The man in black let out a cold snort and said angrily, "Still daring to be stubborn? We'll see if you talk in a moment!"
Before the words had even faded, the man in black suddenly vanished from where he stood.
Qin Sang was greatly alarmed. In that instant, the man had truly disappeared from his field of vision.
Qin Sang had never encountered an enemy like this. When sparring with Yang Zhen’s disciples at the Wuwei Escort Agency, he could always rely on his keen eyesight to anticipate their moves and handle them with ease, but this time, his eyes were not so effective.
If this man in black could vanish right under his nose, he was either a mysterious cultivator or a master of the martial arts world.
No!
Qin Sang’s gaze suddenly sharpened. He had caught a trace of something unusual; the air in front of him was slightly distorted, something only his eyes could perceive.
Though a storm of thoughts raged in Qin Sang’s mind, only an instant had passed.
In the blink of an eye, the distortion in the air spread to right in front of Qin Sang.
If Qin Sang were to counterattack now, he would still have time to throw a punch, but the man’s movement technique was too bizarre. Not daring to be overconfident, Qin Sang did not hesitate to activate the Yama Banner.
"Kill him!"
Following Qin Sang’s low roar, the Yama emerged from the banner, grinning hideously as it lunged at the man in black.
*Bang!*
The man in black slammed his head against the edge of the bed and lay there motionless. A moment later, the Yama floated out, biting down on the man’s soul, and looked at Qin Sang with a fawning expression.
Like Old Wu’s, the man’s soul stood there with a dull, vacant expression, completely motionless.
However, when Qin Sang pulled off the man’s mask and saw that his soul looked exactly like his physical body, he realized that Old Wu had most likely been using a disguise.
Facing such a crisis for the first time, Qin Sang was still shaken. He took a few breaths to steady himself before immediately asking questions. Unsurprisingly, the soul would soon dissolve into soul mist.
"What was Old Wu’s purpose in lurking at the Taoist temple?" Qin Sang asked rapidly.
The man in black replied expressionlessly, "To monitor the ferry and wait for a mission."
So it had nothing to do with the temple or himself. Qin Sang felt much relieved and asked, "How did you know Old Wu was dead?"
"The Gatekeeper passed down a mission today. I sent a message to Old Wu via carrier pigeon and received no response."
So those pigeons belonged to Old Wu!
Qin Sang cursed under his breath and pressed on: "Who is the Gatekeeper? What mission? What kind of people are in your Jiangshan Tower?"
After a series of questions, a look of deep astonishment appeared in Qin Sang’s eyes.
The so-called Jiangshan Tower was actually a top-tier assassin organization in the martial arts world, renowned for never having failed a mission.
The Gatekeeper was a messenger who connected the assassins to the Jiangshan Tower. The Tower issued missions to the assassins through the Gatekeeper, and the assassins rarely communicated with one another.
This man in black was also an assassin and had been Old Wu’s partner for many years, both lurking in Sanwu City.
As for the target of their current mission, they would only know after meeting the Gatekeeper tomorrow morning.
Old Wu’s martial arts were not top-tier, but his mastery of disguise was extremely high. He had posed as a refugee, lurking at the ferry as a tracker. One purpose was to monitor the ferry, and the other was to wait for the Jiangshan Tower to issue a mission.
Sometimes, it was common for an assassin to go a year or two without a mission. During these times, they would pose as normal people, which was why Old Wu had lived in the temple for half a year. Unexpectedly, a formidable assassin had died so foolishly at the hands of Qin Sang.
The martial arts world had revealed a corner of its iceberg to Qin Sang so abruptly.
"Besides you and Old Wu, how many other assassins are in Sanwu City?" Qin Sang asked, his eyes narrowing.
"I don't know."
The Jiangshan Tower was strictly organized and did not allow much interaction between assassins. The two of them only had a single-line connection with their own Gatekeeper and did not know the missions or whereabouts of other assassins.
That was for the best!
Qin Sang nodded. He didn't care who the Jiangshan Tower’s target was; he was more concerned about whether the Qingyang Temple would be implicated. "If you don't return, will the Jiangshan Tower send others to look for you?"
"Yes! If an assassin disappears without cause, the Gatekeeper will report it to the Jiangshan Tower, and they will certainly send people to investigate until the matter is cleared up."
Qin Sang frowned deeply. "Who else knows you came to the temple tonight?"
"The Gatekeeper."
"Who else knows Old Wu was lurking at the ferry and living at the temple?"
"The Gatekeeper."
"Will he report it?"
"I don't know."
"Where does he live?"
"Sanwu City, South City, Fuliu Alley, Number Thirteen, Earth Sector..."
"Do you have any secret signals between you?"
...
The soul of the man in black dissolved into a wisp of soul mist and was swallowed by the Yama. Qin Sang leaned against the wall, holding his head and sitting in a daze for a long time. Suddenly remembering something, he ran quietly to the rooms of the old Taoist and Mingyue, looking through the windows to see them sleeping soundly.
Standing there watching for a while, Qin Sang said silently, "Taoist priest, Mingyue, I will bear the consequences of my own actions alone; I will certainly not implicate you."
He returned to his room, packed up the Yama Banner and other items, and put on a set of clothes. He left everything else in the room untouched, taking only a bottle of bone-setting medicine prepared by the old Taoist.
Finally, he placed the body of the man in black on the bed. Feeling around, he found a sleeve arrow strapped to his arm and a soft sword for a belt; there was nothing else.
The man in black hadn't expected to be instantly counter-killed by Qin Sang; his sword had barely been drawn.
Qin Sang removed the sleeve arrow. Its mechanism was simple, and he quickly figured it out, strapping it to his own arm. He then drew the soft sword, picked up an ironwood staff from the corner, and took one last look at the room he had lived in for a year. He took out a few fire-starters and tossed them around.
The house was made of grass, wood, and bamboo, except for the stone frame, and there was a large pile of firewood in the outer room. The flames quickly flared up.
"I don't know if this will be enough to distance the Qingyang Temple from this."
Qin Sang sighed softly. Once the fire was raging, he walked out of the temple without looking back. He only heard people shouting about the fire when he reached the middle of the mountain.
Passing Old Wu’s grave, Qin Sang walked up to it. The flames from the Qingyang Temple had already dyed half the night sky red. He smiled bitterly, "Old Wu, oh Old Wu, why did you have to choose the Qingyang Temple in the first place?"
Ever since he had refined the Yama Banner, Qin Sang had thought about leaving the temple, but he hadn't expected to leave in this manner.
The man in black’s horse was tied in the woods at the foot of the mountain. Qin Sang mounted it and headed straight for Sanwu City.
He rode at full speed. By the time Qin Sang reached Sanwu City, the sky was still dim, and the city gates had not yet opened.
However, due to the frequent trade at the ferry and the prosperous merchant routes, there was a side gate at the south of Sanwu City that remained open all night to allow for the passage of goods. Qin Sang hid his sword, staff, and horse outside the city, spent a little silver to blend in with a merchant, and entered the city, heading straight for Fuliu Alley.
It was still early, and there were no pedestrians in the entire alley.
The people living in this alley were all wealthy, with high walls and vermilion gates. Qin Sang soon found Number Thirteen, Earth Sector.
The residence was not large, built with blue bricks that stood four or five people high, and the main gate was tightly shut.