CHAPTER 110: CHAPTER 109 QING LAN: COULD IT BE ME?

"So, you suspected me after all..."

Standing on the other side of the wall, Le Yuxin showed no sign of panic and retorted, "And what makes you say that?"

"Although White Night headquarters hadn’t made a decision, they sent all intel about Yinyin Yin to Xuanzhu County," Yin Minghong said calmly, "The wanted posters only had a rough sketch and main features, but most white-haired assassins look similar. On top of that, information about you lines up with what we know about Le Yuxin the assassin, so although I had some doubts, I was also half convinced."

"But according to the headquarters’ detailed description of Yinyin Yin’s appearance, plus that he was carrying both the Qian Yuliu and Yinyin Yin’s medal, and the crime of ’Yinyin Yin betraying Qian Yuliu’ fits perfectly. Even the Swift Blade Boots he was wearing had the White Night covert mark—they were an internal purchase. I’m certain now that the assassin Le Yuxin who died at the Red Moon Fortress was in fact Yinyin Yin himself."

"So who are you, this mysterious man claiming to be ’Yinyin Yin’?"

Le Yuxin laughed, "Did you forget that I possess the Extreme Divine Weapon, the Saint’s Relic—symbol of infinite possibility?"

"But even the Saint’s Relic only lets you replicate other Divine Weapons if you’ve physically touched them!" Yin Minghong interrupted, "According to your record, the only Divine Weapon you should have touched is the Illusion Divine Weapon ’Soul Purification and Demon-Slaying Sword.’ That’s exactly why Yinyin Yin fought over the Saint’s Relic—this weapon can restore a Sword Concealer’s vitality!"

"These days, I’ve even requested special info from HQ about various Divine Weapons. There are some capable of remote observation or eavesdropping, like the Extreme Divine Weapon Radiant Lens; others can clone you entirely, like the Illusion Divine Weapon Phantom Blade. If you keep making Divine Weapons your excuse, it’s true I won’t be able to challenge you."

"But you always chose to meet me with a wall between us, just to hide your true identity, right? Someone with your skills would have no reason to fear meeting me face to face."

"Let’s have an honest conversation, ’Yinyin Yin.’"

"Of course—the people in this business who dare call themselves revolutionaries aren’t exactly dumb..." Le Yuxin sighed to himself, but he still wasn’t particularly nervous. He clapped his hands and grinned, "Brilliant deduction."

"However, you seem to have forgotten a few key problems."

"By your logic, Yinyin Yin already died in the Red Moon Fortress. So how would I know information only Yinyin Yin could possibly know? If I’m not Yinyin Yin, who else could I be?"

"What’s more, if I’m really not Yinyin Yin, why would I use this identity to approach White Night? For what? For the thrill of being hunted by you? For getting executed by the Assassin Organization? For my negotiations going up in smoke?"

"If I’m not Yinyin Yin, then clearly there’s some benefit in masquerading as Yinyin Yin, right? Tell me—what exactly could I gain?"

"As for why I won’t meet you face to face... Any white-haired assassin trying to survive in Xuanzhu County would obviously be in disguise. Unless absolutely necessary, I don’t want to expose what I look like right now to White Night."

Yin Minghong heard this argument and his expression shifted—truth was, he was just fishing for information. Though he kept doubting ’Yinyin Yin,’ he really had no hard evidence to prove anything.

"Just as Le Yuxin said, Yin Minghong couldn’t figure out what the point of pretending to be ’Yinyin Yin’ was!"

"Impersonating ’Yinyin Yin’ wouldn’t boost his odds with White Night—it would actually make things worse, guaranteeing endless pursuit. This meeting was already supposed to be a White Night manhunt; if they could find Yinyin Yin, they’d capture him on the spot. If not, negotiations would continue."

Yin Minghong put himself in the other’s shoes: even if he were Yinyin Yin meeting White Night, he’d definitely find a way to mask his identity; exposing himself would be just asking for trouble.

"When you looked at it that way, ’Yinyin Yin’ was almost absurdly forthright—confessing his ’base and criminal status’ up front, like a food stall owner boldly advertising ’gutter oil fried noodles’ on his sign." He couldn’t help but respect the nerve.

"Compared to Yin Minghong’s wild suspicions, Le Yuxin’s ’self-effacing and helpful’ response actually sounded more convincing. Right—declaring himself as Yinyin Yin did nothing but make White Night more alert; how could he possibly gain from it?"

"That explains why White Night HQ barely ever doubted this Yinyin Yin who suddenly showed up in Xuanzhu County—like how the cops would never suspect someone using a fugitive’s ID to surf the internet. Well, fine, maybe a kid picking up an ID and using it, but Glorious Radiance doesn’t even have internet cafes!"

"So, the assassin Le Yuxin at the Red Moon Fortress was just your ally, not you?"

"Le Yuxin and Yinyin Yin are to each other what you and Medical Officer Wen are to each other."

Le Yuxin laughed, "Come on, aren’t assassins and spies both working underground? Having one or two reliable partners to watch your back is pretty normal, isn’t it?"

Yin Minghong was silent for a good while. "You’ve convinced me—by logic, by interests, your claim is absolutely solid."

"But you still haven’t really answered my question."

"Are you truly Yinyin Yin?"

The alley sank into a long silence.

"Whether I am or am not—in the land of silver and blood, it doesn’t matter at all."

Le Yuxin gave his answer.

Yin Minghong got the answer he needed.

"White Night of Xuanzhu County accepts your proposal for cooperation," Yin Minghong said without emotion, "I’m not going to ramble on about the details of the contract. For both of us, just having a shared understanding is no easy thing. Given the value of your intel, you can make requests of White Night—money, goods, even ask White Night to cooperate on missions. Of course, White Night will reject certain demands; each case will be judged on its merits."

"If you ever feel like revealing your true identity, White Night can protect you in secret..."

"No need—save your manpower for yourselves," Le Yuxin chuckled, "I’m far safer than any of you now. Truth is, it’s you lot who are about to run out of luck."

Yin Minghong caught the implication in Le Yuxin’s tone, "What do you mean? The Silver Blood Association is making moves?"

"There are more and more refugees at the borders, war is breaking out everywhere, roads are blocked—and Silver Blood is not having a great time. The Shi Family’s trading company has even taken massive losses and is dumping assets. If Silver Blood’s hurting, then workers and servants can only suffer more."

Le Yuxin said, "In recent months, you’ve probably seen for yourselves—workers and servants are being treated worse and worse. The economy’s going down, but the number of laborers keeps rising. Silver Blood knows if things continue, massive riots will break out, so they’re ordering every trading house with factories and plantations to handle worker issues ahead of time."

Yin Minghong pressed, "And how will they ’handle’ it?"

"How would I know what every trading house will do?" Le Yuxin shrugged, "But it’s always the same tricks: sow division among workers, buy off traitors, sell fake promises... They control the means of production, so workers can only grin and bear it. And this time, it isn’t just one trading house ramping up exploitation. All of them have to split the cost of the wartime domino effect. Even they have to bleed for it, but it’s always the common people at the bottom who pay the price."

"That’s enough." Yin Minghong let out a heavy sigh, "Knowing Silver Blood’s plan in advance will at least save some of our people. Your intel is important—White Night won’t forget."

Le Yuxin flashed open the virtual panel and saw ’Yinyin Yin’s Calamity’ had ticked up by three. He nodded to himself, "Oh, by the way, did you grab those treasures yet?"

Last time they’d met, Le Yuxin had ratted out Jing Zhengwu’s private stash to White Night, hoping they could ’rob the rich to help the poor.’ He used to feel a little guilty about it—he hadn’t even met that little brother then—but now he felt he’d been totally right. "If you’re not a pretty girl, you don’t get to be snarky—he ought to be flicked on the forehead until he dies!"

With that thought, Le Yuxin remembered something important he still hadn’t done and smacked himself lightly in the head.

"Got two of them," Yin Minghong replied, "then the other side seemed to catch on, so we played it safe and backed off. Also, we’ve already sent someone to buy the Shi Family’s glass factory. They’re desperate to sell; deal will be sealed within a day or two."

Of course, that meant White Night’s trading company would be exposed to ’Yinyin Yin,’ but Yin Minghong didn’t see another way around it. The minute they bought the glass factory, the other side could easily find out. But if he chose to cooperate with ’Yinyin Yin,’ it was a risk he had to take.

"Maybe leave us some way to contact you?" Yin Minghong suggested, "That way, if anything comes up, we can reach you."

Le Yuxin was cautious, "Why on earth would you need to contact me? You don’t know my whereabouts, so you can’t learn anything about me. If you guys run into trouble, how could an assassin like me help you out? You’ve got nothing you need from me—only if I get intel will I ’sell’ it to you. Me being able to reach you is enough."

"Fair enough," Yin Minghong didn’t push it, "If you have news or want to meet, just use the current method."

Yin Minghong glanced at his pocket watch. "The courier you hired is fast, but my companions must have caught on by now and realized this is the real meeting spot—they should be on their way. So, is that it for today?"

"There’s one more thing," Le Yuxin said, "The Jing Family seems to be setting up a newspaper, with Jing Zhengwei in charge."

"The Jing Family running a paper?" Yin Minghong was surprised.

Le Yuxin said, "This was actually Jing Zhengwei’s idea—they want to brainwash the public using the press. Propaganda is a vital part of the battle, too."

"Silver Blood knows power struggles even better than we do..." Yin Minghong gave a wry smile, "I’ll remember that intel."

Le Yuxin noticed ’Yinyin Yin’s Calamity’ only moved up by one, which meant Yin Minghong didn’t take this particular intel seriously. He added, "I’ve got a way to get your people placed inside this new newsroom."

To drive the point home, Le Yuxin explained, "Assuming nothing goes wrong, this paper might be a huge hit in Xuanzhu County. If your people can get in as editors, all you need is to leave marks on the layout and you can alert all the White Night Walkers—you could even slip in articles exposing the depths of the trading companies!"

Yin Minghong thought for a moment, then shook his head, "Exposing the darkness of the trading companies... Not possible, is it? After all, this is a Jing Family paper. Why would they’d ever allow it—"

Le Yuxin couldn’t help but chuckle, "Even within Silver Blood, it’s survival of the fittest. They’re not a united front at all, but always scheming to bite off each other’s share. As long as your exposés aren’t about the Jing Family, you really think Jing Zhengwei wants to cover for the other trading houses?"

"Exactly," Yin Minghong nodded vigorously, "With Jing Zhengwei’s ruthless, two-faced personality, he’ll definitely use these scandals to threaten, absorb, or attack the competition—maybe even print them. It’s to his advantage, but as long as it creates chaos among the Silver Blood Association, that’s not a bad thing for us!"

Le Yuxin said, "...Brilliant analysis. If Jing Zhengwei knew what you were thinking, I’m sure he’d take your advice to heart."

The more Yin Minghong thought about having people planted at the newspaper, the more he loved the idea. He couldn’t help but ask, "But Jing Zhengwei will keep a close eye on the newsroom, surely? Do you really have a way to sneak our people in?"

"Relax," Le Yuxin said, "I have ways to influence the key people at the newspaper."

...

...

"Why isn’t master home yet?"

Qing Lan sat in the courtyard under the sun, peeling an apple while watching for any figures in the hallway. When she managed to carve out a single unbroken strip of apple skin, she couldn’t help but silently cheer and laid it flat on the stone table.

"If the peel never breaks, then we’ll end up together..."

Qing Lan munched blissfully on her sweet, crisp apple, wishing these lazy days could last forever.

As soon as the thought crossed her mind, Qing Lan realized something truly alarming.

That is,

Master,

Had apparently never worked a day in his life...

Actually, all of master’s businesses ran themselves; he only needed to check in periodically. But even tallying up the accounts or tracking expenses—he couldn’t be bothered with any of it, leaving it all to Qing Lan.

At first, Qing Lan thought it was fine—just something to pass the time. But work was still work, and having master lounging around nearby with a drink and a book only made it more irritating—"these working conditions suck."

She’d finally managed to get some free time in the last few days, but Qing Lan knew master had a big new task—setting up a newspaper.

Yet these days, master’s schedule was perfectly clear: cards, food, cards, food, reading at night.

Except for one evening spent thinking after coming back from Jing Garden, he hadn’t seemed to put any effort into any of it.

Looked like he wasn’t going to involve himself in the paper’s day-to-day at all.

So, who was the lucky soul master was going to pick to run the place?

No way—was it her?

Seriously, no way?

When the possibility sank in, Qing Lan obediently retreated to her bedroom and stretched out on the bed.

She hoped master would, out of pity for her delicate health, spare her from such torment.

She hadn’t always been like this. Even though she’d fallen into hard times, she once still wished—deep down—to live with her own independence. A challenge like running a newspaper, she should have volunteered for it...no, she would have thrown herself into it.

But for some reason, after spending so much time with master, Qing Lan felt she’d absorbed some of his aura: becoming more and more disillusioned, seeing straight through the ways of the world, realizing all life was just a fleeting dream and time itself a mirage."

"In simpler terms—"

"She just didn’t want to work either."