Cang Lan Dao - Chapter 18.4
Chapter 18.4
I trusted you, so don’t you —
Qin Jue cocked his head and didn’t answer straight away. He only asked, “Who says someone who knows the Invincible Sword isn’t Qin Jue? I’m an expert with hidden depths. I’ll ask you guys one last time-“
Qin Jue’s complexion turned cold as he raised his voice, “I’ve been waiting for so long. Have all the people arrived yet?”
******
Luo Wanqing bought things very quickly. Within half an hour, she got everything on the list and took it out of the city in a big bag. When she reached the outskirts, she heard a soft call, “Left Ambassador.”
Hearing this voice, Luo Wanqing paused, and her heartbeat instantly quickened. She has heard Liu Xiniang talk about the structure of the Feng Yu Pavilion.
The Feng Yu Pavilion had two sections, Bright and Dark Pavilion. The Dark Pavilion was used to deal with the internal traitors of the Feng Yu Pavilion and occasionally goes out to deal with external matters. The Bright Pavilion was used to take orders from the outside world. According to the level of strength, the Feng Yu Pavilion had four ranks. Heaven, Earth, Xuan, and Yellow.
There are eight ‘heaven-level’ assassins in Bright Pavilion. The so-called ‘assassins’ didn’t refer to a person but a mission. For example, the Four Heavenly Blades could only do Xuan-level missions if they did it separately. But together, they could launch the Heavenly Blade Formation, and enough to reach heaven-level. Among the eight assassins, only two people could reach the heaven-level with only one person. These two were the Left and Right Ambassadors.
Liu Xiniang was the Left Ambassador. The person who would call Luo Wanqing ‘Left Ambassador’ must be from the Feng Yu Pavilion. How could they have come here?
Luo Wanqing didn’t dare to turn around. She calmly said, “Who told you to come?”
“Haven’t seen you for a long time, and the Left Ambassador’s speaking voice has changed.” The person behind her laughed and complimented. “It’s not in vain that the Pavilion Master values you. The way you look today, even if the Pavilion Master is here, he won’t be able to recognize you, and mixing into the Inspection Department is just around the corner.”
“Come to me a few more times, then I won’t need to.” Luo Wanqing spoke coldly, using the tone that Liu Xinang had taught her.
The assassins of the Feng Yu Pavilion rarely dealt with each other. As long as the one who came wasn’t the Pavilion Master Xiang Sizi, Liu Xiniang’s interactions with them were consistently icy and only about the mission. It would be hard for them to recognize her.
The other party bore no suspicions, only saying, “Left Ambassador, don’t worry. Silver Snake is only here by order of the Pavilion Master to speak with you. Qin Jue’s encirclement today, Left Ambassador should return later.”
Hearing this, Luo Wanqing froze. She turned back and saw a rather colorful-looking young girl. This woman was very thin, so thin that she looked a bit vicious, with snake-like sinister and sticky eyebrows. She wore a short-sleeved blue dress with a tiny black box on her back, snake rings on her wrists, and a silver snake hairpin on top of her head to bind her hair in a high bun. She didn’t look like a Central Plains person.
As soon as Luo Wanqing thought about it, she remembered this person from the information that Liu Xiniang gave her, a rare ground-level assassin, Silver Snake, specializing in the Miao Saber, one step away from the word Heaven.
Watching Luo Wanqing turn her head, revealing a burnt face, Silver Snake froze. That burn had already healed, with long creases, causing her facial contours not to be seen at all.
Silver Snake looked at that face and gulped, then said, “Your face ……”
“How many of you have come today?” Luo Wanqing asked.
Silver Snake didn’t think that Liu Xiniang would ask this question. But considering Liu Xiniang’s rank, Silver Snake still curried favor and said, “Thirty-two of the Xuan-level assassins, the Four Blades, and the Eight Delights. “
“Such a big battle?” Luo Wanqing frowned. “Does Qin Jue need this much complexity?”
“Pavilion Master is trying to make sure that nothing goes wrong.” Silver Snake respectfully said, “Moreover, previously, the Left Ambassador made a move, and the Pavilion Master was worried …… that the Left Ambassador had other ideas.”
When Silver Snake said this, her eyes kept staring at Luo Wanqing, her tone meaningful.
Luo Wanqing spoke directly, “You suspect me?”
“I don’t dare,” Silver Snake immediately said. “Silver Snake is just passing on Pavilion Master’s message. I don’t dare to question the Left Ambassador.”
“Don’t you dare use the Pavilion Master to pressure me!” Luo Wanqing suppressed her frantic heartbeat, turned in Qin Jue’s direction, and said coldly, “My loyalty to the Pavilion Master isn’t something you can dictate.”
“Then please stay behind, Left Ambassador.” Silver Snake coldly lowered her face and raised her voice.
Luo Wanqing turned back at her words, “What do you mean?”
“The Pavilion Master said,” Silver Snake stared at Luo Wanqing, “This assassination must be foolproof. Left Ambassador, please stay here, and when the news of Qin Jue’s death comes, Silver Snake will naturally let the Left Ambassador leave.”
“Pavilion Master is asking you to keep an eye on me?” Luo Wanqing understood.
Silver Snake didn’t deny it, only saying, “Left Ambassador, please forgive me.”
Luo Wanqing didn’t say anything. She knew that the Feng Yu Pavilion was suspicious of her. Whether it was suspecting her betrayal or her not being the real Liu Xiniang, they ultimately doubted her. She squeezed the blade on her waist and pursed her lips.
Silver Snake stared at her silently, not budging a step.
She didn’t need to do anything right now. Waiting here was the best thing she could do. Qin Jue wouldn’t die, and by doing what the Feng Yu Pavilion asked her to do, she wouldn’t provoke the Pavilion into having the next test. The odds were that the Feng Yu Pavilion only suspected her of betrayal, and she only needed to prove that she didn’t mean to save Qin Jue. That would be enough. If she helped Qin Jue, there would be a high chance that she would expose herself as not being Liu Xiniang, which would be harming herself and Liu Xiniang.
But will Qin Jue survive? Luo Wanqing couldn’t help but look up in Qin Jue’s direction. In that precognitive dream, she wasn’t there. She didn’t know how Qin Jue escaped. But now, she clearly knew that with Qin Jue’s current injuries and strength, facing a siege of thirty-two Xuan-level killers, unless there was help from top experts, Qin Jue definitely wouldn’t survive.
The Feng Yu Pavilion had deployed so many people to kill Qin Jue because they were concerned about her, a Heaven-level assassin, turning against them. Perhaps if she hadn’t misidentified Qin Jue as Jiu Shuang, the person Qin Jue had chosen to accompany him wouldn’t have been her. In his last life, Qin Jue might chosen the most suitable person. Maybe that person had accompanied him to Dongdu. If Qin Jue died, it would be her who killed him. For her selfishness, for her revenge, she killed someone who didn’t deserve to die.
But so what? Luo Wanqing averted her gaze, telling herself that the road to revenge was a road of corpses and bones, so what was the harm in having one more Qin Jue? As long as she could kill Jiang Shaoyan, it didn’t matter how many people died.