Nightfall

The ranking of the Department of Provincial Censor was not high, but its power was not small either. In the bureaucracy, the censor of a sixth rank was already considered a vital person. Wherever he went, regardless of whether it was the yamen (government office in feudal China) or his mansion, countless bodyguards would be by his side protecting him. Should a poor lad that sold writing words decided to kill an officer in Tang Empire, not only did it sound fantasy, it was even in line with the heroism fantasy in the East.

However, Ning Que had never considered how he could kill the other party. To him, killing was the simplest thing in this world. His life journey had started with a murder, followed by the killing on Northern Mountain Road in the grassland at the frontier fortress among the Min Mountain. His sharp blade killed countless beasts and humans.

He was only concerned with one thing—how could he kill the censor, Zhang Yiqi, without anyone discovering it. This would depend on how much confidence he had with his own killing technique so that it could face with the yamen that ensured peace and security in the Tang Empire. The thought of the presence of those fathomless experts in the Chang’an made him sure that he would not be able to escape swiftly after the killing, hence simply to go without a plan would mean death to him.

There was little information on Zhang Yiqi on the oilpaper, and they were not helpful for Ning Que’s plan, except for one particular sentence: “The censor Zhang Yiqi appears to be a strict and serious person, but it’s heard that he’s actually very fond of women and extremely lustful in reality. He’ll even often visit the brothels in private. However, he has a ferocious wife at home and he carries the responsibility and reputation of a censor, so he’s usually very careful when he visits such areas.” After all, Zhuo Er was just a low-grade spy in the military and thus, did not manage to check which brothel this man often visited.

“There’re so many brothels in the Chang’an, so which one are you visiting first?”

Ning Que frowned his brows and thought hard about it. Neglecting his initial thought of stalking the man to find out which brothel he visited, if the professional spy in the military could not even discover the place Zhang Yiqi went to for his needs using the usual method, then this censor must have his way of hiding it. Furthermore, he doubted the commoners in the teahouse at Chang’an would not mind serving a high-grade officer like Zhang Yiqi, and thus it would certainly be tough for him to obtain the information he wanted from the market. Things were getting inconvenient for him.

With his hand supporting his chin as he stared at the sun after the rain for a long time, he suddenly stood up.

His mood instantly became better. He finally understood that such a matter was no different from the hunting at Mountain Min and chopping on the grassland. Since he wished to know where that old bear and horse gangs were without any directions provided by the old hunter or the kind general, then the only thing he could do was to use his legs to explore the Mountain Min and grassland. He needed to explore to search for the abrasion markings on the tree branches, dried faeces in the wild and bonfire remained that were buried under the soil.

He was a good hunter and an excellent wood-chopper. He could determine which mountain the old bear was hiding from these details, whether the bear was injured, how many members there were in the horse gang and whether they had left the Shubi Lake. Hence, he trusted that through observing these details with his effort, he would be able to determine the living preferences of the Tang censor, and a method to assassinate him. What he would need to do now was to enter the Chang’an.

“I’m going out for a walk.” Ning Que informed Sangsang as he stretched his body and walked out.

Sangsang hurriedly ran and leaned by the door as she asked, “Where are you going? Do you need me to follow?”

Ning Que understood what she was worried about. He smiled and answered, “There’re some places that you can’t tag along.”

…

…

Strolling along the street of Chang’an under the warm sunlight, Ning Que’s mood was becoming better. The pool of blood in that spring rain was purposely forgotten by him as he turned himself into a young foreign scholar. He would first go to the bookstore to return the few books which he had completed, after which, he’ll begin his non-stop loitering between the Department of Provincial Censor and Zhang’s mansion.

For the rest of the day, he lingered under the shade of the willow and stood by the side of sweet pedlar from a far distance across a large crowd of people, to watch the upright and threatening censor stepping out of the Department of Provincial Censor. The censor returned to his own mansion and several strong bodyguards beside him followed. He noticed that there were several security police statued along the highly secured street, and sometimes, a Yulin Royal Guard would swiftly ride past him on a horse for his rounds. All these made him certain that he must not kill anyone along the street without a proper plan.

Nothing was gathered or gained during the daytime. By evening, the main door of Zhang’s mansion opened. As though going for an official invitation from someone, the censor’s wife and a few well-dressed ladies, most probably the concubines, sent him off at the door. Several wanderers on the street were laughing and pointing in that direction while expressing their admiration towards the censor. However, Ning Que, who was sitting in the teahouse drinking herbal tea, noticed one detail—other than the censor’s wife whose expression was cold was skinny, the other concubines had great figures.

A man’s perception of beauty towards women was usually not shown in his wife, but through his concubines and lovers. Sometimes, the reasons for having a wife were mainly for family status, money, future… and perhaps for fabricated stuff like love. However, the reason for concubine or lover was very simple. It was basically to fulfill the sexual needs of the man.

“So he prefers full-figured women.” Ning Que thought silently and smiled from within as he looked at the concubines who quietly stood behind their mistress like quails while their eyes revealed a sense of satisfaction and evilness.

As Ning Que followed the censor’s carriage across four streets and saw it entering into the towering and grandiose prince’s residence, he quietly took a glance at the main door of the prince’s residence before turning around to head towards the crowded street. He then asked a wanderer on the street, “Hello friend, I’d like to know which brothels in our Chang’an are famous for ladies with a full figure?”

It was a dumb question, but the moment when silver was presented with the question, no matter how dumb the question was, one would still obtain a not-so-dumb answer. At that instant, Ning Que had turned into a rich bumpkin scholar that had come to Chang’an from a foreign land in that wanderer’s eyes. After giggling for a while, the wanderer professionally introduced to him about the romance affairs in Chang’an, with a teapot in his arms.

Listening to the names that were even more complicated than the academy entry exam(s) mock questions, Ning Que massaged his frowned brows as he smiled bitterly and commented. “That’s a lot of information. What about you just tell me which brothels are the most expensive? The environment should be quieter as well.”

…

…

With a few recommended brothels name and addresses in his hand, Ning Que searched along the Chang’an street under the bright-lighted streetlights. While walking and hesitating along the loin street, there were a few brothels that he chose not to enter. Judging from the appearance and the surrounding environment of these brothels, he was certain that censor was not a regular of these places. This was purely an instinct from a hunter.

The issue was that he was not an expert to hunt in such places. When he was approached by those pimps that were very enthusiastic in inviting him in, he rejected them and did not enter, which made him felt embarrassed. By the time he reached the fourth brothel on his list, he had already realized that his method was not only dumb but extremely stupid.

There were so many brothels in the Chang’an, and most of them appeared to be quiet and high-class. Which brothels would not have those signature ladies with a full figure? The chance for him to meet the old bear by searching along the street like a blind bear to try his luck would be way too low.

Just as he was hesitating outside that brothel on whether to enter and finally decided to leave, he suddenly heard some crisp, clear voices coming from his back. These clear laughs echoed from a distance on the Chang’an street, which attracted many attentions.

Ning Que turned his head instantly. He noticed a serene and deserted brothel from the direction of the laughter. The beautiful ladies, who had yet started working, were giggling and laughing as they waved their long red sleeves. It was as if they were teasing at the lad who dared not enter the brothels.

“That’s too much!”

He shook the bag of silvers in his sleeve and looked at the beautiful laughing prostitutes who revealed a seductive look in their eyes. With a look of determination, he raised his head, swung his sleeves to the front as he walked into the new age in high and vigorous spirit.