Way of the Devil

Lu Sheng couldn’t understand Divine Lord Tong Yi’s mood, at least not at the moment.

“Sir! We have found Jing Hong’s whereabouts! Surveillance personnel is in place, pinpointing his exact location every ten breaths.”

A gray shape jumped down from a slope far away, and bowed slightly toward the two. It was someone quite well known in the local area, sent by both the Yin Yang and Turquoise Conch Agencies to assist with the investigation. Of course, he was still a long way off from Lu Sheng and Tong Yi.

“We know his location?” Lu Sheng asked mildly.

“Yes, Sir. Jing Hong is currently eating lunch at the Phoenix Flight Restaurant in the nearby Colorful Cloak Town.

Tong Yi smiled, and suggested, “Let’s go watch. A master from Wasp must be special.”

“Of course.” Lu Sheng smiled back, but his eyes wandered about slightly.

This wasn’t as simple as obtaining a scapegoat. He was thinking how the mission Shizi Xing gave him also mentioned the existence of Wasp.

As he was studying the mission in detail last night, he realized this Jing Hong might be involved somehow.

‘Maybe Shizi Xing didn’t assign this mission to me by chance…’ Lu Sheng thought as he followed Divine Lord Tong Yi. Both flew toward Colorful Cloak Town with the support of cloudy True Qi underneath their feet.

Tong Yi was very experienced, having lived a long life, and knew a lot about various tricks. He casually set up an invisibility formation so that the ordinary citizens wouldn’t be able to see two people riding two clouds.

After about 10 breaths, the two finally landed near the Colorful Cloak Town. They then followed the main road on foot, and entered the walled town.

The chaotic noise of the market instantly filled their ears.

“It seems this Colorful Cloak Town is densely populated. They are so festive even on a normal day.” Tong Yi was a little surprised.

“It is.” Lu Sheng nodded. “It is the best producer of cloth and dye in the whole county, hence its reputation—it has attracted many traders and merchants.” He knew this basic information from the various books he read.

Tong Yi nodded. The two wove through the crowd, secretly led by someone sent by the Turquoise Conch Agency, and soon reached a two-story tall restaurant.

Six yellow lanterns hung under the eaves in a diamond shape. In the middle of them was a wooden sign with the name ‘Phoenix Flight Restaurant’ written on it.

The two smelled the heavy scent of flowers mixed with alcohol before they even walked in through the door.

“I rarely smell something so fragrant even in the capital. Very nice, it seems this trip was worth it after all.” Tong Yi was immediately interested, and strode into the building.

Lu Sheng lagged slightly behind. His eyes seemingly glanced over the diner unconsciously as he followed suite.

A waiter greeted them the moment they entered.

“This way, esteemed guests. Would you like a flask of our Nine Flowers Nine Honey Wine first?”

“Oh? And what is this Nine Flowers Nine Honey Wine?” Tong Yi asked with interest.

“A thousand words could not match a single sip. Esteemed guests, you will know once you try it.” This young man seemed to be quite clever and talked with confidence, selling his wine to the guests without annoying them too much.

Lu Sheng laughed slightly. This waiter was about the same age as him, yet spoke like an old man.

He looked around, and soon focused on a muscular man, dressed in black, feasting in a corner.

That was the target.

Divine Weapon hunter Jing Hong, the top-tier expert that betrayed the Jing Family.

Lu Sheng noticed that Jing Hong picked a table close to the door, where two dirty beggars were staring hungrily at the food on his table. Though the guards were practically next to them, they didn’t seem to care.

Jing Hong didn’t look at them, either, and even threw them some food items that didn’t seem to fit his tastes.

It was as if they’d reached some tacit agreement. As long as Jing Hong threw them food every now and then, the two beggars wouldn’t go up and beg, and would only wait silently.

Lu Sheng was slightly touched as he noticed that. This Jing Hong didn’t seem to be as savage and cruel as the report made him to be.

Though he wouldn’t consider himself a good person, Lu Sheng still had a bottom line he wouldn’t cross.

He liked to kill bad guys because he himself was a bad guy. The more bad guys there were, the less good people there would be.

However, life would be much easier if everyone was a good guy. After all, you wouldn’t have to defend yourself from a good guy. Bad guys, on the other hand, were potential future threat.

“Seems he still has some good in his heart…” Tong Yi took a drink of the Nine Flower Nine Honey Wine that was just brought up, and sighed slightly.

Then, he finished the whole thing with one gulp.

“Let’s go. Since he still has some good in his heart, we should try to avoid killing if possible.”

Lu Sheng stood up, and walked straight toward the corner Jing Hong was in.

At this point, the diners in the restaurants were being evacuated. The people of the Yin Yang and Turquoise Conc Agency weren’t afraid Jing Hong would escape. If he could still do it under the eyes of the two masters, then his power would be truly impressive, and not something they could be blamed for.

Jing Hong noticed this too, and looked toward the two men walking toward him.

“I don’t like being interrupted when I’m drinking.” He couldn’t tell how powerful either of them were, but he didn’t think much of it. Many masters had their own hidden tricks, and no one could tell someone’s exact power unless there was a Weapon Grandmaster involved.

He wasn’t worried at all, because he was confident in his own power.

“And we are not here to interrupt you.” Tong Yi smiled, and stopped Lu Sheng, who was about to speak, with his hand. He then stepped forward, and sat across from Jing Hong.

Jing Hong’s hand, which was holding a brined duck leg, stopped. He then raised his head to look at Tong Yi. Ever since he achieved his notoriety for his cruel methods, he always had a violent air about him. He didn’t expect someone other than the two beggars to dare approach and talk to him.

He noticed that these two came specially for him too.

Seeing that Tong Yi seemed to be enjoying himself, Lu Sheng decided to sit down as well. However, he was still very young considering the long lifespan of a Divine Lord, and couldn’t understand why Tong Yi was so interested in doing something completely meaningless.

The conversation got deeper somehow as Tong Yi chatted with Jing Hong. Long Sheng, on the other hand, had no interest in the philosophical stuff they were talking about, and instead focused his attention on a group of people with knives on their waists. They were obviously from Jianghu. [ED/N: Jianghu, also Murim in Korean novels, is the underworld. Criminal underworld nowadays, but in novels it refers to that of martial artists.]

Every single one of them wore fitting but flashy white clothing, while a golden wire hung on each of their waists. Even their boots were made of a thousand layers of ox hide, and had flowers and clouds embroidered on them.

They had been eating quietly before, but seemed to have had an argument with the Yin Yang Agency officials. Something along the lines of them not wanting to leave because they weren’t afraid. They completely ignored the Yin Yang Agency’s hints, and continued eating and drinking.

The three men and women were all from the same sect, it seemed, bearing the same huge ‘Luo’ symbol embroidered on their backs. The officials of the Yin Yang Agency, seeing that they refused to listened, gave up too. They could only blame themselves if they were crippled or killed if a fight broke out.

Right now, Tong Yi’s disciple Liu Qingyuan was present, which meant he would go before his master. Lu Sheng, too, was a senior since he was a Divine Lord, and wouldn’t be the first to fight, either. Otherwise, it would seem as if the whole Moling Prefecture lacked talents.

Liu Qingyuan went straight for Jing Hong’s table, and stood behind Tong Yi.

Tong Yi stopped talking too. Through the chat with Jing Hong, he noticed he wasn’t as cruel as he was rumored to be. Hence, Liu Qingyuan, who received his master’s message, didn’t plan to immediately resort to violence.

“Jing Hong?” Liu Qingyuan smiled as walked up. “Could you tell me why you constantly prey on Divine Weapons? You must know that every Weapon Master represents a family or a sect. Whenever they die, countless people lose their support. Have you considered how much chaos would follow, and how many lives would be lost from the ensuing conflicts?”

Jing Hong’s brow was thick, and his eyes flashed with determination and confidence.

“I know. That’s why I always target the ones that do more evil than good.” His face was calm as he raised his hand to look at Liu Qingyuan, then at the Divine Weapon Judge’s Pen on his waist.

“You can promise?” Liu Qingyuan’s brows raised.

“Of course.”

Silence ensued.

“I believe you are not that kind of person. I haven’t seen any cruelty in your eyes since walking in this door.” Tong Yi shook his head, and sighed. “Can I ask why you came here?”

Jinghong was silent, and finished everything in his flask in a single gulp.

“You should leave. I don’t want to kill anymore,” he said calmly.

Tong Yi and the others were merely higher level Weapon Masters to him, and countless Weapon Masters and Devil Kings had died by his hands already.

Divine Weapon Hunter was not a nickname that came from nowhere. It was founded on countless bloody victories.

“You should leave, I don’t want to kill anymore.” Suddenly, a girl mimicked Jing Hong’s tone from the table next door.

A soft laugher followed. It was the group that refused to leave.

“Little Junior Apprentice Sister, don’t be rude. We must be respectful when traveling outside. Have you forgotten Father’s teachings?” a man that looked slightly older chided her sternly.

“Yes, yes, yes, Senior Apprentice Brother Yuan. I will be careful.” The youngest of the female disciples laughed, covering her mouth.

“We have an important mission on this trip, don’t cause unnecessary trouble. Let’s leave. Don’t interfere with their business,” a woman with a mild manner and a soft face added.

“Of course, Senior Apprentice Sister,” everyone else agreed. She was clearly in charge.

Jing Hong finally looked back.

“Come with me. I can’t let you go because you said so. I need to at least solve these cases.” Though Tong Yi had spoken, Liu Qingyuan showed no intention of letting him go.

Even though he might not be personally responsible for this case, Jing Tong was still a wanted criminal in the Great Yin.

Hidden currents started to form beside the two.

One was the direct disciple of a Divine Lord, powerful in his own right, while the other was a Divine Weapon Hunter, and possessed immense power. Between the two, two forces started to twist and clash. Though the fight hadn’t truly started, the battle between a Divine Weapon and a Devil Blade had started already in the thin air between them.

Tong Yi sat there and didn’t move, but he released a spherical force field that cut off a couple meters of space around the two to avoid casualties.

Lu Sheng took a sip out of the flask. He thought it was quite nice. He knew Divine Lord Tong Yi didn’t plan to capture Jing Hong. He didn’t look like someone who would do that anyway.

But that didn’t matter. Shizi Xing’s mission was to extract the Tian’er Blade. [ED/N: Some may be familiar with the diminutive ‘er suffix, but that’s not it. It’s only similar. The Blade’s name means sth like heavenly ear.]

And it happened to belong to someone named Xu Qi, who happened to be Jing Hong’s eldest brother. Actual brother. He was part of Wasp too.

It was obvious Shizi Xing assigned him this mission because of his chance encounter.