Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Chang'an Myriad Gold Inn
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Leaving the dead one behind, I shoulder the remaining guy and move again.
Chang'an back alleys. A place teeming with all sorts of gambling dens and brothels.
Ordinary folks wouldn't set foot here unless they absolutely had to.
Anyone you spot here can be chalked up as having at least one screw loose in their life plans.
Guys you should avoid rubbing elbows with if at all possible.
Among those gambling joints, one was brazenly operating with its lights blazing bright.
Myriad Gold Inn.
Its name said inn, but it was unequivocally a gambling house.
Of course, it didn't have "GAMBLING HOUSE" plastered right on the sign. It was properly marked as an inn.
But no soul stepping through those doors was clueless about what it really was.
No idiot goes in there to order food.
I watch the place from the rooftop.
The inn's rear. The entrance for the executives.
People with any pull always carve out special treatment from the masses, even in dives like this.
Everyone sees that as privilege, as perks, right?
So no way these clowns wouldn't.
Dogs don't quit shitting. Anyway, whatever.
As the meeting time drew near, the Shadowless Gate's top brass started trickling in one by one.
I spotted the Horse Division Chief and Divination Division Chief enter. A short wait later, the Shadowless Gate Chang'an Branch Head slipped inside too.
The Divination Division Chief was probably already in there. So just the Brothel Division Chief left?
Didn't take long for the Brothel Division Chief to show.
A woman who'd once been stunning. But time spares no one.
With the Brothel Division Chief vanishing into the Myriad Gold Inn, I calmly waited for Maewol's signal.
Maewol said she'd handle sending the signal herself.
I couldn't wrap my head around how, but she was so dead certain that I just shrugged it off.
Curious, though. What's her play?
The signal hit fast. Grand, unmistakable.
Crazy bitch.
My take on Maewol just leveled up.
Wow. What a firecracker. She actually cooked up that?
Should I keep teaming up with her? Feels risky.
Even dubbed the city that never sleeps, night cloaks Chang'an in overall darkness.
No streetlamps or such. Can't be helped.
Lanterns have limits. They light the roads, but rooftops might as well be pitch black.
Then, smack in central Chang'an, a massive torch flared to life.
At first, just noticeably brighter than usual.
But in a blink, a near ten-story pavilion went up entirely, roaring with flames.
The blaze spread like lightning, swallowing the wooden tower before anyone could dream of saving it.
A spectacle that redrew Chang'an's nightscape in seconds.
Chaos erupted nearby, naturally.
People gawked at the inferno, souls lost.
Enthralled stares. Childlike gawkers.
Amid it, folks madly dashed into the Myriad Gold Inn.
Soon after, the Brothel Division Chief bolted out in blind panic.
I can guess that pavilion. Probably a brothel.
One run by the brothel division. Maybe even hers?
That'd explain her sprint. Even if not, she has to go.
A single high-end brothel burning to the ground? Catastrophic loss.
Ha. That hopeless Maewol. Job done clean.
But damn, that overkill? What if it cancels the whole meet?
So I moved fast.
Now's the window. Before the other chiefs scatter, get my work done.
Shouldering the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult thug, I leap rooftop to rooftop.
Luckily, no eyes on me.
Amusingly, just two breeds here.
Gawkers at the blaze.
Die-hards glued to their bets, fire be damned.
Dudes ignoring a fire show for gambling? Rock bottom life.
Brains brined in dopamine. Serious junkies.
Anyway, it let me slip safely from the inn roof to the top floor.
They never dreamed of a hit, so security was laughably sloppy.
Sword swings. One martial artist drops silent, dead.
No quarter from me. Everyone here gets wiped. No witnesses.
Kill and cover tracks. Only way to stage this.
So I wield their blades in Heavenly Demon Divine Cult swordsmanship, butchering the room.
Profound work, this.
Have to ape their sword arts while masking it as clumsy amateur work.
Double-twisted. Only top experts poring over it'd spot the cult traces.
That's the frame job. That's mutual slaughter.
Anyway, after quietly carving up the minions, I enter the room with the Shadowless Gate Chang'an Branch Head and division chiefs.
"What!?"
The Gambling Division Chief yelled. His head rolls.
Simultaneously, the Branch Head, Divination Division Chief, and Horse Division Chief hurl toward the window.
Kya. Sharp instincts. Back-alley vets, huh.
But I was quicker.
Won't let 'em flee. My shame otherwise.
Quick sweeps. Divination and Horse Chiefs eat back stabs, flop dead.
Branch Head, void grasp yanks him to me.
Crash before me.
I crouch, seal his points, speak friendly and warm.
"Alright. You pick one of two. One: Spill everything I ask nice and honest, I trash your dantian, hand you walking money, you bail and live easy. Two: Die. I'll free your speech point. Decide while I count three inside. Freed."
I release it. He shivers, speaks.
"W-Whoever you are, if we've given offense, we humbly apo—"
"Bzzzt. Fail."
With that, reseal. He drops dead.
Jeez, gave him choices and he still yaps.
Thought sweet talk would sway me? Pathetic.
Anyway, tidy time.
Key: Make it scream "fight broke out here."
Scan room, pose Branch Head, shift Horse Chief, Divination Chief, Gambling Chief corpses to fitting spots.
Alright. Good enough.
Cult thug's turn.
Gambling Chief's little handaxe hacks deep into cult guy's neck-shoulder join.
Mouth foams blood, no scream. He'll croak soon. Setup done.
Axe back in Gambling Chief's grip. I prop the cult guy.
Mask yanked nose-high. Stomp floor hard a few times. Count five inside. Belt "Argh!"
Alright. That'll draw 'em.
Ears perk. Thuds from below.
Several bounding up fast. I strike a pose.
"What happened!? Huh!"
They burst in. I bolt window-ward, propping cult guy.
"What the—! Grab that bastard!"
Not too swift. Limp just enough they can chase.
Thunk! Dagger embeds ahead.
Oh? Thrower? Please, one more!
Wish hits. Dagger sinks in my back.
Trifles like that can't breach my protective qi anyway.
So act hit, clamp it with energy, "slip" and drop cult guy.
Facial play follows. Glance dropped cult guy, helpless dive out window.
Done. Nailed it.
Out the window, lightness skill maxed to a diagonal rooftop.
"Catch him!"
"Where'd he go!"
"Damn! Slippery fuck!"
"Secure that guy!"
Prone on roof, watch their circus.
Confirming Branch Head and chiefs' deaths: curses, bellows, frenzy.
Good. Clean as hell. No loose ends.
In a CCTV-less world, this effort? No one's sniffing solo act.
Back to the slums.
Earlier kill. Strip, redress him.
Plant that back dagger precisely in his.
Daggered, fled here, died.
Heart sword amps the mystery.
They'll find him, check cause, opinions split.
Fin.
Shadowless Gate Chang'an brass cleared bar Brothel Chief.
Tempted to drop her gear or whore trinket for nudge. Too forced, nixed.
Ah, but some hint? Zero's suspicious too.
Dip dead guy's finger in blood, scrawl on floor.
Full text contrived. Partial, last-gasp dying message vibe.
Finish it, eyeball.
Hm. Off. Wipe.
Act like heart-stabber spots it, snorts, foot-smears gone.
Perfect. Truly done.
Now leisurely spectate Shadowless Gate Chang'an's spin.
New Branch Head or Brothel Chief steps up, whatever.
Either way, internals crystal clear soon.
Home time. Hug Seolha, crash.
Moved tons. Did tons.