Chapter 92: Fate, Ineffably Wondrous

The moon rose above the branches, and Luo Jing once again turned into an endless sea of lanterns.

Above the uneven clusters of buildings, Han Jingchuan, clad in night-clothes, carried his sword and moved swiftly and silently along the dark ridges of the roofs.

Company Commander Lu Qian and two followers, dressed identically, followed at his side, speaking in low voices:

"We must hurry. Xie Jinhuan's old wounds are not yet healed; just now I saw him go to the Peony Room to tend to them. He even gave his weapon to his mistress, so he is absolutely without guard, and no one is disturbing the room..."

Han Jingchuan very much wanted to follow Li Gong's instructions, but the current opportunity was truly too perfect; he looked toward that five-story golden tower in the distance and solemnly instructed as he moved forward:

"Assassinate as quietly as possible; do not make a big commotion. If you cannot kill him within three moves, flee immediately; do not linger in battle, and above all, do not expose your identity..."

"Yes."

"Lu Qian, you handle the traces..."

"My lord, rest assured. As long as the deed is done, I will release the blood-evil ghost qi. Wang Chuan and the others are patrolling nearby; they will arrive immediately to take over this case, and then you can arrive in time..."

As the group exchanged words like this, Han Jingchuan, the leader, seemed to notice something with his peripheral vision, swaying on a roof ridge far, far away...

?

Han Jingchuan immediately raised his hand to lower his posture and looked toward the distance, but he did not discover anything unusual; thinking it over, he continued to move forward...

At the same time, half a li away.

Xie Jinhuan picked up a straw rain cape in the east alley and a bamboo hat in the west alley; before he had walked half a street, he had become a hat-wearing wanderer of the Jianghu, with only a weapon missing from his hand.

The Red Scale Guard are not equipped with armor, but a Battalion Commander certainly has built-in protective gear; picking up a firewood axe or a kitchen knife is not very suitable; the best weapon is a heavy armor-piercing implement!

Xie Jinhuan searched everywhere and finally found an octagonal hammer in the corner of a private residence.

The hammer should be used to strike steel chisels; the handle is four chi long and made of white wax wood!

The hammer head weighs sixteen jin; although it is relatively rough, this thing obviously does not need to be too fine; as long as it can smash a hit, it is more violent than the Great Star Mace!

Seeing this, Xie Jinhuan leaped into the courtyard, but while still in mid-air, his peripheral vision noticed something unusual on the houses more than a li away.

Hush~

To prevent discovery by unrelated personnel, Xie Jinhuan landed and hid in the shadows; only after picking up the hammer did he quietly peek out from the roof ridge, but he did not discover any suspicious figures.

?

Xie Jinhuan frowned secretly; although he no longer had the Ghost Wife as a radar, he had just acquired a magical tool yesterday; he immediately took out the Yellow Scale Seal and infused his qi to investigate the surroundings.

But as flowing light surged in his twin pupils, some light spots appeared on the dim ground; within a hundred zhang, there were no particularly precious materials.

Xie Jinhuan waited a short while, confirmed that no one had entered the alert range, then shook the hammer slightly and quietly moved toward Changle Street...

——

The golden tower's music and dance never ceased; the joyous crowd did not realize the surging murderous intent hidden beneath the calm surface!

Han Jingchuan led his three subordinates, moving silently to the rear of the golden tower; although the golden tower had several courtyard guards, they obviously could not stop the Red Scale Guard.

After confirming there was no risk whatsoever, the four of them crouched low along the second floor and, under Lu Qian's lead, approached a window.

Han Jingchuan possessed the highest martial arts; halfway there, he suppressed all his aura, listened slightly outside the wall, found no aura within the room, frowned secretly, and made a hand gesture.

Lu Qian also detected no aura; after a moment of consideration, risking an ambush, he quietly opened the window and glanced inside.

There was no light in the room; the Great Star Mace lay on the bed, which was Xie Jinhuan's weapon, but the owner was obviously not there.

To prevent discovery by outsiders, Han Jingchuan climbed into the room first, leaned against the wall, and carefully scanned the room:

"There is no one in the room; are you sure Xie Jinhuan lives here?"

Lu Qian was also very puzzled at this moment:

"Xie Jinhuan was resting right here; his weapon is in the room; could he have gone to the latrine?"

A masked subordinate nearby frowned tightly and shook his head:

"The door is barred; he must have gone out through the window; not taking his own weapon, he probably did not want to leave his own traces."

"..."

The other three fell silent.

After all, they had come to strike first; they carried no official swords and wore no official robes, using weapons purchased temporarily.

After a moment of confusion, Han Jingchuan's brows furrowed, and then anger rose in his heart:

"This cunning little brat really went to kill me..."

Lu Qian also did not expect Xie Jinhuan to be so decisive in killing; whenever there was an opportunity, he struck without the slightest hesitation; he immediately asked:

"What should we do? If we return now, Xie Jinhuan will have discovered that my lord is gone..."

Han Jingchuan, holding his sword, considered briefly, perfectly restored the window, confirmed that no traces were left, and said in a low voice:

"He must go and return quickly; discovering I am not in the room, he will certainly return immediately; and entering this room, he has absolutely discarded his weapon and is completely unguarded; we will catch him off guard then..."

Lu Qian felt this course of action was indeed feasible and reminded: "This youth has extraordinary perception; use the Turtle Breath Art to conceal your aura; do not let him detect us in advance."

The Turtle Breath Art is a martial arts divine technique used by the Red Scale Guard and the Imperial Astronomical Bureau for ambushes and surveillance; it stops all qi circulation, lowers the pulse to approximately nothing, and as long as one does not move, one is like a dead person.

The three received the order and immediately practiced the Turtle Breath Art on the spot, secretly paying attention to movements inside and outside...

——

At the same time, Changle Street.

On the second floor of a large inn.

Xie Jinhuan, carrying the octagonal hammer, stood alone in the room, looking at the four Red Scale Guard red robes on the bed and the official sword on the table, his eyes blank.

Where is my big Han Jingchuan?

The Red Scale Guard are searching entertainment venues on the streets; finding the resting place of the main official is simple.

Discovering Han Jingchuan returning alone to his room for a short rest and the sentries being quite lax, he felt heaven was aiding him.

But he truly did not expect that after bypassing the sentries and quietly sneaking into the room, he would see four sets of clothes.

Changing into official robes means he went out in plain clothes...

In the middle of the night, four Red Scale Guard members leaving sneakily; no matter how one thinks, it is impossible they are doing good deeds...

Could it be that he has already made a move on me...

The Golden Pavilion is only two streets away from here, and my commotion just now was so loud; Han Jingchuan must know my whereabouts. There is indeed a good chance...

Thinking of this, Xie Jinhuan felt a chill run through his heart.

He arrived in Jingcheng only last night, yet Han Jingchuan has already struck with poison today; such a heart is truly ruthless!

Someone so decisive in killing must be eliminated immediately...

To avoid exposure, Xie Jinhuan must return immediately if he misses his target, whereas Han Jingchuan does not need to, so waiting here like a rabbit is useless and carries great risk.

Xie Jinhuan, holding the octagonal hammer, thought for a moment, then rummaged through the official robe to retrieve valuable items, keeping them safe to prevent loss.

It was a pity that these four Red Scale Guards, going out to work, did not carry much silver.

After gathering the supplies, Xie Jinhuan quietly left the inn, bypassing the sightlines of the Red Scale Guards on the street, and made his way back to the Golden Pavilion once more.

To prevent Han Jingchuan and others from returning and colliding face-to-face, Xie Jinhuan was extremely cautious along the way, even taking out the Yellow Scale Seal to use as a small map, probing for traces of experts nearby.

As it turned out, when he reached a point half a li from the Golden Pavilion, he suddenly spotted a light spot over a hundred zhang to the left front, moving at a uniform speed.

The light spot was of a darker hue; judging by the comparison with the light spot of the 'Ice Scale Armor', the bearer likely wielded a Rank 2–3 magical artifact.

A magical artifact with a rank lower than one's own cultivation is useless, while one too high is hard to obtain; thus, it is usually one or two ranks slightly higher than one's actual cultivation, so this person's strength is likely around Ranks 3–4, roughly matching Han Jingchuan.

But why are the other three not here...

Could it be that they carried no valuable items, just like him, holding only a broken hammer...

Xie Jinhuan frowned inwardly; unable to determine the positions of the others, he could only maintain sufficient distance and rely on his eyes to search.

As he advanced to an open area with a clear view, he indeed spotted a faint shadow among the distant buildings, making its way toward the Golden Pavilion.

The figure first observed from the main hall window, then ascended to the second floor, moving along the windows...

Seeing this, Xie Jinhuan knew this person was most likely here to kill him; currently unaware of where the other three were ambushing, and fearing a trap, he dared not rashly strike from behind, so he could only proceed cautiously step by step, searching with his ears and eyes...

(End of this chapter)