Chapter Eighty-Three: Encirclement and Slaughter

After completing the assassination, the female assassin quickly reached the outskirts of the city, where Aqi and two other women had already been waiting for some time.

“Big sister!” the assassin called out.

Aqi nodded. “Well? Did it succeed?”

The assassin untied the pouch at her waist. “It did. The head is here.”

But when the four of them opened the pouch, they found that it held a woman’s head. It was not Lin Hezhi at all.

“H-how could this be…” The assassin’s face went deathly pale. “I clearly felt a man’s face before I struck…”

“Were you so nervous you stabbed at whoever you met? Then you should have killed them both! What are we supposed to do now?” another woman at her side snapped.

“I really felt it was the head of a man! I’ve killed plenty of people—how could I make such a mistake?”

Aqi studied the severed head for a few moments, then raised a hand. “Enough. I believe Afan would not make such a foolish error. If that is the case, then there is only one explanation: Lin Hezhi was not yet fully drugged. By the time Afan touched his head, he had already decided to use his sister-in-law as a shield.”

The other three looked at one another, then nodded one after another in agreement.

“Afan, set out at once and return. Ask Young Hero Ye to come quickly. If we miss this opportunity, we may never find another like it. Lin Hezhi should still be unconscious now, and I must hurry back to the prince’s residence. You two must not return to the city; wait outside for orders.” Aqi swiftly arranged the next steps, and the group parted ways.

The next morning, news that Lin Hezhi had narrowly escaped assassination spread through every street and alley. Lin Jingzhi flew into a rage and immediately declared that all who had entered the city recently were to be thoroughly investigated.

As Aqi had guessed, Lin Hezhi had not been completely drugged and retained a degree of clarity. The moment he felt dizzy and disoriented, he realized he had been drugged. When the assassin’s hand touched his face, he knew for certain that someone had come to kill him. In the next instant, he gathered every last ounce of strength and pulled the sleeping sister-in-law beside him onto his body, taking the fatal blow in her place.

After that, Lin Hezhi no longer dared go out without guards. Even when he slept, he shut the doors and windows tightly and slept alone, with sentries stationed outside at all times. This, in turn, gave Aqi a terrible headache.

Yet she was patient enough. She believed the chance would come again sooner or later. She made no unusual move, and every day in the prince’s residence she ate and drank as usual—perhaps even gaining a few pounds.

As for Lin Jingzhi, the men he sent to investigate the assassin did indeed trace the trail to Aqi’s three subordinates. They had not entered the city together with the Xiao clan escort that had accompanied Aqi, and the Xiao caravan had long since departed in its entirety. Thus Aqi aroused no suspicion. The assassin who had made the attempt had already left, while the other two were hiding in the mountains and wilderness. Even after Lin Jingzhi dispatched large numbers of men to search the areas around the main city, the results were negligible.

Meanwhile, Ye Pei and Jiang Zhongqing had already arrived quietly and met up with Aqi’s two subordinates. As for the assassin who had made the attempt, Ye Pei did not have her come again.

That night, upon receiving the message, Aqi deliberately left the prince’s residence to meet Ye Pei.

“Young Hero, I plan to keep waiting. What do you think?” She wasted no words.

Ye Pei said, “That is also acceptable. A direct assassination is, after all, the worst course. With guards in place, I do not want to go in and kill him myself. The risk is too great.”

In the end, after discussion, Aqi returned to the prince’s residence to await another chance, while Ye Pei and the others remained outside the city, waiting for Aqi’s news.

No one had expected that Lin Hezhi, who had always been so impatient, would this time show remarkable endurance and remain in an utterly cautious state.

And so they waited for three months.

Three months—neither too long nor, perhaps, too short, though it was long enough.

Long enough for the young master of the Xiao clan to develop designs on Ziqing Rong.

That morning, in the small courtyard the Xiao clan had arranged for Ye Pei’s group, Ziqing Rong was practicing alongside Zhuang Tianlan. At first, Zhuang Tianlan had not intended to learn, and Jiang Zhongqing had not asked her to practice either. But every day she watched Ziqing Rong train for a while, and one day her curiosity finally stirred. “Sister-in-law, teach me too, will you?”

At that, Ziqing Rong beamed and readily agreed, teaching her the fundamentals with great delight, certain that she had already brought the girl through the doorway and into the path.

The two practiced the dull fundamentals together, and all had been peaceful enough—until Xiao Huiyuan “happened” to wander by.

“Miss Ziqing, training, are you?” Xiao Huiyuan entered with a sycophantic smile, hands clasped behind his back as though he were terribly elegant.

As for Ziqing Rong, her inner disdain was beyond measure: You’re even trying to look cool with your hands behind your back... Only when Ye Zi stood by the cliff with his hands behind his back did that count as truly handsome...

Outwardly, however, she was still restrained, since she was a guest.

“Young Master Xiao, please address me as Madam Ye, not Miss Ziqing.”

Xiao Huiyuan froze at that, then laughed again. “I’ve long heard that Miss Ziqing is gifted in both talent and learning. I never expected your martial skill to be so formidable as well...”

Ziqing Rong felt her urge to complain already blazing like a fire: What exactly am I so formidable at? Even if you want to flatter me, could you at least not make it so obvious?

Her expression had already turned cold. “Young Master Xiao, is there something you need here?”

Xiao Huiyuan stepped closer. “Miss Ziqing, why not let me teach you a few moves...”

“Huiyuan, do not be rude!”

At that moment, Dongfang Boyi, hearing the voices from next door, hurried over.

At the sight of Dongfang Boyi at the courtyard gate, Xiao Huiyuan’s air of confidence diminished several degrees. After all, the Xiao clan had once been considered a dependent of the Dongfang clan. By the rules, Dongfang Boyi could address him by name, while he had to call Dongfang Boyi Young Lord.

“Madam Ye, Huiyuan has been somewhat impetuous. Please forgive him,” Dongfang Boyi said after stepping forward.

Ziqing Rong nodded. “It is nothing. I only do not wish for there to be a next time.”

Dongfang Boyi cupped his hands, then dragged Xiao Huiyuan away.

“What were you thinking? Is this a woman you can afford to provoke?” he asked once they were outside.

“Brother Dongfang,” Xiao Huiyuan said, his expression equally unwilling, “that Ye Pei is nothing more than a pulse-reader. She has been gone this long without a single word. She may have already died somewhere for all we know.”

“And you do not know she is the eldest daughter of the Zi clan?”

“So what if she is? She already calls herself Madam Ye—how can she still be a member of the Zi family?”

“Are you an idiot?”

...

And three months were finally enough to give Aqi her chance.

Being cooped up in the city, cooped up in the residence day after day, had nearly driven Lin Hezhi mad. At a time like this, hunting was best—hunting alone could satisfy his desire.

What he did not know was that, the moment his grand procession had left the city, four people not far away had already fixed their eyes on him.

Lin Hezhi had made no effort to conceal his outing for the hunt. Thus, three days earlier, Ye Pei had already received the news.

Lin Hezhi was indeed brave and fierce. With bow drawn and arrow nocked, he brought down a bird with a single shot, and the sight drew cheers from his attendants.

“Ha ha ha...” Lin Hezhi threw back his head and laughed, feeling as though he had returned from the sea to the vast land. He slung his bow over his back, drew his blade, dismounted, and strode into the boundless wilderness.

The Flame Land was vast, and the Lin clan’s territory lay in the north. The region where Lin Hezhi hunted was still farther north within Lin territory, and because of the climate there, it could be said to be almost entirely devoid of human presence.

To display his martial prowess, Lin Hezhi often hunted without riding, relying only on his legs to race through the hills and fields. He even insisted that his attendants dismount and walk as he did. But how could the attendants keep up with him on foot? As before, before long Lin Hezhi was alone, ranging through the wilderness, chasing beasts, and savoring the time that belonged to him alone. When there was no war, only in moments like these could he feel the thrill of conquering the world.

This was also part of why Yang Tianrui said Lin Hezhi was inferior to him. As a martial artist, he had never claimed to be the foremost fighter in the Flame Land. Instead, he was always eager to spar with the masters of all schools and never considered bullying the weak a way to display his strength.

Lin Hezhi did not notice that while he chased the tiger, two agile figures were following him from the nearby woods, leaping through the treetops without missing a step. Farther back in the forest, two women with a vicious hound were also racing swiftly along.

At last, Lin Hezhi caught up to the tiger, and by then he was well beyond the reach of his troops. Spear points were set, blades drawn, and the well-trained hound had already bared its fangs.

“Roar—”

When a dog gives not a bark but a roar, it perhaps already means its fighting prowess is extraordinary. The hound brought by Aqi’s two subordinates burst out with a furious bellow, the saliva at its mouth seeming almost to drip with killing intent.

“A dog?!” Lin Hezhi was astonished. Yet as one of the top masters in the Flame Land, his reflexes were astonishingly swift. The instant before the hound sprang upon him, he turned sharply, stepped back, and lashed out with a foot to strike its waist. The hound gave a pitiful cry and fell to the ground motionless.

But it had already done its duty. So long as it drew Lin Hezhi’s attention for the span of two breaths, that was enough. The moment the hound burst from the forest, Ye Pei and Jiang Zhongqing also shot forth like lightning from two directions, their weapons aimed straight at Lin Hezhi.

“A single thread of the river from heaven's gate, and ten thousand swords fall like stars!” Since learning Star Jade Edge, Jiang Zhongqing seemed to have developed a habit of announcing his sword techniques in battle. At first it had merely been tolerable, but after taking a companion, the life that had once chilled him through the ruin of his family had begun to change, and now he was more and more fond of calling out his sword forms.

Still, with a name as grand as that and sword light as fierce as a god descending from the heavens, it was indeed enough to startle an enemy.

Just after Lin Hezhi had dealt with the dog, a poetic phrase rang in his ears. He turned his head and saw a sky full of sword light descending upon him.

“What the hell is this...” The same killing move had once left Feng Tanyang, at the end of his strength, with no chance to retaliate. But now Lin Hezhi was in fine form. Raising his great blade, he swung it rapidly, sealing off wind and rain alike, and actually blocked most of the attack, suffering only a few shallow gashes across his body.

Yet Jiang Zhongqing’s move had failed to take effect, and beside him was already a pitch-black long spear, thrusting straight toward Lin Hezhi like a dragon emerging from the sea.

While Ye Pei and Jiang Zhongqing fought Lin Hezhi there, Aqi’s two subordinates and Aqi herself, who had just arrived, were already laying traps around the perimeter and sealing off every route of escape. By now, the situation had plainly become a certain death trap.