Chapter 21: Farewell

The Mortal World

The man in black snorted coldly and said angrily, "Still so stubborn, eh? Let's see if you talk later!" Before he finished speaking, the man in black suddenly vanished from where he stood.

Qin Sang was greatly alarmed. In that instant, the man in black truly disappeared from his sight. Qin Sang had never encountered such an enemy. When sparring with Yang Zhen's disciples at the Wuwei Escort Agency, he could always anticipate his opponents' moves with his keen eyesight and respond with ease. But this time, his eyes were not so effective. For this man in black to disappear right before his eyes, he must be a martial arts master, if not a mysterious immortal cultivator.

No, wait!

Qin Sang's gaze suddenly sharpened. He still caught a hint of something unusual: the air in front of him was slightly distorted, a subtlety only his sharp eyes could perceive. Though Qin Sang's mind was reeling, only an instant had actually passed. In the blink of an eye, the distortion in the air spread directly in front of Qin Sang.

If Qin Sang had counterattacked then, he would still have had time to throw a punch, but the man in black's movement technique was too bizarre. Qin Sang didn't dare to be overconfident and immediately activated the King Yama Banner without hesitation.

"Kill him!"

With Qin Sang's low roar, King Yama leaped out from the banner, rushing towards the man in black with a sinister grin.

'Bang!'

The man in black slammed his head against the edge of the bed and lay motionless. Moments later, King Yama floated out, holding the man in black's soul, and looked at Qin Sang with an ingratiating expression.

Like Old Wu, the man in black's soul stood motionless, its eyes vacant. However, when Qin Sang removed the man in black's mask and saw that his soul looked identical to his physical body, Qin Sang realized that Old Wu had most likely used a disguise.

Having faced such a crisis for the first time, Qin Sang was still shaken. He took a few deep breaths to compose himself, then immediately began asking questions. As expected, the man in black's soul would soon dissipate into a soul mist.

"What was Old Wu's purpose in lurking at the temple?" Qin Sang asked quickly.

The man in black replied expressionlessly, "To monitor the ferry crossing and await orders."

Realizing it had nothing to do with the temple or himself, Qin Sang felt a significant relief and asked, "How did you know Old Wu was dead?"

"Today, the Gatekeeper passed down a mission. I sent a message to Old Wu via carrier pigeon, but received no reply."

So those pigeons belonged to Old Wu!

Qin Sang cursed silently, then pressed, "Who is this Gatekeeper? What was the mission? And who are the people in your Jiangshan Tower?"

After a barrage of questions from Qin Sang, a look of profound surprise appeared in his eyes. The so-called Jiangshan Tower was a top-tier assassin organization in the martial arts world, renowned throughout the jianghu for never failing a mission. The Gatekeepers served as couriers connecting assassins to the Jiangshan Tower. The Tower issued missions to assassins through them, and assassins rarely contacted each other directly. This man in black was also an assassin, Old Wu's long-time partner, and they had been covertly operating together in Sanwu City. The target of the current mission was unknown and would only be revealed upon meeting the Gatekeeper tomorrow morning.

Old Wu's martial arts skills weren't top-notch, but his mastery of disguise was exceptional. He had posed as a refugee, working as a boat tracker at the ferry crossing. One objective was to monitor the crossing, and the other was to await missions from Jiangshan Tower. Sometimes, assassins would go without missions for a year or two, during which time they would blend in as ordinary people. That's why Old Wu had lived at the temple for half a year. Unexpectedly, a formidable assassin had died so bafflingly at Qin Sang's hands.

Thus, the jianghu abruptly revealed a tip of its iceberg to Qin Sang.

"Besides you and Old Wu, how many other assassins are in Sanwu City?" Qin Sang asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"I don't know."

The Jiangshan Tower was tightly organized, preventing assassins from having too much contact with each other. The two of them only had a single point of contact with their respective Gatekeepers and were unaware of other assassins' missions or whereabouts.

That's for the best!

Qin Sang nodded. He wasn't concerned about Jiangshan Tower's target, but rather whether Qingyang Temple would be implicated. "If you don't return, will Jiangshan Tower send others to look for you?"

"Yes! If an assassin disappears without reason, the Gatekeeper reports it to Jiangshan Tower, and they will certainly send people to investigate until the matter is clear."

Qin Sang frowned deeply. "Who else knows you came to the temple tonight?"

"The Gatekeeper."

"Who else knows Old Wu was lurking at the ferry crossing and living at the temple?"

"The Gatekeeper."

"Will he report this?"

"I don't know."

"Where does he live?"

"South City of Sanwu, Willow Lane, Ground Character Number Thirteen..."

"Do you have any codewords between you?"

The man in black's soul transformed into a wisp of soul mist and was swallowed by King Yama. Qin Sang leaned against the wall, sitting motionless with his head in his hands for a long time. Suddenly remembering something, he quietly went to Old Daoist's and Mingyue's rooms, and through the windows, he saw them sleeping soundly.

After watching quietly for a while, Qin Sang murmured, "Daoist Priest, Mingyue, I will bear the consequences of my actions alone. I will certainly not implicate you."

He then returned to his room, packed up the King Yama Banner and other items, and put on a fresh set of clothes. He left everything else untouched in the room, only taking a bottle of wound medicine prepared by the Old Daoist Priest. Finally, he placed the man in black's body on the bed. He felt around, finding a sleeve arrow strapped to his arm and a soft sword tucked into his belt. There was nothing else. The man in black clearly hadn't expected to be instantly counter-killed by Qin Sang; his sword had barely been drawn.

Qin Sang unfastened the sleeve arrow. Its mechanism was simple, and he quickly figured it out, strapping it onto his own arm. Then he drew the soft sword and picked up an ironwood staff from the corner of the room. He surveyed the room, where he had lived for a year, one last time, took out several fire-starting flints, and tossed them around. Except for the stone framework, the house was constructed from wood and bamboo. There was also a large pile of firewood outside, so the flames quickly leaped up.

"I wonder if this will be enough to distance Qingyang Temple from this matter," he mused.

Qin Sang sighed softly. Once the fire was blazing, he walked out of the temple without looking back. It wasn't until he reached halfway down the mountain that he heard shouts of "Fire!"

Passing Old Wu's grave, Qin Sang walked to his tombstone. The flames from Qingyang Temple had already painted half the night sky crimson. He gave a bitter laugh and said, "Oh, Old Wu, why did you have to choose Qingyang Temple of all places?"

Ever since he had successfully refined the King Yama Banner, Qin Sang had considered leaving the temple, but he never imagined it would be in such a manner.

The man in black's horse was tied in the forest below the mountain. Qin Sang swung onto its back and galloped straight towards Sanwu City. He rode at a furious pace. By the time Qin Sang reached Sanwu City, the sky was still dim, and the city gates remained closed. However, due to the frequent trade at the ferry crossing and the flourishing commercial routes, a side gate on Sanwu City's south side remained open all night for merchants and goods. Qin Sang hid his sword, staff, and horse outside the city, spent some silver, and blended in with a merchant to enter the city, heading directly for Willow Lane.

It was still early, and Willow Lane was entirely devoid of pedestrians. This lane was home to wealthy families, marked by high walls and vermilion gates. Qin Sang quickly found Ground Character Number Thirteen. The residence wasn't large. Its exterior walls were built with green bricks, standing four or five people high, and the main gate was tightly shut.