Chapter 671: Hunting the Fox-Headed Man

Yan Kai repeatedly persuaded Li Jin, eventually convincing the reluctant Li Jin to agree to his plan. Li Jin sighed and said, “Very well! I agree to your plan, but can the guards in the mansion handle such a dangerous assassination?”
“We won’t take action ourselves, and none of the mansion’s guards may participate. This way, even if there are suspicions, no evidence against the prince can be found. I plan to hire assassins to do this task; let me handle the planning and execution so as not to trouble the prince.”
As long as he could distance himself from the matter, that was Li Jin’s bottom line. Since Yan Kai wanted to use assassins, Li Jin was only too happy to agree. He took out half a jade pendant from his waist and handed it to Yan Kai, saying, “I have 10,000 guan deposited at Wang Baoji’s bank. Use this half jade pendant to withdraw the money. You take care of everything—no need to consult me further.”
“Thank you for your support, Your Highness. Good news will surely arrive within a day or two.”
…
Soon, a carriage left the back gate of the Peng Wang Mansion and rushed toward the North Market in Chengdu in the darkness. By then, Chengdu had lifted its curfew. Like Chang’an, Chengdu also no longer closed its gates at night. At night, the doors of various neighborhoods were left open, but the streets were deserted, with hardly any pedestrians in sight. The aftermath of the searches still lingered, as families kept their doors tightly shut and their lights dim, plunging the entire city into utter darkness.
Yan Kai was extremely cautious. He stopped halfway to rent a carriage from a carriage shop and only proceeded to the North Market after confirming that no one was following him.
Unlike other areas, the North Market had some activity. This search had caused heavy losses there—few people were captured, but there was significant financial loss, especially among jewelry and jade shops. They were searched three times, and almost every shop suffered losses of over 1,000 guan. One such shop, Sun’s Jewelry Store, had a batch of jewels hidden in the attic discovered by the searching soldiers. The owner and employees were forced into a room, and when they came out, the jewels worth 8,000 guan had vanished—causing immense losses.
After the devastation, families were counting their losses and preparing to reopen the next day. Relatively speaking, the horse market suffered the least. Their goods were difficult to carry, so they preferred to lose money rather than risk being seized. Each shop lost around 100 guan. One pig shop owner was caught hiding a sword and had to pay 500 guan to avoid being taken away.
Thanks to Cui Yuan’s reputation, Qianli Ma Shop was not disturbed after the first search. At that time, all shops in the horse market were busy counting their goods, except for Qianli Ma Shop, whose doors were tightly closed and lights extinguished, as if no one was inside.

In the backyard of Madian, there was a room with lights on. Inside were only Shi Jingzhong and Yan Kai. It was their second meeting. Shi Jingzhong had received an order from Chang’an to cooperate fully with Yan Kai. He also knew well that Yan Kai was Li Qing’an’s most crucial pawn in Southern Tang, especially during the struggle between the two princes for succession, when the importance of this pawn became even more apparent.

Yan Kai placed half a piece of jade on the table and pushed it toward Shi Jingzhong. “With this, you can obtain 10,000 guan from Wang Baoji’s money house. You may take 3,000 guan. Return the jade pendant to me after using it.”

Yan Kai was trying to give instructions to Li Jin. Shi Jingzhong was aware of this, but he had no interest in money. He asked in a low voice, “Who do we need to kill?”

“Linghu Fei!”

Yan Kai uttered that name. “He must die within two days. Once he dies, the internal struggle for succession in Southern Tang will intensify. This is also the general’s order.”

Seeing Shi Jingzhong remain silent, knowing that this was the first time the Intelligence Department was hunting a high-ranking official in Southern Tang and that the risks were great, Yan Kai said, “If there are difficulties for now, then within three days.”

“No! There are no difficulties,” Shi Jingzhong replied without hesitation. “By tomorrow night at the latest, I will ensure that your plan succeeds.”

Yan Kai stared at Shi Jingzhong, seeing his determined gaze—he believed he could kill Linghu Fei by tomorrow night. He wasn’t sure whether to trust this man or laugh at his overconfidence. Yan Kai sighed secretly. Not wanting to say more, he nodded and said, “I’ll be going back now.”

After leaving the North Market, Yan Kai returned directly to Prince Peng’s mansion. As soon as he left, Shi Jingzhong ordered weapons to be retrieved from the river. Dozens of bows, crossbows, and swords were stored in sealed pottery jars, tightly wrapped in oilpaper, so they remained dry. Shi Jingzhong gently stroked a large crossbow. It had followed him for nearly twenty years, its wooden handle worn smooth and shiny. Holding it, he felt as though the crossbow and he were one.

Tomorrow was a day off from court, the perfect opportunity. He would take action personally.

……

Linghu Fei’s residence was not far from the East City Gate, located in Huansha Workshop. It was a large mansion covering about 30 mu, originally named Gui Residence, famous for its ten 300-year-old osmanthus trees. It was a renowned beautiful house in Chengdu. Since Li Heng trusted Linghu Fei greatly when he first arrived in Chengdu, he bestowed this beautiful mansion upon him, drawing envy from many.

Linghu Fei was appointed Minister of Revenue, holding supreme control over the Southern Tang’s financial affairs. His high position and power attracted an endless stream of officials eager to flatter and curry favor with him. Especially on days off, there was no end to the officials who came to pay him visits and bring gifts, particularly local officials who valued Linghu Fei’s control over finances even more.

Linghu Fei himself was not an honest or self-disciplined official. On the contrary, he was extremely greedy. Having experienced extreme poverty in his youth, he placed great importance on wealth. He welcomed all the officials who brought gifts with enthusiasm. In just over a year, he had amassed tens of thousands of gold coins from these gifts alone.

Today happened to be a day off, and many changes had taken place in the Southern Tang recently. Rumors suggested that Li Qing’an’s army was about to attack the Southern Tang, putting all officials on high alert as they tried every means to obtain insider information. Last night, Linghu Fei had entered the palace to offer advice, and it seemed the emperor had listened to him. This made Linghu Fei the focus of everyone’s attention. Everyone wanted to learn the emperor’s stance and what strategies he would adopt, as it affected everyone’s interests. Having insider information would allow them to prepare in advance.

From dawn, Linghu Fei’s residence was filled with carriages. Many officials came bearing gifts, knowing full well that Linghu Fei would not see those who came empty-handed.

Today, Linghu Fei seemed quite relaxed. He knew that less was more—he had already conveyed everything he needed to the emperor. It was now the emperor’s turn to consider matters carefully. He was confident that by tomorrow at the latest, the emperor would summon him for another discussion. He was proud; he had been Li Heng’s advisor in the past and would continue to be one in the future—Li Heng could not do without him.

It was this confidence that allowed Linghu Fei to accept bribes without restraint. Starting in the morning, he received everyone who came, talking with each official and offering guidance to those seeking information. He was like a high priest of a religion, receiving worship from his followers.

On the second floor of an inn about two li away from Linghu Fei’s residence in Huansha Workshop, Shi Jingzhong sat by the window, with a clear view of Linghu Fei’s residence. He had been there all morning yet showed no signs of impatience. They were waiting for their chance.

The Intelligence Bureau had many tasks, such as gathering military and civilian intelligence, spying on important information of the Southern Tang Dynasty, and so on. One of these tasks was to monitor the activities of high-ranking officials in the Southern Tang, including investigating their wealth and finding weaknesses against them. Linghu Fei, as the Minister of Revenue and chief financial official of the Southern Tang, was naturally on the bureau’s priority list.

The Intelligence Bureau had been keeping a close eye on Linghu Fei’s actions. Shi Jingzhong dared to agree to Yan Kai’s request to eliminate him the next day because he knew an opportunity would arise today.

Tomorrow would be the final day for determining the salt merchants of the Southern Tang. The country’s salt mainly came from nearly a thousand official salt wells in Rongzhou. The Southern Tang implemented a salt monopoly system, where the government controlled all the salt wells and sold them directly to a few major salt merchants at 110 wen per dou, who then handled distribution. As a result, the biggest profits went to the government first, followed by the major salt merchants. Merchants from all over would use any means necessary to secure a spot as a salt merchant.

One of the most effective methods was to bribe Linghu Fei. Linghu Fei also served as the Minister of Salt and Iron, holding direct decision-making power. Since tomorrow was the final day for selecting salt merchants, a major merchant from Shuzhou was expected to visit Linghu Fei today.

Shi Jingzhong had spent the entire night organizing intelligence and had already identified a pattern: whenever gifts worth over 2,000 guan were given, Linghu Fei would be very enthusiastic and often personally see the guest out of his residence. If this merchant from Shuzhou wanted to secure a spot as a salt merchant, his gift would surely be worth no less than 10,000 guan.

Time passed slowly, and evening was approaching. Perhaps because Linghu Fei no longer received visitors, the number of carriages in front of his residence gradually decreased. Only one or two officials refused to leave, holding gifts and waiting for their last chance.

Inside the tavern, Shi Jingzhong continued to wait patiently. He sipped his wine slowly, his gaze never leaving Linghu Fei’s residence. His own carriage was parked downstairs in the tavern, having waited for a long time as well. Suddenly, one of his subordinates rushed into the room and whispered, “News came from the city gates—the merchant from Shuzhou has entered the city.”

Shi Jingzhong perked up and asked, “Is everything ready on that side?”

“It’s ready. Our men are already waiting outside the city walls.”

Shi Jingzhong drained the wine in his cup. Suddenly, the sound of hurried horse hooves came from the street outside. Dozens of mounted guards escorted a luxurious carriage as it entered the city gates—this was the merchant from Shuzhou.

Shi Jingzhong stood up and strode downstairs. The opportunity was approaching. He got into the carriage below and ordered, “Drive the carriage up and stop a hundred steps away.”

The carriage slowly set off toward Linghu’s residence and stopped beside a wall a hundred steps from the mansion’s gate. Shi Jingzhong took out his crossbow from beneath the carriage and nocked an arrow. With a loud “bang!”, the arrow was fired—extremely powerful.

He then took out a poisoned arrow from the quiver. Its tip glowed blue with phosphorescence. This kind of poisoned arrow was deadly; it would kill instantly upon contact with blood.

Shi Jingzhong was originally a crossbowman. Back then, whether under Wang Zhongsì or Geshu Han, he was a renowned crossbowman in the Longyou Army, known for his superb archery skills. After being promoted to Lieutenant General, he still commanded the archery units of the Longyou Army. Today, he would take action himself.

He carefully placed the poisoned arrow in the arrow slot and once again focused his gaze on the mansion gate, waiting for the final opportunity.

Linghu Fei indeed came out. He warmly welcomed the wealthy merchant from Shu into the mansion. The two officials waiting outside, lacking sense, tried to approach to flatter him, but were ruthlessly driven away by Linghu Fei. How dare they interfere when the God of Wealth had arrived?

Although Linghu Fei welcoming him out was also an opportunity, it wasn’t the one Shi Jingzhong was waiting for. Things had to be done through to the end. Given Linghu Fei’s love for money and the generosity of this wealthy merchant from Shu, he would surely see to it that the merchant was sent out of the mansion with proper respect.

Linghu Fei’s mansion gate slammed shut, leaving the area in front of it deserted, with only the merchant’s carriage and a dozen guards remaining.

It was already dark. About half an hour passed before the main gate of Linghu Fei’s mansion opened. Usually, only the side gates were used that day. Shi Jingzhong narrowed his eyes, his hand gradually tightening around the crossbow…

Linghu Fei was in high spirits. The generosity of this wealthy merchant from Shu far exceeded his expectations—fifteen thousand guan! He had only expected the merchant to offer at most ten thousand guan, which would have satisfied him, but he never imagined the amount would be fifteen thousand guan. He was overjoyed.

For these fifteen thousand guan, he even opened the main gate to see the merchant out.

“Minister Linghu, I leave my matter in your hands.”

“Hehe! Please rest assured, Master. Since I’ve promised, I’ll see it through to the end. Just wait to get rich!”

Linghu Fei escorted the merchant down the steps. The merchant got into his carriage, opened the window, and said with a smile, “Minister Linghu, you may go back. I’ll be leaving first.”

Linghu Fei bowed with a smile and said, “Please take care on your journey, Lord.” At that moment, a carriage came slowly from the opposite direction. Linghu Fei glanced at it—it was quite ordinary, no different from the carriages one could see everywhere on the streets—so he paid it no mind and turned to head back to his mansion. Just then, someone suddenly shouted behind him, “Minister Linghu, an imperial edict has arrived!” Linghu Fei was startled and quickly turned around. But in the instant he did, there was a ‘click!’ as a crossbow was released, and a poisoned arrow shot toward his face like lightning. His eyes froze as he saw a flash of blue light in the darkness. ‘Thud!’ The powerful arrow pierced Linghu Fei’s forehead, with only half of it remaining outside. His gaze became vacant, then blurred, his face turned dark, and he collapsed face up on the ground. The servants at the entrance of the mansion were stunned into silence, unable to react for a long time. Shi Jingzhong’s carriage accelerated. Instead of heading toward the mansion’s exit, it turned and headed deeper into the Huansha District. At that moment, shouts could be heard coming from Linghu Fei’s residence, “Someone help! The minister has been assassinated! Come quickly!” The door of a house near the district wall opened, and the carriage drove straight into the courtyard. Shi Jingzhong jumped out of the carriage and strode toward the back yard, which was bordered by the district wall. A ladder had already been set up there. Shi Jingzhong climbed the ladder and scaled over the wall. Outside the wall, a carriage was waiting for him. He got into the carriage, which quickly set off toward the East City Gate not far away. By then, chaos had erupted in the Huansha District, but the news hadn’t reached this place yet. The city gates remained open. After yesterday’s searches, the guards at the gates had become much less vigilant, allowing people to come and go freely with little inspection. Without incident, the carriage left the East City and soon disappeared into the thick night fog… Minister of Revenue Linghu Fei’s assassination shocked the entire court, and the situation in Chengdu, which had just relaxed, became tense again. Especially, the rivalry between Crown Prince Li Xi and Prince Peng Li Jin over the throne became even more intense due to Linghu Fei’s death.