"What if they don't take the necklace?"
"A mount without vision isn't worth keeping," Qi Huan communicated with the system in her consciousness.
"If they become suspicious and take the necklace, I can not only follow them to find Shu, but also eavesdrop on their conversations. I might even hear some useful information."
"If they ignore it and nothing happens, I can at least take a break without any loss."
As soon as she finished speaking, the system immediately said, "I'll bet one point that they won't bother with the host."
"...Even a penny-pincher is more generous than you."
"The host's words are mistaken. A penny-pincher won't part with a single feather, but I'm willing to give up one point. I'm better than that!"
"Oh, you're so great."
Time flew by as she bantered with the system.
The result of their bet came quickly.
When someone picked up the necklace, the outside voices suddenly transmitted into the space.
"I've never seen such small gold before."
"Master, you just received 100,000 taels of gold. Surely you won't be interested in this fingernail-sized gold pendant?"
Zhu Yan's face was full of expectation, waiting for the master to reward him with the gold pendant.
Ximen Ye quickly tucked the necklace into his clothes, smirking as he said, "How can these be the same?"
"The 100,000 taels of gold is payment for the hard work of taking Li Shuchen's head. This gold pendant is a windfall I picked up by luck."
"Gaining without labor is my life's ideal."
The voices continued to stream into the space through the necklace, and Qi Huan couldn't help but twitch the corner of her mouth.
This master was quite the chatterbox.
Soon after, she heard him say, "The head on the ground looks awfully familiar."
His subordinate quickly answered, "This... seems to be the top-ranked assassin on our Misty Rain Pavilion's leaderboard."
?
Ximen Ye's tone was full of doubt: "In the years I've been away, have you all become so incompetent?
The number one on the leaderboard?
Getting beheaded and kicked around like a ball?"
Zhu Yan hurriedly explained, "Master, you don't know, Li Shuchen and his subordinates are quite skilled in martial arts.
It's not that we're lacking, it's just that the enemy is too strong."
Hearing him speak so confidently, Ximen Ye asked in surprise, "Have you crossed swords with him?"
"No."
Zhu Yan shook his head honestly and explained in detail, "...We have an old client who always specifies assassinating Li Shuchen.
But the assassins we send out never return.
Therefore, your servant has come to this conclusion."
Upon hearing this, Ximen Ye's lips curled into a playful smile, "No wonder he's worth 100,000 taels of gold."
At the mention of gold, both men immediately perked up.
Ximen Ye twitched his ears, moving through the night like a ghost.
The whooshing sound of wind poured into the space, and Qi Huan listened carefully while cautiously refilling her crossbow with bolts.
After a long while, the wind sound suddenly stopped.
Ximen Ye had halted outside a mountain cave.
He asked Zhu Yan with keen interest, "Do you smell anything?"
"N-no." Zhu Yan's voice lacked confidence.
Could it be that the master had smelled the fart he just let out?
Fortunately, the master denied his guess: "It's the smell of blood."
Zhu Yan sniffed hard: "I don't smell anything."
"Tsk tsk, so stupid."
"Your servant isn't a dog, how could my nose be that sharp?"
"I suspect you're insulting me." Ximen Ye looked at him with an ambiguous smile.
Zhu Yan opened his mouth, about to explain, when suddenly a long sword came slashing. He quickly dodged.
"You dog..."
Before he could finish saying 'sneak attack', Zhu Yan suddenly received a slap from his own master.
"You really were insulting me."
Ximen Ye withdrew his hand, incidentally blocking the killing move Yan Qinghe had sent their way.
Zhu Yan's eyes were full of gratitude: "Thank you, Master."
"You truly deserve to be the master..."
"I suspect you're insulting me again."
*
Encountering such talkative assassins for the first time, Yan Qinghe sneered, "Has your master run out of people? Sending any Tom, Dick, and Harry over."
"You ignorant fool, our master is the Master."
Zhu Yan drew his long sword and began to fight with Yan Qinghe.
Ximen Ye's eyes were narrowed in a smile, seeming to watch them, but actually searching for Li Shuchen.
Suddenly, a cold light flashed, and a fierce long sword swept towards him swift as the wind. Ximen Ye dodged with a light and graceful posture, not forgetting to tease:
"Not bad skills."
"Too bad you're injured."
"Not bad looking either."
"No wonder someone's willing to pay 100,000 taels of gold for your head."
......
"Noisy."
Li Shuchen gripped his long sword tightly, his killing moves fully on display.
The two figures entangled in combat, sparks flying amidst the flashing of blades. The dust and gravel on the ground were swept up by their inner force, dancing chaotically in the air.
In an instant, dense waves of pain struck again, causing Li Shuchen's sword-holding hand to tremble slightly.
Every inch of his flesh felt as if it was being stabbed by needles, or gnawed on by ants.
He suddenly spat out a mouthful of black blood, his gaze fierce, lips tightly pressed, fine beads of sweat seeping from his temples, yet he still planted the tip of his sword on the ground, supporting his body.
"Although I don't like to take advantage of someone's weakness, 100,000 taels of gold is just too tempting."
"Farewell, Li Shuchen."
The casual smile in Ximen Ye's eyes suddenly disappeared as he raised his sword, attempting to deliver a fatal strike.
Bang bang—
Qi Huan threw out the bodies of two human traffickers, then exited the space from the opposite direction, using misdirection.
She raised her crossbow, aimed, and fired.
The first arrow barely succeeded in its sneak attack, grazing Ximen Ye's arm and drawing bright red blood.
The following arrows, however, were all knocked back by him.
As the arrows flew back—
"Qi Huan!"
Li Shuchen's cold, deep eyes suddenly flashed with shock and panic. His voice, abruptly raised, was heart-wrenching. He moved as fast as the wind towards Qi Huan.
But she pulled him into the space.
The person before his eyes suddenly disappeared, and Ximen Ye's confident smile froze on his lips.
Where did they go?
Earth-burrowing technique?
Or wall-passing technique?
He racked his brains but couldn't figure it out.
At this moment, inside the necklace space in his bosom:
Qi Huan quickly loaded new bolts into her repeating crossbow, not even having time to look closely at Li Shuchen.
Yan Qinghe and the others were still outside.
Shu was her lover, they were her family.
She couldn't lose any of them.
"Together!" Li Shuchen mouthed silently, secretly using his inner force to suppress the restless poison.
Without a word, he embraced Qi Huan, using her body as support. He reached around her from behind, gripping the repeating crossbow together with her.
After exiting the space.
Taking advantage of the element of surprise, they once again shot Ximen Ye.
The arrow pierced the air, carrying Li Shuchen's inner force as it whistled towards its target. Ximen Ye dodged, but his hand was still left with a deep, bloody gash.
He raised his hand to his mouth, licking the crimson droplets, a roguish smile playing on his lips.
"Now you've really made me angry!"
"Ambushing me with poisoned arrows? That's low!"
As he spoke, he channeled his full strength into a lightning-fast palm strike aimed at the two of them.
Li Shuchen held Qi Huan tightly around the waist, using all his might to dodge swiftly while shielding her with his body.
In an instant, the pair vanished, once again entering their secret space.
Ximen Ye's brow furrowed in annoyance. "Damn it."
In martial arts, speed is supreme.
He ceased gathering his energy and instead closed his eyes, focusing intently to sense where they might reappear.
Then, moving at incredible speed, he teleported to their location, grabbing Li Shuchen's arm with a triumphant grin. "Got you! Let's see you run now!"
With the three of them linked, the secret space could only accommodate two, leaving Qi Huan outside. Silently, she drew a dagger and, with swift precision, stabbed at the unsuspecting Ximen Ye.
Ximen Ye stared in disbelief at the dagger in his chest, then swiftly formed his hand into a blade, stabbing back at her in retaliation.
In that split second, Li Shuchen felt as if his blood had run cold. Panicked yet filled with boundless strength, he released Qi Huan and pushed her aside, taking the blow himself.
"Go... inside," he managed to say to Qi Huan through gritted teeth.
Then, with a do-or-die determination, he gathered all his inner force into his right palm and struck at Ximen Ye.
The two men were sent flying in opposite directions, crashing into the stone walls.
Qi Huan quickly entered and exited the secret space, materializing next to Ximen Ye with her dagger poised to strike again. Her other hand yanked at the necklace on his chest.
Ximen Ye's eyes flew open, momentarily unsure which of her hands to grab.
One hand held a dagger, intent on killing him.
The other was even more outrageous, not only groping his chest but trying to steal his gold!
Ximen Ye opted to simply kick her away.
As her body flew through the air, Qi Huan's gaze remained fixed on him. She discreetly twisted the ring on her finger, releasing a hidden weapon.
This was her most lethal tool.
The poisoned needle embedded itself in Ximen Ye's shoulder, only to be forced out by his inner energy.
"Master, where there's life, there's hope. Perhaps we should make a tactical retreat!" his servant urged.
"Coward... Come here and help me up."
Master and servant departed together.
Inside the cave, Li Shuchen was overwhelmed by waves of pain. Using his last ounce of strength, he caught the necklace before his vision went black and he lost consciousness.
