By the time the current master of Shijue Tower arrived, not a single soul was left alive at the branch stronghold.
He made his way down the deep, shadowy secret passage. The corpses of the branch's assassins littered the path. With every step he took, the dread in his heart deepened.
No one knew better than him just how labyrinthine these secret passages were. Even those who frequented the branch could easily lose their way. If an enemy were to attack, the branch members should have been able to evacuate the majority of their forces with ease. Yet, the intelligence he received stated that of the twenty-seven people stationed here, not a single one had managed to escape. They had all been buried within the very stronghold they knew best.
He slowly pushed open the doors leading to the deepest part of the stronghold. Inside, a black-haired young woman standing quietly among the corpses heard the noise and turned sideways. That terrifying scythe rested diagonally behind her. On the wrist of the hand gripping the hilt, a jade bracelet softly reflected the candlelight. As the shadows danced, her eyes remained as still as a deep pool, radiating a ghostly, deathly aura.
The master of Shijue Tower dared not take another look.
Remembering the only solution he had prepared before coming here, he took a deep breath, forced an absolutely friendly smile, and pleaded with the utmost humility, "We have offended you greatly in the past. It is the fault of Shijue Tower, and I could die ten thousand times without fully atoning for it. However, I am willing to offer you my utmost loyalty and service. I only beg that you show mercy and leave Shijue Tower a way out."
As soon as the words left his mouth, he dropped to both knees without hesitation and kowtowed heavily three times.
"Your subordinate, Lian Xiu, greets the Master of Shijue Tower!"
Dead silence enveloped the surroundings. Lian Xiu, whose head was still buried deeply against the floor, could feel the sweat slowly trickling down his forehead. After an unknown amount of time, the person finally moved. He heard the extremely light sound of footsteps approaching. Someone slowly came to a stop in front of him. Then, the icy tip of a blade lifted his chin, forcing him to look up.
A moment later.
As if granted a grand pardon, he heard a nonchalant "Alright."
.
When Wu Zhen returned to the teahouse again, it was already noon on the third day.
[Asset Acquired: Shijue Tower]
[Achievement Unlocked: Master of Life and Death]
[Master of Life and Death: Become the behind-the-scenes master of an assassin organization that strikes terror into the martial world. The power to give life or deal death lies entirely within your thoughts.]
[Control Lv.1]
[Discipline Lv.1]
She had originally intended to wipe Shijue Tower out of existence, but they simply offered too much.
However, to make her let bygones be bygones, this little contribution was far from enough. She strongly disliked Shijue Tower's tradition of casually killing people for money. Coupled with her need for skill upgrades, she demanded that every future contract taken by Shijue Tower must be approved by her; otherwise, they were not to act. The surplus resources were to be used to run an intelligence network. No matter what information she wanted to inquire about, the relevant clues had to be delivered to her desk within a day.
Lian Xiu, being a man who understood the times, agreed to everything without hesitation. His attitude toward her became increasingly respectful and cautious.
This teahouse was also one of Shijue Tower's properties, so naturally, it fell under her name as well. The waiter attentively served her a large table of fine wine and good food. At this moment, Wu Zhen's fatigue and hunger levels were at critical levels. She ate swiftly while listening to the storyteller recount a brand-new version of "The Legend of Wu Zhen." By the way, the new version was completely devoid of eerie titles like Mute Yama; it was very wholesome and refreshing.
Soon, her hunger level dropped to zero. Wu Zhen stood up and walked out of the teahouse, her mind carelessly wandering. She could not shake the feeling that she had forgotten something.
What was it...?
As she pondered this, she belatedly realized that her surroundings had grown much quieter.
Wu Zhen looked up.
"..."
...Right. She seemed to know what she had forgotten.
In the backlit shadows outside the inn's doors, a figure dressed in a plain Daoist robe stood quietly.
He looked uncharacteristically travel-worn. His jet-black hair was slightly disheveled, falling over his shoulders. It was unknown how long he had been standing there. Like a wisp of freezing mist, his gaze pierced through the crowd, watching her quietly and silently.
Even though that face was astonishingly outstanding to the point where countless people would turn their heads even if he did nothing at all, the inside of the establishment was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The survival instincts of ordinary mortals kept everyone in the area completely silent.
Noticing Wu Zhen's gaze shifting toward him, the young man tilted his head slightly. The deep, snow-like stillness was broken as he revealed a gentle smile. He walked up to her step by step, lowered his head, and used a soft cloth to meticulously wipe away the bloodstains on her face.
"...How did you get yourself into such a state?"
He asked softly, his voice like a sigh.
Wu Zhen stood rooted to the spot, letting the young man wipe her face bit by bit until her clean features were revealed once more.
Someone immediately recognized her. A low gasp echoed in the teahouse, only to be forcefully stifled by the person who made it.
Wu Zhen did not answer his question. She asked briskly, "Why are you here?"
Then she added, "Did you follow me?"
"..."
"Yes," the young man said with a smile.
"I see," Wu Zhen nodded.
She naturally offered her bloodstained hand to Jiang Zhenxue. The young man took it just as naturally. Pressing his slightly cold fingertips against the back of her hand, he used the soft cloth to carefully and methodically wipe away the blood from the back of her hand, her palm, and even between her fingers.
Wu Zhen stared at his face for a moment. When Jiang Zhenxue lowered his eyes and wasn't smiling, he naturally exuded an icy indifference. That aloof coldness, completely out of place among mortals, lingered around him, making people shrink back in fear and find it difficult to look at him directly. But he quickly noticed her gaze. Pausing his movements slightly, he turned his head to look at her.
He smiled, his pitch-black eyelashes casting a small shadow over his curving eyes.
Wu Zhen blinked.
"I'm sleepy. Let's go home," Wu Zhen said.
Jiang Zhenxue replied, "Alright."
He smoothly stood up straight. The soft cloth in his hand used for wiping the blood vanished, but his five fingers, cold as jade, did not let go. They naturally curled around her wrist bone, grasping her hand.
The grip wasn't very tight.
At least Wu Zhen did not notice anything amiss. She only felt her vision blur as the surrounding scenery rapidly shifted. By the time the changes stopped, she was already back in her own home. This was the fastest teleportation art she had ever seen Jiang Zhenxue use. It could no longer be explained away as a mere lightness skill. He hadn't bothered to conceal it at all. Aside from making a mortal dizzy, everything was fine.
Wu Zhen shook her head. When she looked up, all she could see was a patch of flawless white, making her realize that the distance between them had somehow grown too close.
She instinctively tried to step back, but with just a slight movement, she felt a strong arm resting behind her waist, making it difficult for her to pull away.
The player tilted her head in slight confusion.
"...Jiang Zhenxue?"
As her words faded, the shadow enveloping her slowly moved away. The young man let go and quietly watched as she took two steps back. The hand that had previously held hers so firmly habitually came up to rest by his lips, while his gaze remained fixed on her. "..."
"I apologize, Miss Wu," he said, his eyes curving into a smile. "This is my first time taking someone along while using a teleportation art, and I didn't quite control my strength... Are you feeling a little dizzy?"
He bent down with concern, trying to meet her eyes. His deep, dark pupils silently tracked every movement of her gaze, all while maintaining that gentle smile on his face.
"Not bad," Wu Zhen evaluated fairly.
Although her intuition told her something was off, her critically low stamina firmly monopolized her attention right now. Wu Zhen strode toward her room, but halfway there, her footsteps faltered. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the black-haired young man quietly following her from a moderate distance.
Wu Zhen glanced at her stamina bar again. "..."
She calmly instructed, "Catch me, Jiang Zhenxue."
It seemed she wouldn't last until she reached her bed.
The scene from Feixing Villa repeated itself. Just before her vision went completely black, she heard a soft, delighted chuckle right by her ear.
...
Wu Zhen woke up in her own bed once again.
She blinked and sat up, only to realize that the bloodstains on her clothes had been completely cleaned off. She opened her Event log to check and found that Jiang Zhenxue had cast two cleansing spells on her.
So this guy clearly knew such a convenient spell, yet he had insisted on wiping away the dirty blood himself, bit by bit, with a cloth...?
Wu Zhen turned her head and saw that a cup of tea had already been poured and set on the table. The white-clad young man, whose actions were becoming increasingly inexplicable, was sitting at the table. He was flipping through a scroll that looked like a map, his expression somewhat aloof.
"What are you looking at?" Wu Zhen asked aloud.
"Just some maps of the wilderness."
Jiang Zhenxue closed the map with a natural motion, his light gaze falling upon her. A moment later, he tilted his head as if suddenly remembering something and spoke up. "...Speaking of which, I actually brought a gift for A-Zhen when I returned this time."
Wu Zhen asked warily, "It's not another bracelet, is it?"
Jiang Zhenxue blinked. "It's not."
He stood up, walked over to her, and sat down on the edge of the bed. Opening his palm, he revealed a small, exquisite wooden box resting in his hand.
Wu Zhen opened it out of curiosity and found a smooth, lustrous jade ring inside.
The black-haired young man watched her movements and said softly, "I originally wanted to give you my own ring, but it didn't seem right to gift you something used. So, I had someone make an exact replica."
Wu Zhen shot him a slightly puzzled look.
She didn't recall ever saying she wanted Jiang Zhenxue's ring.
However, this brief moment of confusion was quickly tossed to the back of her mind. The gift looked quite valuable, so the player gave Jiang Zhenxue a satisfied smile.
Jiang Zhenxue's gaze landed softly on her smiling face. A moment later, he blinked slowly and seemed to murmur something under his breath. Wu Zhen only caught the word cute or something along those lines.
"What was that?" she asked, moving to check the Event log.
"..."
...She had spoken out loud.
"............No." The young man averted his gaze, a faint smile seeming to touch his lips again.
"It was nothing."
