"A true expert!" Wang Chong's eyebrows twitched in surprise. That person was much stronger than he had initially expected him to be.
The onlookers dispersed, and pedestrians quickly filled the street once more. Just like a bubble on the surface of the sea, the commotion slowly disappeared. Other than Wang Chong, Miyasame Ayaka, and the guards from the Zhuang Clan and Chi Clan, no one paid the matter any heed.
And the person didn't seem to have noticed Wang Chong and his group either. As the man finally straightened his body, Wang Chong suddenly caught sight of his face.
"It's him?" Wang Chong's eyelids twitched, and a name suddenly flashed across his mind. He didn't expect to meet that person here.
"Gongzi, you know him?" Miyasame Ayaka asked as she stared at the gloomy back of the middle-aged man, until he slowly disappeared amidst the crowd.
"Un," Wang Chong nodded with a bizarre glint in his eyes.
"Follow me. We might have really found a formidable aid this time around!" Wang Chong said, changing his mind. Instead of returning back to the Wang Clan, he turned around and walked in the direction the middle-aged man disappeared in.
---
"Bureau of Personnel? He's an official from the Bureau of Personnel? But if I'm not mistaken, this should be one of the branches where the minor officials in charge of copying documents live. Given his capabilities, isn't it a huge waste for him to be working here?"
Staring at the yamen in front of her, the doubt in Miyasame Ayaka's eyes deepened. Even though it hadn't been long since she had arrived at Central Plains, she learned quite a few things in her time as an assassin in the capital.
The Great Tang royal court was divided into the Bureau of Rites, Bureau of Personnel, Bureau of Works, Bureau of Military Personnel, Bureau of Punishments, and Bureau of Revenue. However, other than these six main bureaus, there was still almost a hundred smaller yamen throughout the capital in charge of handling different problems.
Considering how dilapidated this yamen looked, it should be one of the least important yamen under the Bureau of Personnel.
Throughout the year, the officials here would rarely meet any important official. They would spend the majority of their time copying books and documents. In a sense, they were the most lowly-regarded members of the Bureau of Personnel.
The requirements of this job were low, and even a commoner could rise to the job. Given that middle-aged man's skills, it was a waste of his talents to be working here.
Wang Chong gazed silently at the dust-filled signboard of the yamen. If he was only half-certain before, upon seeing this yamen, he was now one hundred percent confident of that middle-aged man's identity.
"Li Man, you should wait outside with the others. I'll enter for a moment,' Wang Chong instructed the Zhuang Clan and Chi Clan guards before walking into the yamen.
The rules of government administrative offices were strict. Even a small yamen that was only in charge of paperwork wasn't accessible to the average citizen.
After flashing the token King Song gave him, Wang Chong walked in without any problem.
"What are you doing? Do you know what time is it? Do you think that you're still working at your Bureau of Punishments? You really think that you are the same genius back then?"
"You trash. Back then, you couldn't capture the murderers who killed the important officials of the royal court, and now, you're even having problem copying documents. Tell me, is there anything that you are capable of?"
"Useless fool! I'll tell you this now, if you don't finish copying these documents today, don't even dream of returning tomorrow!"
While Wang Chong was still in the courtyard, he heard a crude voice bellowing insults in the residence. The words uttered were so grating to the ear that even Wang Chong couldn't stand it any longer.
"Enough!"
Frowning, Wang Chong stepped into the room. With a quick glance, he saw a dozen or so officials busy copying documents with their heads down. However, considering the huge mountain of papers placed on their desk, it was unlikely they would be done anytime soon.
At an angle diagonal to the entrance where Wang Chong was standing, a person who seemed to be the supervisor of this yamen was currently wagging his finger at the middle-aged man Wang Chong had seen outside the Royal Jade Pavilion.
On the other hand, the unkempt middle-aged man had his head lowered, listening to those insults without the slightest complaint. Recalling the reputation of this man a decade ago, Wang Chong couldn't help but feel deep sympathy.
No one would have thought that this man would end up in such a state back then.
"Who are you?"
The supervisor was currently at the peak of his rage, and upon seeing a stranger barging in, he immediately flew into a temper.
"This is an administrative office of the royal court, don't you know that outsiders are banned from entering the premises?! Furthermore, to dare to interfere in the affairs of my yamen, who do you think you are?"
Shua shua shua!
In the hall, the other officials also raised their heads to look at Wang Chong. Considering how there were only a total of thirty or so people in the entire yamen, they were extremely familiar with one another. As such, the presence of an outsider such as Wang Chong was so conspicuous that it was hard to not notice it.
"Hmph!" Wang Chong couldn't be bothered to waste his words, so he immediately whipped out a golden token and flashed it to the supervisor.
Upon seeing the golden token, the supervisor's face immediately paled.
While he was only a small supervisor in a shabby yamen, to survive in the capital, he had to at least know those standing above of him. The token in Wang Chong's hand was clearly the token of a qinwang, and considering how the word “Song” was inscribed on it, there was no doubt that it belonged to the reputable and influential King Song, Li Chengqi!
It had been twenty years since an influential official had visited their office, let alone a real qinwang.
"So gongzi is a man of His Highness King Song!" The supervisor quickly walked over the desk and up to Wang Chong. Then, with a bent back and a subservient tone, he asked, "Pardon me for my lack of courtesy, I didn't know of gongzi's arrival. May I know if there are any instructions from His Highness?"
"That's none of your business. I'm here for him."
Wang Chong lifted a finger and pointed toward the unkempt middle-aged man not too far away. His actions caught everyone off-guard.
The unkempt man had been listening subserviently with a lowered head all along, but upon hearing that this unfamiliar young man was here for him, he couldn't help but glance at the outsider in astonishment.
"Him?"
The supervisor was surprised as well. He didn't expect that Wang Chong was here to look for the most despised person of their department.
"Gongzi, are you certain?"
"Hmph! Do you think I don't know who I am looking for? Or do you think that you know better than me?!" Wang Chong replied sharply.
"This... Gongzi, please do not misunderstand. This is not what I meant!" The supervisor quickly waved his hands awkwardly. While he was perplexed over the happenings, he was sharp on his feet.
Regardless of what Wang Chong was here for, it was none of his business. A person as noble as King Song was not someone that insignificant officials like them could offend, so it was best for him to stay out of the other party's way.
"Alright, everyone should rest for today. Ma Yinlong, I'll leave this gongzi to you. Take care of him well. If anything happens, I'll have you take responsibility."
Knowing that he had probably incurred the dislike of that gongzi with his previous shouting, the supervisor quickly beckoned everyone out, leaving behind only Wang Chong and Ma Yinlong.
"It's really him!"
The final sliver of doubt vanished from Wang Chong's mind. Recalling the celebrated genius of the Bureau of Punishments a decade ago, and looking at the subservient, unkempt middle-aged man before him now, Wang Chong found it hard to bel
ieve that the both of them were actually the same person.
Back then, those who suffered from the Goguryeon assassinations weren't just the victims themselves.
"Who are you? I don't think that we have met before."
Now that only he and the young man was left in the room, Ma Yinlong finally lifted his head and gazed at the other party coldly. He exuded an aura that seemed to distance others from him. His attitude was much different from how he was before the plump merchant and the supervisor.
Ever since the incident a decade ago, he didn't want to have anything to do with influential officials or nobility anymore.
"Hehe, you might not know me, but I know you," Wang Chong chuckled as he revealed the true aim of his visit. "I'm here to invite you to help me capture a man."
"I fear that you might have gotten the wrong person. I'm just a humble official in charge of copying documents. If you need help capturing someone, you should visit the Bureau of Punishments or Bureau of Military Personnel. I won't be able to help you at all, so I advise you not to waste your time," Ma Yinlong replied coldly.
"You need not be in such a rush to reject me. Allow me to finish my piece first. Our operation this time round involves the Goguryeons," Wang Chong said.
A frown appeared on Ma Yinlong's face, but it disappeared in a flash, as though it was just an illusion.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm uninterested in the Goguryeons. The door is there, so I advise you to leave right now."
Ma Yinlong grabbed a folder of documents and started working copying them onto another sheet of paper. It couldn't be clearer from his attitude that he wanted Wang Chong to leave.
"Not even King Sosurim?" Wang Chong chuckled.
Boom!
Those words immediately caused a huge storm. Ma Yinlong's face immediately warped, and his brush was abruptly folded into two halves.
At the same moment, the air in the room suddenly turned turbulent. A powerful and fearsome aura burst into the surroundings.
This aura was so strong that even Wang Chong, who had already reached Origin Energy Tier 9, felt insignificant, like an ant before a tsunami. It was as if he was plunged into the most stormy ocean in the world, and a huge wave of thousands of chi high was threatening to crash down on him, reducing him to dust.
To think that this fellow is actually this fearsome! Feeling the immense pressure weighing down on him, Wang Chong's face darkened.
More than a decade had passed, but not only had Ma Yinlong's fighting prowess not declined, he even seemed to have grown much stronger. Even the True Martial realm Goguryeon warriors that Wang Chong faced previously would be nothing more than a speck of dust before him.
This was true strength!
__________________________
TL Notes:
Yamen is an administrative office and/or the residence of a local bureaucrat.
Qinwang is a position usually conferred to the brothers or relatives of the emperor. For example, King Song and King Qi.
Chapter 249: Yet Another Helper!
Chapter 249: Yet Another Helper!
Fang of the White Tiger!
A name surfaced in Wang Chong's mind. This was the name of the person dubbed to be the greatest genius of the Bureau of Punishments a decade back.
His fighting prowess was considered to be top-notch among his peers.
Even though he was demoted to a lowly yamen of the Bureau of Personnel and had spent more than a decade of his life aimlessly, he didn't seem to have backed down on his training.
Profound Martial realm!, Wang Chong thought. Ma Yinlong's cultivation had clearly exceeded True Martial realm, reaching the ranks of Profound Martial realm.
"Gongzi, be careful!"
Just as Wang Chong was in contemplation, a shout arose. Sensing that Wang Chong was seemingly in danger, a dark silhouette jumped down from the roof, headed for Ma Yinlong.
Crap!
While Ma Yinlong did reveal his full might, there was little killing intent behind his actions. Wang Chong knew this, but Miyasame Ayaka clearly didn't.
As soon as Wang Chong stepped into the yamen, Miyasame Ayaka climbed onto the roof to keep a lookout. Thus, when Ma Yinlong made a display of his strength, Miyasame Ayaka thought that he meant Wang Chong harm and quickly leaped down to launch an attack.
"Halt!"
Wang Chong was astonished. He knew that Miyasame Ayaka was no match for Ma Yinlong, the ex-Fang of the White Tiger of the Bureau of Punishments. However, Miyasame Ayaka moved so quickly that even he couldn't stop her in time.
Klang! In the air right above Ma Yinlong, a cold gleam flashed from Miyasame Ayaka's three chi long sword as it headed for Ma Yinlong's head.
(~1m)
"Hmph!"
Amidst frenzied wind in the room, Ma Yinlong, who was seated behind his desk, lifted his gaze to glance at Miyasame Ayaka, and a cold gleam flashed across his eyes. Without even moving in the slightest, boom!, a black Deluge of Stellar Energy came pouring out from Ma Yinlong's body.
That pitch-black Deluge of Stellar Energy shook even space itself, and a metallic tone reverberated in the air.
Peng!
Struck by the wave of Stellar Energy, Miyasame Ayaka found her Origin Energy dissipating, and like an autumn wind sweeping up the fallen leaves, she was sent flying before she could even react.
"Mister Ma, stop!"
Panicking, Wang Chong charged forward to grab the falling Miyasame Ayaka while yelling for Ma Yinlong to stop.
"Who are you? Who sent you over? It has been more than a decade since I've retired from the Bureau of Punishments, the matter regarding the Goguryeons has nothing to do with me anymore. Tell me, who in the world sent you over?"
Ma Yinlong raised his head from his desk, his previous subservient and gloomy face replaced with a sharp and menacing one. Like a savage white tiger, his cold eyes seemed to peer into the depths of one's soul, inducing shivers in one’s heart.
Under such a stare, one would feel as though he was pierced by needles and subconsciously avoid it.
The atmosphere immediately grew tense. Wang Chong could sense Ma Yinlong's killing intent building up. If he couldn't offer the other party a satisfactory answer, this Bureau of Punishments's Fang of the White Tiger might just kill him in rage.
"Miyasame Ayaka, how are you? Are you injured?" Ignoring Ma Yinlong, Wang Chong held onto Miyasame Ayaka and asked her concernedly.
"I-I'm fine..." Miyasame Ayaka's black veil had been torn apart by the previous strike, revealing her extremely pale face. It seemed like having her Origin Energy dissipated had left her extremely feeble. However, her cheeks were flushed red as though fire was burning on them. Facing Wang Chong's gaze, she subconsciously turned her face away.
"Hmm?"
Wang Chong was taken aback by her gesture and froze for an instant. However, he soon realized that their position was extremely intimate—the first since they had met.
"This..." Wang Chong awkwardly placed Miyasame Ayaka down before turning his head away silently as well.
"Hmph, I'm not so kind as to go easy on you each time. If you can't offer me a satisfactory answer, it won't end so lightly the next time." Ma Yinlong's cold voice covered in the room. Only then was Wang Chong's attention pulled back to the situation before him.
"Mister Ma, just like what I've said, I'm here for the matter regarding King Sosurim. While you might have hidden yourself, you should know that people of my standing wouldn't find it too hard to uncover your whereabouts," Wang Chong said with a slightly proud tone.
As the scion of a prestigious clan, it was indeed not too difficult for him to uncover the whereabouts of a person. Regardless of where Ma Yinlong was hiding, as long as he remained in the capital, Wang Chong would surely be able to find him.
This was the influence wielded by the scions of nobility and prestigious clans, as well as their pride.
Ma Yinlong froze for a moment before his complexion finally turned gentler.
"Mister Ma, as you would know better than anyone else, the Goguryeon empire poses a huge threat to Great Tang. King Sosurim, as the chief of the Goguryeon spies operating in Great Tang, is a target that we must take down. In that incident back then, you were one of the leaders in charge of pursuing King Sosurim. Having investigated his affairs for a decade, I believe that you know him much better than anyone else. Thus, I wish to engage your help to capture King Sosurim!" Wang Chong asked grimly.
Wang Chong had made a lot of preparations to deal with the Goguryeons. With King Song's backing and the troops from the royal court, it would be easy to clear out the bases of the Goguryeons.
However, a weed had to be torn out from its roots. The death of a batch of Goguryeon warriors wasn't anything much to the massive Goguryeon empire.
As long as they wished to, they could send in batch after batch of soldiers to cause massive destruction.
To deal real damage to the Goguryeons, they had to strike at the vitals. In other words, they had to uncover their chief spy, King Sosurim.
Only after clearing away this chief spy could the threat on the lives of Great Tang's influential officials be resolved. At the very least, without this man, the influence the Goguryeon empire possessed in Great Tang would be diminished significantly.
However, King Sosurim was a very cunning man.
While Wang Chong was confident in dealing with the experts dispatched from the Goguryeon empire, he had no confidence in capturing King Sosurim.
This was the main reason why Wang Chong came to seek Ma Yinlong's help.
More than a decade ago, when King Sosurim assassinated important officials of the royal court, Ma Yinlong, as the youngest genius of the Bureau of Punishments, was one of the people in charge of the case.
He had pursued King Sosurim for years, but due to the lack of results, he ended up being expelled from the Bureau of Punishments and was demoted to the Bureau of Personnel, becoming a humble document copier.
But even so, Wang Chong knew that no one had a better grasp of King Sosurim than him.
Back then, among the officials that King Sosurim killed was Ma Yinlong's teacher, as well as the woman that he loved.
The Human Emperor c1-2382 Page 187
