Chapter 5: Replaying the Mission, Still Feeling Fearful
Returning to the "Youquan" group's secret base in Yangzhou, Su Qinghan removed the veil covering her face, revealing a beautiful and elegant face. While tending to minor injuries sustained during the retreat, she mentally replayed the entire assassination attempt. Every detail had been perfect, yet that mysterious companion had completely thwarted it in the simplest of ways.
The stronghold is located in the basement of an abandoned winery. The air is filled with a lingering musty smell mixed with the pungent smell of low-quality alcohol. This is the temporary hall of "Youquan", and those gathered here are all desperate people who live on the edge of a knife.
Su Qinghan found a secluded corner and sat down, completely at odds with the surrounding clamor. Several assassins, fresh from completing low-level missions, gathered together, vulgarly boasting about their "achievements" and gambling with spit flying. The stagnant air was filled with the stench of sweat and blood.
No one dared to disturb her.
In the "Youquan" organization, where strength and achievements reign supreme, "Feiyue" stands out. She possesses a high success rate and a ruthless demeanor, yet she is also aloof and unsympathetic. No one knows her origins, only that she emerged like a gust of wind, quickly establishing her position within the organization with her highly effective assassination techniques. Her aloofness, interpreted by these desperate individuals as a master's quirk, only adds a touch of mystery and majesty to her.
Su Qinghan was so accustomed to these people's gazes that she didn't even bother to distinguish whether they expressed awe, covetousness, or jealousy. She dipped a clean cloth in water and carefully wiped a scratch on her arm. It had been scratched by a broken tile from the eaves during the retreat, when she dodged an arrow. The wound wasn't deep, but the momentary thrill left a burning mark on her heart like a branding iron.
She slowly closed her eyes, completely shutting out the outside noise. The entire layout of the Governor's Mansion, like a sand table simulation, emerged clearly in her mind.
She had been preparing for tonight's operation for ten full days.
From the architectural blueprints of the Governor's Mansion to the rotation schedules and patrol routes of each guard team, and even Governor Wei De's own habits, she knew everything. She knew when security was most relaxed, which rockery had blind spots, and she even calculated that Wei De would enter his study alone at 12:30 pm to deal with his shady accounts.
The plan was flawless.
Her infiltration went as smoothly as she'd rehearsed. Her "treading on snow without leaving a trace" skill allowed her to slip silently over the high walls like a falling leaf, avoiding all visible and covert sentries. She even had time to mock the self-proclaimed elite guards, who were nothing more than a bunch of drunkards.
As she crouched on the rockery opposite Wentao Pavilion, taking in everything in the study, a sense of complete confidence filled her heart. She watched the fat, pig-like Governor of the Grand Canal, accompanied by his trusted advisor, lock a thick account book into a rosewood box.
That was her secondary objective. According to intelligence from Youquan and the Six Gates, this ledger documented Wei De's financial dealings with a prominent figure in the capital, providing crucial evidence to bring him down. However, the Six Gates needed a complete chain of evidence, and they refrained from alerting the enemy without absolute certainty. Therefore, Tie Wuqing's instructions were: act according to circumstances, prioritizing obtaining the ledger. If no such opportunity arose, they would assassinate him with swift force, creating chaos and deterring the forces behind him. Youquan's mission, however, was much simpler; the file contained only one name: "Wei De."
Su Qinghan chose assassination because she judged that stealing a heavy box in the heavily guarded Governor's Mansion would be much more difficult than assassinating a living person.
She waited patiently until the master also bowed and left, leaving Wei De alone in the study.
The opportunity has come!
She mobilized all her internal energy, concentrating it at her fingertips. A poison-infused "three-inch nail" was poised for release, her murderous intent firmly locked onto Wei De's back. She could even imagine that in the next breath, this corrupt official, a disaster for the country and its people, would fall silently, unnoticed until the next morning.
However, just as she was about to make a move——
"jingle--!"
The crisp sound of the copper bell was like a basin of ice water, extinguishing all her murderous intent and confidence from head to toe.
Thinking back on it now, Su Qinghan still felt a chill down his spine.
That's not a coincidence.
The timing of the stone's appearance was precise, to the millimeter. A moment earlier, she would have had the strength to withdraw; a moment later, and her "three-inch nail" would have already left her hand, completely exposing her regardless of success or failure. The opponent chose to strike at the critical moment when her spirit and internal strength had reached their peak, about to release.
What a terrifying insight and timing this requires!
Even more humiliating was the fact that the other party had never appeared. He was like a chess player hidden behind the scenes, casually placing a single piece and instantly disrupting the entire game, leaving her, the piece poised for a "check," in a precarious position.
She became bait, a foolish bait that attracted all the firepower of the Governor's Palace.
The real hunter took advantage of the fact that everyone's attention was drawn to her and calmly took away what he wanted.
Su Qinghan suddenly opened her eyes, and a frightening cold light flashed in her beautiful eyes. She remembered the scene she saw when she turned around for the last time.
That blue-black afterimage.
That wasn't Qinggong, at least not in the sense she understood it. Her "Treading Snow Without a Trace" technique was about nimbleness, grace, and a soundless landing. But that figure, on the other hand, felt like... "disappearance."
It was as if he wasn't moving, but rather switching between two different spatial nodes. Under the moonlight, his figure didn't even leave a coherent trajectory, only a vague starting point and an equally vague ending point.
She had only seen a similar description of this kind of body movement in the most confidential files of the Six Gates. According to legend, the top assassin organization "Tianji Pavilion" and its chief assassin "Zhuying" possessed a peerless light skill called "Fleeting Light and Shadows", which allowed him to move between light and shadow like a ghost, unstoppable.
Could it be him?
This thought made Su Qinghan's heart beat violently uncontrollably.
Tianji Pavilion!
It's the most mysterious and powerful assassin organization in the Jianghu, a group that values money over relationships. Legend has it they'd even kill the emperor if they paid the price. For years, the Six Gates have attempted to infiltrate and investigate the Tianji Pavilion, but they've been unable to locate even its main gate, and all their spies have never returned.
If tonight's opponent is really from Tianji Pavilion, then the nature of the matter will change completely.
Wei De, the governor of the Grand Canal, is in a high position of power and knows many secrets of the nobles in the capital. Therefore, the person who hired him must be the "noble" behind Wei De.
The other party's target is the account book.
This shows that a political struggle at a higher level has reached the stage where the truth is revealed.
Su Qinghan's mind raced, connecting the dots. From the outset, her revenge was more than a simple vendetta. Her father, Su Zhenting, had held the position of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, a man of integrity who managed the nation's finances, hindering countless lives. When he was assassinated, the scene was equally clean, the murderer seemingly vanishing. The court investigated for a long time, but ultimately the case was left unsolved.
Could it be... that it was also the Tianji Pavilion that assassinated my father back then?
This horrible inference, like a poisonous snake, tightly wrapped around her heart, making it almost impossible for her to breathe.
If this is true, then what a behemoth the enemy she will face will be!
"Feiyue, the hall master is looking for you." A hoarse voice sounded beside her, interrupting her thoughts.
Su Qinghan looked up and saw a man with a face full of flesh standing before her, his eyes filled with undisguised inquiry. He was the head of the Youquan branch in Yangzhou, known as "Tu Hai."
Su Qinghan slowly stood up and put on the veil again, covering the face that could cause any chaos. Her voice returned to the coldness that belonged to "Fei Yue": "What's the matter?"
"You failed the Governor's Office mission." Tu Hai's tone was questioning. "This is the first time you've failed since your debut as Feiyue, right? Your employer is very dissatisfied."
"There was an accident." Su Qinghan said briefly and didn't want to explain any more.
"Accident?" Tu Hai sneered. "I heard that you weren't very skilled, and someone discovered your tracks early, alerting the enemy. Not only did you fail the mission, you almost lost your life there. If you hadn't run so fast, your body would be cold by now!"
Su Qinghan's eyes suddenly turned cold, and an invisible murderous aura spread out. The assassins around him, who had been making a lot of noise, subconsciously quieted down, as if they were cicadas in fear.
Tu Hai was startled by her gaze, but relying on his position as the hall master, he still said, "Don't look at me like that! Youquan has its own rules. If you fail a mission, you will be punished. Go to the punishment hall and receive twenty lashes."
Su Qinghan didn't say anything, just looked at him quietly.
Just when the atmosphere was tense to the extreme, she suddenly restrained all her murderous intent and said lightly: "Okay."
After saying that, she turned around and walked towards the punishment hall.
This swift and decisive response left Tu Hai, who had prepared a lot of things to say, completely stunned. He had expected Fei Yue to argue, perhaps even fight back, based on her past achievements. He had even prepared a backup plan. He hadn't expected her to give in so easily.
Looking at her lonely and resolute figure, Tu San felt a chill in his heart for no apparent reason. He felt that tonight's failure seemed to make this woman even more dangerous.
Su Qinghan was certainly not afraid of punishment.
Twenty lashes were nothing more than a physical pain for her. She simply didn't want to waste her energy on such a meaningless matter. More importantly, she needed a plausible reason for her "failure" to conceal the existence of that mysterious master. She couldn't let the people of "Dark Spring" know that there was another, even more terrifying assassin in the Governor's Mansion.
This is her own clue, and she must guard it alone.
Who was that person? His goal was clearly not the Governor's. His elusive nature made her doubt her prideful stealth and tracking abilities for the first time. This underworld was even more complex than she had imagined.
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