Several days later.
The poisoning incident at the Painted Eyebrow Hall banquet gradually spread. People in jianghu talked enthusiastically about the killer who often wore a mask and offered ten thousand taels of silver for lives, while the fact that the master of Myriad Apertures Studio was so young also caused quite a sensation. Yu Qifeng absolutely refused to mention that day’s events. After Tang Lici and his companion left, the people of Yanmen didn’t notice anything amiss and praised Tang Lici highly as a modest gentleman who, despite being the noble master of Myriad Apertures Studio, was willing to contribute to the greater cause of jianghu.
On Purple Flower Path, green grass grew luxuriantly. At the end of this Purple Flower Path stood a stone tower built of large white stones, carved with many human heads that looked lifelike and quite eerie and terrifying to behold. Tang Lici and Chi Yun stood outside the tower waiting. Earlier, fifty thousand taels of gold had been transported from the Dian City money house and just carried into the tower. Tang Lici had put forth the offer to hire Shen Langhun for a full year, and the master of Forlorn Tower had already agreed. Now they were just waiting to meet the person.
“The way you’re buying him, it’s more like you’re keeping a concubine,” Chi Yun said lazily, looking up at the stone tower of Forlorn Tower. “How can such a small stone tower house many people?” Tang Lici smiled as he examined the tower up and down, “There must be hidden mysteries within.” As they spoke, they suddenly saw the tower door slowly open, and one person walked out with steady steps, pausing with each step.
So there really were people in the world who looked like this. Chi Yun laughed mockingly. This person was about thirty years old, with a pale complexion, neither tall nor short, neither fat nor thin, with extremely ordinary features. If not for a peculiarly shaped, bright red snake branded on his right cheek, he would have been the perfect choice for an undercover agent—even if you saw him ten times, you definitely wouldn’t remember him. However, the red snake on Shen Langhun’s face was quite unique—not a winding snake or a coiled snake, but a small red snake with its head biting its tail, forming a circular ring. When Tang Lici caught sight of it, his expression changed slightly, his eyes becoming indescribably strange and complex. After a pause, he smiled, “Brother Shen’s great name thunders like thunder—I’ve long admired you.”
“What matter?” Shen Langhun spoke, his voice as plain and unremarkable as his appearance. His eyes looked straight at Tang Lici with a dim, lackluster gaze. Tang Lici said, “I request Brother Shen’s assistance to capture someone alive.” Shen Langhun asked coldly, “Who?”
“Yu Qifeng.” Tang Lici smiled slightly. “If Brother Shen has any concerns…” Shen Langhun said flatly, “None.” Tang Lici said, “That’s good. You and I shall set out immediately. From today, you and I are friends. This is ‘Sky Cloud’ Chi Yun.” Shen Langhun’s eyes flashed with light for just an instant, becoming dazzlingly bright, “So you’re Chi Yun.” Chi Yun struck out like lightning, chopping with one palm toward Shen Langhun’s neck. Shen Langhun dodged slightly and blocked horizontally with his palm. Both men felt their wrists go numb and sore. Chi Yun laughed heartily while Shen Langhun’s expression remained unchanged. After exchanging one move, both men developed respect for their opponent and secretly praised the other’s skill. Tang Lici clapped his hands twice, and people behind them brought up three large sedan chairs. Shen Langhun was slightly stunned—he had been a killer for quite some time and had seen all kinds of strange characters, but he had never seen anyone use an eight-bearer sedan chair to carry him to a fight. Seeing Tang and Chi boarding their sedans, he immediately stepped into the chair and sat down. He felt the sedan being steadily lifted and moving forward. The bearers had considerable arm strength, and the interior was decorated with emerald green silk and hung with bright pearls—extremely luxurious.
The three sedan chairs slowly left Purple Flower Gorge and turned toward Dian City.
In Dian City, there was a money house called “Wan Xin”—Xin meaning three golds. The owner of the money house was surnamed Huang and named Sanjin. Huang Sanjin’s money house didn’t belong to Myriad Apertures Studio but was a business friend of Tang Lici’s. Though the name “Huang Sanjin” was crude, she was undoubtedly a woman.
Inside Wan Xin Money House, Tang Lici’s party of three was drinking tea with Huang Sanjin. This woman, quite famous in Dian City, had charming features and fair skin, wearing golden dress and skirt that didn’t match her name at all. She giggled and said, “Young Master Tang withdrawing money from my place is my honor—how could it be troublesome? I’m just afraid this crude tea water of mine isn’t to Young Master Tang’s taste.” Tang Lici smiled, “Miss Huang is too kind. Even if the tea is crude, having your company is like being bathed in spring breeze.” Huang Sanjin laughed charmingly, “You’re quite wicked at heart, clearly saying my tea isn’t good but taking a roundabout way to praise my beauty. Unfortunately, I happen to like bad men like you, hehe…” She glanced around at Chi Yun and Shen Langhun with flirtatious eyes, her mouth corners slightly hooked in a half-smile. “A while ago, Snow Lang came to borrow five hundred taels of silver from me, saying he was looking for some young lady. I heard he even tracked her to Yu Qifeng’s house. It doesn’t matter if he dies, but he can’t not repay my silver.” Tang Lici set down his teacup, “When he came to borrow money, did he say anything?”
“Of course, he said he borrows money and you repay the silver,” Huang Sanjin giggled. “He said you owe him six thousand taels of gold, and the person you want is in some carriage. I couldn’t understand what he was saying, and he had no patience to explain again.” Chi Yun’s eyebrows shot up suddenly, “What exactly did that old lecher say?” The “Snow Lang” Huang Sanjin mentioned was naturally Xue Xianzi. “He said the person Young Master Tang is looking for is in a carriage traveling from east to south, with colorful snakes painted on the carriage, and the person is inside. But there were too many poisonous insects in the carriage, and he found it too troublesome to kill them one by one, so he didn’t bring the person back for you and told you to find her yourself.” Tang Lici lightly tapped the teacup with his pale fingers, “Since Xue Xianzi dislikes that person for not being beautiful enough and is too lazy to bring her back, what is he doing pursuing her to Yu Qifeng’s house? Unless…” He smiled slightly, meaningfully.
Huang Sanjin giggled charmingly, “No wonder he said his only soulmate in life is you. That’s right, he suddenly took a fancy to a young lady in Yu Qifeng’s house and borrowed five hundred taels from me to buy powder and rouge for the little lady.” Tang Lici shook his head, “A young lady in Yu Qifeng’s house? Yu Qifeng has remained single to this day, and according to my investigation, there are no female servants in his house.” Huang Sanjin cast flirtatious glances, looking at him with sparkling eyes, “I think you needn’t pretend anymore. Yes, as you suspected, Yu Qifeng’s house recently gained a beautiful fairy maiden. Snow Lang praised how beautiful this young lady was and how beautiful again, saying that seeing her once would make flowers die and birds commit suicide. You know he’s not well-educated, so we can’t understand the poems Snow Lang composes… Hehe, in any case, he’s infatuated with that young lady and has been working as a servant in Yu Qifeng’s house these past few days. If you have business with him, just go find him there. As long as you three can break into the Yu family sword manor and Snow Lang hasn’t fallen for someone new, you’ll surely see him.” Tang Lici smiled warmly, “Oh? It seems Xue Xianzi has made great progress in his recent actions. Besides beauties, he still remembers to tell you many miscellaneous things.” Huang Sanjin’s face suddenly reddened, and she smiled sweetly, “Enough, enough, you dead man… People were worried you’d suffer losses looking for trouble with Yu Qifeng, so I eagerly helped you investigate some clues. But I didn’t dare tell you I had intervened for fear you’d be angry, so I had to credit that old lecher Snow Lang. You know my heart but aren’t grateful, and you insist on exposing me publicly. There’s no one more wicked than you!”
“Tang Lici doesn’t dare accept Miss Huang’s great kindness,” Tang Lici sighed lightly. “But if you get involved, it will only bring trouble upon yourself. I am indeed somewhat angry.” He lifted his left sleeve and lightly flicked some slight dust from it with his right hand, “If anything happens here, notify me early.” Huang Sanjin leaned sideways, supporting her cheek with her hand, “Is it that serious? I’ve never understood—with Young Master Tang’s cunning and viciousness, why are you so persistent about this matter this time? It’s very unlike your character.” Tang Lici smiled slightly, “Everyone has things they’re particularly persistent about, like Miss Huang, like me.” Huang Sanjin’s eyes were watery and bright, suddenly becoming melancholy. She sighed, “That’s right… What I’m persistent about is you, and you… what are you persistent about?” Tang Lici said, “You might as well think that what I’m persistent about is also you.” Huang Sanjin smiled sweetly, but with some bitterness, “If you’re going to deceive me, you should at least make it believable.”
“Miss, please be more careful lately. Here’s a pearl to cover Xue Xianzi’s five hundred taels of silver debt,” Tang Lici took a pearl from his bosom. The pearl was perfectly round and lovely, brilliantly lustrous, about thumb-sized, obviously worth more than five hundred taels of silver. “Since Xue Xianzi has already found that carriage, we should also leave. Thank you for your company today, Miss. Tang Lici is deeply grateful.” Huang Sanjin stood up, “You’re leaving already?” She sighed lightly, “I don’t want your gratitude. How wonderful it would be if you could withdraw money from my place once a year?” Tang Lici only smiled slightly, bowed in farewell, and left with Chi Yun and Shen Langhun.
Huang Sanjin watched the three men leave, then looked at the teacup Tang Lici had drunk from. Her charming face was full of desolation. From their first meeting, she had liked this person, and from their first meeting, she had known this person was heartless… However, women are ultimately women. What they like, they ultimately still like, and what is heartless, ultimately remains heartless.
“That immortal Xue Xianzi, there are countless carriages traveling from east to south in the world—can this old man stop them all on the road to check if they’re carrying poisonous insects? In this vast world, where is one supposed to look?” After leaving Wan Xin Money House, Chi Yun sneered all the way, finding the sky too white, the vegetation too green, Shen Langhun too much of a mute, and Tang Lici too promiscuous.
“For Xue Xianzi to find your fiancée so quickly, it’s probably not due to his great supernatural powers but luck,” Tang Lici said. “I guess he encountered that beautiful young lady on the road, followed her to Yu Qifeng’s Yu family sword manor, then saw Bai Suche’s carriage, so he knows her whereabouts.” Chi Yun snorted, “When this old man catches that woman, I’ll definitely kill her with one stroke.” Shen Langhun said nothing, seeming completely uninterested in their conversation. The three men retrieved Fengfeng from a woman in the city who had been hired to nurse him, and Tang Lici hired a carriage to head south.
In the carriage, Shen Langhun sat cross-legged to one side with eyes observing nose and nose observing heart, like a wooden statue. Chi Yun lay on the seat with both legs stretched across onto Shen Langhun, who didn’t get angry. Tang Lici sat beside Chi Yun. Fortunately, the carriage was quite spacious, and Chi Yun’s head was far from him. The carriage gradually left Dian City. After traveling over a hundred li from here, they would reach Guan An, where Yu family sword manor was located in the outskirts.
“Brother Shen,” Tang Lici held Fengfeng, who seemed very excited amid the carriage’s swaying, gripping Tang Lici’s collar tightly with both hands and pulling his clothes halfway askew, exposing his right shoulder. The shoulder line was perfect, smooth and tender. He didn’t mind and suddenly said to Shen Langhun, “I have something to ask.” Shen Langhun closed his eyes and didn’t answer. Tang Lici added, “Brother Shen may ask one question in return.” At these words, Shen Langhun suddenly opened his eyes. His eyes normally lacked spirit, but once they lit up, they were like bright pearls emerging from halos, diamonds generating light, making one’s heart tremble. He said flatly, “What matter?”
Tang Lici pointed to the red snake on his cheek, “Where did this mark come from?” Shen Langhun didn’t answer, his brilliantly shining eyes staring fixedly at the carriage wall. After a long while, he asked flatly, “Your martial arts—did they come from the Skill Transfer Great Method?” Tang Lici didn’t blink, smiling as he said, “Correct.” Shen Langhun’s eyes blazed with light, and he suddenly turned to stare at him intently, “Very good!” Tang Lici stared back without shifting his gaze. If Shen Langhun’s eyes were like light and lightning, Tang Lici’s eyes were a thousand tangled threads, like hundreds of emotions poured into a bowl and swirling—impossible to discern their meaning. Chi Yun opened his eyes and looked at the carriage roof. He had known this long ago—Tang Lici’s martial arts weren’t practiced by himself.
The Skill Transfer Great Method was an evil technique.
In jianghu, if anyone mentioned the Skill Transfer Great Method, all listeners would certainly change color, especially after the Bai Nanzhu incident in recent years—jianghu people talked about such evil techniques with even greater fear. The Skill Transfer Great Method, along with “Gun Xue” and “Jade Bone,” all came from the “Rebirth Manual.” “Gun Xue” and “Jade Bone” were the foundational skills for practicing the “Rebirth Manual,” while the Skill Transfer Great Method was its technique for going astray. Legend had it that decades ago, a demon in jianghu practiced the “Rebirth Manual” and went astray. Seeking liberation, he transferred his practiced “Rebirth Manual” power to his disciple, then dispersed his skills and died. However, his disciple thereby gained several times the martial arts and became an unparalleled evil person who swept the world. From this, jianghu learned that when the “Rebirth Manual” was transferred after going astray, the power could increase several fold. If the person dispersing their skills originally had profound power, the recipient would gain incalculable, shocking, world-defying power, and moreover wouldn’t suffer from the “Rebirth Manual’s” true qi affliction and wouldn’t die young before age twenty-five. It was just that the “Rebirth Manual” scripture was lost—otherwise, with so many desperate people in jianghu, who knows when one or two shocking demon heads might emerge. Shen Langhun had excellent eyesight and saw at a glance that Tang Lici’s martial arts weren’t self-practiced, yet hearing the words “correct,” he still couldn’t help but feel shaken and deeply horrified. He saw this person acting as if nothing had happened, with handsome features and smiling eyes, asking, “How did Brother Shen get the red mark on his face?”
Shen Langhun was silent for a long time, then said flatly, “Drawn by someone.” Tang Lici asked, “Who?” Shen Langhun asked in return, “Who transferred their power to you?” Tang Lici’s eyelashes didn’t move, not even trembling once, “A friend.” Shen Langhun asked again, “He…” Tang Lici said gently, “Dead.” Shen Langhun’s chest rose and fell, his emotions quite agitated, “Where did his ‘Rebirth Manual’ come from?” Tang Lici didn’t answer. After a moment, he sighed lightly, “His ‘Rebirth Manual’ was obtained by accident. After he died, the ‘Rebirth Manual’ was taken away by someone… Brother Shen, I guess you were defeated by the Skill Transfer Great Method and someone drew this mark on your face, correct?”
Shen Langhun’s eyes turned fierce, and he slowly stood up. Despite the carriage’s swaying, he stood extremely steady with his back straight. He slowly looked out the window. After a long while, he said flatly, “Correct… That person defeated me within one move, immobilized my acupoints, and spent a full two hours using… my wife’s hairpin and rouge to tattoo this red mark on my face.” Chi Yun had been listening with half interest since it had nothing to do with him, but hearing this sentence, he couldn’t help cursing, “Damn it, this person is worse than a beast! What did he do to your wife?” Shen Langhun said word by word, “He threw my wife… into the Yellow River.” Chi Yun saw blood vessels bursting in the corners of his eyes, oozing blood threads, and couldn’t help sighing, “Don’t be sad, don’t be sad. This old man’s wife ran off with another man, and this old man hasn’t even cried yet. What are you crying about?” Shen Langhun’s mouth corners lifted slightly, vaguely showing an extremely faint smile, “I had no grievance or enmity with him—we just met on the road. He saw I had martial arts and deliberately fought with me… I… I was inferior in skill…” At this point, Tang Lici interrupted, “The person who fought you—he has very beautiful eyes, doesn’t he?” Shen Langhun paused, as if holding his breath, and said flatly, “Indeed, you know him.”
“There aren’t many people in the world who dare practice the ‘Rebirth Manual,’ and even fewer who practice it and unfortunately go astray. My martial arts… and the martial arts of the person who tattooed this mark on your face were indeed from the same person… transferred by the same person.” Tang Lici looked at Shen Langhun, his tone as calm and gentle as usual, “But I can’t tell you who he is. I neither know where he is now nor what his name is.” Shen Langhun suddenly turned around, “But you know what he looks like. What’s your relationship with him? Did your friend transfer power to him? How can you not know who he is!”
Chi Yun listened while saying coldly, “You’ve never told this old man about these things.” Tang Lici said, “If you had asked, I naturally wouldn’t have told you, but since it concerns Brother Shen’s revenge for his wife’s murder, though I’m unwilling to speak, I must.” Shen Langhun’s face was pale, those eyes even more frighteningly bright, “What is he to you?”
“He… might be surnamed Liu.” Tang Lici stared intently at Shen Langhun, “I guess he didn’t fight you because he saw you had martial arts, but because of your eyes… your eyes…” Chi Yun also stared at Shen Langhun’s eyes, “What about his eyes?” Tang Lici said, “Haven’t you had anyone praise your beautiful eyes since childhood?” Shen Langhun was stunned, “What?” Chi Yun was startled and laughed, “Could it be that he tattooed a mark on Brother Shen’s face just because he was jealous of your good-looking eyes? His grandmother…” Tang Lici sighed, “If he was jealous of your good-looking eyes, why didn’t he gouge out your eyes instead of tattooing a mark on your face? He probably felt that though your eyes were beautiful, your appearance was plain, so he wanted to tattoo a mark on your face to attract attention.” Chi Yun and Shen Langhun stared at each other. After a long while, Chi Yun spat, “What nonsense—this old man doesn’t believe it!” Tang Lici smiled slightly, “It’s up to you whether you believe it or not.”
“Who exactly is he? Who was your friend? And who are you?” Shen Langhun asked word by word. Tang Lici patted his back and smiled, “Sit down. If I learn news of him, I’ll definitely tell you, how about that?” Chi Yun suddenly sat up, “These past few years when you left the capital wandering everywhere, saying you were looking for someone—you weren’t looking for this person, were you?” Tang Lici pressed Shen Langhun to sit down, “The person I’m looking for is someone else.” Shen Langhun sat down. Originally a cold and silent person, he now seemed somewhat weak, swaying slightly after sitting, his emotions turbulent. Tang Lici took a small, flat, round jade flask from his bosom. The flask was extremely small, about palm-sized, with snow-white crystalline jade carved with cloud patterns. Removing the cork, an extremely rich wine fragrance rushed into their noses, so stimulating that Chi Yun immediately sneezed. The wine was perhaps only two or three mouthfuls. He handed the jade flask to Shen Langhun, who looked inside—the wine was deep red, like the color of blood. “Jade Blood!” Chi Yun said lazily, “You do know your goods. This wine costs the same as gold, tastes little different from chili water, and drinking it is like committing suicide.” Shen Langhun raised his head and poured the wine down his throat, then flung the jade flask out of the carriage. They heard a “ding” sound outside the carriage. Chi Yun rolled his eyes, “Do you know that with that throw, you threw away at least five thousand taels of silver?” Shen Langhun said flatly, “When he offers me wine, would he grudge even a wine flask?” He glanced at Tang Lici, “Good wine!”
Tang Lici smiled, as if he had deliberately given Shen Langhun the flask for him to smash, “Is your mood any better?” Shen Langhun straightened his back slightly, “Who exactly is he?”
“Three years ago,” Tang Lici said, “my good friend played qin at Zhou Di Tower, with qin skills unparalleled in the world…” Chi Yun made an “eh” sound, “Zhou Di Tower? Could it be that ‘Three Sounds Fang Zhou’?” Tang Lici said, “Hmm…” Chi Yun and Shen Langhun looked at each other. Three years ago, “Three Sounds Fang Zhou” of Zhou Di Tower was famous throughout the world. Legend said that everyone who heard Fang Zhou’s qin couldn’t help but sigh and recite “Fang Zhou, Fang Zhou, Fang Zhou… sigh…” Thus he became famous. Shen Langhun said flatly, “The people you know are all contemporary masters.” Tang Lici smiled slightly, “Am I not a contemporary master? Back then, when he played qin at Zhou Di Tower, one day a qin listener with half his face white and half red came to hear the qin. After listening, he gave him a book, saying he looked unwell, and if he encountered great difficulty and found himself in desperate straits, he could open it to read.”
“What was that book? The ‘Rebirth Manual’?” Chi Yun asked. Tang Lici smiled and lightly breathed out. Usually gentle and elegant with dignified bearing, this breath he exhaled somehow made one vaguely feel it blew into their ears, warming them slightly. They heard him say, “He didn’t read that book—I did. It was indeed the ‘Rebirth Manual.’ At that time, he had contracted a serious illness and wouldn’t live much longer. Even playing qin was quite forced. After reading that book, I had him practice a little each day. What he couldn’t understand, I taught him to practice. After mastering it, he transferred the skill to me…” At this point, Shen Langhun smiled faintly, “Young Master Tang truly deserves the word ‘ruthless’—worthy of being the master of Myriad Apertures Studio.” Tang Lici wasn’t angry and continued smiling, “Originally this matter proceeded very smoothly. On the day of the skill transfer, two people suddenly burst into Fang Zhou’s room at Zhou Di Tower, interrupting the Skill Transfer Great Method. In the chaos, Fang Zhou transferred his power to three people, then he died.” Shen Langhun said, “The person who killed my wife was one of them?” Tang Lici nodded and sighed, “After Fang Zhou died, the Rebirth Manual was taken by those two people. I was somewhat injured then, so I still don’t know its whereabouts.” Speaking to this point, his fingers unconsciously pressed lightly against his abdomen, with slight pain showing between his brows.
Chi Yun had remained silent. Shen Langhun said flatly, “Are you disappointed about using a friend for skill transfer?” Tang Lici smiled and glanced at Chi Yun. Since saying “Could it be that ‘Three Sounds Fang Zhou’?” earlier, he had closed his eyes and lay on the seat as if sleeping, as though he hadn’t heard a word of Tang Lici’s long speech. Hearing this now, his mouth corners hooked up, and he said lazily, “This old man has long known that the white-furred fox surnamed Tang isn’t any good person. If it were this old man, I probably would have done the same. After all, people always have to die. Dying and leaving martial arts to someone is better than dying for nothing. In any case, this old man is an evil demon heretic, the fox surnamed Tang is a monster ghost, and you surnamed Shen aren’t any good thing either. We’re all birds of a feather—pot calling the kettle black.” Shen Langhun said, “Hehe.” He no longer looked at Tang Lici or Chi Yun, suddenly asking, “Why do you want to capture Yu Qifeng?”
“Because Yu Qifeng is a bad person,” Chi Yun laughed heartily. “Bad people catching bad people—is this the first time you’ve heard of it?” Shen Langhun said, “Compared to you and Young Master Tang, I’m not really a bad person.” With that, all three laughed together. Fengfeng had been listening with curious eyes wide open, as if he understood. Now he gave a small yawn and closed his eyes, leaning against Tang Lici’s chest. Tang Lici took out a handkerchief and gently wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth, “Going to Yu family sword manor, there are still several days’ journey. Tomorrow we can reach Cliff Well Manor. You and I will go eat a meal of simple country food and rest well for a day.” Shen Langhun sat cross-legged and closed his eyes. In his three years as a killer, he had never before been carried by sedan chair to a job, let alone stopping first to eat simple country food—truly unprecedented.