With graceful precision, the boy spun in a half-circle, carrying the child a few steps away. His movement was neither mysterious nor particularly fast, yet it was so fluid and soft that it perfectly evaded the strike—a blow powerful enough to outshine even the storm raging outside.
San’er let out a furious bark and prepared to leap forward.
“San’er, stop!” The boy sternly called off the dog, then turned slowly, still maintaining his composed and confident demeanor.
“Quite the impressive ‘Cushion Palm’ technique! But using it on a defenseless child? Isn’t that a bit of a stain on the Tang Clan’s reputation?”
The three icy faces darkened simultaneously. A single name surfaced in their minds.
Could it be him?
Under their cold, piercing gazes, one finally spat out a question: “Who are you?”
“You may not know me, but I know you. I’ve seen your portraits on the ‘Dragon-Tiger Register’ of the Hall of Impeccability. And surely, you must know what kind of person has the privilege of seeing your Tang Clan’s Dragon-Tiger Register. Yet you dare to commit murder in front of me?”
At the mention of the “Dragon-Tiger Register,” the assassins’ expressions shifted.
“The treasure of the Tang Clan is ours by right. If you are friend and not foe, you should know that those who stand in the way of the Tang Clan are destined to die!”
“Who cares about your Tang Clan’s treasure? Besides, why don’t you describe what this ‘Tang Clan treasure’ looks like? What marks does it bear? Go ahead, tell me—unless you’re suggesting this child has taken it?”
The boy’s quick wit and sharp tongue were as dazzling as his thin lips suggested, leaving the assassins momentarily speechless.
The boy was thin and frail, his clothes tattered and thin. It was evident he had no place on his body to hide anything.
“If the item is nowhere else, then it must be on you,” one of the assassins said coldly. “If you’ve taken it, the Tang Clan will ensure you never know a moment of peace. It would be wise for you to hand it over now.”
The boy in the yellow jacket bared his rabbit-like teeth and tilted his head to look at the ceiling. In a sharp voice, he replied, “The things the Tang Clan covets are nine times out of ten deadly and unscrupulous. So just because the Tang Clan desires something doesn’t mean I have to value it too. But perhaps you’ve decided to frame me, pin the blame on me, so you can answer to the Tang Clan? You’d rather cross Tang Tian Hao than let me go, isn’t that it?”
Despite the intensity of his words, he still maintained a smiling demeanor, though a glint of killing intent had appeared at the corners of his eyes. Fixing his gaze on the three assassins, he asked, enunciating each word carefully, “So now I really want to know—what exactly is this thing?”
He grinned again, his enchanting rabbit teeth flashing between his thin lips.
“I’m dying to know.”
The Tang Clan assassins suddenly realized they had made a mistake.
They had said too much.
And the boy across from them seemed to know far too much about the Tang Clan’s secrets.
At that moment, a sinister voice suddenly echoed through the room. Though it wasn’t loud, everyone in the inn felt as though it were whispering directly in their ear.
“Do you really want to know? But anyone who knows… must die.”
At some point, two new figures had appeared in the inn’s hall. Both were drenched from the torrential rain.
* * *
The two men appeared to be middle-aged, both around forty years old. One was tall and stooped, while the other was short and stood with his chest puffed out.
Despite being soaked through by the rain, their robes were luxurious, made of expensive silk from “Bai Sheng Xiang,” the renowned clothier of Dong Jing (Kai Feng). Their sword hilts were adorned with pearls, reflecting their wealth and status.
They carried themselves like wealthy landlords with vast estates, but their faces were grim and pale, as though they had just suffered a family tragedy.
The plump innkeeper trembled like a leaf, his teeth chattering audibly as his round face quivered. Desperately nodding, he stammered, “M-Master Jiao… Master Mu…”
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