294: Bad Boys' Night Raid on the Imperial Treasury

Jun Xiaoyao sat on the black iron chair deep within the underground palace, lightly tapping the armrest with his fingertips.

The nine dragon patterns carved on the back of the chair twisted and coiled under the faint blue lamplight, much like the network of influence The Net was currently spreading across the continent.

Zhao Gao had just returned from the black market, clutching a warm wax pellet in his arms. Fresh bloodstains still clung to the wax casing—warm traces splashed when a Luowang Assassins from the 'Shadow' group slit the messenger's throat with a dagger.

"Young Lord, the Imperial Dynasty's Secret Vault's defense map is acquired." Zhao Gao placed the wax pellet on a bronze table, carefully prying it open with a silver pick. Inside was a layer of oiled paper, wrapping a yellowed parchment. "News also came from Marshal of the Unruly. He infiltrated the Imperial Guard barracks and said the vault guards have a new batch of faces. The leader is a one-eyed general, rumored to be skilled at deploying the 'Nine Sons Interlocking Formation'."

Jun Xiaoyao unrolled the parchment. The map marked twelve secret doors of the vault with cinnabar, three of which were crossed out—evidently abandoned. His fingertip traced the area labeled "Heavenly Rank," where a small lock-shaped symbol was drawn, with "dragon saliva incense guards the door" noted beside it. "A one-eyed general? Is that Yu Chigong, under Xiao Xian?"

"Precisely." Zhao Gao nodded, handing over another slip of paper. "This is the list Marshal of the Unruly compiled. He said three items are needed to break into the vault: a water-repelling pearl, an armor-piercing cone, and... the bone-corroding powder you had refined last time."

"bone-corroding powder?" Jun Xiaoyao's eyebrow slightly raised. This powder was refined from the tail stinger of a Western Regions Poison Scorpion and bone-rotting grass. It would rot skin on contact. He had originally saved it to deal with a sworn enemy from Wanfa Holy Land, but he didn't expect to use it on the Imperial Dynasty's Secret Vault first. "It seems Marshal of the Unruly intends to force his way in."

"He said the soul settling pearl deep within the vault is crucial for the subsequent summoning plan and must be obtained." Zhao Gao added, "Moreover, Xiao Xian recently dispatched three hundred elite soldiers near the vault. If we don't act soon, we might have to wait until next month's blood moon night to find an opening—that's when the vault's 'evil-suppressing formation' is weakest."

Jun Xiaoyao said nothing, merely bringing the parchment closer to the lamplight. The flame licked the edge of the paper, revealing faint ink marks beneath—his previous annotations written with special medicinal liquid: "At the third quarter of the Yin (yin) hour, the patrol changes shifts at the northwest secret door, a gap of about one incense stick." This was the optimal timing he calculated based on seven consecutive days of observation records by The Net's assassins.

"Tell Marshal of the Unruly to stand by." Jun Xiaoyao suddenly said, rolling up the parchment and stuffing it into a bamboo tube. "Take this to Li Xunhuan and tell him that the dragon saliva incense in the Heavenly Rank area reacts to Flying Daggers. Have him prepare mugwort juice beforehand to coat the blade, which can conceal the metal Qi."

Zhao Gao was about to respond when a very faint sound of clothes rustling through the air suddenly came from the entrance of the underground palace. The two exchanged a glance. Zhao Gao quickly blew out the lamp, and Jun Xiaoyao had already grasped the soft sword in the secret compartment beside the chair—in the darkness, only a crisp 'ding' sound was heard as a copper coin grazed Jun Xiaoyao's ear and embedded itself into a dragon-patterned pillar, a red thread still wrapped around the coin.

"It's a signal from 'Listening Wind Tower'." Zhao Gao fumbled for a tinder, about to light it, but Jun Xiaoyao stopped him.

In the darkness, Jun Xiaoyao's voice was cold and metallic: "Let him in."

Footsteps echoed from the stone steps, slow, each step like treading on a heart. Only when the person reached the table did Jun Xiaoyao signal Zhao Gao to light the lamp. The moment the fire flared, it illuminated a pale face with a scar at the left eyebrow—it was the Lord of Listening Wind Tower, the leader of the assassin organization known in the Jianghu as "Faceless."

"Young Lord Jun is indeed trustworthy." Faceless's voice was like sandpaper grinding stone. He pushed a wooden box onto the table. "Inside is the profound iron token you requested, which can mobilize all of Listening Wind Tower's informants in the Imperial City. But what you promised me..."

"At Wanfa Holy Land's Dao preaching convention, The Net will 'coincidentally' deliver a 'surprise'." Jun Xiaoyao interrupted him, opening the wooden box. Inside lay a palm-sized mysterious iron token, engraved with a black eagle spreading its wings—the token of Listening Wind Tower. His fingertip caressed the token, then he suddenly said, "You have an assassin under you named 'Nightingale'? Said to be skilled at imitating female voices?"

A flicker of vigilance crossed Faceless's eyes: "Why does Young Lord ask about this? Nightingale is Listening Wind Tower's ace; she never participates in such cooperative missions."

"I don't need her to strike, only to imitate someone's voice." Jun Xiaoyao tossed the profound iron token back into the box. "Imitate Xiao Xian's favorite concubine, and at the third quarter of the Yin (yin) hour, shout towards the secret vault, 'General, my luminous pearl is missing from my room'—the voice should be delicate enough, preferably with a hint of a sob."

Faceless was stunned, then quickly understood: "You mean to... divert that one-eyed general?"

"Yu Chigong is utterly obedient to Xiao Xian's favorite concubine." Jun Xiaoyao said lightly, "He guards the main entrance of the secret vault; only the concubine's voice can distract him. This is the final link in the plan, don't mess it up."

Faceless gritted his teeth and pushed the wooden box back: "I'll keep the profound iron token for Young Lord for now and deliver it after the matter is done. I'll arrange for Nightingale." As he rose, his long robe brushed against the bronze lampstand at the corner of the table. Sparks flew to the ground, igniting the bone-corroding powder Zhao Gao had just dropped, and a pungent, burnt smell immediately permeated the air.

"Oh, right." Jun Xiaoyao spoke as he reached the entrance of the underground palace, "Tell Nightingale, when imitating, don't forget... the concubine lost a front tooth last month, so she speaks with a lisp."

Faceless paused, then looked back at Jun Xiaoyao's blurred silhouette under the lamplight. He suddenly felt that this Young Master of Heaven Beyond Heaven was even more unfathomable than the legends suggested—he not only accurately calculated Yu Chigong's weakness but also knew intimate details like the concubine losing a front tooth. The Net's intelligence network had probably already woven itself under the Imperial Dynasty's dragon bed.

Only after Faceless left did Zhao Gao dare to speak: "Young Lord, do you really want Nightingale to participate? Listening Wind Tower has always been fickle..."

"She wouldn't dare play tricks." Jun Xiaoyao brightened the candlelight. "Hidden within the profound iron token is a copy of Listening Wind Tower's account book, detailing their transactions for assassinating imperial officials over the past decade—if she dares to betray us, these accounts will appear on the Censorate's desk tomorrow."

Zhao Gao gasped. No wonder the Young Lord dared to let Listening Wind Tower get involved; he had already prepared a fallback.

At this moment, the message talisman on the bronze table suddenly glowed red—it was Marshal of the Unruly's signal. Jun Xiaoyao crushed the talisman, and an urgent voice came from within: "Young Lord, Yu Chigong's Nine Sons Interlocking Formation has a flaw, at the seventh flag position due west. An armor-piercing cone can break it. Also, the vault's stone walls are hollow and filled with mercury; absolutely do not try to break them with palm force..."

The voice abruptly stopped, as if someone had covered its mouth. Jun Xiaoyao frowned slightly, refolding the parchment and tucking it into his sleeve: "Zhao Gao, notify Li Xunhuan to rendezvous at the northwest secret door at the first quarter of the Yin (yin) hour, precisely."

"What about you?" Zhao Gao watched him rise and take a short dagger from a secret compartment—the blade was wrapped in black cloth, faintly revealing a purple glow, clearly coated with bone-corroding powder.

"I'm going to 'add an extra layer of insurance' for them." Jun Xiaoyao pulled down the black cloak from the wall, its hood covering most of his face. "Tell The Net's people that tonight's password is 'Moon Sets, Crows Cry'."

The stone door of the underground palace slowly closed behind him. The moment the faint blue lamplight was cut off, Jun Xiaoyao heard Zhao Gao inside, tallying the assassin list: "Ten from the 'Shadow' group are responsible for outer perimeter vigilance, five from the 'Kill' group will enter with Li Xunhuan, and the 'Poison' group... prepare antidotes, just in case."

The night wind swept across the Imperial City's corner tower, and the bronze bells chimed clearly. Jun Xiaoyao's figure merged into the shadows, like a drop of ink falling into an inkstone. The distant Imperial Guard barracks were brightly lit. He knew that Marshal of the Unruly was currently huddled in a haystack, drawing the Cracking (pojie - solution) diagram of the Nine Sons Interlocking Formation on the ground with a straw; Li Xunhuan had probably hidden himself in the old locust tree near the northwest secret door, his fingertips twirling the Flying Dagger coated with mugwort juice; and Nightingale of Listening Wind Tower should be practicing that lisping coquettishness in front of a bronze mirror—

Everything proceeded according to plan, like a precise game of chess. Jun Xiaoyao touched the parchment in his sleeve, his fingertips feeling the rough edge of the paper. He suddenly recalled when The Net was first established, the first time he summoned Marshal of the Unruly, who knelt on one knee, bloodstains on his armor dripping onto Jun Xiaoyao's black iron boots, saying, "I am willing to go through fire and water for Young Lord."

At that time, The Net had fewer than fifty people, but now it could already shake the Foundation of the Imperial Dynasty's Secret Vault.

Just as the first strike of the Yin (yin) hour drum sounded, Jun Xiaoyao stood in the shadows of the secret vault's northwest corner, watching Yu Chigong's figure appear at the main entrance, listening to Nightingale's imitated, lisping coquettish shout from afar. He suddenly felt that this game of chess was becoming increasingly interesting. At least, far more interesting than dozing off over reports in a modern office building.

When Li Xunhuan's Flying Dagger sliced through the night sky, and Marshal of the Unruly's armor-piercing cone pierced the stone wall, and the hurried footsteps of the Imperial Guard could be heard in the distance, Jun Xiaoyao was prying open the last lock with his short dagger.

The cold wind carrying a musty scent rushed out from behind the secret door. He knew this was just the beginning—deep within the true secret vault, that soul settling pearl awaited him, and behind the pearl, perhaps lay the name on the next summoning list.

The Net's threads had only just begun to entwine around the heart of the Imperial Dynasty.