Chapter 94: 91 Setting and Validation

A group of men and horses gathered under the sun for a while, then each dispersed.

But this time, the special envoy’s order revealed clues to those with sharp eyes.

Everyone felt a bit uneasy in their hearts.

A few captains gathered together and simply invited the commander to a meal, trying to probe for some intelligence.

Zhang Rongfang, however, had no interest in this.

He returned home alone and practiced some talismanic skills in the courtyard.

Pa.

Suddenly, a small lump of mud was thrown over the outer wall.

Then came the sound of children laughing mischievously, gradually fading away.

Zhang Rongfang slowly ceased his practice, stopped, walked over to the lump of mud, and bent down to pick it up.

He used his fingers to split the mud open, revealing a wad of paper inside.

Taking out the paper wad, he unfolded and read it.

“Outside the city, White Mist Forest, Pingya Temple. Ten o’clock at night.”

This was information on a location and time.

Zhang Rongfang put away the paper wad, returned to his room, and used a fire starter to burn it to ashes.

Dong dong dong.

The courtyard door was slowly knocked.

He stepped forward to open the door.

A woman with a slightly familiar face stood outside.

The woman wore a bamboo hat and had her face covered with a translucent white veil, her features faintly visible. She was dressed in a long white cloak, completely hiding her body’s curves.

“Bai Ying, sir.”

Her voice was as soft as a mosquito’s, slightly bowing her head.

“Come in.”

Zhang Rongfang didn’t mind. He had already recognized the visitor.

The woman entered, closed the courtyard door behind her, and quickly surveyed the surroundings.

This was her instinctive reaction.

After confirming no one was eavesdropping, she solemnly cupped her fists and saluted Zhang Rongfang.

“Qingsu greets Bai Ying, sir.”

“No need for formalities. I just received the letter sent from the building.” Zhang Rongfang said nonchalantly.

“I had previously agreed to visit the pavilion to gather my resources under Bai Ying. Why, then, did they send me a location and time?”

“… It seems someone doesn’t want you to regain your previous authority.” Qingsu said seriously.

Since she was intimidated by Zhang Rongfang last time, she had pledged her allegiance to him.

A city like Tan Yang would have two leaders in the Golden Wing Pavilion.

In a city of Tan Yang’s scale, it is governed by Eagle Level leaders.

A Black Eagle and a Bai Ying, each serving as the main and deputy hands.

The personnel of Black Eagle and Bai Ying operate independently.

In this way, with one overt and one covert, the two systems supervise and check each other. It ensures that even if someone infiltrates, they are not immediately transparent.

Both Black Eagle and Bai Ying have the authority to report and investigate allegations.

Currently, Zhang Rongfang’s personnel are temporarily managed by Black Eagle Xu Miaotong.

He had previously discussed with Xu Miaotong about personally retrieving the power and resources belonging to Bai Ying.

But then, this paper wad was sent to him from the pavilion?

Qingsu respectfully said, “I have now transferred to Bai Ying’s side, and this visit is also for this matter.”

“Speak.”

Zhang Rongfang’s eyes were focused, quietly staring at the other party, waiting for her to continue.

“In the Bai Ying lineage within the pavilion, in name, it is managed by Black Eagle, sir, but in reality, Black Eagle has always used a method of decentralization. Letting subordinates manage level by level.

Therefore, the ones truly in charge of everything on Bai Ying’s side are those several Falcon Level members.”

“Oh? Are they dissatisfied?” Zhang Rongfang raised an eyebrow.

“You see clearly, sir. When power is in hand, it’s hard for anyone to give it up suddenly. Moreover, our Golden Wing Pavilion’s control over members is not too strict. So… it’s normal for such situations to arise.” Qingsu nodded.

“Who are the people involved?” Zhang Rongfang did not ask further. Now, with his strength, many issues and troubles need not be so roundabout.

“On Bai Ying’s side, there are three Falcon Level members in Tan Yang City. They are Wuji, Chi Xia, and Zhao Tianming.” Qingsu quickly replied.

“These three manage all of Bai Ying’s personnel, resources, and industries. Their collaboration has held significant control over the Bai Ying lineage for quite some time. Now that you’ve arrived, it’s expected they’d resist handing over power they’ve held for years.”

“Interesting. How about their strengths?” Zhang Rongfang asked again.

“They all wear masks, so no one knows their true identities. Only their top task completion records can be referenced.” Qingsu paused for a moment, ensuring Zhang Rongfang understood before continuing.

“I’ve been in the pavilion for years, and I have a rough understanding.

First is Wuji, who is adept at using dual blades, his sword techniques swift and explosive, with no failures in assassination missions.

His toughest mission was self-assigned three years ago, assassinating a Fifth Grade Takedown expert in a gang headquarters within three moves.

This mission, completed three years ago, stands as Wuji’s most challenging, with the subsequent annual tasks being of lesser difficulty.

Currently, no one knows his exact strength.”

“The second person, Chi Xia, is a woman skilled in using red flying knives, her attacks as bright as dawn; she excels in poison crafting, and her body technique is the fastest among the three, with no further details available.”

“The third person, Zhao Tianming, is the most impressive in terms of combat among the three. He specializes in wielding a common curved blade, with astonishingly swift and powerful technique, presumably a military veteran.

His best assassination record was killing two Fifth Grade brothers a year ago. From initiating to completing the target, it only took him three days.

Among the three, Zhao Tianming is somewhat the leader, likely making him the strongest in terms of power and influence.”

Qingsu detailed the three individuals.

In fact, she had initially treated them as adversaries for competing for the Eagle Level position.

However, given that all three had aged and their skills were waning while she was young and primarily trained in the Golden Roc Secret Record, her confidence was overwhelming.

Until Zhang Rongfang emerged…

“How many personnel are under Bai Ying’s lineage?” Zhang Rongfang asked again.

“I’m not sure. This is a privilege only granted to those at the Eagle Level. Moreover, the structure of our Golden Wing Pavilion is divided into two parts.

One is the main pavilion members, the other is the subsidiary pavilion members.

Main pavilion members are expertly trained by the Golden Wing Pavilion, with many being cultivated from an early age. Their loyalty is extremely high, forming the backbone of Golden Wing Pavilion’s operation.

The auxiliary members of the pavilion are those who temporarily join us by name, using our information network and mission release network to take on tasks as temporary assassins.

Due to their high turnover and lack of fixed task constraints, we merely use each other and only take a commission during assignments.

Thus, the relationship isn’t very tight.”

“Thank you, this information is sufficient.”

Zhang Rongfang nodded slightly.

“One last question.”

“Please ask.” Qingsu replied respectfully.

Although there were rumors around the pavilion that Zhang Rongfang’s potential power wasn’t as formidable as imagined,

she had witnessed the entire process of Zhang Rongfang’s assassination personally. Awe-struck, she had an inexplicable faith in him.

His fluid and deadly skills, with light and shadow alternating harmoniously, ensuring a lethal strike, were far beyond what anyone could imagine without direct observation.

“How old is Black Eagle Xu Miaotong now? Do you know her strength?” Zhang Rongfang was quite curious about Xu Miaotong.

The opponent possessed formidable skills, and an even more mysterious and silent body technique, which was daunting.

This person was one of the few formidable figures he couldn’t completely fathom.

“Reporting, Black Eagle is not truly Xu Miaotong. It’s just a disguised identity. As for the age, I remember thirteen years ago, Black Eagle was already overseeing Tan Yang’s jurisdiction and continues until the present.” Qingsu answered.

“Indeed…” Zhang Rongfang sighed.

He knew there was something off about that Xu Miaotong. How could the daughter of a government official dress like that and move around mysteriously and stealthily without anyone from the prefecture governing it?

It now seemed that the Golden Wing Pavilion had some governmental connections behind it….

The prefect was one of the truly powerful figures in the entire Tan Yang City.

Apart from the Inspectors and the Governors, it was the two prefects who oversaw various fields. In fact, most of the routine affairs were directly managed by the overseeing prefects.

Xu Miaotong’s father, Xu Shaoyang, was in charge of health, sanitation, education, water conservancy, and agricultural production.

Especially in agriculture, auditing the land production each year was a lucrative role….

The amount of farmland a wealthy family owned that needed taxation was determined by the person responsible for statistics.

To stabilize this position, it seemed that Lord Xu indeed had a significant connection with the Golden Wing Pavilion.

Reining in his distracted thoughts, Zhang Rongfang slightly nodded to Qingsu.

“Follow me tonight.”

“Yes!”

Zhang Rongfang knew that if he wanted to fully master the power that belonged to him in the Golden Wing Pavilion, solving these three Eagle Level members was essential.

*

*

*

The moon was bright but the stars were sparse.

Thirty miles east outside of Tan Yang City lay a dense forest constantly shrouded in white mist, known as the White Mist Forest.

Deep within the White Mist Forest lay an abandoned temple named Pingya Temple.

This temple had once had a considerable scale. Although it was located deep in the mountains, due to various inexplicable reasons, all the monks in the temple vanished overnight.

Subsequent official investigations turned up nothing, leading to rumors that the place was haunted.

In reality, the Golden Wing Pavilion had long since occupied it, using it secretly as a temporary base.

At this moment, within the White Mist Forest, two silhouettes wearing black masks were swiftly moving through the forest.

The thick fog was stirred slightly by the breeze they created as they moved.

Guh~ guh~~

The hoot of a night owl echoed in the forest, adding a mysterious and eerie touch.

The first person was robust, standing at a height of 1.8 meters, moving silently and with a wheel on his back. It was Zhang Rongfang, who had come to keep the appointment.

Following him was Qingsu, who had accompanied him.

As an Eagle Level member, Qingsu had been in the Golden Wing Pavilion for over eight years and was familiar with many things.

This was also why Zhang Rongfang brought her along.

Shortly, the two arrived in front of a pitch-black and abandoned temple.

The temple was dilapidated, with large tree roots protruding from the ground.

There were broken bricks and collapsed stone pillars everywhere.

In the darkness, only the dim moonlight illuminated a few areas of the temple.

The wind from the forest passed through the dark holes of the temple, producing eerie whistling sounds that were quite frightening.

Zhang Rongfang surveyed the entire temple, from left to right, only the temple gate and the surrounding wall stretched close to twenty meters.

The walls entwined with large tree vines bore mottled marks of time.

Some of the wall bricks still showed scorched black from fire.

The surroundings were empty, with not a single person in sight.

Zhang Rongfang was about to speak when Qingsu, behind him, stepped forward to address the situation first.

“Bai Ying is here; aren’t you going to show yourselves to greet?”

The voice reverberated in the mist.

Soon, from deep within the mist, a voice slowly floated from the temple.

“Welcome, welcome…”

“However, we three have managed this branch for many years, with everything already functioning smoothly.

If Bai Ying were to suddenly take over all matters, what if such a large amount of work goes wrong, potentially damaging the great interests of the pavilion?”

The voice was elusive, with a calm tone.

Qingsu furrowed her brows and was about to scold, but Zhang Rongfang behind her reached out to stop her.

“This is reasonable. What do you propose then?” Zhang Rongfang asked loudly in return.

“We mean that since you wish to reclaim personnel, resources, and industries, to avoid immense losses, we ask you to prove to us that you have the qualifications and abilities in this regard.”

The voice replied.

“Only then will we dare to hand everything over to you.”

“Oh? How do I prove it?” Zhang Rongfang raised his eyebrows, showing some interest.

“Very simple.”

The voice chuckled.

“As long as you pass our test, you will have proven your capabilities.”

“Of course.” Another higher-pitched female voice chimed in, “If you fail, then please return to where you came from.”

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