Heading South Quick, Fast and in a Hurry
Xiang Baxian succeeded his father’s job at Daren Academy that he couldn’t be sacked from since he was a kid. Taking advantage of his might and martial arts knowledge, he decided to bully other students. He’d feel he was in the wrong when he reflected at night, but he’d continue the next day. He never thought he’d one day be linked to such a big secret and become the target of dangerous folks.
Xiang Baxian resolved to only ever tell one person the secret, the person who saved him and gave him a chance to turn over a new leaf – Su Xiao. “It… It was…”
“Watch out!” Shen Yiren pulled Yujing up parallel to the floor. The qi was invisible, yet it nearly knocked her sword out of her hand.
“Xiang Babang!” cried Su Xiao.
The assassin actually attacked twice. The first one was used to draw the sharpest person away so that the second one could kill Xiang Baxian.
“You’re not getting away!”
Shen Yiren stormed out the door, while Mountain Monster drew her blades. Meanwhile, Su Xiao rushed to the man who’d lost everything from his right arm up to his neck.
“Xiang Babang, h-hang in there. I’ll get you a doctor right away.”
Xiang Baxian forced a smile and shook his head. It was impossible for him to breathe properly anymore, let alone speak. As Su Xiao wept, Xiang Baxian squeezed Su Xiao’s hand as hard as he could, then shakily stretched his hand out to write on the ground using his blood. He only managed to write a squiggly “Mu” (wood; 木) before he was forced to stop.
While Su Xiao was still in a state of shock, Mountain Monster had her teeth clenched and eyes actively moving. She didn’t even sense the attack; being a mass murderer, she was sensitive to the smell of blood and hostility to the point that only monsters on Abels or Ming Feizhen’s levels could’ve caught her by surprise, yet she failed to notice anything this time. On top of that, even Shen Yiren failed to discern the real attack from the feint. Had the assassin targeted any one of them, they would’ve ended up in the same state as Xiang Baxian.
“I lost them. Their qinggong is too good. I only caught a glimpse of their silhouette from afar before I was shaken off.”
“Well, you suck,” disparaged Mountain Monster, despite eyeing Shen Yiren from head to toe to make sure her new friend wasn’t hurt.
“Xiao Han, he…”
“Teat (dead),” replied Su Xiao, face smothered in his own tears. “He… He wrote this.”
Mountain Monster remained on guard duty, while Shen Yiren went to check on Xiang Baxian. Not even Shen Yiren could identify the discipline utilised to kill him.
“Vice-captain, what did Xiang Babang tell us? What does the ‘wood’ character mean?”
“Based on his dying wish and the nature of his death, that would have to be the identity of the culprit. I’ve looked into his history. If there was anything he had yet to arrange, he would’ve done so in the last few days he’s been living in fear. I’d venture… he wanted to tell us who the envoy representing the White Princes is. There’s no one else who’d harm him at this point in time.”
Su Xiao tried to calm himself. “But… is there anyone among them related to ‘wood’?”
Mountain Monster stole a quick glance in the character’s direction. “Was he trying to say the killer’s surname is ‘Mu’?”
Shen Yiren shook her head after a closer look. “No. He only wrote half of the complete character he wanted to write.”
Due to Xiang Baxian not extending the slanted right falling stroke, it made it appear to be incomplete, but the dot next to it was emphasised, which gave the impression it was the last part of the character. That being the case, there should’ve been another part next to it to go with the radical, completing the character.
“Wood… Characters with wood…”
“Song (宋),” suggested Mountain Monster.
“Song? Song Clan?”
Shen Yiren used silence to object.
“Valley of Yearning’s ‘yearning’ (相).”
“We were waiting, Yan Ling.” Shen Yiren identified Tang Ye without having to look back. She picked up the ability recently without any purposeful effort, but she was more taken aback over his injuries that had somehow worsened since she left the ring.
Xun Feng helped Tang Ye into the room. Their faces were caked in dust, but Tang Ye’s injuries were obviously on the severe side.
Shen Yiren spun around to check Tang Ye. “What happened?”
“… Bai Yumo… is Bronze Mask,” answered Tang Ye.
It wasn’t just Bronze Mask’s identity that astonished them but also the timing. How did they learn that now of all times?
“Edasich He, what exactly happened?”
He Kanyu, who entered with Tang Ye and Xun Feng, replied, “We have suspected she was Bronze Mask after the first time Bronze Mask infiltrated the academy. My suspicions were confirmed when I witnessed the invisible broadsword qi slash, so I immediately tried to apprehend her. I managed to force her to reveal her true skills with my surprise attack.”
“Where is she now?”
“She got away.”
If not even Huang Yuzao’s prized disciple couldn’t catch her, then there was no doubt Bai Yumo was Bronze Mask.
“Her qinggong is incredible. I never expected problems here, though. She must have let loose because she has yet to complete her task.”
“League of Assassins’ number one… Six Blades.”
Before they could continue, Lan Jiqiong entered the scene in a flustered state.
“What’s the matter?” He Kanyu knew his junior came bearing other news based on the latter’s look.
“The White Princes’ forces… have mobilised.” Lan Jiqiong wasn’t one to have exaggerated reactions, but even he didn’t sound calm this time. “It’s not clear why Song Clan, Bai Clan, Cold Mountain Temple, Mount Lu Sword Sanctuary, and Gold and Silver Sect have all deployed their elites outside the city, but the imperial court has commenced discussions to stop them.”
Only after Lan Jiqiong finish speaking did he notice the corpse on the ground that made him reactively gasp. All the others felt the smell of blood had grown stronger.
Glossary
Chinese radicals – A graphical component of a Chinese character under which the character is traditionally listed in a Chinese dictionary.
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