Seeing his two subordinates taken down by the Song siblings, Huangquan Ghost spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes fixed on Song Jinzhao with a look of intense wariness.
He had initially thought this mission was an easy way to earn some quick coin, but he hadn't expected to run into such a hard target.
How was this woman so strong?
And that long spear in her hand—after so many clashes, there wasn't a single scratch on it. Who had given it to her?
Having killed for the first time, Song Qiming and Song Shixue felt their hearts pounding violently, as if they were about to leap out of their chests.
Their eyes met, and Song Qiming pulled his sword from the assassin's chest. His steps were slightly unsteady as he said, "Let's go help Sister."
Song Shixue nodded.
As the Song siblings blocked the other two subordinates, the tip of the spear streaked toward Huangquan Ghost's eyes like a bolt of lightning.
He ducked quickly, ignoring the strands of hair sliced from his forehead, and swung his whip to entwine the Lingyun Spear.
Song Jinzhao's arms tensed, the fine, lean muscle definition showing beneath her fair skin.
The spikes on the whip were shaken into tens of thousands of silver-black afterimages by the force of her vibration.
Huangquan Ghost gritted his teeth and gripped the whip with both hands, his palms feeling as though the bones were cracking from the shock; only by holding on with all his might did he avoid being thrown back.
Watching his strained effort in their literal tug-of-war, Song Jinzhao’s cherry-red lips, untouched by rouge, curled into a faint, wicked arc.
She suddenly let go with her right hand. The massive momentum sent Huangquan Ghost flying back dozens of meters.
In a flash, Song Jinzhao gripped the Lingyun Spear and hurled it with all her strength toward Huangquan Ghost.
Just as he was struggling to steady himself and catch the spearhead with his whip, a swift figure appeared behind him like a sudden storm.
Several hidden sleeve-arrows fired simultaneously, riddling his body like a sieve.
Song Jinzhao rushed forward, snapped his limbs, and leapt up to seize the Lingyun Spear, thrusting it vertically into the top of Huangquan Ghost’s head.
The hard skull seemed incredibly fragile at that moment, shattering instantly into a massive, bloody hole.
Seeing Huangquan Ghost killed, the two assassins still entangled with the Song siblings immediately turned to flee.
The target was highly skilled in martial arts; they needed to return to the sect as quickly as possible to have the Sect Master send higher-level experts.
Pulling the spearhead free, a cold light flashed in Song Jinzhao’s icy eyes. The sharp tip of the spear acted like an armor-piercing shell, piercing through the hearts of the two fleeing men.
The moment Huangquan Ghost had rejected her proposal, these five people lost any chance of leaving alive.
If anything was unexpected, it was the performance of Song Qiming and Song Shixue.
For their first real combat experience, their performance was truly remarkable.
Especially the fact that they actually dared to kill.
Looking at the five corpses lying around them, Song Shixue’s palms were sweaty. She looked at Song Jinzhao with a dazed expression, her voice a mere murmur: "Sister."
Song Jinzhao walked over to the two of them with the blood-dripping Lingyun Spear. Her eyes crinkled with a smile as she offered a satisfied compliment. "Not bad. Your year of training hasn't gone to waste. Remember this feeling; it should be the same even when I’m not around."
Seeing that there was no more movement outside, Song Gaoli peeked through the curtains, his heart trembling as if he were having a heart attack.
Perhaps he should ask Song Qiming to teach him a few moves one of these days—not to kill, but just for self-preservation.
Otherwise, acting like a shrinking violet like he did today—especially when Song Shixue was younger than him—would truly damage his masculine pride if word got out.
After calming down, Song Qiming thought for a moment and said, "Sister, we are still a day’s journey from Kaikang City. Since lives have been lost, we should report this to the authorities first." Otherwise, they might be framed by someone else.
Song Jinzhao walked over to Huangquan Ghost and pulled back his clothing, discovering a skull-shaped tattoo on his chest near the armpit.
Checking the other four bodies, she found identical tattoos in the same spot. This was likely the mark of the Soul-Claiming Sect.
"Those from underworld assassin organizations are usually orphans. Even if they lose their lives, no one will report it to the officials."
"However, since the Soul-Claiming Sect took the money for this assassination, if the mission isn't completed, this likely won't be the end of it." There would probably be another wave.
Song Qiming and the others felt heavy-hearted. Was it the Yan family?
To avenge Yan Baoyi, they had actually gone so far as to contact an assassin organization from the underworld.
Song Gaoli wanted to say something to lighten the mood and suggest traveling through the night, but then he saw Song Jinzhao squatting by the corpses, looting them.
Opening the money pouches she took from the five men, she raised an eyebrow and sighed in disappointment. "I thought the whole five thousand taels would be on them. After all that work, there's only a bit over two hundred taels."
Tossing the empty pouches aside, she tucked the banknotes and silver pieces into her robe. She cut off Huangquan Ghost’s tattoo and walked toward the carriage. "We won't stay the night here. We're going to Kaikang immediately."
The clay pot on the fire was covered in blood splatters, so the food was definitely inedible.
Song Qiming extinguished the fire and climbed onto the carriage to follow Song Jinzhao.
Song Gaoli held the door curtain open and said, "Qiming, you hold your younger brother. I'll drive the carriage."
Song Qiming gripped the reins and didn't let go. "You stay inside tonight. I'll do it."
There was no guarantee there wouldn't be another round of attacks, and he didn't feel safe with Song Gaoli being outside.
