101 Stealing Secrets (1/2)
Slowly sinking to the bottom of the lake, Jun Mo Xie opened his eyes to a world of azure colored water. After reorienting himself, he proceeded to slowly walk towards the pleasure boat. It was not long before the water had turned pitch black, indicating that he had already arrived underneath the boat.
Jun Mo Xie silently floated up before reaching out with one hand to tightly hold on to the hull. The reed held in his other hand was placed in his mouth and, with a sharp exhalation, the long piece of reed quietly extended out of the water by the side of the boat. A breath of fresh air filled Jun Mo Xie's nearly asphyxiated lungs and his body naturally relaxed.
A single careless mistake in this series of manoeuvres and all his efforts would have gone to waste. His targets would certainly notice his presence and even try to kill him, leading to a fatal disaster!
Jun Mo Xie took no further actions and only waited motionlessly without showing any signs of impatience. His previous anxiety and misgivings have all but disappeared. He no longer worried in his heart whether the assassins will board the boat. Since he had already selected his targets, there will be no room for regret!
Intuition! He held a firm belief that the assassins will come on this boat!
Therefore, he was endlessly patient. As long as he can breathe, he will wait. It was just like in his previous life when he had to rely on his intuition to pursue murderers or hide from his enemies. At this moment, he is the King of Assassins, Jun Xie!
After some time passed, there finally came the sound of a young lady's delicate laugh and the echoes of boorish men talking and laughing. As people embarked, the boat swayed, and the thudding of footsteps could be heard coming from above Jun Mo Xie.
One, two… six individuals!
Jun Mo Xie counted in silence. It seemed that three more people had joined the party of assassins that have arrived earlier.
Once the party had boarded the boat, their distinctive cold aura suddenly caused a reaction in Jun Mo Xie's mind. In this ice-cold water, the cold killing intent made Jun Mo Xie feel a sense of familiarity.
This is my world!
The extravagant life of a noble—the glory, splendor, and wealth—admittedly was very comfortable, but Jun Mo Xie was the King of Assassins. He yearned to be unfettered like the king of wolves, arrogantly howling among a vast expanse of rolling grassland. Even if danger lurks around every corner, he will still choose to be a king, looking down upon the world!
Suffering leads to growth; the solitary enjoys the loneliness. A solitary shadow charging into the unknown, brandishing his sword in defiance of the heavens. Ten steps to kill a person, a thousand miles without leaving a trace!
This is Jun Mo Xie's grandest dream.
Unfortunately, it is uncertain whether Jun Mo Xie will have such an opportunity in his current body.
No one spoke after entering the boat's cabin. Only the sounds of teacups softly touching followed by the ”sipping and slurping” of tea and the occasional gentle laughter of a young lady could be heard.
It was only after some time had passed when a hoarse voice spoke up. ”Lady Yue'er, do you know when Lord Liu will arrive? My brothers have been waiting here and we'll get nowhere like this. The assassination attempt on the Princess is a serious criminal charge! There is still an ongoing manhunt in the city! That incident hasn't even died down yet but we are still tasked with safekeeping these priceless Xuan beast tendons. If by any chance something was to happen… this one…”
A girl's delicate laugh was heard before she voiced out unperturbed. ”Hall Master Zhao, is there such cause for alarm? This is the Ni Chang Pavilion. Don't tell me that you are unaware of what kind of place this Ni Chang Pavilion is?
”There will naturally not be any mishaps here at Ni Chang Pavilion, but we can never be too careful! The failed assassination attempt has already put us on edge and have us backed against a wall. With the many delays and the Xuan beast tendons still in our possession, it would not be wise to stay any longer in Tianxiang!” The one surnamed Zhao was feeling somewhat embarrassed but replied nonetheless.
”So Hall Master Zhao is only thinking of washing his hands of this problematic situation. Perhaps the reason isn't just some manhunt! What do you have to say about your failure? Don't tell me that Hall Master plans on shifting the responsibility at this point?!…” The young lady chided derisively. Hall Master Zhao only gave a snort and did not open his mouth to retort.
However, one of his men spat in contempt. ”Lady Yue'er, your words are too unfair. Surely we are not the only ones at fault for the previous mission's failure. If the intelligence you provided had not been wrong, would we have returned having failed so dramatically? If we had known earlier that a Sky Xuan expert accompanied the princess, would our organization have planned the assassination like so? The difficulty of this mission had clearly not been a trifling grade 3! It was an impossible task to challenge a Sky Xuan expert with the strength of the members we have previously dispatched. We demand that 'Second Uncle' provide our Hall Master with an acceptable explanation for the losses we have suffered.
The young lady was silent for a moment and then slowly replied. ”You received the money. Our side requested you to kill a princess with the strength of Silver Xuan, did we not? And we had spent a considerable amount of resources to arrange for the majority of the men by the princess' side to be away at that time. It could even be said that we have created the ideal scenario for you. If that is still not enough for you to succeed, then it is obviously you that is incompetent. As for this 'Sky Xuan expert'… hehe, whether or not this person really appeared, is your problem. We paid you for results and not excuses.”