After leaving the League of Assassins, I didn't return to Liu Shan Men. Instead, I forewent sleep to stake out nearby.
What I told Meng Jiangnan was a trap.
I knew that he wouldn't have told me how to contact the Black Winds Thirteen Wings, so I'm getting him to contact them while I tail him from behind to track them down.
Who's accusing me of being treacherous?! It's called being smart!
I honestly don't really want to bother with the Black Winds Thirteen Wings stirring up trouble in the capital.
But as a loyal reader of the Black and White Reflection, and a man that enjoys gossip, I have to see what the Black Winds Thirteen Wings are up to no matter what. A mere thirteen assassins are trying to challenge the imperial court; don't you think that's newsworthy?
If the identity of the mastermind is newsworthy, I can write a reader's letter to the Black and White Reflection publishers and sell the big scoop for some extra cash.
Thanks to me lazing around and eating well most of the time, I'm actually well rested. It's the middle of the night. It's quiet, so it was silent and still other than the night watch gong and occasional dog bark.
I ordered some beef and wine and a nearby tavern, and then went to a noodle shop to buy some steamed buns filled with mince lamb. I then sat on the roof of a large house, eating as I silently waited.
The true essence of a delicacy is not the food itself, but whether or not the occasion, atmosphere and so forth match, just as with martial arts.
I first picked up a few pieces of beef smothered in soybean sauce. The combination of beef and soy sauce were perfect. Eating this in the middle of the night is a form of enjoyment. I then grabbed a beef tendon agate and mixed it with the transparent fatty part and somewhat cooled part, and put it in my mouth. If you eat just one part, you won't be satisfied, but eat them together and it's perfect. The oily part goes together perfectly with the dry part. It's like the nerdy cowherd, and gentle and cute moon weaver. It's a match made in heaven.
I also snuck into the storage room to steal some grape wine that was brewed using methods passed down in the Western regions. Its mellow fragrance was perfect alongside the beef.
Ahhh, the bliss is infinite.
While I was giving my review of the food, they started to move in the teahouse.
A group of people sneakily came out of the teahouse dressed in black. From where I was sitting, there were eight of them. Among them was the young girl I met earlier today, Cai Die, and the sword wielder, Ning Shan. It looks like they're Boss Meng's men.
They set out once they confirmed that there was nobody nearby. I was in fact very far away from them. They probably never imagined I'd be able to see them so clearly from such a far distance.
After they set out, I stayed where I was.
Hah, are you trying to fool me? Do you need to send eight people to notify the Black Winds Thirteen Wings? Boss Meng was evidently not among them as well.
It wasn't that Boss Meng detected that I was close by watching them, but their habit. Organisations like the League of Assassins are always very cautious with their operations. They're used to operating in multiple groups so that in the case that somebody is indeed watching, they won't accidently reveal anything because of carelessness.
And just as I expected, a second group of people dressed in black soon stepped out of the teahouse. Among them was a big bloke which was obviously the foot-scratching Boss Meng. They too scanned their surroundings before setting out.
Slice it how you like, but it looks like they're the real target. It's time to tail them!
I finally stood up, but then I suddenly saw yet another group dressed in black exit the teahouse. This was the third group. This group looked left and right, nervously looked around and then went in a completely different direction to the two previous groups.
Now what? This group is much more suspicious than the previous two……
Okay, question time: Which group is the group that will actually contact the Black Winds Thirteen Wings?
Answer: Fuck you, how the hell should I know?!
The League of Assassins is too secretive. Who should I follow now?
Ah shit, they're getting further and further away!!
Wait up!!
I was kept busy with tailing them until the afternoon of the next day. The sun had set as if to tell me to go home. I dragged my fatigued body back to Liu Shan Men's office.
I ended up tracing all three routes last night in the end……
Those fucking bastards!
I can't help but clench and grind my teeth when I think of them.
I chose a group to tail at random to start only to find out that the three groups were running circles in the city in a snake tail formation. They were basically running around like a baton race. If anyone was tailing any of the groups, they'd immediately be detected. They ran around for seven or eight laps, and split up after confirming that there was nobody following them.
I resolutely tailed Boss Meng's group. I realised that there was something wrong when they went to the steamed meat bun store in the West of the city. Fatso Meng just wanted a midnight snack. I then quickly rushed back to tail the third group.
Luckily, my qinggong was superior to theirs. But even so, it was a nuisance running after them. I easily caught up to the third group, only to find that they had stopped at a graveclothes store. I immediately left. Neither a steamed buns store or graveclothes store could be where the Black Winds Thirteen Wings were hiding.
Assassins have their own rules, especially when it comes to scents. They would never hide themselves in a place with a strong smell every day as it would increase the risk of being discovered.
The League of Assassins truly is sly and slippery. I honestly never thought the first group were my real target.
But this is lucky for me too. If I had to chase after the second or third group last, I'd be at my wits end. What saved me was the smell.
I pulled some strings on Miss Cai Die's hairpin earlier today. She had a faint, almost not-there scent on her today. Only somebody with formidable internal strength would have smelt it. But since the capital was so large, it took time to trace down her scent.
I couldn't catch up to them by the time the sun came up.
However, I did manage to find an important clue. I followed the scent and the last place I detected it before it vanished was the Qilin Guards' main courtyard.
The Black Winds Thirteen Wings hideout was the Qilin Guards' main courtyard, Long Zaitian's territory.
Fucking Long Zaitian……
Fucking Long Zaitian!
Fuck you, Long Zaitian!
His pink robe and stupid face appeared into my mind. He's the one colluding with the Black Winds Thirteen Wings? He's worthy of that role?!
At best, he's just a pink trotter!
I denied the evidence before me.
It doesn't make sense.
The majority of the Black Winds Thirteen Wings targets were Qilin Guards. Few were from the emperor's entourage, while not even one Liu Shan Men member died. Could it be that he doesn't like that the Qilin Guards have become too strong, thinks the fighting between the three offices has grown stale and purposely wants a handicap so that he can have a challenge?
That's bullshit. He doesn't need to kill the ones in the imperial capital even that were the case. It would be the equivalent of smashing yourself in the foot, wouldn't it? Long Zaitian is a government official after all. He's even a part of the Seventeen Hidden Dragons, one of the main pillars of the warriors of the imperial court. He's aware of what the consequences of going up against the imperial court are, so how could he have done something like this? Let's say that he's the one behind it, what does he gain from it?
If he's the one who organised this with the Black Winds Thirteen Wings, then it can't be for something as simple as winning the battle between the three offices. The mastermind must be after something more significant.
But no matter how I thought about it, one fact stuck out to me: Does the punk even have the brains for that?
I returned to the office with those questions and relaxed my body when I arrived.
I pulled a cleaner over and asked: "Erm? What's going on at home today?"
He wore a glum look on his face. He wouldn't tell me what had happened. He just told me not to ask.
What the heck?
"Also, why are you sweeping the yard? What happened Grandpa Huang? He still owes me two bottles of wine."
"Grandpa Huang, he!!" He looked furious. His face was completely red, "Nothing!! I'm leaving!"
What the fuck is this, some sort of venting contest?
Hey! So what happened to Grandpa Huang? What did the shameless old guy say in the end?!