Chapter 28 — Pompous Deception (1/2)
The two harrumphed coldly, “Do as you wish.”
Yun Wu didn’t mind and instead grinned.
“After I sever their meridians, I would run my dagger along their skin, stopping every now and then to make a nick here and there until at least a thousand little cuts have been made. While their blood seeps out, I would sprinkle some salt on each and every one of the tiny openings. Last but not least is the honey, which would be smeared onto said openings,” she paused to let that sink in and then continued evenly.
“You guys might not know the implications of that, so allow me to clarify. Attracted by the combined aroma of blood and sweet honey, countless ants will crawl to the scene. Through the cuts, they will burrow fervently into the body and slowly nibble away at the flesh… but even under those circumstances, the person would neither die nor lose consciousness. Therefore, they would be able to hear, see, and feel with lucidity their body, flesh, and blood gradually being devoured by ants…”
The bloodthirstiness of Yun Wu’s smile intensified, but her voice was light and casual when she mused, “I wonder, between the two of you, who would like to go first…?” Although she had asked a question, she looked like she was already picking which one to start with.
The two assassins felt the hairs on their bodies stand on end, and their hearts were seized with terror.
“You, you’d better let us go. We’re affiliated with the Dragon Sect, you can’t afford to provoke us…”
Yun Wu sneered. Before the assassin could finish, her gleaming dagger had already slashed down and pierced through one of his hand tendons.
“Agh!” An extremely pained groan.
“I’ve never heard of a ‘Dragon Sect’ before, so if you insist on spewing more bullshit, I wouldn’t mind exchanging every word for a slit meridian, and I won’t relent until the two of you decide to obediently answer my questions.”
The other assassin, unwilling to suffer such humiliation, tried to suicide by biting off his tongue, but Yun Wu was quicker. She swiftly thrust her dagger into his mouth and harrumphed, “In front of me, death could be considered a form of luxury. Since you’re so unafraid of it, this miss will let you experience a living hell.”
If it were anyone else, forcing well-trained assassins to disclose information might’ve been near-impossible, but to Yun Wu, it was an easy task.
…..
Within the hut.
The sound of clothes being slashed open, and the smell of blood…
“Ugh…” When salt was sprinkled over the countless open wounds on the assassin —whose tongue had been sliced off— the excruciating pain made his eyes bulge and sent his pulsing blue veins on a rampage beneath his skin.
He was lying on his back. Yun Wu proceeded to pour honey onto his lacerated body, and he was completely defenseless against the mass of ants that appeared and began to crawl into his cuts.
At the sight of such brutality, the other assassin started to tremble all over. Blood drained from his face, and terror filled his eyes to the brim. He stammered, “You, you… what do you want?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to see if you’ve finished contemplating yet. If not, then after I finish with this one, it’ll be your turn…” The corners of her lips curved upwards as she turned to him and slowly dragged the tip of her dagger along his quivering body.
The fruits of his extensive training, plus his resolution, all crashed down with the collapse of his psychological state.
“I, I—I’ll talk. It was the Third Miss of Yun Manor who hired us.”
Yun Wu’s eyes chilled, “The Third Miss? That’s it?”
She wasn’t stupid. How could Yun Lingshui, who wasn’t even at Rank Two yet, have managed to invite eight Rank Four assassins? Moreover, Yun Wu could tell just from the assassins’ manners of speech earlier that this so-called ‘Dragon Sect’ wasn’t an organization normal people could get in touch with.
Even with her status as a legitimate Miss of the Yun family, Yun Lingshui shouldn’t have been able to employ them.
A casual sweep of her dagger shot shivers up the assassin’s spine, and his eyes showed a hint of alarm, but he responded, “Yes…”
“You’re sure?” Yun Wu smiled calmly, whereupon the assassin shuddered and corrected himself, “No, there’s also Yun Manor’s housekeeper, Wu Gang. He bore the imperial token and told us to carry out the Third Miss’s instructions, to kill the Yun General Manor’s good-for-nothing Ninth Miss so that later on, no problems will arise.”
“The imperial family?” Again? Yun Wu furrowed her brows and in her mind, once more confirmed that the person backing up Wu Gang and Liu Qingyue was definitely a part of the imperial family.
Except, just who was that person? She would have to pay a visit to Housekeeper Wu. The smile on Yun Wu’s face caused the assassin’s heart to quake, and he suddenly felt a sensation of deadly crisis.
“You…” He wasn’t able to finish.
A glinting dagger had already streaked across his throat; it was a neat and merciless move, lacking the slightest of pity-induced hesitation.
Yun Wu pulled off the assassin’s black clothing and redressed herself. Then, like before, she decapitated the two assassins and chucked them down the cliffside. She grabbed the heads —a grand total of eight— and took advantage of the black night to quietly slip into Yun Manor’s back courtyard, heading for Wu Gang’s room.
…..
The lights in Wu Gang’s room were still lit. Perhaps he preferred sleeping that way, or maybe he was waiting for the eight assassins to report back.