Nightfall

The Relocation of the Chang'an City

In a quiet night, Ning Que lay on his bed with his eyes wide open staring at the ceiling. He naturally thought that if Blackie were still alive, Sangsang would not have to risk her life to pass the letter to Zhang’s mansion.

With regards to the assassination today, there was not much to conclude. Afterall, he had prepared for it for days and to kill an old officer without any guards by his side was a simple task for him. The moment that rusty nail was pierced into Zhang Yiqi’s head, he was considered dead. It was impossible for him to leave any evidence at the site. What he did after that were extras, just like what he had explained to Sangsang, that pure traffic accident killed the censor was a much better conclusion for the imperial court than him dying in a prostitute’s bed.

As for the feeling of killing? He did not have much feeling. His life in Tang started off with murder, and he had experienced numerous killings during his growth. He had killed many people. He had also used various methods, which were even crueler and bloodier than tonight, to kill people. Would he be feeling scared or disgusted or even afraid of the dark after killing people? Such things would only happen to those scholars who always immersed themselves into lewd poetries and literature. As for him, though he had also signed up for the academy entrance exam, he could never be a real scholar.

He was a hunter who had killed the old hunter. He was a horse gang who had killed other little horse gangs. He was a born killer.

However, the person he had murdered today was ultimately a high-ranked officer from Tang Empire and a target he had wanted to get rid of for years. The bloody red scene at General’s Mansion which he witnessed when he was four flashed in front of his eyes on the ceiling, then followed by the shocked yet unagitated expressions of the old chamberlain and the young boy. Ning Que felt delighted and started laughing. He felt a gush of relief from within.

Sangsang was full of smiles as well. She knew that he would be in a perfect mood today, so she decided to wait till her young master got rid of all the enemies including all generals under Xia Hou, she would then take out and show him the box which she had hidden under the bed. She believed that he would feel different from now when he saw the piece of paper by then.

That box contained writings which Ning Que had casually thrown away for the past years, but Sangsang thought they were good writings and kept them secretly aside. The latest one of them was written by Ning Que on the night when Zhuo Er died. Ning Que thought that the piece of writing was already thrown among the rubbish, never did he thought that his handmaiden would secretly keep it aside.

After keeping silent for a long time, Ning Que suddenly sighed aloud and said with regrets, “Last night when I listened to your poem, it seems fine. However, when I tried to recite it out in front of that man, I felt that something was off. Or should I say, it sounded pretty dumb if you analyzed it in details.”

It was obvious that he was referring to the “I’m from where, and I’m here to take your life” poem. Repeated words in every phrase were used to emphasize on the meaning, and yet those clumsy choices of words made the poem sounded dumb and unprofessional. Unfortunately, it was vivid that the young master and his handmaiden were lack of literary talent, and both of them actually felt that the poem was good on the night they had composed it.

“Then I’ll edit it again,” Sangsang replied with a serious expression and she added, “Young master, when are you having your second killing? Let me know the time, and I’ll make sure I’ll get it done before then.”

“Aiming to finish edits before the submission date? Why does it sound like this is a piece of famous and grand work?” Ning Que thought of it silently, followed by a cackle and said, “Since that’s the case, there’s no hurry. The second name on the list seems troublesome, so I’m not planning to act on it lately. Let’s wait till Zhang Yiqi’s case is settled. Moreover, I would need to prepare for academy entry exam(s).”