Chapter 44: Heaven and Earth Net, Sword Pointing at Candle Shadow
Su Qinghan was placed under house arrest.
The murky waters that followed were no longer something she could wade through alone. When her opponent was a prince of the current dynasty, and when the organization involved was the legendary Tianji Pavilion, her personal bravery and wisdom seemed as insignificant as dust.
Only by mobilizing the state machinery and setting up a real dragnet can we drag these giant crocodiles lurking in the abyss into the sunlight and take a glimpse of their true nature.
During the days when Su Qinghan was forced to "rest", the entire Six Gates headquarters, this huge and sophisticated violence machine, began to operate at an unprecedented high speed and efficiency.
Tie Wuqing's study became the epicenter of the storm. Secret orders emanated from there, reaching out like invisible tentacles to every corner of the capital. Countless spies, detectives, clerks, and coroners, all focused on the "Su Zhenting case," and began a relentless investigation.
Tie Wuqing divided the investigation into two main lines and took a two-pronged approach.
The front line is led by the "Mole" team, the Six Gates' most skilled trackers of funds and secrets. Their primary focus is finance. Their mission is to reconstruct the suspicious financial flows of all the powerful in Beijing, both before and after Su Zhenting's assassination. This is a massive undertaking, tantamount to searching for a needle in a haystack.
The other line, led by the most experienced coroner, "Old Song," focuses on the body. Rather than exhuming the coffin for an autopsy, they trawl through archived documents, re-examining and analyzing Su Zhenting's remains and on-site investigation records, hoping to uncover more clues about the fatal sword strike.
Two teams, one tracking the whereabouts of the money, the other tracing the source of the blood, with only one goal: to uncover the real culprit hidden in the fog.
Inside the "Mole" group's housing complex, the lights were on all day, the clacking of abacuses and the rustling of papers almost non-stop. The air was filled with the musty smell of old account books and the distinct exhaustion of someone who'd pulled an all-nighter.
They reviewed all the accounts from the Ministry of Revenue, the Imperial Household Department, the major banks in the capital, and even some semi-public underground banks dating back five years. The mountain of files nearly filled the room.
The team leader is an unremarkable middle-aged man, nicknamed "Shopkeeper Qian". He has eyes as sharp as an eagle's, and any slight mistake in numbers cannot escape his notice.
Three days and three nights passed with little progress. All the large capital flows had legitimate reasons, no loopholes could be found.
"Boss, could it be that we're going in the wrong direction?" a young spy asked hoarsely, rubbing his red eyes. "Perhaps the other party didn't use money at all, but rather some kind of favor or power?"
Shopkeeper Qian shook his head, his fingers tapping lightly on the pile of account books, making a dull sound. "The Tianji Pavilion is the world's number one assassin organization. They only care about money, not favors. This is their rule, and the foundation of their survival. Whenever the Tianji Pavilion takes action, there will be money involved, but... this money is hidden very well."
He picked up a file and squinted his eyes. "Check! Don't just focus on the bad accounts that are obviously problematic. Check the accounts that look the cleanest and most flawless! The more flawless they are, the more likely they are to be hiding something!"
Under his instructions, the moles changed their strategy and began to screen out those "normal" transactions.
Another day and night passed, and the young spy suddenly let out a cry of surprise.
"Boss! Look at this!"
Shopkeeper Qian immediately came over. It was a purchase record from the Ning Prince's Palace's internal affairs office. The record showed that a month before Su Zhenting's assassination, the Ning Prince's Palace had paid a whopping 300,000 taels of silver to an antique shop in the south of the city called "Duobaozhai" for a batch of bronze artifacts from the previous dynasty.
"Three hundred thousand taels...for a pile of junk?" the young spy exclaimed in amazement. "Prince Ning is incredibly wealthy."
"That's not right." Shopkeeper Qian's eyes suddenly sharpened. "Prince Ning may appear gentle and refined, but he's actually a calculating shrew, and definitely not a pretentious fool. He might spend money on antiques, but he definitely wouldn't spend three hundred thousand taels on a bunch of bronze artifacts whose names can't even be clearly described. This account is too clean, so clean that it seems like it was done on purpose for us to see."
He immediately ordered, "Investigate! Thoroughly investigate this 'Duobaozhai'!"
Half a day later, the results came back.
Duobaozhai, ostensibly a well-known antique shop in Beijing, is actually a massive underground bank, according to Six Gates' black market informants. It specializes in providing funds transfer and laundering services for shady transactions, maintaining a high reputation and maintaining strict confidentiality.
"Pry out all the secret accounts of Duobaozhai for the past ten years!" Shopkeeper Qian's eyes gleamed with excitement. "Even if it's an iron box, we 'moles' will drill a hole in it!"
This is undoubtedly a difficult task. But for the Six Gates, there is no mouth that cannot be pried open, and no account book that cannot be dug out.
Under the drastic measures of both soft and hard tactics of the Six Gates, the shopkeeper of Duobaozhai finally handed over a secret account book that had been soaked in a special potion and could not be preserved by ordinary ink.
When Manager Qian used a special developer to slowly make the words on the account book emerge, everyone held their breath.
In that account book, they found the final destination of the 300,000 taels of silver from Prince Ning's Mansion five years ago.
The name of the payee is a code name.
A code name that made all the Six Gates agents present gasp in shock—
"Heavenly secret".
This is exactly the code name of the master of Tianji Pavilion.
After further investigation, they were shocked to find that one of the many businesses of this underground bank disguised as an antique shop was to serve as one of the secret payment points of Tianji Pavilion throughout the world.
Prince Ning and Tianji Pavilion.
Money and blood.
These two seemingly unrelated clues were finally tied together through this thin account book after five years!
At the same time, at the other end of the Six Gates Headquarters, in the archive room next to the morgue.
It's cold and damp here, and the air is always filled with a strange smell mixed with formaldehyde and stale paper.
Chief Coroner Lao Song had been here for five days. Instead of looking at the bloody new cases, he immersed himself in a pile of old papers, repeatedly studying a yellowed file.
File number: Jiazi 73. Deceased: Su Zhenting.
In front of Old Song was a human body diagram drawn based on the records of that year, with the fatal wound clearly marked on it.
"A single sword pierced the heart, clean and sharp." Old Song, wearing reading glasses, used a thin silver needle to mark the wound on the drawing. "The wound is smooth, less than an inch wide, yet deep enough to penetrate the entire heart. This shows that the blade of the murder weapon was extremely narrow and extremely sharp."
"What's more important is this," he said, pointing to the skin around the wound. "The records say there's no trace of tearing or bruising around the wound. This means the sword was thrust in and out at an incredible speed! So fast that the victim's muscles and blood vessels didn't have time to react."
A young coroner nearby gasped, "Is there really such a fast sword in the world?"
"Yes," Old Song said firmly, "but it's definitely not a sword technique that an ordinary martial artist can master. This sword technique has already transcended the realm of 'techniques'. It exists for only one purpose - to kill. To kill in the shortest possible time, using the most effective method, with a single strike."
He put down the drawings and picked up the on-site investigation records from that year.
"The crime took place in the bamboo forest outside the city. There were no signs of a struggle at the scene. The two guards surrounding Minister Su were both killed in a single blow, without even having time to draw their weapons."
"This shows that the assassin's stealth ability has reached a ghostly level. He can approach his target silently and unleash a thundering attack without the opponent even noticing. The entire process may only take a moment."
Old Song stood up and paced slowly, connecting all the clues in his mind.
1. The weapon used is an extremely narrow and sharp short sword or dagger.
2. The sword technique pursues the ultimate speed and penetration, with one strike being fatal and no unnecessary movements.
3. The skill of lightness or stealth has reached the highest level, and one can kill people silently.
"I've been a coroner my entire life, and I've examined more corpses than you've eaten salt." Old Song looked at his young men and said in a deep voice, "I've seen sword wounds from all sorts of martial arts schools. The lightness of Huashan swordsmanship, the lingering length of Wudang swordsmanship, the heaviness of Songshan swordsmanship... but none of them look like this."
He paused, his tone becoming extremely serious: "This kind of martial arts is unheard of in the entire martial arts world. It doesn't belong to any famous and upright sect, nor does it seem to be the evil skills of the demonic cult. It can only have one possible source -"
Old Song walked to the window, looked at the six-doored building outside, and said word by word:
"From the most mysterious and powerful assassin organization that exists solely for killing—the Tianji Pavilion."
The two reports were placed on Tie Wuqing's desk almost at the same time.
One is money, pointing to Prince Ning and leading to Tianji Pavilion.
One is a sword, pointing to an ultimate killing technique, and also leads to Tianji Pavilion.
Tie Wuqing sat in his armchair, silent. He first read the report from the "Gopher" team, a layer of frost covering his iron-cast face. When he picked up Old Song's autopsy analysis report, his fingers trembled slightly.
Not out of fear, but out of anger.
A raging rage that had been suppressed for five years finally found an outlet!
"Prince Ning... what a gentle and virtuous prince!" Tie Wuqing roared in anger, slamming his fist on the table, causing the pens, inkstones, and inkstones to jump. "In order to eliminate dissidents, he actually colluded with an assassination organization and murdered important officials of the court! His heart is worthy of death!"
He stood up and paced back and forth in the room, the murderous aura on his body almost condensing into substance.
The accounts of Prince Ning’s Mansion and the money of Tianji Pavilion.
Fatal sword marks and ghostly movements.
All chains of evidence are perfectly closed at this moment.
He walked to a secret compartment on the wall and pulled out an even older secret record. This record contained records of battles between the masters of the Six Gates and the most dangerous figures in the martial arts world.
He turned to the last few pages, which contained scattered information about the "Tianji Pavilion".
One of the pages clearly read:
"The chief assassin of the Tianji Pavilion, codenamed 'Zhu Ying'. His identity is a mystery, and no one has ever seen his true face. His martial arts are characterized by his swift movements and lightning-fast sword strikes, specifically designed for assassination. His weapon is rumored to be a narrow-bladed short sword named 'Moment'. Whenever he strikes, no one survives. Hence the saying: When Zhu Ying appears, the King of Hell begins his feast."
Tie Wuqing's fingers pressed heavily on the two words "Zhuying".
It’s him!
It can’t be wrong!
Only the chief assassin of Tianji Pavilion is worthy of the sky-high price of three hundred thousand taels of silver.
Only the legendary "Candle Shadow" has such mysterious and unpredictable means!
The mystery is finally solved.
He took a deep breath, calmed his agitated mood, and then shouted to the outside of the door: "Someone, go and ask Constable Su to come over quickly."
When Su Qinghan walked into the study again, she could clearly sense a change in the atmosphere. Although Tie Wuqing's expression remained as sullen as ever, his eyes now held a sharp, resolute edge, as if he were about to capture his prey.
"Qinghan, sit down." Tie Wuqing pointed to the chair opposite.
Su Qinghan sat down as she was told. She knew that there must be a result.
Tie Wuqing didn't keep anyone in suspense. He pushed the two reports in front of Su Qinghan.
"See for yourself."
Su Qinghan picked up the report and read it word for word. Her hands, steady at first, trembled slightly, and then clenched tightly, her knuckles turning white from the force.
Prince Ning's Mansion... Duobaozhai... Three Hundred Thousand Taels... Tianji Pavilion...
Deadly sword marks... ghostly movements... Chief Assassin...
Every word was like a heavy hammer, hammering down on her heart. Five years of confusion, pursuit, pain, and unwillingness all had clear and cruel answers in this moment.
"So..." She raised her head, her eyes burning with flames of revenge, her voice a little hoarse from the extreme hatred, "The one who hired the murder was Prince Ning. The one who did it was an assassin from the Tianji Pavilion."
"That's right." Tie Wuqing's voice was as cold as iron, "Also, I have already locked down the identity of the person who did it."
He turned the ancient secret record to the page of "Candle Shadow" and placed it in front of Su Qinghan.
"The number one assassin in Tianji Pavilion, codename: Zhuying."
Su Qinghan's gaze was fixed on those two words.
"Candle Shadow"...
This name seemed to carry an inherent darkness and bloodiness. Like an icy venomous snake, it instantly entangled her heart, focusing all her love, hate, and vengeance on this one point.
It was he who killed his own father.
It was he who destroyed his family and made him bear a deep blood feud for five years.
Her only thought now was to find the murderer named "Zhuying" and use his blood to pay tribute to her father's spirit in heaven!
"Godfather," she stood up and bowed deeply to Tie Wuqing, "I beg you to kill this man!"
Tie Wuqing looked into her eyes, which were ignited by hatred, and slowly shook his head. He sighed and said, "Qinghan, this man is a legendary top assassin who has never been defeated. The Six Gates will deal with him, but not now, and not in this way. You..."
"I can't wait!" Su Qinghan suddenly interrupted him, his eyes flashing with paranoia and madness. "Prince Ning is the monarch, and he is his subject. His crimes will be judged by the laws of the country. But this 'Zhuying', the executioner, the blood debt on his hands must be personally avenged by me!"
She didn't know that the "candle shadow" that she wanted to eat his flesh and sleep on his skin at this moment was the "dark night" that had made a promise with her for the rest of her life.
She didn't even know that when she made this bloody oath, the noose of fate had already quietly been put around the necks of both her and Shen Ye.
She only knew that from today on, she only had one purpose in life.
Find "Candle Shadow" and then kill him.
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