Chapter 12: Chapter 12
“And Seven-Trick Sword Lin En!”
“Both of them were infamous criminals across the neighboring prefectures!”
“And now they’ve turned up dead — right here in our city.”
Qin Wuyang’s face was an expressionless mask. No one could have guessed what was running through his mind.
The Canal Gang disciples at his side, however, were visibly shaken.
They’d heard the names Sun Yue and Lin En whispered even in Nanyang Prefecture. To think both men had been killed here without a sound.
“The blood is still warm.”
“Whoever did this only just left…”
The eighth-rank retainer completed a second examination and returned to Qin Wuyang’s side.
“Elder, first it was that blade-wielding expert, and now someone capable of cutting down both the Soul-Severing Blade and the Seven-Trick Sword. Factor in the Red Lotus Sect, and Nanyang Prefecture is about to become a very dangerous place.”
…
Li Suifeng and Ye Qingmei arrived at a secluded spot in the southern quarter of the city.
Li Suifeng halted and turned to look at her.
Two lifetimes of experience, and he still had to concede — Ye Qingmei was stunning. Her beauty went beyond mere features; there was a heroic edge to her that set her apart from anyone he’d ever met.
Ye Qingmei returned his gaze, her expression calm and unreadable.
“Just now, killing intent rose in you — then vanished just as suddenly.”
“Were you worried I’d learn your identity?”
“With your strength, if you’d wanted to kill me, I couldn’t have stopped you. So why did the killing intent disappear?”
A trace of curiosity flickered in her eyes.
The poison had sunk deep. She’d taken an antidote pill, but she would still need to find a quiet place to recuperate in seclusion for about a month before her full strength returned.
The man before her had brought both hidden weapons and palm techniques to a near-masterful level.
Add in that body-hardening art of his, and his true combat power would comfortably earn him a spot on the Human Rankings.
Killing her in her current state wouldn’t even be a challenge.
How perceptive. Li Suifeng glanced at her.
“You’re right.”
He admitted it freely.
“A moment ago, yes — I considered it. But you’re not just the number-three name on the Human Rankings. You’re the unattainable dream of half the young masters in the martial world. Rumor has it that even the number-one ranker — ‘Little Marquis of War’ Zhuo Dongliu — has been chasing after you like a lovesick fool. If I killed you here, it wouldn’t take long for someone with the Little Marquis’s resources to trace it back to me.”
“I don’t need that kind of trouble.”
“More importantly — I want to know where the Red Lotus Sect’s Branch Master, Song Xian, is hiding. And how badly you wounded him.”
“I want to kill him.”
The most critical reason, Li Suifeng kept to himself. The moment killing intent had risen in his heart, his instincts had screamed that Ye Qingmei still held a trump card in reserve. Forcing the issue might not have gone the way he planned.
“I have no relationship with Zhuo Dongliu.” A note of seriousness crept into Ye Qingmei’s voice.
“I put my sword through Song Xian’s shoulder blade. He landed one palm strike on me in return. I’d estimate he needs about half a month to fully recover.”
“If you want to kill him, the next two weeks are your best window.”
“And you made the right call not killing me. My Sword-Washing Sect may not be a major power, but we possess one technique — a mutual-destruction sword art — that rivals the finishing moves of the top factions. If you’d attacked, I would have died. But you wouldn’t have walked away unscathed.”
“That said…”
PFFT!
Ye Qingmei coughed up a mouthful of dark, poisoned blood. She wiped the stain from the corner of her lips with the back of her pale hand.
“Could you take me to your place? I need to heal.”
“Once I’ve recovered somewhat, I can join you against Song Xian. You should know — the Red Lotus Sect destroyed my sect. I’ve been hunting them ever since.”
“Let’s go.” Li Suifeng didn’t hesitate. He led Ye Qingmei through the shadows and back to his small courtyard in Green Stone Alley.
…
Seven-Trick Sword Lin En and Soul-Severing Blade Sun Yue — dead within the walls of Nanyang Prefecture.
Every faction in the city was shaken.
The entire prefecture turned tense as a drawn bowstring — the slightest rustle of wind enough to set nerves on edge.
A dark-clad figure dropped into the grounds of Qin Wuyang’s residence.
It was the dead of night.
Yet the oil lamp in Qin Wuyang’s study still burned, casting a solitary shadow against the window paper.
CREAK.
The study door swung open.
Qin Wuyang was still seated at his desk. At the sound, he rose hastily.
“Your subordinate greets the Branch Master!”
Qin Wuyang’s posture was one of deep deference.
The newcomer pulled the black cloth mask from his face, revealing the pale, haggard features of a middle-aged man.
It was Song Xian — Branch Master of the Red Lotus Sect’s Nanyang division.
His condition was visibly poor.
“Branch Master — you’re injured?”
“Who did this?”
Even Qin Wuyang could smell the faint copper tang of blood.
A sixth-rank master — wounded?
His heart clenched.
He knew Song Xian’s true strength. The Red Lotus Sect had been making plenty of moves in Nanyang Prefecture recently. One such operation had caught Liu Zhenhe’s attention, and Song Xian had fought the Helmsman directly. Even Liu Zhenhe hadn’t been able to take him down.
Yet now the Branch Master was injured.
Song Xian waved dismissively. “It was Ye Qingmei.”
“She lives up to her rank. A surprise attack on top of her skill — I was careless, and she put a sword through me.”
“Ye Qingmei’s strength is likely not far from opening the Ren and Du meridians and stepping into the sixth rank.”
Song Xian’s tone was heavy.
The memory of Ye Qingmei’s ambush still sent a chill through him.
If her sword art hadn’t yet reached the level of refining spirit into the blade — the unity of wielder and weapon — it was very close.
A talent like that, bearing a blood grudge against the Red Lotus Sect — if left alive, she would become a serious threat.
“Branch Master — Sun Yue and Lin En are both dead. But from the wounds on their bodies, it doesn’t look like Ye Qingmei’s work.” Qin Wuyang’s expression grew grave. “It appears to be a palm-technique expert. The injuries weren’t from a sword.”
Song Xian shook his head.
“Ye Qingmei is a world-renowned beauty, and her talent speaks for itself. Plenty of young prodigies orbit around her. She probably had a friend backing her up.”
“Regardless, she took a hit from my Five Poisons Palm. For the next month or two, she’s no threat.”
“What concerns me more is the situation in Mingzhou Prefecture. Elder Bian Yun’s clashes with the Embroidered Uniform Guard are intensifying. Our disciples have suffered heavy casualties. The Guard’s control over medicinal herb shipments out of Mingzhou is suffocating. Elder Yun has ordered us to reroute a large shipment of herbs through Nanyang.”
Qin Wuyang’s face tightened.
“Branch Master, our recent operations have been too frequent. You’ve already fought Liu Zhenhe once. The Canal Gang is clamping down on every dock — hard. A shipment that size simply cannot be moved without being noticed.”
“Hah.” Song Xian sighed and looked at Qin Wuyang.
“You know Elder Yun’s temperament. If we fail, we both suffer the consequences.”
“Furthermore, I’ve heard the Embroidered Uniform Guard has dispatched a Commander to investigate our operations.”
“One more shipment. After that, the Nanyang operation goes dormant for a while. We wait until the Guard and the Canal Gang shift their attention elsewhere.”
“My injuries are serious. I need to focus on recovery.”
“This one’s on you.”