The plump young man's face was full of malice, and he gave a slight nod.

The old man past fifty frowned and asked, "Assassinate whom, then?"

The plump young man fetched paper and brush, divided the paper into small slips of the same size, and took up the brush and wrote several surnames on them.

Then he rolled the slips into balls, cupped them in both hands and shook them, like a man throwing dice.

"We'll leave the who of it to heaven's will. Let us see whose life the old man above wants."

With that he picked up one of the paper balls at random and tossed it to the old man past fifty. "Take a look for me. Who is this man heaven has chosen?"

The old man past fifty opened the paper ball, and his face changed on the instant. There on it, plain to see, was the surname Chen. (TL Note: A family name, and not the Chen of Ning Chen's own name — in Chinese the two are different characters entirely. Several men at court carry this surname.)

The plump young man asked, "Who?"

"Chen."

The plump young man's pupils contracted. "This is heaven's own will."

The old man past fifty said in a low voice, "Do you truly mean to move against him?"

The plump young man was silent for a while, then gave a slight nod. "Him, then... He is a perfect choice."

"First, his standing is high enough. If he were assassinated, His Majesty would certainly go into a towering rage, and would certainly send the Inspectorate to wipe out the Ghost-Shadow Sect at any cost."

"Second, the man is far too close to Ning Chen. His death would do us a world of good."

"Third, has Ning Chen not gone missing? If this man dies, Ning Chen is certain to show his face."

The plump young man could not hold back a laugh. "Three gains at one stroke. Even heaven is helping us."

The old man past fifty was not so cheerful. He said in a low voice, "Killing him is…