The cold-faced beauty stared straight at the assassins radiating intense killing intent.
Her bright red lips parted.
"Wei Jin."
The moment she called someone.
Thump!
One of the assassins collapsed.
Startled by the sudden action, the nearby assassins hastily turned their heads.
Behind the fallen assassin stood a young man with handsome features.
"Guilang Jian!"
Swish!
The assassins pivoted on their feet and spun around.
Holding their flying daggers in reverse grip, they simultaneously aimed for Wei Jin's chest.
However, the sword already in Wei Jin's hand deflected their attacks to the side with just a slight movement.
Thud!
With a dull sound, the assassins' bodies jolted greatly from the impact.
But the assassins did not falter.
Using the reeling of their bodies as momentum, they kicked off the ground and charged straight at the woman.
Swish!
The woman watched with indifferent eyes as the assassins closed the distance in a flash and shot toward her.
The moment their flying daggers were about to pierce the woman's chest and neck.
Flash!
Suddenly, a shadow popped out from below, and a girl with a smiling impression appeared.
The cute girl, whose large, sparkling eyes seemed to hold stars, had her arms wide open.
And in her hands, something slender glinted in the sunlight.
"Yin Si...?!"
The assassins panicked and leapt backward.
But the slender Yin Si the girl had already swung wrapped completely around them.
"Gasp!"
"Ugh!"
The tautly pulled silver thread increasingly constricted their flesh and dug in.
Splatter!
A moment later, a rain of blood fell.
"Are you okay?"
The girl looked up at the woman with an innocent expression, making it hard to believe she had just executed such a cruel technique.
"I'm fine."
"Thank goodness."
The woman swept her hand across her chest in relief and stroked the head of the bright-eyed girl.
"You did well, Xiao Ling."
"Hehe."
Xiao Ling beamed, apparently liking the touch, and retracted her thread.
Swoosh—
Dyed bright red from blood, the thread coiled meticulously around the girl's hand in the shape of a bracer, as if it were alive.
At that moment, Wei Jin stood in front of the woman.
"Miss. Other assassins are coming and..."
Before the words could even finish.
Tap tap tap!
Assassins poured in from all directions.
"Stay behind me."
Wei Jin immediately stood before the woman.
"Xiao Ling."
"Yeah!"
Xiao Ling also crossed her hands, using the threads she had spread out ready to attack at any moment like a spiderweb to envelop the woman.
"Done!"
"We're breaking out!"
As soon as Wei Jin's shout erupted.
Boom!
At the same time, the two kicked off the ground and smashed the door in one blow.
"Hmm? Is it over there?"
Meanwhile, Tianhui, who was in the next room, stomped on the neck of the last surviving assassin at the sound of the door breaking.
Crunch!
Along with the sound of the neck bone snapping, Tianhui, who looked down at the corpse that trembled for a moment before going quiet, turned his steps outside.
Soon after, as soon as he pushed the door open.
"Aaaargh! S-save me. Cough!"
Stab! Slash!
Pandemonium greeted Tianhui.
Unknown attackers were ransacking the inn and attacking the three of them.
"Let's see. One, two..."
He took a moment to count the assassins wreaking havoc against the three.
"Hmm?"
The martial arts displayed by the young man wielding his sword and the girl while protecting the woman in the center caught his interest.
"That's the Imperial Palace's martial arts."
Tianhui's eyes narrowed.
'That's the Dongchang's swordsmanship, and that was the martial arts used by Heisha Yuan.'
Seeing the two, the Imperial Palace experts who had visited Tianma Shenjiao in the past came to mind.
Then, a question arose.
"That's strange. People from the Imperial Palace moving in such small numbers?"
Usually, people from the Imperial Palace would travel leading a large group.
But such a small number of personnel?
'They wouldn't be surveying the Jianghu, so do they have something they need to do secretly?'
After staring intently at them for a moment.
'Whatever. Whatever they came to the Jianghu to do, what does it have to do with me? The court can't interfere in the Murim anyway because of the non-aggression pact.'
After finishing his observation, he placed his hand on the railing.
The fierce fight was already tipping in favor of the attackers.
That was only natural; the attackers were attacking freely, but the girl and the young man were at a great disadvantage because they had to fight while protecting the woman.
'The ones related are the ones who messed with me.'
He vaulted over the railing.
Thump!
At Tianhui's sudden appearance, dropping from above, not only the assassins but also Wei Jin, who was fighting them, panicked.
"Hah, hah. Who are you?"
Tianhui ignored him as he tried to make conversation and lightly raised his right hand.
Swish!
At the same time, a sharp, wind-like force tore through the darkness and shot forward.
In an instant, the space seemed to tear apart, and then...
"Ugh!"
A person fell from above the ceiling.
The man, clutching his bleeding shoulder, let out a breath with a pale face.
"H-how did you... me..."
"What are you babbling about?"
Tianhui sneered at the assassin who fell in front of him and grabbed his head.
And twisted it a full rotation in one go.
Crunch!
A chilling sound rang out in the inn.
A strange silence flowed.
At the same time, everyone's attention focused on Tianhui, who was holding the corpse.
"If you're an assassin, you should keep your mouth shut until the end."
He tossed the corpse backward.
Blood and intestines spilled from the face-down corpse, soaking the floor.
"Whoa!"
The girl jumped up and exclaimed.
Starting with that, those who had lost their wits began to come to their senses one by one.
"W-what is this?"
"What just happened?"
Wei Jin and the woman, who had been watching, exclaimed in horror, and the assassins swallowed dry saliva.
The young man who suddenly dropped from above had merely made a single hand gesture.
But with that single gesture, an assassin lost his life in an instant.
With a technique no one could recognize.
The assassins exchanged glances.
Realizing that the opponent was not an easy one, their reaction was faster than anyone else's.
Tap!
As if they had been waiting for it, the surviving assassins scattered in all directions.
"Letting them escape?"
Tianhui lightly raised his index finger.
Flash!
Then, along with a dazzling red light, beautiful plum blossoms bloomed brightly in all directions.
A breathtakingly beautiful sight.
However, the result it brought was gruesome.
Thud— Thud—
Cold corpses with holes in their foreheads rolled on the floor from all directions.
"That feels refreshing."
As Tianhui dusted off his hands and stood up.
"How did you do that?"
The girl approached with sparkling eyes.
As he looked down at the girl asking a question so out of place in the current situation.
"Xiao Ling."
The woman called the girl in a stiff voice. At that, the girl walked over with a disappointed expression and stood next to the woman.
"Thank you for helping us."
The woman approached and expressed her gratitude.
When a smile lingered on her cold face, a warmth emerged, like a spring breeze blowing in the dead of winter.
"Thanks to you, we survived."
Wei Jin also bowed his head.
It was not an empty statement.
He could feel that if Tianhui hadn't intervened midway, it wouldn't have been the assassins who died, but them.
'No, there was one last method, but...'
Wei Jin glanced at Xiao Ling.
The girl, now tightly hugging the woman's waist, looked like a cicada clinging to an old tree.
'It's a relief. For the sake of the future, it's better if it's not revealed now.'
Shaking his head slightly to dispel the thought, he bowed respectfully.
"Thank you for your help."
However, Tianhui, who was receiving the gratitude, felt no emotion whatsoever.
'I didn't even intend to help.'
The reason he stepped up and killed the assassins was because they attacked him first, not because he wanted to help these people.
The woman slowly approached.
Her gaze was directed at Tianhui, who was looking at them indifferently.
"I have caused you trouble, Young Hero."
Then, looking straight at Tianhui, she asked.
"I would like to express my gratitude in the future, may I know the Young Hero's esteemed name?"
"It's fine."
With his answer, Tianhui turned his body.
'There's no point in staying here.'
The inn was filled with the smell of blood.
'I should just hurry up.'
In an instant, Tianhui disappeared.
"...!"
The woman's lips parted as she looked at the spot where Tianhui had vanished without a trace.
"Wei Jin."
Wei Jin swallowed his saliva and answered.
"Yes."
"How was it?"
"I felt nothing."
The same question and answer as when they were having dinner.
But unlike that time, Wei Jin's voice trembled slightly.
The woman's eyes turned to Wei Jin.
A tiny ripple appeared in the eyes that had been calm no matter what happened.
Wei Jin asked carefully.
"Shall we find out who he is?"
"No, it's fine."
The woman whipped her head around.
She glared at the cold corpses, then spoke with an urgent expression.
"More importantly, we need to hurry and move before other assassins come again."
* * *
"It's changed quite a bit."
Upon arriving at the Huashan Sect, Tianhui gazed at the vibrant surrounding forest.
The plum blossoms that had bloomed before he left were gone now, but instead, lush green trees welcomed him.
After enjoying the scenery for a while as he climbed up.
"Next person... huh? Fourth Uncle?"
His eyes met with Chijian, who was welcoming guests at the mountain gate.
"You've returned."
Tianhui frowned as he watched Chijian running toward him in a single breath.
"Haven't you trained properly lately?"
At Tianhui's cutting remark, Chijian flinched and broke into a cold sweat.
"T-that's because I've been welcoming guests at the mountain gate lately. Ah! More importantly, the Sect Leader said to come to Zixia Ge as soon as you arrive, Fourth Uncle."
Tianhui quietly glared at Chijian, who hastily changed the subject.
Under that gaze, the moment sweat poured like a flood on Chijian's forehead.
"Sect Leader Fourth Uncle is calling for me?"
"Yes."
"Do you know what it's about?"
"You have to hear that directly..."
"Really? Alright."
Tianhui, who was speaking, turned his steps.
'Thankfully, he let it slide.'
Chijian breathed a sigh of relief.
But then.
Halt.
Tianhui stopped and turned his head.
"What is it?"
"Come find me later."
At the following words, his complexion turned pale.
"F-Fourth Uncle!"
Tianhui ignored Chijian's desperate cries and immediately kicked off the ground.
'Not training just because I'm not around? I need to discipline him properly.'
Thinking of Chijian, who hadn't grown at all, Tianhui accelerated his speed.
Leaving the quickly passing scenery behind, Tianhui soon arrived at Zixia Ge.
"It's me."
"Come in."
The Sect Leader, who was sitting in Zixia Ge, warmly welcomed Tianhui as soon as he saw him.
"Come here."
At the Sect Leader's gesture to come in, Tianhui skillfully entered and took a seat.
"I'm sorry for calling you in such a hurry."
"More importantly, why did you call for me?"
"Haha."
The Sect Leader burst into a hearty laugh at Tianhui's straightforward question.
'He's exactly the same.'
One's personality was bound to change after making a debut in the Jianghu, but Tianhui hadn't.
"I called you urgently because a guest visited our sect saying they wanted to see you."
"Yes? Someone who wants to see me?"
Tianhui's eyebrows furrowed slightly.
'He called me just for that?'
He thought he had rushed for nothing.
'I should have traveled a bit more.'
The Sect Leader spoke while looking at Tianhui, whose expression turned annoyed in an instant.
"He is no ordinary person."
"Who is it?"
Instantly, the Sect Leader stopped laughing.
Then, with a serious expression, he opened his mouth very carefully.
"Do you know of Shengshou Shenyi?"