Chapter 151: Dark Moon, High Wind

The room quieted down a little, and Zhao Jin suddenly raised his voice: "We've been waiting for you — come have a drink!"

At these words, everyone burst into laughter. The companions were all laughing from the heart, but Dong Bingfeng was laughed into confusion. He looked left and right and said, "Isn't there business tonight? Why are we drinking?"

Sun Dalei at his side yanked Dong Bingfeng over and whispered a few words in his ear. Only then did Dong Bingfeng suddenly understand.

Anyone passing by outside would hear the atmosphere inside as incredibly lively. The people within the trading company understood this mood too — after all, Zhao Jin and the others had been so impressive during the day.

After a while, the clamor inside gradually died down. Liu Yong staggered out and slurred, "Brother Zhao says no one's allowed to go in and disturb them. Everyone's drunk and needs a good sleep — they're dead tired."

Since Zhao Jin had given the word, no one was going to go make trouble. Liu Yong stumbled along, bracing himself against the wall as he walked, muttering, "Still gotta go home and grab something. What a pain."

Someone kindly went over to support him, only to find Liu Yong reeking of alcohol from head to toe. He'd clearly had too much to drink. They offered to see him home, but Liu Yong adamantly refused, still mumbling vaguely, "The place I'm going, you can't go."

The kind soul chuckled and didn't insist. He watched Liu Yong turn the street corner, then shook his head and said, "So young and already thinking about women."

What this man didn't see was that after Liu Yong turned the corner, his steps immediately became very steady, and he broke into a jog.

The people in the room were certainly not sleeping. They were all quietly wiping down their weapons. From time to time, someone would splash a bit of liquor on themselves, stumble out to relieve themselves, and on the way close the courtyard gate and check whether the sentries were posted as arranged.

The entire trading company goods yard fell completely silent. Liu Yong still hadn't returned. After Ji Xiang, "dead drunk," went out to relieve himself one more time, everyone emerged from the room. Each wore dark-colored clothes and carried a short weapon about three feet long. The unopened jar of liquor was taken too. They went to the firewood storage area, and following the marks made beforehand, bundled up the oil-drenched firewood. Each person shouldered a bundle, then they filed out through the back gate.

According to the night's arrangement, there were no sentries at the back gate. The household servants didn't yet have that level of alert awareness. Anywhere the sentries weren't posted was a complete blind spot.

After exiting and turning the corner at the intersection, Lei Cai, who had been dozing off, immediately snapped alert. He came over quietly to greet them, then led the group toward their destination.

Because of the past incident of killing Cheng Tongtou at night, although the others were nervous, Zhao Jin, Chen Sheng, and Wang Zhaojing were completely composed. They quietly reminded their companions from time to time what to watch out for and not to be startled by dogs barking along the road.

The area from the goods yard to the old Earth God Temple east of the city had night watchmen and village militia patrols, but they could be avoided by sticking to the small paths. The two sides wouldn't even cross paths. The night patrols knew their limits well and would never go checking the small paths or dark corners — no one wanted to stir up trouble for themselves.

Zhao Jin and the others' calmness influenced the rest. As they walked on, everyone gradually became much more at ease. When they were almost at the old Earth God Temple, Sun Dalei couldn't help muttering to himself, "It's not like we haven't killed before — what the hell is there to be scared of!"

Shi Manqiang and the few others who hadn't gone on the Cheng Tongtou job couldn't help laughing. Zhao Jin immediately made them shut up — this was a killing mission, not a countryside outing.

Four dog barks sounded. Liu Yong slipped out from the darkness and said quietly, "Li Yang's been inside this compound the whole time, never came out. Leizi already scouted it — during the day there was a man keeping watch nearby, but at night, once he's paid, that man stays somewhere else. Inside there's only Li Yang and that woman, just the two of them."

"Any dogs in the yard?"

"No. Scared of scaring off the clients."

Zhao Jin nodded, tossed his bundle of firewood to Liu Yong, and called Sun Dalei straight over. He stepped onto Sun Dalei's shoulders and climbed over the not-very-high wall.

Watching Zhao Jin drop into the yard, Wang Zhaojing said quietly, "First to charge forward, last to retreat — Brother Zhao truly is Brother Zhao!"

Everyone fell silent for a moment, pondering those words. Just then they heard the sound of the door bolt being drawn. The courtyard gate opened from the inside, and the group shouldered their firewood and filed in.

Once inside the courtyard, they turned and pushed the gate nearly shut. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief — getting inside meant they were already halfway to success.

Zhao Jin coughed once and headed toward the house with light steps. Everyone hurried to follow. In the darkness they couldn't see clearly, and their movements were all a bit slow.

Before they could even touch the door, it swung open from the inside. They heard a woman grumbling, "He's no high official, yet he can't even stand having a chamber pot outside the bedroom — makes me put it out in the courtyard. And every time you only grudgingly hand over a few coppers..."

The night was dark, and the woman hadn't brought a candle. She groped her way out and didn't notice anyone at the door at first, but she quickly realized — no matter how dark it was, she could still make out a blurry silhouette.

In that instant, everyone froze. Zhao Jin hadn't expected this turn of events, and his companions certainly hadn't either.

Time seemed to move very slowly. The night was quiet. Zhao Jin could clearly hear the woman in front of him drawing in a sharp breath. In the next moment, she was going to scream...

Zhao Jin drew his blade on pure instinct. After so many years of bitter martial training, his reactions had become second nature — and at a moment like this, he could not let this woman scream.

Thought and action were one, but the movement was executed with extreme speed. He drew the blade from its sheath, took a step forward in the same motion, and thrust the knife into the woman's throat.

As the blade entered her throat, Zhao Jin felt with perfect clarity the sound of her breath vanishing. He didn't pull the knife out. He twisted his hand. The woman's grip had already loosened, and the chamber pot dropped straight toward the ground.

Liu Yong, who had already moved up close, flung off his firewood and lunged forward, catching the chamber pot. In the pitch darkness everything was a blur, and his catch wasn't clean — though the chamber pot hit the ground and shattered, the filth inside splashed out, and the stench of urine filled the air.

By now the others had reacted too. Ji Xiang stepped forward and supported the woman. Only then did Zhao Jin pull his blade free, sidestepping to avoid the spurting blood. Ji Xiang slowly lowered the corpse to the ground.

From just now until this moment, none of them had made a single sound. If the person in the inner room wasn't paying attention, all he would have heard was the door opening and closing — he wouldn't even have caught the woman's complaints.

The body was laid down, the chamber pot set aside. Everyone put down their firewood and prepared to move inside with light steps. But Zhao Jin stood there motionless. This uncharacteristic behavior made everyone pause. Chen Sheng gave him a shove from behind, and only then did Zhao Jin jolt back to his senses.

Inside the house it wasn't so dim. There were still embers in the cooking hearth, a red glow seeping out, and they could see each other a bit more clearly. Anyone paying close attention would have noticed that Zhao Jin's movements were somewhat stiff.

In commoners' homes, the fire was usually kept alive in the cooking hearth — charcoal covered with ash, to be uncovered when needed. Oil lamps and candles were often placed beside the stove. Ji Xiang glanced at Zhao Jin and saw no response. Ji Xiang hesitated, then with practiced ease lit the oil lamp.

The main room brightened at once. Everyone looked at Zhao Jin, waiting for his next order, but he was still standing there somewhat dazed. Wang Zhaojing discreetly nudged Zhao Jin with his elbow.

Zhao Jin shuddered again and pointed a hand toward the bedroom. Though everyone found it strange, they all followed his instruction.

"... taking so long just to empty a chamber pot..."

They could hear Li Yang's irritated grumbling. The door curtain lifted, and the lamplight illuminated the bedroom. Li Yang, under the covers, rubbed his eyes in annoyance — then froze in terror. Before he could make a move, Ji Xiang, holding the oil lamp, stepped aside, and Shi Manqiang pounced straight onto him. Shi Manqiang's bulk was nothing Li Yang could match. Without even a struggle, he was pinned down firmly.

Li Yang had already seen Zhao Jin and the others filing in. At a moment like this, even a fool would know what was about to happen. Li Yang thrashed with all his might, but Shi Manqiang's strength was among the greatest even among their friends — there was no way he could break free.

Zhao Jin looked somewhat dazed, his reactions slower than usual. He still held the short blade dripping with blood. Zhao Jin walked up to Li Yang, placed the knife against his throat, then signaled Shi Manqiang to let go.

"Make a sound and you die," Zhao Jin said hoarsely. Li Yang didn't even dare nod — he just blinked frantically to show he understood.

Zhao Jin's voice had gone inexplicably hoarse. He spoke again: "Who is the Incense-Smelling Sect's current Xuzhou chapter master?"

The moment this question was asked, Li Yang's entire body began trembling like a sieve. All he could do was shake his head desperately. Seeing Zhao Jin frown, Li Yang said, his voice tinged with tears, "The new chapter master only sends messengers to relay orders. I don't know anything."

Hiding in the shadows, identity unknown — this was indeed troublesome. Zhao Jin's brow furrowed again. Li Yang struggled, about to beg for his life. Zhao Jin ignored him and simply said quietly, "Pour that jar of liquor down his throat."

Chen Sheng came over carrying the wine jar. Shi Manqiang pinched Li Yang's cheeks, forcing his mouth open. Chen Sheng tipped the jar and poured the liquor straight down.

It was strong liquor. The first mouthful made Li Yang choke, but with a blade pressed to his neck, he had no choice but to drink. After about half a catty had been poured down, Li Yang's eyes began to glaze over, and his struggling and twisting weakened. By the time the entire three-catty jar of strong liquor had been drained, Li Yang had essentially lost consciousness.

"Bring the woman inside." When mentioning the corpse outside, Zhao Jin's speech hitched.

The woman was quickly carried in. The oil-soaked bundles of firewood from outside were also brought in and set down one by one. Zhao Jin looked at the woman's body on the floor and stood frozen for a moment.

Though the daze was brief, in that place it seemed to stretch long. The companions exchanged glances. Wang Zhaojing frowned, about to remind him, when Zhao Jin shook his head, picked up the oil lamp, and placed it beneath a bundle of firewood. Then he waved his hand, and they all exited the house together.

The firewood had been drenched in oil, and after several hours it was thoroughly soaked and bone-dry — extremely flammable. Licked by the oil lamp's flame, it ignited at once. By the time Zhao Jin and the others walked out of the courtyard, they could faintly see the red glow above the compound.