The rare battle between high-level experts instantly became the hottest topic of conversation among the citizens of Bianjing.
Laymen saw the excitement, while experts saw the underlying skill.
This fight shocked the martial arts world! The slain ninth-level master was known as the “Ghost Claw Ancestor” in martial arts circles. His fighting style was vicious and his temperament brutal. Even when he was at the eighth level, he had single-handedly killed two masters of the same rank, making his name famous throughout the jianghu.
Now, the Ghost Claw Ancestor, who was on the verge of reaching the transcendent realm, had been killed! Moreover, no traces of a second person’s internal energy were found at the scene, suggesting that the killer was likely an external cultivator.
However, some believed that given the number of discarded swords, several people might have ambushed him simultaneously.
For a time, martial arts experts flocked to the once-quiet alley to examine the battle traces and deduce what had happened.
Among them was someone skilled in battle reconstruction. After examining the traces, he recreated the scene through illustrations, insisting that there was only one assassin.
This person’s battle reconstructions had never been wrong, and this time was no exception. His version gained widespread approval from many experts. The reconstructed battle scenario was mind-boggling, as it suggested that the assassin had achieved an almost inhuman level of body control.
At Konghe Court, everyone had heard the news, and almost everyone believed Lou Mingyue was responsible.
Although there were still many unexplained aspects, very few people considered An Jiu as a possibility. After all, she even needed others to wait for her during marches!
Before dawn, people from the Department of Punishment quietly arrived at Konghe Court.
After they left, the members of the Heaven Group were summoned to the training hall by four instructors.
Instructor Tian spoke sternly, “Not only did you fail in your first mission, but you also left broken swords at the scene! Are you trying to announce to the world that the Konghe Army is targeting the Fan clan? This instructor doesn’t care who among you is responsible. I’m just relaying the decision after the Council of Scholars’ meeting — the entire Heaven Group will be deducted two points! The mission will continue!”
An Jiu took issue with Konghe Court’s leadership for their ability to identify the culprit based on a few broken swords. If that was the case, why create unique swords in the first place? Who had time to collect sword fragments in the heat of the moment? She’d never heard of snipers retrieving bullets from corpses after hitting their target.
“Instructor, this isn’t fair!” Li Qingzhi only had two points. Although he could earn them back in other missions, these two points represented his recent bloody struggles. How could they be so casually deducted?
“You’re all jointly executing this mission. When such a major incident occurs, everyone bears responsibility!” Instructor Tian cut him off, then turned to Lou Mingyue and An Jiu. “You two stay. The rest, dismissed.”
No matter how unwilling, Li Qingzhi had to leave with the others. Obedience to orders was mandatory in the Konghe Court. His earlier objection was already against the rules. If he persisted, the point deduction wouldn’t be worth it.
Silence fell over the empty training hall.
After a moment, Instructor Tian broke the silence. “Who was it?”
There was no point in hiding it. They could easily check the armory records to see who the swords belonged to.
An Jiu stepped forward. “It was me.”
The four instructors were momentarily surprised. This was unexpected, yet not entirely unreasonable. It was just hard to believe An Jiu possessed such skill.
They each had different thoughts, but ultimately all attributed her success to her body reconstruction.
“You’ve been exposed. You must withdraw from this mission,” Instructor Xuan said, wanting to protect An Jiu. “We won’t trouble you before your trial period ends. Go to Master Sheng at the archives to choose a new mission.”
“Mei Shisi captured Wei Yuzhi!” Lou Mingyue interjected. “Isn’t that enough to offset this? Doesn’t the Second Master of Misty Mountain Manor compensate for this job?”
“The higher-ups haven’t decided how to handle this. We have no authority. If you’re dissatisfied, you can go to them yourself. That’s all, now go!” Instructor Xuan said.
An Jiu turned and left decisively. A failed mission was a failed mission, regardless of how earth-shattering any other completed tasks might be. Having been in the assassin world for so long, she was accustomed to such rules.
Lou Mingyue caught up with her. “I’ll go speak to the scholars.”
“Wait,” An Jiu called out. “This was my choice. You don’t need to take responsibility for me.”
Lou Mingyue turned back and stared at her, seeing no trace of reluctance on her face. She felt a spark of admiration. “Alright.”
An Jiu nodded and headed towards the archives in the study.
Lush green foliage shaded the window, where a cluster of peonies bloomed, rich and beautiful, offering a rare touch of gentleness in this cold-hearted place.
A man in emerald official robes stood sideways to her, watering the flower leaves.
It was rare to see Master Sheng so leisurely. Though not particularly handsome, his current pose made him appear otherworldly and unique.
“Master Sheng,” An Jiu called.
He turned, his deep dark circles instantly shattering the beautiful image. He blinked hard and gave An Jiu a tired smile. “This official is fully aware of Xuan Ren’s heroic deeds. You’re here to choose a new mission, right?”
“Yes,” An Jiu replied.
Master Sheng retrieved two arm-thick bamboo tubes from the flower bed. Opening the lids revealed about a dozen pinky-sized smaller tubes inside, their ends sealed with wax. “These are the missions suitable for you recently. Just pick one at random.”
An Jiu reached out and plucked one.
Master Sheng took it, opened it for a look, then tossed it back to her. “Read it yourself.”
An Jiu unrolled the slip and read its contents. Slightly surprised, she asked, “Assassinate an official? This kind of thing…”
Shouldn’t a criminal official be dealt with publicly? Why resort to secret assassination? Wasn’t this the era of “if the emperor orders a minister to die, the minister must die”?
“He’s Prince Jing’s man,” Master Sheng said, putting down the watering can and heading back inside. “I don’t allow mission returns here, so hurry up and get it done. You only have five days.”
“Understood.” An Jiu followed him into the archives, collected information about the target, then disguised herself and left Konghe Court.
While Bianjing City was still abuzz with discussions about the alley fight, the perpetrator was already infiltrating Tianshui Lane, unconcerned with the commotion.
This time, the target was Li Ting, the Vice Minister of Revenue, aged 44. He passed the imperial examination at 25 and ranked second in the imperial grace examination at 28. Starting from the Hanlin Academy, he navigated the treacherous waters of officialdom for over a decade before securing his current position. His official career had been quite smooth, largely due to his allegiance to Prince Jing.
As for his private life, Li Ting had one wife and one concubine. He had a son and a daughter with his principal wife. The eldest son was already married, while the daughter was only ten, suggesting a good relationship between the couple. The beautiful concubine was a gift from Prince Jing.
After observing Li’s mansion for half a day, An Jiu had a good grasp of everything inside. He had ten guards, mostly below the fourth level, with only two barely reaching the fourth level.
An Jiu wasn’t being overconfident; with this level of security, she was almost certain of completing the mission successfully.
Despite thinking this, given her recent setbacks, she still conscientiously spent another day conducting a thorough investigation.