Radiant Blade of the Wilderness

Chapter 203: A Ruthless Man

Liu Cheng lived on Hidden River Lane near the Hengbo River. Numerous martial artists in tight-fitting attire, their bodies bearing physical anomalies, now stood guard and patrolled the grounds.

Ding Songyan, who had changed into a cyan robe and wanderer’s headband, met the Young Boss in a quiet chamber hung with calligraphy, paintings, sabers, and swords.

Two pretty young maids helped Liu Cheng inside. He wore a pale robe, his hair simply tied back without a crown. His face was white as paper, his steps unsteady.

”I came to visit an injured friend. How can I make him come to me?” Ding Songyan rose to meet him.

Liu Cheng’s smile was as amiable as ever, though his voice was noticeably weak.

”I’m a Dharma Realm Grandmaster with miraculous healing medicine at my disposal. So long as I’m not killed on the spot, I can at least manage a short walk and a little conversation.”

He settled into a reclining chair padded with bedding, a soft cushion supporting his lower back.

”How are your injuries?” Ding Songyan sat opposite him and asked the customary question.

Liu Cheng glanced to either side, and the two pretty young maids immediately withdrew with quiet footsteps.

”I’ll be honest with you, Brother Ding. My injuries are serious, but not as serious as you think. It may take two or three months to recover fully and regain all my strength, but I’ll be able to fight again in another five or six days.” The Young Boss smiled warmly.

”The Sea-Treading Gang’s healing medicines are that remarkable?” Ding Songyan suddenly felt tempted to acquire some.

”I wouldn’t go that far,” Liu Cheng answered truthfully.

A thought occurred to Ding Songyan. He asked reflectively,

”What exactly happened? Was it really someone from the Accumulated Evil Way who tried to assassinate you?”

Reclining in his chair, Liu Cheng nodded slightly.

”Judging by our fight, it was a Grandmaster who cultivates the Accumulated Evil Divine Art, but not that Envoy.”

The Young Boss glanced around and lowered his weak voice a little further.

”He was formidable. I barely qualify as a first-rank Spirit Resonated Grandmaster, but he’s one of the best among them. Had I not prepared beforehand, I might well have died on the spot.”

”Prepared beforehand?” Ding Songyan raised an eyebrow.

Liu Cheng gave a self-mocking smile.

”On this matter, although our Sea-Treading Gang had a traitor whom the heretics exploited, people coveting our businesses and influence are bound to use the alleged collusion with the Accumulated Evil Way as an excuse to urge the Martial Prohibition Bureau, the Ministry of Justice, and the Chengtian Prefecture to wipe us out. And we did cross a line by using threats and inducements to make servants from those households pass us information.

”We have people willing to intercede, but they may not be able to hold off those who mean us harm.

”I thought, if this really was the Accumulated Evil Way, they’d be certain to retaliate. That’s how they operate. Accountant Ma and his family would be their first targets, but they’re all in the authorities’ hands. However extreme and deranged the Accumulated Evil Way may be, they won’t court certain death. Next would be the estate guards who were present, but none of you are well known. They couldn’t readily establish your identities, and you still live in Prince Kang’s estate. There’s every chance it would be a trap.

”So when I reported to my adoptive father, I deliberately claimed that I had noticed something wrong with Accountant Ma in time, recognized the grave danger, and promptly cooperated with the estate guards to get to the bottom of it. I also had my men embellish the story and quietly spread it around, hoping the Accumulated Evil Way would target me for revenge.

”They didn’t disappoint. They did send someone to assassinate me, but he was stronger than I’d expected. Even prepared and on my guard, I was badly wounded.

”That has gone some way toward clearing the Sea-Treading Gang of collusion with the Accumulated Evil Way. Of course, people may still suspect I arranged to be wounded to be cleared of any wrongdoing, but it gives those interceding for us more to work with. From the reports I’ve received, things are improving. We’ll still have to pay a fortune, though.”

You’re a ruthless one too... Ding Songyan thought with sincere admiration.

In truth, this already amounted to suffering injury to gain others’ trust. He simply hadn’t arranged it with the Accumulated Evil Way. He had offered himself as bait, using their retaliation to clear his name.

Such a gamble was extraordinarily dangerous. Had the slightest thing gone wrong, Ding Songyan would have been visiting not Liu Cheng today, but a black memorial tablet bearing his name in white.

The Young Boss certainly lives up to his reputation. He preaches that harmony brings wealth, but he’s more ruthless than anyone, with himself as much as with others. No wonder he’s one of only two in the Sea-Treading Gang to reach the Dharma Realm on their own. Well, not counting Elders recruited from elsewhere.

Ding Songyan also revised his opinion of the Accumulated Evil Way slightly upward.

It seems they didn’t target Liu Cheng simply because they couldn’t reach their real target and needed someone to take their anger out on. They believed the story he spread, and they did need to make an example of someone to cow their other ”collaborators.”

The Accumulated Evil Way may delight in wickedness and have very different priorities from ordinary people, but at least they have brains.

After speaking at such length, Liu Cheng paused to recover before adding weakly, ”Brother Ding, when I spread those stories, I deliberately played down your part and Guard Fan’s, putting myself at the center. The Accumulated Evil Way should leave you alone now. You needn’t worry too much about retaliation.”

”Thank you, Young Boss.” Ding Songyan cupped his hands in sincere gratitude.

He had no intention of letting his name become known to lure the Accumulated Evil Way into retaliating and thereby catch a bigger fish. He had even specifically told Fan Chunlin, Wu Mo, and Li Baima not to spread word.

This was different from his earlier idea of baiting a Ghost Yu Way assassin. The Ghost Yu Way had only three known Supreme Masters. Without knowing that he had consumed Chaos, they were unlikely to send a Heaven-Man assassin at the outset, even if they knew he possessed Dharma Realm strength.

Sending a first-rank Spirit Resonated Grandmaster would already mean the Ghost Yu Way held Ding Songyan in very high regard. After all, this would be an assassination, not an open fight, and their arts could harm the shadow and thereby the body, killing with a single strike.

Once the Ghost Yu Way tried to eliminate the client after failing, they would find no one to kill. Ding Songyan certainly wouldn’t commission Ding Songyan’s assassination under the name Ding Songyan. Wouldn’t that give the game away on the spot? He would derive another martial art and place the commission under a fabricated identity convincing enough to pass for real. His main expense would be the hefty deposit, but if he took down the Ghost Yu Way Grandmaster sent to kill him, the bounty would cover the loss and might even leave him a profit.

The Accumulated Evil Way was different. The Demon Sovereign had taken an interest in the Zhen family affair in Dingjiang Prefecture. Even if he had not recognized The Legend of the White Snake, he would certainly have heard rumors of a storyteller named Ding Songyan being involved. The name would be familiar. If an estate guard named Ding Songyan suddenly appeared and ruined his plans, how could he fail to connect the two?

If Ding Songyan went fishing in these waters, he might well hook a massive Kunpeng that would swallow him along with his bait.

Different factions possessed different information and naturally called for different approaches. He could not treat them all alike.

This, too, was part of what it meant for Ding Songyan to be Resolute.

Ding Songyan tried another angle.

”Young Boss, where did the assassination attempt take place?”

He had come partly to show concern for a friend, and partly to learn how that Accumulated Evil Way Grandmaster operated.

As for how close they were, they had interacted with each other only two or three times. How much friendship could there be?

Ding Songyan had never met someone and instantly felt as though they were old friends.

Basking in the afternoon sun, Liu Cheng recalled what had happened.

”For the past two days, I’ve deliberately given the Accumulated Evil Way opportunities. I hosted banquets at home, went to the entertainment quarter to watch plays, and made the rounds at the gambling house.

”Late last night, I went to see Courtesan Cheng aboard the Golden Orchid pleasure boat on the Hengbo River. While I was listening to music, someone burst through the window and attacked me with the Malicious Words Piercer...

”I found an opening and broke through the cabin’s wooden wall. After being wounded, I held out for another two moves, which gave the watchtower time to react. The black-clad Grandmaster didn’t dare linger. He leaped into the Hengbo River and escaped through the water. He was a little over 1.68 meters tall, neither fat nor thin.”

So long as he did not try to flee the Flame Capital through a water gate, he need not fear its armor-plate mechanisms.

Malicious Words Piercer... Ding Songyan silently repeated the name.

Besides the Molten Gold Finger, the Accumulated Evil Divine Art included techniques such as the Faith-Slaying Sword, Malicious Words Piercer, Righteousness-Destroying Mace, and Disloyalty Hammer.

After questioning him closely about the fight, Ding Songyan rose.

”I’ll leave you to rest and recover, Young Boss. Once you’re well, I’ll come back for a drink. With luck, the Accumulated Evil Way assassin will have been put to death by then.”

”Unlikely,” Liu Cheng replied with a sigh. ”Among the Twenty-One Heretical Ways, Grandmasters from the Upper Nine are hard enough to find, let alone kill.”

These factions were deeply entrenched and far-reaching, many with histories stretching back over a thousand years. No one knew how many seemingly ordinary subordinates they could call upon, and their martial arts were among the most formidable of the age.

Ding Songyan glanced out the chamber window and said thoughtfully,

”Young Boss, you mustn’t let your guard down while you recover.

”You’ve surely made your share of enemies. Even without the Accumulated Evil Way, there are others. Someone is bound to want you dead while you’re vulnerable.”

”My adoptive father has stationed an Elder here,” Liu Cheng said weakly. ”My own men include quite a few formidable fighters. Several working together could hold off a Grandmaster for a short while. I also deliberately chose the smallest courtyard to recuperate in, so we wouldn’t be spread too thin.”

Ding Songyan said no more. Carrying Frostshade, he left the chamber and gestured for the two maids waiting outside to go in and help Liu Cheng.

A young manservant led him through halls and courtyards toward the entrance of the residence, which had three successive courtyards.

As they reached the covered walkway in the outermost courtyard, Ding Songyan suddenly sniffed.

A very faint fragrance lingered in the air.

It was mostly a rich, woody scent that had yet to dissipate, with a hint of delicate sweetness.

Ding Songyan’s mind sharpened at once.

Sandalwood base with jasmine!*

The Envoy! The title sprang into Ding Songyan’s mind.

Before, he would merely have assumed that some maid who liked to dress prettily or one of Liu Cheng’s favored concubines had recently passed this way. But Accountant Ma had told him about the scent, and he had smelled it for himself. The connection now came easily.

Has the Envoy infiltrated Liu Cheng’s residence?

Did she just slip through this walkway?

Has the Accumulated Evil Way refused to give up? Now that everyone thinks their retaliation is over, are they trying again, determined not to stop until they succeed?

They really do dare anything...

Just what I’d expect of the Accumulated Evil Way...

The Envoy passed through only recently. The residence has several layers of defenses and a Grandmaster on guard. There should still be enough time...

Ding Songyan stopped.

The manservant leading him turned back in surprise.

”Why have you stopped, sir?”

Ding Songyan smiled.

”I just remembered something important I haven’t told the Young Boss. Please take me back to see him. We shouldn’t delay. Things could go wrong if we wait.”