Chương 18: Virtue for Murder

Once she was home, Gu Zhiwei opened her panel and messaged Oliver: Do you know who those animals in the palace are and where they're staying? Oliver replied almost immediately: You've already met Fang Yan and Amanda. Princess Yihua brought them to the Winding Stream Banquet. They're the ringleaders. Lee Jae-young is staying with them at Qizhen Court, where the Yong Emperor houses his Daoist adepts. There was a fourth man at the imperial audience, but that's all anyone knows about him. He doesn't live in the palace.

Gu Zhiwei: Any local adepts staying with them? Can you get me a map? Oliver: The three of them made quite a show of their powers, so the Yong Emperor gave them the entire north wing of Qizhen Court. Fang Yan demonstrated turning stone into gold, but I suspect his skill is actually matter transmutation. Someone even saw him turn an iron sword into molten iron. Amanda has some kind of foresight, though I don't know how far ahead she can see. Everything she's shown so far has only been a few minutes.

Lee Jae-young can control fire. Be ready before you make a move. I'll get you the map by nightfall. Security is tight inside, so I'll lead you in when the time comes. Gu Zhiwei: You know what I'm planning to do, and you still want to wade into it? Oliver: There comes a time when a man must hazard something for conscience's sake. If this be not the hour, another shall come. Gu Zhiwei: Who said that? Oliver: Oliver D. Fairfax. Gu Zhiwei gave a quiet laugh: Very well, Mr. Fairfax. I'll be in touch.

After that, she opened the party channel and laid out what she was thinking, along with everything she had just learned about the outlander players. Chen Li answered first: Zhiwei, killing them is the easy part. Dealing with what comes after is harder. Three outlanders dying in the palace will definitely be investigated by the emperor. Gu Zhiwei: If we don't do it, there will be more massacres. Matt: Agreed. I'm in. Aglaya: Me too. I'm no good in a fight, but I can keep watch. Chen Li went quiet for a moment.

Chen Li: How sure are you? Gu Zhiwei: Don't worry, Uncle Chen. I'll be disguised. Chen Li: Good. Plan your way out first. Don't get yourself trapped in there. Wang Pu: Translated from Uncle Chen, that means you may kill them, just do it clean. Chen Li: All right, that's enough. Wang Pu: Yes, sir. Oliver's map of the palace arrived before dark, with the guard posts and patrol routes marked in detail. Gu Zhiwei spread it out under the lamp. The candlewick spat and crackled.

The palace gates, the night patrol routes, the north wing of Qizhen Court, the fastest escape route: she marked them all in fine strokes of red ink. She stared at the lines crossing and recrossing the paper, running through the three players' abilities and every escape route that might work. Without her realizing it, her Spirit power flowed into the page. The ink came alive. The boy of seven or eight she had seen outside the bookshop had grown into a youth. He wore a plain blue-green robe and knelt on a bamboo mat.

Facing him sat an old man with hair and beard gone gray, the desk between them piled with law codes, military treatises, and maps. Outside the window, a cold rain fell without pause, water sliding off the tiles into a stone trough. The old man pinned down a corner of the map with a paperweight.

"Suppose a treacherous minister controls the court. You kill him, but the man who takes his place is still his creature. What then?" The youth raised his eyes.

"Then I kill his power first."

"How?"

"Split his faction, cut off his support, take the reins of power from his hands. Give every man under him something of his own to want, and someone of his own to suspect. When his allies have all turned and his power is spent, that is the hour to take his head."

"And if time will not wait? If he must die now?" A testing look entered the old man's eyes as he shifted the ruler three inches east, stopping it over the river that marked the border between the two states.

"Then make sure the emperor's favor dies with him."

"How?"

"To kill only the man is the lesser course. To make his crimes call down Heaven's punishment, until the emperor himself sees him as a great peril, is the greater course. If you would have him die at once, let no human hand hold the blade. Let the punishment fall from the sky." The youth's eyes were startlingly bright.

"Only your student does not yet know how to win Heaven's help. I ask my teacher to instruct me." Outside, the rain came harder all at once, and something uneasy gathered in the wind and water. The old man was silent for a long time, then pushed several Daoist scriptures across the desk to him.

"Master these, and your apprenticeship is complete. Ji Heng, I have never in my life seen a mind like yours. If one day you stand at the pinnacle of the court, I ask only one thing of you: do not forget the road you came by." Ji Heng took the volumes in both hands and bowed until his forehead touched the mat.

"Your student will remember." The old man nodded.

"Go. Qi has declared war on us. The realm is descending into chaos. Take your talents to the imperial court, and save the people from the suffering of war." The scene shifted, and the old man was gone. The youth knelt at the desk, the Daoist scriptures opened before him and several sheets of yellow paper laid out. He dipped the tip of his brush lightly in the cinnabar and began at one edge of the paper. Lift, press, turn, break.

At the final stroke, his wrist paused for the barest instant, and a talisman of impossible intricacy took shape on the page. A thread of faint light traced the edge of the paper, then vanished. He set down the brush and suddenly turned his head.

"Have you learned it?" Gu Zhiwei froze. Before she could speak, the scene shifted again. Fire. Fire without end. The city walls stretched for miles, silent in the flames. Charred beams cracked one after another, and cries rose and fell somewhere behind the smoke. Ji Heng, a young man now, stumbled out of a brick house with half its roof gone. A half-full chest of books, all he had managed to save from the fire, was lashed tightly to his back, and his sleeves were scorched black.

Far off, several corpses hung from a gate tower, swaying slightly in the hot wind. The houses, the market wards, the terraces, none of it could be made out anymore. Only ash filled the sky, like black snow that would not stop falling. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. That year he was twenty-one. Behind him, the city was dying. Ahead of him, countless people carried the old and led the young, walking in silence into the wilderness.

He looked back one last time at the city that had been his home, then turned, hitched the book chest higher on his back, and joined the long line of refugees. So the curtain rose on the age of chaos. From the far side of the firelight, he looked at her again.

"Why are you still standing there? Go walk your road. Forge your own Way." The panel surfaced without a sound. 【Retrocognition Record Two: The Commoner Scholar of the Realm】 【Current progress: 5% → 25%】 A vast body of knowledge flowed into her mind. The way of arms, the way of deception, the arts of alliance and division, and finally, The Daoist Scriptures: Book of Talismans. Lines that had meant nothing to her a moment ago fell into order.

Where to begin a stroke, where to end it, all of it as clear as if she had drawn it a thousand times. Gu Zhiwei looked down at the map of the palace defenses on her desk. Beyond the three openings she had already circled, she could now see a fourth way in. A sequence of moves fell into place as well: pin the blame on Consort Shu, then let Heaven's punishment deal with the outlander players. She opened the panel, went into the group chat, and pulled Oliver in. Gu Zhiwei: @Matt We move at midnight.

Meet at the north palace gate. @Oliver Please cover us from inside, and remember to borrow the face of someone in Consort Shu's household. Matt: Understood. Oliver: My pleasure. Then she shared the full plan and the routes for tonight. Chen Li: Be careful, all of you. Wang Pu: Sis Gu is running the imperial palace dungeon tonight and all I get is the after-action report. Tragic that I don't get to see it live. Gu Zhiwei: That's about enough out of you.

The night had deepened, and the palace city lay silent. Outside the north palace gate, a middle-aged eunuch, pale-faced and beardless, stood with a lantern in hand, dressing down the guardsmen on duty.

"Her Ladyship Consort Shu has summoned these masters to perform rites and ward off evil. If they miss the auspicious hour, exactly how many heads do you think you have?" His voice was thin and high, each sentence ending in a slight tremor. The palace lantern lit his face, a brown mole plain beside one nostril, and even the loose skin at his throat gave nothing away. If Gu Zhiwei hadn't known from the chat that this was Oliver, she would never have recognized him.

She and Aglaya had changed into gray-blue Daoist robes and black Daoist hats, with thin gauze veils hiding their faces and leaving only their chins visible. She also carried a wooden case. The bow Matt had brought her and his short sword were hidden in a false bottom, while yellow paper, a jar of cinnabar, and a small bundle of incense sticks lay on top. Matt's robe and hood had been another last-minute find. The robe pulled a little tight across his shoulders. The gate guards were still checking the palace passes.

Aglaya took half a step forward, her voice gentle.

"We are the adepts Her Ladyship Consort Shu summoned. We come tonight to ward off evil and pray for blessings. You have already checked our passes. You may let us through." The guard's tight expression loosened, inch by inch.

"Yes. Already checked."

"Hurry up. Don't make Her Ladyship miss the auspicious hour!" Oliver urged again. The guard stepped hurriedly aside, and the four of them walked into the palace city. A night wind swept through the deep palace lanes. Somewhere, a water clock dripped steadily. A file of guardsmen passed beneath the wall. The soldier in front carried a torch, their armor flashing bright and dark in the swinging light. The man clearly recognized the face Oliver was wearing.

"Eunuch Zhou, bringing people into the palace at this hour?"

"Her Ladyship Consort Shu hasn't been sleeping easy these past few days. These masters were recommended by the outlander adepts at Qizhen Court. They've come to perform the rites at midnight." Hearing that the outlanders currently so high in the emperor's favor had vouched for them, the soldier asked nothing further and led his men away. The north wing of Qizhen Court lay deep at the end of a palace lane, with only a few lamps burning in the courtyard.

Fang Yan had the west wing, Amanda the main chamber, and Lee Jae-young slept in the warm chamber on the east side. Relying on their powers, none of them had ever thought to ask for guards. They were about to pay for that mistake. Matt and Gu Zhiwei split up and quietly knocked out the two eunuchs standing outside the courtyard gate, then dragged them out of sight.

"We have a half-hour window," Oliver said in a low voice.

"After that, the next patrol comes through." Gu Zhiwei took the longbow from the case, vaulted onto the palace wall facing the west wing, and tipped the bow toward Fang Yan's room. Matt got the message. He moved quietly up to the west wing and rapped lightly on the door. The door opened on Fang Yan's puzzled face. Matt locked an arm around his neck from behind and drove the short sword into him. At the same moment, the door of the main chamber flew open. Amanda rushed out, already drawing breath to shout.

Gu Zhiwei's arrow struck her high in the shoulder before she could get the words out, knocking her back against the stone steps. Gu Zhiwei closed her eyes for a moment, then drew and shot again. Before Amanda could recover, a second arrow drove into her thigh. Fang Yan was wounded but still had strength left to fight, and Matt soon found that the blade would no longer go in. The short sword in his hand had gone from keen metal to a length of rotted wood.

Fang Yan tore loose from Matt's hold and ran for the courtyard gate, shouting for help. But he was not faster than Gu Zhiwei. She drew the bow to a full moon and loosened three arrows at once. They shrieked across half the courtyard and went straight for his head. Only then did Fang Yan see her up on the wall, the night wind lifting her veil to reveal her calm, familiar face. His eyes went wide, but he had no strength left to fight.

"You... you're... Gu..." Three more arrows struck his chest. Fang Yan fell backward with his eyes still open, blood running down his face, and never finished the sentence. The system's voice came abruptly in her ear. 【Player Fang Yan has died. 】 【Target Evil Value: 15. 】 【Player has actively executed a target with Evil Value. 】 【Virtue and Evil System unlocked. 】 【Virtue Value gained: 5. 】 Gu Zhiwei's fingers went stiff on the bow. This was the first time she had truly killed a person.

The sting of the string was still in the pads of her fingers, and her stomach tightened slightly. Virtue and Evil? What was that? A crash came from the east wing as someone smashed through a window. Lee Jae-young had worked out that shouting was useless. He went straight through the window and ran. Aglaya was already waiting below the wall.

"Stop. You should look behind you." His stride faltered for a moment, and he actually turned around against his will. Aglaya's skill worked on players too, only far less reliably than on the locals. Lee Jae-young remained dazed for two breaths, long enough for Matt to pin him. Then he snapped out of it and flung out a hand, sending a ball of fire at Matt. Gu Zhiwei was ready. Without either of them saying a word, a Spirit barrier was already in place around Matt. Matt broke Lee Jae-young's neck with practiced ease.

Then Matt paused too and looked up at her. Gu Zhiwei guessed he had gotten the same Virtue and Evil notice. She dropped down from the wall, walked over to Amanda, who was still alive, and asked, "What is this Virtue and Evil System? You all have it. You know how it works."

"Why hunt players?" Amanda glared at her and gritted her teeth, saying nothing. An arrow still protruded from her shoulder, another from her thigh, blood darkening the fabric around both wounds. There was nowhere left for her to run. Aglaya crouched down in front of her.

"Tell us. You're safe. No one else will ever know this secret." Amanda's breathing slowly evened out, her gaze beginning to drift.

"Because... there's a reward."

"What reward?"

"Killing earns Evil Value. Evil Value buys stats." Her words slurred.

"Fang Yan said if you kill enough, Strength and Spirit both go up..." Gu Zhiwei checked the Virtue Value on her panel and noticed two faint plus signs fading in and out beside Strength and Spirit. Before she could study them, Amanda tore free of Aglaya's hold, whipped a short dagger out from behind her back, and lunged at Gu Zhiwei. Aglaya went white in an instant. Matt, who had never stopped watching, was already there. He ripped the dagger away and twisted Amanda's neck hard to the side.

She convulsed a few times, then stopped breathing. Matt: "Don't lose focus in a fight." Gu Zhiwei nodded at once.

"It won't happen again. Thank you." Aglaya kept patting her own chest, and it took her a while to calm down. Oliver's voice came from outside the courtyard gate.

"Time to pull out. The next patrol is ten minutes away." They moved quickly, dragging the three bodies back inside. Once the other three were out, Oliver put on Fang Yan's shape and slapped the two eunuchs awake.

"Wake up. Enough sleeping." They opened their eyes in a fog. When they saw Oliver, it took them a moment to realize what was happening.

"Master Fang..."

"Hmph. Asleep on watch. It took half the night to rouse you." Both eunuchs snapped fully awake and dropped to their knees to beg pardon.

"Fetch me some paper and a brush. And the lamp oil's running low. You two get to nap out here while I stay up worrying over His Majesty's affairs." Oliver copied Fang Yan's swagger perfectly.

"Go on. Both of you. And bring plenty." Neither eunuch dared say no, and they went flying off for the things. Oliver caught up with Gu Zhiwei's group before the next patrol arrived. The four of them stopped in front of a disused palace building.

"You said you'd finish this with Heaven's punishment. How, exactly?" Oliver asked with interest. Gu Zhiwei opened the case and took out the cinnabar, the yellow paper, and the incense one by one. Aglaya hurried over to help.

"Oh, you really are going to use this? When you were packing it, I thought it was purely for show." Gu Zhiwei nodded and said nothing more. She lit the incense. Then she spread out a sheet of yellow paper and dipped the brush in the cinnabar. With her eyes closed, she reconstructed in her mind the intricate, uncanny talisman she had seen. The instant the brush tip touched the paper, she focused her Spirit power into the tip. The first stroke went down, and light rose off the page.