A mere month after Tao Geming's attack, the territory controlled by the Qin Royal Dynasty Sword School has come to be known as the lands ruled by the One Eyed King. Those who dared to use Qin Yan's new title were executed without question. Rumor had it that after his loss on that fateful night, the king withdrew from government affairs to fully dedicate himself to martial training behind closed doors. Even his closest subordinates had only gotten to see him when progress had been made on his latest decree, and the Jianghu Investigative Bureau had uncovered something of interest in the mystery of Deng Hong's sudden demise. The king ordained that reports on the matter be delivered to him in person only, with absolute confidentiality.
But little pertinent information arose, so Qin Yan remained in his isolation.
One day, he had been called upon to receive one of those rare reports.
Qin Yan arrived at his private reception chamber to find the investigator already waiting for him there with a respectful bow. The king's once youthful face had been wrinkled by stress and marred by an uncouth beard. An ornate eyepatch with a golden emblem of his school covered up his maimed eye. He spared the other man a glance before taking a seat at the head of the table. The investigator, tall and skinny, was dressed in the white and blue attire common to employees of the Jianghu Investigative Bureau. His short goatee was slightly curled inwards.
"You're not the usual guy." Qin Yan pointed out, scratching his beard without much interest.
The investigator bowed deeper. "I am Investigator Hou Jin." He introduced himself.
Qin Yan sighed and had the man take his seat. The king idly rattled his fingers on the desk, his eye looking off elsewhere.
Hou Jin smiled. "To tell you the truth, your highness, I am not part of your case at all."
Qin Yan's attention had finally been drawn, but his eye was clouded with anger. "I thought it had been made clear to your agency that I wanted this matter to be confidential."
The investigator rushed to explain himself. "At the time of sect master Deng Hong's death, I was the secondary investigator assigned to the case of his alleged killer, the Desolator of Life, Cui Shen. You see, that case is still ongoing, and while pursuing a lead, I've ended up inadvertently meddling with the affairs of your personal investigation."
Hou Jin retrieved a piece of unrolled a piece of paper on the table. It turned out to be a wanted poster. A woman was pictured upon it, a description of her crime beneath - the murder of a high-ranking disciple of the Wuyi Sect.
As Qin Yan's lone eye took it in, he paled. And though outwardly, his expression had given away little else, Hou Jin's smile grew at his subtle reaction. The investigator began to curl his goatee.
"Does your highness recognize this person?" Hou Jin asked.
"Who is this?" Qin Yan asked, urgency in his voice.
"We don't rightly know, your highness, but back home, some people call her Lady Clear Sky." Hou Jin pushed the poster closer to the king. "This woman was seen traveling in the company of the Desolator of Life, and the trail has brought me to your lands. But you see, my attempts to make inquiries into the matter have not been welcomed at all by the disciples of your prestigious school."
Qin Yan's eye was still glued to the woman's depiction.
"But it's not that I've come before you to complain about your subordinates." Hou Jin chuckled. "Though it did make me wonder why the subject was such a great taboo here. I was wondering if your highness could enlighten me."
The investigator's words had once more drawn the king's ire. "What are you insinuating?"
"Well, allow me to explain some of the peculiarities surrounding sect master Deng Hong's murder." Hou Jin tapped the poster. "This notice had been issued after Lady Clear Sky killed a first generation disciple of the sect. A couple of weeks later, Deng Hong himself had been killed. During my stay within your domain, it has come to my attention that days prior to Tao Geming's attack on your palace, a high-ranking disciple of your esteemed school was witnessed having a scuffle with a tall, golden haired woman."
Qin Yan's eye narrowed. "I haven't heard of that. But so what of it?"
"As your highness may have heard, the Wuyi Sect is no more. They've been ran out of their territory shortly after their sect master's demise. But even when the sect was around, the circumstances of Deng Hong's death were kept under a very tight lid. Now that the disciples are forced to flee and conceal their association to the sect to preserve their lives, and those closest to the sect master have all been killed, it has become next to impossible to learn anything about the matter."
"Yes, your colleague has explained these challenges." Qin Yan tried to rush the man to his point.
"Well, despite all these setbacks, I managed to uncover a vital piece of testimony!" Hou Jin proudly exclaimed. "As you know, the Desolator of Life was injured by the sect master in a battle that took place earlier that day. There are many witnesses to this. He escaped, and then Deng Hong died that night, presumably because of some poison he had inhaled in this battle. Though there are some issues with this theory, I won't get into it now. The important point is that one of the disciples who discovered Deng Hong's body noticed a peculiar object at the scene of the crime - a discarded theatrical mask."
Qin Yan's complexion suddenly worsened.
Hou Jin continued. "On the night of Tao Geming's attack, a few witnesses claim that they've seen a tall, masked individual with yellow hair advancing in the same direction as the Invincible Blood Sea. Your highness, I hope you can dispel my delusions, or to confirm that we indeed have a pattern on our hands here."
The king rubbed the bridge of his nose, silent for a time. "You said your target was Cui Shen. But now that the Wuyi Sect is gone, who's paying you to investigate this matter?"
"Cui Shen killed a member of our organization. We're tracking him down to settle our vendetta." Hou Jin explained. "Because he travels in the company of such a recognizable individual, it would be prudent for us to understand her goals to make it easier to track them both. We originally assumed the two were old enemies of the sect master, but I began to suspect that things were not so simple."
"Your intuition is quite a bit sharper than your colleague's. I'm impressed."
Hou Jin's eyebrows rose as he received the king's praises.
"It is as you say. Well done." Qin Yan finally relented. "It was this woman that attacked me on that night, not Tao Geming. But let me warn you, investigator, that if the truth leaves this room, you and your entire agency will be held responsible. If it comes to light that I've been bested not by that world-renowned Invincible Blood Sea but by some unknown girl, it will embolden more upstarts to come take their shot at me."
"Our organization prides itself on integrity, your highness." Hou Jin reassured him with a smile.
"Then speak your mind plainly." Qin Yan said. "What exactly is this woman up to? How could someone so remarkable have gone unrecognized for so long? How could someone so skilled remain so obscure?"
Hou Jin shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't say. There is very little we know; this conversation has been our biggest breakthrough into this mystery so far. It would appear that this woman targets high ranking experts, but why, we do not know. Based on her association with the Desolator of Life, I think the two of them might be disciples of that reclusive Five Venoms Devil."
"I don't think so." Qin Yan said. "She does not use poisons."
"I see..." With his theory instantly shot down, Hou Jin began to ponder in silence. "Since your highness had come into such close contact with her, have you learned anything about her or her goals?"
The king shook his head. Hou Jin struggled to believe him, but was not in a position to press.
"There must have been something in particular that compelled you to investigate this matter deeper." Qin Yan said. "What was it?"
Hou Jin shrugged. "Your highness, most difficult investigations unfold through this kind of coincidence and happenstance. The information I learned left me with a hunch, and the hunch spurred me into a leap of logic. I just couldn't rest easy until I could confirm my guess, bringing me here."
Qin Yan was disappointed, but he seemed convinced. "You're a remarkably bold man, Hou Jin. If your guess was wrong, I would have had you flogged for wasting my time."
Hou Jin chuckled nervously.
"You can consider my case closed." Qin Yan suddenly declared. "The agreed upon amount will be delivered to your agency."
The investigator was greatly surprised by this development. Qin Yan continued.
"Investigator Hou Jin, what do you say to a bit of private employment?" The king proposed. "Continue to provide me with information about the Yellow Fox, and I will reward you greatly. And to keep this matter concealed, you don't need to involve the rest of your agency."
"I'm afraid it's not so simple, your highness. My investigative prowess relies in no small part on the resources provided to me by the bureau. You would be better off officially commissioning a new investigation."
Qin Yan shook his head. "There's no need. Confidentiality is of the essence to me in this matter, and I'm willing to make some sacrifices to assure it. You seem quite clever, so I'm sure you can figure something out."
"Well, the truth is, I'm quite stumped." Hou Jin chuckled. "You see, your highness, you were not my first choice of inquiry. But the disciples of your esteemed school are not very cooperative with our Bureau. I had to invoke a favor with my colleague to see you in his stead just to pacify my suspicions, but now that I've done so, I don't really have a way to rediscover her trail since all the information regarding her is so heavily repressed here."
Qin Yan raised his palm. "I understand. Don't you worry about a thing, investigator. I'll give you my token. If a disciple is giving you trouble, just show it to them, and they'll be compelled to speak. But more importantly, I had some of my brightest subordinates tailing her shortly after the attack. They were not at all successful, and they could not continue pursuing her outside of our territory, but they still managed to develop a rough estimation of her direction. I will give you their reports."
Hou Jin stood up from his seat and bowed. "Thank you, your highness."
Qin Yan eyed the poster on the table. "I don't suppose you have a copy of this notice?"
With a polite smile, the investigator nodded. "You're welcome to keep it, your highness."
Pleased, the king treated the investigator to a meal and some wine. Hou Jin then took his leave.
Once outside, Hou Jin produced a letter. Over the past weeks, his eyes ran across the paper so many times that he memorized every last word written in it. Still, he read through it one more time. The investigator shook his head.
"Oh, Bai Guo... Just what have you gotten yourself into?"
Hou Jin reunited with his subordinates and explained his findings. They studied the box of reports provided to them by the One Eyed King, and embarked on horseback in pursuit of their quarry.