Two cold arches formed at the corners of her lips. As the knives bore down on her, she leaned slightly to the side and, in the same instant, let two gleaming needles fly and sink into the necks of her assassins.
However, the maneuver only caused them to feel negligible pain, and neither the speed nor force of their assaults faltered. When it seemed like Yun Wu was just a breath away from losing her head, the assassins realized that they suddenly couldn’t move, and astonishment appeared in the only features —their eyes— visible behind their identical black masks.
They felt as though they had been turned to stone, completely incapable of movement, and only then did Yun Wu reveal herself and pin them with a frigid gaze.
“Who sent you?”
The two turned their heads, whereupon they furrowed their brows at the sight of the indisputably thin and fragile-looking girl standing before them. This was their target, the infamous sickly good-for-nothing? But how could that be? This little girl’s aura was so chilling that it caused even their hearts tremble.
Impossible!
Otherwise, with their Rank Four strength and assassination prowess, how could they have fallen into this state?
“Who are you? Why are you in the hut of Yun Manor’s Ninth Miss?” One of the black-robed assassins asked coldly. Evidently, the two assassins had concluded that there was no way that she was Yun Manor’s good-for-nothing Ninth Miss. Their assumption evoked from her a biting laugh.
“As you’ve said, this is the hut of Yun Manor’s Ninth Miss. Right now, it’s the dead of the night. Who else would I be, if not the Ninth Miss?”
“You? Hmph, how could you the Ninth Miss, who was born a sickly good-for-nothing? Could you be an assassin hired by the Ninth Miss? Which sect are you from? We’re from the Dragon Sect, so unless you plan on provoking us, you’d better hand the Yun Manor Ninth Miss over right now.”
Assassin, huh?
Assassins were classified as individuals who specialized in slaughter, plus hiding and gathering intellect. They were practically no different from standard killers and murderers.
Their ranking system was identical to the one used to rank martial practitioners, which meant that this assassin, who claimed to be at Rank Four, was rather high up in the hierarchy. From that, it was plain to see the intense murderous intent of whoever had sent them.
“Dragon Sect?” Yun Wu quirked an eyebrow and made sure to remember the name, “Who sent the two of you?”
The assassin on the right harrumphed, “You have no right to know. Let us go immediately, or else… don’t blame us for disregarding a fellow assassin and killing you.” The shock in the assassin’s eyes had been replaced with arrogance.
It seemed that the Dragon Sect held some extent of prestige.
Even so, Yun Wu only gave a contemptuous sneer, “Kill me? You guys from the Dragon Sect sure know how to talk big. What, you think you can do it, with just yourselves and the six others hiding outside?”
The two assassins’ faces sunk. She actually knew they had others outside? A total of eight assassins, all Rank Four and above, had been sent out for the mission, but since they disdained teaming up against a sickly good-for-nothing, only two assassins took action.
They never would’ve expected this fragile-looking girl to not only be able to detect the rest of them, but also manage to accurately count their numbers.
“Who exactly are you?” The assassin on the left looked at her grimly.
“Didn’t you guys say I was an assassin?” Yun Wu smirked and continued coolly, “Then this time, I, Yun Wu, will be an assassin!”
Yun Wu? Could it be that she really was Yun Manor’s Ninth Miss?
The pupils of both assassins contracted. Sensations of deadly crisis suddenly rose up in their hearts, but before they could rotate their dantians and send out distress signals, two more silver needles entered into the backs of their necks, promptly stopping them.
Ignoring their dumbfounded looks, Yun Wu turned her head and glanced outside. A hint of ghastly bloodthirst touched her eyes.
“Rest assured. Before I get my answers, you’ll both be very safe. As for the other six outside… well, I’ll collect them first as interest. ” The corners of her lips arched and slowly blossomed into a bloodthirsty smile.
Night-time was the assassins’ domain, but it was also her favorite time to kill.
Like a ghost, she silently slipped out from the window, into the dark night. Six people were hiding in different areas around the hut. With a sharp dagger in hand, she laid low and proceeded.
As she neared her first target, who wore the same black robes as the rest, she slowly began to rise.
The color of their clothes did help them blend into the night, but unfortunately, the grass was green, so the abrupt dashes of black were rather noticeable.
Having heard a faint rustle of wind behind him, the targeted assassin subconsciously turned his head. In that exact instant, Yun Wu’s lips curved into a sanguinary smile, and she lunged. While covering his nose with one hand, she slid her dagger across his throat. The action was smooth, decisive, and left a deep, gushing score on his neck.
His eyes were opened wide, and he was dead before he could even cry out. Unfalteringly, Yun Wu’s dormant figure resumed its stealthy advancement.
Whoo… The wind whistled.
Another assassin stared wide-eyed at Yun Wu, who had cut open his throat so quickly that all he could do… was feel horrified.
When did this person get in such close proximity to him? Alas, he would have to ponder on it when he reaches the gates of hell.
Every flash of her dagger symbolized a demise. She hunted with the night as her cloak, bearing heavy resemblance to death’s sovereign as she soundlessly reaped the lives of her oblivious victims. Soon, the metallic tang of blood permeated the field of grass.
Fifth one!
With morbid relish, Yun Wu took in the sight of the lifeless corpse lying at her feet. Then, she ran her tongue across her lips and once again disappeared into the grass, heading for her final prey.
The wind stopped, and the critters fell silent; at that moment, everything beneath the night sky seemed abnormally quiet.
“Pssst…” No response.
Quiet—too quiet…
The last assassin was crouched behind a boulder, and traces of apprehension could be seen on his face; the distinctive signal sound he made had met with an ocean of silence, almost as though his companions had all disappeared. There were no movements from the two inside either.
He wondered if something had gone wrong, but nothing seemed off; no murderous intent, and no suspicious activities either. Moreover, their target was just a sickly good-for-nothing, not some skilled expert.
Therefore, the mission should’ve been smooth-sailing… and yet his signal had gone unanswered, so there must’ve been a mishap.
A sudden chill ran through his heart. He and his companions were all Rank Four and above, but perchance the mountain accommodated someone stronger? However, that thought was promptly discarded. After all, it would be impossible for a sickly, illegitimate good-for-nothing to hire someone stronger than them.
Just what was going on then?
A gentle breeze wafted by, carrying with it the smell of blood. Immediately upon detecting that scent, the remaining assassin’s pupils contracted in shock.
The smell of blood? Did the others really…?
He started to rise, but then all of a sudden, a spine-chilling, ice-cold voice spoke from behind him.
“Leaving to find the others?”
Startled, the assassin spun around and thrust out the sword in his hand, but the petite figure was much faster. Her dagger gave off a wicked gleam as it swept across his neck, effortlessly releasing a torrent of gushing blood.
Time seemed to have stopped. The black-robed assassin stared at the emaciated girl as his eyes filled with horror and disbelief. He’d imagined a skilled expert and never would’ve expected the one who had soundlessly ambushed him to be such a young little girl.
“No need to go find them, since you’ll be able to meet up with them soon, anyway.”
Yun Wu’s lips stretched into a terrifying grin, and the depths of her eyes shone with enough coldness and bloodlust to frighten anyone who saw her.
Meet up? That meant his companions had perished like him! Just who was this girl?!
Alas, it was already too late. As his corpse collapsed to the ground, his dim, unwilling eyes were still fixated on her, and hot blood spilled from his neck to stain the grass.
Even in death, he couldn’t figure out who he and his group had provoked. Their mission had simply been to dispose of a sickly good-for-nothing, but before they could even confirm whether or not that good-for-nothing was dead yet, they themselves actually ended up meeting such inexplicable ends.
If they were to learn that the one who killed them was the very same “Yun Manor’s sickly, good-for-nothing Ninth Miss” they had been too disdainful to take action on, would the blow make them want to crawl back up from hell?
…..
After she cleanly decapitated the six corpses, she tossed their bodies off the mountain cliff and returned to her hut, heads in hand.
Bam! The heads landed in front of the two paralyzed assassins. Yun Wu raised her hand and swiftly freed them of their immobility.
“Now then, would you guys rather answer my questions on your own… or would you prefer my help?” Yun Wu sneered at the extremely frightened assassins.
Six?
All six were killed?
“You… you might as well kill us too. Since we failed our mission, we will be killed nonetheless when we get back.”
“Is that so?” Yun Wu curved her lips, and her bloodied dagger glistened as she toyed with it.
“Hmph. If you have the ability, kill us. You won’t be getting a single word out of our mouths,” the assassin on the right spat through clenched teeth.
Yun Wu laughed thoughtfully. “How tough. People like you are quite to my liking… But did you know? What I enjoy more than killing people is torturing them, and I’ll keep going until they confess. Ah, just thinking about it makes my blood seethe with excitement… Would you guys like to see how I convince those who are unyielding to obediently answer my questions?”