Chapter 63
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Departure! [Leave!] (3)
"Read this. I stayed up all night writing it."
Fox held out a small booklet.
The booklet had fresh puncture marks from an awl where the pages had been bound just yesterday.
Four Thousand Four took it without a word.
"I scraped together everything I could find on the Zhuge Clan—good, bad, and everything in between. You're the one diving headfirst into the fire pit anyway."
"Thanks."
"Skip the thanks. Just come back alive. We're Nineteen Hells comrades, aren't we?"
Fox flashed a bright smile.
Three's squad had a library where one could gather necessary information.
Four Thousand Four had never bothered to visit out of disinterest, but Fox had practically lived holed up in there.
Vanguard had only announced the Zhuge Clan Lord's assassination the night before.
Even if Fox had scoured the library for documents, the time available—barely three or four hours—severely limited what she could find.
Yet she had compiled enough material to make this booklet.
It was the result of her combing through the library inch by inch during the month Four Thousand Four had been bedridden. She knew exactly where everything was, which shelves held which sect's records. In fact, she knew more about the library's collection than even Iron Ball Sect's leader.
Fox had always been passionate about that sort of thing.
And now, that very Fox had handed over everything she had on the Zhuge Clan for Four Thousand Four, who would be on the front lines of the assault.
It would be a tremendous help.
Four Thousand Four opened the booklet. Skimming past much of it, he flipped to the section on Zhuge Soso.
Zhuge Soso was the daughter of Zhuge Clan Lord Zhuge Ham, the only girl among his four sons and one daughter, and the youngest at that.
The Zhuge Clan had plenty of scholars, but she was unique in studying under Master Songha at the Songha Academy. It was unusual compared to the rest of the clan, who all learned their letters from the elders.
At a young age, she had mastered the Four Books and Three Classics. At just twenty-two, she annihilated the Manjeonbang and Daedomun sects, earning the moniker Southern Luminary.
She was also called Moon Palace Chang'e on Earth—where there was Chang'e in the Moon Palace, there was Soso on the ground. Her beauty was that exceptional.
She bore the martial title Flying Moon Divine Saber.
Judging by the name, it sounded like she wielded a blade...
But in Four Thousand Four's memory, she carried no saber. He recalled a sword at her waist. Definitely a sword, not a saber.
The Zhuge Clan had five supreme warriors known as the Five Finger Warriors.
They were elite martial artists at the pinnacle of their arts, likened to the fingers of a hand. She corresponded to the index finger, earning her titles like Second Finger Warrior, or simply Second Finger or Two Warrior.
All told, she was a heroine among heroines—prodigiously talented in both letters and arms, with unmatched beauty.
Four Thousand Four read the section on Zhuge Soso again and again.
It wasn't lingering attachment. Their worlds were too far apart to even cross paths.
Still, he couldn't help being drawn to her.
She was human. He was a butcher who killed humans. They inhabited different realms. She dwelled in the light, while he tread only shadows.
Yet her face kept rising unbidden in his mind.
What was so captivating about her?
He'd never spoken to her, never spent time with her... It was a fleeting glance, a brush of sleeves in passing.
And yet, the thought of cutting through her father made his chest ache.
What was he to do?
In the end, he would have to kill him. With all his might.
Four Thousand Four began reading the entry on the target himself, Zhuge Clan Lord.
The Zhuge family's main house was originally in Shaanxi Province.
But Shaanxi's treacherous terrain and its distance from the Central Plains led to a branch house being established in Henan during Zhuge Ham's era.
Strictly speaking, the true Clan Lord should refer to the head of the Shaanxi main house. But these days, the term meant the branch lord in Henan.
The branch had surpassed the main house in prestige.
The rise of the Henan Zhuge Clan over its Shaanxi counterpart owed much to producing geniuses like Zhuge Soso, but even more to Zhuge Ham's vast network of connections.
There's a saying in the martial world: All under heaven are brothers. It means everyone in the world is kin.
That was Zhuge Ham. He had so many acquaintances that no one in the martial world didn't know him. They said no problem went unsolved once he stepped in.
The Zhuge Clan's most terrifying power stemmed from its Clan Lord.
Currently, over five thousand people resided in the Zhuge Clan grounds, with more than four thousand being martial artists.
It wasn't a martial house—it was an army.
The head sect had ordered them to kill someone truly formidable.
The booklet even included a map of the Zhuge Clan compound's layout.
Building sizes, positions, walls—all marked in considerable detail. It seemed the Heavenly Annihilation Division had gathered quite a bit of intelligence on the Zhuge Clan.
But this was only the surface layout.
Raiding while relying on such a map often led to disaster. Martial clans' visible structures often hid far more beneath.
The Zhuge Clan was especially renowned for its formations.
Yet amusingly, hardly any martial artists had actually experienced them firsthand.
Zhuge Soso had demonstrated military tactics, earning her the Southern Luminary title.
Not formations—tactics.
Others had showcased tactics too. There were no records of the Zhuge Clan oppressing foes with formations.
If they didn't even use formations, why were they famed for them? What formations did they employ? Had anyone truly faced them?
Yes. This very map of the Zhuge Clan buildings was a formation.
The structures were built in formation patterns. Not even a single tree in the courtyard or a lone flower could be dismissed. Even ornamental garden stones harbored killing intent.
No intruder could enter uninvited and leave unscathed.
The more Four Thousand Four read Fox's booklet, the paler his mind went.
No thoughts came.
"Looks like the Merchant Sword Sage tracked you down."
Vanguard said suddenly.
A deer that had lost its way bounded right in front of the group.
It appeared before people trekking mountain paths and subsisting on dry rations for their three daily meals.
Wild Boar hurled his iron club without a second thought.
Thwack!
The club struck the deer's head dead-on.
By sheer coincidence, unplanned, they had fresh meat.
They weren't supposed to encounter people on their covert journey, but this once, they decided to build a fire. Cook the venison and eat their fill. On the road to death, why not savor this pleasure?
They all ate heartily...
But Vanguard had to spoil the mood.
His words wiped the smiles from everyone's faces.
Killing the Merchant Wanderer had spawned relentless pursuers. Word was the Merchant Sword Sage had sealed his estate and set out for vengeance. It was only natural.
The Beggar Clan and Hao Clan would guide him.
Those linked to the Heavenly Annihilation Division, those supplying it... They provided mountains of information. Rescuing Wild Boar and killing a Hao Clan member and Beggar had finally caught up with them.
Who knew about later, but for now, the Hao Clan and Beggar Clan were enemies.
Four Thousand Four had heard as much before leaving Three's squad.
Nothing new.
Vanguard continued.
"He was asking about you before drawing his sword, it seems. Demanding everything known about Four Kills. He's starting to learn about you."
Investigating Four Thousand Four meant narrowing the killer's profile considerably.
He had acquired a grudge hard to shake.
"Ugh! Come on, Vanguard, no tact. Did you have to say that right here?"
Fox pouted her lips.
"Knowing you've made enemies isn't a bad thing."
"Heh! Merchant Sword Sage—four of them, right?"
Four Thousand Four asked out of the blue.
No one didn't know there were four Merchant Sword Sages. Four Thousand Four knew it best of all. So why ask?
"Killing the Merchant Wanderer made four enemies. So, how many will sprout from killing the Zhuge Clan Lord?"
"Hm."
"Heh! A killer like me? The whole world is the enemy. Everyone you see is a foe. You never know who'll strike next."
"Nineteen Hells was cozy, huh?"
Fox grinned.
Four Thousand Four nodded.
Hanbi, Jaja, and Wild Boar exchanged surprised glances.
The Nineteen Hells, one step below the Eighteen Hells, a place said unfit even for humans... and he called it cozy.
Not even Wild Boar, who had been a prison warden, knew that side of Four Thousand Four's feelings. To him, everyone there was just another kill.
But Fox understood. She got him.
Fox had felt a measure of comfort there too, like Four Thousand Four. No need to move, no worries—just deep, restful sleep. That was the Nineteen Hells.
Those who lived too frantically in the human world often found hell more relaxing.
Four Thousand Four tore into the venison as he spoke.
"Killing the Merchant Wanderer or the Zhuge Clan Lord... neither beats the Nineteen Hells. I don't see pulling me out as a favor, Vanguard. So no debts between us."
"Ha! The debt's on me."
Vanguard said sincerely. His expressionless face couldn't hide the earnestness.
Vanguard had said the assassination must conclude by the fifth day at midnight.
Fox positioned the group atop a mountain peak late on the first night, around the hour of the dog.
"Ha! Made it just in time."
Fox said, peering down from the summit.
Their destination. Henan, home of the Zhuge Clan. He couldn't be sure it was Henan—no signposts, only mountain paths. But he was certain.
The capital sprawled below, and he was sure the Zhuge Clan lay within it. No, he could even pinpoint its location. The place with the orderly torchlights—that had to be it.
"Gave you four days till fifth midnight. Figured you'd need that to scout, plan, and prep. Your turn now, Vanguard."
Fox said with a lighthearted expression.
Vanguard stared at the Zhuge Clan. But no ideas came. It was an iron fortress; no clue how to breach it.
He turned to his squad.
Fox had done her part. Yet she bustled about, tending to details. Already plotting their escape route, it seemed.
Wild Boar was steeling himself too.
This mountain peak where they camped would be his grave.
No miracles like last time. Pursuers would storm here whether they killed the Clan Lord or not. The rearguard would buy time with their lives.
Now the assault team... Hanbi and Jaja gazed at the estate.
He'd lived with them for years, not mere days. They sensed his thoughts. They knew there was no plan to storm the Clan Lord.
They racked their brains for one. But they wouldn't find any more than he had.
And Four Thousand Four? Ha! He was bedding down for sleep.
He knew it was late evening. Past the hour of the dog—midnight soon. Yet with the enemy right below, he slept?
'The real problem is we don't even know where the Clan Lord is. And it's an open assassination...'
Vanguard felt like the mission assigned to him was a sham.
Like he and his squad were bait, with a separate strike team waiting. Just like before.
"Sleep?"
"Yeah."
"Then sleep well. Take this."
Fox slipped a small pouch into Four Thousand Four's bosom.
He offered no thanks. Didn't ask what it was. Since he didn't ask, Fox had to explain.
"Gunpowder dust. Called a thunderclap bomb. Light it, and boom! Small amount—only blasts thirty, maybe forty paces—but it'll help. Handle with care."
"Sleep tight. See you at dawn."
"Hee! So stoic. Got it. Dawn it is."
Four Thousand Four went to sleep, and Fox rose in good spirits. Giving the thunderclap bomb to Four Thousand Four felt wonderful. She'd never known handing something to someone could be so delightful.