**3 a.m.**
**Capital City.**
**Bai Family Residence.**
Bai Yujing sat in his study, a rare cigarette in his hand. He rarely smoked, but tonight, he lit one up, waiting for news of Ye Qiu’s death.
*Knock knock!*
There was a knock at the door, followed by the voice of the butler. “Young Master, are you still awake?”
“Come in!” Bai Yujing perked up, a hint of excitement in his expression.
He knew the butler must be bringing news.
Soon, the door opened, and the butler hurried in, immediately hit by the pungent smell of smoke.
“Young Master, you should smoke less. It’s not good for your health,” the butler said with concern.
Bai Yujing stubbed out the cigarette and asked, “How did it go? Is Ye Qiu dead?”
The butler remained silent, not answering.
“I asked you a question. Didn’t you hear me?” Bai Yujing grew impatient.
The butler finally spoke. “Young Master, Ye Qiu is not dead.”
“Not dead?” Bai Yujing was incredulous. “That’s impossible! Cold Blood is the world’s number one assassin. His skills are beyond doubt.”
“The two ghosts from Tianchi are no weaklings either. Back when they competed for the Dragon Ranking, they only lost to Tai Chi Master Chen Daoling by half a move.”
“With the three of them working together, even the top five on the Dragon Ranking would be killed, let alone Ye Qiu. How could he still be alive?”
The butler replied, “The fact is, Ye Qiu is indeed still alive.”
Bai Yujing pulled out another cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag. “What exactly happened? Tell me.”
The butler said, “I don’t know the specifics, but Cold Blood and the two ghosts from Tianchi were all killed.”
“What?!”
Bai Yujing’s expression changed completely. “Did Ye Qiu kill them?”
“I’m not sure,” the butler said. “I suspect someone helped Ye Qiu, but according to our informants, there were only Tang Fei and Long Ye in the car. No one else was present.”
“There’s another possibility.”
The butler glanced at Bai Yujing and continued, “Ye Qiu’s strength has increased significantly, and he single-handedly took down Cold Blood and the other two.”
“That’s impossible,” Bai Yujing said. “I know Ye Qiu’s background inside out. His strength is only comparable to a Dragon Ranking expert. If he faced a true Dragon Ranking master, he would be dead.”
“If that’s the case, then someone must have helped Ye Qiu,” the butler said.
“Who could it be?” Bai Yujing frowned. “Could it be someone from Cao Yuan’s side?”
“It shouldn’t be Cao Yuan’s people. I confirmed that Azure Dragon and Qilin are guarding Cao Yuan in Yangcheng,” the butler said. “Could it be the Longhu Mountain’s Elder Changmei?”
Bai Yujing shook his head. “It can’t be Changmei. I have reliable information that he hasn’t left seclusion yet.”
Then who could it be?
The study fell into a long silence.
The butler glanced at Bai Yujing, hesitating to speak.
Bai Yujing noticed the butler’s expression and said, “If you have something to say, just say it.”
The butler said, “Young Master, Cao Yuan has mobilized the underground forces of the fourteen northern provinces, totaling one hundred thousand men. These people are now stationed along Ye Qiu’s route to the capital, providing him with protection.”
“When did this happen? Why are you only telling me now?” Bai Yujing’s face showed a mix of shock and murderous intent.
“I just received the news,” the butler said.
*Slap!*
Bai Yujing slammed his hand on the table, pointing at the butler and shouting in rage, “What are you good for?”
“Cao Yuan mobilized the underground forces of fourteen provinces, a hundred thousand men! Such a huge operation, and you only found out now? Are you useless?”
The butler lowered his head and said, “I’m sorry.”
“Do you think a simple ‘sorry’ is enough?”
“Do you know how serious this is?”
“If Ye Qiu doesn’t die, it will affect my alliance with the Pei family and could even jeopardize my plans to dominate the world.”
Bai Yujing continued to berate him, “I’ve kept you around for a thousand days, but when it’s time to use you, you turn out to be useless. What good are you to me?”
Hearing this, the butler’s face turned pale, and he dropped to his knees, pleading, “Young Master, I’m sorry. I failed to handle this properly. Please give me another chance!”
Bai Yujing stared at the butler, his eyes cold. After a full half-minute, he let out a long sigh.
“Forget it. What’s done is done. Blaming you won’t help.”
“I should have realized earlier. Cao Yuan is a master strategist. He plans everything meticulously. If he didn’t send Azure Dragon and Qilin to support Ye Qiu, he must have had another plan in place.”
“I never expected that, for the sake of Ye Qiu, he would mobilize a hundred thousand Dragon Gate disciples. It seems I underestimated Ye Qiu’s importance to Cao Yuan.”
“Get up.”
The butler stood up, grateful. “Thank you, Young Master.”
“Do you have anything else to report? If not, you can leave,” Bai Yujing said, his mood still sour.
“Young Master, there’s one more thing,” the butler said. “After the incident with the military knife, Ye Qiu was attacked by another group of assassins.”
“Those assassins were the infamous Asura and Rakshasa from the world’s assassin rankings.”
“They weren’t sent by us.”
“Oh?” Bai Yujing was surprised. “So, besides us, there’s someone else who wants Ye Qiu dead?”
The butler nodded. “That seems to be the case.”
“Who could it be?” Bai Yujing narrowed his eyes, quickly running through possibilities in his mind.
He had investigated Ye Qiu’s background. Most of Ye Qiu’s enemies had already been dealt with by Ye Qiu himself. That left only three possibilities.
First, the Witch God Sect wanted Ye Qiu dead.
Second, Xiao Qingdi wanted revenge.
Third, the Pei family had made a move.
Bai Yujing quickly ruled out the first possibility. Given the Witch God Sect’s modus operandi, if they wanted Ye Qiu dead, they would likely handle it themselves, given the abundance of experts within their ranks.
That left only the latter two possibilities.
“Is it the Pei family or Xiao Qingdi?” Bai Yujing pondered for a moment, then asked, “Where is Ye Qiu now?”
The butler replied, “He’s in Taiyuan. Based on their travel speed, they should arrive in the capital tomorrow night.”
Bai Yujing ordered, “Recall all our people.”
The butler thought he had misheard, staring at Bai Yujing in shock. “Young Master, you’re…”
“With a hundred thousand Dragon Gate disciples protecting Ye Qiu, it’s no longer realistic to kill him on the road. If we don’t recall our people, they’ll all be killed by Ye Qiu and the Dragon Gate disciples,” Bai Yujing commanded. “Let Ye Qiu enter the capital.”
“But Young Master, once Ye Qiu enters the capital, there could be complications,” the butler warned.
“I’m well aware of that,” Bai Yujing said. “Don’t worry, I have my own plans.”
“I won’t let a small fry like Ye Qiu ruin our alliance with the Pei family.”
“The moment Ye Qiu arrives in the capital will be his last!”
