Chu Dingjiang nodded in agreement, "Go ahead."
Zhu Pianxian was overjoyed, thinking she had finally caught a big fish. "First, write down the identity of the person you wish to eliminate. Then go to Yaohua Pavilion in Liu Shi's teahouse in Yangzhou City. If someone asks, 'Would you like to eat meat?' you should give them two taels of silver and reply, 'I prefer vegetarian food; please have this on me.' Once they accept the money and say, 'There are immortal mountains on the sea,' you respond, 'Amidst the misty void.' That completes the initial step. Hand over the prepared information to them. After reviewing it, they will quote a price. If you agree, pay a ten-tael deposit upfront and settle the full amount upon completion."
The mere ten-tael deposit didn’t mean the assassination was cheap—it was simply that no one had ever dared to default on Misty Villa’s fees. The deposit was merely a token to "seal the deal."
"I’ll have someone deliver a map to Liu Shi’s teahouse to you shortly," Zhu Pianxian said with an increasingly gentle smile. "Is there anything else you’d like to ask, sir?"
Chu Dingjiang was already satisfied with the information he had obtained. Further inquiries might expose his intentions, and he had no idea whether Zhu Pianxian had any connections to Misty Villa.
"Nothing else," Chu Dingjiang replied briskly, pulling out two official banknotes worth two thousand taels.
Zhu Pianxian’s gaze briefly swept over the banknotes on the table. "In that case, this widowed woman must beg your pardon for not seeing you out."
"Farewell," Chu Dingjiang said.
An Jiu stood and followed him. As they reached the steps, she suddenly turned back and caught Zhu Pianxian greedily scrutinizing the banknotes with a covetous expression.
An Jiu’s intimidating gaze was hard to ignore. Zhu Pianxian felt a chill run down her spine and looked up to meet An Jiu’s cold stare. She shivered, her first instinct being to hurriedly tuck the banknotes into her bosom.
But An Jiu did nothing and simply left.
Zhu Pianxian exhaled in relief. Though still unsettled, the thought of the two thousand taels quickly pushed her fears aside.
She was lost in the joy of swindling a big fish, never considering the saying, "What goes around comes around." Those 2,300 taels might very well cost Zhu Pianxian the rest of her life.
Not long after Chu Dingjiang and An Jiu returned to their room, a waiter delivered the promised materials.
After carefully reviewing them, they found the information on the Feng family was practically a "Chronicle of the Feng Clan." It included details like how many concubines the family head had, their backgrounds, whether they had children, and even absurd specifics like the second concubine owning a dog or the second-in-command’s habit of consuming elixirs before intercourse.
"Hard to say if any of this is true," An Jiu muttered. While seemingly trivial details could sometimes be decisive, she couldn’t shake the feeling that Zhu Pianxian’s face screamed "scammer."
Chu Dingjiang pulled out all the silver notes he had. "I used to think this money would never run out. But if we keep doing business with Zhu Pianxian, we’ll be penniless in no time."The Crane Control Army was a shadow unit, unlike ordinary court officials who, in addition to their salaries, received land, grain, cloth, and other allocations from the court. Thus, all these were converted into silver and distributed to each member. Moreover, every mission came with a hefty sum for recuperation expenses, so each member could easily earn at least seven thousand taels a year. Chu Dingjiang had been in the Crane Control Army for over a decade. In his early years, the pay was lower, but he still made three to four thousand taels annually. It was the same for everyone in the army. The money had nowhere to go, nor was there time to spend it. Social interactions didn’t require spending either, so even if he splurged recklessly, he still had seventy-nine thousand taels left to this day.
An Jiu had no concept of prices, but based on this calculation, the nearly eighty thousand taels indeed didn’t seem like much. “You’ve had it rough,” she remarked.
Back in the day, her account had… how much was it again? An Jiu thought for a long while before realizing she had no idea, though she faintly remembered the payout for her last mission was twenty million dollars, of which she took forty percent.
Just comparing the numbers, Chu Dingjiang’s situation was downright pitiful.
Chu Dingjiang usually didn’t pay much attention to such matters, but he wasn’t entirely clueless either. After careful consideration, he said, “A meat bun costs just two coins. This money could last a lifetime.”
“Then Zhu Pianxian is just too expensive.” An Jiu wasn’t particularly concerned about the amount but felt cheated—how dare someone take advantage of her? This was something she’d have to remember.
“Should we stay another night?” Chu Dingjiang tilted his chin toward the window, asking if they should continue observing the dock.
“Let’s go,” An Jiu replied.
After all, it was just a fleeting suspicion, and the world was full of shady things. Even if there was something off about the dock, it wasn’t their concern.
The two set off immediately, entering the city and easily locating Liu Shi’s teahouse using the map Zhu Pianxian had provided.
Liu Shi’s teahouse was tucked away in a narrow alley, neither bustling nor deserted.
They found a hidden spot nearby to observe from a distance. While scouting for vantage points, they realized that despite the teahouse’s ordinary appearance—no different from the surrounding dilapidated buildings—its interior was completely obscured from every angle.
After several days of surveillance, they identified the teahouse’s regular interactions with certain outsiders: someone from the shop went to the market every morning for supplies, someone came to collect slop in the evening, and two tea drinkers visited daily. These people didn’t arrive at fixed times, but the variation never exceeded an hour.
Chu Dingjiang tailed all four of them separately but found nothing suspicious.
Everything remained utterly ordinary during this period.
Still, they weren’t in a hurry. Hiring assassins wasn’t an everyday affair, after all. They patiently monitored the teahouse for over a month, during which Chu Dingjiang went in twice for tea but discovered nothing.
Chu Dingjiang speculated that either Zhu Pianxian had sold them false information, business had been slow lately, or they’d missed something during their surveillance.
The mission had an eight-month deadline. A month had been spent on the journey, and over a month had gone into monitoring the teahouse to locate Misty Villa’s hideout. Misty Villa’s defenses would undoubtedly be tighter, requiring even more preparation time. They couldn’t afford further delays, so Chu Dingjiang decided to test the waters.
With his superior lightness skill, Chu Dingjiang was better suited for tailing, leaving the task of hiring an assassin to An Jiu.The two agreed to meet at Qingfeng Restaurant in five days before going their separate ways.
It was already past noon, and the sky was overcast.
Business at Liu Shi’s teahouse was slow, with only a few regular patrons. When An Jiu entered, she didn’t see any waiters—just an elderly man in his seventies dozing off behind the counter.
An Jiu knocked on the counter, and the old man slowly opened his eyes. “What tea would you like, honored guest?”
“Do you have private rooms?” An Jiu asked.
The old man seemed to wake up a little more. He pulled out a set of bamboo plaques and spread them on the counter, each inscribed with the name of a private room. After scanning them, An Jiu chose “Yaohua.”
“Upstairs, last room on the left,” the old man said.
An Jiu went upstairs by herself and entered the private room.
After a short wait, a waiter came in and asked, “What tea does the honored guest usually prefer?”
An Jiu was most accustomed to plain water, but since she was at a teahouse, she couldn’t just order that. “Tieguanyin,” she said.
“Our shop also serves other refreshments. Would you like some?” He smiled. “Does the honored guest eat meat?”
Hearing this, An Jiu took a closer look at him. He was around thirty, lean in build, with a face full of wrinkles when he smiled. His eyebrows and hair were sparse, his lips thick, and when he grinned, his back teeth were nearly visible.
She took out two taels of silver from her pocket and placed them on the table. “I prefer vegetarian dishes. This is for you.”
The waiter’s grin widened as he pocketed the silver. “There are immortal mountains on the sea,” he said.
An Jiu pulled a slip of paper from her sleeve and handed it to him. “Amidst the misty clouds.”
The waiter took the note, unfolded it, glanced at it, and nodded. “Six thousand taels in total. A deposit of ten taels.”
When Chu Dingjiang had written that note, An Jiu had been right beside him. It read: “Yangzhou’s Cui Linglong, Zhu Pianxian.” Zhu Pianxian had said the two thousand taels were for taking responsibility—well, now she’d have to take it. Chu Dingjiang and An Jiu saw nothing wrong with this and felt not the slightest guilt.
An Jiu paid the deposit as instructed, thinking to herself, Who knew Zhu Pianxian’s life was so expensive?
The waiter added, “In a month, we’ll hang the head outside the city at Shili Slope. Bring the remaining payment when you inspect the goods. If it’s inconvenient, we can also collect it from your residence. Where might the honored guest reside?”
“Hangzhou, Qingzhu Alley. My surname is Lü, courtesy name Shuangyu.” An Jiu recited the identity Chu Dingjiang had prepared for her.
(To be continued…)
Apology
Sleeve has recently encountered some very difficult circumstances and has been disheartened. From 2012 to 2013, it was physical illness; now, in 2014, the torment has turned mental. Over this long period, Sleeve has been negligent with updates—many have left, but many have stayed. To those who have continued to support me, thank you. To you, it may just be about reading a book, but to me, you are companions who have kept me from giving up during hard times.
I can’t go into specifics about what happened, but I wanted to give everyone an explanation.
I truly can’t focus right now. I need a day or two to calm down and adjust my mood. If my condition improves, I’ll definitely update. At the latest, there will be an update by the 17th.
(To be continued…)
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