Chapter 202: First Volume, Chapter 202: Night Assassination

First Volume, Chapter 202: Night Assassination

The night deepened; the entire capital had fallen into slumber, yet the Training Ground remained brightly lit.

The Training Ground was now within arm's reach.

Qin Feng instinctively lowered his guard.

At that moment, a faint yet crisp sound came from his right side.

Before Qin Feng could react, he felt a sharp pain in his neck.

He reached up and touched it—there, embedded in his neck, was a needle with a tassel trailing behind.

It was a blowdart.

Fortunately, blowdarts generally lacked force; only the tip had penetrated his neck.

Qin Feng pulled out the blowdart, looked down, and saw his blood clinging to its tip, tinged with a faint greenish sheen.

"Damn! It's poisoned!"

Qin Feng turned pale, immediately clamped his fingers over the wound, and squeezed with all his might, staining half his neck red with blood, then shouted at Qin Xiaofu, who stood frozen beside him: "Stop being an idiot—get to the camp!"

Qin Feng kept squeezing his neck, not caring whether he'd drained all the poison, and yanked Qin Xiaofu's collar as he sprinted toward the camp.

Just after taking two steps, he heard a "whoosh" from behind.

Qin Feng felt something trip his legs, and he crashed hard to the ground.

Dazed and disoriented, he turned his head—his ankles were tightly bound by a Tiaosuo.

Qin Xiaofu finally realized what was happening and screamed: "Young Master, there's an Assassin!"

Qin Feng's heart raced with panic—he always had bodyguards, either Jing Qianying or Shu Feng, yet today he'd gone without one, and now he'd run into an Assassin.

Wait.

What are the odds of something like this happening?

Had this Assassin been lying in wait all along, watching for the perfect moment?

A chill ran down Qin Feng's spine; unable to break free from the Tiaosuo, he shoved Qin Xiaofu hard: "Forget me—go to the camp and bring help, or we both die here."

Qin Xiaofu knew he could do nothing staying, so he bolted toward the camp like a madman.

As Qin Feng sat up and tried to untangle the Tiaosuo from his ankles, a cold male voice spoke right before him.

"Your reaction was quick—you knew to squeeze out the blood first. Did you get poisoned before?"

Hearing the voice, Qin Feng froze, dared not move, and slowly lifted his head to face the black-clad man.

The man was not tall.

Roughly one meter seventy, slender, dressed in a tight black suit, his face covered by a hood with only holes for eyes and nose—no features visible. But his waist bore a collection of vials and jars, unmistakably the gear of a professional.

Qin Feng swallowed hard and forced a smile: "Comrade! Let's talk this out—don't draw blood. I'll give you Ten Thousand Li Silver. Spare my life, how about it?"

The black-clad Assassin let out a scoff: "Buy your life with money? Young Master Qin, are you that naive? Since I entered the Jianghu, I've never heard of anyone surviving a Heavenly Ranking Jin ShaShou's strike."

Heavenly Ranking Jin ShaShou…

Great.

I'm screwed.

The Heavenly Ranking was an extremely secretive and vast Assassin organization, its infamy spreading far and wide among the Folk.

Legend said the Heavenly Ranking had four ranks: Iron, Silver, Jade, Gold.

Among them, JinziAssassins were the strongest, taking only the "big jobs" ordinary Assassins couldn't handle.

Moreover, the top ten JinziAssassins could match the Four Great Experts of the Capital!

Qin Feng swallowed again, voice trembling: "May I ask, what rank are you on the Heavenly Ranking?"

The black-clad Assassin crouched down, staring into Qin Feng's panicked eyes, and chuckled softly: "I know you're buying time—but fine. Since you asked, I'll let you die with peace of mind. I'm Elder Fourth of the Heavenly Ranking JinziAssassins."

Qin Feng let out a bitter internal laugh.

He thought his luck was truly terrible.

The top three Heavenly Ranking JinziAssassins were all Shanyin Experts; this man, just below them, might as well be called the Number One Under Heaven Killer.

Qin Feng sniffed, fighting back the urge to soil himself, mustered his Courage, and grinned desperately: "Elder Fourth, surely there's something in Heaven that can buy my life? Name it—even if it's fire or knives, I'll get it for you."

The black-clad Assassin's eyes flickered with amusement: "Elder Fourth? I like that name—simple, direct, clear. But don't struggle. Someone hired me to kill you, and that person isn't in Jingdu. Now, go."

That person isn't in Jingdu?

Qin Feng sighed, nearly regretting every breath he'd taken.

Even with his toes, he knew the employer had to be that bastard Lin Feimo.

JinziAssassin pulled a silk thread from his waist, looped it once around Qin Feng's neck, and whispered: "Don't struggle. It'll be quick."

Just as Qin Feng prepared to struggle again, a rapid, heavy footstep sounded from ahead.

When Qin Feng looked up, a shadow darted through the air.

At less than two zhang away, Jing Qianying's Sword was already drawn, slicing through the night with a flash of cold light, aimed straight at JinziAssassin's vital point.

Clang!

A sharp ring.

At the last instant, JinziAssassin blocked it with his sleeve blade, his eyes gleaming with excitement: "That sword technique—that skill—you must be Jing Qianying?"

Jing Qianying said nothing, hesitated not—her first strike missed, and her second was already swinging.

JinziAssassin dodged, tapped his toe, and retreated, then flicked his right hand—a single Iron Nail shot toward Jing Qianying.

Jing Qianying reversed her sword, cleaving the Iron Nail in two, her gaze sharp as an eagle's, watching JinziAssassin closely but not pursuing—she stood guard beside Qin Feng.

Qin Feng, having narrowly escaped death, was moved to tears—he grabbed Jing Qianying's leg: "Sis, you came just in time! One more second and I'd be separated from you by life and death!"

Jing Qianying kept her eyes locked on JinziAssassin, grabbed Qin Feng's collar, and yanked him away, coldly saying: "Don't interfere. This man is an elite expert."

Qin Feng dared not move again, turned to JinziAssassin, and snarled: "Elder Fourth! You're done—my backer's here!"

Elder Fourth slowly retracted his sleeve blade and let out a strange laugh: "A dog barking on someone else's authority."