Volume 3, Chapter 292 – The Whereabouts of the Wolf Clan Prince?

Qin Qingfen left the tea stall and made straight for the address the maid had given her.

As she walked, the pedestrians on the road gradually thinned.

The streets and alleys ahead grew more and more remote.

She could even feel a faint chill seeping through the air.

She furrowed her brow and pulled her clothes tighter around herself.

Her talent had never been exceptional, but under the resources of the Chi family, she had managed to cultivate at least a small amount of spiritual energy. By rights she should not have felt cold at all. The chill was probably just a feeling of the mind.

After walking for what felt like a long while, Qin Qingfen finally arrived at the address the maid had given.

It was indeed a courtyard that looked to have seen many years. The gate was sealed shut.

Qin Qingfen approached and caught a faint whiff of mildew drifting through the doors. She gave the gate a light push.

A restriction sealed the lock. It did not open easily.

Through the gap in the gate she could see a courtyard inside, cluttered and overgrown.

This did not look like a place anyone could live.

Qin Qingfen frowned. There was no one around, no one she could ask. Given the state of things, she had no way of confirming whether the so-called Miss Chen was truly being held here.

Rumors were just rumors. The more they spread, the more distorted they became.

Just as Qin Qingfen was about to leave, she heard a thud from inside the courtyard.

Faint sounds of weeping followed.

Startled, Qin Qingfen pressed herself against the gate and peered through the gap.

She saw a young woman with disheveled clothes and tangled hair.

Though she was haggard and dirty, the beauty she once had was still visible beneath it all.

She had apparently tripped and fallen, and now lay on the ground sobbing, muttering under her breath.

Qin Qingfen pressed her ear to the gate and listened carefully, catching fragments of the woman’s words.

“Qi Lang… Qi Lang… where are you? Why did you leave me…”

“Come back, we were supposed to get married…”

“ Wuu … Qi Lang, why did you abandon me!”

“No! No!”

“Qi Lang! Save me! Save me! Don’t leave me here!”

“I’m scared!”

“Don’t leave me behind! That night, I truly didn’t know anything!”

What followed was a stream of broken, incoherent ramblings.

Qin Qingfen’s expression stiffened. “So this must be Miss Chen.”

“Looking at her, she really has lost her mind completely.”

She lowered her eyes slightly.

Another person’s suffering was none of her concern and stirred no feeling in her whatsoever.

She had come here only to see whether the rumors those two maids spoke of were true.

“Now then, to the Chen family residence.”

Muttering quietly to herself, Qin Qingfen turned and slipped away from the courtyard gate without a sound.

The maid had also given Qin Qingfen the address of the Chen family residence.

Unlike the desolate courtyard where Miss Chen was being kept, the Chen residence was situated in a far better part of the city.

When Qin Qingfen arrived outside the Chen residence, it was lit up with lanterns and festoons, people coming and going in lively bustle.

Curious, she stopped a passerby on the road. “Excuse me, what is going on here? Why is it so lively?”

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The passerby let out a scornful laugh. “You can’t even tell? The Chen residence is holding a celebration.”

“A celebration?” Qin Qingfen said, puzzled. “Isn’t Miss Chen locked away in an abandoned courtyard in the north of the city? What is there to celebrate?”

“Ha!” The passerby sneered. “The eldest miss of the Chen family may be gone, but the second miss is still here.”

“After the Chen family head fell ill and died, and the eldest miss lost her mind, the second miss became the sole master of the Chen family. Naturally, it’s the second miss who’s celebrating.”

Qin Qingfen was taken aback. “The second miss is getting married?”

“Married? Ha.” The passerby let out a few more mocking laughs. “The second miss isn’t the sort to marry into someone else’s family and suffer. She’s taking in her nineteenth male concubine.”

Qin Qingfen was stunned silent.

The passerby continued on their way. “A cuckoo displacing the dove, the favored branch trampling the legitimate one, the natural order turned on its head.”

“Just look at what has become of the Chen family’s eldest miss.”

“Ha. This is the Chen family’s just reward.”

Only after the passerby had slowly walked away did Qin Qingfen come back to herself.

She stared at the Chen residence ahead, blazing with lanterns and alive with noise, and a resolute light appeared in her eyes.

The Chi family would absolutely not end up like this.

Chi Xiyan must not follow in that Miss Chen’s footsteps!

We have schemed for the Chi family for so long. I will not let someone else swoop in and pluck the fruit we planted!

Qin Qingfen clenched both fists.

As for how she should act? That second miss of the Chen family had already shown her very clearly.

Qin Qingfen herself could never have devised such a vicious scheme, but she could learn from it.

For women of great families, what mattered most was chastity and reputation.

That second miss had needed only to destroy the eldest miss’s chastity and reputation, and she had taken the entire Chen family without a single drop of blood.

Qin Qingfen could follow the same example.

The first great obstacle, then, was how to obtain the drug.

An ordinary drug would not do.

The Chi family had Chi Xiyan, a genius alchemist. She could neutralize an ordinary drug with ease.

If she moved rashly, it would very likely draw Chi Xiyan’s attention before anything could be done.

So the ordinary drugs Qin Qingfen had used in the past were entirely out of the question.

She needed to find something new. Something powerful enough, hidden enough, that even an experienced alchemist could not detect it. Just like what the second miss of the Chen family had used.

“To find something like that… Sin Moon Tower may be the only option.”

Sin Moon Tower was no stranger to Qin Qingfen.

She had hired killers from Sin Moon Tower twice before and naturally knew how to contact them.

It was just that she had always assumed the number one assassin organization in the world dealt only in killing, and had never imagined they might also deal in drugs.

Had she known, she should never have hired killers in the first place. She should have bought the drug and handled things herself.

She had paid a great sum and failed to accomplish the task, which had left Qin Qingfen with a poor impression of Sin Moon Tower all along.

Even so, Sin Moon Tower was still her only option now.

With that thought, Qin Qingfen wasted no more time.

What she did not know was that after she set off, a few inconspicuous little tails fell silently into step behind her.

Qin Qingfen made her way unhurriedly to a small alley.

This was one of Sin Moon Tower’s contact points. It was also the only one she knew of.

Following the route she had memorized, she walked along the cobblestone path until she reached the thirteenth small gate.

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She lifted the copper ring on the gate and knocked three times, then knocked twice more on the stone brick beside the door.

This was the signal that had been agreed upon beforehand. Simple, but effective.

After all, placing a magical restriction in a place like this would be no better than plugging one’s ears while stealing a bell.

Then something unexpected happened.

After knocking on the stone, there was no response from inside the small gate.

“What is going on? Have they moved to a new location?”

Qin Qingfen’s eyes held a flicker of confusion. She reached out and gave the small gate another push.

With a creak, the gate swung open.

She stood there for a moment, then pushed her way inside.

Within the small gate was nothing more than a tiny room, and it was completely empty.

“No one?” Qin Qingfen muttered in surprise. “Has Sin Moon Tower really moved away?”

If that were true, it was absolutely not good news for her.

“Damn it…” she muttered angrily, kicking the vacant table.

A dull thud rang through the empty room.

Just then, a dry and hoarse old voice spoke up. “What are you kicking my table for?”

Qin Qingfen startled. She spun around and saw a hunched figure appear in the doorway, cloaked entirely in black robes. His face was hidden and his age impossible to guess.

Only a blood-moon marking peeking out from his sleeve betrayed his identity.

“Oh, it’s you. You gave me a fright.” Qin Qingfen recognized this person.

He was the contact for this location. Yan Liu had introduced them.

“The room was completely empty. I thought you had all moved away.”

The black-robed figure looked Qin Qingfen up and down. “If you keep dropping by, I may well do exactly that.”

“These past few days the Demon Suppression Bureau has gone mad. They’ve been conducting searches everywhere instead of chasing fox demons and wolf demons. Several of our other contact points in Beihe Commandery nearly got discovered.”

“This place has become unsafe as well, so I won’t be keeping watch here for long.”

“Have you come to place a new commission? Don’t tell me it’s to go after that farm girl again.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Qin Qingfen said. “Your people can’t kill that farm girl. I intend to handle things myself, so I’ve come to purchase certain substances from you.”

She then laid out her requirements.

The hunched black-robed figure listened to Qin Qingfen’s needs and considered for a moment. “What you’re asking for is very difficult to find… A substance that can completely elude the senses of an alchemist would take a very high-ranking alchemist to produce, and the price would not be low.”

“Money is not an issue,” Qin Qingfen said. “This is not our first transaction. You should know the Chi family is not short on funds.”

“Something this rare and obscure has a price but no market,” the black-robed figure said. “Even for Sin Moon Tower it would not be easy to find. But I can make inquiries on your behalf.”

“Give it a day. Wait for word from me.”

Qin Qingfen frowned. “I only have three days. I hope to see what I need as soon as possible.”

Three days from now, the Chi family would hold its engagement banquet.

People would come from all directions, and the hall would be full of guests.

Qin Qingfen wanted to replicate what the second miss of the Chen family had done. The Chi family’s engagement banquet would be the perfect opportunity.

The black-robed figure shook his head. “I cannot make any guarantees. I can only say I’ll do my best.”

“Even if Sin Moon Tower does have something like this, getting it delivered here with Beihe Commandery locked down as it is would be extremely difficult.”

“That is your problem to solve,” Qin Qingfen said. “I paid. I just want to see what I need within three days.”

With that, she turned and left.

The room was left to the black-robed old figure alone.

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“Something capable of slipping past a high-ranking alchemist… who is this woman trying to ruin?”

“Lingxiao Sword Sect’s Song Shixuan has been at the Chi residence these past few days. That old woman wouldn’t have her eye on Song Shixuan, would she?”

“Ha.”

After a few dry, rasping laughs, the black-robed figure shut the door and prepared to leave.

Standing on the cobblestones of the small alley, he suddenly furrowed his brow.

It was still broad daylight. Why was the street so quiet?

He couldn’t even hear the sound of that old woman’s retreating footsteps.

Wait. Something was wrong.

This place had been sealed off by a barrier restriction!

As an assassin of Sin Moon Tower, the black-robed figure was no stranger to this kind of sealing barrier.

It was a common technique used by certain killers before striking, to avoid drawing attention.

And to have laid such a barrier without him noticing at all meant the other party’s strength surpassed his own.

Within the barrier, killing intent was laid bare!

A chill gripped the black-robed figure’s heart. He let out a sharp, hissing shout. “Who’s there?! Sneaking around like that, come out!”

A laugh rang out. An old man carrying a beast-headed staff stepped into the alley. “Imagine that. To think the day would come when someone like me gets called a sneaky ghost by the likes of you.”

The black-robed figure’s expression shifted. He felt a terrifying pressure emanating from this seemingly unremarkable old man with the staff.

The other party was powerful. Far above him in strength. A Sixth Realm expert!

He had only sensed the other’s presence because the other had deliberately allowed it.

Because the other simply did not deign to ambush him from the shadows.

Ice crept through the black-robed figure’s heart. He could not understand how this location had been exposed.

He had barely gone out at all these past few days. How had someone managed to track him down, and one who was a Sixth Realm expert no less? He had never once provoked such a figure.

Then a realization struck him.

“Was it that woman, Qin Qingfen?!”

“You followed her here!”

“A Sixth Realm cultivator, tailing a low-realm cultivator…”

“Tailing?” The old man with the beast staff stroked his beard. “I would not stoop to something like that. A friend of mine sent me here.”

He had come here at the request of the Fox Clan.

The Fox Clan had weak combat power, and when dealing with certain powerful enemies they would often invite the warriors of other clans to assist.

The old man was no stranger to such errands.

The opponent was not particularly strong. He could suppress them with ease, and in doing so he could do the Fox Clan a favor. Why not?

As for how the Fox Clan had known about this location, that was none of his business.

Beneath the black-robed figure’s hood, his expression darkened. “Who exactly are you, sir? We have no grievance between us. Why do you do this?”

The old man with the beast staff stroked his beard. “When entrusted with a task, you see it through. Why does there need to be a reason?”

“Oh, and don’t think about stalling for time while you wait for backup.”

“The barrier is already in place. Unless you break past me or make enough noise to be heard outside, no one will know what is happening here.”

The hunched black-robed figure felt ice in his chest. His cultivation was only early First Stage of the Fifth Realm, nowhere near a match for the figure before him.

“I do not know you, sir, and I have not wronged anyone recently.”

“Are you here on account of Sin Moon Tower?”

“If that is your intention, then you’ve come to the wrong target.”

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“I am the most insignificant member of Sin Moon Tower. This contact point is its lowest-ranking one.”

“Even if you eliminate me alone, it will be no more than a scratch to Sin Moon Tower.”

“But in doing so, you would be provoking Sin Moon Tower. You would be bringing its fury down upon yourself.”

“Sin Moon Tower’s killers are spread across the world, and its powerful members are beyond count. Please think carefully, sir. Is it truly worth it to provoke Sin Moon Tower like this?”

The black-robed figure kept both hands tucked beneath his cloak, fingers clenching a talisman.

The old man with the beast staff sensed every movement perfectly, and a faint sneer tugged at the corner of his mouth.

The Wolf Clan had roamed the ice plains for generations and felled countless powerful enemies of all kinds.

This sort of petty trick was beneath his notice entirely.

“A crafty little human. But do you really think a trick like this could fool me?”

Even as he spoke, the old man swung his beast staff at the hunched black-robed figure.

The beast-head atop the staff swelled in the wind and transformed into a massive phantom wolf-head that lunged toward the black-robed figure with its jaws wide open.

The black-robed figure’s eyes went wide at the sight of the wolf-head phantom.

Only upon seeing that staff and that wolf shadow did he finally understand the identity of the old man before him.

He flung the talisman and fought back against the beast-head with all his strength, shouting out loud. “You’re not human! You’re a wolf demon!”

“Wolf demon! Sin Moon Tower and the Demon Territory have always left each other alone! Why are you doing this!”

The Wolf Clan elder did not answer. He simply said with indifference, “Noisy.”

“You are human. To the Wolf Clan, the Demon Suppression Bureau and Sin Moon Tower are no different.”

Terror broke across the black-robed figure’s eyes.

This demon even had peak Sixth Realm cultivation, far beyond anything he could contend with.

He could only watch helplessly as the wolf-head phantom crushed the talisman he had thrown.

He was the most ordinary and unremarkable killer in Sin Moon Tower, his strength so lacking he could only be entrusted with simple low-level tasks.

What had he done to deserve a peak Sixth Realm warrior of another clan personally coming to eliminate him?!

That talisman had been his last hope, and yet in the face of this wolf demon, it had not caused even a ripple.

The gap in strength was simply too vast. Unless he had a far more powerful magical weapon or talisman, there was no way to bridge it.

The wolf-head phantom the Wolf Clan elder had released so casually tore his talisman to shreds and then surged toward his body to devour him.

The black-robed figure felt the terror of death. A desperate will to survive drove the words out of him.

“No! You can’t kill me!”

“I have intelligence on the person you’re looking for! Spare me!”

“You came to the human empire to find Bu Lan, didn’t you? Sin Moon Tower has intelligence on him!”

“Spare me and I’ll tell you where Bu Lan is!”

“I swear on my life! I’m not lying!”

Bu Lan’s whereabouts?

The Wolf Clan elder’s hand on the beast staff stilled, just for a moment.

But an instant later, a cold light flashed through his eyes, and the force behind his hand bore down three times heavier.

“The proud Wolf Clan does not negotiate with humans. You can go ahead and die.”

“No!” In despair, the black-robed figure was reduced to ash.

Until the very end, he never understood why the Wolf Clan elder, upon hearing news of the whereabouts of the Wolf Clan prince Bu Lan, had not hesitated even for a moment.

The Wolf Clan had come to the human empire. Wasn’t it to rescue him?

That question, he would never have the chance to find the answer to.