A beautiful face can reflect the clarity of the azure sky; that is probably what he looks like.
“Hey, have you heard? The young master of the Huayu Pavilion has gone missing.”
“Missing? The Huayu Pavilion is a major sect; who would dare to touch someone from inside?”
“That’s because you don’t know! Didn’t you see how many people there are in Yuye City today? I heard the sect master of the Huayu Pavilion has spoken: whoever can send that young master back safe and sound will…”
The voice over there grew lower and lower, until it was almost inaudible.
Tan Congye sat calmly in the corner of the inn, raising his eyes to glance at the passing waiter and giving a subtle look to the person beside him.
That person immediately understood his master’s intentions and hastily reached out to block the waiter’s path.
“Let me ask you something.”
Hearing the voice, the waiter looked over to see a man with a long sword tucked at his waist. The way he tilted his head back to gulp down wine was exceptionally bold and unrestrained. The person sitting across from him had a solemn face and radiated an aura of murderous intent, clearly marking them as people from the pugilistic world.
“Patron, I’m quite busy right now.”
Upon seeing this, the man in black pulled a tael of silver from his lapel and shook it in his hand.
The moment the waiter saw it, his face instantly broke into a wide, beaming smile. He sat down without pouring any more wine, flattering them with a full-faced grin: “Patron, feel free to ask whatever you wish. I will certainly tell you everything I know.”
“I heard the Huayu Pavilion has released some sort of news—as long as someone can find that young master, there will be a reward. What is this reward?” Tan Congye lightly pressed his thumb against his wine cup.
For some reason, the waiter perked up instantly upon hearing this question, his mouth pouring out a torrent of words: “Have patrons ever heard of Changye Hall?”
“What about it?”
“Oh my goodness, that Changye Hall was the number one martial arts sect in the world over a decade ago! Whether it was combat strength or financial power, it was number one under heaven. After its bizarre destruction twelve years ago, it vanished without a trace. However…”
“However what?”
Seeing the waiter trying to build suspense, the man in black proactively handed over another piece of silver.
The waiter accepted it with a happy grin and began to gesticulate animatedly: “Jianghu rumors say that Changye Hall left behind quite a bit of treasure. Just think about it who wouldn’t want a slice of the treasure belonging to the number one sect in the world? So, the Huayu Pavilion’s sect master has declared that whoever can find that young master will be given the clues in their possession regarding the Changye Hall treasure.”
“Changye Hall’s treasure?” Tan Congye rested his finger against his wine cup. “Changye Hall was destroyed twelve years ago, yet there’s still treasure to be found.”
“A starved camel is still bigger than a horse. Forget twelve years—even twenty years from now, people will still be paying attention. Who wouldn’t want a piece of the pie?”
Tan Congye finished his last drop of wine, raised his hand, and tossed another tip to the waiter.
“Thanks.”
The two of them stepped out of the inn and headed toward a courtyard outside Yuye City. As soon as they stepped inside, the black-clad servant began organizing his thoughts.
“City Lord, I never expected that sitting in the inn today would accidentally yield such news. What the Huayu Pavilion said doesn’t sound false. If we can get the clues from the Huayu Pavilion, we can likely take another step closer to the truth behind the destruction of Changye Hall.” The man looked up, gazing at his master’s silhouette. “What is our next step?”
“I’m not interested in the Changye Hall’s treasure.” Tan Congye leaned against the railing, his slender figure dazzlingly eye-catching. “Chen Wen, how are the matters I previously told you to investigate coming along?”
Chen Wen replied, “Strangely enough, we couldn’t unearth anything before, but we suddenly got some leads recently. Our men sent word that there is one person who knows the truth about the destruction of Changye Hall back then.”
“Who?”
Chen Wen lowered his voice. “Ying Laixian.”
“Ying Laixian…” Tan Congye softly murmured the name, finding it somewhat familiar.
Chen Wen reminded him, “He is the Jade-like Gentleman among the Four Jade Gentlemen.”
Jade-like Slim Snow Ying Laixian, Intoxicated Jade Collapsing Mountain Zhong Xiyu, Mount Kun Fragmentary Jade Ji Tingzhong, Autumn Frost Carrying Jade Zuo Lingmu.
Even though Yishui City rarely showed its face in the pugilistic world, Chen Wen was well-acquainted with these four individuals. All four were disciples of the Second-Rank Sword Saint Wei Heng, and each possessed extremely high attainments in swordsmanship except for Ying Laixian, who was known as the Jade-like Slim Snow.
Word had it that this person lived in seclusion, never traveled through the pugilistic world, and studied literature rather than martial arts. Yet, a few years ago, he shot to fame purely on account of his looks, claiming the title of the Number One Beauty Under Heaven.
Tan Congye evidently remembered as well. He frequently heard people in the Jianghu praising how breathtakingly beautiful Ying Laixian was, so through sheer repetition, he had become familiar with the name.
“Have you tracked down his whereabouts?”
Chen Wen scratched his head. “This is also quite strange. Word originally had it that he resided year-round in Quedu, but according to the latest news, he is currently right outside Yuye City.”
“Well, that is quite a coincidence.” A hint of a smile flickered in Tan Congye’s deep eyes. “If I want to investigate the truth behind the annihilation of Changye Hall, I truly must go look for him.”
As the sun sank behind the western hills, Yuye City at night appeared exceptionally quiet, the occasional call of a stray bird sounding spine-chillingly eerie.
Tan Congye reversed his grip on the hilt of his sword, Jingpo. Amidst a flash of blades and shadows, blood splattered across his face. The blood was warm, and the night was dark, but his fierce and sullen eyes were exceptionally bright.
“I had only just received the news, yet someone couldn’t wait to take my life. It seems the annihilation of Changye Hall truly holds hidden secrets.”
Tan Congye sheathed his blade and groped around the corpses on the ground in the dark. These dark guards were well-trained and possessed good martial arts, yet they revealed no distinctive clues.
The soil beneath his feet was rendered viscous by blood. Without looking back, Tan Congye strode toward a specific destination. After leaving the city, he headed straight for a private courtyard, sensing that something was amiss the moment he approached.
Although this courtyard was small, plenty of ambushes were laid both inside and out. The owner must be quite an extraordinary person to warrant such a grand and extravagant effort.
Tan Congye walked a circle around the perimeter of the house, catching the sound of melodious zither music drifting from within. He couldn’t help but chuckle slightly, carelessly leaning against the corner of the wall. He listened as the zither notes shifted from serene to passionate, abruptly transitioning from an ethereal canyon to a fierce battlefield. Every rise and fall of the music sounded like hands raised and blades falling; the hidden ambushers had made their move, yet the zither music did not stop, as if accompanying this premeditated assassination.
The air suddenly froze. The zither music stopped abruptly, and simultaneously, the sound of clashing blades died away. In this courtyard, it seemed as though nothing had happened, yet as though everything had happened.
Tan Congye raised a hand to block the moonlight, turned, and vaulted up onto the courtyard wall.
Clearly, a fierce battle had just taken place here, and the wreckage covering the ground was the best proof.
A sword flashed across the empty sky, and Tan Congye leaped away from his spot, turning his head to meet a woman’s sharp gaze. The woman gently redirected her sword, paused for a fraction of a second, and charged toward him with her weapon drawn.
Tan Congye swung Jingpo with one hand, forcing the woman back with a single move.
“Jiang Ni, stand down.”
A remarkably pleasing voice echoed from behind Tan Congye. Even without turning around, Tan Congye could guess that the speaker must look quite handsome. Seeing the woman put away her sword, he knew the real master had finally appeared.
Tan Congye’s gaze paused slightly as it landed on the newcomer. This person was strikingly attractive not looking like a native of these lands. His skin was as white as jade, his face like peach blossoms, and especially those cyan-colored eyes seemed to hold an unspeakable, ambiguous smile.
Between his eyebrows rested a cinnabar mole. The vibrant red created an eye-catching contrast with his cyan eyes. Tan Congye rarely saw a man wearing peach pink, yet at this moment, he felt this color suited this person to absolute perfection.
A beautiful face can reflect the clarity of the azure sky; that is probably what he looks like.
Compared to Tan Congye, Ying Laixian’s reaction could be described as completely nonchalant, showing no trace of the assassination he had just experienced.
After all, Tan Congye was famous as always. Although he hadn’t crossed paths much with the other man in previous lives, he had seen him before.
“Sword Saint Tan Congye? Visiting so late at night, what brings you here?”
Jianghu martial artists were ranked from ten down to one, with swordsmen at the base; above swordsmen were Sword Saints. Sword Saints were divided into five ranks, and across the entire martial arts world, there were no more than five people who could reach the level of Sword Saint. Tan Congye was currently the youngest among them.
Tan Congye’s gaze drifted over the person before him once more, a sudden thought popping into his head: Someone who looks this pampered and delicate—could he be an illegitimate child kept hidden outside by some major family?
“You recognize me?”
Ying Laixian seemed to casually glance at the sharp sword in Tan Congye’s hand. The blade was exceptionally wide and thick, embedded with oddly shaped red rubies and carved with bizarre patterns. The hilt matched the blade, making it clear at a glance that this was no ordinary object.
“The famous sword Jingpo, City Lord Tan’s personal weapon. I simply figured it out.”
Tan Congye’s body was still stained with a fair amount of blood from the previous group of people. He looked down at his attire with a touch of distaste before answering Ying Laixian: “You must be Ying Laixian?”
In truth, the very first time he saw Ying Laixian, Tan Congye had already concluded that this person was the legendary Jade-like Slim Snow, if only because of how he looked.
Ying Laixian did not reply.
“You really don’t need to be on your guard against me. I merely heard that someone here knows certain secrets that Jianghu folk find fascinating yet obscure. If you can share some details, Yishui City will naturally not treat you without reward.”
Ying Laixian leisurely plucked a peach blossom and twirled it between his fingers. “I wonder what secret City Lord Tan is referring to?”
Tan Congye: “It concerns Changye Hall.”
Ying Laixian let out a sudden chuckle of amusement. He flicked away the petals in his hand and looked at Tan Congye with leisurely interest. “Is that all? Changye Hall? That happened how many years ago? Does City Lord Tan really think I would know?”
Tan Congye stared at the young man before him. He was only nineteen years old, yet completely devoid of panic in the face of Yishui City’s master. Such a person only further convinced him that he had found the right person.
“I assume you’re already aware of the latest Jianghu rumors,” Tan Congye said. “If you tell me the clues regarding the destruction of Changye Hall, I can do a favor for you in return.”
Ying Laixian remained unmoved. “I don’t know the truth behind the destruction of Changye Hall, nor do I understand why the City Lord believes such groundless gossip. However”
Ying Laixian changed the subject. “You’ve faced quite a few assassination attempts along the way. Why don’t you understand? Some people want to give you insider information, but others… want your life.”
“For someone with such a sharp tongue, which faction do you belong to?”
Tan Congye closed in a step further, casting his shadow entirely over Ying Laixian like a ferocious wolf.
Without changing his expression, Ying Laixian stepped back. He looked toward Jiang Ni and her subordinates, who were busy clearing away the corpses, and answered the question with a counter-question: “Does City Lord Tan think the assassination attempts you encountered were merely an accident?”
“Naturally not.”
“Then do you think it was my arrangement?” Ying Laixian even smiled as he said this, though he didn’t wait for Tan Congye’s reply, quickly adding, “Then again, maybe it was.”
The young man dropped these startling words with a calm expression. Bathed in the moonlight, he looked so cold and detached he resembled an immortal who had fallen into the mortal realm. With the peach blossoms blooming brilliantly behind him, he seemed to blend completely into the courtyard scenery, drifting and ethereal enough to vanish at any moment.
For the first time, Tan Congye truly understood the meaning of looks can be deceiving. He felt that the person before him was a cunning fox, and only through constant pulling and tugging would his unruly nature be revealed.
“If you talk like this, it makes it very difficult for me not to kill you.” Tan Congye brushed his hand against the icy blade of Jingpo. The chill penetrated to the bone; this sword had truly seen too much blood today.
“I believe City Lord Tan has the capability, but I can also guarantee you will never succeed,” Ying Laixian said softly.
He was never someone afraid of death. After all, he had died plenty of times already. Furthermore, although his contact with Tan Congye in past lives had been limited, he knew the truest side of this man.
“What a pity. If you kill me, you will truly never know the truth behind the destruction of Changye Hall.”
This tacit admission was tantamount to acknowledging that he had just been playing Tan Congye like a fiddle.
It was also equivalent to confirming that all the intelligence Tan Congye had gathered came from his hands.
Tan Congye’s wrist tightened. He felt his patience wearing thin today. “It seems you have no intention of telling me.”
Ying Laixian smiled. “I was merely testing the waters just now. Is City Lord Tan unhappy with that?”
“Enough.” Tan Congye took a step back, refusing to meet Ying Laixian’s eyes. “Let’s talk cooperation. Name your terms.”
Ying Laixian wanted precisely these words from Tan Congye, making his elaborate efforts to feed the information to him worthwhile.
“I imagine City Lord Tan already knows that the Huayu Pavilion holds a clue regarding the Changye Hall treasure. It’s an old artifact from Changye Hall,” Ying Laixian stated. “I need you to protect me when the time comes and help me secure it.”
Huayu Pavilion had previously been on good terms with Changye Hall, and after Changye Hall’s destruction, Huayu Pavilion was among the first to rush to the scene. It was entirely reasonable for them to hold items from there.
However, to be so certain that whatever Huayu Pavilion produced would be an old artifact of Changye Hall Tan Congye couldn’t figure out where Ying Laixian got such unshakeable confidence.
“Very well, but if you want that item, you must send the person Huayu Pavilion wants out safely.”
Ying Laixian nodded: “I know, which is precisely why I need City Lord Tan’s help.”
“I heard the young master of the Huayu Pavilion went missing. Could it be he’s in your hands?” Tan Congye asked.
“Not quite.” Ying Laixian denied it, pulling a slip of paper from his lapel to hand to Tan Congye. “Arrive here before noon tomorrow. City Lord Tan only needs to rescue him and bring him back.”
Tan Congye took the slip of paper and narrowed his eyes. “They all say the Jade-like Gentleman has never roamed the martial arts world. Looking at it now, those were all rumors.”
“You can never truly know a person just by their face.” Ying Laixian willingly disparaged himself. “City Lord Tan, don’t be fooled by my appearance.”
“I certainly won’t.” Tan Congye’s gaze turned sharp. “When this is over, if you fail to produce useful information, I will kill you with my own hands.”
“Is that so? Then I shall look forward to it.” Ying Laixian smiled. “Three days from now, right here. I will have to trouble City Lord Tan for the escort duty then.”