The armored soldiers' protectee, General Shen, clearly had not understood what the young man meant, and simply continued stepping slowly backward, putting distance between himself and the newcomer.
On the second floor of the entertainment house, the blue-robed man in the bamboo hat looked down at the young man, a flash of contempt crossing his eyes, and said, "Your martial cultivation is not weak, I can see that. But as an assassin, rather than striking from the shadows and finishing in a single blow, you just walked in here and showed yourself openly. Do you think you are me?"
With that, the blue-robed man in the bamboo hat burst into a loud, unrestrained laugh, clearly not thinking anything of the young Hidden Kill Pavilion assassin below.
The young man looked up at him, and the corner of his mouth curved into a smile, though whether it was a smile of mockery or bitterness was impossible to tell.
The next moment, the blue-robed man's laughter cut off abruptly.
"Please, cut this scoundrel down," General Shen called out from the main hall, not yet sensing anything wrong. Hearing the blue-robed man's confidence, he clasped his hands in pleased relief. As long as the young assassin before him was dealt with, he could make it safely back to the capital.
But when he raised his eyes toward the blue-robed man in the bamboo hat, he found the man standing completely motionless, eyes wide, face filled with horror, not saying a single word.
A flash of alarm and suspicion crossed General Shen's eyes. He looked again, and found that a second figure had appeared at the blue-robed man's side at some unknown moment.
His heart lurched. The figure had clearly been standing right there beside the blue-robed man, yet when he had looked the first time, his eyes had passed right over them as though they simply were not there. It was as though the figure had no presence at all, and even though they were in his field of vision, he had unconsciously looked straight through them.
He was no fool. On the contrary, surviving this long while being hunted by Hidden Kill Pavilion assassins across a thousand li had kept him sharply alert to everything.
"Who are you?"
General Shen fixed his gaze on the figure standing beside the blue-robed man on the second floor and demanded in a low, sharp voice.
At the same time, he slowly began backing away with his soldiers toward the rear of the main hall.
By now he could make out the figure's appearance clearly.
It was a young woman dressed in a black skirt, her looks extraordinarily beautiful. Even General Shen, who had spent a lifetime frequenting entertainment houses and seen no shortage of beauties, had never encountered anyone whose appearance could match hers.
And yet, despite being the kind of woman who would draw countless stares the moment she walked down any street, when he had looked in her direction that first time, his eyes had passed right over her as though she were the most ordinary person in the world.
Faced with General Shen's question, the woman in the black skirt's flawless face showed not the slightest response. She said nothing and showed no expression whatsoever, as though her face were carved from stone.
Seeing this, General Shen glanced at her, then swept a look out of the corner of his eye toward the young man at the entrance. Neither of them appeared to be moving yet.
Even so, General Shen did not dare let his guard down for an instant, and continued steadily retreating toward the back of the main hall.
"Ow, my Lord, you have walked into me."
All of a sudden, the madam of the entertainment house called out from behind him.
Before General Shen could turn around, he found himself flung backward through the air, and in the blink of an eye he had crashed heavily to the floor at the feet of the Hidden Kill Pavilion's young assassin.
His soul nearly left his body. He tried immediately to flee, but found that his acupoints had been sealed at some unknown point, and he could not move at all.
The young man looked down at General Shen, who had dropped to the floor at his feet, and gave a helpless shake of his head.
He then looked up at the entertainment house madam, whose face had already shifted and changed into the appearance of an ordinary man, who was now walking toward him with complete ease.
On the second floor, the woman in the black skirt still wore that flawlessly beautiful, utterly expressionless face. Not a trace of emotion showed.
But in the very next moment, the blue-robed man in the bamboo hat beside her suddenly toppled straight over, falling from the second-floor railing and crashing to the main hall floor below with a heavy thud, going completely still.
General Shen, lying on the ground, watched this scene unfold and despair washed over him completely. The assassin he had paid a fortune to hire from the Soul Chaser Hall had died just like that, without a sound?
"Not interesting in the slightest. Far too weak."
The man who had changed his face from the madam's shook his head as he walked to the young man's side, glanced down at General Shen on the floor, then clapped the young man on the shoulder and said, "Do not worry, I am not here to steal your kill. I just happened to be passing by."
At those words, the young man immediately bowed, his gaze passing almost imperceptibly over the back of the man's hand, where a character for "first" was tattooed.
In that instant, a flash of intense heat crossed his eyes.
Within the Hidden Kill Pavilion, all assassins were ranked by strength into four levels marked by the characters for first, second, third, and fourth. The first rank was the most powerful tier in the entire Hidden Kill Pavilion, each of them a legendary name in the world of assassins, and it was the level the young man had always aspired to reach.
Thinking this, the young man raised his head slightly and glanced again at the woman in the black skirt on the second floor.
He had come to this city pursuing his assignment, tracking General Shen across a thousand li.
He had planned to make his move within this final hundred li stretch and do everything in his power to take the man's life and complete the task.
But after arriving in this city, he had come across the two first-rank assassins before him.
The man with the alias "Illusory Swan," upon hearing that a Soul Chaser Hall assassin had inserted himself into the assignment, had taken it upon himself to come and have a look. The woman in the black skirt on the second floor seemed to have had the same idea.
And so what had just played out had followed naturally from there.
The young man withdrew his gaze, then with a flick of his finger sent a small blade flashing like a streak of silver directly into General Shen's heart. The man's eyes went still in an instant.
"My thanks to both of you seniors for your assistance," the young man said, clasping his hands in a bow.
Though he had wanted to accomplish this on his own, he was also clear-eyed enough to know that, working alone, he would have stood no chance against the now-dead blue-robed man in the bamboo hat.
At that very moment, a rough and booming voice suddenly rang through the entire building, "You arrived fast!"
The young man's heart leapt, and he looked around immediately.
Then he saw a short man with a waxy yellow complexion, along with two masked figures, come drifting into the entertainment house in an instant.
At the same time, the man known as Illusory Swan shifted his gaze to the three newcomers, narrowed his eyes, and said, "Ghost Dwarf, Black and White Rakshasa, well now. Instead of carrying out that big plan the Pavilion assigned you, what brings you to this region near the capital?"
At those words, the short man glanced at Illusory Swan and said with a grin, "As if you need to ask. We are here to witness the Kill-Saint's skills, naturally. Did you think we came to see you, a man who cannot decide what he is?"
As he said this, Ghost Dwarf shifted his gaze upward toward the woman in the black skirt on the second floor.
In the next instant, that waxy yellow face arranged itself into a look of utter flattery, and he said, "What a surprise, to run into the honored Lianxing here. Truly I count this as a great fortune, and the trip has already been worth it."
The woman in the black skirt's flawless face remained as expressionless as ever. She gave the three newcomers a single flat glance and showed no inclination to respond at all.
Then she turned and descended the stairs, heading toward the exit of the entertainment house, clearly having no interest in entertaining Ghost Dwarf and the others.
Seeing this, Ghost Dwarf showed not the slightest annoyance, and still wearing that ingratiating expression, immediately moved to follow after her.
Illusory Swan shook his head, watching the retreating figure of the woman in the black skirt, and sighed, "The Soul Chaser Hall's assassin was simply too weak. Not enough to hold Lianxing's interest."
At that moment, one of the two Black and White Rakshasa suddenly looked at Illusory Swan and asked, "We heard that the Pavilion will be sending the Kill-Saint himself for this job. That should not be a rumor, should it? We did not come all this way for nothing."
At those words, a strange look crossed Illusory Swan's face, and he smiled, saying, "More than that. You have come at the right time."
Ghost Dwarf, who had been about to follow Lianxing out, suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned back toward Illusory Swan, asking, "What do you mean? Is there other information we do not know about?"
Illusory Swan glanced at him, and made no effort to conceal anything, waving a hand and saying, "No harm in telling you. Ever since that Eighth Prince obtained the Hidden Kill Order, the Pavilion has had three opportunities to act, and one has already been used. Two remain."
"Given the martial strength attributed to the Eighth Prince in every account, I will let you draw your own conclusions about who the Pavilion might be sending for those last two attempts."
At those words, Ghost Dwarf, the Black and White Rakshasa, and the young man all went still for a moment.
Before long, Ghost Dwarf's expression shifted through several phases, and he ventured cautiously, "You cannot mean that in addition to the Kill-Saint, the Pavilion Master himself intends to act?"
At those words, Illusory Swan narrowed his eyes slightly and swept a look over the group, saying, "I never said the Pavilion Master will definitely act. But it is not a possibility to be ruled out entirely."
One of the Black and White Rakshasa stared at Illusory Swan for a moment, then shook his head, "I have been with the Hidden Kill Pavilion for over thirty years now, and I have never once heard of the Pavilion Master acting personally. Even on the most difficult assignments, he has never shown himself."
Ghost Dwarf also gave a slow nod, saying, "There is no precedent for the Pavilion Master personally striking in all the past instances when a Hidden Kill Order has appeared. I do not think the old man would act in this case either."
At those words, Illusory Swan said nothing further, only speaking slowly, "Every person who has obtained a Hidden Kill Order and ultimately become the new Pavilion Master has been an extraordinary individual. We have never seen the Pavilion Master act, but that does not mean his strength is anything less than fearsome. In fact, the Pavilion Master may well be the second Kill-Saint hidden within the Pavilion."
"And this time, though the Pavilion has sent down no formal word, it is well known to all what kind of martial genius the Great Li Eighth Prince truly is. Given the martial strength that allowed him to destroy Falling God Peak, there is no level of caution the Hidden Kill Pavilion could show that would be excessive."
At those words, Ghost Dwarf and the Black and White Rakshasa fell into thoughtful silence, seeming to turn Illusory Swan's words over in their minds.
Before long, Ghost Dwarf rubbed his hands together and said, "Whatever the case, this trip is absolutely worth it. Getting to witness the Kill-Saint's skills is already extraordinary good fortune. And if we get to see the Pavilion Master act as well, that would be a once-in-a-lifetime thing."
The Black and White Rakshasa also gave a nod, and one of them looked at Illusory Swan and asked, "Do you know when the Pavilion will make their move against that Eighth Prince?"
Illusory Swan shook his head, then turned his gaze in the direction of Shangyang City, saying, "That is not something I would know. But it should be within the next few days, which is more than enough time for us to make it to Shangyang City."
At those words, Ghost Dwarf and the Black and White Rakshasa exchanged a glance, and one of them spoke up, "Then I am not wasting any more time here. I need to get to the Great Li capital as fast as possible. If I miss it, I will be furious with myself."
With that, Ghost Dwarf made to leave in a hurry, and Illusory Swan glanced at him, offering a reminder, "Word about this Hidden Kill Order business has been circulating in the martial world for some time now. There will likely be quite a few martial world figures heading to Shangyang City to watch, especially the Soul Chaser Hall. Best to keep your guard up in case they have any ulterior motives."
At those words, Ghost Dwarf's expression shifted slightly, and he gave a nod of acknowledgment, then departed at speed. The Black and White Rakshasa followed immediately after.
In an instant, all three were gone from sight.
Illusory Swan withdrew his gaze and prepared to leave as well. But at that moment, the young man hesitated for a moment and then suddenly spoke up, "Senior, might I also go to Shangyang City and witness what happens?"
Illusory Swan glanced at him and said, "Why not? Come along then."
With that, he walked out of the building on his own, and the young man's face lit up with a pleased expression as he immediately followed.
...
The Great Li imperial capital, inside the imperial prison.
In the pitch-dark cell at the deepest end, a dim yellow oil lamp cast its light over a narrow area.
Li Zhi sat cross-legged on a pile of dry straw before a small table, his true qi flowing around him like drifting mist, moving in a particular pattern, his entire aura rising at an astonishing rate.
After some time, the sound of iron locks came echoing from the far end of the prison corridor, and a middle-aged figure walked slowly forward and stopped before the cell door.
"Your Highness, your servant has come to see you."
Shen Qiming clasped his hands in a bow, raising his head slightly to look at the young figure inside the cell.
In the next moment, his expression shifted with surprise.
Shen Qiming noticed that since the last time he had brought word of Li Musheng destroying Falling God Peak, barely half a month had passed, and yet his master's martial aura was already far more formidable than before.
"What brings you here?"
Inside the cell, Li Zhi remained seated in cultivation and did not even open his eyes, only asking in a flat voice.
At those words, Shen Qiming produced a wax-sealed letter from his sleeve, presenting it with both hands, and said, "Your Highness, this is the reply from the person you asked me to locate."
Only at that did Li Zhi slowly open his eyes. Faint, nearly imperceptible flashes of terrifying blade-light flickered through his gaze, and it was as though the shadow of a great heavenly blade had materialized behind him, only to vanish just as quickly.
Li Zhi glanced at Shen Qiming, raised one hand, and the letter in the man's hands dropped through the air directly into his own grip.
Then, with a casual flick, the envelope disintegrated into ash, and as he began reading the letter's contents, he asked aloud, "Is there any news about the Eighth Prince in recent days?"