A knock sounded on the door.

Chen Ji, sitting by the Eight Immortals table, looked towards the closed door, and Wuyun stood up from the windowsill.

He slowly rose, tightened his grip on the Whale Blade beside him, and calmly asked, “Who’s there?”

From outside the door, the madam said with a smile, “Young master, I’ve brought the money and wish to purchase more information from you.”

Xiaoman said, “Young master, I’ll open the door.”

But this time, Chen Ji held her wrist and said with certainty, “I’ll go.”

With that, he slowly walked to the door with the Whale Blade in hand, and with the grey cloth-wrapped end of the blade, he slowly lifted the latch.

The next moment, as the sound of the latch being lifted echoed, the madam outside the door attacked through it.

Six sharp ‘bangs’ rang out as six bone-piercing nails, clutched between the madam’s fingers, shot out. Wood splinters flew from the door panel as the six nails pierced through from the outside.

Six dull thuds followed.

Inside the room, Chen Ji held the Whale Blade in front of him. The six bone-piercing nails, now arrayed in a line, were all stopped by the blade’s sheath.

With a powerful shake of his right hand, the grey cloth wrapping the Whale Blade instantly shredded into pieces, revealing the blade’s original form. The bone-piercing nails also dropped to the floor.

A chill ran down the madam’s spine; she hadn’t expected the person inside to block all six bone-piercing nails.

She crossed her arms, her fingers retrieving three bone-piercing nails from each sleeve. Her arms moved like the afterimages of Guanyin with a Thousand Arms, as nail after nail pierced through and shattered the wooden door!

The previously intact wooden door instantly shattered, leaving a gaping hole. But when the madam looked closely, there was no one behind the door.

The six bone-piercing nails she had just thrown were now embedded in the opposite wooden wall. Chen Ji, who should have been behind the door, was nowhere to be seen.

The madam did not rush in. She stood cautiously at the doorway and whispered, “I know the people around you are ordinary folk. If you don’t want them to be harmed, come out yourself.”

The room remained silent; no one replied.

Chen Ji, holding the Whale Blade, silently retreated to the window and slowly drew the blade.

The next moment, Wuyun meowed. Without turning his head, Chen Ji thrust the Whale Blade backward towards the window behind him.

The blade pierced through the paper window, impaling the assassin lurking outside. Chen Ji withdrew the blade, and the dead assassin fell from the third floor of the inn, landing with a heavy thud in the inn’s backyard.

As the Whale Blade was drawn back, a streak of blood stained the window paper.

Xiaoman stared blankly at the scene: “Young master, you…”

Before she could finish, Wuyun meowed again: “There are four more on the roof.”

Chen Ji’s heart tightened.

He leapt onto the Eight Immortals table and, with a heaven-shaking strike, brought his blade down towards the roof. Where the blade passed, grey tiles shattered into pieces, and roof beams snapped.

With a thunderous crash, a large section of the roof collapsed. One assassin was slammed directly into the room, while another had his lower leg cleanly severed by the strike.

A muffled groan came from the rooftop. Gushing blood flowed down the tiles, poured from the eaves, and splashed onto the inn’s backyard.

Hearing the commotion, the madam in the hallway immediately kicked open the wooden door, intending to rush into the room.

The instant she kicked the door open, a flash of gleaming blade light appeared amidst the flying wood splinters in the dim room. The madam pushed back with all her might, narrowly dodging the Whale Blade.

Just as she was about to unleash her full power and launch all her bone-piercing nails, she suddenly saw a black shadow hidden behind the blade’s light. It resembled a bamboo leaf, yet also a sword, appearing weightlessly from behind the blade’s glow.

The madam’s body twisted unnaturally, abruptly changing posture as if broken, to evade the sword seed’s lethal strike.

Like a spider, she scrambled up the corridor wall using both hands and feet, scaling all the way up to the roof beam. She coldly surveyed her surroundings, searching for traces of the black short sword she had just seen.

Doubt and alarm filled the madam’s mind. That black short sword just now seemed to be something cultivated by the legendary Head of the Martial Temple…

Before she could figure it out, the sword seed flew from behind her, like a viper flicking its tongue. It lightly grazed her neck, then vanished into the dark corridor.

Clutching her neck, the madam fell, tumbling from the roof beam.

Her eyes fixed on Chen Ji, she gasped, “Sword…”

With a soft ‘shick,’ the Whale Blade pierced her heart, cutting short the words she was about to utter.

Meanwhile, the innkeeper, having leaped from behind the counter, climbed skyward with the agility of a swallow, stepping on the stair railing.

Xiaowu, by the counter, looked up and shouted, “Innkeeper, where are you going?”

The innkeeper was utterly distraught, with only one thought: “To save them! I’m going to the third floor. Xiaowu, Xiaoliu, grab your weapons and get to the roof! Kill every damn one of those Red Sleeve Pavilion people!”

Xiaowu felt utterly bewildered. “Didn’t you just say we run a crooked inn? Why are you suddenly trying to save people now?”

At that moment, the innkeeper, leaping directly onto the third floor using the stair railing, was about to rush into Room Heavenly A when he saw Chen Ji standing before the madam’s corpse, holding a five-foot-long blade.

The innkeeper was startled. The madam was dead?

Just like that?

He looked up to see Chen Ji coldly turn his head, the blade’s edge slowly tilting: “Innkeeper, what brings you here?”

The innkeeper was internally distraught but couldn’t speak the truth. He could only fabricate a lie: “Young… distinguished guest, I heard the commotion upstairs and immediately rushed to assist.”

Chen Ji looked at him skeptically: “Is that so?”

The innkeeper replied earnestly, “Absolutely true! My Dragon Gate Inn has a rule: no one is allowed to kill within the inn. I thought that madam from the Red Sleeve Pavilion might be planning ill deeds against you, honored guest, so I came to eliminate her. I never expected you to be so skilled, rendering my intervention unnecessary.”

As he spoke, the sounds of shouting and fighting erupted from the rooftop as Xiaowu and Xiaoliu engaged in battle. They trampled on tiles, fighting from south to north, from east to west across the roof.

In less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn, both men, one hand holding a cleaver and the other carrying a corpse, jumped down through the hole in the room.

Xiaowu limped into the corridor and dropped the corpse at the innkeeper’s feet: “Innkeeper, they were just some minor officials of the Houtian realm. We killed two, one got away.”

Chen Ji crouched down to check for breathing, confirming both assassins were dead.

But the innkeeper was relentless, glaring at Xiaowu indignantly: “What good are you if you let one get away?”

Xiaowu scratched his head: “Your orders came a bit late, if it weren’t for you…”

The innkeeper’s expression changed. He quickly interrupted, “I told you long ago, no unauthorized people upstairs! Why did you let that madam come up?”

Xiaowu: “Huh?”

The innkeeper continued, “Go, kill everyone from the Red Sleeve Pavilion.”

Xiaowu was utterly shocked: “Now?”

The innkeeper exploded in a rage: “What are you waiting for? Go now! We must give our honored guest an explanation tonight!”

Chen Ji was puzzled. Could Dragon Gate Inn truly be so rule-abiding? The Red Sleeve Pavilion madam came to assassinate him, and not only did the innkeeper immediately rush to his aid, but he was also going to avenge him by killing everyone from the Red Sleeve Pavilion?

Were other guests treated this way too?

At this point, Xiaowu pointed to the hole in the roof of Room Heavenly A: “Innkeeper, the roof is broken. Repairs will cost a lot. How much do you think we should have the honored guest pay for damages?”

“Pay for what?!” The innkeeper twisted Xiaowu’s ear: “Go get a broom and help the guest clean his room! Quickly clear out Room Heavenly C and invite the guest to rest there.”

Xiaowu yelped in pain, yet wondered inwardly: In the past, if a guest broke a single cup, the innkeeper would demand they pay until they were utterly bankrupt before letting them leave. But today, with a huge hole punched through the roof, there’s no need for compensation?

He muttered to himself about his bad luck and, with Xiaoliu, went off to get brooms.

The innkeeper looked at Chen Ji with a warm smile: “Honored guest, you’ll be staying in Room C shortly. Although it’s not as large as Room A, it has all the necessary amenities.”

Chen Ji thanked him.

The innkeeper then changed the subject: “I heard you are the third son of the Chen family. Is that true?”

Chen Ji mused that this matter likely couldn’t be kept secret, so he immediately nodded and admitted it.

The innkeeper’s smile grew even more benevolent: “Honored guest, you must have heard the long chime of Guyuan’s bell this evening. The Jing Dynasty is besieging the city, and a fierce battle is inevitable here. Why don’t you leave through my inn’s secret passage and head to Fengsheng Prefecture in Xijing Road of the Jing Dynasty to avoid trouble? We have people there too, who will ensure your safety.”

Chen Ji grew wary, thinking to himself that the innkeeper was probably still after his money: “No need, I wish to stay a bit longer.”

Seeing his expression, the innkeeper immediately knew something was wrong: “Honored guest, did you perhaps see the black gauze hat in the stables? To be honest, the tunnel under the stables isn’t for leaving the city. The real secret passage is hidden right behind my counter, just lift the wooden board where I usually stand. From there, Xiaowu can guide you through the underground palace to leave the city. It will only take a day to get out of Guyuan’s territory.”

Chen Ji was bewildered and suspicious. What was wrong with this innkeeper? Why was he revealing Dragon Gate Inn’s biggest secret so freely?

No, this was probably their new scheme.

He pondered it carefully but ultimately shook his head: “Thank you for your kindness, Innkeeper, but there’s no need for the secret passage. I believe Guyuan City will not fall.”

The innkeeper grew anxious. Why did no one believe him when he told the truth? “You really should leave quickly! You absolutely cannot get into trouble in my inn!”

Chen Ji raised an eyebrow: “Oh?”

The innkeeper, realizing his slip, quickly turned and walked away: “Honored guest, rest early. I guarantee that no one will attempt to harm you in my inn again.”

He walked down the stairs, letting out a long sigh of relief.

Just then, the door curtain was pulled aside, and Third Master appeared from nowhere.

Third Master glanced at the innkeeper and walked towards the stairs without a word. But the innkeeper quickly took a few steps and grabbed Third Master’s arm, saying angrily, “If you don’t believe me, just say so! I can stop being this innkeeper, I can stop caring about the secret passage, I can give up everything!”

Third Master frowned: “What are you talking about?”

The innkeeper took a deep breath: “I’ve told you, my surrender to the Jing Dynasty back then was General Wentao’s intention. Yes, I killed some of my own people, but I had no choice! If I didn’t kill them, the Jing people wouldn’t have trusted me!”

Third Master stared at the innkeeper: “The General never mentioned to us that he ordered you to infiltrate the Jing Dynasty.”

The innkeeper said helplessly, “The General didn’t tell you because he didn’t trust *you*, not because he didn’t trust me! He was afraid you’d leak the information! Now, you clearly knew the person upstairs had arrived in Guyuan, so why wouldn’t you tell me?”

Third Master sneered, “During the Battle of Quwu Mountain, someone saw you just a dozen paces from where the ‘Yuanzhen’ great banner stood. Why didn’t you kill him then?”

The innkeeper retorted angrily, “He is the Grand Commander of the Heavenly Policy Army, and he surely has a Dao-seeking realm master by his side. How could I kill him? The General sent me to gather intelligence, not to commit suicide!”

Third Master calmly said, “Second Brother, loyalty isn’t just spoken; it’s bought with one’s life.”

The innkeeper opened his mouth, but eventually waved his hand dejectedly: “Alright, alright, you’re all heroes and valiant men of the Ning Dynasty. I’m just a surrendered general of the Jing Dynasty, alright?”

With that, he turned and walked alone towards the backyard.

Third Master said gravely behind him, “As for the person upstairs, only a few of us know what’s going on. Don’t let me hear that you’ve leaked anything, and you must not acknowledge him.”

“No need for you to remind me.”