In this underground room, there was only the dim light of an oil lamp.
Xue Ling, wearing a bathrobe, stood barefoot on the cool floor and bowed slightly to the old man who had his back to her.
"How did the mission go?" The old man, Old Mr. Zou, did not turn his head, his aged voice echoing in the room.
"Xue Ling is incompetent," Xue Ling said, lowering her head. "The Beehive organization is tightly knit. My subordinate undercover work there for several months has only allowed me to make contact with Bee Sting and the Bee Attractor; I have never seen a third Beehive member."
"Trying to infiltrate the Beehive and coordinate from the inside out is too difficult."
Xue Ling defended herself in this way.
Although she had initially gained the trust of Fang Bie and He Ping as Bee Wing—or at least, a tacit understanding—trying to use her as a fulcrum to pry open the colossus that was the Beehive was still far too difficult.
Currently, she had no access to the vital intelligence that could cause the Beehive's annihilation. The structure of the Beehive was so rigorous that if she wanted to obtain further information, her only option would be to report He Ping to the Imperial Guard and have this veteran Beehive assassin arrested and interrogated under torture to extract effective intelligence.
However, regardless of whether Xue Ling wanted to betray the gentle Innkeeper who always spoke to her with a smile, she did not want to take that risk simply out of fear of He Ping's own strength.
Old Mr. Zou gave a dry laugh. "Xue Ling, you haven't started to enjoy this Jianghu life, have you?"
Xue Ling refused outright: "How could that be?"
"That is good," Old Mr. Zou nodded, not pressing the matter further. "Was Ning Huaiyuan killed by Bee Sting with your assistance?"
Xue Ling nodded: "Yes."
"And how was he killed?" Old Mr. Zou asked. "Yue Pingshan sent word that Ning Huaiyuan was slain that night at the Mountain God Temple, but no one has found the whereabouts of his body. Is he truly dead, or did he fake his death to escape?"
"I saw it with my own eyes," Xue Ling said. "Ning Huaiyuan is dead."
"Then how did he die? In what manner was he killed?" Old Mr. Zou pressed.
Xue Ling had prepared for this: "He was killed by Fang Bie's sword."
"Ning Huaiyuan was a Third-Rank Master," Old Mr. Zou said.
Xue Ling nodded: "Yes."
"Ning Huaiyuan possessed many martial arts and was rich in combat experience; he was no ordinary disciple of a famous sect," Old Mr. Zou continued. "As far as I know, your partner Fang Bie is only seventeen years old. How could he already be a Third-Rank Master capable of killing Ning Huaiyuan in a head-on fight?"
"Tell me the truth."
Xue Ling remained calm.
She quietly described to Old Mr. Zou how Fang Bie drew his sword, how he dodged, and how he seized Ning Huaiyuan's opening to defeat him in one move. This was a scenario Xue Ling had rehearsed long ago. In any case, only she and Fang Bie knew what happened that day; even He Ping did not know the specific details of the assassination. Furthermore, Ning Huaiyuan's body had been dissolved into blue smoke right before her eyes, making any so-called autopsy impossible.
The current Xue Ling certainly would not treat the Imperial Guard as her only lifeline. On the contrary, she was a thorn planted by the Imperial Guard within the Beehive. Perhaps the Imperial Guard had not taken her too seriously before, but now, with her and Fang Bie having killed a Third-Rank Master like Ning Huaiyuan right after becoming partners, the Imperial Guard was forced to value her and Fang Bie.
And the more they valued her, the safer Xue Ling was.
Unless she could return to the Imperial Guard and effectively counter the petty schemes and framing of Lü Yuan, Xue Ling was in no hurry to return.
Just like the flying fish robe she had buried under a tree in her hometown, it was not something that could be dug out just like that.
The day Xue Ling left Yanjing City, it was as if a fish had entered the vast sea and a bird had taken to the high sky.
Parting ways, each finding their own happiness.
"So you believe that Fang Bie is also a Third-Rank Master capable of killing a Third-Rank Master?" Old Mr. Zou continued.
Xue Ling nodded: "Yes."
Old Mr. Zou nodded: "You may return now."
Xue Ling said her goodbyes, turned, and left, closing the door behind her.
Her footsteps faded into the distance.
Old Mr. Zou let out a cold laugh.
……
……
Xue Ling returned to the steaming bathroom, took off her bathrobe, and continued to soak her whole body in the warm spring water, looking up at the sky.
Everything was basically still within her expectations.
The Imperial Guard had needs of her, so as long as she did not openly defy their orders, she remained their undercover agent in the Beehive and would not be discarded like a worn-out shoe just because she could not provide the intelligence to annihilate the Beehive as originally planned.
Of course, it was asking too much for a low-level Bee Wing like Xue Ling to provide such intelligence. At most, Xue Ling could inform the Imperial Guard about the Soul-Shattering Inn, a Beehive stronghold. But knowing the location was useless; in the past few months, the Imperial Guard had destroyed eight or ten Beehive strongholds, but every time the place was empty, and they could not catch the key figures, they had no way to uproot this Jianghu organization that dared to move against high officials of the Imperial Court.
And the value of Xue Ling, a Bee Wing capable of going undercover beside a promising Beehive assassin, would only become more apparent.
The young girl stretched her legs in the bath water.
Hmm—just soaking her body like this made her feel very secure.
She only had a single-line connection with this Old Mr. Zou; he was her only superior, and she reported all intelligence to him without leaving any written records.
She could be considered a lonely kite, with only this one string tethering her to the path back home.
Sometimes, she even had the illusion of wanting to cut the kite string.
However—was she to be an assassin for her whole life? Or, like He Ping, would there come a day when she could retire after being an assassin for so long?
Xue Ling did not know.
……
……
When Xue Ling had dressed again and walked out of the main entrance of the Changqing Bathhouse, she saw Fang Bie sitting on the stone steps opposite, waiting for her.
To be honest, seeing that youth in green, Xue Ling was truly a bit surprised and even a bit afraid for a moment.
She even had the illusion of being caught red-handed.
"Fang Bie," Xue Ling called out.
She couldn't just pretend not to see him; that would be too fake.
"Finished soaking?" Fang Bie stood up and walked over to Xue Ling. The young girl could not see a trace of unnecessary emotion from this man.
Xue Ling could only nod: "Finished."
"Do you have anything to do? If not, I'm heading back to the inn," Xue Ling said.
"Of course I have something," Fang Bie said. "Would you mind coming with me?"
Coming with him? To be drowned in a pig cage?
Xue Ling asked: "What for?"
Fang Bie smiled: "I'll take you for a stroll. Would you like that?"
As he said this, Fang Bie reached out and grabbed Xue Ling's wrist, heading toward the bustling crowd in the distance.
"We're going to the Luocheng black market. I'll buy you some treasures and cultivation methods to improve yourself."
The youth's voice fell into Xue Ling's ears, barely audible.
A flush appeared on Xue Ling's face, hard to detect.
Slightly red.
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