Chapter 8 Dissolution

  "You... you..." Tang Song's eyes widened in shock, pointing at the white horse standing beside Mu Er. For a moment, he couldn't think of what to say. The white horse didn't respond, with a faint smile on its face, but that smile seemed sinister to Tang Song.

  It was Mu Er who suppressed her excitement and looked at Tang Song with deep affection, saying: "Yuan Ming brother, Bai Niang is the old master's noble guest, Madam asked me to find a room for her on the upper floor, you... go to her room first and wait for a while." Tang Song was now in a state of panic, not even thinking about responding to Mu Er's words, but instead staring intently at Bai Ma's face, afraid that she would suddenly become angry.

  "Mu'er, I have some acquaintance with this Tang officer, and I suppose he has a lot to say to me at the moment. Would you mind stepping aside for a bit?" Bai Ma said calmly to Mu'er. Mu'er's expression turned wary upon hearing this, and she looked at Tang Song with an unfriendly gaze. Tang Song put on a helpless face, indicating his innocence. However, Mu'er deliberately put on a fierce expression, clearly warning Tang Song not to have any improper thoughts about this woman. Only then did she leave with small steps.

  "You... how could Master let you go." After Mu Er left, Tang Song pretended to be calm and instead took the initiative to ask Bai Ma.

  "There's something strange going on." The white horse, with its hands behind its back, walked around Tang Song in small steps, saying nonchalantly: "Cao An is indeed a clever person, he knows that if he moves me, it will only bring the wrath of the White Dragon Sect, but what I didn't expect was that I would become his pawn."

  "What do you mean by 'chess piece'?"

  Looking at Tang Song like an idiot, Baima said with a face full of disdain: "You're really stupid to the point of being ridiculous, you don't even understand how someone as clever as Cao An would let you be in charge."

  He paused, and then White Horse said faintly: "He gave me an irresistible reason. Although I am one of the leaders of the White Dragon Society, in the eyes of outsiders, our White Dragon Society is just a group of dogs raised by the government. We repeat killings until one day we are killed by others. This is the fate of us assassins, a lifetime, always being a knife in someone else's hand."

  In ancient times, the life of an assassin was far from that of a modern-day hitman or spy, especially for ordinary assassins. The superficial grandeur and heroism could hardly conceal the deep sadness in their hearts. They did things that couldn't be seen by others, and if they succeeded, they would receive praise and rewards from their masters, and could enjoy good food and drink to their heart's content. However, before finishing a pot of wine, they might have to leave for another mission to the ends of the earth, and whether they could return safely depended on luck. If they failed, they might be punished by their master, kicked out of the house, or even killed by their own people. Dying in the line of duty was actually a more honorable way for an assassin to die. Even famous assassins like Jing Ke, Yan Zhuo, and Nie Zheng didn't have a good end. Assassins risked their lives, wasn't that just a desperate move of self-destruction?

  After hearing Baima's words, Tang Song's hostility towards the woman in front of him dissipated a lot, and instead, he felt a thread of sympathy. However, he really couldn't figure out what reason his master used to tame this female devil who killed people without blinking an eye.

  It seemed that the white horse had seen Tang Song's confusion, and explained: "He wants to give me a great credit, this credit is enough to let me sit in the position of the big head, become a red man in front of the officials, and get rid of the predetermined fate."

  "With such great merit, I'd like to congratulate the young lady in advance. However, I think Master must have also gained something from her."

  The white horse let out a loud snort and laughed, its eyes staring straight at Tang Song.

  Tang Song rubbed his nose and said with a puzzled expression: "What are you doing to me?"

  Bai Ma saw that Tang Guan Shi was an impatient person, so he deliberately teased him to satisfy his curiosity. At this time, seeing his appearance was quite comical, he also didn't hide it anymore and lightly said: "In my opinion, this matter is simply not worth mentioning. Your master's only requirement is for Miss to follow you, this good-for-nothing, to Xia Zhou together, to ensure your safety and the Cao family's survival."

  "Ah, ah!" Hearing the white horse say that she would go to Xia Zhou with him, Tang Song's face suddenly tightened. This woman didn't say anything but once they were on the road, he had no idea how she would take revenge on him, so he hastily said: "How dare I trouble Miss to condescend? Tang has his own hands and feet, ordinary bandits can't do anything to me, of course I can go to Xia Zhou."

  "Hmph." The white horse coldly said, "I am a man of my word. Once I promised Cao An, I won't go back on it. Moreover, your skin is too thick. With just your skills, you think you can survive to Xia Zhou? Do you really think the people of Baidragon Sect are easy to bully?"

  After saying this, Baima thought of how he was inexplicably schemed and captured by him, his face turned red with anger, and he huffed: "Anyway, the credit Cao An gave me is also in Xiazhou, let's just consider it a coincidence that we met on the way."

  Tang Song pouted after listening, seeing that Baima's attitude was firm and not as ferocious as before, so he didn't say anything else, stretched out his hand to bid farewell, and went to find Mu Er by himself.

  "Ah, my good Mo Yu, what's going on?" Tang Song knocked on Mo Yu's door for half a day without getting an answer, so he pushed the door open without hesitation. Unexpectedly, he saw Mo Yu with a resentful face turned towards the window, with two streaks of tears on her cheeks. Tang Song carefully put his hand on Mo Yu's shoulder, but was brushed off by Mo Yu, who was clearly holding back tears. Tang Song scratched his head and said: "Mo Yu, you're not thinking that I have a relationship with that Bai girl, are you? It's unjust! Not only do I not have any connection with her, but we also have old grudges."

  "Brother Yuanming doesn't need to explain, this place has no silver three hundred taels. Others know that during this period of time, Brother Yuanming has been busy running around outside, so naturally he needs to find someone to relieve his boredom. That white girl is also quite pretty..." Mu'er said with a pursed mouth.

  "You say she's pretty? Thinking carefully, it really is. Didn't notice." Tang Song said thoughtfully.

  "You're speaking the truth!" Mu Er heard him agreeing with her words and suddenly two strings of pearls couldn't help but flow out from her eyes again.

  Tang Song gently wrapped his arms around Mu Er and said slowly: "No matter how beautiful she is, what does it have to do with me, Tang Liang? In my heart, there is only one person, that is Mu Er, who is brighter than the moon and more beautiful than flowers. I have Mu Er, this life is enough, no need to think about others."

  Mei's tearful eyes looked up at Tang Song, sobbing softly. Tang Song continued: "I'll be leaving again tonight, this time I'm going to Xia Zhou, and it may not be until next year that we can meet again. Mei, wait for me in the mansion, wait for my return, and let's spend our lives together."

  Before Mu'er could respond, Tang Song's lips had already landed on hers.

  Outside, on the rooftop, a beautiful female assassin, White Horse, crouched down and eavesdropped on the movements inside. She didn't even know how her normally calm self would suddenly have a wild idea to sneak onto the roof to eavesdrop. After hearing Tang Song and Mu Er kissing and whispering sweet nothings to each other, White Horse snorted in disgust and jumped off the rooftop, walking away as if nothing had happened.

  The Cao family's convoy set off. Tang Song, as the person in charge, sat in a carriage pulled by two horses and led the way at the front of the over 100 vehicles, carrying more than 5,000 armed men to Xia Zhou. Accompanying Tang Song was also Li Da Mu, the manager of Cao Fu's inner courtyard. Li Da Mu rode on horseback, one on each side of Tang Song's carriage, with Bai Ma. After traveling for half a day, Bai Ma complained that he was too tired and got off his horse to squeeze into Tang Song's carriage. Tang Song didn't dare say anything, so he shifted his buttocks to make room and smiled at Bai Ma. Bai Ma ignored him and lay down on the seat, pulling out a dagger from his body.

  "What do you want to do?" Tang Song looked at her nervously. Baima snorted disdainfully, took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the dagger, saying lightly: "A dagger is a assassin's other half of life, only by taking good care of it will it be handy when needed."

  "I hope it won't be needed."

  "It's impossible, I've said it before, the White Dragon Sect won't let you off. If I don't return, the sect leader will definitely send someone to kill you. Qingyang, Chitu, Jinfuxi, above me there are still these three great masters. To be honest, I really don't think you can make it alive to Xiazhou."

  "What? You can still rank fourth?" Tang Song said, seeing the white horse's eyes that seemed to want to kill him. He suddenly felt he had misspoken and whispered: "Then if you're here, will they also make a move on me?"

  "The news of me going to Xia Zhou with you hasn't spread yet. And the White Dragon Sect is more complicated than you think, basically, I and they three are independent of each other. If it's for completing the task, I think they wouldn't mind taking me down together."

  "You're the same, aren't you?" Tang Song said with a profound meaning. Bai Ma rolled her eyes and said in an ill-tempered tone: "That's right, although I'm not willing to, but I don't mind fighting them either. So, Director Tang, can you stop doubting my abilities now?"

  Tang Song smiled and suddenly the horse carriage stopped, the sound of people's noise came from outside, Tang Song and White Horse looked at each other and walked out together.

  The Cao family's convoy had not yet left the borders of Ba Prefecture. The surrounding area was a vast plain, with the official road stretching straight ahead, and no houses were in sight. The rain and snow of the past few days had stopped, and the accumulated snow on the ground had melted away, revealing a bare expanse of grass. Tang Song got down from the carriage and saw an elderly couple kneeling in front of it, dressed in tattered clothes, with thin faces and yellow complexions, as if they had been traveling for many days. Li Daimu was negotiating something with them, and when he saw Tang Song approaching, he turned to him and gave a friendly greeting.

  "Brother Li, what's going on up ahead?" Tang Song asked curiously as he saw Li Da Mu.

  "Great grandfather, help us, please help us." Before Li Daimu could speak, the old man rushed forward and knelt down in front of Tang Song, knocking his head on the ground, wailing incessantly.

  Li Daimu furrowed his brow and turned to Tang Song, saying: "Brother Tang, these two claim to be refugees from the Song-Liao border who fled to Xiazhou to seek refuge with their distant relatives. However, when they entered the territory of Baizhou, they encountered bandits and lost their luggage in the chaos."

  Tang Song carefully sized up the two of them and said to Li Da Mu: "Brother Li, since that's the case, let's arrange for them to follow our caravan. It's on our way anyway, no big deal."

  Li Da Mu hesitated for a moment, cupped his hands and said: "Tang brothers, Li thinks that the identities of these two have not been determined yet, it's really not good to keep them here. This trip is very important, we should be careful everywhere."

  "Oh dear sir, the old man and woman have indeed fled to this place in distress. Please, kind sir, have mercy on us and help us!" The old man saw that Li Daming was intentionally ignoring them, so he quickly kowtowed again and begged Tang Song for help. Tang Song stretched out his hand to help the old man up, then turned to Li Daming and said: "Brother Li, be careful in your actions. It's just that I think these two are not pretending. If we don't take care of them, in this desolate wilderness, with their advanced age, where will they have a way to survive?"

  The person in charge spoke up, and although Li Dabai was not very willing, he didn't say anything more. At this time, the white horse, who had been quietly observing from the side, suddenly spoke up and said: "Wait a minute."

  Everyone looked at her, the old man bowed his head and lowered his head, and his body trembled slightly when he heard her voice. The white horse raised the corner of its mouth and walked forward, saying: "Old man, are you very afraid of me?"

  "I... this old man dare not." The old man replied without lifting his head.

  "Oh, is that so?" The white horse looked at him, his eyes glanced at his hand, and his face changed as he shouted loudly: "Tang Liang quickly get out of the way."

  Tang Song supported the old man, but before he could react to what the white horse meant, he felt his hands being held down, and a silver light flashed in front of him. His abdomen had already been pierced by a short sword. The owner of the short sword was the old woman who had not spoken a word earlier. At this moment, she had succeeded in her attack, and a cruel smile hung on her face, with no trace of her previous weak appearance.

  "I'm done!" Tang Song's eyes turned black and he lost consciousness.