39 A Clue

Feng Ming was sitting in a corner of the banquet room, looking sullen. One of the maids came by to take a seat beside him.

"Why are you sitting here looking all grumpy while everyone else is out there having fun?" she asked. Feng Ming massaged himself between his eyes with one hand.

"I'm just tired," he lied. "It's been a long trip, and I've never been one to celebrate."

Anyone who knew Feng Ming would know that this couldn't be any further from the truth. Fortunately, they weren't acquainted.

"I know what you mean," the maid said, sighing. "There's always so much noise at events like these. I would never stay in a small town like this if my family didn't live here."

"Your father?" asked Feng Ming.

"Yes, my father is a famous crystal glass artisan. It's the same with the rest of these maids. My father used to live in a large city in the north of the continent. He met my mother there. After living in the north for twenty years, he reached the peak of glass artisanship in his kingdom, making a great name for himself. Unfortunately, he felt that he had reached a bottleneck of sorts in his art. Crystal Meadows is well known in the world of glass artisans, so he brought our family here to live a peaceful life while he learned to better his craft.

"Honestly, none of us daughters need to work a day in our lives. We wouldn't even need to get married—the fortune that our fathers have earned is more than enough for us to live a pleasant life in a large city. There used to be more of us, granted. Those of us that remain are here to take care of our aging fathers."

It was truly a touching story, and it addressed his previous concerns. Was he being too cautious?

After another two hours, they finally stopped the celebration. The captain instructed the men to get to bed. Military protocol dictated that they must be ready for departure at dawn. Feng Ming was glad to see that the captain had delivered on his promise.

***

A half hour after the feast, Captain Chou was busy writing his log. It was a habit that he'd maintained in his childhood, and it had accompanied him throughout his military career. He attributed much of his success as a military captain to this simple habit.

He heard a soft knock on the door and sighed. He knew what Li Piao was up to, but duty dictated that he'd have to turn her down. He opened the door softly, only to find the beautifully dressed woman with red eyes full of tears. Her makeup, which had been impeccable earlier, was now smudged. Seeing the distraught lady, the captain invited her in and sat her down on the bed.

"What's wrong, my dear? What happened?"

She took a while to calm down. Seeing her red eyes and blotched makeup, the caring captain brought out a handkerchief, which she used to wipe her eyes and blow her nose.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have come here." Just as she was getting up to leave, a large hand pressed down on her shoulder.

"Come now, something is clearly bothering you. How about you tell your story?"

Li Piao hesitated slightly and nodded. "I didn't tell you the whole truth this afternoon. It's not just bandits that are troubling us. There are rumors that they are backed by a rebel army, which is why the lord of Fairweather has been reluctant to interfere in our affairs. I've been hesitant to share this because… I am afraid that you'll do the same." As she began crying again, he hugged her close.

"There, there now." The older man stroked her beautiful black hair. "You don't need to worry. In fact, this makes it a lot easier. The goal of our squad is to retrieve information about the rebel army, so now that we know, we can't leave without verifying."

The small figure stopped shivering. "Really?" she said, looking up with her tear-stained face.

"Yes, really. You don't need to worry about it anymore."

"But… I don't know how to thank you for this…" she said shyly.

The older man chuckled and shook his head. "It's all a part of my duty. You don't need to worry about a thin—"

He was interrupted by a fiery sensation invading his entire body as her tongue wandered into his mouth. For a moment, he lost his ability to think. A few minutes later, he regained his clear mind, only to realize that he was lying on his bed, and she was straddled on top of him. Somehow they had shed their outer garments, leaving them both with few remaining clothes.

Just as he was about to say that they should stop, a soft, slender finger pressed against his lips.

"Please don't say anything. I just want this so much…" She began shifting her hips back and forth, and although they still had their undergarments on, he knew that it wouldn't last much longer. It felt like pure heavenly torture.

As she continued her sensual movements, her loose hair fell across her bountiful bare chest. Her hair tickled Chou Tai's face as she leaned forward to kiss him gently. It was an electrifying sensation. He hardly noticed her devious smile, as the world suddenly went blank. Her silver hairpin, which she had carefully removed earlier, was now lodged deep inside his neck. His shocked expression seemed to ask her, Why?

She didn't answer as she quietly observed his body spasming as the last of his life left him.

***

Feng Ming was nervous. He wasn't sure why. The men had returned to their beds without drinking, as he had planned. He had seen the pretty ladies exit the inn, as planned. The vixen Li Piao didn't even accompany the captain to his room, as he'd thought she would. He sat down on his bed for a half hour in silence. The heavy silence that pervaded the inn unsettled him.

In his nervousness, he had decided to don his armor, his boots, and his sword for good measure. While it might be overkill, the cured leather and cold steel reassured his restless feelings.

Perhaps I should check with the captain again, he thought. He hoped he was being overly imaginative. He couldn't be reprimanded for visiting his captain in full uniform, could he?

After mustering his courage, he walked out of his room into the hallway. It was far from quiet, as the sounds of moaning men and women filled the inn.

So much for no women tonight.

Ignoring the other men, he stepped up to the captain's doorway, which was silent.

He knocked softly on the door and waited for a response. The captain was normally very aware of his surroundings, and even a quiet knock would immediately wake him up. The door opened a few seconds later. To his surprise, the person answering the door wasn't the captain. It was Li Piao.

"The captain is sleeping now. Can't it wait until morning?" Her ample figure was partially covered with hastily gathered clothes.

Feng Ming frowned. The captain seemed like he had a lot of self control near the end of the night. How did it turn out like this? He wouldn't waste his time on this vulgar woman, though. He would ask the captain himself.

"No, it can't wait. Open the door, I'm coming in." Without waiting for a response, he shoved the door inward. Li Piao was thrown to the ground, her naked figure fully revealed. Feng Ming was overcome with an overwhelming urge to pounce on her, to violate her. He started walking toward her, and she tightened her hand around her silver hairpin, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Without any warning, a war started raging inside the young man's mind.

Yes, I haven't had any action in ages! Maybe I can get some now!

But where is the captain? Isn't he asleep?

But she's right here, I could take her back to my room and the captain wouldn't notice!

Is he asleep? Why haven't I seen him?

Who cares? She must be telling the truth.

These questions bombarded his mind in the time it takes for a spark to fly off a piece of flint. During this exchange, his eyes finally managed to flicker to the captain, who was lying on his bed. His formerly white bedsheets were red.

Is that blood?

The sight of the blood jerked Feng Ming back to reality. He regained his lucidity just in time to notice the beautiful naked woman pouncing toward him. Instinctively, he drew out his sword using his quick-drawing sword technique. The draw and the strike were completed in a single, swift motion. The last of the bewitching presence quickly faded as Li Piao's body was cut in two and hit the floor. She was clearly not a cultivator. Yet she had almost killed him by beguiling him. Just like she had killed the captain.

The naked corpse's eyes flashed red and finally faded to white. A red mist quickly left her body, unbeknownst to Feng Ming. Even if he had seen the mist, he wouldn't have been able to stop it. As he stared down at the woman and the captain's corpse, the gravity of the situation dawned on him. What about the rest of the soldiers?

Feng Ming quickly grabbed the captain's bag of holding as he left the room. He rushed toward the next room, worried that he might be too late. He kicked open the first room, only to find a similar scene. The soldier in the room was lying on a bloody bed. Instead of looking at him, the woman in this room appeared to be crying, regretting what she had done. His eyes turned cold as he hacked the beautiful naked body in half before continuing. He continued knocking down door after door, until he finally reached the last door. Inside the last door, a soldier sat down on his bed, shaking. A beautiful naked body lay crumpled on the floor, devoid of life.

"Li Hao, wake up!" Feng Ming barked. The man finally awoke from his daze and immediately started throwing up.

"I didn't mean to, Sergeant!" he said, trying to explain.

"No need to explain. The captain and the others are dead, and it's only you and me! Gear up, soldier!"

Li Hao's eyes went wide as he digested what Feng Ming had said. He then immediately went about obeying his orders. The soldier dressed himself up for battle more quickly than he had ever thought possible. He and Feng Ming crawled out from the window. He knew it was only a matter of time until the guards wandered upstairs. Li Hao's hands were shaking, barely able to keep a grip on the sword.

The duo rushed behind the inn toward the stables. As Feng Ming quietly opened the stable door, he was overwhelmed with the stench of blood. He looked into the dimly lit stable—four of the six horses had been decapitated, and the ground was strewn with blood and gore. Two of the horses were still tied up, but instead of whinnying loudly, they were paralyzed with fear, the hay beneath them covered in excrement.

Just as they were about to bolt for the two horses, they were startled by a strange chewing sound. They looked downward, only to find a gruesome figure staring at them. It was one of the guards, the largest one. In his hands, he was holding a large piece of bloody horse flesh, which he had just carved out from a dead horse's stomach.

Enraged and horrified, Feng Ming and Li Hao charged forward with their swords. What used to be a guard yelled, his body swelling by thirty percent. His mouth was four times as large as what should normally be possible, and it could now barely be called a human.

Feng Ming, being at the fifth level of qi condensation, used his footwork technique, Three-Layered Burst Steps. He swung out with his sword, which glowed red like a brand, ready to slice through anything in its path. He swung the sword toward the monstrosity's head, attempting to decapitate it.

To his surprise, the monstrosity that used to be a guard quickly moved his head, interrupting the trajectory of the blade. The hideous creature bit down on it with all its power, causing Feng Ming's spirit weapon to crack.

What the hell? What kind of infernal beast is this?

The blade snapped. However, just as the beast prepared to pounce on Feng Ming and give him the same treatment, Li Hao snuck up behind it and decapitated it.

The creature fell to the ground, twitching. The duo didn't wait to confirm it was dead and quickly hopped on their horses, who gratefully led them out of the stable at a breakneck pace. As they passed the inn, they noticed two angry men charging out. One bore a large great sword, and the other held a large spear. They both burst forth with unreasonable speed. While Feng Ming was able to dodge the great-sword-wielding fiend's blow, Li Hao wasn't so lucky. He was struck in the chest with a spear. The horse continued to run beside Feng Ming. Li Hao was gone.

As Feng Ming and the two horses ran toward the edge of the village on the main street, he spotted a glint of metal in the light of the moon. He quickly jumped off his horse, stumbling to the ground just in time to see a large figure with red eyes holding a great sword, swinging through the air above the horse. Judging by its uniform, it also used to be a guard.

"What are you?" he whispered. "Desert Sandstorm!" he roared as the monster charged forward, and a thirty-meter cyclone of heated sand surrounded him. The beast roared in rage, its sight blinded by the burning sand. Its agility was frightening, and the abilities it displayed far exceeded what was capable of a cultivator at the fourth level of qi condensation.

Feng Ming took advantage of its obscured vision to attack its side, his blade glowing red at the last second and cutting deeply into its thigh. Despite the vicious blow, the monster roared as it struck out with a palm. The palm, which was covered in a black energy, struck Feng Ming several meters away, breaking several ribs in the process.

Coughing up blood, Feng Ming got up as fast as he could. He noticed that his sword was still embedded in the monster's thigh. Hopefully its mobility had been affected.

Seeing that he had been disarmed, he pulled out a spare sword from his bag of holding. It wasn't magical, but it was better than nothing. He darted toward the monster, which was busy removing the sword from its thigh.

Just as he was about to reach the monster, he changed his direction, quickly darting toward another nearby monster, which was hacking about wildly in the sandstorm.

Three-Layered Burst Steps!

He took advantage of the large gaps in its swordsmanship, thrusting his glowing red sword into the creature's abdomen. He felt the sword slide into the strange humanoid creature. Having learned from his previous experience, he quickly let it go, darting off to the side toward the last remaining horse in the distance. The other horse had already been cleaved in two.

Darting away had been the right decision. Just as he left the space he had previously occupied, a great sword hacked down with tremendous force. Feng Ming's ability, Desert Sandstorm, finally expired. The two monsters noticed him running toward his horse, but the grievous wounds Feng Ming had inflicted were sufficient to slow down their otherwise swift movements.

Feng Ming didn't hesitate and quickly hopped onto the fearful horse, which darted toward the nearby woods. He didn't trust the roads anymore.

What were those creatures? he thought. Were they devils, the creatures that my nanny told me about to scare me into behaving?

While he didn't know the answer, he knew what he had to do next. He had to get back alive, and he couldn't go missing. Even the slightest delay in information could prove fatal to the king's army.

***

Clink. Clink. Clink.

One gold coin after another fell onto a heavily used desk, joining the rest of its shining brethren in neatly piled stacks of ten. A pair of bony white hands inspected each of them carefully, evaluating their weight by touch alone. This was an impressive skill, one that had taken the Merchant many months to learn. At first he had weighed piles of fifty coins on a merchant's balance, verifying the gold content in batches. However, the cool feeling of gold on his hands brought warmth to his entire body. It was the only thing that could excite him.

Suddenly, a sound that only he could hear rang through his head. It sounded like a page tearing. Only important and urgent things would accompany this sound. Sighing, he carefully put away his gold coins. They vanished in his hands, leaving behind only a trace of gold gas, as though they had disappeared from the material plane into another dimension. The feeling was exquisite, second only to the aforementioned feeling he experienced when touching the gold.

Now that his previous earnings had been properly stored, he retrieved a black notebook from his bag of holding. It was vibrating intensely, threatening to break free of its bindings if it was not opened soon. This method of communication, while convenient, was extremely annoying to the Merchant. Whatever happened to the good old days? People used to take the time to see each other in person or via astral projection. Now everyone insisted on sending each other bits and pieces of text every few minutes.

Opening the black book, he saw a piece of writing in red. In the convention of the black notebook, this meant the message was extremely urgent. He started with the less urgent messages immediately before it and then proceeded to the urgent message. It contained troublesome news.

The skinny man pondered for a bit. He couldn't let the man escape, but he also didn't want to endanger his assets. In addition, Crystal Meadows was short on manpower and would now have to evacuate the artisans. The profit they brought in with their crystal glass pieces was nothing to sneeze at, especially since he had increased their work hours to sixteen hours per day. After thinking up a solution, he sent a message with further instructions.

After this brief exchange, the Merchant put down his pen and proceeded downstairs. He was feeling a little faint, as he hadn't eaten all day. As he walked downstairs, he pondered what delicious meals his underlings had brought today.

After all, he never brought his own lunch.