Chapter 21: Parting

The man in black let out a cold snort and said angrily, "Still acting tough? We'll see if you dare to confess in a moment!"

Before his voice had even faded, the man in black suddenly vanished from his spot.

Qin Sang was greatly alarmed; in that instant, the man in black had truly disappeared from his sight.

Qin Sang had never encountered such an enemy before. When practicing against Yang Zhen's disciples at the Wuwei Escort Agency, he could always rely on his keen eyes to anticipate his opponent and handle them with ease, but this time, his vision was not working as well.

The fact that this man in black could vanish right under his nose meant that even if he wasn't a mysterious cultivator, he was certainly a master of the martial arts world.

Wait!

Qin Sang's gaze suddenly tightened. He caught a glimpse of something unusual—the air in front of him was slightly distorted, a detail visible only to his sharpened eyes.

Qin Sang's mind raced, though only an instant had passed.

In the blink of an eye, the distortion in the air spread toward him.

If Qin Sang had counterattacked at that moment, he still would have had time to throw a punch, but the man in black's movement technique was too eerie. Not daring to be reckless, Qin Sang immediately activated the Yama Banner without hesitation.

"Kill him!"

With a low roar from Qin Sang, Yama lunged out from the Yama Banner, charging toward the man in black with a sinister grin.

*Thud!*

The man in black slammed his head against the edge of the bed and lay there motionless. A moment later, Yama flew out, clutching the man in black's soul, and looked at Qin Sang with a fawning expression.

The man in black's soul stood there with a vacant stare, motionless, just like Old Wu's.

However, when Qin Sang pulled off the man's mask and discovered that his soul looked identical to his physical body, he realized that Old Wu had most likely been using a disguise.

Facing this crisis for the first time, Qin Sang's heart was still racing. After catching his breath and regaining his composure, he immediately began his interrogation. Unsurprisingly, the man in black's soul would soon turn into soul mist.

"What was Old Wu's purpose for infiltrating the Taoist temple?" Qin Sang asked rapidly.

The man in black replied expressionlessly, "To monitor the ferry crossing and await instructions."

It turned out it had nothing to do with the temple or himself; Qin Sang felt much more relieved. He asked again, "How did you know Old Wu was dead?"

"The Gatekeeper issued a mission today. I sent a message to Old Wu via carrier pigeon but received no response."

So those pigeons belonged to Old Wu!

Qin Sang cursed inwardly and pressed on, "Who is this Gatekeeper? What mission? Who are the people in your Jiangshan Pavilion?"

After a series of questions, a look of profound shock appeared in Qin Sang's eyes.

The so-called Jiangshan Pavilion was actually a top-tier assassin organization in the martial arts world, renowned throughout the land for having never failed a mission.

The Gatekeeper was the messenger who connected assassins with Jiangshan Pavilion. The organization issued missions through the Gatekeeper, while 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 of them undercover in Three Witches City.

As for the target of this mission, one would have to rendezvous with the Gatekeeper tomorrow morning to find out.

Old Wu's martial arts were not top-tier, but his mastery of disguise was extremely high. He had posed as a refugee and worked as a ferryman at the crossing; one purpose was to monitor the ferry, and the other was to wait for missions from Jiangshan Pavilion.

Sometimes, it was common for an assassin to go a year or two without a mission. During such times, they would disguise themselves as ordinary people. Thus, Old Wu had lived in the temple for half a year, never expecting that a high-ranking assassin would die so foolishly at Qin Sang's hands.

The martial arts world had abruptly revealed a single tip of the iceberg to Qin Sang.

"Besides you and Old Wu, how many other assassins are in Three Witches City?" Qin Sang asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"I don't know."

Jiangshan Pavilion was a strictly organized group that prevented assassins from having too much contact. The two of them only maintained a single line of communication with their own Gatekeeper and knew nothing of the missions or whereabouts of other assassins.

This was for the best!

Qin Sang nodded. He didn't care who Jiangshan Pavilion's target was; he cared more about whether the Green Goat Temple would be implicated. "If you don't go back, will Jiangshan Pavilion send someone else to look for you?"

"Yes! If an assassin goes missing without reason, the Gatekeeper will report it to Jiangshan Pavilion, 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 in the temple?"

"The Gatekeeper."

"Will he report it?"

"I don't know."

"Where does he live?"

"South City of Three Witches City, Fuliu Alley, Number 13, Earth Rank..."

"Do you have a secret code between you?"

...

The man in black's soul turned into a wisp of soul mist and was swallowed by Yama. Qin Sang leaned against the wall, holding his head in silence for a long time. Suddenly remembering something, he ran quietly to the rooms of the old Taoist and Mingyue. Peering through the window, he saw them sleeping soundly.

Standing there watching them quietly for a moment, Qin Sang whispered to himself, "Taoist, Mingyue, I will take full responsibility for my actions. I will not implicate you."

He then returned to his room, packed the Yama Banner and his other belongings, and changed his clothes. He left everything else in the room untouched, taking only a bottle of the golden wound salve prepared by the old Taoist.

Finally, he placed the man in black's corpse on the bed. Feeling around, he found a sleeve arrow strapped to the man's arm and a soft sword in his belt, but nothing else.

The man in black had never expected to be killed so instantly; he had only just managed to draw his sword.

Qin Sang disassembled 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 and picked up an ironwood staff from the corner. He inspected the room he had lived in for a year from top to bottom, took out several fire starters, and tossed them around.

Aside from the frame, the house was made of wood, bamboo, and thatch, and there was a large pile of firewood in the outer room. The flames quickly surged upward.

"I wonder if this will be enough to distance the Green Goat Temple from this."

Qin Sang sighed softly. As the fire grew, he walked out of the temple without looking back. It wasn't until he reached the mountainside that he heard people shouting about the fire.

Passing by Old Wu's grave, Qin Sang stopped before it. The flames from the Green Goat Temple had already dyed half the night sky red. He smiled bitterly, "Old Wu, oh Old Wu, why did you have to choose the Green Goat Temple of all places?"

Ever since he had finished refining the Yama Banner, Qin Sang had intended to leave the temple, but he never expected to leave in this manner.

The man in black's horse was tied in the forest below the mountain. Qin Sang mounted the horse and rode straight toward Three Witches City.

He rode at full gallop. By the time Qin Sang reached Three Witches City, it was still dark and the city gates were not yet open.

However, due to the frequent trade at the ferry and the prosperity of the merchant routes, a side gate at the south gate of Three Witches City remained open all night to allow goods to pass. Qin Sang hid his sword, staff, and horse outside the city, spent some silver, and followed a merchant to sneak into the city, heading straight for Fuliu Alley.

It was still early, and there were no pedestrians in Fuliu Alley.

The residents of this alley were all wealthy; the houses had high walls and vermilion doors. Qin Sang quickly found Number 13, Earth Rank.

The residence was not large. Its outer walls were built of green bricks, standing four or five people high, and the main gate was tightly closed.