Chapter 333: Night of Killing

The Imperial Capital. There stood a manor on Chongbei Street which was close to Xima Alley. This manor was where Xu Lang stayed at in the Imperial Capital.

When Yan Liqiang arrived with King Cobra’s mask on, there were barely any people on the streets. The entire Imperial Capital had entered a slumber and every household had their doors and windows tightly closed. Only a few candlelights seeped out through some windows.

The night was completely dark, and one could not see their fingers even if they stretched their hands out in front of them. However, to Yan Liqiang, even if there was no light, he could still see everything clearly in the darkness.

Yan Liqiang had benefited from the vision training that he had done for a very long time as well as the powerful effects of the Muscle Tendon Changing and Marrow Cleansing. Half a month ago, Yan Liqiang discovered that he had night vision. When night fell, as long as he focused his attention on his eyes, everything in the dark would slowly become clearer.

Yan Liqiang had relied on this ability to make his way to his place, easily avoiding the few groups of soldiers who were patrolling the Imperial Capital.

On Chongbei Street’s Xima Alley, there was no mistaking it…

The door faced southward at a shoe shop called the Thousand Layer Cloud. There were a few peach trees in front of the door and a well about thirty steps to the left of its entrance. That was probably the place.

Yan Liqiang verified that the place was right and then compared the place he was looking at with the place the person who tailed him said that Xu Lang was staying. He finally confirmed it and locked onto the location.

That person was Xu Lang’s subordinate and when Xu Lang and his group came out from the restaurant the other day, that person had seen Yan Liqiang. Thereafter, Xu Lang stationed him near the West Glorious Gate, keeping a lookout for Yan Liqiang every day. The moment there was news, that person would come running and he would share the news about Yan Liqiang with Xu Lang.

That person had been here once previously, bringing Xu Lang news that Yan Liqiang had come to the Imperial Capital’s Sky Beyond. Thereafter, Xu Lang told him to continue keeping an eye on Sky Beyond. Once there was news about Yan Liqiang, Xu Lang was to be informed immediately…

Xu Lang was still waiting for that person’s news.

Unfortunately, that person would never come. The one who came instead was Yan Liqiang.

The wall was over one zhang tall and Yan Liqiang only took one glance at it. With a single move, he leaped up like an agile cat, and soundlessly landed within the compound beyond the high wall.

In the Imperial Capital, the place Xu Lang was staying in was not considered to be some kind of tall, rich manor. However, it was not bad either. Beyond this wall, this manor was a courtyard house that was neither too big nor too small. A room in the manor was still lit up, and there were still faint sounds of people speaking.

Yan Liqiang landed without silently, moving with flashes and quietly arriving outside one of the windows of that room where the lights were on. That window was closed, but there was still a gap. Lights and faint talking sounds came out from the room and Yan Liqiang stood next to the wall outside that window, listening to what they were talking about. He squinted his eyes and he swept a glance across the room, looking at everything inside.

There were five people inside who were seated at a table. They ate as they chatted. All of them were familiar faces whom Yan Liqiang had either met when Xu Lang and Liang Yijie fought on the Arena of Life and Death or encountered at the restaurant’s entrance the other day. They were probably Xu Lang’s good friends…

“Why is Bi An not back yet? He couldn’t have encountered problems on the way here, right…?” Someone seated to the left of Xu Lang spoke up. That person was thinner and had a smaller build compared to the few others around him. It was the person with the surname ‘Gao’ who had mentioned in the servant quarters that he wanted to enter the Arena of Life and Death with Yan Liqiang when Yan Liqiang was escorting Sun Bingchen to the palace together with Liang Yijie.

“Bi An is a reliable worker and there shouldn’t be any problems. It must be that they’ve stayed at Sky Beyond till too late and thus Bi An has been keeping watch outside, unable to enter…” Xu Lang narrowed his eyes as he spoke.

“Looking at the time, Sky Beyond should have already closed for the day…”

“Mmm, so Bi An should be coming back with news very soon!”

“The later Bi An comes back, the better. It would mean that the guy is probably staying in the city tonight. We’ll be able to make a move tonight and we won’t have to wait till next time!

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“Earlier on, I wanted to leave the city to set up an ambush, but I was afraid that he’d be staying in the city. The moment the city gates close, we’ll be the ones to stuck outside instead…”

“Haha, I heard that guy is only a Martial Warrior. You’re kicking too much of a fuss to call the few of us here just to deal with this one guy. Brother Xu, you can just rely on me later. As long as we find out where he’s staying, I’ll get rid of him single-handedly…”

“We can’t really say that either. It’s better to be careful. What that guy displayed the other day didn’t seem to be the cultivation that ordinary Martial Warriors would have. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made Young Master Lin feel that he was an eyesore and yearn for Brother Xu to eliminate him. Brother Xu counted us in this time to get rid of him so everyone will be treated as Young Master Lin’s people in the future…”

“That kid is to be blamed for not knowing what’s good for him. He should think about what kind of place the Imperial Capital is. It isn’t a place for a country bumpkin like him to act atrociously. He has chosen the wrong side to stand on, yet he still dares to bare his teeth before Young Master Lin. He’s just courting death!”

“And I heard that guy is some Yingyang Commandant. This status might let him enjoy a lot of glory in the countryside, but it’s nothing in the Imperial Capital. Even if he’s a general, it’s not rare for one to lose their head in the Imperial Capital without any rhyme or reason…”

“If this guy isn’t staying in the city despite such late hours, then we’ll stop him outside the city the next time he enters. Let’s see how many times he can escape…”

“That’s right. As they say, if Lord Hades wants him to die at the third watch, who would dare to keep the person till the fifth watch [1]…”

The group continued to chat in the room, and Yan Liqiang understood the situation. It was as he had expected. Xu Lang and the others were already prepared to make a move to get rid of him. However, the only thing that Yan Liqiang hadn’t expected was that Young Master Lin was the one who was behind everything.

Yan Liqiang recalled the face of that young man he met that day at the restaurant’s entrance. He was the one who wore a long blue silk robe, had a mole next to his mouth, and he had an arrogant gaze.

His surname was Lin?

He was with these group of people and they addressed him as the Young Master… Yan Liqiang thought of that person’s background immediately. He could be related to the Grand Chancellor…

“I’ve got a bit of an urge to pee after having waited for so long. I’ll go out and relieve myself…” The voice of that person surnamed ‘Gao’ rang out and then there were the sounds of a chair being shifted.

“Hahaha, Old Gao, did you buy another woman recently and had a wild time? You haven’t had any wine tonight, only some food, so why do you need to relieve yourself so soon?”

That person surnamed ‘Gao’ did not say anything. He merely chuckled and then left the room.

He walked out of the room and found his way in the dark to the toilet outside. Just as he was removing his pants, feeling relaxed without being on guard, he suddenly felt a chill on his back and his mouth was gagged. Then, the section of a pitch-black blade penetrated through his chest…

Yan Liqiang’s eyes flickered with cold light as he looked at the body that had fallen to his blade. In the blink of an eye, he leaped over the high walls, returning to the exterior of the manor, next to the door. He took in a deep breath and then knocked on Xu Lang’s door with three long knocks and one short knock.

When Xu Lang and the others heard the knocking, Xu Lang immediately stood up excitedly, “This is Bi An’s knocking. He has brought news back…”

“Brother Xu, I’ll go and open the door!” Someone took on the job and moved out of the room, taking large strides. He arrived at the manor’s entrance, opening it without giving it a second thought.

The sharp black blade instantly pierced through that person’s heart the moment the door was opened, just like a bolt of black lightning.

There had been five people in the room, but in the blink of an eye, two were gone…

Before that person who opened the door fell down, Yan Liqiang’s silhouette had already bolted out like lightning toward the room where Xu Lang and the other two were at. Before he arrived, Yan Liqiang shot a needle into the room with a flick at a speed that was faster than his. The flying needle passed through the wick of the lamp that lit up in the room. The room turned pitch-black and at that instant, the flying needle took a turn and sank into the neck of a person in the room who had entered a daze…

[1] A Chinese saying that suggests that one’s life and death are all predestined and no one can change it. The third watch is the period between 11pm to 1am and the fifth watch is the period between 3am to 5am.