"He’s just as they say—a ferocious, world-class villain!"
’I’m really not that vicious.’
Xie Yuan was left speechless as he listened to the chatter of the people nearby.
’Even if I can’t be called a perfect gentleman, I’m hardly the burly, scowling bandit they imagine. Sure, I have a fondness for a large battle-ax, but I’m definitely not some sleazy character.’
’As for my methods, I only use ruthless tactics against evil people. With others, I’m quite amicable and friendly, and I’d say I’m especially loyal to my companions, right?’
’This Spring Rain Building is just spouting slander!’
Xie Yuan sighed, watching the crowd gathered around the ranking list in the small town’s tavern.
’It’s only been two days since I left Jinling, but so much has already happened.’
’First, the Sect Leader came soaring in to teach the two great families a harsh lesson. Then, the Spring Rain Building worked through the night to print and distribute their new "Three Rankings," and now even I’m caught up in it.’
’But the Sect Leader arrived incredibly fast. Even if he was just trying to reclaim the Sword Sect’s honor, he didn’t need to be *that* eager. I seriously suspect he’d been looking for an excuse to take off for a while...’
’If I’d known, maybe I could’ve just turned back. It’s always easier in the shade of a great tree. I could have leisurely followed the Sect Leader back to Cloud Mountain to continue my training.’
But after a moment of consideration, Xie Yuan shook his head slightly.
’I’ve already spent a good amount of time in quiet cultivation on Cloud Mountain. It’s like the saying: read ten thousand books, travel ten thousand li. Once you’ve honed your skills, you have to put them into practice. Seeing the world will benefit my cultivation, especially when it comes to breaking through to the Grandmaster realm. How can I keep training in isolation?’
’Besides, I still have things to do in Jiangnan.’
’Not to mention the Illusory Dream Celestial Crystal I can’t seem to forget, the thing occupying my thoughts most right now is that Buddhist aura—something I can investigate on my own.’
’Jiangnan has plenty of Buddhist temples and ancient sites. It’s the perfect opportunity to figure out what this Buddhist aura is all about.’
’And then there was what Huie Jue gave me...’
Xie Yuan touched the Buddhist plaque at his waist, rubbing it for a moment before pulling his hand away.
’It hasn’t directly granted me a Buddhist aura, but it should be useful.’
As he was lost in thought, a waiter deftly served his food and wine: a plate of stir-fried greens and a plate of braised pig’s head, the aroma wafting up to his nose.
Xie Yuan snapped back to his senses. He glanced at the waiter, then picked up a silver needle and used it to test the food for poison.
Seeing this, the waiter gave a polite yet disdainful smile and curled his lip slightly.
"Sir, we’re right in the center of town, running a legitimate business. You’re being overly cautious!"
Xie Yuan said nothing. He just stared intently for a moment before raising his hand to show the waiter the silver needle.
In just a few breaths, the once-flawless silver needle had turned as black as ink, a shocking sight.
The waiter’s face froze in surprise, but his expression quickly hardened. A short sword shot out from his sleeve as he lunged at Xie Yuan!
Caught off guard, Xie Yuan was stabbed in the throat. He clutched his neck, making a gurgling sound as he collapsed to the floor.
The waiter hadn’t expected to assassinate his target so easily. Even for a seasoned veteran, he was stunned for a second. Then, he felt a sharp pain in his own neck.
His head swam. The scene before him shifted, and he saw Xie Yuan sitting there perfectly unharmed, holding the hilt of a sword whose tip was... lodged in his own throat.
’An Illusion Technique?’
Even in death, the Assassin couldn’t understand when he had fallen for the trick or how Xie Yuan had seen through his disguise. He collapsed, filled with bitter resentment.
Gasps of shock erupted from the surrounding tables. The patrons at a nearby table, trembling with fear, shot to their feet, knocking over their food and wine as they scrambled to escape.
In his haste, one of them lost his footing and stumbled into Xie Yuan. His face instantly turned deathly pale with fright.
Xie Yuan caught him, showing no sign of blaming him, which made the man let out a sigh of relief.
But a moment later, the man’s eyes turned cold. A short sword slid silently from his sleeve as he lunged, stabbing toward Xie Yuan’s abdomen!
But as he put force into his strike, he found he couldn’t move an inch. His arms were locked as if in iron clamps, completely immobilized.
Looking up, he saw Xie Yuan smiling faintly. "Don’t be in such a hurry," Xie Yuan said. "I have some questions for you. You can try stabbing me again later."
Seeing how powerful Xie Yuan was, the Assassin’s face showed grim resolve. He bit down hard, breaking a poison capsule in his mouth, and died instantly...
Then the Assassin’s vision blurred, and he found he was alive again. Xie Yuan was watching him with a smirk, and his hand shot out like lightning, reaching into the man’s mouth and precisely yanking out one of his teeth.
Despite the pain of having a tooth pulled, the Assassin remained expressionless, staring at Xie Yuan. Suddenly, black blood trickled from his mouth, and his breathing stopped in an instant.
Xie Yuan raised an eyebrow, somewhat annoyed.
’They even have backup poison?’
He sighed, though he wasn’t too disappointed. With assassins of this caliber, even if he had captured one alive, he had no reliable way of making them talk. The Celestial Illusion Skill might be worth a try, but he wasn’t an expert in interrogation and didn’t know if ordinary pain would work on such men. Judging by how this one had remained expressionless while having a tooth yanked out, it seemed highly unlikely.
Xie Yuan himself was experienced in concealment and tracking. A keen observer, he had noticed that the waiter who emerged from the back was not the same one who had gone in.
Even back in his Escort Agency days, using a silver needle to detect poison was never foolproof, let alone against assassins like these. So, Xie Yuan had simply used an Illusion Technique to bluff them, and it had worked perfectly. As for there being a second one after killing the first, a two-man team was standard procedure for assassins.
As for whether there was a third person, Xie Yuan hadn’t spotted one yet, but it was best to assume there was.
But it didn’t really matter.
Xie Yuan glanced at the panicked, scattering crowd, took a single, shifting step, and blended into their midst, vanishing in an instant.
Several unremarkable-looking passersby, who had been closing in, suddenly found their vision blurring. The target had vanished. They spun around on the spot, utterly baffled.