. It is wise to avoid leaving room for suspicion.” Zuo Siniang accepted the pouch with a smile.
“So, could you…”
“Of course.” Zuo Suniang fetched a brocade box from her table. “Please pass this on to Fuma Jingan. The address has been written inside. My agreement with him has now been fulfilled; we are now even. Please pass on to him that I never wish to see him again.”
“I shall ensure he receives the message!”
***
Entrusting the blueprint to His Majesty’s son-in-law was probably a form of surrender that implied she was entrusting her everything to the imperial family, effectively dissociating herself from the Seven Champion White Princes.
The complete blueprint of the secret passage was provided inside the brocade box, pointing out the location of the passage, in addition to all details of its internal structures and dimensions. Having said that, there were no descriptions of the contraptions or how to operate them. Zuo Suniang only promised Yuan Xu that she’d tell him where the passage was, so she didn’t play dirty. If anything, I received the blueprint sooner than I predicted.
The passage was located within the imperial city, a normal but not-often-seen location. It was close to the interior of the imperial city, but it wasn’t inside the imperial palace. Nonetheless, it’d be as easy as “one, two, three” for a military force to besiege the imperial palace if they set out from there. The entrance to the palace was located dozens of kilometres outside the capital, giving them the potential to turn the tables if they leveraged the passage.
The fact that Wondrous Warrior couldn’t defeat his competitors for the throne proved that it was a harsh and intense power struggle for the throne.
The design of the passage increased the capacity for additional contraptions to operate doors, whether that was to increase escape routes or trap people. Since Zuo Suniang hadn’t activated the contraptions, large forces couldn’t mobilise through the passage. It didn’t matter at this point since she had chosen to back out of her partnership with the White Princes, meaning they couldn’t use the passage to besiege the imperial city. The entrance was going to be closed in three days’ time. Therefore, nobody would be able to pass through. In other words, the White Princes had three days from now to dispatch their forces through the passage.
Starting from tomorrow, the special imperial exams commenced, rendering me isolated for three days straight. Accordingly, the White Princes needed to act fast, whether that was mobilising troops or coming for my life.
The next three days decided the final victor.
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