Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Republic’s Premier Assassin

Back then, General Cai E was only thirty-two years old. He had just returned from studying in Japan, and was immediately entrusted with a heavy responsibility by Yuan Shikai. The people elected him as Governor of Yunnan, granting him both military and political power—a position akin to a high-ranking provincial official in ancient times. He was fully capable of breaking free from the constraints of the central government and standing as an equal against it.

Yuan Shikai originally thought that by recruiting such a promising young general, he would gain a loyal confidant for his own use. Yet from Cai E's actions after taking office, not only did he fail to bring any benefit to Yuan, he instead became a grave threat to him. This left Yuan Shikai deeply dissatisfied, but having raised a tiger, he now had to deal with its claws. Cai E’s strength could no longer be underestimated. Furthermore, the Republic of China was founded on democratic ideals, and as President, Yuan did not dare to openly eliminate Cai E. He resorted to secretly buying off those close to him, among whom was Cai Jin Jun, the deputy who had been successfully bribed and turned into Yuan’s lackey.

As the saying goes, men die for wealth, birds for food. Although Cai Jin Jun was Cai E’s adjutant and had grown up as his household steward, in the face of immense profit, he still betrayed his master. For years, he had been watching Cai E in secret, reporting every move to Yuan Shikai.

This time, a case in Jiangning City had resulted in the untimely deaths of a Japanese major and over a hundred samurai. Yuan Shikai, acting as President of the Republic, coerced the Senate and State Council into secretly dispatching General Cai E to Jiangning for investigation. In reality, Yuan planned to have Cai E eliminated there. Since the mission was covert, only a few knew; even if Cai E died in Jiangning, no one would suspect Yuan Shikai.

Thus, Yuan wanted Cai E’s head; Hu Million sought the death of Jin Shaohua; Li Tiande wanted Xiao Fei dead. These various sinister forces were now linked together.

With Cai Jin Jun the traitor providing intelligence, Hu Million and Li Tiande immediately devised a plan to kill Jin Shaohua and Xiao Fei, and also bring about Cai E’s demise—a scheme that promised three birds with one stone.

After their secret plotting, the conspirators burst into laughter, as if victory was within reach.

Hu Million finally said, “Tiande, this time it’s up to you. If you mess this up again, not only will your wife be in danger, even your own life won’t be safe.”

“Uncle, you can rest assured. I’ve heard that the leader of this assassin organization is called Yang Fourth. He is the top assassin in the Republic, and there’s a saying in Jiangning: ‘If Yang Fourth decrees someone must die by midnight, no one survives till dawn.’ He’s also known as the ‘Living King of Hell.’” Li Tiande replied.

“Good, go on. There’s plenty of silver dollars—whatever price he asks, pay it.” Hu Million said.

However, Cai Jin Jun, who had been silent, seemed uneasy.

“Deputy Cai, you seem to have something on your mind?” Hu Million asked.

“Commander Hu, Cai E is not easy to deal with. He studied kendo in Japan, and is well-versed in our ancient martial arts. If the assassination fails, we’ll be the ones to die.” Cai Jin Jun voiced his concern.

“Don’t worry about that. Hiring assassins is only part of our plan. Even if the assassins fail, it doesn’t matter. Assassins have their code—they would rather die than reveal their employer. Besides, we have other plans. We will surely see Cai E and the others dead.” Hu Million said confidently.

“Oh? Commander Hu, what other plan? Tell me.” Cai Jin Jun asked eagerly.

The three huddled together again, whispering their ideas.

After listening, Cai Jin Jun couldn’t help but raise his thumb. “Ha! Brilliant, truly brilliant!”

“But whether the plan succeeds or not depends on your close cooperation, Deputy Cai.” Hu Million said.

“Of course, Commander Hu. Rest assured, I will follow your lead.”

“Ha ha ha…” The three ambitious wolves laughed heartily once more.

Afterward, Cai Jin Jun hurried back to Cai E’s side, while Li Tiande, that scoundrel, carried a trunk full of silver dollars to a derelict factory on the west side of Jiangning City.

As soon as Li Tiande stepped into the factory, a pistol was pressed against his back. “Don’t move! Who goes there?”

The other party immediately said, “Tianshan faces north.”

Li Tiande calmly replied, “Phoenix comes in elegance.”

It was the prearranged code; only after the password was exchanged could the employer be led to the headquarters.

Seeing Li Tiande answer correctly, the man said, “The boss has been waiting inside. Please, sir, sorry for the inconvenience.”

With that, Li Tiande’s eyes were blindfolded, and he was slowly led forward.

He had no idea how far they walked, nor where he was headed. He only felt himself being led through twists and turns, sometimes up, sometimes down. The surroundings were damp and silent. Finally, they stopped in front of a stone door.

No one would ever imagine that beneath the abandoned factory lay an underground chamber of extraordinary design, filled with various traps. This was the headquarters of “Deadly Pursuit,” the assassin organization founded by Yang Fourth.

In the old days, especially during the Republic era, assassins roamed like bandits—there were paths for demons, paths for ghosts. Bandits ruled by force, robbing and pillaging, while assassins traded lives for a living. There was a saying among them: “Take money, remove calamity for others.” Driven by desperation, they committed these heinous deeds.

It was a peculiarity of that era, a mark of history.

The stone door opened, and Li Tiande was pushed inside, the blindfold removed.

Li Tiande rubbed his eyes and saw the room brightly lit. Along the walls were tables, each with a dozen lamps burning. Some lamps had gone out, but each bore a white paper strip with a name written. A man in a black Zhongshan suit and a gentleman’s hat stood before one lamp, oil can in hand, refilling the lamps.

“You’re here. Sit down.” The man said coldly.

Arriving in such a place, Li Tiande felt anxious, but for the sake of eliminating Xiao Fei, he swallowed his fear.

“You must be Boss Yang. I’ve come today to buy a few lives.” Li Tiande said bluntly.

“I only sell lamps here, never lives.” Yang Fourth replied enigmatically.

Seeing Li Tiande didn’t understand, Yang Fourth explained, “Every life is like a burning lamp. Someone pays me, I extinguish a lamp, just like this—puff, when a person dies, their lamp goes out.”

With that, Yang Fourth blew out a lamp, then said to a subordinate, “Someone has placed an order for Wang Yuanwai’s lamp. Go extinguish it. Remember, it must be done before midnight tonight.”

He tore off the paper strip, revealing the name “Wang Maocai.”

“Yes, sir!” The subordinate replied, then left—his mission was to kill Wang Yuanwai.

Li Tiande now understood. He quickly sat at a table and wrote three names: Xiao Fei, Cai E, Jin Shaohua.

Yang Fourth affixed the three strips to three brightly burning lamps.

He glanced at the names and inhaled sharply. He tore off the strips bearing Jin Shaohua and Cai E, handing them back to Li Tiande. “Men may die for wealth, birds for food, but if everyone’s dead, what use is money? These two you cannot touch!”

One was the Governor of Yunnan, the other a local military commander—not the sort to be killed so easily. But Xiao Fei seemed to Yang Fourth a nobody, easily disposed of.

“What, are you afraid?” Li Tiande asked.

“Afraid? Naturally. You know their backgrounds better than I do. How could we kill them at whim?” Yang Fourth replied.

“If we were to offer this amount for each lamp, would you sell, Boss Yang?” Li Tiande made a gesture with five fingers.

Yang Fourth was startled. “Five hundred thousand silver dollars?”

“No, five million!”

Yang Fourth was shocked—such a sum he had never seen in his life.

“This is the deposit. The rest will be paid upon completion.” Li Tiande pushed the chest full of silver dollars forward.

“Fine, I accept!” Yang Fourth said, gritting his teeth.

………………………………………I am the seductive dividing line…………………………………

The day after returning from the Jin residence, the “Spring Arrival Inn” where Xiao Fei and Qin Tianxiang were staying was besieged. The crowd consisted of the students who had apprenticed under Xiao Fei the day before, fulfilling their promise to abandon literary pursuits for martial training. They came, carrying numerous property deeds, seeking to join Xiao Fei.

Receiving such wealth and so many followers, Xiao Fei was naturally delighted. He handed the funds to the scouts from Azure Dragon Mountain to be transported back as military expenses. As for the disciples, he brought them into the military base for rigorous training. In time, he believed, they would become a formidable force—a tiger and wolf army, trained in secret.

Now, his journey to Jiangning was complete, and it was time to return to Azure Dragon Mountain. Yet, just as Xiao Fei was about to bid farewell to Li Shishi and the others, Xiao Liu from the Pleasure Pavilion rushed over to inform him that the establishment had been surrounded by Japanese soldiers, intent on capturing Li Shishi.

Damn it, those devils again. Today, I’ll wipe them all out! Xiao Fei cursed inwardly.