Chapter 644: with translation of chapter title

Although it was deep night in the rear courtyard of the Yingzhou city yamen, it was brightly lit.

A youth in dark robes hurried into the rear courtyard, walking straight to a waterside pavilion.

"Have the elders gone to sleep? I have urgent matters to report to the elder!" The dark-robed youth's face turned deathly pale, his voice tightening.

Ying Prefecture City

Heng Prefecture City

Yanbei Pass

"Yes!" The guard hurriedly stepped into the study, and shortly thereafter escorted the dark-robed youth in to discuss matters.

The dark-robed youth strode in, only to see a person in black robes wearing a mask, slender and small in stature, yet exuding the aura of a superior.

He had seen this person once before during a meeting of the eight great clans; many elders feared this person.

He had supposedly left Yingzhou; I don't know when he came back.

Although separated by thick robes, one could still feel waves of pressure emanating from him, along with displeasure.

The dark-robed youth bowed even lower, then bowed to the Duan clan elder seated nearby and said, "Uncle Grandfather, news has come from Yanbei Pass."

"What news?" The Duan family elder's complexion was also grim at this moment; he never expected Xiao Yin to launch an attack ahead of time.

I heard that three days ago Xiao Yin set out from Hengzhou City; even at the fastest, the journey to Yingzhou should take seven or eight days, yet he only used three days. 7k

Could it be that the Azure Dragon Army's troops all flew here?

The man in dark clothes' voice trembled slightly: "Uncle Grandfather, just received the news, our barracks north of Yanbei Pass have been ambushed."

"What did you say? Ambushed?" the Duan family elder exclaimed in disbelief.

North of Yanbei Pass, the place they set up is definitely their hidden killer's mace.

All they needed to do was, when Xiao Yin attacked Yingzhou, launch a encirclement from his rear, then, just like nine years ago at Qi Sha Gu, gather Xiao Yin's army at one spot for a fire attack.

They planned to burn the Azure Dragon Army again, but this stronghold was hidden deep back then; exactly where did the leak occur?

Speak! What exactly happened? Weren't you few supposed to keep tight guard over there? How did such a big mishap occur?

Originally, the Duan family elder had to return to Yingzhou to deploy because of an urgent matter; he didn't expect that after just a few days away, trouble would arise there.

The man in dark clothes fell to his knees with a thump before the Duan family elder, frightened.

Uncle Grandfather, I don't know where these people came from, but they sneaked into the barracks overnight and killed all the commanders above the rank of squad leader.

Now the barracks are shaken, hearts are in panic, in utter chaos, and officers of all ranks have had their heads lopped off by the blood-drip blades.

"What did you say?" the Duan family elder's face turned deathly pale instantly; he stared incredulously at the man in dark clothes before him and stumbled forward a few steps.

The Duan family elder knew what this meant.

This army was cultivated by the Duan family at great expense; the squad leaders and above, including the squad leaders' commanders, were all picked elite troops—how could all the officers be killed in a single night?

If the officers are killed, the soldiers will surely fall into chaos.

"It was Xiao Yin who did it!" the black-robed man, who had remained silent and wore a mask, finally couldn't hold back.

He slowly rose, walked over, his voice hoarse to an extreme, as if he had swallowed some voice-altering pill, sounding somewhat strange.

The Duan family elder seemed to fear this black-robed man; he hastily turned sideways, his body involuntarily bending a bit.

The black-robed man said coldly: "Assassins who specialize in using blood-drip blades to behead people are not common in this martial world; these men call themselves head-hunters, top-tier assassins cultivated in Slaughter Valley, and ordinary folk cannot hire them."

I have always wondered who really pulls the strings behind these martial sects; now it seems their master is Xiao Yin.

The Duan family elder's face turned deathly pale in an instant, unable to speak; he had originally thought that Xiao Yin's nine years of hiding his abilities and biding his time had indeed accumulated considerable strength.

But this power is too terrifying, isn't it?

Even a first-rate assassin organization in the martial world—could it possibly all belong to him?

If that assassin organization truly belongs to Xiao Yin, then this tactic is utterly shameless.

To use such treacherous means is no surprise, after all, assassins are limited in number.

In conventional warfare, those martial sects facing a trained army are simply no match; they can be crushed into dust.

But if one infiltrates the army camp to carry out assassinations, targeting just a few individuals would be far easier; yet to actually lop off the heads of all commanders in a single night—only a scoundrel like Xiao Yin could devise such a method.

The black-robed man's voice was icy cold, filled with myriad killing intent as he slowly said: "North of Yanbei Pass, how could our camp possibly have been exposed so quickly? Xiao Yin has been besieging Hengzhou these days; he shouldn't have discovered the news of the north side of Yanbei Pass this early—what exactly have you done?"

As soon as the black-robed man's words fell, the man in dark clothes kneeling on the ground turned deathly pale as paper, murmuring, not knowing what to say.

Upon seeing this, the Duan family elder's heart gave a jolt; could it be that after he left for those few days, the few little rascals he left behind caused some trouble?

Speak! At this point, what else are you trying to hide? Could it be that you truly don't care about your life?

The Duan family elder kicked this good-for-nothing clansman of his own family hard to the ground.

Well then, tell me—what exactly did you do? How did the news leak out?

The man in dark clothes trembled all over from fright, hastily saying: "Un... Uncle Grandfather..."

He steadied himself, seeing the Duan family elder about to kick again, this kick aimed at his chest; he gritted his teeth and took the blow with his shoulder, then, with a hint of a sob in his voice, said: "Uncle Grandfather, spare my life! We brothers have been out here for quite a while these days, none of us brought our families along, and some of us... have been longing for women."

Really, I couldn't help it, and I also thought the few prostitutes in the barracks were rather ugly, so I summoned a few singers from Yanbei Pass. I never expected that later a mishap would occur—namely, two of the grain merchants we had captured ran away.

Upon hearing this, the Duan family elder's anger flared instantly, and he proceeded to kick the man in dark clothes hard several times in succession, causing the latter to utter repeated wails of pain.

You damned few, how did I instruct you when I left?

That place forbids letting any outsider go, even the grain merchants under our tight control must be watched closely; yet you, for the sake of a few singers, have actually caused such a great disaster.

Speak! Which two grain merchants ran away, and where did they go?

The man in dark clothes burst into tears: "It's the two from the Zhang family, Master Zhang; they've fled to Hengzhou, and even with men I brought, I can't catch them no matter how I try."

"Hengzhou?" the black-robed man slowly turned his head, fixing a deadly stare on the man in dark clothes before him.