Morning and evening
The two stood their ground, staring at each other for a long time, until Lie Changkong was the first to give in.
He gazed at the dawn on the horizon and urged, "Gentlemen, if you're going to fight, then fight quickly. I still need to return to report to my junior master."
At this moment, he was almost certain that Mo Yimingyue was no match for A Qiu.
However, the key issue today is not whether A Qiu can defeat Mo Yimingyue, but whether Mo Yimingyue will report this matter to Wan Qiqing, which in turn will affect whether A Qiu will be regarded as a traitor by Lanling Hall.
But this was beyond the influence of a mere junior master charioteer like him; only Gu Yi could intervene.
Mo Yimingyue stared at A Qiu for a long while, her expression darkening slightly as she asked, "A Qiu, are you truly determined to do this?"
A-Qiu didn't speak, but just looked at him and nodded.
Mo Yimingyue asked again, "Is it because of Gu Yi?"
A-Qiu thought for a moment, then tilted her head and said, "It's because of him, but not entirely. Senior brother, which of us three siblings doesn't have secrets? Doesn't our eldest brother have anything he's hiding from Master? Don't you?"
From childhood to adulthood, they covered for each other in front of their master, engaging in petty theft, sneaking around at night, and other mischief. Their master, Wan Qiqing, would often just laugh it off and let them play tricks in front of him.
Even as he grew up, despite revering his master as much as his senior brother, he still had his own inner thoughts and actions that were unknown to others.
Mo Yimingyue wasn't entirely without his master's knowledge; the manpower and strength he had deployed in the north surpassed even that of Gu Yi's junior charioteers. Allowing Xingfeng Hall to grow so powerful was probably not Wan Qiqing's original intention.
However, neither A Qiu nor Gong Yixiu mentioned a single word about it to Wan Qiqing.
Mo Yimingyue may have his own selfish motives, but those motives have no direct relation to his loyalty to his master.
Growing up means taking on more responsibility, some from bloodline and ethnicity, some from family. They are no longer the big kids who only had each other and their master.
Mo Yimingyue's expression hardened slightly at her question, but he did not waver. He looked deeply at A Qiu and said, "That's different. Our relationship with Master is different from yours. Even your significance to us is different from that of others."
He hesitated for a moment, then said, "If I were to put it more clearly, anyone can betray their master, but you are the only one who cannot."
These words struck like lightning, like a thunderbolt hitting A-Qiu's head.
She didn't have time to think about the meaning behind those words, and could only smile bitterly and say, "Senior Brother Mo Yi, the bond between fellow disciples and the kindness of our sect will never change in my heart."
Mo Yimingyue smiled faintly, a sharp glint in her eyes, and said, "To prove this point, our hall now needs you to do something."
He disregarded the fact that Lie Changkong was also present; he clearly wanted A Qiu to state his position.
A Qiu knew that this senior brother, though seemingly unconcerned with details, was actually shrewd and capable, arguably the most difficult person in the hall to deceive. He immediately became fully alert and said, "Please enlighten me, senior brother."
Mo Yimingyue looked at her and said, word by word, "I want you to assassinate Pei Yuanli."
Upon hearing this, both Lie Changkong and A Qiu were as if doused with a bucket of ice water, extremely surprised and taken aback.
Pei Yuanli is a high-ranking official in the court and the most powerful person in the military. Whether Gu Yi or Lie Changkong likes him or not, they cannot simply kill him.
Because the consequences are difficult to control.
If Pei Yuanli dies, there will be no one to control the hundreds of thousands of Jianzhang soldiers in the capital, and no one knows what will happen.
Mo Yimingyue looked at A Qiu, a barely perceptible bitterness flashing across her face, and smiled, "Our little A Qiu has grown up."
If she were still the same A Qiu from back then, she would have simply taken a dagger and stabbed whoever her sect ordered her to kill, instead of having so many complex emotions on her face now.
So what if Pei Yuanli is dead? So what if the Jianzhang Army is in chaos? What does it have to do with Lanling Hall?
All of A Qiu's emotional fluctuations at this moment were simply because she was unconsciously viewing the matter from Gu Yi's perspective.
Is the influence one person has on another truly so subtle and gradual, happening day and night?
Mo Yimingyue sighed inwardly, yet knew she had to bring A Qiu back to her senses.
She didn't want to be a pawn of her sect anymore, nor could she be a pawn of Gu Yi.
A mocking smile played on his lips as he said, "This mission was originally yours, but because you lost your inner strength at the time, I temporarily accepted it, but I never had the chance to do it. Now that Junior Sister has recovered her strength, it's time to return it to you."
A-Qiu opened her mouth as if to say something, but couldn't utter a word.
The disciples of Lanling Hall advance and retreat together, and are essentially one entity. Therefore, there is no reason why she cannot take on a task that Mo Yimingyue can handle.
Mo Yimingyue glanced at her again and said with a smile, "This task should not conflict with Gu Yi's intentions and should not make things too difficult for you. Because you know the person who sent this order to Lanling Hall."
While A-Qiu was still in a daze, he asked without thinking, "Who is it?"
Mo Yimingyue said, word by word, "Xiao Chang'an, one of the Four Flying Phoenix Guards."
Mo Yimingyue's words rang in her ears: "Xiao Chang'an had been following Gu Yi's orders to stay by Li Chongyu's side in Jiangbei. Therefore, the killing of Pei Yuanli should have been an agreement between Li Chongyu and the court. However, it was inconvenient for people in the court to take action, so it was handed over to us Jianghu people to do it."
He chuckled briefly and said, "You should have guessed who I'm talking about."
The truth is that whoever killed Pei Yuanli will inevitably face the revenge of Pei Yu and his wife, Mu Huaying, the two generations of Fei Feng.
Mo Yimingyue's every word touched on Lie Changkong, and every word conveyed the same meaning.
Gu Yi dug his own hole, so he has to fill it himself.
Lanling Hall is not so easy to exploit, and Shenbing Hall is even less easy to turn.
If you want to poach someone from Wan Qiqing's team, you first have to get past Mo Yimingyue.
He said meaningfully, "Tell your young master that it's impossible to keep things in limbo indefinitely. Many people would love to see chaos arise, so the young master should make a decision sooner rather than later."
On the way back to Jinlingtai, A Qiu's expression remained solemn, without a trace of a smile.
Lie Changkong followed silently behind her, without uttering a word. Anyone who accepted the mission to assassinate Pei Yuanli wouldn't be in a good mood.
Of all the things that happened tonight, he was the most shocked.
Gu Yi only summoned him and instructed him to accompany A Qiu on a trip to deliver a message. However, he never expected that the first thing he would have to do was to stand guard for A Qiu in his solo fight against the Thirteen Shadow Warriors.
Lie Changkong had faced assassins and killers before, but he had never seen such a lopsided situation of one against thirteen. A Qiu forced back the twelve shadow warriors with a single sword strike, while simultaneously restraining Scorpion Shadow under "Assassinate Qin." In a single move, he witnessed firsthand the terrifying power of the King of Assassins, who could take the head of a general from a million-strong army as easily as taking something out of a bag.
Prior to this, he had never paid much attention to Gu Yi, this female disciple who came from a musical and dance background. Even though he had heard that she was the current chief dancer of the Music Bureau, he had not taken it to heart.
Now, he seemed to understand why Gu Yi, who was aloof and detached from worldly affairs, had chosen A Qiu as his successor among the many talented young people in the Southern Dynasty.
The master of the Divine Weapon Hall of Lanling Hall, the top-ranked "Jing Ke" on the Immortal Exile List, is naturally a rare Qilin and Dragon-Phoenix, a phenomenon that occurs only once every hundred years.
The second thing was that he encountered Mo Yimingyue, the famous and decisive leader of the Lanling Hall. To be honest, Mo Yimingyue's reputation in the martial arts world is now even greater than that of her senior brother, the Jade-Faced Marquis, and her junior sister, "Jing Ke".
After Gongyi Xiu retreated into the imperial court, he rarely appeared again. The same was true for A Qiu.
He controlled all land and water transportation in the world, and possessed a vast intelligence network spanning north and south, like a net covering the earth and the sky. Even a junior master charioteer would never want to offend such a person.
But A Qiu took over the mission to assassinate Pei Yuanli from him.
This is a matter between fellow disciples, and outsiders shouldn't interfere. However, Pei Yuanli's position is far too important, and it's at a sensitive time with Li Chongyu about to arrive in the capital. It could easily escalate into a full-blown mutiny.
Lie Changkong coughed and was about to speak tentatively when he saw A Qiu stop and turn to look at him, saying, "Young Master Lie, could you do me a favor?"
Lie Changkong also stopped and looked back at A Qiu, saying, "Please speak, young lady."
A Qiu said, "Could you please refrain from mentioning to the Junior Tutor that I need to assassinate Pei Yuanli around the time Li Chongyu arrives in the capital?"
Lie Changkong almost choked. He said tactfully, "Miss, this is a serious matter."
He pondered for a moment and said, "Let alone whether you can escape alive from Pei Yu and Mu Huaying after assassinating Pei Yuanli, Pei Yuanli's death will surely shake the capital. If the power he left behind cannot be smoothly transferred, it will inevitably cause a coup or even a forced abdication."
The more he thought about it, the more remarkable it seemed, and he earnestly said, "The young master needs time to devise a solution."
A-Qiu said blankly, "But if you tell him now, he will either stop me or do it for me. Either way, it will only increase the pressure on him right now."
Lie Changkong thought about it and agreed. Given Gu Yi's personality, he would definitely handle this personally. He could either keep an eye on A Qiu to prevent her from making a move, but where would he find the time to watch over her every day?
A Qiu looked at Lie Changkong and said in a deep voice, "Before I make my move, I will inform the young master so that he has enough time to plan calmly."
Lie Changkong immediately asked, "What about your safety?"
Lie Changkong once personally went to the Pei residence to retrieve the person. Not to mention that the Pei residence was impeccably guarded, Pei Yuanli himself was also a highly skilled martial artist. Although he was no match for A Qiu, as long as time was delayed and either Madam Pei or Pei Yu was alerted, A Qiu would be in deep trouble.
Ah Qiu composed himself and said with a forced smile, "Don't worry, it's not like this is the first time I've done something like this."
After a moment's hesitation, Lie Changkong finally made up his mind and said, "If you go, take me with you. I've been to the Pei residence before and am quite familiar with the terrain."
He said only this one sentence, then led the way without looking back.
A Qiu was taken aback.
As a Junior Master of the Imperial Guard, Lie Changkong was practically a member of the court, yet he willingly risked his life to accompany her in assassinating Pei Yuanli. This favor was considerable. Regardless of success or failure, they would face retribution from Madam Pei and Pei Yu.
However, he was probably still acting on Gu Yi's orders to ensure the safety of her, the only successor of the young master.
It was already late at night at Jinlingtai, but Gu Yi's room was still brightly lit.
A Qiu knew that Gu Yi must be waiting for her, and immediately wanted to follow Lie Changkong inside. However, when Lie Changkong reached the door, he stopped and turned back to look at her, saying, "I won't go in. Miss, you can go and report the results to the Junior Master."
A Qiu agreed and was about to go in when she suddenly heard Lie Changkong's soft voice beside her ear.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
