Nightfall

In a quiet night, Ning Que lay on his bed with his eyes wide open staring at the ceiling. He naturally thought that if Blackie were still alive, Sangsang would not have to risk her life to pass the letter to Zhang’s mansion.

With regards to the assassination today, there was not much to conclude. Afterall, he had prepared for it for days and to kill an old officer without any guards by his side was a simple task for him. The moment that rusty nail was pierced into Zhang Yiqi’s head, he was considered dead. It was impossible for him to leave any evidence at the site. What he did after that were extras, just like what he had explained to Sangsang, that pure traffic accident killed the censor was a much better conclusion for the imperial court than him dying in a prostitute’s bed.

As for the feeling of killing? He did not have much feeling. His life in Tang started off with murder, and he had experienced numerous killings during his growth. He had killed many people. He had also used various methods, which were even crueler and bloodier than tonight, to kill people. Would he be feeling scared or disgusted or even afraid of the dark after killing people? Such things would only happen to those scholars who always immersed themselves into lewd poetries and literature. As for him, though he had also signed up for the academy entrance exam, he could never be a real scholar.

He was a hunter who had killed the old hunter. He was a horse gang who had killed other little horse gangs. He was a born killer.

However, the person he had murdered today was ultimately a high-ranked officer from Tang Empire and a target he had wanted to get rid of for years. The bloody red scene at General’s Mansion which he witnessed when he was four flashed in front of his eyes on the ceiling, then followed by the shocked yet unagitated expressions of the old chamberlain and the young boy. Ning Que felt delighted and started laughing. He felt a gush of relief from within.

Sangsang was full of smiles as well. She knew that he would be in a perfect mood today, so she decided to wait till her young master got rid of all the enemies including all generals under Xia Hou, she would then take out and show him the box which she had hidden under the bed. She believed that he would feel different from now when he saw the piece of paper by then.

That box contained writings which Ning Que had casually thrown away for the past years, but Sangsang thought they were good writings and kept them secretly aside. The latest one of them was written by Ning Que on the night when Zhuo Er died. Ning Que thought that the piece of writing was already thrown among the rubbish, never did he thought that his handmaiden would secretly keep it aside.

After keeping silent for a long time, Ning Que suddenly sighed aloud and said with regrets, “Last night when I listened to your poem, it seems fine. However, when I tried to recite it out in front of that man, I felt that something was off. Or should I say, it sounded pretty dumb if you analyzed it in details.”

It was obvious that he was referring to the “I’m from where, and I’m here to take your life” poem. Repeated words in every phrase were used to emphasize on the meaning, and yet those clumsy choices of words made the poem sounded dumb and unprofessional. Unfortunately, it was vivid that the young master and his handmaiden were lack of literary talent, and both of them actually felt that the poem was good on the night they had composed it.

“Then I’ll edit it again,” Sangsang replied with a serious expression and she added, “Young master, when are you having your second killing? Let me know the time, and I’ll make sure I’ll get it done before then.”

“Aiming to finish edits before the submission date? Why does it sound like this is a piece of famous and grand work?” Ning Que thought of it silently, followed by a cackle and said, “Since that’s the case, there’s no hurry. The second name on the list seems troublesome, so I’m not planning to act on it lately. Let’s wait till Zhang Yiqi’s case is settled. Moreover, I would need to prepare for academy entry exam(s).”

“Young Master, but when you’re at City of Wei, you’re always worried that if you don’t start on your revenge early, and those old fellows will die from illness or old age first.”

“Since I’ve already waited for more than ten years, I believe Master Haotian would spare me for another over ten days.”

…

…

Revenge is an integrated project, especially when you were only playing a small role in the whole project. Also, when your targets for revenge were all those bigwigs in the empire, this project would become even more complicated than one could imagine. Ning Que was neither lucky, nor as secretive as a eunuch in the palace. Hence, he needed to be more cautious.

After staying in Lin 47th Street for two days, Ning Que went around the city square in search of any interesting news in Chang’an. He then discovered that the death of Censor Zhang Yiqi, indeed, did not create too much disturbance. Instead, it had only drawn gossips and rumors among the commoners in Chang’an. Different versions of the story of what had actually happened that night at the side door of the brothel were created, but unfortunately, most of them had related the censor’s death with his fierce wife.

Just as what Ning Que had expected, the fierce and determined wife from the censor’s mansion was currently at Chang’an Local Government making a big fuss. However, the House of Red-Sleeves was only asked to stop business for a day after the incident. Though it did seem like the imperial court had yet to have a conclusion drawn for this case, but basically, they had all believe that there was nothing suspicious about the censor’s death.

On the third day, Ning Que knew that he should pay a visit to the House of Red-Sleeves, or sudden disappearance would make the ladies at the brothel, including the maidservant Xiaocao, felt suspicious.

This time, he decided to bring Sangsang along. Sangsang tied her hair and hid them under a cap. She then changed into the Ning Que’s old cotton clothes. Without further makeover, she looked perfectly common-looking with her dark-tone face, just like an inconspicuous manservant.

“It isn’t raining today, why bother to bring that to attract attention?” he said, pointing at the big black umbrella carried behind Sangsang.

Sangsang shook her head and insisted on her decision. Ning Que ignored her, for he knew that she was just worried that bad things would happen after Censor Zhang Yiqi’s death. She believed that bringing the black umbrella along would protect the both of them.

Yet never did he expect that the moment both of them stepped out the main door of Old Brush Pen Shop, a group of people blocked their paths.

This group of people was mainly made up brawny men. Their muscular broad chests and a few strands of their black chest hairs were revealed and shone against the sunlight to depict how fierce and strong they were. Not far from them were two local government runners from Chang’an Local Government, who stood under the tree looking in their direction without any expression on their faces. This obviously proved that these brawny men were sent by the Chang’an Local Government.

Sangsang seemed vigilant as she subconsciously stretched her right hand behind her and held the middle of the big black umbrella tightly. Ning Que was not nervous though as he stared at the two local government runners who stood under the tree. He noticed that no handcuffs or metal chains were held by the other party, and had somewhat guessed the background of these brawny men.

The leader of the group of brawny men looked around thirty years old and instead of dashing into the Old Brush Pen Shop to attack and rob as what Ning Que had expected, he politely greeted him with a palm and fist salute. He then said in a low muffled voice, “I supposed you’re the young boss here? I’ve come by once a few days ago, but you weren’t around so I was unable to discuss some matters with you.”

Ning Que leaned his body to one side and took a glance at Sangsang. Just when he was about to consult her, he suddenly recalled that she did inform him about the matter. He then turned towards the man and replied, “May I know what’s the matter?”

“I believe, sir, you should now know the reason why you’re the only shop along Lin 47th Street.” The man then continued to list out the conditions directly, “I’ll instantly buy your shop contract over at 200 taels of silver and you’ll look elsewhere for your shop. Should there be any loss during the transaction, you can also tell me, provided it’s a reasonable price that we’re willing to pay. However, we only have one request, which is… we need you to move right now.”

These conditions were really attractive. Ning Que sighed with emotions as he stared at the group of men in front of him. Indeed, Chang’an was the most generous region in the world, to the extent that they even provided such attractive conditions to chase people away.