A Non-Accidental Show at Night
A sticky trail of scarlet liquid spilled onto the ground.
“Finally… beheaded him?” remarked the assassin in black, staring at the head on the ground and strangely feeling emotional.
There was no reason to feel emotional about killing a weakling who couldn’t appreciate his father’s last act of mercy, and couldn’t appreciate his guards. However, he was the scion of a monarch even though he had been stripped of his identity. To kill the son of a monarch who was bound to go down in history for his treason was reminder of how volatile life was.
As he stared at Li Chengzhi’s head, he recalled his master’s warning. If the master of Night Fortress met his demise in the capital, then there was nobody to carry the blame, which would only bring upon them unwanted consequences. A deal without capital was the hardest to complete; there had to be an investment for there to be a return. To kill someone of Night Fortress’ master’s standing required the sacrifice of another life beforehand to avoid future complications. That said, Feng Jiutian didn’t need to think for long or search for a victim as the best candidate showed presented himself to him – Li Chengzhi – and offered the last thing he had to offer. Without Feng Jiutian even having to motivate Li Chengzhi, Li Chengzhi was ready to charge ahead of the pack if he could’ve irritated his father.
Li Chengzhi’s involvement in the riot not only threw a wrench in His Majesty’s plans, but he also found Feng Jiutian a scapegoat – which would’ve been an officer – and removed any reason for His Majesty to miss him. The three-for-the-price-of-one bargain kept Feng Jiutian up at night with joy when Li Chengzhi went onto the stage.
Despite having fallen from grace, Li Chengzhi still wanted to harm Ming Feizhen, but that was impossible with the manpower at his disposal, and it sure wasn’t going to go under the radar of Mount Daluo’s monster who was virtually a god. Who could’ve known for certain if harming Ming Feizhen would’ve triggered his legendary grandmaster into action. Thankfully, Li Chengzhi offered himself up to shoulder all of the hatred if Mount Daluo ever wanted to avenge Ming Feizhen.
The assassin wrapped up Li Chengzhi’s head in a black piece of cloth once he confirmed it was Li Chengzhi. With the head, there was evidence that Li Chengzhi tried to harm Ming Feizhen, only to have the tables turned on him. In the scenario that Ming Feizhen died in the capital, His Majesty would’ve pulled out all the stops to find the culprit. If Ming Feizhen killed Li Chengzhi first, on the other hand, then there’d be entertainment for everyone waiting to see His Majesty go at Mount Daluo. Amongst all the chaos, the cause of Ming Feizhen’s death would’ve been of the least importance. Everything was following the same course as the spark for the battle at Lawless Cliff six years ago.
The assassin didn’t need to personally burn Li Chengzhi’s body since Big Beard was there, and he would’ve done the best job of it. He gazed into the empty corridor, still unable to restore peace to his mind. The manor was cleared out long ago, so nobody would’ve known about Li Chengzhi’s final resistance. Even if Li Chengzhi was able to escape the courtyard, nothing would’ve changed. When Li Chengzhi started resisting and was sent through the window, though, the assassin had a feeling that the situation had slipped out from his grip, so he didn’t dally. He didn’t and couldn’t understand the source of the unease, but holding Li Chengzhi’s head in his hand at long last was relieving.
Big Beard finally caught up.
When Li Chengzhi fled, he blindly fled, but he was able to roll and crawl his way through two courtyards of fake rockery.
Hiding his unease behind his usual low voice, the assassin expressed, “I apologise for not letting you personally finish him, Mr. Wansi.”
Big Beard held his hands up in a propitious salute. “You owe no apology, Mr. Gan. It is my honour to be your friend.”
Glancing at the corpse on the ground, the assassin smirked. “We lowly grunts are not qualified to be your friend, Mr. Wansi.”
Big Beard was smiling from ear to ear without any animosity, yet the assassin didn’t dare to underestimate him for he felt he was under Big Beard’s surveillance ever since he showed up. The assassin couldn’t see himself beating Big Beard if they were to throw hands with venom.
Being granted the “Feng” character in one’s name in Feng Clan indicated that one had the same privileges as other Feng surname bearers. Mr. Gan, Gan Fengchi, was one who received that honour and qualified to represent Feng Clan. Anyone he was careful around was somebody who deserved to be respected.
Behind Big Beard’s comical mannerisms was a name that demanded respected – Wansi Leiting. During his time in Luocha, he was one of the seven generals called “General Leiting”. Whatever wrong he committed, it was enough for someone as mighty as him to be exiled, forcing him to take up banditry in the northern desert. Some years ago, Baima had his eyes on him. His force of seven thousand men was devastated, but he survived despite his injuries. Although he lost his subordinates, he gained more respect. There was no chance he disguised himself as a merchant in the Central Plan for some small-time ambition. The twenty-plus wealthy folks associated with criminals whom Li Chengzhi contacted were going to turn to Wansi following Li Chengzhi’s downfall. Nonetheless, Feng Clan only had friends and no enemies.
“Mr. Wansi, please remember that this must be kept a secret.”
Big Beard shook his head. “I have entrusted my life to Young Master, so I serve only him. Please put in a good word for me, Mr. Gan.”
“I am not qualified to be your friend. Your friend is someone else. Young Master told me to pass on the following message: once the job is complete, nobody will obstruct your gang’s business in the capital for the next three years. You are now his friend.”
It was public knowledge that Feng Jiutian couldn’t fight to save his life, but everything went his way wherever he went thanks to his “friends” across the lands. From their perspective, Feng Jiutian’s friends were just chess pieces, yet they had no issues with it as they had everything to gain and nothing to lose from being his “friend”.
“Thank you, Young Master! Thank you, Young Master!”
After Gan Fengchi departed with Li Chengzhi’s head, Wansi Leiting stared at the headless body on the ground for a long time, then cracked a smile. The man known as “Wolf General” said, “Orange Prince is no more. Report it to, Master.”
A crow soared up and vanished into the night.
***
On the same night.
White smoke coiled up above a shrine while the roast potatoes spread their aroma. The group visited several of the gangs that Li Chengzhi mentioned after they left Panshan Valley. It wasn’t just the seven gangs that reported to Liu Shan Men, but every gang Li Chengzhi connected with ended up being crushed.
By the time they finished inspecting all of the ruins, it was too dark to return to the city, so they decided to search for a spot in the wild to sojourn. Unexpectedly, Tang Ye offered them a place to spend the night and then led them to the abandoned shrine outside the capital. Though it had been abandoned for a long time, the wall was still intact, and the door was in good enough condition to keep the wind out. The trio watched on in surprise as Tang Ye grabbed several potatoes hidden behind the Buddha statue as if he knew they were there. They grabbed some stuff to make dinner and made do with it.
Whilst eating a hot potato, Ling Jialan queried, “Brother Tang, you seem very familiar with this temple. Could it be a base of Liu Shan Men?”
“No, it’s a base I picked on the go. After I left the city and beat a tiger, it was late, so I stayed here.” Because they looked surprised, Tang Ye added, “I spared the tiger. I don’t like killing animals.”
The trio exchanged looks. Tang Ye didn’t say anything wrong, but something about what he said was weird to them, so they just ate in silence instead of asking, “Your development direction at Liu Shan Men is kind of odd, don’t you think?” Ling Jialan, in particular, concluded that everyone at Liu Shan Men was odd.
Upon remembering her mother’s reminder, Ling Jialan straightened her posture and ate with decorum.
“I’ve never seen you before,” remarked Tang Ye.
As it wasn’t clear who he was speaking to, Ling Jialan went to answer when Bu responded, “Yeah?” with a smile. Bu continued, “Maybe you have a bad memory or have seen too many people and forgotten.”
Tang Ye nodded.
“It’s impossible to have met everyone in the world, but you find it strange? You’re testing me. You must’ve seen me before.”
“My surname is Tang, Tang from Beihai’s Clear Mirror Palace.”
“I didn’t expect that side to have one like you. Looks like development over there is pretty good.”
“Same goes for you, doesn’t it?”
As the tension rose between them, Li Zizi hurriedly waved around his potato as he cut in between them. “Brother Tang, Bu is my friend.”
Bu’s expression softened for a split second before returning to his usual temperament with a small smile. Being as perceptive as she was, Ling Jialan spotted the brief change from friendly to mischievous and back.
When they were around the others, Tang Ye addressed Li Zizi plainly as Zizi in order to hide the boy’s identity.
“That’s why I asked,” clarified Tang Ye, returning to his potato.
Bu, too, returned to chatting with Li Zizi with an arm over his friend’s shoulder.
Prim Ling Jialan didn’t understand what it was all about, but she thought the two of them engaged in an impressive conversation. She contemplated if it was necessary to opine in some capacity, but she decided to just eat her potato silently in the end.
Post-meal, Li Zizi furtively pulled Tang Ye aside to fill the latter in on what he’d seen and gone through. Tang Ye was following up reports when he caught traces of Bronze Mask, which led him out of the city. He wasn’t aware that Li Chengzhi was involved.
“Are you saying that Bu Xusan and Or-, your second brother are working together?”
Li Zizi nodded. “I suspect that my brother is linked to all the strange events.”
Tang Ye stopped to think, then shook his head. “If your bother is working with them to harm Big Bro, then they would be his allies, which begs the question: how do you explain the scenes we saw? If they are working together, why would he ruin his allies’ homes? Of course, you were responsible for the damage at Hecang.”
Li Zizi was keen to experience different things, but life in prison during his one-year test was not one experience he cared for.
“Sister Lan said that it could be the work of Bu Xusan because he is under the influence of some poison and unable to control himself.”
“Indeed.” Ling Jialan joined the conversation after her meal. “Bu Xusan consumed a poison related to some sort of beast. Though the poison ruins his rationality, he gained incredible might. As you also saw, it’s impossible for a martial artist to create that sort of damage.”
“Even if it does make him lose his mind, it shouldn’t happen indiscriminately. There have been over a dozen locations that have been destroyed, which can only be deliberate. What does Bu Xusan gain from attacking the bases? You and Brother Ming are pursing him, so he should have an issue with Big Bro. That being the case, wouldn’t it make more sense for him to ally with them? Why would he harm them instead? They may be outlaws, but they do pay taxes. Since they have lodged a report at Liu Shan Men, this can’t just be ignored,” replied Tang Ye, speaking from the perspective of Liu Shan Men’s constable.
The clues they had on hand were fragmented and hard to piece together. To make matters worse, they missed a key piece of the puzzle. Accordingly, all the four could do was to clock off for the night.
Bu and Li Zizi, being kids, stayed up almost all night, sleeping in sloppy postures when they finally went to bed. Ling Jialan made sure to check her posture, but the fatigue hit so fast that she passed out before she was ready and ended up hanging a silver thread from her mouth. Tang Ye was the only one who didn’t sleep whatsoever.
Sleep and Tang Ye weren’t on friendly terms. In the past, he slept the bare minimum so that he had more time for training. He only respected sleep once he reached a level of higher understanding. Regrettably, it was hard to undone the habit that he adhered to for so many years. When he could sleep in the wild, he wasn’t able to sleep deeply as he had to maintain vigilance. Thanks to that, he made his way out of the shrine as soon as he saw something flit past the window.
Tang Ye didn’t move a muscle whilst looking at Bronze Mask. Only once Bronze Mask took off did he follow her. Neither of them altered the distance between them during the journey. Bronze Mask suddenly stopped at a creek and seemingly teleported onto a rock by the creek. Tang Ye needed to two breaths in order to land three metres behind her.
The only audible sound was the slow running water until Bronze Mask sighed and removed her mask. She was akin to the first film of ice at the end of autumn; even if left alone, she’d have vanished from existence. She asked, “Why are you always following me?”
“You deliberately led me to the locations, didn’t you?”
“You think I’m responsible?”
“I believe it wasn’t you.”
There was bloodlust in her eyes, but it gave the vibe that it’d have hurt her, too, if she cut him, though it was fleeting. “It wasn’t.”
“So you were purposely leading me to the scenes. Why?”
“No reason. Say whatever else you have to say.”
“What do you want…?”
“It’s time to settle it.” Bronze Mask drew her long broadsword in a gorgeous motion that made Tang Ye question if he heard everything she said. “I bet you aren’t accepting of the results of our unfinished match.”
Tang Ye finally snapped back to reality. “You want to fight me?”
“That’s why you’ve been chasing me around, isn’t it?”
Bronze Mask’s blade disappeared out of sight. Tang Ye had seen signs of a blade incoming, but he had never seen anyone able to make it look as if waves of blades were coming. While it may have appeared that dodging was the only viable response, he knew that dodging was a fatal option.
Ever since gaining the two contradictory energies, Tang Ye never stopped thinking how to avoid the shortcomings whilst maximising their potential, but none of his logical theories worked out the way he envisioned. All he gained in the last few months was experience in wielding them. He couldn’t run them simultaneously, use them excessively, and couldn’t just run one without a time limit. The only experience he had was trying to rein in his internal energy whilst gambling under the conditions available. Nevertheless, had it not been for those experiences, the match wouldn’t have gone past Bronze Mask’s first attack.
Using both arms simultaneously, heat energy on one hand and chilly energy on the other, Tang Ye palmed with both to reduce the force of Bronze Mask’s swing. Despite how close they were to each other, she was able to attack in circular motions. Tang Ye had never seen anyone so technical with a broadsword; he was unable to counter even once. It was truly hard to believe that Bai Yumo and Bronze Mask could use the same weapon so differently.
Bai Yumo’s lack of experience made it impossible for her to be successful in real combat even though she had grasped the theory. Bronze Mask essentially displayed the “how to” component of that knowledge. By extension, it was unlikely that Bai Yumo developed the physical architecture to utilise the knowledge, which explained why she wasn’t able to maximise it unlike Bronze Mask.
Tang Ye was unable to count how many slashes he had blocked; it felt as if he had blocked hundreds of slashes, yet it also felt as if he only blocked just one heavy swing because Bronze Mask connected every swing. One could only truly fathom how difficult it was to defend against her once they fought her in a one-on-one duel.
Tang Ye: Am I… going to perish here?
As he scoured his brain for ideas to survive, Tang Ye recalled Ming Feizhen’s sleazy smile.
I’m going to need more than a thousand lives if I trust him.
“Don’t complain about sneak attacks. Even in a fair fight, you’re no match for me. Do you accept defeat now?”
“I never said I didn’t.”
Bronze Mask furrowed her brows, which was an even better look on her than her usual straight face. “Why have you been tailing me, then?”
“I didn’t.”
“You’ve been on my tail every single day.”
Now’s my chance!
Tang Ye’s inability to coordinate his internal energy was the reason he was inferior. He was sure he had a chance at winning in the technical department, though. As soon as Bronze Mask moved her blade away, he used three solid flicks to push her blade away so that he could subdue her with his left hand. Unfortunately, he underestimated her reaction speed.
Bronze Mask couldn’t pull her weapon back into position when Tang Ye had reduced their gap to only an arm’s length. She, consequently, used both hands to grab his hands – her left controlling his left and her right controlling his right. Though she managed to seize his hands, his forward momentum hadn’t been erased. Unable to forgive his shameless sneak attack, she threw her head forwards towards his in attempt to headbutt him. However, she failed to account for the fact that she was shorter than him.
Two sets of lips ended up locked in combat while their owners were holding hands underneath the moonlight.
After an unknown length of time past, Bronze Mask kicked Tang Ye into the creek. “Y-you debauched jerk!”
Bronze Mask spun around, then leapt onto a tree branch, only to then stop and warn, “Don’t underestimate Feng Jiutian.”
Sitting in the water, Tang Ye flapped his eyelids. “Hmm?”
“He may look stupid, but do you think someone who can rule Luoyang’s business union is stupid?”
Tang Ye flapped his eyelids again. “Hmm?”
“That’s all I have to say.” With that, Bronze Mask took off.
Tang Ye stayed in the same position for fifteen minutes before uttering, “What just happened?”
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