Day/Night Mode:

Change Font Size:

TL: FoodieMonster007 If you see this, you are at the wrong site!


Volume 1: A Gentle Blade

Part 1: The Person Inside the Ruins on a Rainy Day


The beautiful person disappeared into the crowd.

Wang Xiaoshi turned his gaze back toward the stage only to find the men and muscular women had already packed up their weapons and props and were hurrying off the scene. The crowd was starting to thin.

He suddenly remembered the phrase he'd heard earlier, "A single act of recklessness is enough to compromise a great plan. Without knowing the opponent's strength, taking action might do more harm than good, no?"

Gathering his resolve, Wang Xiaoshi chose to tail the group of buskers to uncover the truth of their dealings.

As he trailed them through bustling main streets and shadowy alleys, the number of passersby swelled and waned. The performers, engrossed in crude banter, occasionally kicked and whipped the deformed and dwarfed among them, treating them more like livestock than fellow travelers.

Just as indignation surged within Wang Xiaoshi, a tall, slender man clad in a gloomy gray robe approached. His face was deathly pale, as though sunlight was foreign to him, and a cumbersome, old bundle hung over his shoulder.

As this figure neared, the performers' banter died down, and a tense silence fell. Some trembled, poised to flee.

The autumn sun cast a soft glow, and a breeze rustled a few fallen leaves along the path. Somewhere in the distance, a flute played intermittently, its notes breaking and resuming in an endless, haunting loop.

Is a beginner practicing the flute somewhere nearby? Amid the blooming chrysanthemums of the surrounding gardens, why does this calm feel so unnerving?

The man passed by the performers without a glance, eliciting a collective sigh of relief from them. Some looked back at him with deep-seated fear in their eyes.

Just as he crossed paths with Wang Xiaoshi, he shot a piercing, icy look that chilled Wang Xiaoshi to the core. His face, as cold as a long-buried corpse, exuded a frostiness far surpassing the chill from his heavy sack.

Continuing on, Wang Xiaoshi noticed something curious. At least twelve people, from various directions, seemed to be tailing the tall, slender man. They resembled tourists, vendors, fortune-tellers, or young masters with bird cages. Despite their varied guises, Wang Xiaoshi discerned they were all skilled martial artists with a single target: the tall, slender man.

Who is this man to attract so much attention?

Although he was intrigued, Wang Xiaoshi kept following the performers until they entered an inn. He memorized the inn's name, then turned back to see the tall, slender man slipping into a secluded alley, followed discreetly by the twelve.

I'll investigate the performers first. Wang Xiaoshi entered the inn and noted the rooms they chose. However, just as he was about to leave, the burly busker who had scolded him earlier glared down from the second-floor railing, fury in his eyes.

Wang Xiaoshi flashed a quick smile and hurried out, heading toward the alley where the mysterious man had disappeared. The performers seemed settled in the inn, unlikely to leave anytime soon, so he decided to change his priorities for now.

Who is he? Is something about to happen? A grim feeling gripped him. He couldn't just walk away.

The autumn breeze cut sharply against his face, carrying a faint metallic scent of blood as he rounded the corner. What he saw left him speechless.

A pear tree loomed over the entrance, its branches reaching out from an ancient wall, most of its leaves already fallen. Blood and corpses lay scattered, twelve in total. The gaunt man was nowhere to be found.

I'm just a few seconds too late! Wang Xiaoshi thought. Just who can kill so swiftly and with such deadly precision? What kind of grudge do these people bear against him that they'd gang up on him even at the risk of their own lives?

Wang Xiaoshi faced a dilemma. Should I flee and ignore this, or should I investigate?

In the end, he opted to investigate. He swiftly examined the bodies, discerning three things:

  1. All twelve had no other injuries except a hole in their chests. This wound, right in the heart, killed them instantly.
  2. None of the twelve had time to cry out. The alley was near a busy street, full of people. If anyone had tried to flee or call for help, it would have alerted the passersby. Yet, twelve people died without a single cry.
  3. Most of the twelve had badges, orders, or commissions hidden in their clothes, revealing them as high-ranking constables, officers, servants, and eunuchs from Department Six,1 the Government Office, or the Inner Court.

Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by a woman's scream. A couple had stumbled upon the scene and were startled by the sight of him crouched among the corpses.

Her screams soon drew a crowd and several constables, but only the dead remained to tell the tale.

A constable, horrified by the massacre, interrogated the couple, "Where's the culprit? Didn't you say that you caught him red-handed?"

The man stammered, "He was right here! Then he just vanished into thin air!"

The woman added, "I saw him…"

The constable cut her off, "Where did he go?"

She gestured with her sleeve, "Just now, he flew up the wall, then jumped over the rooftops…"

The constable blinked in disbelief. He had served Department Six for twenty years and never encountered such a tall tale. How could someone fly up a seven-meter wall?

Meanwhile, the pale-faced tall, thin man blended into the crowd, observing the chaos with an expression colder than ice.

Wang Xiaoshi, light as a feather, climbed onto the inn's roof, hidden in the shadows of the starry, moonless night.

The knife-wielding performers, the irate burly man, the pleasant yet chilling voice, the pretty man in the crowd, the tall and thin man who terrified the entertainers, the corpses in the alley… Just what madness is going on?

Determined to uncover clues, Wang Xiaoshi estimated the street performers' room location and then poked a small hole in a roof tile above it.

Peering through, he saw several burly men and sturdy women gathered in solemn silence. Occasionally, one would stand, sigh, and clench their fists, but no words were exchanged.

Nothing much to see or hear, huh.

Not wanting to waste time, Wang Xiaoshi lifted a tile and tossed it aside. Before it hit the ground, he somersaulted and landed beside the inn's entrance.

CRASH!

As the tile shattered, the men inside shouted, some jumping through windows, others storming out to curse.

Seizing the moment, Wang Xiaoshi slipped into the room and hid in a large wooden closet.

However, as soon as he shut the closet door, a chill ran down his spine. He sensed another's breath close by, unusually slow and even. Normally, anyone's breathing would become irregular with such an intrusion, but this breath remained steady.

There's someone else in here with me? Who could it be?

Alert, Wang Xiaoshi strained his eyes in the pitch-dark, wondering who might be sharing this cramped space with him, he heard the innkeeper and the street buskers talking outside.

"What's going on? What's happening?"

"Nothing much, just a prank."

"What sort of prank?"

"Somebody chucked a roof tile. Thank goodness the street was empty, or it could've hurt someone."

"A tile? Why would anyone throw a tile for no reason?"

"How would I know? That's what we're here to find out."

"This shop's been open for thirteen years, and we've never seen anything like this till you lot showed up," an inn employee grumbled, clearly none too pleased with the presence of these armed and formidable visitors.

"What's that supposed to mean? You think we're causing trouble? Why would we do that?"

"N-No, sometimes the tiles just come loose, probably because of age or rats. Sorry, sorry! Please, forgive us," the old innkeeper pleaded, desperate to smooth things over.

The group of seven or eight burly men sulkily made their way back to their room. The women took positions by the doors and windows, quickly shutting them before gathering near the lamp.

The man with fierce eyebrows slammed his knife onto the table, swearing, "Damn it, if we weren't so tied up, I wouldn't stand for this. I'd kill someone just to let off some steam!"

Wang Xiaoshi held his breath in the closet. The person with him remained silent.

A stern voice commanded, "We're expecting experts from the Six Half Hall headquarters tonight. Any trouble from you, and it's not just your neck on the line, but all of ours. Remember how close you came to attacking someone on the street this afternoon. You need to keep your temper in check!"

Peering through the closet crack, Wang Xiaoshi could see a remarkably fit elderly man with an iron ruler on his hip. Next to him stood a stern woman with the ferocity of a tiger and the gaze of a leopard.

In front of these two, nobody dared sit. Even the one they called Shen Old Seven bowed his head, his hands balled into fists.

After a moment, a man with a rat-like face added, "Old Seven, this is your fault. What's gotten into you? Did you eat shit and get diarrhea? Why else would you anger Master Li?"

Shen Old Seven stayed quiet, his fists clenched so tight his veins bulged.

The elder named Master Li ran his fingers through his sparse gray beard and swept his sharp gaze over everyone. "Is it worth stirring up trouble over a few nobodies? Li Yue, are those three rooms under surveillance?"

Quick as a whip, the rat-faced man responded, "Yes, there are two people on duty outside each room, and there have just been no reports of any unusual activity."

"Hmph, good," Master Li grunted.

Seizing the chance, the rat-faced man continued to curry favor, "Across the three rivers and six provinces, the five lakes and seven seas, who would dare cross Master Li Dan, leader of the Buskers' Guild? And with the ever-gracious Second Madam Li Jiaohong herself here, who would take the risk?"

Li Dan and Li Jiaohong. Wang Xiaoshi searched his memories for those names. He had an excellent recollection of such details and habitually kept track of local martial artists wherever he went. He wasn't sure why he did such a seemingly useless thing, but he felt that one day, this knowledge might prove vital. Whether that day would come, Wang Xiaoshi didn't know at the time, but it seemed that his efforts were now bearing fruit.

In the jianghu, there were not only numerous martial arts sects, but also countless trade guilds. Take the Boatmen's Guild, for example. They only recruited skilled sailors who wouldn't let their boat sink, no matter the circumstances. Against natural disasters, they'd find hidden currents to escape; against pirates, they'd overwhelm them with brute force.

Similarly, those tradesmen and women who lived in the jianghu, whether physicians, fortune tellers, scholars, farmers, artisans, or merchants, all formed their own guilds.

Every guild had its leaders, and Li Dan was the guildmaster of the Buskers' Guild. He and his sister Li Jiaohong were well known in Hubei, not only because they were martial arts experts, but also because they were notoriously ruthless.

That man they called Shen Old Seven was likely the Mountain Tiger, Shen Heng. The rat-faced man was probably the Fox-Skinned Tiger Li Yue, known for his scams around the Yellow Crane Tower.

Regardless of their real identities, in the jianghu, those who were not part of any established sect had, in recent years, joined either the Sunset Drizzle Haven or the Six Half Hall. Each organization carved out its niche, with the Sunset Drizzle Haven bridging trade guilds and civilians, and the Six Half Hall providing a network for vagabonds and freelancers.

The Six Half Hall was led by Lei Sun, revered as "Big Bro" by all its members. Famous for taking thirty-five percent of the members' earnings as a tax, he, in turn, provided sixty-five percent of the Society's support in their times of trouble. It was an incredibly beneficial arrangement for both parties.

The only one who could stand on equal footing with Lei Sun was the master of the Sunset Drizzle Haven, the Scarlet Blade Su Mengzhen.

There was even a saying in the jianghu: "Six Lei Four Su," indicating that while Su Mengzhen might command forty percent of jianghu dwellers, the remaining sixty percent followed Lei Sun.

Next to Li Dan, the burly woman smiled broadly, "Li Yue, no wonder you're climbing the ranks. Your silver tongue is winning everyone over. Soon, you'll be leading the scammers of the jianghu! "

Li Yue grinned. "Second Madam, please don't make fun of me. Leadership demands real martial prowess, and I've only got this mouth of mine. To me, aiming for such a lofty position is like trying to touch the sky."

Li Dan, growing impatient with the flattery, scowled, his face a web of deep lines. "Who from the Six Half Hall is supposed to be here tonight? Why aren't they here yet?"

"From what I hear, at least three are coming, including the Twelfth Hall Master Zhao Tieleng," Li Yue answered cautiously.

Li Dan and his sister gasped in unison, "Zhao Tieleng!?"

Li Yue nodded, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Looks like the Society might have a big job for us."

Li Jiaohong, however, was more reserved. "I'm a little worried," she said.

"What's troubling you?" Li Dan asked, puzzled.

Li Jiaohong replied, "Back in the day, we roamed the jianghu, openly challenging those we disliked, beheading one here, cleaving another there. When up against tough foes, we'd strike from the shadows, and landing even one blow was considered a victory. Now though, we're kidnapping innocent, helpless children, mutilating them, stuffing some into vats, breaking their backs to make them hunched, and even forcing some to mate with animals and give birth to dwarfs, deformed, and half-human creatures.

"It's too cruel. I, Li Jiaohong, wouldn't bat an eyelid at fighting and robbing caravans or killing a dozen in a scuffle, but to ruin innocent kids like this, I can't stomach it. Brother, we have a good reputation in the jianghu. Why do we need to stoop to such vile deeds? If we're exposed, our peers will shun us, and it will tarnish our name. That's why, if the Society tasks us with such things again, we should refuse."

Her words cast a shadow over everyone's faces.

"Have you lost your mind?" Li Dan yelled.

Li Jiaohong, just as angry, screamed back, "What, can't I speak my mind? Don't forget, we've even kidnapped the sole child of Grand Coordinator2 Wen. If this gets out, our entire guild will be implicated. How will you hold onto your authority and position then, Brother?"

Li Dan's face drained of color, the flickering candle casting shifting shadows across his features.

However, the most shocked of all was Wang Xiaoshi.

So, those poor souls were their victims! Why would they do such things? Was it really the Six Half Hall's orders? Why would the Six Half Hall commit such atrocities?

Footnotes:

  1. Department Six (六扇门): The name for the jianghu government's Secret Police, like the FBI and MI5. Maybe I should call it DP6, what do you think? ↩

  2. Grand Coordinator (巡抚): A kind of inspector-general sent by the central government to the provinces to curb corruption and take over as ad hoc provincial-level administrator if need be. ↩

If you see this, you are at the wrong site!