Chapter 155: Hard to Tell Friend from Foe

The window slowly opened, and Feng He slipped in from the outside.

"General Zhang is still as high-strung as ever."

Feng He smiled, took a seat at the nearby table, picked up the kettle to pour himself a bowl of water, and gulped it down in one breath.

"Did you find Wuming and Hou Ping?"

Long Chen asked.

According to the original plan, to capture the bandits, one must first capture their ringleaders; by killing Wuming and Hou Ping, the Shadow Guards and the Imperial City Directorate would be left without a head.

Yet the final outcome was merely severely injuring Wuming and Hou Ping, which deviated from the initial plan.

Feng He shook his head and replied, "They’ve gone into hiding. We can't find them."

Zhang Qian stood in front of Long Chen, keeping a tight grip on her dagger; she did not trust Feng He.

Long Chen instructed, "Keep searching. Both of them are gravely wounded, so they will definitely find a way to procure medicine. As for the other assassins, find and kill them."

Feng He nodded slightly and asked, "Are we proceeding with the original plan?"

Long Chen smiled. "Of course!"

Feng He let out a chuckle. "Order received!"

With a flash of his figure, Feng He vanished back out through the window.

Walking up to the window to ensure Feng He was truly gone, Zhang Qian carefully latched it shut.

"My lord, what plan?"

Zhang Qian hadn't heard Long Chen mention any plan.

Long Chen grinned. "The healing plan, of course. Come give me another massage, won't you? I'm so severely injured."

Zhang Qian looked down at her own chest and retorted, "You're injured and you still want to fool around."

Long Chen pulled Zhang Qian into his arms with a chuckle. "I'm genuinely talking about healing."

Zhang Qian huffed, "My foot you are. I'm going to fetch some hot water."

A short while later, Zhang Qian returned carrying a basin of hot water. Long Chen lay down while Zhang Qian first wiped his body with the warm water, then hung up his outer garment and began the therapeutic massage for his injuries.

...

The Wang Residence.

Wang Zhong's wife, Lady He, was dressed in mourning clothes, kneeling before the funeral altar. Two coffins rested in the ancestral hall: one belonged to Wang Zhong, and the other to his eldest son, Wang Li.

When Long Chen had come earlier that morning, Lady He had wept herself into a faint and was carried inside to sleep.

When she woke up in the afternoon, she was met with the news that her eldest son, Wang Li, had also been beaten to death.

Within the span of two days, both her husband and her eldest son had perished. Lady He's mind shattered; she became dazed and foolish, kneeling before the altar with vacant eyes, completely mute.

Lady He had two sons: Wang Li and a younger son, Wang达 (Wang Da).

Wang Da usually wasn't home; he hung around with the sea pirates on Ghost Island, specializing in overseas plundering.

Wang Zhong also had several concubines. Seeing that Wang Zhong and Wang Li were both dead, and Lady He had lost her mind, they were all ransacking the storeroom to make off with the valuables.

In the storeroom, several gaudy women were using hemp sacks to scoop up gold and silver jewelry, some even bringing along male servants to help loot.

The room was in utter chaos as the concubines cursed at one another while frantically stuffing items into their bags.

"What are you snatching, you bitch!"

"Slutty vixen, who the hell are you calling names!"

"That luminous pearl is mine!"

"Absolute bullshit, why on earth is it yours!"

Outside the door, several dark figures dropped from the rooftop, daggers clutched in their hands. The figures darted into the room, killing everyone in sight.

Beneath the dim candlelight, the concubines turned pale with terror and shrieked, "Assassins! Help!"

The formidable bodyguards of the estate were either dead or had fled, leaving no one to intervene.

The concubines in the storeroom were swiftly slaughtered, and the male servants were stabbed to death. The dark figures heaved the bulging hemp sacks onto their shoulders, leaped up onto the roof, and vanished into the night.

Once the dark figures departed, flames broke out in the storeroom, quickly spreading to the entire back courtyard. The entire Wang estate began to burn, and the terrified servants fled in all directions as the fire grew uncontrollable.

...

The Xu Residence.

Xu Zhi's face was wreathed in smiles as Monk Fayin followed close behind him, continuously congratulating him on securing the post of prefect.

Upon seeing Xu Zhi return, the household staff hurried to inform Mistress Li, as well as Xu Zhi's son, Xu Sheng, who had also arrived.

With the city locked in slaughter all day, they had been deeply worried.

"Is the master alright?"

Mistress Li asked with concern.

Monk Fayin smiled broadly. "Rejoice, Mistress, the master has secured the position of Prefect of Qianjiang Commandery."

Mistress Li asked in astonishment, "Prefect? Who granted it?"

Fayin recounted the events, and Mistress Li said happily, "Wonderful! From now on, we are officials of the imperial court."

However, Xu Zhi's son, Xu Sheng, asked, "Can we trust that eunuch's word?"

Xu Zhi chuckled. "That Long Chengen enjoys the utmost favor of the Empress. He assisted the Fourth Princess in conquering two major cities and holds immense power in the court. Granting us a prefecture is a trivial matter for him."

Mistress Li rejoiced, "Splendid! Our status will be completely different from now on."

As outlaws, what people like them needed most was an official post to wash away their criminal past. Long Chen had given Xu Zhi precisely what he craved, leaving Mistress Li beside herself with joy.

Chuckling heartily, Xu Zhi entered the ancestral shrine, lit incense and candles before the divine statues, and bowed solemnly. "Thank you, deities, for your protection!"

Having paid his respects, Xu Zhi returned to the back courtyard and told Xu Sheng, "We must patrol through the night. There are still assassins loose in the city."

Xu Sheng immediately went out to arrange the patrols.

Monk Fayin returned to his chambers, where a gaudy woman emerged with a giggle, settling straight into his lap. "The fighting was so fierce today, how many people did we actually kill?" she asked.

Fayin replied, "Not many, we only killed a few hundred bandits, but we suffered thousands of casualties. Those bandits are truly formidable."

The woman gasped in shock, "Really that formidable?"

She had been following Fayin for quite some years and knew these sea pirates were ruthless men who lived by murder and arson, yet this time the casualty ratio had been ten to one.

Fayin shook his head. "These were the subordinates of Great General Jing Tianlie. They are fiercely capable, but we've nearly wiped them out as well."

"Go pour me a bowl of water. I'm parched, and I wouldn't dare drink the water outside."

Having spent the entire day killing outdoors, Fayin had worried about poison and dared neither eat nor drink anything out there.

The woman chuckled coquettishly, "Don't I have water right here?"

Fayin gave the woman a smack on her backside and laughed, "Hurry along then, and I'll make you happy right after."

The woman got up to pour a bowl of water, then returned to sit playfully on Fayin's lap, holding it to his lips. "Drink your water, Master."

Fayin cheerfully downed a large bowl. The woman placed the bowl on the table, and Fayin scooped her up in his arms, heading straight for the inner chamber.

By the bedside, however, Fayin suddenly felt a violent twisting pain in his abdomen. A sweet, sticky sensation rushed up his throat, and he spewed a mouthful of black blood.

Bang!

The woman tumbled from Fayin's arms onto the floor as he continued to retch up blood.

Terrified out of her wits, the woman shrieked, "Someone come! Help!"

Xu Sheng happened to be passing by. Hearing the screams, he instantly burst through the door and saw Fayin collapsed on the floor, vomiting blood endlessly.

"Master!"

Xu Sheng rushed forward and placed his hand beneath Fayin's nose; there was only outgoing breath left—he was already dead.

"What is the meaning of this?"

Xu Sheng demanded of the woman.

Crouched by the bed, hugging her fair legs and trembling all over, the woman stammered, "He drank a bowl of water and then started spitting blood."

Xu Sheng glanced at the kettle on the table, drew a silver needle from his sleeve, and dipped it into the liquid. The needle instantly turned pitch black.

"It's poison!"

Xu Sheng spun around, bolted out of the room, and sprinted toward the back courtyard.

If Fayin's kettle was poisoned, it meant assassins had infiltrated the Xu residence. He had to warn Xu Zhi immediately.

In the back courtyard, Xu Zhi had already removed his outer robe while Mistress Li and a maid happily fetched water for him to wash his feet.

Screech...

The door creaked open, and a maid entered carrying a basin of water.

Mistress Li chided her with some displeasure, "I told you to fetch a basin of water, why did you dawdle for so long!"

The maid offered no reply, keeping her head down as she walked forward.

Sensing something amiss, Xu Zhi barked sharply, "Halt!"