The torrential rain in the Thang Long Imperial Capital had finally passed, but the tempest it left in its wake had only just begun.
Early the next morning, an earth-shattering piece of news swept through the estates of officials and the most high-end teahouses. The Gathering Treasures Pavilion, the largest casino, a notorious pleasure house, and the bottomless "money bag" of Marquis Vinh An's Estate, had been sealed by the Six Gates!
The reason given was "suspected involvement in illicit activities and the recent disappearance cases." But what horrified people even more was that simultaneously, seven other secret strongholds—including pawnshops, smithies, and docks—had been attacked by a mysterious faction. All ledgers and evidence had been burned to ashes, leaving not a single trace.
A flawless performance. The Six Gates had their justification to act. Marquis Vinh An, on the other hand, lacked the evidence to counter-accuse. The two old foxes on the political chessboard had begun a war without gunpowder.
At Marquis Vinh An's Estate, within a study that was magnificently decorated yet incredibly gloomy.
BOOOOOM!!!
A desk crafted from precious purple sandalwood was pulverized into fine powder by a single palm strike. Marquis Vinh An, a middle-aged man with a normally refined appearance, now wore a face twisted in absolute fury. His eyes were bloodshot, resembling a wounded primordial beast.
Trieu Phuong, the "Iron-Handed Guanyin," one of his most capable subordinates, knelt on the floor. Her beautiful face was deathly pale, not daring to raise her head.
"Speak!" Marquis Vinh An roared, his voice devoid of refinement, overflowing with killing intent. "Tell me! Exactly who did this?!"
"R-reporting to the Marquis," Trieu Phuong replied tremulously. "This subordinate was incompetent. The enemy acted flawlessly. They seemed to possess a perfect understanding of our entire network. They simultaneously attacked the strongholds to erase the evidence, while borrowing the hand of the Six Gates to seal the Gathering Treasures Pavilion. We... we fell right into their trap."
"Tao Chinh! It must be that old fox Tao Chinh!" Marquis Vinh An gritted his teeth. "But... relying on him alone, it is impossible for him to devise such a meticulous and ruthless plan. Behind him, there is definitely someone else!"
He paced back and forth in the room, his mind frantically analyzing. Duke Dinh Quoc's Estate? Unlikely. They operated openly and uprightly, eschewing such underhanded methods. Then who? Who could see through the entire chessboard and manipulate the Six Gates?
Suddenly, he stopped. An image flashed through his mind—a youth draped in a black cloak, and a mysterious character: "VÔ".
"Could it be..." he murmured. "Is it the Vô Sect? Have they already arrived in the Imperial Capital?"
The appearance of a faction with unknown origins, one that played by no rules, was what made a paranoid man like him feel the most uneasy.
"Dispatch men to investigate!" he ordered. "I want to know exactly what the background of this new Strategist Ve Nhan of the Six Gates is! I have a feeling this person is the crux of it all!"
At the headquarters of the Six Gates.
Tao Chinh was leisurely sipping tea, his mood exceedingly excellent. In a single night, he had severed one of Marquis Vinh An's most crucial octopus tentacles, reaping countless political benefits.
"Your Excellency," Black Crow entered, reporting respectfully. "Marquis Vinh An has dispatched men to begin investigating Lord Ve's background."
"Let him investigate," Tao Chinh sneered. "Ve Nhan's background is a blank sheet of paper. The more he investigates, the more bewildered he will become."
"And what about Lord Ve?"
"Him?" Tao Chinh looked toward Tran Kien's manor. "After completing the mission, he voluntarily requested to be 'suspended from duty' to 'avoid retaliation.' Now, he spends his entire day in his manor reading and playing chess, never stepping out the door. He looks like a man terrified out of his wits, completely withdrawing from the vortex."
Black Crow did not understand. "Why did Your Excellency agree? Now is the perfect time to press our advantage."
"You do not understand," Tao Chinh shook his head, his gaze profound. "This is precisely his most masterful move. The weaker he appears, the more harmless he seems, the more the prey will lower its guard. He is not a dagger that only knows how to stab straight. He is a venomous snake, patiently awaiting the perfect moment to deliver a fatal strike."
"Let him 'rest.' I also wish to see where this snake will bite next."
Within the manor of Strategist Ve Nhan.
Tran Kien was not resting at all. He was setting up a new chessboard.
Before him was no longer a map of the capital. Instead, it was an intricate diagram, mapping out all the names and relationships recorded in the Black Dragon Stronghold's ledger.
He had spent the past ten days cross-referencing information from that ledger with the case files he had read at the Six Gates. He was mapping out an invisible web of connections that blanketed the entire Imperial Court of Dai Viet.
And he had found a weakness. A name that appeared in both cases.
Vice Minister of Personnel, Vuong Tung.
Outwardly, this man was a clean, upright official belonging to no faction. But the Black Dragon Stronghold's ledger recorded that he had once accepted a massive bribe. And within the Gathering Treasures Pavilion's network, one of their front pawnshops was registered under the name of a distant relative of his.
A very deeply hidden old fox.
Tran Kien knew that Marquis Vinh An was like a colossal ancient tree, its roots planted deep within the Imperial Court. To fell that tree, one could not simply hack at the trunk. One had to slowly, methodically, sever every single one of its roots first.
And Vuong Tung was the very first root he had chosen.
He did not rush to act. He put the diagram away. He walked into the courtyard and began to practice his saber. Saber Intent—Hundredfold Tempered circulated, Primordial Chaos Qi surged and boiled. He was sharpening his knife.
He knew the chessboard in the Imperial Capital could not be won through strategy alone. Sooner or later, blades would have to do the talking.
And when his blade was drawn once more, it would not just strike a single person.
It would cleave through an entire rotting order.