When Bai Liang left the tavern, the servant told him his food had been paid by Huo Zhang. If it wasn't for the bodyguards tailing him, he would've invited Huo Zhang for a stroll and spent more time with him. He should've put more effort into shaking off those bodyguards.
Following Xue Liang's direction, he checked the location of the Blue Moon Pavilion Huo Zhang mentioned and inspected the whole area. On his walk home, he also mapped the best route to lose the bodyguards when he wanted to meet up with Huo Zhang.
When he passed by an accessory store, he stopped in his tracks and thought for a moment before deciding to take a look. In this world, because of their rarity, men were only allowed to pursue a gher when the gher gave them a token of their affection. He gave Huo Zhang his handkerchief since he didn't have anything else to give him, but it was too underwhelming.
But if he gave him his hairpin, the bodyguards and his brother would notice and ask him about it. He couldn't give his bracelet since it was his amulet and if he gave anything he was wearing, there was a risk his brother or maybe his family asked about it.
He doubted they were that attentive, but there were no such things as being too careful. With the rebellion they were planning, he didn't want to give Huo Zhang unnecessary trouble.
"The hunting season this year will be special. I have to prepare myself to get a good husband," a girl said as she compared several hairpins with determined eyes.
"Yes. Powerful people from all over the empire would be coming. We can't lose to the ghers." Her friend agreed, also busy looking at the bracelets next to her.
Bai Liang raised his gaze towards them and listened in to their conversation. As he thought, they were discussing the sacred rite, held once every decade, on every tenth full moon.
The sacred rite was a very important event in the empire to bless the land for the next 10 years. This year, the rite also determined who the next emperor would be which was why it was special. It was in this rite that Tian Qing-Shan was acknowledged as the crown prince and the Lan family met their retribution.
Not finding anything nice, Bai Liang left and stopped by other shops along his way home. At dinner, Lan Qi-Yuan asked him what he did today and where he ate lunch earlier. He answered without delving into any details, not that Lan Qi-Yuan didn't know anyway.
After dinner, Lan Qi-Yuan escorted him back to his room. "What were you looking for in those accessory and jade stores, Ah-Jing? You were not looking for a token, were you?"
"I don't remember mentioning any of that earlier. Brother spied on me?" Bai Liang cast Lan Qi-Yuan a glance.
"Brother was protecting you." Lan Qi-Yuan frowned. "It is very dangerous for a gher to walk around unprotected by himself. Just because you look like a man does not mean your strength and physical ability can be compared to us. There are many malicious people outside that will do anything to take advantage of ghers. Moreover, you are a son of the prime minister."
"Then, it's fine as long as I'm unharmed. I don't need to tell Brother every single reason for my actions, do I?"
"Ah-Jing." Lan Qi-Yuan stopped and grabbed Bai Liang's shoulder, holding him in place. "Brother understands that you do not like what Father plans to do and me who agrees to help him, but this and that are different matters."
"It's not." Bai Liang brushed Lan Qi-Yuan's hand away. "If Father and Brother didn't plan to do such an outrageous thing, Brother wouldn't be so paranoid about my safety. Even if Brother cages me, Brother still brings the guillotine upon my neck with your own hands."
He didn't wait for Lan Qi-Yuan to reply and walked away on his own. He wanted to see if he could convince Lan Qi-Yuan that going against Tian Qing-Shan wasn't a good idea. Putting aside the prime minister, Lan Qi-Yuan was only supporting him because of filial piety and the thought that he could protect Lan Jing better as an emperor.
In particular, Lan Qi-Yuan wanted to abolish the law that all ghers must be wed before they reached 30 and erase the match-making system for unwed ghers when they reached 29 years of age.
Xue Liang: [Master, there is currently an assassination attempt on Tian Qing-Shan. There is a possibility that Yu Shen-Jia will be implicated.]
'Tonight is their first meeting, isn't it?'
Xue Liang: [Yes, Master. The minister of justice is on his way to Tian Qing-Shan's residence with Yu Shen-Jia.]
Bai Liang sighed. There shouldn't be any assassination attempt this early. 'Can you materialize yourself?'
Xue Liang: [No, Master. But Xiao Xue can still attack through a medium.]
Bai Liang hummed in affirmation and once he reached his room, he changed his clothes into pure black robes, wore a face mask, and grabbed a paper fan from his drawer. He left his room through the window and disappeared into the night.
Leaping across rooftops, he paced towards the imperial palace with light and swift steps and arrived at Tian Qing-Shan's palace 10 minutes later. He stood on top of a thick tree branch, concealing himself under the foliage, and oversaw the situation below. The minister's carriage had already arrived at the driveway, and he was entering the residence with Yu Shen-Jia.
He easily detected 5 experts hiding in the shadows around the resident. From the number, they most likely were targeting both Tian Qing-Shan and the minister of justice. He should let one go and trace it back to its owner. Although the main antagonist against the prince was the prime minister, the probability there were other forces at play wasn't zero.
With that, he leapt down without making a noise and preyed on his first target. The assassin had only noticed his silhouette when his head was slashed off. It rolled to the ground and his body fell with a thud.
Bai Liang then flicked his fan open and threw it towards the assassin on top of another tree. It spun like a circular blade and severed its target's head with a smooth slice. He caught both his body and head before they made any noise before catching his returning fan. Flicking it close, he went straight to his next target.
The guards around the palace were oblivious to the death around them as the remaining assassins lost their heads. When he reached the last one, he taunted them with a head in his hand, and the assassin realized all their colleagues had been taken care of. Bai Liang delivered a blow which was easily blocked and chased the assassin out of the palace walls before letting him escape through the woods.
He was about to leave when his neck tingled, and he swiftly turned around only to have a figure slamming him into a tree. His hands were restrained above him, but seeing who ambushed him, he cancelled his struggle.
'Xiao Xue, you didn't sense him?'
Xue Liang: […No, Master. Although it is only a fragment, Grandmaster is still beyond us.]
Just like with Han Yi-Shen, Bai Liang also couldn't sense Huo Zhang coming from behind. In addition that he was far more powerful than him, he also never put up his guard against his master. Earlier in the day, he could find Huo Zhang because he wasn't hiding himself. If Huo Zhang intentionally hid his presence, there was no way he could detect him.
"What are you doing?" Huo Zhang lowly asked.
"Have we met before?" Bai Liang smiled with his eyes.
"No need to pretend. I've been following you." Huo Zhang ripped off Bai Liang's mask. "Answer me."
"That depends." Bai Liang tilted his head. "Tell me who you are first."
"And how does that affect the answer you will be giving me?"
"I will answer accordingly depending on whether you are a friend, an enemy, or a bystander."
Huo Zhang studied at Bai Liang for a long while before answering, "I am a general serving under the emperor."
Bai Liang raised his eyebrows but then recalled Han Yi-Shen's identity and found the pattern. Maybe because of his master's powerful soul, his reincarnations were also powerful individuals.
"I answered your question." Huo Zhang tightened his grip. "Answer mine before I force it out."
Bai Liang was about to answer when he heard Huo Zhang's threat and paused. He grinned. "How fierce. And how would you do that, General?"
A corner of Huo Zhang's lips twitched. "Don't think I won't harm a gher."
Bai Liang leaned closer. "I'd like to see you try."
As the moonlight shone on the sinful visage, Huo Zhang knew he had to teach the little demon a lesson and accepted the challenge. "I won't stop even if you cry."