123 Long-Range Assassination

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In November, Yang Tang planned to make a trip to Hangzhou with Danqing and the Scholar, two of the Seven Worthies of Forget-Sorrow. Before setting out, he asked his senior fellow disciple, Gu Yuexuan, to purchase a rare item that was due to arrive at the valley shop within the next two days: a Ten-Thousand-Year He Shou Wu.

Last year, Gu Yuexuan had received two million coins from Yang Tang but had only managed to spend six hundred thousand of it on medicinal herbs and pills. This year, he had received another million coins and had been worrying that he would never find a chance to repay Yang Tang. Naturally, he agreed without hesitation.

“Leave it to me, Junior Brother. By the time you return from Hangzhou, that Ten-Thousand-Year He Shou Wu will be waiting for you!”

Half a day later, Yang Tang arrived in Yangzhou with Danqing and the Scholar. He then parted ways with them, completing several quests throughout the city that increased his health, internal energy, attack, and defense. He also opened a chest on the embankment outside Tang Bohu’s residence and obtained the long-coveted Mother-and-Child Swords.

The Mother-and-Child Swords were a paired weapon with an attack rating of seventy and the special effect “Combo.”

Afterward, Yang Tang went straight to Xu Ziyi, who was drinking tea in the city. He began challenging virtual versions of the Heavenly King and Dragon King with the Solitary Nine Swords paired with Golden Swallow Skill. Since he could enter formal combat scenes, and the false Heavenly King and Dragon King were weaker than their genuine counterparts, Yang Tang—whose evasion was exceptionally high—won nine battles in a row.

His own attributes rose once again by a small but noticeable amount: forty-six health, thirty-two internal energy, twenty attack, and seventeen defense.

At the hour of the Dog, at the Spring Joy Courtesan House, in the famous courtesan Xiang’er’s private chamber—

Listening to Xiang’er sing and play, Yang Tang frowned slightly. The lovely woman before him had already finished one song, yet he still had not received any enlightenment notification.

Damn it. This girl must not be singing with enough sincerity or passion. How am I supposed to harvest her voice?

Just as Yang Tang was growing frustrated, Enlightenment suddenly arrived.

Her vocal cords could be cut out. One hundred merit points could dissolve the malign energy, and one hundred sin points could convert it into quest progress.

Yang Tang’s face sank like water.

Is this telling me to kill her?

“Young Master, Young Master.” Seeing that Yang Tang seemed distracted, Xiang’er, the Gandharva, hurriedly stopped playing and called out to him.

Yang Tang deliberately paused, pretending he had only just returned to his senses. He looked at Xiang’er in confusion.

“Is something the matter?”

“It is already late today, and you seem somewhat tired. Why not spend the night here with Xiang’er?”

Yang Tang barely gave it any thought before replying, “How could I do that? I cannot ruin Miss Xiang’er’s reputation.”

The wariness in the depths of Xiang’er’s bright eyes swiftly vanished, replaced by a coquettish, wandering gaze.

“Since Young Master puts it that way, Xiang’er will see you out. If you would like to meet me again, please come to the Pavilion in the Heart of West Lake at noon tomorrow. Xiang’er will have a gift for you then.”

Yang Tang hurriedly cupped his fists.

“I will certainly be there at noon tomorrow. For now, I shall take my leave!”

The following day, at the Pavilion in the Heart of West Lake—

Yang Tang indeed saw Xiang’er again.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Xiang’er sang another song. When the melody reached its climax, Yang Tang was frowning and hesitating over whether to strike when he suddenly heard the enlightenment notification:

“The Gandharva has displayed the deepest passion in her singing. Three of the Four Perfect Voices have now been collected!”

“Excellent! Excellent!”

Hearing the notification, Yang Tang could not help applauding, instantly disrupting Xiang’er’s rhythm.

Xiang’er was somewhat displeased, but did not lose her temper. She merely asked with a hint of annoyance, “Young Master Yang, why are you applauding?”

Yang Tang gave a foolish chuckle.

“Miss Xiang’er’s voice is simply too beautiful. I could not help myself.”

“Very well, let us forget it. It was an unintentional mistake. We shall part ways here.”

“Then… farewell!”

Yang Tang put on a reluctant expression and watched Xiang’er leave.

Upon returning to Carefree Valley, Yang Tang found that Gu Yuexuan was indeed a man of his word. He handed over a perfectly preserved Ten-Thousand-Year He Shou Wu.

Back in his own little cottage, Yang Tang used Eagle Eye to confirm that the herb was genuine. After establishing that it was beneficial and nonpoisonous, he immediately circulated his energy through the meridians, regulated his breathing, and swallowed the He Shou Wu.

Enlightenment informed him:

“The Dreamwalker’s health has increased by two thousand. Internal energy has increased by two thousand.”

Afterward, he simply converted three thousand health and three thousand internal energy into physique and magical power. With that, Yang Tang had converted a total of five thousand health and five thousand internal energy.

Once the conversion was complete, Yang Tang’s attributes while disguised were 3,762 health, 4,001 internal energy, 330 attack, and 398 defense. They were already quite impressive.

One had to understand that he had only joined Carefree Valley a year and two months earlier. If Wuxia Zi saw these attributes, he would undoubtedly be astonished. He would either treasure Yang Tang as a priceless prodigy or kill him on the spot. There would be no other choice.

After that, until the end of March in his third year, Yang Tang devoted himself to training in silence. From time to time, following the game guide, he interacted with Ren Qingxuan. Together with Jiang Yu, the son of Jiang Tianxiong, he also learned that the Dharma King Likong planned to steal the Forty-Two Chapter Sutra.

At the beginning of April, Yang Tang brought a peony he had cultivated to the Luoyang Flower Fair. After successfully winning the title of Flower King, Ren Qingxuan’s favorable impression of him increased greatly, and she also taught him how to cultivate the Drunken Hibiscus.

At the beginning of May, Yang Tang went to Chengdu on Wuxia Zi’s orders. After returning, he spent nearly five months doing little besides cultivating Drunken Hibiscus, devouring snake gallbladders, bear gallbladders, rainbow carp, and divine fish, training furiously, and fighting wild beasts.

His strength rose dramatically:

Martial arts: 306
Practical combat: 315
Insight: 100
Internal cultivation: 100
Swordsmanship: 100
Fist and palm techniques: 90
Leg techniques: 20
Staff techniques: 19
Saber techniques: 41
Hidden weapons: 65
Paired weapons: 100
Finger and claw techniques: 0
Short weapons: 0
Musical skill: 81

Health: 5,201
Internal energy: 5,368
Attack: 607
Defense: 655

The speed at which his attack and defense increased was not quite as fast as he had imagined, but that was unimportant. What mattered was that Yang Tang had discovered this method of training produced visible results.

It was unlike the real world outside the dream. If one trained for half a year there, one could probably sense whether one had improved, but it was impossible to say exactly how much progress had been made.

By the beginning of September in his third year, Yang Tang was wandering through Forget-Sorrow Valley when he successfully triggered the final event in his pursuit of Ren Qingxuan’s younger sister: “The Hibiscus Evokes Longing.”

At that point, he knew very clearly that the dream’s game plot had entered a critical stage.

According to the strategy guide Yang Tang remembered, Kinnara—the fourth of the Four Perfect Voices—appeared only once before the finale, during the “Civil War within the Heavenly Dragon Sect” event.

The earliest that event could begin was at the start of October. If he did not obtain Kinnara’s voice then, the final battle would be filled with enemies and allies alike. Even if he managed to kill Kinnara, he might not be able to seize his corpse and cut out his vocal cords.

“Enlightenment, if I kill Kinnara with an aimed snipe and then cut out his vocal cords, will that count as completing the quest?”

“Of course. The quest only cares about the result, not the process!”

That was exactly what he wanted to hear.

Although Yang Tang was forbidden from using aimed sniping during formal turn-based combat, no rule said he could not use it for a surprise assassination. He intended to exploit that loophole.

Unfortunately, without realizing it, his heart had already begun to grow cold and hard.

Once he had decided to assassinate Kinnara, Yang Tang made thorough preparations. At the far end of the woods he often visited, he found a small mountain peak from which he could overlook the entire forest.

He placed five powerful bows at the summit in advance, along with twenty arrows for each. Once October arrived, he stationed himself at the peak every day, remaining there until the sun had completely set. Only then would he fight a round against wild beasts before following the path back to Carefree Valley.

Around the fourth day of October, Yang Tang had been keeping watch from the summit until past noon when Eagle Eye, which he had kept active the entire time, revealed more than a dozen members of the Heavenly Dragon Sect entering the forest. Every one of them shone with golden light in his eyes.

“Lock on to Kinnara,” Yang Tang thought.

In an instant, the dozen golden forms vanished, leaving only a single golden glow in the forest.

“So you really came. We have no grudge between us, but if I want to escape this dream, I have no choice but to kill you!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Yang Tang drew an arrow and loosed it. The dark arrow, enhanced with the third-level armor-piercing mode, shot through the air toward that golden glow.

At the same time, Yang Tang changed the target of Eagle Eye.

“Lock on to the Eight Heavenly Dragon Attendants.”

Instantly, three more golden glows appeared besides the one representing Kinnara.

If he remembered the plot correctly, those three were Mahoraga, Yaksha, and Xiang’er the Gandharva.

He immediately took up another powerful bow. First, he fired three arrows in succession at the three targets, using the first-level absolute-hit mode. Then he nocked nine arrows between four fingers and scattered them with the second-level multiple-tracking mode.

Inside the forest, Mahoraga and Yaksha, accompanied by several low-ranking members of the Heavenly Dragon Sect, ran into Xiang’er and Kinnara.

After exchanging greetings, the two sides began trading sarcastic remarks.

Mahoraga was especially vicious. His tongue was as poisonous as a snake’s.

“Well, well, if it isn’t Kinnara. What is this? Wearing women’s clothes today? Your gender has always been such a mystery.”

Kinnara shot Mahoraga a glance without answering. Instead, Xiang’er said, “Mahoraga, if you wish to obey the Dragon King’s orders, we will not interfere. But it would be best if we stayed out of each other’s way.”

Yaksha, dressed provocatively and strikingly beautiful, immediately perked up.

“Oh, really? You call yourself a well? With the way you hide in the Spring Joy Courtesan House year-round, there’s no way your well could remain clean!”

Xiang’er fell silent, momentarily speechless.

Kinnara could not let that pass.

“Yaksha, what kind of nonsense are you spouting—”

Before he could finish, an arrow from beyond the heavens suddenly pierced through his heart.

Kinnara clutched the wound and staggered twice before collapsing to the ground. Blood began to seep from the corner of his mouth.

“An armor-breaking arrow?!”

Mahoraga, Yaksha, and Xiang’er were all badly startled. They knew very well that Kinnara’s internal cultivation was no weaker than that of anyone present, yet a single arrow had grievously wounded him.

What was more, the archer was concealed somewhere in the darkness. This was clearly an attempt to take all their lives.

Their panic lasted only a moment before they regained their composure. Mahoraga in particular stretched his neck and glanced in every direction, trying to locate the attacker.

But at that instant, the air was filled with the ceaseless whoosh of arrows tearing through the sky.

“Damn it!”

Mahoraga cursed violently and leapt with Yaksha toward the dense canopy. At the same time, the protective energy that had previously remained close to his skin burst outward, scattering the tracking arrows into fragments.

Just then, another arrow—the “armor-breaking arrow” they had named it—struck Kinnara squarely between the brows.

Kinnara, who had already collapsed to the ground, fell backward onto his back. He could do nothing but twitch feebly. Then he fell silent.

Seeing this, Xiang’er threw herself onto Kinnara’s corpse and began to weep uncontrollably.

Mahoraga and Yaksha were both terrified. They exchanged a glance and began considering escape.

But the instant the thought arose, arrowheads emerged from their throats.

A few stray arrows continued to fall from time to time, instantly killing the low-ranking members of the Heavenly Dragon Sect. At last, Xiang’er managed to pull herself together amid her grief. She planned to retreat temporarily from the strange arrows and seek an opportunity for revenge.

Unfortunately, Yang Tang was the sort of person who never stopped once he began.

Every member of the Heavenly Dragon Sect present had already been marked for death. Killing Xiang’er as well would make no difference.

He fired another armor-piercing arrow, ending the threat once and for all.

By the time Yang Tang reached the scene, every member of the Heavenly Dragon Sect was dead.

He first carefully cut out Kinnara’s vocal cords intact. Following Enlightenment’s instructions, he placed them in the currently empty fourth storage compartment of the Nameless Ring, using merit to dispel their malign energy and sin to convert them into quest progress.