Chapter 214
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 214
Chapter Title: Chapter 43: Five Beasts (4)
To kill someone, you first have to investigate the target thoroughly.
Where do they live, and how? What's their family situation? Any messy financial ties? What about their social connections and hobbies? There's a mountain of details to uncover.
The note Four Thousand Four handed over was just four simple characters: Wei River Han Qing.
Jaja had come to the Wei River.
Since the note was exactly four characters, she figured she'd know right away who this Han Qing was once she reached the Wei River. And yet... unexpectedly, no one had even heard of him.
"Do you know Han Qing?"
"Ain't no one by that name in our village..."
Every time she grabbed a villager and asked, she got the same frustrating answer.
The Wei River was the north-south waterway linking Shanqing to the Yellow River itself—a staggering three hundred li from end to end.
Searching for one man across its full length was harder than finding a needle in a sandbar.
But the moment Jaja heard "Wei River," she bolted straight for the Goryeong ferry landing.
"Wei River" was a blanket term for the river's entire three-hundred-li stretch, but it also specifically referred to the landing at Goryeong. There were roughly two hundred landings along the Wei, but only Goryeong went by that name.
Asking her to hunt down Han Qing across the whole river was absurd. Even Four Thousand Four himself couldn't pull that off. And handing a hitman an assignment like that was just bad form.
The target had to be easy to locate.
Which meant Han Qing had to be right there at the Goryeong landing. Grab anyone and ask, and they should instantly tell her where he lived and what he looked like.
No such person in our village?
What a ridiculous response.
What the hell? What is this bastard up to?
Jaja scowled, thinking of Four Thousand Four.
He knew better than anyone the value of solid intel. And yet he'd given her nothing but those four characters: Wei River Han Qing.
Are the others dealing with the same crap?
Hanbi, Vanguard, Fox—they'd all gotten nothing but a location and a name.
Mount Geumak's Songam? That one might actually be findable. The mountain was huge, but human settlements were few and far between.
Saping's Hwang Hakyong looked like a nightmare.
If her guess was right, Vanguard was probably staring slack-jawed and chuckling bitterly right now.
Finding some no-name like Hwang Hakyong in a sprawling place like Saping? Might as well tell her to head to Kaifeng and track down any old Li.
What's your angle, you snake?
Jaja sat by the Wei River's edge, staring at the current drifting past.
Four Thousand Four didn't waste time on pointless errands.
He was rational to a fault, ruthlessly practical, and utterly extreme. The kind of man who'd slit the emperor's throat if it served his needs.
Han Qing was one of the Hidden Triad's tentacles.
Four Thousand Four had made the goal clear: drag the underground Hidden Triad into the light of day.
Han Qing absolutely had to die.
Killing him would spark the massive war Four Thousand Four was brewing.
But how the hell do you kill a guy you can't even find?
The river flowed on indifferently.
Maybe from the downpour a few days back, but the water was a churning brown murk. Not even an inch of the bottom was visible.
Wei River Han Qing. Wei River. Han Qing. Damn you, Four Thousand Four! What kind of half-assed hit is this?
Jaja's scowl deepened.
Jaja had another problem, too.
She was supposed to be dead.
If she ever crossed paths with someone who recognized her out of the blue, it would be a disaster.
The world was full of eyes and ears.
Even without realizing it, every detail about her was out there for others to see.
The Heavenly Annihilation Division's in particular were everywhere—no exaggeration. They had eyes on every event in the Central Plains the instant it happened.
She couldn't just strut around in the open.
Grabbing villagers at the Goryeong landing—aka the Wei River spot—and asking about Han Qing had been insanely risky. Unavoidable, sure, but still.
She couldn't wander. She had to find Han Qing without moving from her seat.
Wei River. Han Qing. Wei River. Han Qing.
Jaja kept muttering the words to herself... then her gaze suddenly locked onto one man.
A ferryman poling his boat away from the Goryeong landing, heading downstream.
Mid-forties, wiry build—but as a ferryman, packed with corded muscle. The silent type, rowing steadily all day long. When he paused, he found shade and sprawled out comfortably.
His every movement was precisely controlled.
Was it just suspicion playing tricks? Even his walk showed no openings.
That's the guy!
Jaja had found Wei River Han Qing.
The kind of man you spot instantly upon arriving at the Wei River.
The secret missive from Four Thousand Four had leaked from Zhuge Soso herself. Meaning it was the Hidden Triad's roster.
What an idiot assumption—that people hiding from the world would use their real names openly.
Jaja kept her eyes glued to the ferryman.
He walked with even strides, fluid enough to counter an attack from any angle, anytime.
He rowed.
His back always faced empty air. If there were passengers aboard, he never turned it to them.
Had to be Han Qing.
His habits were so natural, they disarmed any suspicion. But once you started doubting, every motion screamed seasoned martial artist.
It was you!
Jaja grinned fiercely.
Back when she'd killed those proxies... how? No sneaky ambushes. She'd faced down those powerhouse experts head-on, sword drawn, announcing she was there to end them.
She carried the pride of a top-tier Martial Camp graduate.
"Han Qing?"
She leveled her blade right in the ferryman's face.
"Hah! Where'd this little bitch crawl out from? Heavenly Annihilation Division?"
The ferryman didn't flinch.
Shrk!
He uncoiled an iron chain from his waist.
Two zhang long, tipped with a vicious iron mace.
Hegemonic-style martial arts.
"Not even fazed, huh?"
Jaja was already in her stance.
"Been watching you since afternoon. Some wench boring holes in me with her eyes—hard not to notice."
Shit!
Jaja's eyes narrowed sharply.
While she'd been staring him down, he'd been eyeing her too. Which meant he'd already tipped off the Hidden Triad. Not a full call for backup maybe, but he'd sure as hell warned them an assassin was on his tail.
Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!
The ferryman started whirling the chain overhead.
"You didn't answer my question. Han Qing, right?"
"Yeah."
"What do they call you around here?"
"Planning to shack up with me or something? Save your questions for King Yama down below."
"Could answer with a few words, but you're stingy as hell."
Jaja gradually tightened her stance.
Strength flowed into her sword-grip hand.
No. She couldn't tense up. Keep it loose, relaxed—like in training.
Tensing meant fixating on the enemy.
Hoo!
She took a deliberately deep breath, shoulders heaving.
Showing him she was unwinding. It betrayed her tension too, but she ignored that.
Relaxation was key.
True speed came from looseness. The absolute fastest strike couldn't emerge from rigid tension.
"Like a damn kid."
Han Qing smirked.
Spotting her tension, he smirked. He'd dropped his guard!
Shooo!
Jaja shot forward like a hawk spying prey.
"Way too predictable!"
Han Qing bellowed, slamming the chain down.
Whiiiiiir!
A ferocious blast that could shatter bone on a mere graze poured forth. And its tip just clipped Jaja.
Thud!
Jaja reeled back in a hurry, limping on her right leg.
"Wonder who sent a greenhorn like you. Hah! They way underestimated me."
Madness flickered in Han Qing's eyes.
He was mulling killing blows now. His next attack wouldn't hold back—he'd toy with her, grind her down, then finish. Left leg would be next.
"I'm not here alone."
Jaja flashed a cruel grin.
"Oh yeah? Tell your hiding buddies to show themselves then."
"Nah. Against you? I got this solo."
"Big talk. Next life, pick your bluffs more carefully. Stay away from guys like me."
Whiiiiiir!
The chain spun wildly, then swept savagely across the ground.
Left leg, right on cue. The mace would rake the earth, then rear up like a snake's head.
Tat-tat-tat!
Jaja charged straight ahead.
The mace lunged upward, serpentine.
Jaja used the rising mace as a springboard, stomping down hard and launching herself skyward.
Whi! Thud!
The deathly killer technique she'd grasped while slaying the proxies—Flash Forest Realm—unleashed itself.
Lightning crashed down.
No art from the Heavenly Annihilation Division's arsenal. Pure instinct, forged in those proxy kills.
It didn't even have a proper name yet.
She just called it Flash Forest Realm herself.
From perfect looseness, from a wrist fully relaxed—the pinnacle sword strike exploded forth.
Thuk! Roll-roll-roll!
The severed head tumbled across the landing. A fountain of blood erupted after.
"Gotta let you land a hit like that to catch you fair."
Jaja glanced at the leg Han Qing had struck.
The chain had torn a massive chunk from her thigh. Deep enough that the white bone gleamed visibly.
Limping, Jaja staggered toward Han Qing's boat.
Land was too risky now. If he'd sent word to the Hidden Triad, her escape routes were cut off. The waterway offered far better odds for slipping away.
Shh! Shh!
Ignoring the thigh wound entirely—no time for staunching it—she gripped the oars and started rowing.
"You see that?"
"Insanely fast sword work. Who the hell is she?"
"Not Heavenly Annihilation Division."
"No orthodox sect style either. That blade reeks of killing intent."
"Few schools could train a killer like that. How come we've never heard of her?"
"Didn't know her till now, but we will soon enough. Snag her first, then grill her nice and slow."
There were exactly two of them.
Just like when Jaja sat riverside watching the ferryman—they now stood on the bank, eyes fixed on the receding boat.
"Feels like Zhuge Soso fucked up big time. Stepping out like this is trouble."
"They'll handle Zhuge Soso from above. But to pin blame on her, we grab this girl first. Guess our connection with her kicks off hostile... and ends that way too."
"I kinda like her swordplay, though."
Shiii! Shiiii!
The pair raced along the bank after the fleeing boat.
No rush in their pace. Leisurely, like they'd already bagged her.
"Should've finished Han Qing on the spot. You dragged it out."
"Bet she's light on actual kills."
"Nah. That finisher on Han Qing? She's got oceans of blood on her hands. Seasoned assassin, no doubt. My guarantee."
"That so? Heh! This girl's got me curious now. Heh!"
Shiii!
They kept chatting as they flew along like raptors, forms utterly unshaken.