Hidden Shadow – CH 177

Chapter One-Hundred-Seventy-Seven: Gale (3)

The night was dark and moonless. A fierce wind howled through the narrow alleys of the small dock town, burying all other sounds.

Chu Dingjiang used his mental power to cover the entire area, confirming which house had someone inside, and then judging the opponent’s martial arts level based on the markings on the map provided by Sang Nu.

In the outermost house lived a seventh-level expert.

Chu Dingjiang waved his hand, ordering Lou Mingyue and Qiu Yuntong to attack together, aiming to resolve the situation quietly. The others waited in place, ready to respond at any moment.

The success of this first battle would directly affect their confidence later, and everyone was somewhat nervous.

Sun Dixian swallowed hard.

An Jiu listened intently. After about the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, a slight noise came from inside the house, then silence returned.

Two figures emerged from the courtyard and headed straight to where they were.

Qiu Yuntong nodded to the group.

The atmosphere immediately relaxed. A seasoned seventh-tier assassin had been dealt with in a mere two moments, a tremendous encouragement to everyone.

Chu Dingjiang led the group away from the nearby courtyard towards a small building in the distance.

An Jiu was puzzled. After careful consideration, she realized that while the residents there were not highly skilled in martial arts, they were adept at using poison. Besides Qiu Yuntong, there were no other suitable candidates.

This time, Chu Dingjiang chose An Jiu and Sui Yuntong.

Sui Yuntong was not particularly strong, nor did he possess any extraordinary abilities, but his mental power was similar to Chu Dingjiang’s, allowing her to detect any living person.

An Jiu remembered that the residents here were only fifth-tier.

Sui Yuntong had witnessed An Jiu’s archery skills, so even though he knew An Jiu lacked internal energy, he was satisfied with this arrangement.

The two exchanged a glance, nodded, and silently approached, scaling the wall to enter the courtyard.

It was a courtyard paved with stone slabs. Covered in moss, they were slippery underfoot.

An Jiu pointed upstairs: “Is the person up there?”

Sui Yuntong shook his head and pointed downstairs.

An Jiu noticed the building was not large, so she took some sleeping powder and slipped it through the crack in the door. After waiting for about half a cup of tea, she used a dagger to pry open the door and slipped inside.

Sui Yuntong could pinpoint the target’s location, so An Jiu followed behind him, her Dragon-Subduing Bow in hand, ready to shoot at any moment.

Just as Sui Yuntong was about to pry open the door, a startled female voice softly called from inside, “Who?”

For a moment, both of them had the illusion that the person inside was not an assassin but a sheltered young woman.

An Jiu frowned; this was the first time she’d made a mistake using Mo Sigui’s drug.

The sudden situation startled Sui Yuntong.

An Jiu gently nudged him and held up a finger: “Alone?”

Sui Yuntong nodded and pointed to the southeast corner: “Over there.”

Just then, the door creaked open.

A strong scent of perfume wafted out, and the thin gauze curtains swayed gently in the room. Candles could be faintly seen burning near the bed, and a woman languidly pursed her lips. “Did I not tell you? I have not been feeling well these past few days. Tonight…”

This female assassin was actually a prostitute! Such a golden opportunity! An Jiu’s Dragon-Subduing Bow was already drawn.

Sui Yuntong looked at the figure speaking. His expression suddenly changed, and he whispered, “Up there.”

As he spoke, a fragrant breeze wafted from above. An Jiu looked up; the two were only three chi apart! She did not dodge but instead unleashed a mental energy arrow.

With a whoosh, pure, masterful mental energy exploded in the woman’s mind.

Her mind went blank, and her body plummeted straight down. An Jiu raised her leg to block, her twin swords drawn, piercing her chest fiercely.

The soft body slid off An Jiu’s legs. The woman finally regained her senses, enduring the excruciating pain in her chest, struggling to keep her ground. An Jiu stepped on her fingers, then swiftly slashed her pale neck.

The woman’s silhouette beside the bed collapsed.

Sui Yuntong’s legs went weak. He stumbled back a few steps, opened the window, and took several deep breaths to calm the agitation within him.

The fragrance in the woman’s room was not cosmetics but an aphrodisiac scent—effective on men, with only a slight aphrodisiac effect on women.

The wind stirred the gauze curtains, and An Jiu saw a dark puppet lying on the bed, its mouth slightly open, wisps of white smoke rising from it.

Sui Yuntong gasped for breath, his eyes bloodshot. Through his blurred vision, he saw a slender figure walking towards him. The agitation he had just suppressed erupted instantly again, as if all the blood in his body was burning and surging, rapidly gathering in his groin. A feeling of impending explosion, if not released, overwhelmed him, causing him to reach out in agony to grab the figure.

An Jiu used her Dragon-Subduing Bow to block Sui Yuntong, whose eyes were bloodshot.

She had not expected the mission to go so smoothly, only to end up facing her own people. She suddenly raised her leg and kicked him in the stomach. Sui Yuntong unleashed a power far exceeding his own strength, not only remaining unharmed but also grabbing An Jiu’s ankle, trying to pull her towards him.

An Jiu gritted her teeth, a murderous glint in her eyes.

Just as she was about to fire her hidden dart, she suddenly stopped, her fingers drawing back the bowstring, all her mental energy concentrated at her fingertips.

The two were only two chi apart. She released her grip, the bowstring humming softly, and Sui Yuntong’s body stiffened abruptly.

An Jiu raised her hand and slashed fiercely at the back of his neck, catching his limp body, and hurriedly left.

Upon arriving at the meeting point, An Jiu tossed the man to the ground and whispered, “Aphrodisiac.” Qiu Yuntong immediately knelt to take his pulse. After a moment, he took out a pill and fed it to Sui Yuntong, then handed one to An Jiu.

An Jiu took it, lifted her mask, and made a swallowing motion, but the small pill remained between her fingers. The light was dim, and no one saw her small movement. It was not that An Jiu was ungrateful; she simply was not used to taking things given to her by strangers, especially medicine.

Sui Yuntong would not wake up for a while, so Chu Dingjiang had someone carry him and continue onward.

An Jiu walked at the back, feeling a slight heat rising within her. After a moment’s thought, she took out the antidote Mo Sigui had given her and swallowed it.

After a short while, An Jiu felt her symptoms ease slightly.

The next group was Sun Dixian and Li Qing; they were facing a fourth-level martial artist.

This was Gu Jinghong’s battle plan; taking turns attacking would kill as many as possible. As for the on-site arrangements, Chu Dingjiang was in complete control. With his arrangements, barring any unforeseen circumstances, they could wipe out half of the Piaomiao Mountain Mansion.

About ten li north of the dock, on a hill covered in dense forest.

Twenty burly men stood guard outside the forest. A woman in green, leading the group, was surrounded by hundreds of butterflies, which fluttered like withered leaves in the fierce, cold wind. When the wind subsided, the intact butterflies slowly flew into the forest.

“Mo Sigui, you managed to dodge the first day, but you will not be able to dodge the fifteenth,” the woman in green sneered, disappearing into the forest, followed by the burly men.

The wind was gentler in the dense forest, and the butterflies flew dozens of times faster than ordinary butterflies, crossing the hill and entering a small valley.

Upon entering, everyone clearly felt the wind had stopped, and the temperature had risen considerably. Although it was winter, the surrounding vegetation was still lush and green.