Chapter 67
Chapter 67
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: Discarded Stone (2)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"You're the one who killed the Merchant Assassin, right?"
"Yes."
"Yes? You say yes?!"
"Isn't it already known to all of you that I assassinated the Merchant Assassin?"
"You bastard, do you even know where you are, flapping your mouth like that?!"
"I'm merely answering your question."
"Ah! You've lost your mind good and proper, haven't you! The assassin who killed the Merchant Assassin walks right in here himself?!"
"I had no choice but to come."
"No choice?"
"My superiors inexplicably ordered me to assassinate the Zhuge Clan Lord."
"And?"
"I accepted the order."
"So you're saying... you had no choice because you were ordered to kill the clan lord?!"
"That's right."
"Hahaha! You're insane."
Warriors of the Zhuge Clan packed tightly around Four Thousand Four. So many had gathered that even if he wanted to flee, the press of bodies made escape impossible.
They hadn't expected the assassin to come to them of his own accord.
The assassin had bathed meticulously, tied his hair neatly, and donned fresh clothes.
No weapons in sight.
There might be something hidden in his robes, but nothing was visible on the surface.
"If that's the case, shouldn't you be looking for the clan lord instead of the young lady? You came to assassinate him, didn't you?"
"Do you think I could assassinate the Zhuge Clan Lord?"
"No. A worm like you couldn't even utter the clan lord's name!"
"That's why I sought out the young lady."
"Heh heh heh! Planning to assassinate the young lady in the clan lord's stead?"
"Would that even be possible?"
"Who do you think you're mocking?!"
The Zhuge Clan warriors were probing him.
Four Thousand Four answered every question. Sometimes his words sounded like jokes, other times like deadly earnest. They couldn't fathom what thoughts had driven him to visit the Zhuge Clan.
"Are you alone?!"
"The assassination team numbers four. I'm just one of them."
"Where are the others?"
"Don't you already know?"
"What?!"
The Zhuge Clan warriors adopted threatening stances, as if ready to strike at any moment.
Four Thousand Four didn't flinch in the slightest.
Even hemmed in by weapons, leaving him unable to move, he remained as calm as a field without a breath of wind.
To the Zhuge Clan warriors, he was already caught prey anyway.
Even if Four Thousand Four thrashed to escape, the outcome wouldn't change. He was in their grasp.
The warriors didn't rush.
Four Thousand Four felt no urgency either. He hadn't been chased down and captured—he had walked in of his own volition.
Armor? It looked like armor at a glance.
She wore blue martial robes. But she had shoulder guards on her shoulders, steel bracers on her wrists, and a steel breastplate over her chest.
Not full armor—just protective gear over blue martial robes.
He had never seen anyone dressed like this before. Neither pure martial robes nor proper armor... yet it gave the impression she would be incredibly swift and powerful in combat.
And the woman was still beautiful.
Slender eyebrows like a crescent moon, round eyes, a straight nose... no, simply beautiful.
Some beauties make you feel you dare not even approach.
A sense of self-loathing? The thought that someone like you has no right to even gaze upon her.
Zhuge Soso was such a woman.
She was so beautiful he wondered if a man like himself could even speak properly in her presence. No, in any other situation, he never would have dared approach her first. She was too beautiful.
'She's truly lovely.'
Still, he couldn't help thinking it.
This was no time to lose focus. No time to be swayed by her beauty. The woman approaching him was a blade that would take his life—a cold sword without a shred of mercy.
Yet she didn't feel like a cold blade.
Even filled with hostility, no matter what she said or did, she wouldn't seem hateful.
Four Thousand Four wrinkled his nose.
'I really need to stay sharp. Get it together! You're Four Thousand Four!'
Four Thousand Four, the murderer who must never be unleashed upon the world!
Four Thousand Four averted his gaze from her, recalling the dank, gloomy Nineteen Hells. He pictured it in his mind. Otherwise, he feared he couldn't escape Zhuge Soso's beauty.
"You wanted to see me?"
Her voice was extremely sharp. But to him, it felt soft. Incredibly clear.
"Ahem!"
Four Thousand Four cleared his throat first.
"I received orders to assassinate the Zhuge Clan Lord."
Zhuge Soso listened to Four Thousand Four's words. Staring straight through him. And the moment he finished speaking, she issued a command.
"Seize him!"
"Yes, milady!"
A thunderous response followed. Then a group of warriors dashed out with nimble footwork.
Some headed east. Some west. Others toward the family estate.
Indeed. They had been watching Vanguard all along.
Vanguard, Hanbi, and Jaja would be captured before they could even move.
What would he have done in Vanguard's place? Charging into a heavily guarded area would be suicidal... Better to wait until someone was caught, then strike later when vigilance slackened.
Of course, that was the proper way.
As he had said, the Zhuge Clan was a sect where proper methods didn't apply.
Zhuge Soso asked, radiating chilling intent.
"What's the reason you wanted to see me?"
"I had one question I wanted to ask."
Four Thousand Four tried to clasp his hands in a formal salute. In that instant,
Clang! Shing! Shink!
The weapons encircling him pressed close, ready to sever his head. His motion to clasp hands must have looked like a sudden attack.
Four Thousand Four awkwardly met her eyes, hands half-raised.
"What do you want to ask? Speak!"
Her face remained emotionless. Impossible to guess her thoughts.
"Milady, where is the Zhuge Clan Lord?"
"What?!"
"These warriors... I read a looseness amid their tension. No matter what happens, no matter who comes—even if it's a master—no one can kill the clan lord. That's the confidence I sense."
"And?"
"Such confidence... is only possible when the clan lord isn't here."
"Is that so?"
"The Heavenly Annihilation Division declared a public assassination. Young lady, is the Zhuge Clan Lord avoiding the estate out of fear of a public hit?"
"......"
Zhuge Soso stared piercingly at Four Thousand Four.
"You bastard! Don't let your rotten mouth run wild!"
"Cut him down!"
The Zhuge Clan warriors thrust their fierce weapons forward.
Four Thousand Four didn't twitch an eyebrow as he gazed at Zhuge Soso. She met his eyes without flinching.
She spoke.
"Who are you?"
"......"
"Do you know who was at the scene where the Merchant Assassin died? Poison Path of the Sacheon Tang Clan was there. Hahaha! Killing the Merchant Assassin with poison right in front of Sacheon Tang's Poison Path. That's an insult to the Sacheon Tang Clan."
"......"
"Taming the infamous Golden-Eyed Black Spirit that no hand can touch. Slipping through my grasp. Deducing the clan lord's absence from a mere glimpse from afar..."
"......"
"Who are you? You're no mere killer."
"You may not believe it, but I'm someone who was released from prison not long ago."
"I believe you. I know."
Zhuge Soso nodded.
She knew how the Heavenly Annihilation Division sourced their killers and why they obeyed. No, she knew from the start that those imprisoned in the Thunder Prison had been scouted. They only recruited those who could be tamed.
Zhuge Soso had investigated Vanguard. And Hanbi and Jaja by his side. Not just him—she knew nearly all the killers the Heavenly Annihilation Division had unleashed into the Central Plains.
The only ones the Zhuge Clan hadn't identified were those freshly released from prison.
"Tell me... what did you do before being locked in the Thunder Prison?"
"Does that matter?"
"It does."
"If I tell you, will you reveal where the clan lord is?"
"Hahaha! You really are a fool sometimes... Do you think I'd tell you that? Did you come believing I'd let it slip? How do you even see me?"
Four Thousand Four smiled faintly.
Not because her words were funny. Finally, he had exchanged a few words with her. And learned a little about her—her temperament, personality, speech.
"Did I say something amusing?"
"No."
Four Thousand Four shook his head.
"In any case, you've succeeded in piquing my curiosity. Fine. I won't kill you outright. That's what you wanted, right?"
"......"
"To meet me, stir my interest... and avoid summary execution, ending up in the Thunder Prison. That's your goal, isn't it?"
Four Thousand Four narrowed his eyes. He hadn't wanted to, but they narrowed on their own.
She was right. As long as he met her and avoided instant death, a sliver of possibility emerged. To that end, he needed to reveal some of his cards.
The Zhuge Clan Lord wasn't here.
Despite the Heavenly Annihilation Division's public assassination decree, the lord had vacated the premises.
No, he probably hadn't fled. Perhaps he deemed them unworthy of notice. But for the Heavenly Annihilation Division, it raised many issues.
Show a glimpse of that card to prolong his life.
Time was the problem. The Heavenly Annihilation Division set midnight tonight as the deadline for the public assassination. Fail to escape the Thunder Prison or locate the clan lord by then, and the mission failed.
Who in their right mind declares a public assassination for such a task?
Yet Zhuge Soso saw right through him. She figured out why he requested to see her.
'This is getting tricky.'
That thought furrowed his brow. And Zhuge Soso noticed his expression sour.
"I'm right."
"Yes."
"You really thought you could kill my father?"
"......"
"Hohoho! Hohohoho! I've met a real joker. Utterly ridiculous."
She burst into loud laughter.
Four Thousand Four was imprisoned in the Thunder Prison.
The Zhuge Clan's Thunder Prison was underground. For Four Thousand Four, it was a surprisingly comfortable place.
'Perfect.'
His first thought upon being locked in.
Until midnight to find the Zhuge Clan Lord... No way. Even a year from now, no way. Well, there was a way. If it worked, he could make one move.
Make the Zhuge Clan Lord come to him.
The lord had to visit him. Not him moving, but the lord entering the Thunder Prison. To lure him, create bait he couldn't resist.
Time to start spreading the scent.
Four Thousand Four went to a corner of the Thunder Prison and stood there.
Most prisoners collapsed to the floor upon imprisonment, but he stood in the shadowed corner.
Back pressed flat against the wall. He held his breath. Closed his eyes.
He became a dead man. Severing his breath, dying. Sinking deep into silence.
This was the only way to draw the Zhuge Clan Lord.
He was certain. Only by becoming a corpse would the lord come.