Chapter Sixty: Assassination

The secluded courtyard became quiet after Guo Hu led all the Forbidden Martial Guards away. Inside the room, Tang Mingwu lay on the bed, eyes closed, recuperating. Footsteps echoed from outside the courtyard. He opened his eyes warily and sat up from the bed.

"Honored Inspectors, Chief Catcher Huo has sent some late-night snacks for you," a voice called from the courtyard.

Tang Mingwu's brows furrowed. Last time he tried to kill Huo Boru—was the man really so kind-hearted? Considering what happened tonight with the Taoist diagram, he felt uneasy. In the next instant, he shot out like lightning.

With a crash, the door shattered.

A moment later—

A huge handful of lime exploded at the doorway.

In his ear, a hissing sound, like a serpent flicking its tongue, arose! A flash of silver appeared; Tang Mingwu’s heart contracted sharply, and he shifted his body with lightning speed.

The silver glint vanished, and Tang Mingwu appeared seven or eight meters away.

"Despicable!" He glanced at the inch-long wound slashed across his right arm, where crimson blood now flowed.

He had crashed through the door only to be engulfed in a cloud of lime. He realized the opponent had deliberately exposed a flaw to make him think they were an assassin, prompting him to strike first—only to fall into their trap. The surprise attack had cost him dearly.

"Found you!" Tang Mingwu's figure vanished.

"Overbearing Python!"

A massive arm whipped toward Qin Yi from the front.

"Instant Step!" Forced to raise his left arm to block, Qin Yi retreated rapidly. Their arms almost pressed together, sliding in tandem, as if moving in unison. Visually, it seemed Tang Mingwu’s arm struck Qin Yi’s blocking arm; in fact, they were separated by mere millimeters, with only their clothes brushing together and no force landing on Qin Yi’s arm.

A fifth of a second later, Qin Yi’s superior speed opened a gap!

Tang Mingwu’s arm finished its swing, and he realized the masked, black-clad assassin before him had slipped out of his attack range—a shock to his heart.

A speed of the ninth rank!

Who was this? In Jiangning Prefecture City, masters of the ninth rank could be counted on one hand. Was he from the prefecture office or the Red Sect?

Qin Yi, having widened the gap, pressed forward instead of retreating.

His secret movement technique erupted again.

"Whale Swallow!"

Under the moonlight, the dagger gleamed, casting a silver radiance that enveloped Tang Mingwu, as if to swallow him whole.

Tang Mingwu’s expression chilled. "Python Shadow!"

His hands shot out like lightning, plunging directly into the approaching silver light.

A cacophony of metallic clangs rang out.

Was he catching a blade bare-handed?

No—the metal gloves on Tang Mingwu’s hands resembled chainmail. His palms transformed into countless black pythons, colliding with the streaks of silver. The shadows of the black pythons multiplied, while the silver glints grew fewer.

"So your speed is only at the ninth rank!" Tang Mingwu roared, thrusting a hand through the silver.

Bang!

"Not good!" Qin Yi’s heart skipped—a fraction too slow. His right wrist throbbed with pain as Tang Mingwu struck the dagger from his grip. The other hand lunged for his throat.

Qin Yi unleashed his secret movement technique again, pushing his body to escape the deadly strike at the last possible moment.

"Die!" Tang Mingwu, his attack thwarted, lunged after him, hands whirling in a barrage of relentless blows.

Qin Yi didn’t choose to fight head-on, instead using his superior speed to dodge again and again. He had tried a direct assault earlier, only to realize his attacks were a rank below Tang Mingwu’s ninth-level prowess. Not only had his offensive been broken, but if not for his speed, he might have been killed outright.

"If you have guts, stop running!" Tang Mingwu grew agitated as his storm of attacks failed to threaten the enemy before him.

Damn it—how many movement techniques did this opponent know? Was he, like Zhang Daoxuan, a high-rank master of low-grade martial arts?

Wounded already, Tang Mingwu could only unleash eighty percent of his full strength. After several high-frequency bursts, his injuries worsened, and he felt his condition deteriorating rapidly. The wound that had reached his lungs now reduced his strength to seventy percent, soon perhaps to sixty...

With every surge of energy, blood seeped anew from the gash in his right ribs, staining the bandages red.

If this kept up, he might well suffer a disastrous defeat!

"Overbearing Python!"

The air trembled.

Yet the mighty move struck only empty space.

Tang Mingwu did not hesitate—he spun and fled!

"You truly are gravely injured!" Qin Yi squinted, pursuing him.

Tang Mingwu, seeing the enemy shadowing him closely, gritted his teeth and turned to strike again.

Palm against claw.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

They exchanged blows, one pursuing, one escaping.

"Your speed is slowing!" Qin Yi's teasing voice came from behind.

"Your dagger was poisoned!" Tang Mingwu felt a tingling itch at the wound, and a wave of dizziness washed over him. Furious and shamed, he was seized by a powerful sense of impending doom.

"Assassin! Help me!" Tang Mingwu howled, unleashing his movement techniques in a desperate bid to flee.

Already wounded, now poisoned, his condition declined rapidly.

"Moon Step!"

"Penetrating Strike!"

Wind whipped behind him. Tang Mingwu ducked low, but still Qin Yi’s Heavenly Authority Claw raked his back, tearing flesh and leaving three deep gashes.

"Instant Step, Fivefold Force!"

"Ah!" Tang Mingwu turned to block again, but this new burst only worsened his injuries and deepened the poison’s hold.

Finally, after another desperate surge to increase the distance, Tang Mingwu’s strength plummeted to a critical low. His body faltered, and Qin Yi seized the fatal opening.

With a sickening rip, Qin Yi’s Heavenly Authority Claw tore through his throat.

At that moment, constables from the magistrate’s office finally arrived at the courtyard, only to see a shadow leap and vanish across the rooftops.

"Assassin! There’s an assassin!"

When the constables found Tang Mingwu lying in a pool of blood, their faces turned pale.

"Hurry, go check!"

When they discovered Tang Mingwu was already dead, someone immediately rushed to report to the Prefect and the Chief Catcher.

Two quarters of an hour later.

At home, Qin Yi finished bathing and sat in his room.

He glanced at his swollen right wrist and murmured, "Still injured—if I hadn’t trained the Heavenly Authority Claw, this wrist would surely be ruined."