Chapter 3: Moon Princess Delivers a Note, Death Lord Slays in Anger

"Newly brewed wine, green and fresh, with a small red clay stove. The evening sky threatens snow; shall we have a drink?" A man dressed in black with a stern expression sat atop a carriage, holding a wine cup and smiling at the person in front of him. 

"And then, die!" The man in black leaped up, a silver gleam flashing in his hand. 

A clear, crisp sound echoed as the silver gleam in the man's right hand clashed with the swordsman's blade. 

"Perhaps the one who sent you didn't tell you who I am," the man in black returned to the carriage and picked up the wine cup he had just set down. "Maybe now you'd like to have this last drink?" 

After the carriage had traveled three miles, the man in black, who had been sipping his wine with a faint smile, finally put down his cup and began to cough heavily. Wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth, he smiled bitterly. "What exactly is the cargo Master entrusted me with this time? It has attracted so many experts along the way." 

The blade in the man's hand glimmered as it stabbed out, hitting nothing but air. 

Meanwhile, two men below had lit a fire and were warming their hands. Tang Lian looked into the firelight and saw that one of them wore only thin red clothes with a handsome face, while the other was wrapped in a thick fur coat, lazily leaning against a pillar. 

"No, it's the scent of rose dew. Rose dew, from Dashi, Champa, Java, and Huihui lands, can only be bought at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion in the capital..." Xiao Se didn't get up, merely turning his head to look outside the door, where a woman had appeared without anyone noticing. 

A very beautiful woman. She wore a light purple robe, gently swaying in the wind, the silvery moonlight illuminating her, making her appear jade-like. She smiled softly at the people inside, and the faint fragrance of roses seemed to become even more soothing with her smile. 

Her voice was also incredibly gentle, "I didn't expect to find someone with such refined taste in this desolate place. I had to beg the master of the Hundred Flowers Pavilion for days before she sold me this bottle, yet you recognized it right away." 

Xiao Se smiled back at her, "The wind is high and the moon is cold. We have a fire inside; it's warm. Would you like to come in and sit?" 

"No need." The woman continued to smile gently, brushing a lock of hair from her face. 

"You're very beautiful. When the wind lifts your hair, you look even more enchanting." Xiao Se turned to Lei Wujie. "But my little brother here has only a hero's dream in his heart. He might not understand the allure of a beautiful woman." 

At that moment, Lei Wujie was holding a gold note between his fingers. It had flown from the woman's hand when she brushed her hair, moving so fast that even Lei Wujie was surprised. He picked up the note and saw a single word written on it: "Death." 

Lei Wujie recalled a legend. Though he was new to the martial world, he loved listening to its tales from a young age. One of those tales said: 

"When the Moon Princess delivers a note, the Death Lord slays in anger."