Chapter 127: The Conspiracy

The withered grass on the graves was half green and half yellow. Sitting in her wheelchair, Qingyu burst into uncontrollable tears. This time, she had emerged safely once again, though the Grand Marshal remained poisoned and required further convalescence.

However, Fatty Le was gone, and Brother Qiu had also perished while rescuing her.

Pouring wine as an offering, Qingyu’s heart remained unsettled for a long time.

The Un-official Bureau had suffered heavy casualties. Half of the elite operatives originally selected from the lower ranks had fallen at Banbi Mountain. From this day forward, a life-and-death struggle was set between the Un-official Bureau and the Manichaeism.

Liang Zixin had long since grown indifferent to the worldly affairs of life, death, wealth, and status, but witnessing this scene, the waves churning in his heart refused to settle. Ripple after ripple spread outward until they finally breached his eyelids, transforming into a few silent teardrops that plummeted to the ground.

Patting Qingyu’s shoulder, a deep, resonant uncle-like voice filled with nostalgia and vicissitudes drifted slowly through the mountain forest, scattering with the wind.

************

"Brother Luo!"

"Brother Lang!"

Luo Yishi cupped his fists and smiled. Having just sent the man away not long ago, summoning him back via carrier pigeon now felt somewhat embarrassing, so he threw an arm around his shoulder in a familiar manner.

"Hiss, my shoulder injury hasn't fully healed and it still hurts, so stop shoving me around. The Tenth League Token has already been sent out, and whatever fraternal bond exists between you and me will be severed after this affair. This mission is extremely perilous; if the intelligence turns out to be wrong again, I can only make my escape while I still can!" Lang Zhua said with extreme reluctance, pushing Luo Yishi’s arm away.

"Hahahaha, Brother Lang needn't be so distant! This mission is sponsored by the Right Chancellor himself, so the remuneration is quite generous—otherwise, I wouldn't have rashly summoned Brother Lang back! Besides, the Princess's Estate is just outside Chang'an City, making things convenient to carry out! Fleeing when the time comes will also be much easier!" Luo Yishi’s expression remained unchanged as he continued to flash a smiling, enthusiastic facade.

Hearing this, greed surged violently in Lang Zhua’s heart. Pondering the matter carefully, a commission from the current Right Chancellor ought to be exceptionally lucrative. His cunning eyes darted around as his thoughts fell into place. "Since it's the Right Chancellor, I cannot refuse. However, the deposit must be paid in advance. I certainly wouldn't dare negotiate this face-to-face with the Right Chancellor, so I'll leave that to Brother Luo!"

Luo Yishi’s eyebrows twitched imperceptibly, but he maintained his composure and readily agreed.

Several months later, in the rear garden of the Duke of Jin's estate, several ferocious jianghu martial artists gathered together, all respectfully listening to the Right Chancellor's arrangements from the seat of honor, not a single one showing any sign of dissatisfaction.

Guards of the Duke of Jin's estate stood on either side, and Inspector-General Ji Wen was also present with a few trusted confidants from the Ministry of Punishments. Daunted by this presence, these martial artists dared not harbor any rebellious thoughts, obeying every single command of the Right Chancellor without the slightest dissent.

There were six jianghu martial artists gathered here in total: the three leaders of Manichaeism, and three assassins from the Tenth League. All of them were grandmaster-level figures. Aside from Lang Zhua, the other two were known as Tiger Whisker and Night Nightmare.

Lang Zhua was actually a codename; the man originally had no name or surname. Legend had it that he was a child raised by wolves, later discovered and raised by Ni Lin, the leader of the Tenth League. Naturally cunning and greedy, he was well-versed in the arts of assassination, hiding in the shadows to bide his time before striking with the cruelty and ferocity of a wolf to instantly claim his target.

Tiger Whisker had thick eyebrows and big eyes, giving him an honest appearance, but in reality, he possessed boundless strength and could wield a five-hundred-jin weapon with ease. The spiked club he carried with him everywhere was the best proof of this. It was once rumored that an entire village had been completely massacred, every villager beaten into a pulp of flesh and blood by his club. When the city constables arrived at the scene, this burly man, wearing a tiger mask adorned with six bristling whiskers, crushed the investigating constables to death as well. He had accumulated a notorious reputation throughout the jianghu.

Later, trapped by the pursuit of the Four Great Constables, he nearly lost his life on the rocky ridges of Lingwu. The intervention of the Tenth League rescued him, and he became one of their assassins, continuing his reign of terror year after year. Every bounty target and those around them died in miserable fashions at his hands.

The third individual, codenamed Night Nightmare, was essentially a notorious flower-picking bandit who specialized in ruining respectable women. Recent jianghu rumors held that this scoundrel had a particular fondness for young matrons. He secretly employed a pair of daggers and a short crossbow, all three weapons heavily coated with a slow-acting paralyzing poison; anyone struck by his arrows or blades would feel a numbing drowsiness within moments and collapse to the ground.

As for the Four Great Constables, they were legendary figures from a decade ago, and the old marshal of the Un-official Bureau was one of them.

Leaving the Duke of Jin's estate, these men arrived at the Qi Family Restaurant. Because of the Right Chancellor, they had designated this place as their regular meeting and assembly point.

As for the master of the Qi family who hosted them, he could only offer a few polite pleasantries before taking his leave to avoid lingering. Above all, he had made some inquiries about this band of martial outlaws; wealthy as he was, he dared not speak any superfluous nonsense and simply provided the venue. In any case, the Qi Family Restaurant could no longer operate properly; ever since offending the Protector Princess last year, business had been desolate with virtually no customers coming and going. Lately, the Journey to the West Restaurant seemed to be telling the story of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, celebrating historical tales of loyal ministers and famous generals, and he found himself slipping over to listen from time to time—it was quite interesting.

Tiger Whisker picked up a jar of wine, took several great gulps, and slammed it back down onto the table with a loud clatter. A violent, brutal voice erupted from his throat, "Can I smash the Princess's Estate to pieces? Completely pulverize it!"

Such brutal words clearly conflicted with his honest exterior, creating a stark and contradictory impression.

"No, this time you must stay by my side! We must act in unison!" Lang Zhua waved his finger, signaling his disagreement. Pulverize the Princess's Estate? Their target this time was the assassination of the Un-official Commander and the leaders of the Un-official Bureau. Including the three of them plus the three Manichaeism leaders, there were six people in total. If they tore down the Princess's Estate, wouldn't they be hunted down and slaughtered by the Imperial Forbidden Army? There would be no path to survival.

"Hmph," Tiger Whisker muttered impatiently, smashing a wine jar with a blow of his fist. He exhaled heavily through his nose and said nothing more, seemingly acquiescing to Lang Zhua’s command.

Wearing his mask, Night Nightmare emitted a soft, mocking chuckle. Staring at the map of the Princess's Estate spread out on the dining table, his eyes locked onto the spot marked with the three characters "Tianci Pavilion"—that was the princess's bedchamber. Having lived a romantic and dashing life, he had never yet had an encounter with any princess. Thinking of this, improper fantasies inevitably arose within him.

"Hey, Night Nightmare, don't tell me you're planning to sneak into Tianci Pavilion?" Hearing Night Nightmare emit that unsettling laugh, Lang Zhua knew this fellow was up to no good again.

"Heh, this time we are splitting up. I'll create chaos on the side of Tianci Pavilion, set a fire, hehe, and then spend a romantic night with the beauty. I hear that Protector Princess is quite the Drunk Eight Immortals herself; tsk tsk tsk, an immortal maiden—Night here is drooling with desire!"

Lang Zhua had no objections, and so the matter was settled. He then looked toward the First Leader, Tuomanshan.

The bearded brute didn't waste many words either. Seeing Lang Zhua's gaze sweep over him, he nodded in agreement.

As for this map of the Princess's Estate, the Right Chancellor had spent a fortune prying it out of Xu Zhucheng. The imperial master craftsman who had originally constructed the estate still treasured the princess's architectural designs, always believing the princess to be a gothic genius among artisans. And now, this map was being exploited by scheming individuals to strike against the Princess's Estate.