Nine Nights Owl Song

October of the sixteenth year of Yong'an.

Ajiu has been away from Cangwu Mountain for a month.

She did not contact anyone.

She vanished like a shadow disappearing into the crowd, completely evaporating from the Dark Pavilion's sight.

The Dark Pavilion has informants all over the world, but none of them can find Night Owl's whereabouts.

She was like a drop of water merging into the ocean, silent and unnoticed.

In this month, Ajiu did three things.

The first thing is to recover from the injury.

The knife wound on my left hand, the cut on my back, and the lingering poison from the cartilage powder all need time to heal.

She didn't see a doctor, relying entirely on her internal energy to heal herself. The internal energy at the early stage of the Transformation Realm was several times more powerful than that at the Dark Realm stage, and her blood and qi were abundant, so the wounds healed at an astonishing speed.

Seven days later, the scab on the wound on my left hand fell off, and the new skin was as pink and tender as a baby's. Ten days later, the scar on my back started to itch, which was a sign that the skin and flesh were regrowing.

After fifteen days, the last trace of poison in her body was cleansed by her internal energy, and she recovered to her peak condition.

The second thing is to achieve a breakthrough.

The initial stage of Transformation Realm is not the end, but only the beginning.

She found a secluded cave deep in the Cangwu Mountains and secluded herself for ten days to cultivate. Without missions, distractions, or the pressure of life and death, she could focus wholeheartedly on honing her inner strength.

The internal energy in the early stage of the Transformation Realm is like a small stream; she wants to widen it, deepen it, and turn it into a river.

When she emerged from her ten-day seclusion, her internal energy had increased by 30%. Although her cultivation level was still at the early stage of Transformation Realm, she was already very close to the threshold of the middle stage.

The third thing is to think.

She thought of many people—the old drunkard, A Yao, Hades, Chen Beixuan, and Bai Yu.

She thought about many things—the pursuit by the Dark Pavilion, the invitation from the Thousand Machine Pavilion, and her background in the Marquis of Dingyuan's family.

She went through everything in her mind again and again, like a comb smoothing out tangled hair strand by strand.

She realized one thing—she couldn't fight the Dark Pavilion alone.

It's not that we can't beat them, it's that we can't kill them all.

The Dark Pavilion's foundation is too deep and its influence too wide. Even if she kills the Underworld King, the Dark Pavilion's branches and peripheral forces will continue to exist, with a new pavilion master and a new name, and continue to kill.

What she wanted was not to destroy the Dark Pavilion, but to replace it. Only by establishing an organization more powerful than the Dark Pavilion could she truly uproot it.

But she didn't want to be a pavilion master, didn't want to manage people, and didn't want to be managed by others.

She just wanted to live freely, to kill whomever she wanted, to save whomever she wanted, entirely according to her own mood.

This is a contradiction.

To overthrow one organization, you need another. But she doesn't want to run an organization.

Qianji Tower might be her best choice.

October 15th, Luodong City.

Listening to the Rain Pavilion.

On the busiest street in Luodong City, there is an inconspicuous teahouse with a faded signboard hanging at the entrance that reads "Tingyuxuan".

The teahouse is small, with two floors. The wooden structure is quite old, and the stairs creak when you step on them.

The tea here is neither good nor bad, the snacks are neither good nor bad, the business is neither good nor bad, everything is just right and unremarkable.

When Ajiu entered Tingyuxuan, she was wearing a faded blue cloth shirt, her hair was tied into a braid with a strip of cloth, she had no makeup on her face, and she was not carrying a knife.

She looked like an ordinary girl from the countryside who had come to Luoyang to visit relatives. Nobody gave her a second glance.

Bai Yu was already waiting for her in the private room on the second floor.

Today he was wearing a blue long gown, still holding that folding fan in his hand, and there was a pot of tea and two plates of snacks on the table in front of him.

Seeing Ajiu come in, he stood up, smiled slightly, as if he had known she would come.

"Sit down," he said.

"The tea is still hot."

Ah Jiu sat down opposite him, without drinking tea or eating snacks, and just looked at him.

Bai Yu wasn't in a hurry. He poured himself a cup of tea and drank it slowly.

The private room was quiet, with only the occasional cries of vendors and the sound of horses' hooves coming from the street below.

Sunlight streamed through the cracks in the window, casting a long shadow of the teapot on the table.

"Are the conditions from last time still valid?" Ajiu asked.

Bai Yu put down his teacup and looked at her.

His eyes were bright, warm, and as bright as jade, making people feel comfortable and safe.

"The conditions set by Qianjilou are never withdrawn," he said.

"Annual salary of 50,000 taels, task rewards of 73,000 taels, free choice of tasks, without any restrictions."

"Add one more," Ajiu said.

"you say."

"Qianjilou shall not control me, monitor me, or interfere with my actions in any way. I am free to come and go, and may terminate the cooperation at any time."

Bai Yu was silent for a moment, then smiled.

"Night Owl Girl," he said.

"You are the only person I've ever met who puts himself above the Thousand Machine Tower when negotiating terms."

"That's because you need me more than I need you," Ajiu said.

"The Dark Pavilion has split up, losing more than half of its top assassins. There are no more than ten top-tier assassins left in the world who are still usable. If you don't sign me now, I'll sign with someone else tomorrow. Although the Dark Pavilion has a grudge against me, their offer may not be lower than yours."

Bai Yu's smile froze for a moment, then turned into a genuine, heartfelt laugh.

"Deal." He held out his hand.

Ah Jiu looked at the hand but didn't shake it.

She took a piece of paper from her sleeve and placed it on the table. The points she had just mentioned were written on the paper in charcoal, the handwriting messy but clear.

"Sign and stamp," she said.

Bai Yu looked at the paper, then at A Jiu, shook his head, took out a seal from his sleeve, and stamped it on the paper.

Two characters were engraved on the red inkpad—"Qianji". Then he took out a pen from his pocket and signed his name on the paper.

Ah Jiu folded the paper and tucked it into her sleeve.

"What's the first task?" she asked.

Bai Yu took a file from under the table and pushed it in front of A Jiu.

"Liu Wenyuan, the head of the Jiangnan Textile Bureau," he said.

"This man has been in charge of the imperial silk trade in Jiangnan for twenty years, embezzling over a million taels of silver. He has cultivated relationships with local officials, formed cliques for personal gain, and oppressed merchants, causing great resentment among the people. The imperial court wants to take action against him, but he has powerful backers and cannot be touched. So someone came to Qianji Tower."

"How much is the fee?"

"Twenty thousand taels."

When do you need it?

Within a month.

Ajiu picked up the file and stood up.

"Mission accomplished. How can I contact you?"

"After completing the mission, leave the message 'Night Owl has returned to its nest' at any of the Thousand Machine Tower's contact points, and someone will come looking for you," Bai Yu said.

"The Dark Pavilion's informants can't find the Thousand Machines Pavilion's contact points. Don't worry."

Ah Jiu nodded and turned to walk towards the door.

"Night Owl," Bai Yu called out to her.

She stopped in her tracks.

"You're a free person now," Bai Yu said.

"But freedom comes at a price. The Dark Pavilion won't let you go; Chen Beixuan's men are searching for you everywhere. Be careful out there all alone."

Ajiu didn't say anything, pushed open the door, and went out.

It was almost dark when she left Tingyuxuan. The streets of Luojing East City were becoming less crowded, shops were closing one after another, shop assistants were taking down the door panels, and shopkeepers were busy calculating on their abacuses behind the counter.

Ajiu walked among the crowd, head down, her steps neither fast nor slow, like an ordinary girl in a hurry to go home.

No one knew that this unassuming girl in blue was the Night Owl, who struck fear into the hearts of the powerful and wealthy.

Jiangnan, Suzhou Prefecture.

Liu Wenyuan's residence is located in the north of Suzhou City, covering an area of ​​thirty acres. It features pavilions, towers, bridges, and flowing water, and is so magnificent that it is as if half of the Suzhou gardens have been moved into his own yard.

He held a position at the Jiangnan Textile Bureau for twenty years, accumulating enough wealth to buy half of Suzhou.

He kept sixty guards in his mansion, many of whom were highly skilled martial artists hired from the martial arts world at great expense.

Ajiu arrived in Suzhou on October 22nd. She spent three days observing Liu Wenyuan's daily routine, two days making a plan, and one night executing it.

Her plan was simple—to act at the most unexpected time and place for Liu Wenyuan.

The most unexpected time for Liu Wenyuan was probably the time when he felt safest.

He would go to Hanshan Temple outside Suzhou once a month to burn incense, seeking peace of mind for the countless sins he had accumulated.

On the way to Hanshan Temple, he would be accompanied by twenty guards. The route was through open official roads and farmland, with nowhere to hide.

He felt that section of the road was safe because no one could break through the defenses of twenty guards in open terrain.

Ajiu did not make a move on the official road.

She made her move at Hanshan Temple.

When Liu Wenyuan offered incense, he would enter the main hall alone, kneel before the Buddha statue, and have his attendants and guards wait outside the hall.

That was the only time of day he wasn't surrounded by guards. Only he and the Buddha were in the hall, and he felt the Buddha wouldn't kill him.

Ah Jiu is not Buddha. She is a night owl.

She sneaked into Hanshan Temple a day early and hid on the crossbeam of the main hall.

The beam was covered with dust and cobwebs. She squatted there, motionless, waiting from dawn until noon, and from noon until dusk.

When Liu Wenyuan came to offer incense, it was evening, and the setting sun shone through the temple gate, gilding the Buddha statue with a layer of gold.

He knelt on the prayer mat, clasped his hands together, closed his eyes, and muttered incantations.

Ah Jiu fell silently from the crossbeam, landing behind him, the tip of her knife pressed against the back of his neck.

"Liu Wenyuan," she said.

Liu Wenyuan's body stiffened.

He didn't turn around, he didn't shout, he just knelt there, trembling all over.

"Who...who are you?" His voice trembled.

"The one who killed you," Ajiu said.

The knife tip pierced the back of his neck, passing between the first and second cervical vertebrae, severing his spinal cord.

Liu Wenyuan's body stiffened abruptly, then went limp, collapsing silently onto the prayer mat like an empty bag of flour.

Ajiu drew his knife, wiped the blood off his monk's robe, and then climbed out through the back window of the main hall.

Outside the hall, the guards were still waiting for their master to come out.

They waited a long time.

By the time they rushed into the palace, Ajiu had already walked out of the south gate of Suzhou and was on her way back to Luoyang.

October 27th, Luoyang.

Ah Jiu ate a bowl of wontons at the wonton stall opposite Tingyuxuan, then went into Tingyuxuan and left a note behind the counter: "The owl has returned to its nest."

Half an hour later, Bai Yu appeared in front of her.

"Liu Wenyuan?" he asked.

"He's dead."

"Where's the body?"

"In the main hall of Hanshan Temple, kneeling before the Buddha statue," Ajiu said.

"I left him with a complete body, as a way of giving face to Buddha."

Bai Yu looked at her, remained silent for a moment, then took out a silver note from his sleeve and placed it on the table.

"Twenty thousand taels," he said.

"Your share is 14,000 taels. Qianji Tower will take 6,000 taels."

Ajiu picked up the silver note, glanced at it, folded it, and stuffed it into her bosom.

"Next task."

Bai Yu smiled.

"Aren't you going to take a few days off?"

"unnecessary."

Bai Yu took out another file from his sleeve.

"Han Shiqing, Salt and Iron Transport Commissioner of Bingzhou, embezzled salt and iron taxes and colluded with smugglers from the north to resell military supplies. The evidence against him is conclusive. He was awarded 30,000 taels of silver."

Ah Jiu took the file and turned to leave.

"Night Owl," Bai Yu called out to her.

She stopped.

"When you were in the Dark Pavilion, how many missions did you do a month?"

"It depends on my mood."

"And now?"

Ajiu thought about it.

"It depends on my mood."

Bai Yu smiled, but this time the smile contained a mixture of admiration and worry.

"Your mood is more unpredictable than the rules of the Dark Pavilion," he said.

Ajiu didn't answer, pushed open the door, and went out.

From October of the sixteenth year of Yong'an to October of the seventeenth year of Yong'an, a full year, Ajiu completed thirty-two assassination missions.

On average, she did this nearly three times a month, almost twice as frequently as when she was in the Dark Pavilion. Her targets were all over the Great Liang—corrupt officials in Jiangnan, warlords in the North, powerful families in the West, and wealthy merchants in the East Sea.

Wherever her blade struck, no target survived to see the next day's sun.

Her methods became increasingly diverse and harder to track.

Sometimes they use poison, sometimes steel wire, sometimes crossbow bolts, and sometimes knives.

Sometimes she would sneak in at night, sometimes she would blend into the crowd in broad daylight, and sometimes she would disguise herself as the target's closest person. She never repeated the same method, never left the same trace, and never gave the investigators any clues to follow.

Legends about her began to circulate in the martial arts world.

Some say she is an old woman with white hair, some say she is a woman of unparalleled beauty, some say she is a man with a ferocious face, and some say she is not human at all, but a demonic sword that has come to life.

No one knows her true identity, no one has ever seen her face, and no one can find any flaws in her assassinations.

The four words "Death-Taking Night Owl" became the deepest nightmare for the powerful and wealthy of the Great Liang Dynasty.

When they eat, they wonder if the food is poisoned.

When they sleep, they think about whether the owl will come tonight.

When they went to court, they would think about whether any of their colleagues were being watched by night owls.

They didn't even dare to turn on the lights at night, because the light would reveal their location.

Someone offered a reward of 100,000 taels of silver for the head of Night Owl, but no one dared to accept it.

Someone spent a fortune hiring fifty bodyguards to protect him day and night, but Night Owl still managed to kill his target right under their noses and then disappear without a trace.

Someone turned their mansion into an impregnable fortress, so impenetrable that not even a fly could get in. Yet, Night Owl managed to get in, kill someone, and come out. No one knows how she did it.

Ah Jiu knew nothing about any of this.

She doesn't read tabloids, listen to rumors, or care what others think of her.

She only knew one thing—every mission was a practical training exercise. Every kill was a honing of her martial arts skills. Her progress in real combat was more than twice as fast as when she was in the Dark Pavilion.

In one year, her martial arts skills broke through from the early stage of the Transformation Realm to the middle stage. Her internal energy was twice as strong as before, her perception range expanded to twenty zhang, and the speed of her sword strikes was so fast that it was almost impossible for the naked eye to catch them.

Her current strength has surpassed Zhao Tianbao's and is approaching the level Zhao Tianhu was at in his lifetime.

But she knew that wasn't enough.

The strength of a mid-stage Transformation Realm cultivator is already top-tier among ordinary martial artists. However, it is still insufficient in the face of truly top-level masters.

Hades is at the Core Formation stage, while Chen Beixuan is at the peak of the Transformation stage, only one step away from the Core Formation stage.

She is still one major realm and one minor realm away from them.

She needs more practical experience, more accumulation of knowledge, and more time.

October of the seventeenth year of Yong'an.

When Ajiu returned to Luojing, it was late autumn. The ginkgo leaves in Luojing had turned yellow, and when the wind blew, the streets were covered with golden leaves, like a golden snowfall.

She walked down the street in the East Market, wearing a gray cotton robe, her hair tied into a braid with a strip of cloth, and her face was unadorned.

She looked like a girl from the countryside who had come to Luoyang to make a living. Nobody gave her a second glance.

In the private room of Tingyuxuan, Bai Yu was waiting for her.

He wasn't fanning himself today; there was only a file on the table in front of him.

His expression was different from usual, as if something big was about to happen.

"There is someone who wants to see you," Bai Yu said.

Ajiu looked at him.

"Who?"

Bai Yu was silent for a moment, then said a name.

"The Sixth Prince, Xiao Yan."

A-Jiu's eyes narrowed slightly.

The sixth prince, Xiao Yan.

The emperor's sixth son, whose title was "King Zhao".

Known in the court as a playboy, he frequented brothels, was ignorant and incompetent, and was the laughingstock of the powerful and wealthy in the capital.

It is said that his greatest hobbies are drinking, appreciating flowers, and visiting brothels; his greatest skill is spending money; and his greatest characteristic is being a good-for-nothing.

Why would a useless prince want to see her?

"How much did he offer?" Ah Jiu asked.

Bai Yu shook his head: "It's not an assassination mission. He wants to discuss cooperation with you."

"Cooperation?" A-Jiu raised an eyebrow slightly.

"What's the point of a spoiled prince cooperating with an assassin like me?"

Bai Yu looked at her, and a deeper meaning suddenly appeared in his gentle eyes.

"Night owl," he said.

Have you seen him?

"no."

"Then how do you know he's really just a spoiled prince?"

Ajiu fell silent.

Bai Yu pushed the dossier in front of her.

"This is all the intelligence on the Sixth Prince," he said.

"You'll understand once you see it, why he wants to see you, and why I suggested you go see him."

Ajiu opened the file.

The first page is a portrait.

The person in the painting is about twenty years old, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, a handsome face, and a faint smile on his lips.

Those eyes were bright, but not in a sharp way; rather, they had a perpetually sleepy brightness.

Below the portrait, a line of small characters reads: "Sixth Prince Xiao Yan, titled 'Prince Zhao'."

His apparent identity: a spoiled and uneducated prince.

Real identity: Owner of Qianji Tower.

Ajiu's fingers paused.

She looked up at Bai Yu.

Bai Yu smiled.

"I forgot to introduce myself," he said.

"My name is Bai Yu, the deputy head of the Thousand Machines Pavilion. The head of the pavilion... wishes to meet you in person."

The private room was extremely quiet, so quiet that you could hear the ginkgo leaves falling onto the roof.

Ajiu looked down at the portrait in the file, at those eyes that seemed to be perpetually asleep.

She suddenly realized that things were much more interesting than she had imagined.

A prince who pretends to be weak while actually being powerful, a Thousand Machine Tower owner who pretends to be useless, and a true ruler who manipulates the underground intelligence network.

He wants to see her.

Ajiu closed the file and placed the portrait at the bottom.

"When?" she asked.

"Three days later," Bai Yu said, "outside Luoyang City, at Shili Pavilion. At dusk."

"Is he alone?"

"one person."

Ajiu stood up and tucked the file under her arm.

"Tell him," she said.

"I will go. But if he has any ill intentions, my blade will not show mercy just because he is a prince."

Bai Yu smiled.

"I will definitely convey those words," he said.

"But I think that hearing this will only make him want to see you even more."

Ajiu didn't answer, pushed open the door, and went out.

Outside the door, ginkgo leaves fluttered in the air like a golden rain.

She stood at the entrance of Tingyuxuan, watching the leaves twirl in the air and fall to the ground, onto the roof, and onto the shoulders of passersby.

She reached out and caught a ginkgo leaf.

The leaves are golden yellow, shaped like a small fan, with clear veins and slightly curled edges.

Ah Jiu examined the leaf from both sides twice, then let go and let the wind blow it away.

three days later.

Shili Pavilion.

The sixth prince, Xiao Yan.

A man who pretends to be weak to take advantage of others, and a woman who kills without hesitation.

She suddenly realized that this meeting might be quite interesting.