The boy in the yellow jacket gaped, his mouth wide open, the glow of the candles making his rabbit-like teeth shine even more brightly. Who was this person, hidden among the crowd, possessing such skill? If they were so capable, why had they stood by and let the Tang Clan assassins slaughter the people of Xing Yun Manor without intervening?
All he could discern in the dim light was that the hand wore a sleeve of black fabric, suggesting its owner was dressed in black. A wide bamboo hat obscured most of the figure’s face, revealing only their lips and chin. In the darkness, the details remained indistinct.
Just as the boy moved forward for a closer look, a muffled thud resounded.
The shattered remnants of the three blades had pierced Ge Yun Fei’s chest.
* * *
The Tang Clan assassins stood as motionless as nails driven into the ground, while Ge Yun Fei’s men had all fallen.
A pair of black boots slowly approached Ge Yun Fei’s lifeless body. A hand clad in a black leather glove reached out and untied the blue cloth bundle with floral patterns.
Ge Yun Fei’s eyes now oozed blue-tinted blood, brimming with despair.
From beginning to end, the Tang Clan assassins had only said one thing:
“Leave what you have, and you may live.”
Ge Yun Fei hadn’t left his belongings behind, and so he couldn’t keep his life either.
Even in death, he likely didn’t realize that his opponents were assassins from the Tang Clan’s “Hall of Impeccability”. The Hall of Impeccability was not only infamous for its mastery of poisons but also celebrated for its unmatched martial arts—a source of pride for the Tang Clan and a cause for dread across the martial world.
Perhaps he never knew just how valuable the treasure concealed within that bundle truly was.
The three Tang Clan assassins turned and directed six icy stares at the boy in the yellow jacket.
During their defense against Ge Yun Fei’s devastating halberd attack, they had barely managed to notice the extraordinary skill the boy had displayed in catching the flying weapon.
The boy in the yellow jacket chuckled lightly, crossing one leg over the other. His composed demeanor made it difficult to discern his origins or intentions. Meanwhile, his large yellow dog bared its teeth and let out a low growl.
As the tense standoff continued, a series of lightning bolts lit up the sky, illuminating the inn like daylight.
With a loud crack, an old Chinese scholar tree outside the inn was split in half. Some of its branches caught fire briefly before being extinguished by the torrential rain.
The guests barely had time to recover from the shock when they turned back to the inn’s main hall and realized that the three Tang Clan assassins, who had been standing like unyielding nails, had vanished without a trace!
The hall was left in chaos—a ghastly scene of scattered corpses and pools of blood, heavy with a stench that made the inn seem ready to collapse under its weight. After a long silence, the plump innkeeper cautiously poked his head out, nervously scanning the area. Only then did the trembling guests begin to follow suit, murmuring amongst themselves.
—“So many people died!”
—“Innkeeper, shouldn’t you report this to the authorities?”
—“Exactly! With so many dead, hurry and report it!”
—“No need to report it. The prince’s soldiers have been searching for imperial fugitives every day recently. They’ll probably show up before the local officials do.”
—“Who is that young man in the yellow jacket?”
—“Hey, look! The child who came with the Xing Yun Manor group isn’t dead!”
—“It seems he’s uninjured, just scared out of his wits.”
Suddenly, the crowd scattered, as if they had seen a ghost, retreating behind the boy in the yellow jacket.
The boy blinked in surprise, looking up, only to see Ge Yun Fei.
Ge Yun Fei was drenched in blood, and his wounds seeped a faint bluish hue. He wasn’t dead—he was crawling!
Using both his hands and knees, Ge Yun Fei dragged himself toward the freckled-faced boy.
His face was grotesquely twisted, and saliva dribbled from his mouth, which was missing several teeth.
The frail boy appeared paralyzed with fear, frozen under the window where he sat drenched by rain and wind pouring in.
Before everyone’s eyes, Ge Yun Fei leapt forward and grabbed the boy’s arm!
The boy let out a hoarse cry, almost more of a howl.
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