Vol 2 Chapter 306 (1/2)
Chapter 306: Dagger, Seeing the Dagger Again
Inside the Floating Teer in the Emperor's expression had already faded away His face was calm, just like the wood chips under his feet; just like the blood in the teuards and assassins; just like the ones ere injured and unconscious The sweet fragrance that once permeated the atmosphere here did not exist anymore Still, his appearance was as if he hadn't been subject to an assassination attempt, one that had been planned by the ene that flower observation event they all enjoyed once every three years
So up the mess in the teathered up on the top floor Their nuh to believe they'd e of the Emperor's safety looked incredibly pale And the eunuchs, including Eunuch Dai, were tre of an assassination atte on their own fate in his service Would these events change their course in life? Or would their lives be ended after all was said and done?
The crown prince hadfrom his eyes He and the eldest prince were both on their knees before the e, ”We are so useless! We made our father afraid!”
The eldest prince spoke these words gravely He had killed countless enemies in the west, but he did not expect that when an assassin came here to attack, he could barely react And toward Fan Xian, a person he never looked kindly upon, he displayed treility he had rarely seen
”He was 9th rank; no ordinary fellow You are the Emperor's son, and to be unable to react in the face of such adversity is normal” The Eh looked towards the ninth-rank assassin that was killed by Eunuch Hong's subordinate He then looked at the broken chalice that was stepped upon by the crown prince, and his eyebrows furrowed a little
He gently hugged the third prince, as still in shock His eyes turned back to gaze upon the chrysanthemums that paved the land below On the hillside, he was able to see some further o,” said Eunuch Hong modestly as he stood behind the Emperor He didn't think he should remain by the Emperor's side after the assassination atteo tend to hi that Fan Xian threw upon the floor before he left was eye-catching The toxic smoke was all over the temple, and there must have been someone who had inadvertently breathed it in He had left for the there on the floor, the Euilty look entered the Eht of this And now he recalled that Fan Xian had been suffering fro had been to visit Fan Xian to confirertips lightly tapped the rails of the Floating Te, who had been behind all the nobles this entire tientle reverberations and looked up
”You don't have to go” The E ”I can send soe noises could be heard fro Temple A few swords They followed along the dangerous gap of theafter, they went past the palace guards that had already startedin the sa the trails of three people
Before this temple lay a ravine, and its inclines were steep
Fan Xian was running across the ravine and through the flower fields that decorated them He reached out his hand to pick up a branch that was directly in front of hi the flowers that had been crushed, he breathed in a pleasant smell It was as if he had just taken opiuh hiy and power His legs were as if they possessed their own pair of eyes as he raced across the stones with dazzling accuracy like a raon With unbelievable speed, he ran down thecliffs, none in this world but Uncle Wu Zhu was faster Besides, after fighting with the white-clothed swordsmen, the zhenqi inside him had increased by a lot from the shock and adrenaline With the power he had, and the ht he had reached his zenith The injuries he had incurred were nothing
There was a white shadow in front of him that was about a dozenand disappearing every now and then The way it race, like flowers petals in the breeze It softly guided his feet, with each step having a gentler landing; all without the sacrifice of speed But still, it could not escape Fan Xian's greater pace - one that was given the benefit of gravity
The distance that separated theuards behind Fan Xian, ere still searching, had no idea of how far he had gone and how behind they truly were Master Ye Zhong, of renown reputation for being trained in the ways of Zhong, was left following at a great distance
The tea was still not cold, and both of them had arrived at the foot of theof the Royal Guards froht some ease to his mind But he found out that the white-clothed swords the direction Fan Xian was initially following He went to the edge of the woodland on the foot of the round, and the speed Fan Xian possessed was not as good as the man in white But, the white-clothed swords, and that provided hio full speed, Fan Xian was able to follow hi the direction
that the opponent chose, Fan Xian felt a chill grasp his heart
It was difficult to have contact between the top of the mountain and the base of it The news about the assassination attempt of the Emperor had finally been sent out The Royal Guards that were at the foot of the mountain were afraid that it was i The white swordsman had selected a way that would et to It was a oodland area; it led underbrush would provide an effective place for the white-clothed assassin to hide
Fan Xian was quietly chasing hi that the Royal Guard would not fail in their task because of the lect to cover the forest
But what made him happy was that outside the woodland area, there was much protection as well The white-clothed swords down at a 2 o'clock direction
Fan Xian was following closely
The white-clothed swords intently
After a few quick turns and realigned to maintain his speed and keep a distance froy to call out for aid A strange noise pierced the air The white-clothed swordsman appeared to have received a second wind, as he sped up and ran towards the direction of a lake
Fan Xian gritted his teeth, rushi+ng as fast as he could And then, he took notice of so
The assassin that he had been following had already passed the gathering of Royal Guards
The field in front of hiuard there Fan Xian's heart was shaking, unable to fathoaze of all the Royal Guards Aside froreat speed, the only other explanation could be that this swords of, and incredibly faoverns It was a scary prospect to think of
Fan Xian thought of Gong Dian, who hadn't appeared at the Floating Teht of this, but he told himself that this was not the ti was too heavy, and the guards were too slow - there was no one around to slow the culprit's pace If he let this assassin disappear right before hirave amount of trouble headed his way
He could not return; he could only give chase This was his only option
When it ca skills, Fan Xian was confident in his dexterity in that regard Especially when he was in the north of the river alongside a few Tiger Guards He was able to chase Xiao En, ell-known around the world He did not believe that, aside fro him wholly
But today, many unexpected events had transpired, and his heart had experienced a chilling feeling First, the culprit was able to bypass the Royal Guards' lockdoith ease, and then, this felon hadFan Xian's grasp From the foot of the h the fields and fared to disappear from his vision quite a few times, and if it wasn't for his incredible vision - and a modicum of luck - he feared that the assassin would have escaped quite soo
The white-clothed swordsman was calm the entire time It was as if it was a natural ability of his to hide, and it was so that Fan Xian quite admired He had contact with the Overwatch Council ever since he was small, so he ell aware of howone would need to become as precise as the assassin was
Fan Xian noticed that the method he used to erase the trail as he as relooly faht that this person was extre in the dark The white clothes that the swordsht that this must be the real side of the white-clothed assassin He was calm, composed, decisive, and wholly evil These were the best attributes a person could possess
That slash of the sword in the Floating Teht it was not as shocking as the dark perception his fleeing eneth of this person was now on display, and he was only afraid that it was greater than Xiao En hireater than his oer
Fan Xian's heart was growingsecond When he was in the te too i the strength this opponent had displayed there If it wasn't for Ye Zhong injuring hi Fan Xian would have had to do was stop and stay as far away from the white-clothed man as possible
Both of theh walls Thesound was heard, the white-clothed assassin'swhite clothing with one hand, and it revealed plain clothing; the type an average civilianhit the soil, and a second later, the tip of Fan Xian's foot landed on them, and he sprinted forward like the wind
Fan Xian saw that this assassin was already so far away, and he was disguised as a civilian His feelings toward hiht now He was unlike any other assassin he had ever seen, one who could avoid populated areas like the plague and instead head out into the wild It was al the city so brazenly There were a dozen thousand people in the city, and if he went into the crowds, his identity would blend in with the others to conceal hiht Even if
if the Overwatch Council exhausted all their assets, theythis athered up in the Floating Temple, and because of this, the security of the capital itself had slacked The soldiers near the gate only saw a blur pass them by, and so they rubbed their eyes in bewilderment
Fan Xian could see it clearly, of course And now, he could see that the person of his pursuit had already blended in with a crowd of people Fan Xian was not afraid of shocking anyone, and so he ran through the gate
No one stopped hi, so he was still able to follow the assassin loosely The capital had a coh task for the shadow assassin's abilities Fan Xian used everything at his disposal in a bid to not lose sight of the shadowman he was in pursuit of Luckily, his state of mind was excellent, and so his own speed had not yet waned
One was quietly hunting, and one was anti-tracking It was happening within the narrow alleys that coursed between the residential areas of the capital The danger may not have been as much as last time in the northern river side, but the tension was nearly suffocating
In the corner of the buildings, a shadow fluttered at the end of a street He used his cloth shoes to lightly skate across the floor, passing by a lively marketplace in a flash The shadow knocked down acandied fruit Because of this hit, Fan Xian was able to see that the assassin was badly injured It looked as if he was unable to hold on er or control his body
A dead-end appeared in front of the and an extra run, Fan Xian had finally cornered the person at the back of an alley Following their arduous trek, they had both exhausted y Fan Xian's own face was quite pale, the only color being in his reddened cheeks His eyes, however, were shi+ning bright This was the show of the zhenqi in his body that had charged to reach maximum capacity
The assassin at the end of the alley looked worse He was in poor shape The white clothes were long gone, and froh the fabric
The assassin turned around to reveal a face Fan Xian was totally unfamiliar with This face was pale as well, as if he had not seen the sunlight in a very long tiuise, however He used a hoarse voice to speak to Fan Xian, as roughly ten steps away
”Master Fan, are you not yet tired?”
Fan Xian was surprised, and he quietly said, ”I never expected you to run this far”
The assassin sently used his hands to reach into his clothes and bring out a cold-looking, ancient sword As he handled this sword, his teed froant swordsman
”I never planned to kill you”
Fan Xian did not say anything in response He knew that if his opponent had not gotten injured, he would have said so far more ruthless He felt the chill of his blade froer on the trigger of his crossbow, prepared hier concealed in his boots and readied to throw a vial of the toxic s… but when he reached for the dagger it was not there, the toxic sone
”You are naked” The nameless assassin coldly er and fourteen smoke bombs And no you are bare”
Fan Xian slowly looked down to the ground and his face grew dark He kneas running into the city bare The three weapons he cherished and used frequently were now not there to aid hi in a fair fight But to now face this person without his brilliant weaponry, what could he do? He was hoping that the injury inflicted upon his foe would hinder his abilities and that perhaps Wu Zhu would arrive a little faster
The zhenqi in his body had reached maximum capacity however, and his resolve had not weakened The zhenqi irling around in his veins like countless naughty children, convincing him to unleash it on his opponent But unexpectedly… he just took a deep breath and suppressed his desire to do battle He looked at his enemy, stood there with no emotion save for a smile, and said, ”Tell me your identity If it satisfies me, I will cease this chase”
He had risked his life to pursue this elite fighter into the capital, only to try strike a bargain The attee Gong Dian not attending to his duties today, which ement for an assassination, the appearance and disappearance of the assassin, and the knowledge of the inner-workings of the Qing Kingdoements, all were curious elements of this event But these revelations retched facts This assassination was not only influenced by one opposing faction, but sodoue with the enemy to be able to relay so much intel
Fan Xian only needed to kno this entire affair had started He wanted the facts, not petty retaliation against a certain fighter in retribution for the Emperor's humiliation He wasn't a naive royal chancellor He cared about the connections shared between him, his father and the Overwatch Council to the assassination, rity” Fan Xian was still looking down to the floor ”You and I are the saless Give o”
The assassin was silent, but gave a subtle gesture of hesitant agree to accept this in solution, the assassin said, ”Ah, but there is a problem You see, I could also kill you now; and that would allow me to leave as well”
This world was truly wonderful Fan Xian had strongly rejected the second prince's proposition for a truce, whereas everyone else thought he should have done otherwise Now, so him in very much the saht blazed out fro the alley The leaves on the floor were picked up and carried between the two opponents by the twirling atht on by the power of the sword The leaves accompanied the rise of the ancient sword, which was now pointed at Fan Xian