Volume One: If Life Were Only as It First Met
Wits and Courage
You kill one of my pawns, I will check your king.
Embraced by shallow mountains, the stream flows gently. Twenty li east of the city lies a desolate graveyard, barren and deserted, withered trees stand desolate, and all life has withered.
After a swift retreat, Ye Ming and the others brought four death row prisoners to this place. The location changes with every operation, and the innate vigilance and sharpness of the assassins make them act with extreme caution.
Ye Ming’s arm sword wound bled profusely, but she felt no pain. The sword wounds on her body were countless, and her tolerance for pain had reached a level of numbness.
“Boss, let me bandage your wound.”
Mo Feng was worried. It was because of his negligence that Ye Ming blocked that sword for him. It is said that Shura is like hell, and all assassins are cold-blooded, but in his view, Ye Ming is the warmest leader.
“It’s nothing.” After saying this, she tore a strip of cloth from the hem of her garment and casually bandaged the wound.
Shortly after, Hong Yan arrived. The four death row prisoners, with disheveled hair and indistinct faces, were still in shock from severe torture, rendering them speechless, and they only looked at the group with fear.
In such circumstances, it was impossible to extract any information or to find out how much the Empress had actually uncovered.
“The Empress’s methods are indeed extraordinary, torturing them to this extent and still making them endure the agony of being on the brink of death,” Mo Feng said angrily.
Ye Ming glanced at him, “If she were that easy to deal with, we wouldn’t need to go through so much trouble.”
Hong Yan remained silent, observing the group with a cold gaze, seemingly deep in thought. She lifted the outer garment of one person, revealing a chaotic web of wounds like disordered thorns. The blood had already clotted, but the healing scars had been torn open again, mixing with flesh, festering and rotting, making one feel nauseous.
It was truly a horrifying sight.
Hong Yan lightly touched her nose, turned around calmly, and faced away from the four.
“Tower Master, how should we deal with them?” Mo Feng asked.
“Kill them!”
What a cold and heartless word, “kill.” Despite the blossoming beauty of April, it sent a chill through one’s heart. Just a moment ago, Mo Feng had thought she was moved by compassion for their fellow countrymen, tortured so cruelly.
Before he could act, Ye Ming’s sharp sword flashed out of its sheath. A glint of cold light passed by, and the sword returned to its sheath. The four fell in succession.
The speed of Ye Ming’s swordsmanship was astonishing; with just one move, she took the lives of four people.
“Tower Master, why do you strike down our own countrymen?”
“Shut up! The Tower Master has her reasons for doing things. You and I just follow orders.” Ye Ming snapped at him. Mo Feng could only clench his fists tightly, burying his doubts and dissatisfaction deep within his heart.
Hong Yan’s graceful silhouette stretched long. She turned slightly, her eyes deep as the sea, unreadable and mysterious.
“For today’s mission, which brothers died?”
“Reporting to the Tower Master, the four brothers came from the money house, the cloth workshop, the inn, and the marketplace.”
“Immediately initiate the emergency evacuation order. Evacuate all twelve action points, gather at the underground palace first, then make further arrangements.”
“Understood.” With that, Mo Feng took out a signal flare from his bosom and fired it into the sky. The silent trail of smoke rose and quickly dissipated.
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The entire Jidu, with Suyuan Tower as its core, also had twelve action points, each infiltrating different sectors of society such as scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants. Disguised in various roles, they made a living in different industries. Besides this, Shura Sect had an extensive intelligence network across Jidu and the entire realm, enabling them to easily obtain the information they needed.
As the seasons changed and years accumulated, there was always someone observing the signals day and night, prepared for emergencies.
“Hopefully, we can be one step ahead of her.”
Leaving these words behind, Hong Yan departed from the place.
With a heavy heart, Mo Feng scattered bone-melting powder on the corpses. The four quickly turned to ashes, and he offered a special tribute to them.
Ye Ming noticed that not only was Mo Feng dissatisfied, but the others also hung their heads in dismay. They were willing to risk their lives for the country, but no one was born a cold-blooded killer. Sparing not even their own countrymen inevitably led to disappointment.
“You all know why the Tower Master killed them.”
“Half-dead and without information, they were of no further use.”
Ye Ming shook her head.
Mo Feng’s eyes brightened, and he exchanged glances with the others. “Then what is the reason?”
“When did we receive the news about the palace spies getting into trouble?”
“Ten days ago, the Sect Leader sent a message saying there had been no news for two days.”
“So they were at least tortured seven days ago. Although those people’s wounds were meticulously forged, you could still see in the details that they were inflicted in the past few days.”
“So they weren’t Yu Kingdom people??” Mo Feng was shocked, murmuring incredulously, “This is the Empress’s move to lure the snake out of its hole…”
“Not only that, but the sacrifice of our brothers might also affect other action points. Let’s hope everything is still in time.”
“Did the Tower Master already guess that the parade of the death row prisoners was a setup, yet still sent the brothers to their deaths?”
“If she didn’t do this, how could we find out how much the Empress knows? Without knowing the enemy and ourselves, how could the Tower Master execute the Sect Leader’s plan to infiltrate the palace! Mo Feng, the Tower Master doesn’t like to explain her actions, and neither do I, but I don’t want our brothers to carry out tasks with resentment towards her. Without the Tower Master’s wisdom and decisiveness, we would only die faster and more miserably.” Ye Ming’s sharp words made Mo Feng and the others feel deeply ashamed.
The few of them immediately knelt down and bowed to Ye Ming. “In the future, we will obey orders without questioning them. Thank you for your guidance, Leader.”
“We will do the same.”
Just as Hong Yan had predicted, less than half an hour after the evacuation signal was sent, the capital’s patrol guard began a thorough search. Although twelve action points had evacuated as quickly as possible, two points were still captured as suspects and thrown into prison.
This large-scale search operation captured a total of eighteen people, with the leader being the Empress’s confidant, Li Ruo.
Because besides him, no one could identify who should be apprehended, where to start, and no one could fathom the Empress’s thoughts. Had he not been by her side for many years, even Li Ruo might not have known.
Jidu’s Qintian Bureau was established to redress grievances for the people and to uphold the laws of the imperial city. The Bureau Chief, Qi Xuan, was an incorruptible and loyal official. Most of the suspects from this operation were detained in the Qintian Bureau’s prison. The prison, made of black iron and heavily guarded, held many who were wronged but trusted in Lord Qi’s uprightness and were unafraid of being unjustly imprisoned.
After imprisoning the suspects, Li Ruo once again went to the morgue, looking for new clues on the corpses.
“Lord Li, I am truly dull-witted,” Qi Xuan always found it difficult to understand the Empress’s intentions.
“Does Bureau Chief Qi want to ask why we are arresting these innocent commoners?”
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“Exactly. I carry the Empress’s mandate, bearing the responsibility for the peace of Jidu’s people, and I am genuinely worried that this will cause widespread panic.”
“My Lord, you have judged cases for many years. Can you see anything unusual about these assassins?”
“The coroner’s examination shows that these individuals have peculiar bone structures and firm muscles, clearly signs of martial arts practitioners.”
“You and I see things with our eyes, but Her Majesty the Empress, without being present, judges people with her heart. She told me something that suddenly made everything clear to me.”
“What did she say?”
“The truth is often hidden in places that are easy to overlook. So, I re-examined every part of the corpses and found that each of them has a subtle yet identifiable characteristic.”
“Please enlighten me, Lord Li.”
Li Ruo lifted the white cloth covering the first corpse. The assassin had died from multiple sword wounds. Li Ruo raised the corpse’s palm. “My Lord, take a sniff.”
Qi Xuan stepped forward. There was a familiar scent between the dead man’s palm, but its significance remained unclear to him.
“Now look at his index finger and thumb. The calluses are thick and the skin is yellowed. I always thought it was due to some kind of weapon, but I could never match it to anything.”
“So…” Qi Xuan suddenly understood, “These assassins were able to move freely in Jidu because they had identities to cover them. These subtle characteristics actually represent their hidden identities.”
“From my observation, only someone who has handled silver notes and used an abacus to keep accounts for many years would have such features. If I’m not mistaken, this person should be a manager of a money house.”
“Lord Li, your insight is truly remarkable.”
“I’ll leave the interrogation to Bureau Chief Qi. I still need to return to the palace and report.”
“Take care, Lord Li.”
After Li Ruo left, Qi Xuan stroked his beard and pondered. Despite his many years of judging cases, he was still so muddled. But he was truly in a difficult position, unable to fathom the Empress’s thoughts.
Did she want to kill one to warn a hundred, or would she rather kill wrongly than let anyone escape? The most unpredictable thing is the ruler’s mind; Qi Xuan could only take it one step at a time.
As night fell, Suyuan Tower was filled with singing and dancing. Romantic scholars inscribed poems with their brushes, literati sipped tea and played chess, talented scholars and beautiful women embraced, and drunkards and fools paired off. Behind the bustle was an endless night. Suyuan Tower, stripped of its elegance, was still the Shura Sect that could not see the light of day.
Out of the twelve action points with a total of thirty-six people, only thirty arrived on time. In just a few days, the Shura Sect had already lost more than ten assassins. In this confrontation that had yet to begin, Suyuan Tower was already at a disadvantage. But to lure the Empress to Suyuan Tower, Hong Yan had long anticipated this day would come.
Everything was just the beginning. Every action they took from now on, including her own, would likely arouse the Empress’s suspicion.
“Tower Master, now that all twelve points have been destroyed and other places are under the surveillance of the Qintian Bureau, Suyuan Tower has been within the patrol range of the capital’s guards. The Empress has truly forced us into a corner.”
Hong Yan slightly closed her eyes, her expression grim. Being relentlessly pursued by the Empress, she was indeed in a passive position. She had lost this round, but she intended to reclaim it in another way.
“Divide into three groups: one to secure Suyuan Tower, the second to retreat to the refugee quarters, and the third to carry out a mission.”
Hong Yan made a decisive decision and calmly issued her orders.
“Please instruct us, Tower Master.”
“Led by Ye Ming, intercept and rob the silver tribute being sent from Luo Kingdom to Jidu, fifty kilometers away.”
“Rob the tribute silver?” Ye Ming was puzzled.
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“I want you to rob only the silver without killing anyone. Disguise yourselves as bandits and complete the task quickly. Then throw part of the silver into the refugee quarters, give another part to the influential officials in the court, and the rest… hmph, give it to the regular patrons of Suyuan Tower.”
“Tower Master, this will create chaos in Jidu.”
“Yes, I want to force her hand and also gamble on whether she will come to find me…”
On that day, the gates of Jidu were shrouded in dust as one million taels of tribute silver from Luo Kingdom were robbed fifty kilometers away. That someone dared to rob tribute silver within the borders of the Ji Dynasty was astounding. The escorting officials immediately sent someone ahead to the palace to report the news.
That evening, silver fragments suddenly fell from the sky in the refugee quarters outside the city, offering a glimmer of hope to those suffering from famine, allowing them to avoid hunger for at least a few months.
Meanwhile, the silver in the storerooms of the influential officials and noble sons who frequented Suyuan Tower was secretly swapped out.
From the highest point of Suyuan Tower, one could overlook all of Jidu and also gaze directly at the distant imperial city. The irises were in full bloom, as resplendent as she was. Hong Yan, looking out at the imperial city with a distant and dreamy expression, recalled their encounter that day.
Even though it was all part of her deliberate plan, unexpected events still occurred.
The Empress, now twenty-four years old, had reigned for twelve years but remained unmarried. There were rumors that she preferred women, yet she had never shown affection for anyone. After years of diligent governance, the nation was thriving, and the Ji Dynasty grew increasingly powerful.
Though she was a ruler, she was ultimately still a woman. Hong Yan could not shake the image of that graceful figure from her mind, struggling to reconcile that person with her identity. Clearly a gentle and elegant woman, yet she wielded power over the entire world.