Song of Adolescence

Chapter 335 All Under Heaven in Chaos

When they heard the voice of the guest inside the house, Long Ye immediately brought Yue Ji with him and withdrew. In the Red Prince’s Residence, nothing escaped Long Ye’s eyes except for this guest. Whenever this guest had discussions with Red Prince, not even Long Ye knew his true identity.

"Jin Yan visited the General’s Residence a few days ago," the guest inside the house said evenly.

Xiao Yu scoffed. "Unsurprising."

"Everything is proceeding as we expected, but it’s still not enough." The guest paused before continuing, "When everything is too orderly, someone can easily gain control."

"What do you mean?" Xiao Yu frowned slightly.

"We must create chaos for all under Heaven," the guest pronounced clearly. "The more chaotic the world, the more opportunities we’ll have. If we continue following this dead water situation in Heavenly Revelations, then the person who will inherit the throne will definitely be Xiao Chuhe. However, now that the Dragon-Sealed Scroll of the previous reign has suddenly appeared, it has made the previously orderly situation turn muddy. But, it’s still not enough. We need more chaos."

"How do we create more chaos?" Xiao Yu asked.

"White Prince. We need White Prince to join in," the guest said.

"White Prince? He has always been cautious. Now that the situation is uncertain, will he take action so easily?" Xiao Yu muttered. Suddenly, he raised his eyebrows, and immediately understood what the guest meant. "You mean… the Hidden River?"

"On the surface, the Hidden River has allied themselves with the White Prince, but underneath, they’ve already defected to you. The White Prince doesn’t know about this yet, but he’ll realise it very soon. So, before that happens, you must make use of this relationship one last time. Also, White Prince roping in the Hidden River is something Xiao Chuhe must have already known from Bai Xiao Hall. What happened to Tang Lian has forged a vengeance. You might as well deepen this vengeance a little more," the guest said pointedly.

"It just so happens that I have a problem I need the Hidden River to help me solve." Xiao Yu nodded.

"Before the young Langya Prince enters the capital, we must make Heavenly Revelations as chaotic as possible," the guest said solemnly.

Xiao Yu grinned. "This is called the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind."

"No." The guest disagreed with Xiao Yu. "This is called urging the tiger to swallow the wolf. They are the tigers and wolves, while we are simply vultures. We’re not as strong as them, but we’re waiting to eat their carcasses."

Xiao Yu shook his head. "That doesn\'t sound very nice."

The guest did not respond and added, "There’s one more thing you must remember. The Hidden River is a sharp blade in our hands, but Su Changhe, be careful of him."

Xiao Yu recalled that shadowy man who always wore a silver mask and nodded. "I’ll remember."

Six-Four Blacksmith’s Shop.

Jiu Jiudao opened the door of the yard and walked into the blacksmith’s shop. The blacksmith of this shop had been working in Heavenly Revelations City for many years. He was good at his job and his fees were cheap, making him rather popular in this area. Jiu Jiudao often came to patronise his services, and the blacksmith here, Xie Liusi, was also a member of his Mandate of Heaven Shop.

Mandate of Heaven Shop. Although the name of the shop sounded domineering, their members were simply the blacksmith shops, textile shops, small brothels and other unconventional merchants of Heavenly Revelations City. They exchanged information with one another, looked out for one another, and forked out a contribution to the Mandate of Heaven Shop punctually. In return, the Mandate of Heaven Shop was responsible for protecting these small businesses from being oppressed. But gold and silver were secondary to Jiu Jiudao. What he needed from these small-time merchants was their information.

Because they were small, the network had no leaks.

Once, when Jiu Jiudao was drunk and started boasting, he claimed that when it came to information within Heavenly Revelations City’s nine-by-nine of eighty-one streets, his Mandate of Heaven Shop was not inferior to Bai Xiao Hall.

"Jiu-ye, you’re here." Xie Liusi raised his head, wiped his sweat, and put down the smithing tools in his hands.

"It\'s fine. You’re busy with your work. I’m just here for a visit." Jiu Jiudao waved a hand and took a sip from the flask of tea he brought with him. "I just happened to be passing by."

Xie Liusi had a simple and straightforward face and he scratched his head. "Isn\'t Jiu-ye here to collect the contribution? But, no, I just handed it in a few days ago…"

"Tsk." Jiu Jiudao frowned impatiently. "Didn’t I just say I’m only here for a visit? What’s this talk of collecting contributions? Do I, Jiu-ye, have to personally come for such a trivial matter?"

"That\'s a relief." Xie Liusi held up a blade that had been heated until it was glowing red and plunged it into the cold water, making a loud hissing sound. "Then, Jiu-ye, please take a break."

"By the way, I have something to ask you." Jiu Jiudao put down his flask of tea. "Recently, have you seen someone like… an odd-looking monk?"

"Monk?" Xie Liusi frowned. "I think there are very few monks in Heavenly Revelations City. Many Daoist priests, though."

"No kidding. Our present State Preceptor, Qi Tianchen, is both honoured and favoured, and the influence of Daoism is much higher than Buddhism. But, those lousy Daoist temples and stinky priests in Heavenly Revelations City are an eyesore. You just tell me, have you seen that monk?" Jiu Jiudao asked impatiently.

"Nope." Xie Liusi smiled honestly. "Why would a monk come to a blacksmith’s shop, ah. Jiu-ye, you’ve really asked the wrong person."

"True. I\'ll go ask the next shop." Jiu Jiudao stood up.

Xie Liusi fished out the blade from the cold water and inspected it carefully. "Jiu-ye, is this monk so important that you’re taking the trouble to ask at each shop?"

"Hey, my client is a very important person, ah. This monk seems to be very important to him. If we don’t help him find him, I, Jiu-ye, am going to get skinned alive." Jiu Jiudao sighed. "When the time comes, you’ll all be happy, won’t you."

Xie Liusi shook his head. "Without Jiu-ye, we won’t be able to survive in Heavenly Revelations City."

"Enough ass-kissing. I’m off." Jiu Jiudao waved his hand.

"Jiu-ye, wait." Xie Liusi suddenly called him.

Jiu Jiudao turned his head. "What? Something you need?"

Xie Liusi tested the blade he had just forged. "Jiu-ye, what do you think of my blade?"

Jiu Jiudao glanced at it absently. "Not bad."

Xie Liusi grinned with a wide smile. "How about if I give it to Jiu-ye?"

"Why give it to me?" Jiu Jiudao blinked.

"To send you off." The smile on Xie Liusi suddenly disappeared. "To hell."

Jiu Jiudao was shocked, his expression changed drastically, and he swept backwards furiously.

But, someone pressed down on his shoulders. Xie Liusi had already flashed behind him before he realised it.

This movement technique… Jiu Jiudao’s back was drenched with cold sweat. "Xie Liusi… you know martial arts?"

"I really don\'t like this name. Sounds so stupid." Xie Liusi blew a sigh.

Jiu Jiudao flashed past and brushed his fingers over his waist. Three flying blades flew towards Xie Liusi. Jiu Jiudao’s martial arts could be considered barely above average, but only when compared to the street hoodlums of Heavenly Revelations City. When pitted against the martial world, any disciple from a noble family or any disciple from a large sect would be more powerful than him. But, they might not necessarily be able to defeat him.

Because he was cunning, insidious, and ruthless.

First, he had his hidden weapons, the three flying blades.

His left hand twitched a drug sack, and poison powder diffused immediately. Poison was his second move.

His steps were swift as he retreated. Escaping with your life and slipping away was the most important move!

But this would only work for some people.

When facing absolute strength, they were all in vain.

Xie Liusi withdrew his blade, took a second look, and flung it on the ground.

Jiu Jiudao’s body fell to the ground, his blood spreading slowly while his eyes remained wide open, filled with disbelief.

"My name is Xie Jiucheng. You didn’t suffer a loss to die by my hand." Xie Jiucheng leaned over, reached out a hand and closed Jiu Jiudao’s eyes.