Bo Lao’s diminutive figure appeared at the door, a man slung over her shoulder. He was bound tightly like a bale of silk, and she dropped him unceremoniously onto the floor the moment she stepped inside.
Xiao Nanhui looked closely and recognized him as the leader of the assassins who had ambushed her during the festival procession.
Bo Lao pointed at the man on the floor and said to Hao Bai, "I’ve brought the man you wanted. The rest were dealt with on the spot. Don't forget what we agreed upon."
Hao Bai nodded and produced a porcelain bottle the size of a pear, handing it over. Xiao Nanhui estimated there must be at least a dozen Zhi Pills inside. He was certainly generous with his payment, but she wondered what he hoped to gain from such a heavy expenditure. Did he have an old grudge against this assassin?
Once the transaction was complete, Hao Bai moved to step forward, but the assassin suddenly snapped his eyes open and lunged forward viciously.
Startled, Hao Bai scrambled back, hiding behind Xiao Nanhui.
In truth, Bo Lao had bound him so securely that the man could not move at all. Xiao Nanhui glanced back at the man behind her with a hint of amusement. "You wanted this man kept alive, yet you’ve scared yourself into this state?"
Hao Bai did not speak. His expression was different from his usual playful and flirtatious demeanor. He signaled for Xiao Nanhui to help remove the black cloth from the man's face.
Following his lead, she stepped forward, pinned the man’s neck down, and tore away the mask. It revealed a somewhat familiar face—the merchant they had encountered at the inn in Yueyuan Town, the one traveling with his family.
Of course, having already seen his "wife" earlier, Xiao Nanhui was not surprised to see his face now.
The man had completely shed his air of petty merchant shrewdness; he now radiated the terrifying aura of a professional killer.
Hao Bai looked at him, momentarily speechless.
"So it was you after all."
A voice rang out, and Xiao Nanhui turned to see Zhongli Jing walking forward.
"I suspected you as early as when we were at the docks. A tea merchant would never come to Mu’erhe to sell tea at this time of year. April and May are the most humid and unpredictable months in Hozhou; tea leaves would mold before they could be stored for long."
At his words, Xiao Nanhui remembered that the man had indeed been disguised as a tea merchant. Hozhou was cold and rainy, unsuitable for growing tea trees, so tea merchants were among the most common traders seen year-round.
Choosing a tea merchant as a cover was not inherently wrong, but the timing was a fatal flaw. An ordinary tea merchant would rather let new tea sit for a month before transporting it to Mu’erhe than risk the rainy season.
The assassin listened with cold eyes, seemingly determined not to utter a single word.
Zhongli Jing then drew something from his sleeve, unfurled it, and tossed it onto the floor.
It was an official wanted poster depicting a man wearing a forehead band, his expression somber and brooding.
"Actually, up until that point, I only had suspicions. But after arriving in Mu’erhe, I saw the wanted notices posted in the city. At the top of the list was a notorious bandit who had been operating around the ferry crossings last month. Coincidentally, on the night we were in Yueyuan, this fugitive fleeing pursuit was in the very same inn."
The events of that night at the inn flashed through Xiao Nanhui’s mind. There had indeed been a man wearing a forehead band who looked particularly dangerous.
Immediately after, the words of the ferryman came back to her: "I remember, someone was robbed at the ferry that day. They said someone died."
"Correct." Zhongli Jing nodded, looking down at the assassin. "Except the one who died was not the victim of the robbery, but the robber himself."
So that was it. Even though it was low tide that morning, there were only signs of a struggle on the rocky beach and no bodies.
If a common bandit wanted to kill for profit, why would they go to the trouble of disposing of the bodies? They would normally take the money and flee as fast as possible. But for some people, it was different. Even if the deceased was a mere brigand, the involvement of the authorities would bring nothing but trouble, so they hurried to destroy the evidence before dawn.
To think she had previously believed that family was the only group of truly honest civilians in the inn. She hadn't realized they were "tigers in sheep's clothing." The memory sent a belated shiver down her spine.
Perhaps because his deeds had been laid bare, a look of disdain appeared on the assassin's face.
"So what if I am? I am not like you. I was invited to Mu’erhe by the Zou family. I carefully concealed my identity all the way; how could I let a petty thief ruin my great undertaking?"
Xiao Nanhui looked at his expression and almost forgot he was the one tied up in the room. She felt a mix of anger and amusement.
"According to you, the Zou family specifically invited you? Are you the buyer?"
"Buyer? I came to appraise the jade! That old rogue Zou Sifang promised me long ago that once the jade was appraised, he would give me thirty percent of the proceeds, no matter how many gold pieces it sold for. But when I arrived, he started playing dead. Then, a few days later, he suddenly said he was going to offer the jade as a sacrificial tribute. He went back on his word. There is no such business practice in the underworld. Even if I extorted a sum from him, I would only be taking back what is rightfully mine."
Xiao Nanhui glanced at Zhongli Jing. The culprit who had caused Zou Sifang to "go back on his word" was currently watching the drama unfold with leisurely interest, showing no intention of intervening.
She couldn't believe it. No matter how diminished the Qu clan had become, they were still a legendary lineage. How could they have fallen so far as to produce someone who shot arrows from the shadows and possessed such a thick skin?
"You say you are of the Qu clan? What proof do you have?"
The man spoke with absolute confidence, not flinching in the slightest.
"What? You don't believe me? Isn't the jade seal in your hands? Untie me, and I can appraise it right now. I also know many secrets..."
"Bah!"
A roar of fury erupted from behind them. Xiao Nanhui turned in shock to see Hao Bai rolling up his sleeves and marching forward aggressively. His courage seemed to have surged as he grabbed the man by the collar.
"With a face like yours, you have the gall to call yourself a descendant of the Qu clan? What kind of Qu descendant are you? You dare to claim a lineage you haven't the slightest connection to? I’ve truly seen it all today!"
The assassin glared back at Hao Bai. "I am an adopted son of the Qu family. I have received the true teachings of medicine, pharmacy, and divination. Where did a vulgar little brat like you come from, spewing filth with your empty words?"
Hao Bai rolled his eyes grandly, the disdainful huff from his nose rising several octaves. "If I don't have the right to execute you on the spot today, then no one does."
With that, he pulled an object from his robe and snapped it open. It was the same roll of silver needles he used for consultations.
Previously, Xiao Nanhui had assumed they were mostly for show to deceive people. To her surprise, the assassin’s face turned pale the moment he saw them.
Hao Bai stood with his hands on his hips, his posture resembling a scolding brothel madam, but his words were exceptionally stern.
"Li Jingsheng. On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, thirty-seven years ago, you collapsed at a congee station in a ruined temple ten miles outside of Wancheng. It happened that my maternal grandfather was there to worship Buddha; seeing your pitiful state, he lent a helping hand. After you woke, you refused to leave, weeping that your home had been raided and none of your kin survived. Grandfather felt your fate was similar to that of our clan, and so out of compassion, he made an exception and took you, an outsider, as a medical apprentice. You spent twenty years with the Qu family. The Qu family never mistreated you, yet what did you do?"
Seeing his identity exposed, Li Jingsheng first glared hatefully at Hao Bai, then began to laugh maniacally, as if he had nothing left to lose.
"So what? That old eccentric Qu made the decision himself; I didn't force his hand. Even if the debt can't be settled now, what can you do to me?"
Looking at that arrogant face, Hao Bai suddenly smiled. He then withdrew a long needle, as thin as a cow's hair, from the unremarkable needle cloth.
"I don't want to do much. I only want to take back what belongs to my Qu family from your body."
Hao Bai held the needle in one hand while the other slowly felt along the back of the man's neck.
Li Jingsheng finally seemed uneasy, twisting his body desperately. However, Bo Lao’s knots were truly firm; even with all his strength, he could only make the hem of his clothes tremble.
Hao Bai was in no hurry. He methodically felt and pressed along the man's spine. Suddenly, he arched two fingers and pressed down heavily on both sides of the most prominent cervical vertebra. Li Jingsheng’s eyes suddenly bulged, his tongue lolled halfway out, and a terrifying "gurgle" rose from deep in his throat.
Ignoring this, Hao Bai shifted his finger position and pushed again. With his other hand, he drove the long needle in. The skin over the spine bulged slightly, and in the next second, a small, sharp tip poked out, as if it had been lying in wait inside the body for a long time.
Hao Bai pinched the tip and pulled it out in one smooth motion. It was a golden needle about seven or eight inches long, much longer than the golden needles used for ordinary medical consultations.
Then, an incredible scene unfolded. Xiao Nanhui watched as Li Jingsheng’s body seemed to deflate like a spent leather bag. He withered rapidly, his body curling and hunching starting from the neck. His shoulders and collarbones collapsed inward. A man who had looked to be in his forties was transformed into a septuagenarian in an instant. Even the ropes that had been tied tightly around him became loose and fell to the floor.
Realizing the change that had occurred, Li Jingsheng raised his hands—now twisted by skeletal deformation—and touched his body with trembling fingers.
"You... what did you do to me?!"
Hao Bai didn't look at him again. He moved away with a look of disgust and lowered his head to meticulously wipe the golden needle with a fine piece of white silk.
"I told you just now, I am only taking back what originally belonged to my Qu family. Years ago, you suffered from a bone disease so severe you couldn't even stand upright. Grandfather took pity on you and did not hesitate to use the Bone-Subduing Needle to reset your meridians, allowing you to move like a normal person and even practice martial arts. The Bone-Subduing Needles are incredibly precious; even now, my clansmen have only managed to preserve seven. The one in your body was merely lent to you. What, have you grown so used to this gifted body that you didn't want to return it?"
Li Jingsheng’s eyes looked as if they would burst, staring fixedly at the golden needle in the other man's hand.
"No... no! Give it back to me! Give me back the golden needle!"
He flailed his arms, trying to grab the needle from Hao Bai.
But he had forgotten that he no longer possessed that agile body. He could barely even lift his head or maintain his balance. He writhed on the ground like an ugly toad, the pain of his twisted bones reclaiming his body. His expression shifted from rage to despair, and his roars faded into whimpers.
This series of reversals left Xiao Nanhui reeling, but the hardest thing for her to accept was that the powdered-and-painted, pretty-boy traveling doctor was actually a true descendant of the Qu clan!
She stole a glance at Zhongli Jing to see his reaction, but he remained perfectly calm. He even instructed his guard, "Weixiang, help Master Hao find a place to settle this man. Master Hao likely needs to take him back alive to give an account to his clan."
Hao Bai did not stand on ceremony and followed the suggestion. "Then I shall trouble Brother Ding."
Ding Weixiang obeyed quietly, picking the man up from the floor and heading out the door.
Xiao Nanhui’s mind stirred. For some reason, she thought of that thin, small figure on the top floor of the Pingxiao Tower. She stepped forward quickly and grabbed Li Jingsheng, asking urgently:
"The person who fought me for the flower garland atop the Pingxiao Tower—was he one of yours?"
Li Jingsheng rolled his eyes up to look at Xiao Nanhui, his gaze filled only with numbness. Seeing his state, Xiao Nanhui knew she likely wouldn't get anything out of him and signaled for Ding Weixiang to take him away for now.
But if the person she had fought on the seventh floor of the Pingxiao Tower wasn't one of Li Jingsheng’s men, then who was it?
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
枳丹 | Zhi Pills | A type of medicinal pill, likely made from bitter orange (Zhi Shi/Zhi Ke).
伏骨针 | Bone-Subduing Needle | A specialized medical tool and technique of the Qu clan used to correct skeletal deformities.
瞿氏 | Qu Clan | A legendary family known for their expertise in medicine, pharmacy, and divination.
江洋大盗 | River Pirate / Notorious Bandit | A term for a high-profile criminal operating across wide regions.
凭霄塔 | Pingxiao Tower | The tower where the "Flower Snatching" ritual took place.
