Chapter 1 Heist

Mo Leng naturally didn't have time to waste with Guan Huan and Zhou Rui. The assassination of the old man was simply too scandalous. The aftermath required even more of his attention. The hall master tasked with cleaning up Guan Huan and Zhou Rui's corpses was equally impatient. He immediately ordered the fire to be extinguished. Soon, the entire building where Guan Huan and Zhou Rui had sought refuge was reduced to a few charred pillars. Before the fire had even cooled, the hall master ordered the Daoming Sect warriors to search the ruins. But after meticulously combing through the rubble several times, the few bodies they found didn't resemble Zhou Rui or Guan Huan. With his subordinates needing rest and his superiors demanding results, the hall master reluctantly presented the carbonized remains to his superiors. However, he didn't withdraw the guards stationed outside, maintaining a double layer of sentries while clearing the ground.

Guan Huan and Zhou Rui, of course, hadn't perished in the fire. They had been hiding in a wine cellar in the center of the building. Or, more precisely, in a hidden compartment within the wine cellar. The intelligence bureau had provided them with this location. Originally designed to help the owner avoid paying exorbitant wine taxes, it now offered the two of them a chance to escape. The compartment contained food and water, and while slightly cramped, it allowed them to remain hidden until the search party above ground began to relax their vigilance.

They remained hidden until the fourth night before quietly removing some of the debris piled above them and leaving the ruins. After being cooped up underground for so long, they naturally didn't smell very pleasant. But they managed to leave South City without alerting the Daoming Sect patrols still in the area.

Returning to Yuan Yuan Garden, they found it unexpectedly quiet. Seeing Liu Yong's somewhat helpless expression, Guan Huan and Zhou Rui were puzzled.

"Uncle Liu, anything interesting happen these past few days?" Guan Huan asked.

"You two have really done something extraordinary," Liu Yong said with a smile. "Zhou Rui, do you know who that guy you killed was?"

"...Well, he must have been someone who made my death worthwhile," Zhou Rui said nonchalantly. He had done what he could and survived. He was curious about the old man's identity, but mostly he felt calm and expectant, wondering what kind of prize he had won.

"Bo Yu Marquis, Jing Anqi," Liu Yong said slowly, not one for suspense.

Guan Huan and Zhou Rui weren't familiar with Xiling's dignitaries. After a moment's thought, they realized, "Jing Anqi? Isn't he the one who repeatedly proposed making the Daoming Sect the state religion, the one favored by the Xiling royal family?"

Liu Yong nodded and said, "Exactly. It was quite the coincidence. Jing Anqi and the Daoming Sect must have reached some agreement. Jing Anqi was the one who was supposed to perform the ritual. On one hand, it was to flatter the Xiling ruler, to sanctify the Xiling royal family. Jing Anqi has always been a leisurely marquis, but he likes these mystical things, likes alchemy, likes cultivating immortality. In other respects, he's not a bad person, and he has many friends in the royal family and the court. As an important member of the royal family, he was forbidden by the ruler from joining the Daoming Sect, but he's been colluding with them for a long time. If it weren't for him, the Daoming Sect would never have had the opportunity to get to know so many officials in the first place. And the Daoming Sect was able to cultivate so many officials because of Jing Anqi."

Zhou Rui smiled and said, "Since he's such an important person, the bounty on our heads must be pretty high now."

Liu Yong said nothing, just smiled. Jin Ze took over, saying, "Jing Anqi's son offered ten thousand taels of silver. Assassinating a member of the royal family is no longer a matter of bounty. The Xiling royal secret guards have been dispatched. The Daoming Sect’s Eagle Hall handed over two bodies, claiming they were you two, but supposedly the secret guards immediately said that was definitely not the case. The Daoming Sect lost a lot of face, but didn't dare to argue. Now the Daoming Sect, with all the power it can muster, is searching. The Anqing Garrison, the Xiling Palace Guards, the Imperial Army, the Secret Guards, all are hunting you two. This is a truly frightening display."

Hearing this, Guan Huan frowned and asked, "Isn't that very dangerous? If our identities are exposed, and the enemy's forces are already spread out, wouldn't it be difficult to escape?"

Liu Yong nodded and said, "Don't worry about that. Master... has taken care of it. You two should rest for a bit, and then we'll prepare to leave Anqing in a day or two. This time, the mess was too big, but it's also given us an opportunity."

Indeed, it wasn't just a matter of killing someone under the Daoming Sect's nose, but also disrupting their Dharma assembly, stealing gold and silver from the standing treasury, and burning down a large part of South City... If everyone were to be held responsible for each of these things, downgrading all the officials in Anqing wouldn't be enough.

After the theft from the standing treasury, Sun Boping aptly expressed his anger, immediately dispatching officials from the Ministry of Revenue to investigate the losses. At a time when the Xiling court's finances were strained, Sun Boping hinted at the possibility of the Anqing Garrison colluding in the theft, greatly displeasing the Xiling ruler. Previously, this was the norm, involving considerable interests, and without reason, Sun Boping and others dared not rashly touch the standing treasury. But now, abolishing the standing treasury and the South City tax office became the most natural thing to do. Although it was a special time, Sun Boping still proposed a package of measures to regulate market transactions within a certain period of time, reduce some of the purely extortionate tax items, so that some ordinary people could at least survive, or even live a little better, and then proposed a series of projects to reduce various government expenditures. The Anqing Garrison was very dissatisfied with Sun Boping's harsh measures, but they had been robbed first, and had no way to investigate, so they had nothing to say. After being messed with by Sun Boping, the Anqing Garrison would have to rely entirely on the Ministry of Revenue's earmarked funds to survive, and would no longer have its own private savings, and could only look to Sun Boping for favors. Although Sun Boping had no military power, this control was very obvious.

The Daoming Sect once again lost face. They really hadn't expected that even organizing a Dharma assembly in Anqing would be disrupted. Fortunately, they hadn't made too much fanfare this time, and most of those who came from outside to participate in the Dharma assembly were believers from the surrounding areas of Anqing, so the impact was still within a controllable range. However, Guan Huan and Zhou Rui, these two individuals with distinct origins, were even more resented by the Daoming Sect. Mo Leng didn't say anything; he was partly responsible for allowing the two to escape. But knowing that Mo Leng hadn't stopped them while fighting them, Sun Xiaofan didn't dare to make a big deal out of it at this time. Mo Leng's ability to manage manpower, and his skills in dealing with assassins, killers, death warriors, and martial artists, were indeed unmatched by the arrogant Sun Xiaofan. From the time Mo Leng was able to intervene in Snake Eyes' affairs until now, many of Snake Eyes' subordinates had begun to show a clear liking for Mo Leng. Everyone in Snake Eyes had the determination to die, and even Mo Leng was incredulous that Sun Xiaofan had been able to find so many such people. However, this group of people was especially uninhibited, and their likes and dislikes were very clearly displayed. Sun Xiaofan was now afraid that if he made a big deal out of it, and couldn't kill Mo Leng, Mo Leng would kill him in return. And killing Mo Leng was easier said than done. Mo Leng was now on the front line of the search for Zhou Rui and Guan Huan, and was highly valued.

With such a big incident happening in Anqing, it wasn't just a problem for these relevant departments, but also a matter of face for the Xiling court. Since Guan Huan and Zhou Rui had revealed their whereabouts, the Xiling side naturally shifted all the blame for this incident to Ye Tao. In the court, there were more and more people clamoring to withdraw from the southern front and take advantage of the fact that Yunzhou had not yet completely controlled Zhenzhou, and that Ye Tao's army had suffered heavy losses and was mostly undergoing reorganization, to fight a battle. No one could have imagined that Ye Tao, whom they now hated so much, was actually in Anqing. But thinking about the current situation, the people around Ye Tao felt a little apprehensive, and everyone agreed that they should leave Anqing as soon as possible.

But how to do it? The special operations battalion had already infiltrated out in batches, passing through the Anqing garrison and the imperial army's strict searches at a total of eight city gates, and had already gathered outside the city to prepare for the reception. But it wasn't so simple for them to leave. Not only did they have to leave cleanly, but they also couldn't drag in the relationship between Xing Si Workshop, Sun Boping, and others. They had to consider it carefully. At this time, Ye Tao, risking great danger, was summoned by the third princess of Xiling the day after they had made such a big mess.

The princess, bound by her status, couldn't easily leave the palace to go to Yuan Yuan Garden, so previously a close friend had brought her a portion of the blended tea. The princess was very pleased and wanted to get the recipe directly. She thought that she wouldn't pass on the recipe, so she summoned "Lu Zhen" without hesitation to discuss the matter, wanting to get the recipe and also give Lu Zhen some benefits as an exchange. Ye Tao was going to the Xiling Palace? This situation caused a long struggle before they could make a decision. In the end, Ye Tao, Tan Weixin, and Liu Yong discussed it privately before agreeing to let Ye Tao take the risk. Fortunately, they had paid great attention to makeup and behavioral details from the beginning, and unless someone had seen Ye Tao many times and was very familiar with him, they wouldn't be able to see through him. Ye Tao being summoned by the princess was a surprise without any real danger. There was even an added bonus: Ye Tao met the Xiling ruler and even offered him a cup of tea...