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.
A decade ago, Ma Yinlong was still a haughty and successful young man. His teacher was Zhang Shoushan of the Bureau of Punishments, and Lord Zhang had a beautiful daughter, who was betrothed to him.
Whenever the Goguryeon assassins struck, they never left behind any survivors, and among the victims was the beloved daughter of Lord Zhang.
However, this matter wasn't well known, and Wang Chong had only heard of it by chance.
Thus, in terms of grudges, there were very few who could surpass the Bureau of Punishments's Fang of the White Tiger.
In fact, the existence of the Fang of the White Tiger had played a huge role in why King Sosurim had to lie low for that period of time.
However, despite Ma Yinlong's deep understanding of King Sosurim, he still failed to catch the spy for his entire life.
When King Sosurim launched his next mass assassination, Ma Yinlong was finally recalled by the populace once more.
Unable to accept that he had failed to stop King Sosurim once more, Ma Yinlong finally broke down.
The last news that Wang Chong heard of Ma Yinlong was that after King Sosurim successfully escaped back to the Goguryeon empire, he moved to where his teacher, Zhang Shoushan, was buried, built a straw cottage, and after several years, he also met his death.
When Wang Chong heard the news back then, he also felt deep pity for him.
Without a doubt, Ma Yinlong was a talented person. While he had failed to capture King Sosurim, he was a figure that even King Sosurim had to be wary of.
Wang Chong felt that he deserved to be given a chance to exact his vengeance!
This was also the reason why Wang Chong suddenly changed his mind when he saw the latter outside Royal Jade Pavilion. Not only would the pursuit of King Sosurim save the officials of the royal court, Ma Yinlong would also be bringing himself redemption through this.
"It's futile. You have found the wrong person. I can't help you on the matter with King Sosurim. I suggest you find someone else." Hearing Wang Chong's request, Ma Yinlong turned down the offer without the slightest hesitation.
"Mister Ma, what if I say that King Sosurim intends to launch an assassination operation similar to that a decade ago, only on a greater scale? Do you still intend to keep your hands out of it?" Wang Chong smiled coldly.
"What did you say?!" Hearing Wang Chong's words, Ma Yinlong's expression immediately warped in astonishment. He abruptly stood up and stared at Wang Chong with reddened eyes.
"Mister Ma, I'm here to tell you that King Sosurim is about to act once more!" Wang Chong said grimly.
Boom!
A shadow flashed, and even before Miyasame Ayaka could process what had happened, a figure was already standing before them. Ma Yinlong stared at the duo with killing intent raging in his eyes.
"If I were to find out that the both of you are lying to me, I'll make sure that you two die a tragic death!"
Ma Yinlong's face was incomparably dark. Even Miyasame Ayaka found her heart turning cold as her senses screamed warnings of the immense threat before her.
However, Wang Chong simply laughed casually. It was as he had expected. While Ma Yinlong had lain low for the past decade, he had never been able to put down the matter regarding King Sosurim.
"Mister Ma, I'm sure you can easily tell whether I'm speaking the truth or lying!" Wang Chong said confidently.