A dark night.

In the private quarters of the Green Blue Pavilion, located on the southern streets of Dongting Lake.

A shadow slipped in discreetly along the darkness.

The sharp-eyed martial artists guarding the front gate briefly turned their heads at the sound of passing wind, but soon lost interest.

Beyond the wall lay a garden.

It was well-maintained.

A path of flat stones was laid for people to walk on, and trees planted on both sides along the path cast shadows.

The wind rustled the leaves and passed between the branches.

There were martial artists keeping watch there as well, but they only felt it as wind blown in, their eyes didn't change, and they didn't carefully examine any particular spot.

It was quite a distance from the trees to the pavilion built in the center of the garden.

The wind stopped.

As if taking a breath to blow again, it held still, then blew strongly when the martial artists' heads turned.

Tap.

Only a tiny sound came from the roof of the pavilion.

The wind remained at the pavilion.

Again it held still, then blew upward onto the roof.

It was merely wind blowing.

But a pair of eyes that appeared where the wind lingered formed a smile with narrowed eyes.

As if mocking the martial artists who hadn't discovered him, they disappeared through the gap where the roof had been lifted.

Assassin 'Sagyou.'

Like wind, the snake had entered and in the past had crossed the walls of the Green Heaven Alliance, called an iron fortress.

Passing through hundreds of martial artists, he had finally reached his target and slit his throat.

For such a person, with strength far greater than in the past, such a level of security was child's play.

"Well, infiltration is complete." 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Cheonyeong removed the bothersome mask and tucked it into his bosom.

What had felt very familiar in the past now felt slightly awkward.

Well, since he had entered the inner sanctum, there was no risk of being discovered.

It took exactly three days.

Interrogating the gossips who spread the rumors to find clues, cutting back on sleep, and tracking the clues to arrive here.

He had to hurry.

There might be someone who would suspect his sudden disappearance.

In any case, those who had conveyed the rumors to the gossips were martial artists, and they belonged to the Zhuge family.

Why was that?

Mere martial artists couldn't have done such a thing.

There must have been someone above them.

Then he remembered the letter.

The one he had crumpled and thrown away because he was angry at Gongsun Cheok.

"I inform the Family Head of the Tang Family. I am the Second Young Master of the Zhuge family, the Jade-faced Divine Dragon Zhuge Wuhui. I wish to meet you. Come to the private quarters of the Green Blue Pavilion."

Something like that.

Damn bastard, not even a family head, and speaking informally to boot.

So he had refused.

Did that scratch the bastard's pride?

Was that why such rumors?

No, there must be another motive.

If it's the Zhuge family, aren't they people he's been familiar with since his past life?

Mechanisms and formations, and schemes.

How much he had suffered trapped in the heaven-spanning net those damn bastards had laid?

People didn't know.

The Zhuge family were also excellent in martial arts.

It was just overshadowed by their superior wisdom.

He knew well from experience.

They didn't rule as Hubei's first family and spread their name throughout the world for nothing.

With wisdom and martial arts mixed with formations, how troublesome would they be?

Fortunately, there were no formations.

Very confident bastards.

If they had truly plotted, they should have first protected their own quarters.

Not setting up a single formation.

Well, for him, it was fortunate.

Among other things, if they had deployed something like a sound-sealing formation to prevent sounds from leaking out of the room, he wouldn't have heard what was inside.

It was probably carelessness.

Dongting Lake bordered Hubei Province, and from there, no one could threaten the Zhuge family, so they would think.

So let's listen.

Why did those great bastards spread rumors to defame the Tang Family?

Cheonyeong brought his ear to the ceiling floor connected to the room below the roof.

After all, there was only one room.

What other rooms would be in a separate building built in the back garden?

"Sigh..."

Still, he couldn't be careless, so he held his breath.

The Breath-Holding Method.

A breathing technique comparable to the Ear-Sealing Technique, his breathing quieted, and his heartbeat slowed.

And the Toe-Listening Technique.

The vibrations of sound could be felt.

It started with the rustling sound of insects crawling, and gradually the range expanded until the sound of human voices began to be faintly heard.

There were two speakers.

They were conversing.

Cheonyeong ignored the noise from all directions and focused all his attention solely on the voices.

A low voice full of authority but with subtle anger... that must be Zhuge Wuhui.

* * *

"The Beggar Gang found the source of the rumors?"

"It seems so."

"It seems so? What does that mean?"

"The men we worked on before were found on the outskirts of Dongting Lake with their limbs broken."

"What? Did the Beggar Gang do something?"

"Yes."

"So? They said nothing?"

"They reported it to the officials, but..."

"Yunshang!"

"Yes?"

As Zhuge Wuhui suddenly shouted, Huang Yunshang jumped in surprise and answered.

"Don't muddy your words, just tell me the main point concisely!"

"I-I apologize, Second Young Master."

Huang Yunshang corrected his relaxed posture and continued with a tense expression.

"It was an assassin."

"What? An assassin?"

"Yes. During the officials' investigation, they identified the perpetrator as an assassin from Jingagu."

"What is...?"

Zhuge Wuhui's face contorted.

An assassin?

What kind of sudden nonsense was this?

"I believe it's a false identity created by the Beggar Gang to cover their tracks."

"Hmm."

Zhuge Wuhui nodded with a stern expression.

That must be it.

They couldn't have openly revealed themselves as the Beggar Gang.

But how could they, who advocated cooperation, disguise themselves with such an evil name?

Could it be... Tang Cheonyeong?

"What are Tang Cheonyeong's movements at the Gongsun family?"

"He hasn't left his quarters."

"He hasn't left?"

"Yes, the Beggar Gang is guarding, so we couldn't get close, but from conversations we overheard when the servants there went out... he seems to be searching for something all day."

"Searching? For what?"

"I'm not sure. But apparently, once he goes to bed, he sleeps like the dead until morning."

"Hmm."

"The Beggar Gang is quiet. We caught the tail as expected, but it seems we haven't reached the source. They still seem to be investigating the rumors, but they haven't shown any movements related to us."

"Sigh, is that so?"

"Yes."

Though he nodded, his face was full of discomfort.

Tang Cheonyeong.

Why no movement at all?

Shouldn't he have at least protested upon hearing such rumors?

He must know that the rumors they created were deadly...

It felt like something was being overlooked.

"Tang Cheonyeong."

After brief contemplation, Zhuge Wuhui spoke in a low voice.

"This won't do. Something feels off."

"Yes?"

"We need to advance the plan."

"But the main family's martial artists haven't departed yet."

"I know. But that's how I feel."

"..."

"I've already sent a letter to Father. I boasted that I would deliver not just the northern part of Dongting Lake, but the entire southern region without an owner."

Zhuge Wuhui frowned.

"He must believe it firmly. So I must obtain it. Once I establish a base in the south and publicly declare it as Zhuge territory in the martial world, even Sanggun can't do anything. If water pirates conduct activities in a place we've declared as our territory, they'll have to wage war with the Zhuge family."

"That's right. Though the Tang Family suddenly interfered, they're just one estate and a family head. Aren't they already isolated by the rumors?"

"But I'm uneasy."

"Yes?"

"I can't explain it, but that's how I feel."

Huang Yunshang was simply puzzled.

But wasn't he more intelligent than anyone?

He didn't earn the name Jade-faced Divine Dragon because of his family.

It was solely because of his abilities.

It's just that nothing comes clearly to mind, but surely there's something causing this unease.

"Understood. Since the Gongsun family is already in name only, advancing the timeline shouldn't be a major problem. Then I'll order them to depart immediately and arrive within five days."

"Good, and investigate Tang Cheonyeong."

"Tang Cheonyeong?"

"Yes, investigate thoroughly. What kind of person he is, what past he has, and what actions he has taken so far."

"Yes, is there anything else?"

"For now, I need to think more. Why he remains still even after being hit with stones. From what I heard, Tang Cheonyeong is cunning and crafty, called the Sichuan Flood Dragon."

* * *

In the space between roof and ceiling.

Cheonyeong, listening to the conversation in the room through the Toe-Listening Technique, felt his fists tremble.

That damn bastard!

Flood Dragon? What about it?

Cunning and crafty?

He barely held back using extreme patience from crashing through the ceiling and tearing the bastard's mouth.

"Sigh."

Cheonyeong, releasing the Breath-Holding Method, took deep breaths and calmed his anger.

"This bastard had such reckless thoughts?"

Cheonyeong's eyes gleamed with a sharp light.

He carefully recalled their conversation. A series of situations came to mind in a line.

Setting aside the Taoists living as recluses in Taoist sects, it was the Zhuge family that had pacified Hunan.

The Yangtze River, which everyone called the great waterway, crossed through.

But Dongting Lake was where the Yangtze's waters in Hubei were blocked, and Gunsan Faction held it.

What great power did water pirates and mountain bandits possess?

But Sanggun was different.

With strength counted among the best among Yangtze River water pirates, he was no pushover.

They could fight, but the losses would be severe.

For the Zhuge family, he was a thorn in their side.

So in recent years, he must have been seizing the northern part of Dongting Lake while waiting for him to quiet down.

Just as that bastard Zhuge Wuhui said.

Then he saw the collapsing Gongsun family.

Their decline, having accumulated reputation with officials and commoners over generations, was worth coveting.

If done well, they might obtain not just the north but the south as well.

Moreover, the tyranny of ruffians who didn't know their place must have been very welcome.

A hero who saved Dongting Lake in place of the fallen Gongsun family.

The Zhuge family, who restored such peace so they no longer had to fear threats from Gunsan Faction and ruffians.

"Ha, the justification is quite good."

But then the Tang Family suddenly interfered, so he must be angry.

The letter sent first was probably to find out the purpose of buying the Gongsun family's estate.

And the rumors were probably to prevent him from interfering with what he wanted to eat.

Ah, and probably also because he was upset about not being met.

"Still an immature bastard doing cute things."

The problem was that this bastard didn't know him.

He probably never even thought that someone could be smarter than him.

Just as he was, he would think that what his mind understood and knew was everything.

Moreover, he was better at this kind of strategy.

Five days remaining.

Plenty of time.

"Then I should show him. What cunning and craft really are..."

Tonight would be busy.

Tomorrow, that Second Young Master would have to receive surprising news.

(End of Chapter)