848 Master (1/2)
It was quiet at night. There were many layers of guard around the vast encampment, and at first, each layer was tighter than the one before it. After the density of guards reached a critical point, it actually started to loosen, layer by layer, as one approached the center. And in the very middle area, there were actually some blank patches, which was somewhat surprising.
All the troops in the encampment knew that the Dragon King used to be a killer and that he could detect assassins by merely sniffing the air. So, any protection he had was nominal in nature.
Of course this impression was a slight exaggeration. Gu Shenwei still needed helpers. Actually, he had always felt that he needed more capable men. Old Man Mu and the others had been assigned to Jade City. So, Nie Zeng and Tie Linglong were the only ones available, which made him feel short-handed when assigning tasks.
For a top-notch killer, it would be very easy to sneak past these two juniors.
The green-faced assassin, Qian Ying, had approached the Dragon King's tent three times, and with each attempt, she got closer to the tent. While the two teenagers were changing guards, she was watching them from a moderate distance. She could even tell their breathing rate.
But she couldn't detect the Dragon King's breath. That tent seemed totally normal, but she wasn't sure whether there was someone in there or not, which made her suspicious and uneasy.
During her last approach, she decided to take some risks.
Nie Zeng was also hiding in the dark, moving to a new position about every two quarter-watches. Qian Ying waited quietly. When it was in the middle of the fourth night-watch and Nie Zeng was far enough away, she made her move. She sneaked over to the side of the tent, cut a lateral slit in the bottom of the tent, and slipped into the tent.
This slit was so small that a small cat could barely pass through it. Nobody would care even if they saw it.
The Dragon King's tent was about four or five times the size of a common tent, and it even surpassed that of a senior general. The furniture in it was very simple – just a few tables and chairs, and the felt blanket on the floor was also fairly thin. Only the bed was soft and comfortable, but Qian Ying knew that the Dragon King seldom slept on that bed.
But tonight seemed to be an exception. Someone was sleeping in that bed, and their breath was occasionally undetectable. It was this breathing that had confused Qian Ying.
She lay prostrate in a corner, listening to the sounds from both inside and outside the tent. After confirming that this was not a trap, she decided to go to the bed and have a look.
Something was wrong, and she had to confirm what it was.
Unlike regular killers who usually approached their targets slowly, Qian Ying, with her superb lightness skills, always leaped to the target rapidly and then rapidly leaped back. Common kung fu experts could barely detect her presence when they were asleep.
The Dragon King was no common kung fu expert, and Qian Ying had even been defeated by him once, but she still wanted to give it a try.
”Doh.” A faint, short sound was heard. It was like a random noise made by someone in their sleep, but the timing was too much of a coincidence – it was made right when Qian Ying leaped to the bed.
It was totally dark in the tent, and there weren't any sounds for quite a long time. At last, the one on the bed said, ”You're on my chest.”
With her dagger in her right hand and pressed against that person's neck, Qian Ying slightly raised her left arm and asked in a low voice, ”Han Fen?”
”Eek? You know me!”
Of course Qian Ying knew her. She knew every one of the Dragon King's men, including those who had been assigned to Jade City. ”Why were you sleeping here?”
”This bed is more comfortable. I came here to meet with the Dragon King, but he was not here. I lay down to have a rest, but I ended up falling asleep.”
”Why do you want to meet the Dragon King?”
”Um. I want to meet him because – Who are you? Why are you here? Why is your kung fu so good? Why are you immune to my knockout powder?”
Only very few people knew of Qian Ying's existence. Han Fen had never met her before, and she had tried to immobilize her knockout powder just now. But it turned out that not only was Qian Ying immune to the knockout powder, but Han Fen also couldn't even resist when Qian Ying's dagger stabbed towards her.
”I'm the one asking questions, so just answer them.”
Han Fen could feel that the dagger pressing against her neck was very sharp. ”Fine. I'm under your control. Fortunately, I'm just a prisoner. Otherwise, I'd have to kill myself.”
”It won't be easy for you to die. Striking the Tian Shu Acupoint and using the Life-Retaining Powder – this is how you Waning Moon Hall guys expel the poison from people's bodies, isn't it?”
Han Fen remained silent for quite a while, and when she spoke again, her voice was quivering. ”Who are you? You scared me.”
”Where's the Dragon King?” Qian Ying asked again, feeling that she had intimidated this disciple of the Waning Moon Hall.
”I don't know. He wasn't here when I arrived.”
”Has Instructor Shangguan been here?”
”I don't know. I didn't see her when I arrived.”
Qian Ying thought for a while before asking, ”When you arrived? What about afterwards?”
”Um. I don't know whether I should tell you or not. The Dragon King might be unhappy.”
Qian Ying pressed her left hand onto Han Fen's lower abdomen and shot a stream of Qi through it to stimulate Han Fen's various pain acupoints. Han Fen let out a scream and then suppressed the pain, biting her lips.
Qian Ying exerted more Qi into it, even as she slightly admired Han Fen – this disciple of the Waning Moon Hall was pretty good. Regular people would have found this pain unbearable by now, but Han Fen was still hanging on.
A quarter of an hour passed. Han Fen started begging, ”Um… I beg you… let me go… ah… I… ah… can't… ah… bear it… anymore… ah…”
”…”
Qian Ying immediately drew her hand back and straightened herself, keeping herself a safe distance away from Han Fen. ”Are you out of your mind?”
Han Fen groaned for a little while longer before she could form a sentence. ”You're so good.”
Qian Ying was a green-faced assassin. Unlike common killers, the kung fu she had been practicing required her to keep her virginity. If weren't for the fact that she had exceptionally good self-control, her face would have been flushed red by now.
”You evildoer,” she snapped as she recalled that there was a special cultivation method in Waning Moon Hall which enabled practitioners to turn pain into sexual pleasure. However, not many people learned it. She hadn't expected to encounter one here.
”I am. Hall Leader Han once said that Waning Moon Hall is the demon, and that Golden Roc Castle is the devil. We're actually family.” Han Fen had guessed that Qian Ying was from Golden Roc Castle.