Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio 

  Xia Qifei left the Jiangnan Restaurant and stopped outside in the street. He looked at the people passing by in the night and couldn’t resist lowering his head slightly in thought. 

  “Boss.” A dozen men came up and stood around him. They looked at him with a thread of reverence and unfamiliarity, and saluted him respectfully. 

  These were all capable men of the Jiangnan water bandits. Because of the palace treasury matter, they had entered Suzhou with Xia Qifei. However, the city had always been well guarded. Some of these water bandits were even featured on wanted posters, so usually they would not enter Suzhou. 

  They never thought that thieves and bandits like themselves would not only be able to walk in around Suzhou in broad daylight, but that their big boss could sit at the same table as the wealthiest merchant families in Jiangnan. Those merchants usually only knew to use silver to buy the lives of their brothers to use. When had they ever done as they did today and treat Xia with such politeness? 

  Thinking of this, a sense of vanity and pride rose in those men’s hearts. This world was indeed not the same as before. 

  Seeing alarm, joy, and complicated emotions in his subordinates’ expressions, Xia Qifei couldn’t resist laughing self-deprecatingly and said, “Brothers, you should all learn a little. This time you’ve all seen those elders. When you have time, ask for instruction from them.” 

  The elders he spoke of were the old officials from the Ministry of Revenue that Fan Xian had sent to help him steal the bids. The Jiangnan water bandits were going to gradually expand into trade, and Xia Qifei hoped that his trusted aides would be able to quickly grasp the tricks of doing business. At least, they had to know how to keep accounts and such things. 

  Among the joyous atmosphere, Xia Qifei suddenly felt a chill. 

  He raised his head and gazed out. The bright moon was hanging in the dome of the clear night. It was spring, and the night of a clear day was indeed still a bit colder than usual. He pulled back his gaze and saw three strange people standing across the street. 

  The three were strange because of their sudden appearance and cold and silent gaze on the other side of the street. They were not people passing by at night or unhappy customers looking for some fun after drinking. The clothing they wore was normal, but the one in the middle was wearing a bamboo hat. On a night like this, it appeared rather special. 

  Having spent many years surviving in the jianghu and living between life and death since a young age, Xia Qifei did not even have the time to react. The chill in his bones and instinct for danger had a cold light shine from his eyes. He uttered a strange cry. The tips of his feet tapped three times on the ground. His entire person floated back in the direction of the door to the Jiangnan Restaurant. 

  Across the street, the man in the middle reached with his hands over his shoulder and under his hat and grabbed hold of something. Light suddenly scattered off a knife like a flurry of snow. It followed Xia Qifei like the body of a water bird that left no traces on the water it chopped down. ……

  “Kill!” 

  When the light scattered from the knife, the Jiangnan water bandits reacted. Relying on the bravery in their bones, they wanted to come between the boss and that soul-searching knife light. However, their reactions could never compare to the knife light of the bamboo-hatted man. Only the trusted aide closest to Xia Qifei gave a wild roar and pulled out the straight knife hidden in his clothes and, with strength pouring into both his arms, did his best to block. 

  With a crisp crack, the straight knife in the Jiangnan water bandit’s hand was snapped in two by the knife light like a tender Jiangnan lotus root. With a crash, the man’s body was split in two by the extremely berserk strike. He became two terrifying pieces of flesh and blood. Fresh blood sprayed out, and his internal organs flowed to the ground—the pair of already separated hands were still holding the knife handle and knife tip in a powerless and tragic defense. 

  The power of the knife did not stop as it flew through the silent air and approached the front of the Jiangnan Restaurant, where the tips of Xia Qifei’s feet had just touched the ground. 

  The knife qi was just like a straight line slicing through people and cutting through the ground. With a crash, it split open to stones in the street and revealed the fresh stone rubble within. 

  With a boom, the stones flew in all directions outside of the Jiangnan Restaurants and dust rose up. Xia Qifei gave a roar. He pressed his hands together and clashed against the forward pressing knife power. 

  The knife light suddenly withdrew, and the dust gradually settled. 

  The shaking had caused two spots of fresh blood to run from Xia Qifei’s nose. His palms were shakily held up in defense in front of his body. With a face full of alarm, he looked at the man with the bamboo hat across the street. 

  This one mark of the knife had sliced toward him across a long street. Along the way it had split open a man’s body and caused him internal damage. What kind of terrifying realm was this? He was probably already a ninth-level ace. How could Jiangnan still have such an unknown high-level ace? The knife had sliced with power and without reason through the night sky. In this moment of silence, only now did the people see clearly that man wearing the bamboo hat. 

  He was tall and exuded an air of solemnity. He held a long knife in his hand. The edge was white like snow, and the handle was very long. It was a long knife only seen on a theater stage or battlefield. The knife was two-and-a-half meters long. How did the other party hide it behind his body earlier? 

  All this happened in a flash. Only after Xia Qifei had fought for his life to block the strike of the knife did he blink. In one blink he found the situation was still scary. The two people beside the man with the bamboo hat had disappeared without a trace. He had no idea where they went. 

  Since the opposition was here to kill him, the other two were sure to strike. ……

  As the man with the bamboo hat pulled out the long knife from behind his body and sliced down tyrannically across the street, the two other aces beside him had already floated away. They avoided the Jiangnan water bandits in the center of the street. Their figures were like swallows as they drew two beautiful arcs through the air. Like two dark arrowheads, they pierced toward Xia Qifei. 

  With the long sword splitting open the way like lightning and the two swallows flying in secretly and striking together, if nothing went awry the shocked and unsteady Xia Qifei should have died already. But he didn’t die. As Xia Qifei barely blocked the knife, there were new changes happening on the long street. 

  As the Jiangnan water bandits moved toward Xia Qifei to protect him, there were four people in this group that strangely moved to the side. When the two swallow-like aces wanted to flash through the sides at high speed, these four people flipped up their palms and removed iron rods from their long sleeves and sent them flying over. 

  It was a clean, simple strike, and it happened to land below the chests and abdomens of the two aces. It forced them to pull back and dodge. 

  These four were naturally the Sixth Bureau assassins that Fan Xian had hurriedly sent over. 

  Perhaps the Sixth Bureau assassins’ skills were not as high as those of the three aces who had come to kill, but they had a sharp natural sense when judging the situation and possible routes the opposition would take to strike. Thus, they blocked the two swallows that had attempted to kill. 

  Ding, ding, ding, ding……countless crisp sounds began to ring out on the street in front of the restaurant. It rang densely as if it would never end. It was as if it had suddenly begun to hail in this picturesque spring scene. 

  The two swallow like aces held two short swords in their hands. The poison smeared across them blinked with a faint glow in the dark. 

  The four assassins of the Sixth Bureau held metal rods in their hands. There were also poison spread on them, and they became one with the night. 

  A moment later, several groans seemed to ring out simultaneously. 

  The two aces who had approached to kill Xia Qifei returned with disappointment to the other side of the street. The clothes on their bodies had been sliced through a dozen times by the metal rod. Some of the deep places seemed to have scratched the skin. 

  On the side of the Sixth Bureau, they had also paid a hefty price. One person’s left hand had been completely sheared off, revealing the bone inside. Someone’s shoulder had been pierced by a knife, and the fresh blood flowing from it was beginning to change into a strange color. Another perhaps had already fallen into a puddle of blood. 

  The two sides faced each other. Each had suffered irreparable losses. The ringing sound had never known this kind of danger. 

  Even though they had sustained such heavy wounds, the assassins of the Sixth Bureau only gave a few muffled grunts. They were resolute and persistent, indeed not comparable to normal martial artists of the jianghu. The three people who could still move, as they ate the anti-poison pills the Third Bureau created, planned to pull back and reduce the area to be defended. They had to protect Xia Qifei’s life. ……

  The two swallows who had retreated to the other side of the street seemed to not have expected the existence of such professional assassins around Xia Qifei. They had also suffered some significant injuries. 

  The two met each other’s gazes and knew that the opponents must be from the Overwatch Council. For the poison of the Overwatch Council, everyone knew their terrifying power regardless of their faction. The poisons made by Sir Fei Jie personally couldn’t be stopped by just anyone. 

  Thus, they cleanly and efficiently turned their bodies and rose. Tapping the tips of their feet against the wall, they headed into the night sky before disappearing from view. They were the true martial aces and assassins of Jiangnan. Today, they had been entrusted with killing Xia Qifei, but they had no wish to throw in their own precious lives. 

  A gentle noise came from far away in a small alley. ……

  Of three aces across the street, two of them had left, however, Xia Qifei did not feel that his situation had taken any turn for the better. The pressure he felt had actually increased because that knife, that long knife that could only been seen on theater stages, had struck forward again as the battle raged fiercely beside him. 

  No complete enemy stood before the knife, and no soul of a complete body lay under the knife. 

  Like scattered snow, the knife light sliced through those courageous and venerable water bandits’ limbs, parting their bodies from their heads, and creating a bloody path. Through the dismembered limbs flying in the air, it came closer and closer to Xia Qifei. 

  He saw his brothers dying miserably on the street, heard the soul shocking sound of the knife and tragic cries, and smelled the thick stench of the iron in the blood. Xia Qifei watched the man with the bamboo hat approach step by step through the blood. The man walked with such determination and dedication; it was like he was a demon. 

  Xia Qifei’s heart grew cold, but his blood boiled. His eyes felt like they were going to split his sockets. He desired to rush forward to step in front of his brothers’ bodies and meet this ace with the bamboo hat in a vigorous battle. Even if he died beneath the blade, what of it? But, he couldn’t move. He instead retreated. He sorrowfully but determinedly escaped toward the restaurant. 

  He knew that the purpose of the other party was to kill him, but his name and his person was useful. If he wanted revenge……if he wanted his opponents to find it difficult to eat and sleep, he had to survive. Even if it was in such a humiliating way, he had to survive. ……

  The man with the bamboo hat was only five steps away from Xia Qifei. 

  The three injured swordsmen from the Sixth Bureau finally returned to their positions. Due to their injuries, they could not stand against the ace’s shocking knife power. Their metal rods were broken in to a number of pieces, and the three were all sent flying back. 

  \r \r \r 

  Jiangnan Restaurant was right in front of his eyes. 

  Xia Qifei escaped up the stairs. 

  The waiter and clients at the door screamed in panic but seemed to have been ensnared in a spell; their spirits shocked by this bloody and terrifying scene. Their legs turned soft, and it seemed like they couldn’t move. 

  The ace with the bamboo hat was still five steps away from the stone steps when he sliced down with his knife. The direction of the strike was toward the back of the extremely tragic Xia Qifei. 

  A seemingly scared dumb customer was holding on to a beautiful column. For some reason, he shook a metal rod into his hands and ruthlessly stabbed it toward the upper thigh of the ace with the bamboo hat. 

  The man with the bamboo hat was tall and mighty. This hidden Sixth Bureau assassin didn’t have the confidence that he would definitely succeed, so he took the opportunity just before the sword slashed through Xia Qifei’s body to strike somewhere vital. Thus, he had chosen the juncture at the upper thigh. 

  Unexpectedly, it seemed like the ace with the bamboo hat did not see this strike and continued to slice down. 

  With a dink, the metal rod hit the man’s thigh, but it was like piercing through a sheet of metal. 

  The assassin of the Sixth Bureau felt a chill in his heart. He knew that this was a stupid skill that no one still practiced on the jianghu—Iron Skin. 

  Since the other party had practiced it and had not dodged at all, that meant he had stupidly spent dozens of years practicing hard, giving up all the pleasures of men and women, and practiced this skill to the extreme. 

  This swordsman of the Sixth Bureau knew that he could not block this strike, but with the commissioner’s orders before him, he had to protect Xia Qifei’s life. Thus, he threw himself across. Without fearing death, he leapt toward the air above the ace. As he was in the air, he pulled a small dagger from his shoe and viciously stabbed toward the eyes the bamboo hat constantly covered. ……

  The knife in the ace’s hand was less than half a meter from Xia Qifei’s back when two metal rods relentlessly appeared again. 

  Fan Xian had sent seven swordsmen from the Sixth Bureau to protect Xia Qifei. Five had already appeared. The two who had been silent until the end had originally planned to act as their leader had done earlier, to defeat and rescue, and protect Xia Qifei’s life. However, after discovering the strange and abnormal skills the other party possessed, they knew this method would not work. Furthermore, the knife had already arrived, so they could only helplessly clash head on against the opponent’s strike. 

  With an awful shrieking sound, the two metal rods did not break but were shocked from their hands. 

  Xia Qifei took advantage of this block and, like a pitiful little dog, leapt forward and narrowly avoided the strike. The light of the knife landed on the ground and gouged a huge chunk from the stone steps. He gave a cry and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. He had still been struck by the ace’s qi activity. The power of the sword landed on his body, and he was the one with the heaviest internal damage. 

  After spraying out a mouthful of blood, he lay on the ground yet his expression remained ruthless. His right hand snaked out unbelievably quickly from under his left armpit, holding the small crossbow hidden in his sleeve. This was something the imperial envoy had given him for self-protection. 

  When the bolt fired, that Sixth Bureau swordsman had already landed before the ace. 

  The long knife in the ace’s hand was not easily drawn back. His left hand curled into a fist, and he struck out. With a bang, he sent the swordsman flying with a punch. In doing so, he left an opening in front of his face. 

  The narrow bolt approached the front of the bamboo hat. The man finally showed a slightly normal response as he slightly tilted his head back. It seemed like despite his powerful training, his face was still a weak point. The bolt flew through the air. With a whistle, it pierced deeply in to the top of the bamboo hat. 

  The bamboo hat was tied under his chin, so it was not taken away by the bold. Thus, the true face of this mysterious ninth-level ace was still not shown to everyone. ……

  There was a soft noise, but it was not clear——slight boom, like when children played with firecrackers and also a crackling like when wood is being burned. 

  The bolt stuck to the top of the bamboo hat……exploded. 

  A streak of light flashed by, and the ace’s head immediately went up in smoke. It looked very strange. 

  Under the modification of the Third Bureau, although they were still unable to execute the full potential of gunpowder and it didn’t burn strong enough when lit, but nonetheless, in a flash the bamboo hat had burned completely away. 

  The ace held the long knife in his hand with his feet steadily placed. He stood silently before Jiangnan Restaurant. His face was pitch black. There was a terrifying blister in the center, and his eyes were tightly closed. It was difficult to see whether he was alive or dead. 

  Suddenly, he opened his eyes and a thread of rage flashed through them. 

  This mysterious ace was still alive. 

  But what surprised and confused everyone was not that this person could survive after such an injury, because given the other party’s power he was not easy to kill anyway, what surprised Xia Qifei and the Overwatch Council was that……this hat covered ace was……bald. 

  As all under heaven followed filial piety, the body, hair, and skin all belonged to the parents, so no one would dare to cut their hair, much less shave it all off. The only people allowed to move around without hair were……the Ascetics. 

  The Ascetics worshipped the Temple. 

  Yet, everyone knew that the Ascetics always loved the people and sacrificed themselves. They never interfered with battles in the mortal world. Why did this extremely powerful Asectic come today to kill Xia Qifei? 

  There was no time to think about this shocking question because this Asectic had once again lifted that tarrying long knife. With a muffled growl, he raised the knife with both hands and chopped down toward Xia Qifei on the stone steps. With the power of a crazed tiger, a thousand armies could not block it. ……

  A thousand armies couldn’t block it, but one flower could. 

  The hopeless people on the stone steps only felt a light breeze skim past, an ocean-like flower opened before their eyes. In a moment, it had removed the stench of blood on the long street before the restaurant. Lightly scented flowers gladdened the heart. 

  A pair of steady and gentle hands held a basket with silk flowers bought from Wuzhou met the edge of the forward pressing long knife. The knife came quickly, but the hands moved even quicker. Somehow, in the next moment, the flower basket was already holding the long knife. 

  The power of the knife was very aggressive, and the flower basket was very light. When the flower basket was hung lightly at the tip of the sword that steady and fearful ling knife involuntarily began to shake and dip down. It was as if the flower basket was unbelievably heavy. 

  The knife paused. The Asectic wielding the knife roared and zhenqi surged from his arms. He lifted it as if he were lifting the Great Eastern Mountain. ……

  With a sigh, the flower basket finally could not stand any longer against the two people’s shocking zhenqi. Flicked by the tip of the knife, it entirely fell apart. The flower basket woven from vines seemed to, in that instant of frozen time, be torn apart thread by thread and dissolve into countless pieces that exploded out, landing on the ground with a slapping sound. 

  But the silver flowers in the basket were flown by the wind and gently floated up, decorating the Asura-like killing field of the long street. In the rain of petals, the girl wearing the floral, cotton robe was like a gust of wind, following the shaking long knife and gently attacking toward the Ascetic. 

  He struck out with a palm. The palm wind was like a knife, but it could not stop the other party’s floating shadow. After a moment, gentle hands lightly tapped the hand of the sword and flicked out a finger piercing directly into the side of the Ascetic’s large hand. 

  The Ascetic let out a strange cry. His burnt face revealed a strange red color formed by a strand of surging zhenqi. His entire person was like a large bird as he backed away. With just one move, this god-like killer Asectic was forced back. 

  The flower rain continued to fall. Contrasted with the clear night and bright moon above Suzhou, it appeared particularly beautiful. The flower petals rained down, and Haitang stood with a peaceful expression in the flower rain. She did not follow up with another attack. She only looked at the Asectic with a trace of worry. 

  Even village girls have their most beautiful moment. ……

  “Second Priest of the Qing Temple, why are you here?” Haitang said with worry on her face. 

  That Asectic gazed at her and recognized her identity. In a sharp voice he cried, “Haitang Duoduo! Why are you here?” 

  Haitang lowered her head slightly and said quietly, “I am here with Fan Xian.” 

  The Ascetic was startled. It seemed that he did not expect for Haitang, descendant of the Tianyi Dao, with the identity of the sage girl of Northern Qi, to speak of this reason so lightly. 

  “Today, I have to kill someone. Don’t stop me,” the Ascetic gazed at her and said coldly. 

  Haitang furrowed her brows slightly and looked up and down the stone steps of Jiangnan Restaurant at the people who had died in the middle of the long street. She saw the broken and dismembered limbs, and pungent puddles of blood, and gently said, “You have already killed enough people tonight. Don’t kill anymore.” 

  It was not a request or an urging. Since Fan Xian was not at ease with Xia Qifei over here and had, at the last minute, had Haitang come over to check, this represented his complete trust in her. With her here, other than the four old bastards of legend, if she said no more killing, then no one would kill. 

  Although the Ascetic had been burned badly, it was still possible to see a trace of determination on his face. He used a strange gaze to glance at Haitang before turning around and leaving. 

  Leaving did not require a road. He straightforwardly knocked down a wall beside the street. With a bang, a giant hole appeared in the wall, and his shadow vanished from within the hole. 

  The flower rain fell, and Haitang was silent. Then, she gently floated to behind the wall.

  Chapter 367: Heaven Knows Not Because Of The Chime Of Drums 

  Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio 

  Haitang skimmed into the yard beside the street and gently touched the strands of hair at her temple. She looked the Ascetic who indeed had not left. 

  The people who were able to live on the two sides of the street were naturally wealthy and noble. After the disturbances, the master of this home had long awoken and hid far away, not daring to light any lamps. The lights from the restaurant across the street followed the big hole in the wall and shone in, lighting up the yard. It also lit up the face that was particularly scary after the injury. 

  Haitang looked at him and asked with slight worry in her voice, “What is this for?” 

  The Ascetic gazed at her quietly and did not reply. 

  Haitang was not in a rush, even though the sounds of Suzhou officials moving together could be faintly heard in the distance. 

  There were not many Ascetics in the world. The Ascetics, with the Great Priest of the Temple of Qing, as their leader had always preached in various locations. These Ascetics quietly worshipped and praised through scriptures. Their actions were kind, and they were not widely known for their power of martial arts. 

  However, in these decades, the Qing Temple had produced a strange creature, Great Master San Shi. He was born with great power, and his external and internal skills had both been cultivated to the peak. His personality was ruthless, and he hated evil as an enemy. However, because of his identity as a priest, few people had seen him strike. There were also very few people who knew his true appearance and power. This was because in the past, the Great Priest of the Qing Temple used scripture to reign him in and watched him closely, otherwise Great Master San Shi would long have become the most famous figure under heaven. 

  Because the Qing Temple and Northern Qi’s Tianyi Dao were both places of worship for the Temple, they could be considered connected in lineage. Thus, Haitang had seen him once in previous years. She knew the Ascetic in front of her, this Second Priest of the Qing Temple, this legendary Great Master San Shi. If one were purely talking about identity, he was a highly respected figure. If one were talking about the cultivation of personality, he was not a bloodthirsty person. Haitang was most confused as to why the priests who never interfered with the mortal world would today enter into the struggle of the palace treasury or court. 

  “Junshang Conference……just what kind of organization is it exactly?” asked Haitang frowning slightly. It seemed like she was talking to herself. 

  The Second Priest looked at her coldly and said, “Don’t waste your time thinking about these questions. Correct, I am now a member of the Junshang Conference. Originally, the Junshang Conference was a loosely formed consortium. Perhaps this organization did not have any specific purpose. However, once everyone has found a goal, then we will all work toward that goal.” 

  Haitang asked in a quiet voice, “What is your goal?” 

  “To kill Xia Qifei,” he replied coldly. 

  Haitang smiled slightly and said, “It is only a dispute between some merchants. How could it draw you to attack?” 

  She calmly asked, “Xia Qifei was bidding today at the palace treasury, and you chose the kill him on the street. Are you not afraid the South Kingdom court will be angry?” 

  The Second Priest replied without any expression, “Killing Xia Qifei is so that the matter of the palace treasury can return to the path we want.” 

  Haitang was startled and confused. “These words are not enough to satisfy me…… I know you and the Great Priest, you are not a person who is greedy for fame and wealth.” 

  The Second Priest became silent. 

  Haitang said in a quiet voice again, “The Ming family also does not have the authority to move you.” 

  The Second Priest slowly raised his head. “As I said earlier, this is a kind of loose cooperation. It is only that my goal and the Ming family’s goal happened to align.” 

  “You want to defeat Fan Xian?” Haitang furrowed her brows. 

  The Second Priest coldly shook his head. 

  Haitang sighed in her heart and guessed the truth of the matter. The other party’s identity was special. Since he could not be used by others and also wanted to interfere with the matter of the palace treasury bidding, then naturally it must be related to a problem in Jingdou. Since the Second priest’s target was not Fan Xian, then the source of this matter was secretly about to come into the open. 

  Haitang shook her head and said, “It is difficult to believe that a priest of the Qing Temple would actually secretly oppose the Qing Emperor……” 

  Countless blisters had already been burned into the Second priest’s face. In the black ash were streaks of blood, and he appeared incomparably horrifying. The eyes in his sockets showed white. He faintly said, “The sage girl is clever. The imperial envoy has received a royal edict to come govern the palace treasury. My thought was to never allow this so-called royal order to be carried out.” 

  Haitang was silent. It seemed that an unknown current was beginning to appear in the internal departments of the South Kingdom court. The direction of this current was toward the man sitting on the dragon chair. Fan Xian, as the most favored official of that man would, without exception, stand at the forefront and face extreme danger. 

  The reason the Second Priest was willing to tell these secrets to Haitang’s face was because of her identity as a person from Northern Qi, and the close relationship between the Qing Temple and Tianyi Dao. 

  The Second Priest knew that no matter how close Haitang was to Fan Xian, as a Northern Qi person knowing that there was someone in the internal department of the South Kingdom preparing to act against the Emperor, she would maintain a clever silence. 

  Haitang was silent for a while before suddenly speaking “Great Master, to ask a tiger for his skin is very unwise.” 

  In the Junshang Conference, they had to be much closer knit because of a terrifying reason. With a matter as important as this, there had to be a leader. In Haitang’s analysis, perhaps this leader was the Eldest Princess who hadn’t shown any power, yet always had Fan Xian carefully defending against her. 

  The Second Priest said coldly, “In the eyes of the flower, the bug is the tiger. In the eyes of the bamboo, the fire is the tiger. In the eyes of the river, the day is the tiger……in my eyes, the Emperor is the tiger.” 

  Haitang furrowed her brows and asked, “What exactly happened?” 

  What had happened for this Second Priest of the Qing Temple to resolutely throw himself into the mess and filth of the mortal world and make an always merciful and tender Ascetic become an Asura demon that decapitated people with a knife? 

  A thread of sadness and memory flashed through the terrifying eyes of the Second priest. A moment later he softly said, “Elder brother has gone on.” 

  Haitang was startled. The news of the Qing Temple’s Great Priest’s death had spread everywhere under heaven a few months ago. At that time, the edict the Qing court had sent out said that the Great Priest had long preached in the South and stayed long among the evil miasma. The accumulation of it had led to illness and thus, not long after he returned to the capital, he had passed away. Yet, listening to the Second priest, Haitang naturally understood that the truth was certainly not this simple. It was possible that the death of the Great Priest of the Qing Temple was strongly connected to the Qing Emperor. 

  She placed her hands together and gave a salute. She knew that she could not continue to ask questions.The other party had already given enough hints and would not say any more. 

  “Earlier, why did you not stop me revealing your identity?” Haitang asked quietly. “Killing people in the street today, are you not afraid of inadvertently alerting your enemy and having the Qing Emperor find some traces and clues?” 

  The Second Priest of the Qing Temple raised three fingers without expression, “The mountain has three rocks: one is bright, one is right, and one is sacrifice[JW1] .” 

  “I have been different from normal people from a young age and was thrown into the wilds by the village people. If it were not for elder brother, I would have long ago been eaten by wild dogs.” The Second Priest of the Qing Temple’s voice was like a flood. His beard floated, and he was mighty without being angry. “The world has taken my brother, so I cause chaos for the people. I will kill with clear skill. I will crush others with justice and use my body as sacrifice to kill one bad ruler to bring peace to tens of thousands of people under heaven.” 

  Haitang understood the first two meanings of these words, the last meaning was unclear. However, countless complicated feelings still welled up in her heart. Although there were signs of cracks in the internal department of the Qing court, looking at the strong control the Qing Emperor had over the governors of the seven Roads and military, it was clear that the core of the South Kingdom’s rule did not have problems at the root. 

  Tonight, the Great Master San Shi killed people in the street for nothing but to publicly say, to announce to the world, that the priest of the Qing Temple was no longer a friend on the same path as the court. Although the Second Priest was not enough to represent the Qing Temple and all the Ascetics under heaven, this kind of expression still had powerful symbolic meaning. 

  As for the last word “sacrifice,” Haitang finally understood what it meant. The Great Master San Shi knew very well that the person behind the Junshang Conference was not much better than the Qing Emperor. Today’s mission was partly to kill Xia Qifei as to ruin the Emperor’s large scale administration and partly to resolutely sacrifice himself. 

  Perhaps this Second Priest wasn’t even sure of what he should do. Having lost the Great Priest’s guidance and constraint, the Great Master San Shi had no way of killing the Emperor. Furthermore, priests of the Qing Temple did not want the people under heaven to suffer because of revenge. 

  For Great Master San Shi, the Jiangnan water bandits were all gangsters stained with blood. Killing them was fine, and he felt no trace of pity at all. But the strong desire of event in his heart, his judgement of the situation and worry for the people, caused im hto sink to a psychological conflict. Thus, he told all these things to Haitang. At the same, time it told her he was willing to be a sacrifice. 

  “I am returning to Jingdou to kill people. Please convey to Imperial Advisor Ku He my words today.” 

  Great Master San Shi became silent. His melancholy was at odds with his powerful figure. He turned around and left the already broken hole in the yard. 

  Haitang stood quietly where she was and did not move. She was thinking that the Second Priest of the Qing Temple had so easily sacrificed himself, but the Junshang Conference was sure to make more moves later. She didn’t know whether it would target Fan Xian in Jiangnan or directly target the Qing Emperor sitting in Jingdou. 

  It seemed like there were many people under heaven who did not wish for the Qing Emperor to live comfortably. 

  How should Northern Qi respond? ……

  “San Shi? Sacrifice?” Fan Xian looked at Haitang and almost smiled, however dark fire leapt in his eyes. “I don’t understand the strange conversation of your kind of people. I only know……if he really wanted to sacrifice himself, then at this moment he should go directly to the front gates of the Royal Palace and battle the Great Prince’s imperial guards and Eunuch Hong from the Royal Palace rather than coming to Suzhou and ruining my business! Killing my people!” 

  His voice rose on the last two lines, and his tone was severe. 

  “As for the ‘sacrifice’ word,” Haitang gazed at him and said calmly, “the Junshang Conference definitely did not want the Second Priest to reveal his identity so early. If I had not been there today, there probably wouldn’t have been anyone who would have the opportunity to reveal it.” 

  The meaning in these words were clear: the enemy’s calculations had gone wrong. The Second Priest did not manage to kill successfully. He might as well follow through with the sacrifice and clearly resolve Haitang’s questions, using himself to attract the attention of the Qing Emperor and hide the existence of the Junshang Conference. 

  Fan Xian smiled coldly and said, “This Second Priest may have overestimated his own importance……the Emperor may not have anything, but his sense of self-confidence, from who knows where, is much stronger than most. If I were you, how could I let that bald man go so easily? With just a few unimportant and light words, he convinced you to ignore it and not ask further. It seems like this Second Priest has the ability to be a lobbyist.” 

  These words appeared common but had the intention to expose hidden motives. In his anger, Fan Xian directly expressed that there was something Haitang had not said about the conversation between her and the Second priest. After all, this was the internal politics of the Qing Kingdom. As a person of Northern Qi, who knew what Haitang would do for the benefit of her own country? 

  Haitang did not become angry. She explained in a quiet voice, “The Junshang Conference will definitely protect the Ming family. That old matriarch has fallen into your plan to antagonize her and has asked someone to come kill Xia Qifei……isn’t all of this within your expectations? Why are you still so angry?” 

  Fan Xian stopped. He had not expected Haitang to so mercilessly reveal all of his sinister intentions. He furrowed his brows and said, “Correct, I did want to force the Ming family to act, but I didn’t expect the Ming family was able to move such an ace……it seems that I still underestimated the so-called Junshang Conference.” 

  \r \r \r 

  Heavy casualties were sustained in front of the Jiangnan Restaurant. About 80 to 90 percent of the good men of the Jiangnan water bandits that Xia Qifei had brought into Suzhou had been killed by that powerful knife. The Overwatch Council, in order to protect Xia Qifei’s life, had also paid a heavy price. One of the seven Sixth Bureau swordsman had died and another four were in deep comas. No one knew whether or not they would survive. 

  The loss the Overwatch Council suffered this time was the largest since Fan Xian had taken over. He couldn’t help but be angry and blame himself. All of this had clearly been within his calculations. Since he had underestimated the other party’s power, it had caused the situation. 

  What made Fan Xian the angriest was……in the plan, once he had forced the Ming family to strike, he would use the opportunity to attack powerfully. All of this had been ruined on the long street with Haitang’s cry. 

  As for the Second Priest……he would have some dealings with the royal family. If Fan Xian wanted to use this opportunity to connect it to the Ming family, it was completely impossible. Even if the Overwatch Council used its dirtiest methods to frame them, they would never be able to convince the court or officials in Jingdou. 

  No one would believe that a wealthy Jiangnan family could order the Second Priest of the Qing Temple to act as an assassin. 

  This reality made Fan Xian develop absurd feelings of defeat. When facing an opponent, even if other party had not done it, Fan Xian would frame them to admit it. Now, it was clear that the other party did it. But, if he went forward and publicly investigated it, no one would believe him. 

  He shook his head helplessly and waved his hand. “Duoduo, go sleep first. Earlier I was not in a good mood and said some things rashly. Don’t take it to heart.” 

  Haitang glanced at him in surprise and furrowed her brows and asked, “Tonight?” 

  Fan Xian took a deep breath and forced down the burning feeling in his heart. A soft smile rose to his face and he said gently, “It’s very late. If there’s anything, we will talk about it tomorrow.” 

  Fan Xian had been preparing for tonight for a long time. Now, to suddenly give up, no one knew what he was thinking. 

  Haitang left the study with some confusion. 

  Fan Xian sat quietly by himself in front of his table. He thought for a bit and then raised his brush to begin writing. He had to report tonight’s events to the Emperor in Jingdou. Although he did not believe, in his heart, that the Second Priest’s appearance was an extraordinary matter, as an official—even an official without good intentions—he had to, at the right moments, show some kind of fear and worry due to his concern. 

  Having finished writing the secret letter, he couldn’t resist picking up the letter beside it. 

  The handwriting on the letter was very wizened and ugly. It was a personal letter from old man Chen Pingping. 

  In the letter, Chen Pingping did not give any warnings about the situation of the court or the officialdom, he only told a story. It was a story about a crow drinking water. He was telling Fan Xian, who was absent from his side, that regardless of the matter, it must not be done in a rush. Sometimes the more rushed one is, the less water there will be to drink. 

  Throwing rocks in the bottle? 

  This was a game where in order to take something, something first had to be given. 

  Fan Xian looked at the letter and furrowed his brows again. Today in the palace treasury courtyard, Ming Qingda had left a deep impression on him. The ability of the Ming family master to be rattled but not shocked was truly worth learning. 

  In comparison, the old matriarch, whose emotions Fan Xian had successfully shaken and who had secretly notified the Junshang Conference to kill people in the street, did not seem worth worrying about. 

  However, the Ming family’s power was still held in that old matriarch’s hand, and this reality allowed Fan Xian to relax a great deal. 

  As the person who acted was the Second Priest, this implicated many people. It was not appropriate to take action tonight. Fan Xian thought for a bit and decided wait a few days. Xia Qifei was fortunate and did not die. Tomorrow’s palace treasury bidding would continue. Life would also continue, and the days would continue. 

  When everything was calm, and the rocks had been filled to the brim of the bottle, then he would began to drink. ……

  “Going out,” he said as he accepted a large cloak from Sisi’s hands. 

  Sisi looked at him astonishment, thinking: It is already the hour of zi, where are you going to go? But she knew, for the young master to rush out at this time, it must be important. She did not ask further. 

  With his cloak over his shoulders, Fan Xian rushed toward the front door of Hua Garden[JW2] . As he walked, he said to the subordinate beside him, “Matters have escalated. Immediately send out a first-level order. Carefully search the southeast area for the whereabouts of the Second Priest.” 

  His subordinate furrowed his brows and said, “Sir, the Qing Temple has always been managed by the Royal Palace. Is it suitable for us to interfere?” 

  Fan Xian was slightly angry and reprimanded, “He’s already killed his way to us. Can I not kill him?” 

  The subordinate quickly closed his mouth and gave the order. 

  Fan Xian had other intentions in those words. Haitang said earlier that Second Priest seemed like he was preparing to head to Jingdou and imitate Jing Je in an assassination. Yet, Fan Xian had the Overwatch Council searching the southeast. 

  The Shadow was not in Suzhou, and the people in the Overwatch Council had no hope of holding down that Great Master San Shi. Fan Xian’s action was nothing more than a show. It was to prevent his subordinates running into the ace again and suffering another heavy loss, and it could also allow the Second Priest to enter the capital. 

  Clearly the Second Priest was preparing to play the dragon when entering the capital, yet Fan Xian still had made such arrangements. 

  Having reached the main door, Tiger Guard Gao Da lifted the carriage’s curtain for him. Fan Xian had one foot on the carriage when he stopped. It seemed like he was thinking of something. A moment later he turned and said, “Call back everyone who is stationed outside.” 

  The Overwatch Council official was startled, wondering if the plan for tonight was canceled? Given his understanding of the commissioner, if his subordinates had suffered losses, he would definitely immediately seek revenge. Did the commissioner suddenly have a change of personality? 

  Ignoring his subordinate’s astonishment, Fan Xian burrowed into the carriage. 

  The carriage wheels rolled over Suzhou’s stone roads and made a rattling sound. It was already deep into the night, and no one was walking on the streets. Only the government bailiffs, who knew something had happened, were peering around with faces full of sleepiness and drowsy eyes. However, they were the lucky ones, at least they were more relaxed than the brothers in front of Jiangnan Restaurant. Rumors said those brothers were moving dead bodies and picking up dismembered limbs, and a few of them had already thrown up from the nausea. 

  Fan Xian half leaned against the back of his chair. His hands gently rubbed at the center of his forehead, forcefully expelling the tiredness from his mind as well as the strong urge preparing to leap out at any moment to come out and kill for a while. He allowed the carriage to take himself along the quiet Suzhou night streets. 

  Beside the carriage were a few Tiger Guards. Xia Qifei had been targeted for assassination, so Fan Xian’s security for his outing had been strengthened. 

  After a short amount of time, the carriage approached the side door to the manor of the Jiangnan governor. Without time to hand in any name cards, Fan Xian directly used his face as a pass and burrowed his way toward the governor’s manor. Under the escort of the governor’s housekeeper and servants, whose faces were full of confusion, they came directly to the back garden where the governor’s manor entertained secret guests. 

  Having barely taken a sip from the tea that was brought up, the Jiangnan governor, Xue Qing, who the housekeeper said had slept long ago, came rushing out. 

  Fan Xian raised his head and looked at Xue Qing’s dress. After a moment of pause he began to laugh. This governor’s clothing was neat and tidy. He looked nothing like he had been roused from bed. It appeared that tonight, not very many officials would be able to sleep well. 

  Xue Qing saw him laugh and couldn’t resist smiling as well. He waved his hand to dismiss everyone and drank a bit of tea to wet his throat before asking straightforwardly, “What business does the imperial envoy have to have come in the night?” 

  Fan Xian’s reply was even more straightforward. He raised one finger and said, “Tonight, someone tried to kill my people, so I am preparing to kill people.” 

  The Jiangnan governor was startled and sank into silence. Of course he was aware of what had happened in tonight. He had also expected the always ruthless Fan Xian, who shielded his shortcomings, to strike against the Ming family. He hadn’t expected the Fan Xian would come to notify him before doing so. This kind of attitude allowed Xue Qing to feel a thread of comfort. 

  After a moment of silence, Xue Qing said evenly, “I can understand your current emotions.” 

  These words were the same as not saying anything, understand, of course, did not mean support. Fan Xian also understood this. After all, the Ming family was a prosperous family in Jiangnan. Their descendants numbered in the tens of thousands, and their supporters in the court were beyond counting. The hands and feet of the Ming family had long rooted themselves deeply into the lives of the Jiangnan people. If Fan Xian wanted to use the martial power of the Overwatch Council to carry out simple and cruel bullying, then that was sure to cause countless counterattacks. The situation in Jiangnan might be thrown into unrest because of this. 

  Jiangnan could not fall into chaos. Once it fell, Xue Qing, as the Jiangnan governor, would have to bear the brunt of the responsibility. There was no way he would be able to explain it to the court or to the Emperor. So, in front of Fan Xian, he could only say he understood and was not willing to say anything else. 

  As for Fan Xian, the Black Knights were still in Jiangbei. Not until the last step would he dare to brave the Emperor’s suspicions and clamor of the officials to move soldiers into Suzhou. Thus, the power he could use at the moment was actually not much. To be able to defeat something like the Ming family, he very much needed the help of the Jiangnan governor, Xue Qing, or at least his implicit consent. This was why he had come to the governor’s manor. 

  Knowing what Xue Qing was worried about, Fan Xian smiled slightly and said, “Please rest assured, although I am somewhat bold and unconstrained, when I handle matters, I will respect the rules.” 

  Xue Qing was slightly reassured. He was not one of the Eldest Princess’ people, so he was willing to keep himself out of the battle between the Overwatch Council and princes. But tonight, the Ming family actually dared to send someone to assassinate a bidding merchant outside the Jiangnan Restaurant……although everyone knew that the merchant was actually a water bandit……this reality still made this border guarding official angry. 

  Merchants had their duties and boundaries. Tonight, the Ming family had crossed a line. Furthermore, the Jiangnan Restaurant where the killing happened was the governor’s property. 

  “Before the 16 bids are completely settled, I will not act,” Fan Xian gazed at Xue Qing’s eyes and evenly said. “The day after tomorrow, I will have the Ming family pay the proper price.” 

  “It is enough to just each them a lesson.” Xue Qing sighed like an Ascetic who bemoaned the state of the universe and pitied the fate of mankind. 

  Fan Xian smiled slightly. He understood the governor still did not want to blow this matter up, while he, himself, never had excessive hopes to begin with. He hadn’t expected to be able to force the centuries old Ming family to suffer hardship in just a few days. He said, “Rest assured, I know the limits.” 

  “Evidence. What’s important is evidence.” Xue Qing looked at the young imperial envoy in front of him and couldn’t resist opening his mouth to remind him. This matter was not a simple battle between officials and merchants, it was a battle between the powers at court. If he couldn’t get evidence and wanted to carve some flesh from the Ming family, it would be extremely easy for some people in Jingdou to grab information that could be used against Fan Xian. 

  “In life, there is never a lack of evidence,” Fan Xian said quietly. “There is only a lack of eyes to discover the evidence. The eyes of the Overwatch Council are very bright.” 

  The two most powerful officials in Jiangnan talked for a long time in secret. Only when it was difficult for both of them to hide their tiredness did Fan Xian say his goodbyes. 

  The situation in Jiangnan had become murky, like the darkness before the dawn. Gazing out, it was impossible to see bottom of the abyss. 

  Fan Xian leaned against the back of the chair in the carriage and slept deeply. He did not notice the sky becoming gradually brighter outside the carriage. The morning did not have bells and drums, but the spring daybreak had arrived. 

  [JW1]”山有三石,一名明,一名正,一名弃” the “three rocks” is a play on his name, as San Shi literally means three rocks. The listing he does corresponds in what he says next. However, because the author uses multiple meanings of one character, the connection doesn’t hold well in English. 

  [JW2] The text says Ming Garden, but this is a possible error since Fan Xian is living at Hua Garden.