Gateway of Immortality

Qin Sang was shocked; in that instant, the man had truly disappeared from his sight.

Qin Sang had never encountered such an enemy before. In the Wuwei Escort Agency, when sparring with Yang Zhen's disciples, he could always anticipate their moves with his sharp eyes, handling them with ease. But this time, his eyes had failed him.

If this man in black could disappear right before his eyes, then even if he wasn't some mysterious cultivator, he was certainly a top martial artist.

No, something's wrong!

Qin Sang's eyes suddenly narrowed as he noticed a slight distortion in the air before him, something only his keen vision could detect.

A tempest of thoughts surged in Qin Sang's mind, though only a moment had actually passed.

In the blink of an eye, the distortion in the air spread toward Qin Sang.

If Qin Sang retaliated at this moment, he could still manage to strike. However, the man in black's movements were too strange. Qin Sang dared not take any risks, so he immediately activated the Yan Luo Banner without hesitation.

"Kill him!"

With a low growl from Qin Sang, King Yan burst forth from the Yan Luo Banner, charging at the man in black with a sinister grin.

Bang!

The man in black's head slammed into the edge of the bed, and he lay there motionless. Moments later, King Yan emerged, clutching the man's soul in his jaws, looking at Qin Sang with a fawning expression.

The man's soul, like that of Old Wu, stood there in a daze, unmoving.

However, when Qin Sang removed the man's mask, he found that the soul's appearance was identical to the physical body. It was then that Qin Sang realized Old Wu might have been in disguise.

Having encountered such a crisis for the first time, Qin Sang was still shaken. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself before immediately questioning the soul. As expected, the man's soul would soon turn into soul mist.

"What was Old Wu's purpose in infiltrating the temple?" Qin Sang quickly demanded.

The man answered expressionlessly, "To monitor the dock and await orders."

So it had nothing to do with the temple or himself. Qin Sang felt somewhat relieved and asked, "How did you know Old Wu was dead?"

"Today's gatekeeper delivered the mission, and I sent a message to Old Wu via carrier pigeon, but there was no response."

So those pigeons belonged to Old Wu!

Qin Sang cursed inwardly and pressed on, "Who is the gatekeeper? What mission? Who are the members of Jiangshan Tower?"

After a round of questioning, Qin Sang's eyes revealed deep surprise.

The so-called Jiangshan Tower was actually a top assassin organization in the martial world, renowned and feared, claiming never to have failed a mission.

The gatekeeper was the messenger who communicated between the assassins and Jiangshan Tower. The Tower issued missions to the assassins through the gatekeeper, and the assassins rarely had direct contact with each other.

This man in black was also an assassin, and he had been Old Wu's partner for many years, both lurking in the City of Three Witches.

As for their current target, they would only learn of it after meeting with the gatekeeper at dawn.

Old Wu's martial arts were not top-notch, but his skill in disguise was extraordinary. He had disguised himself as a refugee and hid at the dock as a burlak. His purpose was twofold: to monitor the dock and to await Jiangshan Tower's orders.

It was not uncommon for assassins to go a year or two without a mission. During such times, they would blend into normal life. Thus, Old Wu had been living in the temple for half a year, only to die in such a muddleheaded way at Qin Sang's hands.

The martial world had suddenly revealed just the tip of the iceberg to Qin Sang.

"Besides you and Old Wu, how many assassins are in the City of Three Witches?" Qin Sang asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"I don't know."

Jiangshan Tower was tightly organized, preventing too much interaction between assassins. The two of them only communicated with their own gatekeeper and knew nothing of other assassins' missions or whereabouts.

That's for the best!

Qin Sang nodded. He wasn’t concerned about who Jiangshan Tower's target was; he was more worried about whether Qingyang Temple would be implicated. "If you don’t return, will Jiangshan Tower send someone else to investigate?"

"Yes! If an assassin disappears without reason, the gatekeeper will report it to Jiangshan Tower, and they will certainly send someone to investigate until the matter is fully resolved."

Qin Sang frowned deeply. "Does anyone else know you came to the temple tonight?"

"The gatekeeper."

"Does anyone else know that Old Wu was hiding at the dock and living in the temple?"

"The gatekeeper."

"Will he report it?"

"I don’t know."

"Where does he live?"

"In the City of Three Witches, South City, Willow Alley, No. 13 Di."

"Do you have any secret codes?"

…

The soul of the man in black turned into a wisp of soul mist and was swallowed by King Yan. Qin Sang leaned against the wall, sat in a daze for a long time, and suddenly remembered something. He quietly ran to the rooms of the old Daoist and Ming Yue. Peering through the window, he saw that they were sound asleep.

Standing there for a moment, Qin Sang silently whispered, "Daoist, Ming Yue, I alone will bear the consequences of my actions. I will not implicate you."

He then returned to his room, packed up the Yan Luo Banner and other belongings, put on a set of clothes, and left everything else untouched, taking only a bottle of Golden Wound Medicine that the old Daoist had prepared.

Finally, he placed the man in black’s body on the bed and examined it. The man had a sleeve arrow strapped to his arm and a soft sword hidden in his belt, with nothing else of note.

The man in black hadn’t expected to be killed so quickly by Qin Sang; he had barely drawn his sword.

Qin Sang removed the sleeve arrow and quickly figured out its simple mechanism before strapping it to his own arm. He then drew the soft sword, grabbed an ironwood staff that had been resting in the corner, and gave the room he had lived in for a year one final look. After retrieving a few fire starters, he tossed them around the room.

The house’s frame was made of stone, but everything else was wood, straw, and bamboo, with a large pile of firewood in the outer room. The flames quickly spread.

"I wonder if this will be enough to clear Qingyang Temple of suspicion."

Qin Sang sighed softly. As the fire roared to life, he walked out of the temple without looking back. By the time he reached the mountainside, he heard someone shouting for help to put out the fire.

Passing by Old Wu’s grave, Qin Sang stopped in front of it. The flames from Qingyang Temple had already turned half the night sky red. With a bitter smile, he murmured, "Old Wu, Old Wu, why did you choose Qingyang Temple of all places?"

Ever since he had refined the Yan Luo Banner, Qin Sang had been thinking of leaving the temple, though he hadn’t expected to do so in this way.

In the forest at the foot of the mountain, the man in black's horse was tied up. Qin Sang mounted the horse and rode straight toward the City of Three Witches.

Riding swiftly, Qin Sang reached the City of Three Witches while it was still dark and the city gates remained closed.

However, due to the bustling trade at the dock, one of the side gates at the south gate of the City of Three Witches stayed open all night to allow the passage of goods. Qin Sang hid his sword, staff, and horse outside the city, paid a bit of silver, and slipped into the city by mingling with a merchant, heading straight for Willow Alley.

It was still early, and the entire Willow Alley was devoid of people.

The alley was lined with the residences of wealthy families, with high walls and red gates. Qin Sang quickly found No. 13 Di.

The house was not large, with an outer wall made of blue bricks, about four or five people high, and the main gate was tightly shut.