The moment Proprietor Zhou made his move was timed so well that it seemed almost completely impossible to guard against, and his performance had been remarkably convincing.

Even Zhang Tang himself, for one brief instant, had wavered — had begun to wonder whether this Proprietor Zhou truly had no connection to the Mountain-River Seal.

When Magistrate Hu Nansheng had sharply reprimanded Proprietor Zhou not to ask what he hadn’t been asked, Proprietor Zhou had still been cringing in compliance.

Yet in the next instant, the short blade hidden in his sleeve was already driving toward Zhang Tang’s throat.

Zhang Tang was ruthless enough — toward others and toward himself alike.

But his martial ability, it could not be called mediocre — it could be called non-existent.

In the space between one flash of lightning and the next, a sword gleam.

A sword light blazed up before Zhang Tang’s throat, like an electric plum blossom.

Brilliant, dazzling, almost dreamlike in its beauty.

With a clang, the short blade was knocked away with a single stroke.

Immediately after, that electric plum blossom lurched forward, driving straight for Proprietor Zhou’s throat.

Proprietor Zhou clearly knew Zao Yunjian’s capability, so the moment he struck, he immediately retreated — rolling backward in a series of tumbles until he was several zhang away.

He stopped, looked back — and his eyes snapped wide open.

Zhang Tang was still sitting in that chair. The booklet was still in his hand. Yet a dagger was lodged in Zhang Tang’s neck.

Magistrate Hu Nansheng’s hand gripped the dagger. He stood not far from Zhang Tang, his expression somewhat strange.

Because a sword had appeared through his chest.

In the very instant Zao Yunjian made his move, Hu Nansheng had acted to kill Zhang Tang.

He had assumed Zao Yunjian would give chase to Proprietor Zhou — but instead, after driving Proprietor Zhou back with one sword stroke, Zao Yunjian’s next thrust went straight into Hu Nansheng’s heart.

Had he applied a fraction more force, the dagger would have pierced through Zhang Tang’s neck — but that one fraction was lacking.

In the instant his chest was pierced through, all the strength drained from Hu Nansheng’s body.

Zao Yunjian drove the sword through in one motion, then kicked off as though pushing off a wall, kicking Hu Nansheng hard in the chest, flipping himself backward, and landing back in front of Zhang Tang as a guard.

Hu Nansheng went flying, and the sword pulled clear of his body as they separated — in the instant body and blade parted, a single drop of blood still clung to the sword tip, not yet fallen.

Zao Yunjian said: “My lord, please take cover.”

Zhang Tang looked toward the exterior — he could not see past the courtyard wall, of course, yet he could hear the chaotic sound of countless footsteps.

“There’s nowhere to take cover. I was careless.”

Zhang Tang slowly exhaled.

“They had already dug this pit for me long in advance. This Lu County was the grave they chose for me.”

He looked at Zao Yunjian: “Give me a weapon.”

Zao Yunjian unclipped a short blade from his waist and passed it backward. Zhang Tang received it and examined it — the word *Tingwei* inscribed on the scabbard looked extraordinarily handsome.

His hand traced gently across the scabbard.

Whatever happened, for a former small tea house attendant to have risen to such heights, to have caused such awe in others — that was something.

“So many people in this world have wanted to kill Zhang Tang.”

Zhang Tang smiled: “This is Zhang Tang’s honor.”

Zao Yunjian had a signal whistle held between his fingers. He flicked it, and the whistle shot upward into the sky, emitting a sharp piercing sound that could carry for a great distance.

The bulk of the Tingwei Army’s black armor were currently over at the county office. In Hu Nansheng’s residence, there were only some ten-odd guards.

Outside the courtyard walls, the sound grew louder and louder. The Tingwei Army soldiers in the courtyard looked around them, already prepared to fight to the death.

They all held the same stance — facing the courtyard walls, left hand gripping a crossbow, right hand clutching a broadsword.

Then, at that moment, from outside the courtyard walls, a sudden heavy whooshing sound arose — blunt and rapid.

“Watch out!”

Someone shouted at once.

Countless lit torches came flying in over the walls, scattering everywhere.

The Tingwei soldiers slashed at the incoming torches with their swords, but the torches came in such overwhelming numbers that some men were struck and immediately burst into sparks across their bodies.

At least several hundred torches flew in, and fires had already been started in several places.

Through the smoke, countless black-clad figures came leaping over the walls — all of them with black cloth masking their faces, leaving only their eyes exposed.

In moments, the ten-odd Tingwei soldiers tightened their defensive perimeter. The ten-odd soldiers formed a line in front of Zhang Tang.

The black-clad fighters were not poorly equipped either. Seeing the Tingwei soldiers pull back to hold formation, they immediately unslung the crossbows from their backs and began firing aimed shots at the human wall.

The Tingwei soldiers returned fire with their own crossbows. Bolts crisscrossed back and forth through the air.

Black-clad fighters dropped one by one; Tingwei soldiers dropped one by one.

After a sustained exchange, both sides’ crossbows were exhausted. Dozens of black-clad fighters lay fallen across the courtyard, dead and wounded.

But all ten-odd Tingwei soldiers had gone down as well — every single one had taken multiple bolts, and four or five who had not yet died were still forcing themselves to try to rise.

At that moment, the courtyard gate creaked open as someone pushed it from outside.

A middle-aged man in a long robe walked in at an unhurried pace. The weather was still cold, yet he wore a moonwhite long robe that seemed thin for the season — as though the chill had no effect on him whatsoever.

He walked through the bodies scattered across the ground, glancing at the fallen assassins around him, a faint look of respect in his eyes.

“The Tingwei Army — well-deserved of its reputation.”

The middle-aged man stopped at roughly three or four zhang’s distance from Zhang Tang, and clasped his hands in salute: “Luling’s Mu Fengliu pays his respects to the Chief Investigator.”

Behind him, large numbers of black-clad fighters filed in one after another, quickly filling the courtyard to the brim.

Once these black-clad fighters entered, the very first thing they did was kill the black-clad wounded lying on the ground who had not yet died.

With this many people present, it was now clear that the Tingwei black armor still at the county office would likely be unable to break through in time to provide reinforcements.

Zhang Tang said: “Going to such lengths to kill me, Zhang Tang — truly you’ve gone through great trouble.”

Mu Fengliu said: “One really could not afford to be careless. Without killing Chief Investigator Zhang, how many people within Jizhou would be unable to sleep?”

He looked Zhang Tang up and down for a moment, then remarked with admiration: “Chief Investigator, your reputation is well deserved. The intelligence reports already described you clearly — that you were not yet past your coming-of-age, and that your background was nothing more than a tea house attendant — yet seeing you today, you still came as quite a surprise to me.”

Zhang Tang looked at him and asked: “How many people did you mobilize to kill me?”

Mu Fengliu said: “Here, roughly five hundred or more have been assembled. Over at the county office, the siege continues — it hasn’t been broken yet, but that side is not critical; it’s enough to keep the black armor pinned down and unable to come to the rescue. That side probably used close to a thousand men.”

Zhang Tang thought for a moment, and then suddenly smiled.

“This might well count as a battle in its own right.”

Mu Fengliu said: “Chief Investigator Zhang seems rather pleased with himself?”

Zhang Tang replied: “Should I not be?”

He looked at Zao Yunjian and said: “You may withdraw. With your martial skill they cannot hold you. When you return to Jizhou, report to my lord on my behalf: though Zhang Tang has wielded authority for barely two months, he has fulfilled his duty as a subject.”

He rose and walked toward Mu Fengliu: “You may make your move now.”

Zao Yunjian stepped sideways, placing himself between Zhang Tang and Mu Fengliu.

Mu Fengliu smiled: “There is no hurry. I would like to try something first.”

Zhang Tang asked flatly: “You want to try whether you can buy me?”

Mu Fengliu said: “Chief Investigator Zhang may not yet have a full appreciation of the Mountain-River Seal’s capabilities. Allow me to give you a general overview.”

He swept his gaze over the surrounding bodies and smiled: “Many people have died. But if Chief Investigator Zhang were willing, these people would be exactly as if they had not died, and everything that happened here could be as if it never occurred.”

Zhang Tang shook his head: “What you say has no logic whatsoever. Can the deaths of hundreds of Tingwei soldiers be treated as though nothing happened?”

Mu Fengliu said: “Naturally not. But things can be made interesting.”

He looked at Zhang Tang: “Hundreds of Tingwei soldiers killed in action, yet you survived — and you have no martial skill whatsoever. That alone would not hold up.”

“And so…”

He looked at Zao Yunjian: “If this Tingwei Senior Officer were also to survive, then things would add up — he fought to protect you with his life, cutting a path out through the encirclement. Only two people escaped by the skin of their teeth and returned to Jizhou. Prince Ning would have no reason to be suspicious.”

Zhang Tang thought about it and nodded: “It’s true he would not be suspicious. But how do you persuade me, and how do you persuade him?”

Mu Fengliu looked at Zao Yunjian: “Over these past two months, Senior Officer Zao has foiled dozens of assassination attempts against Chief Investigator Zhang, killing dozens of assassins himself. Such capability commands my deep admiration.”

Zao Yunjian said nothing, only looking at Mu Fengliu.

Mu Fengliu continued: “So I specifically looked into Senior Officer Zao — and found that his life has been a difficult one. In his early years, Senior Officer’s family was prosperous: they were once the wealthiest house in Qinzhou.”

“But later, his family’s money house suddenly collapsed. The person his father trusted most in business, giving the pretext of urgently needing a large sum of silver for a venture, borrowed nearly all the deposits from the family money house — promising to return it within half a month.”

“Then this person instigated a great wave of merchants to come to your family’s house and demand their silver. Because the silver could not be produced, Senior Officer Zao’s father was hounded to his death.”

“The family fortune was destroyed overnight. Your mother fled with you, and after placing you in the care of another old friend of your father’s, she followed your father in death.”

“Your father’s old friend, seeking to help you take revenge, spent every last coin of his own fortune to hire people to train you in martial arts. Yet by the time your skills were complete and you went to seek vengeance, you could find no trace of the enemy.”

“The family money house was long gone; even the house itself had fallen to ruin. You exhausted every effort but could do nothing. And so you joined the Tingwei Army — you must have wanted to use the Tingwei Army’s resources to help you investigate.”

At this point, Mu Fengliu turned and called out: “Bring Guo Zhunian in.”

A man who appeared to be around fifty years old entered, his complexion ashen with fright — trembling so badly as he walked that his very steps shook.

Mu Fengliu pointed to this man who had just entered: “Senior Officer Zao — you fled from home when you were perhaps seven or eight years old. You should already have memories by that age, so you would not have forgotten what your enemy looked like.”

“This man — he called your father a sworn brother. Your father treated him as a bosom companion, and this man often came to eat at your home. In those days, you trusted him completely as well, did you not.”

When Zao Yunjian looked at Guo Zhunian, the killing intent in his eyes was all but overflowing.

“If…”

Mu Fengliu said with a smile: “If Chief Investigator Zhang had any consideration for his subordinates, perhaps he should think on Zao Yunjian’s behalf as well.”

He pointed at Guo Zhunian: “So long as you are willing to become people of the Mountain-River Seal, whatever you wish to obtain can be obtained. Most importantly, you will not be asked to scheme against Prince Ning — rather, we will spare no effort to support you in serving Prince Ning.”

“Kill Guo Zhunian, and Senior Officer Zao’s blood debt is avenged. With you two helping each other, why would Prince Ning harbor any suspicion?”

Zhang Tang looked at Zao Yunjian: “You…”

He wanted to say something, but could not find the words.

That was a blood feud over a father’s death. He had no right to counsel against it.

Zao Yunjian leveled his sword at Mu Fengliu: “Bring Guo Zhunian over. Everyone else stays back.”

Mu Fengliu had known Zao Yunjian could not resist this, and so gave Guo Zhunian a push.

“Go on.”

Guo Zhunian’s expression was one of absolute despair, yet he did not dare resist — and it was unclear what else might be held over him, something that mattered more to him than his own life.

Mu Fengliu pushed Guo Zhunian forward to stand before Zao Yunjian. Zao Yunjian, struggling to suppress his emotions, asked: “Why?”

Guo Zhunian instinctively glanced at Mu Fengliu and did not dare answer.

Zao Yunjian drew several deep breaths in succession, then looked at Mu Fengliu and said: “I know Chief Investigator Zhang. He has no desires, no ambitions. You cannot buy him, and you cannot threaten him.”

Mu Fengliu said: “And so?”

Zao Yunjian suddenly moved. One sword stroke swept across the throat of his father’s murderer, Guo Zhunian — then he spun violently, and the next sword stroke drove straight through Zhang Tang’s body.

“So they are both dead, and I return alone. That is more reasonable.”

……

……

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