I beg You to Enter the Urn

The sky was extraordinarily dark, the clouds far thicker than usual. Though there had been light snowfall the day before, no one knew whether there would be a heavy snow today.

The servants who had left the hall did not return to the back rooms. Instead, they left the government building under the lead of the head steward.

Someone asked, "Steward Li, didn't our master order us to leave the government building beforehand...what is the reason?"

Boom!

An enormous blast of heat blew up endless clouds of dust.

In an instant, the enormous government hall was blown into nothing but ruins!

The countless guests inside were also blown into chunks of flesh in a split second. The lively atmosphere just moments ago had now become a scene from hell.

Yet after the explosion, there were no more screams to be heard. But that was to be expected, since even the roof had been blown off, the people inside must have died immediately.

Outside the government building, the dancing beauties who had been in the hall just earlier looked ashen and horrified. The entourage of servants were also dumbstruck, some of the more timid ones even falling to their knees.

They couldn’t help but think:

Thank goodness they were outside of the government building.

Thank goodness there were solid walls surrounding the building exterior.

Otherwise, even if they hadn't been in the hall, they may still have been buried under flying rubble and debris.

Above the endless cloud of dust lingering over what remained of the hall, a figure suddenly appeared. Then seven to eight more dark silhouettes flashed outside of the government building in an instant.

Suspended in midair, Liu Hu was extremely furious. By now, even the stupidest person would understand that the other side had long known of their existence here and that today’s banquet had been prepared for them.

But he hadn’t expected the other side to be so ruthless, killing all the banquet guests in an instant without hesitation. And that was not to mention the scale of the explosion—were they not at all worried about harm to themselves?

Thinking of this, even Liu Hu couldn’t help cursing under his breath: When it comes to utter viciousness, no one compares to these learned men. Their methods are even more ruthless than those of the underground societies!

But how on earth had they managed to smuggle in so much gunpowder into the government building?

Liu Hu figured out the answer to this question instantly. The reasoning was simple enough: he and his eight top masters had focused all their attention on Lu Gaosheng and his residence in the north of the city. So naturally, they hadn’t paid any heed to the Tian Ruo prefecture government building located in the city center. One night’s time would have been plenty for gunpowder to be secretly transported from the city armories. And it could have been stealthily placed in the banquet hall with ease.

Everything had been meticulously arranged beforehand. That would explain why Lu Gaosheng had ordered all his guards to retreat, leaving his own side completely empty of personnel.

One could never underestimate a ruthless man like Lu Gaosheng.

Liu Hu couldn’t help but recall that seemingly trivial line from the orders conveyed by Song YanShi:

Once the answer dawned on him, it only angered Liu Hu even more.

There were fewer than ten grandmasters in all of Dawu Country. And here I, Liu Hu, stand as third on the underground master list, a top master of the Small Heaven Rank! Back in the days, other than the two Hei Shan brothers, who in the jianghu could have overpowered me?

Yet after arriving in Tian Ruo just a few days ago, first there was Tang Li, and then Lu Gaosheng. I’ve become a plaything for you all to blow up?

“By the master’s order, assassins must be executed!”

The government troops that had earlier received commands rushed into the ruins. Their target was naturally Liu Hu and the eight top masters under him.

Liu Hu cursed inwardly, knowing that the other side must have made further arrangements!

Liu Hu tore off his disguise in one swift motion. He had secretly killed and taken the place of a merchant guest invited to the banquet, but that disguise had obviously been meaningless.

Let’s think: Generally speaking, how does one sniff out and grab hold of masters skilled in disguise and stealth when they have melted into a crowd?

Lu Qingming’s answer was simple: Kill all ordinary people and use a process of elimination. Once all other possibilities have been ruled out, the "answer" will appear by itself.

Just then, the clopping of horse hooves could suddenly be heard from the surrounding streets. The government building was located in the city center, and several carriages appeared suddenly, speeding away down each street.

Although already engaged with the incoming government troops, Liu Hu did not miss the scene of the carriages departing at full gallop.

“So the point of all that elaborate preparation was just to run away?"

Liu Hu laughed coldly to himself, yet remained extremely confident.

“Such meticulous arrangements and ruthless methods—had it been anyone else, they probably wouldn’t have been able to catch up at all. But you have underestimated me, Liu Hu!"

With his fame established on spying and assassination, any prey in his sites would not escape so easily.

...

...

“Liu Hu must think we’re trying to escape.”

From inside the hastily departing carriage that rocked forcefully over the streets, Li Xing and Kill Wolf were present along with Lu Qingming.

Li Xing asked, “Does Sir mean...”

Lu Qingming said, “Liu Hu...is as cunning as his name suggests. We’re putting on an act, so for him to truly believe us, we have to go all the way and make it seem real. Otherwise, there’s no way he would obediently step onto the ‘dead end’ himself.”

Running away was naturally a display of weakness.

But escape had never been Lu Qingming’s intention. The priority was to get rid of Liu Hu and ensure the safe transport of that batch of grain provisions in the short term.

However, their current resources were insufficient. So demonstrating weakness was the only option for now.

Lead him on a chase! Let him walk into the dead end himself.

Lu Qingming pointed at the two men’s clothing, saying: “I had you two mingle amidst the crowds drinking and socializing so that with so many eyes around, Liu Hu would be presented with the conditions to trace us. For a renowned jianghu man skilled in spying like him, if he can’t make direct contact with me, he would definitely attach some kind of tracking device onto you two.”

With limited spaces amidst the flourishing buildings in the city center, the government forces were impeded despite their numerical advantage. Liu Hu and his top masters should be able to slip away fairly quickly.

They had arrived.

It was an relatively secluded residence in the west of the city where Wang Xiaoer had previously been held captive. Most critically, it was located close to the western city walls, and there was a secret underground passage beneath the residence that led out of the city.

Even a cunning rabbit has three burrows. Lu Gaosheng was far wilier than any rabbit. He had built up this grand citadel of Tian Ruo over years, installing who knew how many contingency measures.

The clouds above converged and darkened.

Liu Hu must be in hot pursuit by now.

Lu Qingming stepped off the carriage and glanced upwards at the skies, thinking it would be perfect if snow fell right now.

But there was no time to dwell on that. Lu Qingming strode straight towards the study, where some ten guards were already waiting in the residence.

As they walked through the courtyard, the innermost section of the residence contained a study. The secret mechanism was housed inside. Right before pushing open the doors to the study, Lu Qingming turned back to say to Kill Wolf and Li Xing: “Act according to plan. If unable to prevail, there is no need to persist; simply retreat.”

Lu Qingming then entered the study, shutting the door behind him.

The wailing winds blew past, and for that instant there was nothing but roaring gales. Yet once the winds died down, everything sank into silence.

Li Xing gazed mutely at the shut door, murmuring: “I had roughly guessed Sir’s thoughts, but I’ve already decided this morning that I won’t obey orders this time, even less will I retreat.”

Kill Wolf turned to him in puzzlement. This was the first time he had seen Li Xing voluntarily defy their master’s commands.

Li Xing said lightly: “You learnt about my past last night. Frankly, in the face of men like Tang Li and Song YanShi, other than Sir, who else in this world could oppose them?”

In others’ eyes, Lu Gaosheng was the devil incarnate. But to Li Xing, he was the sole antidote to the illnesses of this world. If not Lu Gaosheng, then who else? Who else in this world could defeat Song YanShi? Who else could kill Tang Li?

As Li Xing turned back around, his eyes said it all—he was resolved to protect Lu Gaosheng even if it meant certain death.

It was unfortunate that in the end, he had no clue that the man inside the study right then...was Lu Qingming.

At the same time, a fierce voice resounded from their surroundings:

“Now that we've torn off all pretenses, there's no more need to hide. I’ve heard that Lord Lu was once a top scholar whose renown was unmatched. I am Liu Hu, here to pay my respects!”