Hidden Shadow – CH 205

Chapter Two-Hundred-Five: Lighting the Lanterns

Zhu Pianxian thought about it carefully and realized that Sheng Changying’s words made perfect sense. Chu Dingjiang had gone to great lengths to bring her here; surely it was not just to kill her?

She pursed her lips slightly and smiled at Sheng Changying.

Sheng Changying’s ears burned, and he quickly lowered his head.

After Zhu Pianxian left, someone soon came to take Sheng Changying to hand over the official documents, while the others went together to the Lantern Lighting Tower.

The Lantern Lighting Tower was right next to the Konghe List, an inconspicuous two-story building. The only difference from other places was the number of lanterns hanging in front of the door.

As soon as they entered the building, someone came forward to check the tokens.

Rows of red lanterns illuminated the room in a blood-red glow.

An Jiu saw that each lantern had a brief description of the task written on it in tiny characters.

“You are all new recruits. There are no tasks assigned to you yet, so you can choose freely.” The middle-aged man in green official robes pointed to the lanterns and introduced them one by one. “These tasks have a deadline of seven days or less, that one has a deadline of half a month, the ones opposite have a deadline of one month, and those on the second floor have a deadline of three to six months. If you want a task longer than six months, go to the back courtyard.”

The longer the timeframe, the more difficult the task. The Konghe Army used a point accumulation system; the more difficult the task, the higher the score. Of course, the more of these tasks one completed, the easier it was to get promoted.

“You can first take a look at the words on the lanterns, weigh the difficulty level for yourselves, and then come over to draw lots,” the official said, pointing to several porcelain jars in the center of the room.

Gao Dazhuang went upstairs without hesitation.

The others dispersed and looked around the room.

An Jiu understood the rules and went straight to the row of tasks with a deadline of seven days or less. She did not want a promotion; she only accepted the tasks to find a place to stay so she could find Mei Yanran.

After looking around, everyone understood the difficulty level of the tasks.

Most people made conservative choices, except for Lou Mingyue and Qiu Yuntong, who chose tasks within half a month. Everyone else, like An Jiu, chose tasks within seven days.

An Jiu looked around; these tasks were not all about killing. There were other things, such as protecting officials, searching for people, finding medicine, and such. They were not dangerous, but they were not necessarily easy. Sometimes killing a specific target was easier than searching for something whose whereabouts were unknown.

“May I ask, My Lord, what happens if the task fails?” Sui Yuntong asked the official.

“Continue with the mission. Until it is completed. Points will be deducted according to the task you received.” The man, seeing him standing before the simplest lot-drawing altar, said, “Points will be deducted every seven days until the mission ends.”

Li Qingzhi interjected, “What are the consequences of point deductions?”

The official replied, “There will not be any punishment, but such people will become useless trash that the Konghe Army can dispose of at any time. As for how to deal with them, you will understand once you’ve been here long enough.”

Sui Yuntong had already taken a wax pill from the altar. After crushing it, a small slip of paper was revealed inside.

The official said, “Go and fetch the corresponding lantern and bring it to me for recording. Leave your token, and you can leave.”

Sui Yuntong read the contents of the slip of paper, his eyes lighting up. This was one of the missions he wanted: to find someone in Bianjing City.

The others followed suit, drawing lots one by one. After the missions were revealed, some were happy, some were sad.

An Jiu drew the last lot. After crushing it, Sui Yuntong leaned over to look.

An Jiu had saved Sui Yuntong at Piaomiao Mountain Mansion last time. Since then, Sui Yuntong had become somewhat closer to her.

An Jiu got the escort job, but strangely, the instructions only stated that a large wedding procession would pass through the city’s Imperial Street in three days, and those who drew the assignment were responsible for protecting the bride.

An Jiu did not speak, turning to fetch a lantern.

After receiving their assignment, the group returned to the empty house.

“Let’s choose the three-courtyard house,” Sun Dixian said. “We are new here, and we’ve been divided into a team, so staying together will help us look after each other.”

Apart from An Jiu, a pure external cultivator, Sun Dixian had the weakest internal strength among them. Staying in a group would be most beneficial for her, but putting that aside, her words were not without merit. Moreover, the guide had initially suggested the same thing.

Lou Mingyue first hung the lantern on one side of the gate, followed by the others.

An Jiu hesitated slightly.

Sui Yuntong hung up a lantern, turned to her, and said, “Fourteenth Young Lady, let’s go together. If we run into trouble, it is always better to have more people than one.”

An Jiu’s purpose in coming to the Konghe Army was clear: to find Mei Yanran. Not wanting to cause any unnecessary trouble, she thought for a moment and then hung her lantern by the door as well.

From the outside, the three-courtyard compound looked quite grand, with many rooms, but most were simply furnished, and most did not even have beds.

Everyone found a room.

An Jiu and Sui Yuntong entered the courtyard last, so they could only choose from the remaining rooms.

The rooms were all similar, but An Jiu took a liking to a room with bamboo groves in front. Inside, there was only a table, a bed, and a stool. Because it had not been lived in for a long time, a thick layer of dust had settled on everything. The bed curtains were tattered, and cobwebs were everywhere.

“Fourteenth Young Lady.” Sui Yuntong knocked on the door, leaning a broom against the entrance. “Use this to clean.”

“Thank you.” An Jiu went to get the broom and, glancing around, noticed a bell lying on the floor near the door.

Sui Yuntong followed her gaze. Because it was outside, the bell was not covered in dust, and in the moonlight, one could vaguely see its patterns and old, mottled bloodstains. “This room is unlucky. Why not move to my room?”

That bell was the kind that hung in the corner of a room after someone from the Konghe Army died.

An Jiu put down the broom, went outside, picked up the bell, and brushed off the dust. The bell was about the size of an egg, round, with a long, thin bronze plaque about two fingers thick hanging inside, making it look different from ordinary bells.

“This is a token!” Sui Yuntong exclaimed in surprise.

The thing hanging inside the bell was the lamp-lighting token distributed to them by the guide.

An Jiu, with her keen eyesight, had already seen it from the arched bridge. She was not surprised, but looking at the bloodstains on the bell, she said, “This person must have died after returning.”

As she spoke, she took a strip of cotton cloth used to bandage a wound from her pocket and hung the bell on the windowsill.

Sui Yuntong said, “I just privately inquired with Lord Sheng. This is called a Soul Bell. According to you, this person returned wounded and ultimately died?”

“He forced himself to come back to hang the bell for himself.” An Jiu listened to the bell jingling clearly in the wind. “It’s alright to grant him his wish.”

Sui Yuntong remained silent. This was the only evidence of the Shadow of the Konghe Army’s existence in this world.

…

Everyone returned, finished unpacking, and rested for two hours. Before dawn, the group set off from the mansion to carry out their respective missions.

Black-clad figures flashed past like ghosts all around; only An Jiu walked slowly down the street.

She crumpled the note, then suddenly quickened her pace, running at a speed almost as fast as someone skilled in martial arts.