Chapter 370: Zhou Tong Will Know What Liu Qing Did
The morning light gradually brightened, and the morning breeze ceased. The young seedlings, just past knee height, stopped swaying. Xue He released his right hand; the severed arm had stopped bleeding. He picked up seven knives from the ground and slowly slid them back into the sheaths on his back. Throughout this process, pangs of pain flickered across his pale face from time to time. Clearly, even these simple actions were extremely difficult for him in his current state.
Su Li and Chen Changsheng had already ridden away on their woolly deer, but he did not leave. Instead, he sat down right there, tending to his wounds while pondering some matters. After the Green Vine Banquet and the Grand Court Examination, Chen Changsheng had long since risen to fame, his reputation spreading far beyond the capital. Xue He's elder brother, Xue Xingchuan, had specifically mentioned this young man in his letters. Xue He knew that this youth was the youngest dean of the National Academy in history, and could even be said to represent the voice of the national religion and the old imperial forces directed at Her Holiness the Saint Empress. But this young man should have been training in the Zhou Garden—why had he suddenly appeared north of Tianliang Commandery, together with Su Li?
Of course, the main reason he hadn't left immediately at this moment wasn't contemplation, but rather waiting for the assassin hiding in the green wilderness to reveal himself. He didn't know who the assassin was, though he had obtained Su Li's whereabouts from that person. He only knew that since the assassin hadn't gone far, it meant he himself was in danger—when leaving, Su Li had told Chen Changsheng that the assassin would likely take advantage of Xue He's severe injuries to kill him, then pin the blame on Chen Changsheng. Xue He thought the same way.
On the tranquil wilderness, a gentle breeze suddenly arose without warning. The green sorghum stalks bent slightly in the wind, revealing a figure that looked almost like a stone.
In an instant, that figure vanished again, presumably drawing closer.
Xue He reached his right hand behind him and grasped the hilt of a knife.
As a divine general of the Great Zhou, even if he had no strength left to fight, he would rather die in battle. If it was truly his fate to die at the hands of these shadowy villains, he might as well fall by his own blade.
The gentle breeze continued to blow, but the assassin never appeared.
After an unknown length of time, as the sunlight grew stronger and Xue He, having lost too much blood, was about to collapse, he suddenly realized that the assassin had already left.
Why had the assassin left? Xue He didn't understand. Using his knife to support his body, he struggled to stand and then saw, not far ahead on the ground, a line of very clear characters carved by a sword's edge.
The assassin must have seen those words, and so ultimately refrained from acting.
"Liu Qing, Zhou Tong will know what you have done."
Xue He's expression shifted slightly. He hadn't expected that the assassin was actually the legendary Liu Qing, nor that Su Li and Chen Changsheng would leave behind such a sentence before departing.
It was this sentence that had saved his life.
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Five hundred li north of Tianliang Commandery, by a lakeside, two woolly deer were lowering their heads to drink water. Chen Changsheng was washing the grass and wild fruits that the woolly deer would soon eat, following Su Li's instructions. The lake water was slightly cool. He looked at Su Li, who was resting by the lakeshore, and asked curiously, "Who is Liu Qing?"
The words outside that sorghum field had been carved by his short sword, but the content had been dictated by Su Li. He had absolutely no idea what that sentence meant.
Su Li said, "That guy in the birch forest and the sorghum field, the one who never dared to show his face."
Chen Changsheng was somewhat startled and said, "That assassin? Is he very formidable?"
Su Li said casually, "When the old fellows in the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion were bored, they once privately ranked the assassins on the continent. Liu Qing was ranked third."
"Third on the assassin ranking..."
Chen Changsheng thought about how such a terrifying assassin had been tailing them the whole way, and immediately felt that the wind blowing across the lake had turned cold. He instinctively looked around.
But... a terrifying assassin ranked third on the assassin list actually had such an ordinary, common name? He found it puzzling.
Su Li opened his eyes and said, "The more professional an assassin, the less they attract attention. That remarkable assassin who has always held the top spot on the ranking doesn't even have a name."
Chen Changsheng felt that this statement sounded a bit strange. What kind of figure was the top-ranked assassin, that even Su Li would praise them as remarkable? After all, even Her Holiness the Saint Empress and His Holiness the Pope didn't receive much respect in Su Li's speech. He couldn't figure it out and instead asked, "What did you mean by having me leave that sentence?"
"Xue He is Xue Xingchuan's younger brother, and Xue Xingchuan is Zhou Tong's only friend. If Zhou Tong finds out that Liu Qing killed Xue He, Liu Qing's fate will be very miserable."
"Liu Qing is also afraid of Lord Zhou Tong?"
"The more someone shuns the light, the more they fear Zhou Tong."
"Including that remarkable assassin at the top of the ranking?"
"That one is certainly an exception."
"But Senior, you said earlier that after killing Xue He, he could disguise it as my doing. Since he's the third-ranked assassin, he must have ways to set it up without any suspicious points."
"I know he's Liu Qing, and as long as I'm alive, Zhou Tong will know."
"Would Lord Zhou Tong believe your words?"
"He doesn't need to believe. It's enough for Zhou Tong to suspect that Liu Qing did the killing."
"But... there's no evidence."
"Since when has Zhou Tong ever needed evidence to act?"
Chen Changsheng thought about those terrifying rumors about Lord Zhou Tong and realized that was indeed the case.
The people of the capital said that the name Zhou Tong could stop a baby's night crying. Now it seemed it could also intimidate an assassin ranked third on the list.
He said, "I still don't understand why that assassin wanted to kill Xue He."
Su Li looked at him, raised an eyebrow, and asked, "I understand even less why you didn't kill Xue He."
"Divine General Xue He came to kill Senior, not me. Just as you said, after he knew who I was, he clearly had no murderous intent toward me. Since that's the case, and he can no longer kill you, Senior, why must I kill him? Senior... you seem to have forgotten that in terms of faction, Divine General Xue He and I should be closer than you and I are."
Chen Changsheng continued, "On the contrary, Senior, since you wanted me to kill Xue He, why did you have me leave that sentence before leaving?"
Su Li said, "Since you refused to kill him, of course you had to let him live. Make the favor complete, so you don't end up at a loss."
Chen Changsheng didn't know how to respond to that and instead said, "I don't know when that assassin will strike."
He looked at the lake surface under the evening glow, very worried. The reputation of the Mountain Away Sect's Junior Master would naturally be even greater than Zhou Tong's, but Su Li in his current state no longer had that deterrent power, especially after he had taken Xue He's blade for Chen Changsheng that morning.
"Assassination is a profession that demands success rate, so it must be the most conservative."
Su Li looked at the evening glow on the lake and said, "Until he fully confirms the extent of my injuries and your ability limits, he won't appear, let alone strike. He'll just wait like an idiot."
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(The chapter title is a bit cool; the original was longer and cooler, but on this platform, chapter titles can't exceed twenty characters. This has given me several unpleasant experiences. I've decided to raise the issue. See you tomorrow.)