Professional

Page 1 of 3

"Old Ghost, where are we going?" Qin Hao and Ghost Seven sprinted along a forest path in the direction of Dragon Tiger Mountain.

"To find someone."

"Who?"

Ghost Seven paid Qin Hao no mind. Qin Hao looked up and spotted a tea stall at a fork in the road. Ghost Seven ordered a cup of tea and struck up a conversation with a man seated there.

"So it is the renowned Ghost Seven of the Ghostly Foot." Zheng Nan studied Ghost Seven, whose cultivation had fallen to Grade Yi, and sighed with feeling.

"No time for pleasantries. I need someone killed."

"Two hundred taels."

"Here is one hundred as a deposit. Are you up to the task?" Ghost Seven produced a cloth sack, and the clinking of silver within set Zheng Nan's pulse racing.

"You dare question me? I, Zheng Nan, am known as 'Fallen into the Eye of Money.' I answer to coin, not to men. Pay me, and I will do the deed."

"I merely want insurance."

"Naturally. But since you sought me out, payment is due whether I take the job or not. Come up short by a single copper, and don't think I'll spare you just because you're from the Grand Taiji Society." Ghost Seven tossed the money sack over. Zheng Nan caught it and asked, "Whom does the Ghost Chief wish dead?"

"Luo Chenyi."

"Done."

———

Luo Zhenghu tossed and turned in his bed, unable to sleep, gripped by a premonition that something was about to go wrong. Then, without warning, he vanished from his room and reappeared in the rear courtyard of his daughter's chambers. A pavilion stood there, and within it sat a middle-aged man robed in black and white Taoist vestments, smiling serenely at Luo Zhenghu.

"So it is Li Zong, the Sect Master of the Dao Alliance. To what do I owe the honour of a midnight visit?" Luo Zhenghu fixed a wary gaze on the man the jianghu called the Black-and-White Judge, Li Li.

"Sect Master Luo, time is short, so I will be blunt. The Evil Congregation is heading this way."

"I am nothing but an ordinary martial artist. Why would the Evil Congregation come for me?"

"You may be ordinary, but your daughter is not. By this afternoon, the news that your daughter carries the Yin Jade could no longer be concealed." That afternoon, as his daughter had been returning from a family visit, she encountered a band of ruthless brigands on the road. Her guards were outmatched, and in the chaos a blade pierced her heart. That single wound caused the Yin-Yang Jade hidden within her body to erupt. Yet Luo Zhenghu had prepared for such a contingency — his daughter wore concealment talismans he had purchased at great expense, which contained the surge of energy before it could leak outward. Moreover, the Yin Jade's power had shielded his daughter's life. Luo Zhenghu had believed the crisis averted and planned to depart the following morning. He had not expected things to unravel so swiftly.

"I do not know what you are talking about."

"You underestimate the Celestial Master. The men of the Evil Congregation are far less reasonable than I am. Prepare to leave. The Celestial Master awaits you on Dragon Tiger Mountain." Luo Zhenghu hesitated only a moment before making up his mind. With the Dao Alliance, his daughter's life would at least be spared. With the Evil Congregation, there was only death. And there were no other options — the imperial agents were nowhere to be found. He swiftly dismissed every servant in the household, then hoisted his gravely wounded daughter onto his back and followed Li Li into the night.

Page 2 of 3

"Oh ho! Where are you all off to in such a hurry?" A voice rang out, brimming with mocking cheer. Li Li and Luo Zhenghu turned toward the sound. A monkey hung upside down from a branch above — and it spoke with a human tongue.

"Well, if it isn't the Evil Congregation's Golden-Armed Demon Ape, Sun Yuan. Has the Congregation run out of people? They sent you?"

"You won't be so glib in a moment!" Sun Yuan wasted no time. He kicked off with both feet, and the entire tree crashed down. In the blink of an eye he was upon Li Li, driving a fist straight at his face, knowing that once Li Li fell, the lower-Xin-grade Luo Zhenghu would be an easy prize. Li Li met the blow head-on. The result: Li Li was hurled backward, while Sun Yuan used the rebound to somersault gracefully through the air and land with ease. There was no time for banter. Sun Yuan lunged forward again, unleashing the Golden-Arm Eight Fists upon Li Li. Li Li answered with his signature technique, the Black-and-White Mystic Hands, and the two fell into fierce combat. The moment Sun Yuan had dropped from the tree, Li Li had caught Luo Zhenghu's eye with a glance, sending him fleeing down a forest path. But the Evil Congregation had come prepared — they were not about to let him simply run.

A strange, lilting female laughter drifted from every direction within the trees. Luo Zhenghu halted and scanned his surroundings with sharp vigilance. Suddenly he spun around and drove his fist backward. A sharp clang of metal rang through the forest.

"I thought this was merely a lower-Xin-grade martial artist. It seems he was hiding his strength — lower-Ding-grade, no less." A figure stepped from the trees: a man dressed as a white-robed scholar, sword in hand. He was the one who had struck from behind. Following him was a woman who held a pair of golden fans before her face — the source of that eerie laughter.

"That sword thrust just now was not pleasant, was it?" The Doom Scholar, Bai Jingyi, smiled faintly. Luo Zhenghu's entire arm trembled; the blade had wounded him deep in the abdomen.

"Hand over the Yin Jade, and I guarantee you walk away alive."

"Never."

"Then you stay here." Without a word, the Ghost-Faced Courtesan Qian Hua closed the distance to Luo Zhenghu in an instant. In a single exchange, his injured right hand was severed. Luo Zhenghu channelled his inner force to staunch the bleeding. Just as Qian Hua moved in to finish him off — whoosh! An arrow grazed her cheek. She turned to look: a figure with a great bow stood on a nearby branch, watching from a distance.

"That is Xian Qi," Bai Jingyi said. "I will hold him off. You take the Yin Jade back to headquarters." He raised his sword and charged toward Xian Qi. As Qian Hua prepared to strike again, a man burst from the trees with a silver spear, driving straight through her defences. She scrambled to deflect with her golden fans and fell back.

"Sect Master Luo, go. I will hold him here." Yang Long, the Soul-Severing Spear, another Sect Master of the Dao Alliance, had arrived. He turned briefly to Luo Zhenghu. Luo Zhenghu needed no second urging — he turned and ran.

Elsewhere, Li Li and Sun Yuan were locked in a battle that shook the earth. The shockwaves from their clashing inner force levelled the outer walls in an instant. Li Li struck out with a palm technique, one shadow multiplying into many — sixty-four palms in a single breath. Sun Yuan punched through the shadows and closed in, feinting before landing a side kick squarely at Li Li's waist. Li Li was driven into a disadvantage and fell back fighting. He knew he was already a sub-grade below Sun Yuan; without using his final trump card he would be defeated. So when Sun Yuan's fist came for his shoulder, he did not dodge. He unleashed his ultimate technique, the Mystic-Fusion White Ice Palm, intending to trade wound for wound. But Sun Yuan was not the sort to accept such a bargain — the Evil Congregation valued their lives greatly. He leapt back and turned, saying:

"I spare your life today, Li Li. Until we meet again." He kicked off and vanished. Li Li steadied himself, then dissolved into two drifting wisps of yin-flame, one black, one white, and was gone.

Luo Zhenghu emerged from the forest onto the main road and ran through the night until dawn. He had lost all sense of how far he had come. Then a tea stall by the roadside caught his eye — a dozen men in official robes, the fire-muskets slung across their backs marking them as military, their garments concealing the lightweight armour of soldiers beneath.

"Sect Master Luo, we have been waiting a long time. His Majesty says that whatever terms the Dao Alliance has offered, the imperial house can match. We want only the Yin Jade — your life will be spared. You and your daughter will be provided for in comfort for the rest of your days." The man at the head of the group sipped his tea and spoke without inflection. Luo Zhenghu found himself in a bind. If he refused, these dozen men would not let him pass. Just as he was preparing to stall with vague promises, a tremendous explosion erupted — a curtain of yellow dust billowed into the sky. From within the swirling sand walked several figures clad in matching black garments, clean and unadorned, each bearing a large Taiji emblem on the back.

"The clandestine rebel faction, the Grand Taiji Society, has also arrived." The man in the lead seemed entirely unsurprised. The Taiji Society members were coldly aloof and had no interest in acknowledging the robed officials. They addressed Luo Zhenghu directly: "Any terms they offer, we can match. Hand the Yin Jade to us, and neither the imperial house, the Dao Alliance, nor the Evil Congregation will trouble you again." Seeing the Taiji Society members ignore them entirely, the dozen officials took immediate offence. Without further words, the two groups flew at each other. The officials were not highly skilled martial artists; they relied chiefly on their muskets to hold the line. Luo Zhenghu saw nothing but danger in every direction and bolted again. He flagged down a passing carriage mid-road. The driver was no ordinary man — an upper-Yi-grade master, the sort who would hold the rank of honoured guest or elder in any sect. As it turned out, when his daughter had been hurt that afternoon, Luo Zhenghu had written to his elder brother. His elder brother was a first-rate jianghu fighter — the driver himself, known as the Mountain-Breaking Three Fists, Luo Chengen.

"Where is Second Brother?"

"Dead."

"What!"

"Zheng Nan, the Fallen-into-the-Eye-of-Money, did it. And have you made your decision? So long as Little Yu's life is preserved, let them have the Yin Jade." Luo Chengen cast a glance at the unconscious Luo Yu and said, "Zheng Nan. Hmph. I will kill him with my own hands."

Page 3 of 3

"Give it to the Dao Alliance. We have some connections there — they are more reasonable to deal with."

"Very well." Luo Chengen drove the carriage toward Dragon Tiger Mountain, headquarters of the Dao Alliance. Many came to seize the Yin Jade along the way, but none were a match for Luo Chengen.

On the only road leading to Dragon Tiger Mountain, three Evil Congregation Sect Masters — Sun Yuan, Bai Jingyi, and Qian Hua — lay in wait.

"Luo Chengen is an upper-Yi-grade master, and there are Dao Alliance escorts in the surrounding area. How do we take the jade?" Sun Yuan addressed the other two.

"The other Sect Masters are occupied. The four Elders of the Gates of Life and Death are already on their way here. We only need to hold things down." Bai Jingyi replied calmly.

"Word is that several Dao Alliance Elders have also mobilised. The imperial side is stirring as well, and the Taiji Society has already come to blows with the imperial forces." Qian Hua said with a smile.

Suddenly — boom! A flash of cold light arrived first, then a spear thrust out like a soaring dragon. Yang Long burst from concealment, catching all three off guard. Behind Bai Jingyi, two wisps of yin-flame materialised from thin air — one black, one white — and as they merged, Li Li appeared.

"Both of you came. Where is Xian Qi?" Bai Jingyi showed no trace of alarm. The two Dao Alliance men before him posed no immediate threat.

"We came to have a conversation with your Evil Congregation."

"What is there to discuss?"

"This last fragment of the Yin-Yang Mystic Jade is prized by every faction. The imperial house has already dispatched a Grade Jia master — the current Grand Secretary of the Cabinet, Elder Zhang himself. Correspondingly, the Dao Alliance, the Evil Congregation, and the Taiji Society will each field their own top-tier masters. We no longer have a place on the board. Why not simply linger here on the sidelines?"

"By that reasoning, whichever faction has the stronger Grade Jia master takes the jade?"

"No. It is whichever faction has the more exceptional young generation."

"What did you say?" Bai Jingyi could scarcely believe what he was hearing. Regardless of what prodigies the young generation might boast, a single sword stroke from him would end any of them. In a jianghu struggle of this magnitude, there was no place for the younger generation.

"Think about it. The imperial house has the Taiji Society watching it; your Evil Congregation has us watching you. For every master you field, we field one in return. In the end, the Yin-Yang Mystic Jade can only be snatched by some unaffiliated wandering expert. Besides, we are all old adversaries, old acquaintances. Do you think there is a single move of yours I do not know? So it comes down to whose young generation shines brightest. And it seems those above have tacitly permitted this arrangement — have you not noticed that the only ones trailing behind Luo Chengen are a pack of reckless unknowns? Not a single familiar face among them."

"And what if I choose to go and seize it myself?"

"Then the three of you fight the three of us, and by the time we are done, the jade will be long gone, taken by heaven knows who."

"Fine. Yang Long, I trust you this time. And don't you dare run either."

And so the six of them called a brief truce and watched in silence as Luo Chengen's carriage rolled away into the distance.