Gateway of Immortality

The man in black had said that the gatekeeper lived inside and that they used the call of a nightingale as a signal—seven long calls and four short ones. However, Qin Sang didn’t know how to mimic a nightingale’s call, so he hid in the shadows and summoned King Yan.

"Go inside..."

Qin Sang commanded, his eyes fixed on the courtyard. King Yan, lacking intelligence and unable to distinguish between friend and foe, hesitated briefly before Qin Sang ordered in a low voice, "Kill everyone inside!"

King Yan phased through the walls, and Qin Sang followed, vaulting over the wall into the courtyard. He arrived just in time to see King Yan pulling the soul of a middle-aged man from his body.

The man’s appearance matched the description given by the man in black—this was the gatekeeper!

Relieved to have found the key figure, Qin Sang immediately began his interrogation.

His primary concern was to find out how many people knew about Old Wu and the man in black’s activities at Qingyang Temple.

If the gatekeeper had reported it, Qin Sang would relentlessly pursue them, even if it meant confronting the leader of Jiangshan Tower himself.

Qin Sang realized that even against martial arts experts, King Yan remained invincible.

Old Wu, the man in black, and the gatekeeper were all top assassins of Jiangshan Tower, considered first-rate experts in the martial world. Yet, they had died silently, without any resistance.

No level of martial arts could withstand King Yan.

Moreover, Qin Sang could obtain the most accurate information.

After quickly extracting the information he wanted, Qin Sang’s tense expression relaxed.

It turned out that the organization of Jiangshan Tower was even more tightly knit than he had imagined. Each commandery had its own branch, and although the gatekeepers were core members of Jiangshan Tower, they didn’t know the location of the branches to prevent anyone from following the trail and destroying them. The gatekeepers didn’t even have the authority to contact the branches directly.

In case of emergencies, they would have to send out a signal and wait for the branch to initiate contact.

This particular gatekeeper had not been in the City of Three Witches for long. Today, he had received his first mission, and it was only then that the branch contacted him. Although he had recorded all his tasks, none had been reported yet.

The man in black had informed the gatekeeper that he was going to Qingyang Temple to investigate, but since no results had come back, the gatekeeper had not spread the word.

Hearing this, Qin Sang felt reassured. As long as he burned the gatekeeper’s records, all the clues would end here.

However, to completely clear Qingyang Temple of any involvement, Qin Sang needed to take further measures. He immediately began questioning the gatekeeper about the identities and hiding places of all the assassins currently lurking in the City of Three Witches. Due to the mission, the gatekeeper had sent out a message to gather the assassins, and they were all hiding in a house outside the city.

After extracting all the information, Qin Sang realized that the gatekeeper’s soul was on the verge of dissipating.

At this point, Qin Sang had gained some understanding of Jiangshan Tower’s mission. Not only had the six assassins under the gatekeeper’s command been mobilized, but other gatekeepers in Zhenshui Commandery were also moving towards the City of Three Witches. This operation was intended to gather nearly thirty assassins.

Who could be their target to warrant such a massive operation?

Out of curiosity, Qin Sang asked, only to receive a shocking answer.

"The Dongyang Lady!"

Their target was none other than the Dongyang Lady, the daughter of the Dongyang King and the niece of the current emperor![1]

The fact that a mere assassin organization would dare to oppose official power and plot to assassinate a commandery lady was beyond Qin Sang’s comprehension. Was the leader of Jiangshan Tower so bold that he didn’t fear utter annihilation?

Upon further questioning, Qin Sang learned that this wasn’t the first time Jiangshan Tower had killed an official. Ten years ago, a certain Governor Ma had been assassinated in broad daylight, shocking the entire Great Sui, and Jiangshan Tower had been behind it.

When the news broke, the late emperor was furious, yet Jiangshan Tower had continued to thrive.

Moreover, the name "Dongyang Lady" caused Qin Sang’s expression to shift dramatically. He couldn’t help but recall the young lady on the boat who had never shown her face—could she be Dongyang Lady?

He hurriedly asked for more details.

According to the intelligence from Jiangshan Tower, the Dongyang Lady had made a grand show of heading to Chunyang Manor for the summer, but she secretly slipped away and disappeared without a trace.

Jiangshan Tower had been tracking her and only recently found some clues. It appeared that the Dongyang Lady, along with some of her close followers, had disguised themselves as merchants and secretly infiltrated Zhenshui Commandery. If all went according to plan, they would arrive at the City of Three Witches by midday today.

The branch of Jiangshan Tower in the City of Three Witches planned to ambush her at Luoma Mountain, located outside the eastern part of the city.

Qin Sang, who was familiar with the people of Wuwei Escort Agency, had studied the escort agency’s maps and knew the terrain around the City of Three Witches well. He was aware that Luoma Mountain was sparsely populated, with steep and dangerous terrain. The roads there were carved along cliffs, with a sheer drop into a roaring river below—a perfect place for an ambush.

Qin Sang wanted to ask for more details, but the gatekeeper’s soul had reached its time and dissolved into a cloud of soul mist.

Qin Sang now had two paths before him.

One path was to pretend he knew nothing, handle his own matters, and then flee far away.

The second path was to take a risk and try to save the lady.

Moreover, his benefactor, Bai Jianglan, might also be involved. Out of gratitude, Qin Sang felt he had to make the attempt.

The strange abilities of the Yan Luo Banner and King Yan made Qin Sang almost certain that the Netherworld Scripture was not an ordinary martial art but a method for cultivating immortality.

To ordinary people, Qin Sang could already be considered an immortal master.

Perhaps, a more fitting description would be a demon or a fiend.

Qin Sang knew nothing about immortal cultivation. The Netherworld Scripture and the Yan Luo Banner were both obtained from the demonic man in black, tools for controlling evil spirits and killing—extremely evil. If he rashly sought out immortality and encountered someone like that sword-wielding youth, who was intolerant of evil and sought to exterminate demons, he would have no one to cry to.

Besides, the world was vast, and finding an immortal fate was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Using connections with the powerful to get close to other immortal masters and slowly probing the world of immortal cultivation might be a more prudent approach.

As he contemplated this, Qin Sang continued to act without pause. The east was beginning to brighten, and dawn was approaching; he didn’t have much time left.

Entering the house, he searched beneath the floor tiles under the gatekeeper’s bed and found a stack of books. Inside were the gatekeeper’s records, but these were fake.

Each time he wrote down something, the gatekeeper would make one real and one fake record. The fake ones were left here, while the real records were with a courtesan surnamed Li in Red Dust Alley.

This Li courtesan was also an assassin for Jiangshan Tower. She had a peculiar disposition and liked to hide in the brothels, using her charms to entertain people. The gatekeeper trusted her deeply, and they were also lovers.

To play it safe, Qin Sang took all the fake records with him.

To avoid alerting anyone, he left the gatekeeper’s house untouched and immediately headed for Red Dust Alley.

At this hour, there were still quite a few people moving around in Red Dust Alley. Qin Sang took some effort to disguise himself before sneaking into Li’s room.

Li was in the room entertaining a client. Qin Sang had no choice but to interrupt. He found the real records, took them outside, and burned them all. Then he went out of the city to hunt down the other three assassins, leaving none alive. Finally, he set fire to the house, stirring the waters even more.

After all this activity, daylight had fully broken. Qin Sang mounted his horse and rode eastward. He had decided to seize this opportunity—his best chance to infiltrate the Dongyang Lady's entourage and slowly learn about the world of immortal cultivation!

Fearing that Jiangshan Tower’s spies might be watching, Qin Sang avoided the main road through Luoma Mountain and took a smaller path.

He circled around Luoma Mountain by around 8:30 PM. Pausing briefly, Qin Sang looked back in the direction of the City of Three Witches, wondering if Jiangshan Tower would still go through with their plan after the chaos he had caused.

1. Translator's note: During that era, people called the brothers of the emperor kings/princes. In this novel, the term "king" would be used. ☜

Joash's Thoughts

Translator's note: During that era, people called the brothers of the emperor kings/princes. In this novel, the term "king" would be used.

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