Chapter 928: Drinking Green Ant Wine Requires Paying Fees

Eunuch Ma was somewhat helpless. Like Commander Qian, he had no choice but to flick his fingers and strike acupoints. The sleeve daggers were poisoned; they didn't seem immediately fatal, but given the frenzied, desperate attacks of these seemingly possessed assailants, it would likely prove fatal eventually. It was only a matter of time.

What benefit would it be to the situation even if Qingma Post in Bei'an Town and the Capital Iron Cavalry flattened this restaurant afterward?

This game of chess playing out on the third floor of the restaurant could potentially influence the overarching currents of the entire realm.

The screens in front of Eunuch Liu, head of the Directorate of Luminous Watch, and to his right were already gone, making the remaining screen appear particularly out of place.

Eunuch Song furtively rose, clutching the edge of his chair, which seemed quite reasonable. When encountering a situation where even his python robes and jade belt were useless, it was only natural for a person to try and escape.

At this moment, Eunuch Liu frowned. For the first time tonight, he completely set down his wine cup and turned to look.

A chilling voice rang softly but clearly in the ears of the three chief eunuchs: "How dare you gather here to kill wantonly on Beiliang Road? Do you think our Fish-Dragon Gang doesn't exist?"

The owner of that voice soon revealed his true form. The screen had been broken in half, severed by a hand-chop from him.

Liu Nirong did not stop her trusted devotee from intervening without permission in that strange disturbance involving the shouted names.

Although she didn't know the full extent of this assassination attempt, the earlier mention of "Imperial City eunuchs" had already made her realize the unusual nature of this event. For years, as the visible leader of the Fish-Dragon Gang, she had frequent dealings with various Beiliang government offices. She knew that the large contingent from Tai'an City had entered Liangzhou to deliver an imperial decree. Regardless of the stance taken by the Prince's Mansion on Qingliang Mountain, the several special eunuchs in python robes within the decree-delivering entourage absolutely could not die openly. Otherwise, not only would the young Emperor of the Liyang Zhao imperial family, who had already made concessions regarding the 300,000 Beiliang Iron Cavalry, certainly be furious, but public opinion across the land would undoubtedly overwhelmingly question the intentions of the Xu family of Beiliang.

As the visible leader of the Fish-Dragon Gang, Liu Nirong had frequent dealings with various government offices over the years. Although it was tiresome, her perspective and foresight were no longer those of the woman she was a few years ago. No matter how powerful it was, the Fish-Dragon Gang, as one of the leading forces in the Beiliang martial arts world, was still like a dragon-like creature struggling in the lake that was Beiliang Road. Even if it wasn't completely loyal to the Prince's Mansion on Qingliang Mountain, at such a sensitive time, facing a murderous situation just a few steps away, there was absolutely no reason to stay out of it. Therefore, Liu Nirong would not stop that devotee from acting; in fact, she understood that in such a complex and obscure situation, they had to cut the Gordian knot swiftly.

Ji Liu'an, the Dragon Palace guest elder sharing a table with Liu Nirong, was a martial arts grandmaster whose power was paramount in the region. He saw that the eunuchs from Tai'an City had reached a desperate point where their skills were exhausted. Even if the remaining five assassins were insignificant rabble in his eyes, they might still accidentally succeed amidst the chaos. After receiving a nod of approval from Palace Master Lin Hongyuan, Ji Liu'an smiled faintly and, with a wave of his hand, made five white porcelain wine cups on the table spin and fly towards him. They spun continuously, and the gentle clinking sound between the spirited cups was exceptionally crisp and pleasant, like five chirping little white sparrows.

The wine cups flashed and disappeared.

The next moment, those five assassins had not yet managed to approach Eunuch Ma and Commander Qian when all their heads jolted backward, and they fell to the ground, motionless.

On the foreheads of the five wretches, without exception, all were fiery red.

Without the screens obstructing their view, Eunuch Ma and Commander Qian could see the five wine cups, which, after returning to the wine table, trembled slightly on their chairs, as if seeking credit.

Eunuch Ma narrowed his eyes, showing no emotion.

Commander Qian held his imperial golden saber inverted and turned to cup his hands in thanks to Ji Liu'an.

This bloody turmoil, which should have concluded there, became especially thrilling due to someone's concealed action.

Liu Nirong's face was aghast.

Even Lin Hongyuan, who had seemed to enjoy watching from the sidelines, was slightly taken aback. Her face showed some vexation and indignation, as if she had played with fire and been burned, as well as a hidden unease deep within her clear, autumnal eyes.

Cheng Baishuang, the top master of Southern Xinjiang, resembling an aged scholar, further furrowed his brows, with clear anger etched between them.

This elderly man had just been pondering a major matter concerning the shift of national destiny, which was why he had been momentarily distracted.

It turned out no one had expected that the Fish-Dragon Gang devotee who went to "save the emperor" would actually strike down on the head of the chubby eunuch who had just timidly risen!

With this palm strike, given his extraordinary skill—demonstrated by effortlessly cutting screens like tofu with a casual hand-chop—wouldn't he easily crush the entire head?

Mao Shulang, who had seemingly been quietly drinking with his head down, had actually already gripped his saber hilt but then suddenly released his fingers.

Mao Shulang gave up intercepting halfway, leaving Cheng Baishuang caught off guard.

Neither of the two grandmasters from Southern Xinjiang made a move, so logically, this palm strike was certain to result in blood splattering everywhere.

However, the maddened Fish-Dragon Gang devotee did indeed bring his palm down, but simply failed to achieve immediate success.

Because his arm was broken.

So the broken hand that landed on the head of Eunuch Song, the Directorate Chief, instead resembled an affectionate pat on the head from an elder to a young child.

Behind a distant screen, on the table in front of a blind female zither player, the ancient, scorched-tail guqin was revealed. Her little finger was bent.

Purely in terms of her profound comprehension of the Zhixuan realm, she firmly held a place among the top three in the world.

Disagree?

But this was the final verdict of a certain grandmaster of martial arts critique.

The top three were, respectively, Deng Tai'a, who had long since ascended to the realm of a Land Immortal; the 'Human Cat' Han Shengxuan, once skilled at killing Heavenly Phenomenon experts with Zhixuan techniques; and then this blind woman, who was utterly unknown in the Central Plains martial arts world.

The female zither player who came from Northern Mang into Western Shu, Xue Songguan.

Eunuch Liu glanced at his colleague, who had just come back from the brink of death but looked utterly bewildered. Under the prolonged gaze of the head of the Directorate of Luminous Watch, the latter finally put away his comical expression of a martial arts layman. He grinned slyly, appearing gloomy and self-assured, with everything left unspoken.

Only at this moment did Eunuch Ma realize that this comical, jester-like colleague was actually a martial arts expert whose cultivation was no less than his own.

In tonight's dazzling display of "the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind it," with various actions taken and slingshots yet to be used, were there still more twists and turns?

Eunuch Ma's mood was complex.

A wailing, howling voice suddenly rang out: "What in the world is going on here!"

In the corridor between the private rooms, a brightly dressed middle-aged man's face was ashen, as if he had lost his parents. "How can we possibly do business when so many people have died!" he cried.

Then, when he saw Liu Nirong's frosty face, he looked as if he had lost his parents and then his son, his face filled with despair. "Grand Proprietress, please listen to my explanation," he pleaded, "these people killing each other truly has nothing to do with me! This is an undeserved disaster!"

Eunuch Ma glanced at the middle-aged man, then immediately turned to stare fixedly at Liu Nirong, sneering, "What a Fish-Dragon Gang!"

Eunuch Song also turned his head while rubbing his neck and chuckled, "It should be 'What a Beiliang Fish-Dragon Gang!'"

Liu Nirong's face instantly turned pale.

The young devotee beside her had eyes full of rage, radiating murderous intent.

Zhao Shanhong, 'Stone-Splitting Hand', on the other hand, was somewhat gleeful.

He didn't care whether Liu Nirong had received instructions from Qingliang Mountain regarding this chaotic yet spectacular assassination. He only knew that after this assassination failed, whether Liu Nirong was innocent or not, it no longer mattered. The Fish-Dragon Gang, which was flourishing in Beiliang Road, would soon undergo a major change of personnel, for as the saying goes, "a new emperor brings new officials." As for whether that woman Liu Nirong could still pack up and leave alive, she'd probably have to rely on burning incense and praying to Bodhisattvas for protection.

Liu Nirong did not explain anything to the two chief eunuchs. She only looked at the restaurant's second proprietor, who was constantly whining and complaining. "Guo Xuan," she asked, "I'll only ask you one thing: did you participate in tonight's events?"

The middle-aged man named Guo Xuan was considered a veteran figure of the new Fish-Dragon Gang, and his seniority surpassed not only 'Stone-Splitting Hand' Zhao Shanhong but even the young devotee who had joined her two years ago. However, Guo Xuan's martial prowess was ordinary, but he was skilled in business management. He could be said to have taken a shortcut, allowing him to quickly stand out, eventually becoming the second proprietor of this restaurant in Bei'an Town, effectively its true head. At the time, such a transfer within the Fish-Dragon Gang was considered akin to exile, because Guo Xuan was one of the few individuals within the gang loyal to Liu Nirong. He even had occasional drinks with the Fish-Dragon Gang's 'Supreme Emperor,' the old gang leader. Guo Xuan had slunk away from Liangzhou with his tail between his legs, which was, in essence, a microcosm of Liu Nirong being sidelined. Before, no one had believed that Guo Xuan, without troops, generals, or much money, could truly make a comeback and gain a foothold among the Fish-Dragon Gang's high-ranking members in Bei'an Town. But Guo Xuan quickly made everyone look at him with new respect. The thriving business of the restaurant and the neighboring brothel owed much to Guo Xuan. Liu Nirong, who already felt some guilt towards him, naturally welcomed the Fish-Dragon Gang's prosperity in Bei'an Town and even intended to promote him to a powerful executive position within the Fish-Dragon Gang next year—a position not high in rank but heavy in influence, capable of controlling half of the Fish-Dragon Gang's total business transactions.

Guo Xuan, almost in tears, pleaded indignantly, "Liu Gang Leader, I'm just an ordinary civilian with no power to bind a chicken! Why would I give up a lucrative business that earns me a fortune daily to commit murder?!"

The scheming Eunuch Song smiled seemingly innocently. "Grand Proprietress, Second Proprietor," he said, "are you trying to play good cop, bad cop? Isn't it a bit late?"

On the street outside the restaurant, hoofbeats echoed.

That battlefield killing aura of advancing iron cavalry was distinctly different from the killing aura of a martial arts grandmaster who could face an army alone.

Yet it equally made the martial arts world tremble with fear.

At this moment, a mellow voice with a clear hint of amusement rang throughout the entire third floor, filled with ill-timed banter: "Eunuch Song, you can't say that. Otherwise, for tonight's green ant wine, we'll have to charge you for it."

This voice was actually right next to Guo Xuan's ear, but he was completely unaware that someone else had appeared beside him.

Already brimming with anger, he felt as if this guy was maliciously pushing him onto the fire again. How could he maintain a pleasant expression? He turned his head and angrily retorted, "Charge your mother's silver! Whether this restaurant charges for green ant wine or not, I decide!"

Then he saw a handsome young face.

Then he saw that this person had his hands clasped within his sleeves and a Beiliang saber hanging from his waist.

In today's Beiliang Road, no scion of a general, dressed in bright clothes and riding a spirited horse, dared to privately wear a Liang saber.

Not a single one.

Any heroes or brave men with such audacity were either still eating prison food in government custody or had already finished their prison sentences.

Currently, in Beiliang, apart from the border armies outside the pass and the garrisons within, there were only two types of people permitted by Qingliang Mountain to openly carry Liang sabers.

One type was military generals who had achieved distinguished service but had already retired from the ranks.

The other type was battle-hardened veterans from the 'Old Character Camps.'

These two types of people were almost all elderly, or they were high-ranking provincial officials who, in their prime, had already entered officialdom and were guarding a region.

The young man smiled and glanced at Guo Xuan, looked around, and finally smiled, "In Beiliang, I make all the decisions."