The manor hid in the city and out of plain sight with no one noticing
it.
Its doors were shut most of the year, only occasionally would a half-
deaf old couple leave the estate to purchase some vegetables and
meat. When the neighbours asked, they found out that the person
living in the mansion was diagnosed with severe diseases, so they
could not leave the manor. Under the sympathy of others, and the
fear of whether such an illness was contagious, after some time, no
one dared to ask more. Whoever lived within that manor finally
attained some peace with no one to disturb them.
Now, it was already late with silence reigning the night. Every
household had put out their candles and slept; so the manor,
sandwiched between them, had become quieter still. Qiao Xian and
Zhangsun Bodhi hid near the corner and exchanged glances.
Zhangsun asked silently; Are sure this is the place?
Qiao Xian did not want to converse with him. Impatiently, she leapt
onto the roof.
Zhangsun shook his head from the back but followed her
nonetheless.
The two of them fell on top of the roof silently. Bending her waist,
Qiao Xiao had almost lifted a tile, but her hand was held down by
Zhangsun. The latter indicated upwards at the moon, and Qiao Xian instantly
stopped her movements.
The moon and stars shone luminously tonight. If the manor was
shrouded in darkness inside, the light shining from above would
have given them away. Perhaps ordinary people might not have
noticed it, but a skilled martial artist would certainly have been
alerted.
Although Qiao Xiao did not sense anyone in the manor, she was still
cautious. Better to be safe than sorry.
Qiao Xiao descended to take a look and discovered that one of the
windows had a hole in it. There was a pillar next to it, so it could
conceal both her and Zhangsun's shadows, allowing them to peek
inside the manor.
Was there anyone in the manor?
Qiao Xian hid under the tree and gestured to him.
Zhangsun discreetly observed the place and gave her a surprising
answer: There was.
Qiao Xian's face became grim.
The one in the manor was separated from them by merely a wall. If
they could not sense their presence inside, it simply meant that they
were quite skilled.
This was no easy matter.
Could it be that they knew they were coming, so they had prepared
themselves beforehand?
At that moment, a clanging noise sounded from behind the manor. It was incredibly faint, but it could not evade Qiao Xian and
Zhangsun's ears.
And of course, it would not escape the one inside the manor either.
"You have all come, so why act so secretive?"
The woman in the manor snorted lightly, although it did not veil her
subtle anger, her tone was charming and delicate. It made one want
to see her face.
Qiao Xian and Zhangsun exchanged glances and shifted towards
the darkness, wanting to watch the third person reveal themselves.
"Come out!" The woman in the manor could not hear a response and
shouted again, her voice cold and sharp like knives.
Behind the manor there was a soft clang. A black shadow emerged
and broke open the window and came in, commencing a battle with
the woman in the manor.
Qiao Xiao's ears were alert; she listened closely. The battle took
place a little distance away, so she could only hear that the woman
in the manor used something akin to a whip as her weapon. The
other person used a sword; it rang and made vibrations, carrying an
intention to kill. Every move it made aimed for the woman's fatal
spots. Although the woman could not take advantage of it, for now,
she managed to escape all those attacks.
But these sorts of scenes tend not to last long; if not mistaken, when
the woman finally seemed to have run out of patience, and her
strength was weakened, it would be the appropriate moment to take
her life. Of course, Qiao Xian and Zhangsun could not let Lady Miao die.
They still needed to question her about the case, so both of them
rushed into the manor without hesitation.
The woman was battling a masked man. Qiao Xian then discovered
that she was not using any whip, but instead used her sash. It was
unknown what that white sash was made of; it was soft yet firm;
even a sword could not slice it in half. The masked man used an
assassination technique — every move he made exposed him wide
open; he merely concentrated on taking the other's life. If not for the
weapon in her hand, the woman would have already fallen to his
sword.
When Qiao Xian and Zhangsun rushed in, the woman's expression
changed as though two more enemies had appeared. Distracted, the
masked man aimed his sword towards the spot between her brows.
Naturally, Qiao Xian and Zhangsun would not allow it to happen.
Zhangsun shot a Buddist bead towards the masked man's temple,
while Qiao Xian drew her sword to slash his wrist.
Who knew that the other did not even care for his own life and
continued to move forward, determined to kill Lady Miao.
When the sword almost landed, Lady Miao bent backwards with her
toes tip-toed into an impossible position, avoiding the blade that
would have otherwise claimed her life. The masked man's sword
went right past her.
As for what the sword caught, strands fell to the ground. Lady Miao
only felt her scalp stinging in pain and reached out to touch it,
stopping it from being exposed.
Since the sword had just now sliced off a part of her hair that even
her scalp bled, if she had depended on the two newcomers to help her, and did not try to save herself; her corpse would have been on
the ground by now.
The masked man showed a look of anger through his eyes, seeing
that he failed and so many others present were hindering him; every
move of his became even fiercer and deadlier. Zhangsun shot out
one bead after the next, aiming towards the other's sword. The
enemy could not help but move backwards, making him unable to
get close to Lady Miao.
Qiao Xian was afraid that Lady Miao would use the opportunity to
escape, so she left Zhangsun with the masked man and went after
Lady Miao, intending on capturing her.
At that moment, Lady Miao parted her lips to speak, her tone stern.
But Qiao Xiao could not understand her words and refused to slow
down.
Lady Miao gave a strange look, switching to Chinese, "Who are
you?!"
Qiao Xiao, "Someone that can help you out of this; if you do not want
to die, follow us back."
Lady Miao snorted, "There are a lot of people who want me dead,
but I have still lived until now."
As they spoke, Zhangsun did not want to fight the other anymore; so
he quickly took out a short pestle, and with a flick of his wrist, it grew
from an inch to something as long as two feet, striking it against the
masked man's chest. The masked man counterattacked with his
sword with no hesitation, but Zhangsun had infused all his inner
strength into the strike. Not only did the sword fail to block it, but it
snapped in half, injuring the masked man as well. Zhangsun Bodhi wanted to take hold of him, so they could find out
who in the world wanted to take Lady Miao's life; but the masked
man, seeing that his mission had failed, immediately bit the poison
pill in his mouth and died on the spot.
Qiao Xian spoke to Lady Miao, "You have seen how powerful this
man is. The Yunhai Thirteen Stories does not own merely a single
skilled martial artist such as him. If he is gone, there is someone else
to replace him, but we can guarantee your safety."
The beautiful eyes of Lady Miao flashed, "Who are you? Why should
I believe you?"
Qiao Xian, "Because of this."
She took out a token from her sleeve. When Lady Miao looked
closely, four words were written on it: Kaihuang Zuoyue.
The token looked like gold yet it was not gold. One look and one
could tell it was something of importance.
Qiao Xian, "We are subjects of the Zuoyue Bureau under the Sui
Empire's Emperor; our positions are equivalent to that of the six
ministries. It does not matter what danger you are in, if you ally with
the Zuoyue Bureau, you can be safe."
Lady Miao asked suspiciously, "I only knew that the Emperor sent
the Jiejian Bureau to investigate. I have never heard of the Zuoyue
Bureau."
Qiao Xian, "The Jiejian Bureau was established by the Emperor. The
Zuoyue Bureau was established by the Empress. Presently, both the
Emperor and Empress stand shoulder to shoulder in court. This, I
am certain you have heard of?" Seeing that Qiao Xian was patiently trying to convince her, she knew
that the other was not someone who came here for to kill, so she
relaxed, twirling her hair with her finger, speaking in a relaxed
manner, "But the ones I have offended are not your match."
Qiao Xian, "The Zuoyue Bureau's Commander is akin to that of the
Minister of Justice. As of now, he is within the City of Six Crafts. If
you agree to cooperate with us and find the Jade of Heaven's Lake;
even if you kill the Khotan ambassador, our Commander can
guarantee that your life will not be at risk, and send you away. From
what I understand, it would be better if you choose to trust us,
compared to being hunted after."
Lady Miao could only blink. Although the bleeding on her scalp
stopped, the wound still looked serious. It was only because she was
indeed extremely beautiful that it would allow one to overlook the
awkward wound.
"So in that case, you already know my relationship with Yuchi?"
Yuchi? Yuchi Jinwu? The Khotan ambassador who died?
Qiao Xian and Zhangsun exchanged glances, and both of them
suddenly managed to connect everything, but their faces did not
betray their thoughts.
"That is correct. We are aware of it."
Lady Miao, "Fine, then. I shall tell you. The one who murdered the
Khotan ambassador and the one who stole the jade are the same
people. Right now, he is within the city."
Qiao Xian, "What is his name, and where is he now?"
Lady Miao, "He is—" But before she could finish, she immediately disappeared!