Chapter 8: Encounter in the ruined temple, murderous confrontation
The moonlight poured down like mercury from the holes in the roof of the ruined temple, illuminating the flying dust.
Inside the dilapidated temple, spiderwebs littered the air, and the statues of the gods collapsed. The clay sculpture of the Dragon King, once worshipped by the people, was now half-collapsed, a hideous crack running down its face, as if silently mocking the fickleness of life.
At that moment, the traitor Liu Meng huddled in the corner of the statue's shattered base, clutching an oilcloth bundle tightly in his arms, his body shaking like a leaf in the wind. He stared in horror at the veiled woman before him. Her figure seemed erratic in the flickering moonlight, her eyes even colder than the night outside the temple.
He had seen many ruthless murderers, but he had never seen such a pair of eyes. There was no bloodthirsty madness in them, nor was there any cruel pleasure, only a pure, emotionless indifference, as if what she wanted to do was not to kill, but to brush the dust off an object.
"Bring the things here." Su Qinghan's voice was very soft, but it was like an ice pick, easily piercing the dead silence.
Liu Meng swallowed, a strange gurgling sound coming from his dry throat. He forced himself to remain calm and rasped, "Youquan only sent you? Do you... do you know what I have in my hands? This is a map of the Tianji Pavilion's stronghold! You think you can get rid of me with just a few hundred taels of silver? I want... I want you to guarantee my safety! The Tianji Pavilion won't let me go!"
"Your safety is not something I need to consider." Su Qinghan slowly took a step forward. "My mission is to retrieve the information. As for whether you live or die, it depends on your own choice."
Her patience was running out. This Liu Meng was even more foolish and greedy than she had imagined. He simply didn't understand that from the moment he betrayed Tianji Pavilion, his life had entered a countdown.
Just as she was about to exert more pressure, or even take it away directly, a familiar, icy murderous intent suddenly emanated from outside the temple gate without warning.
It wasn't a human aura, more like a fierce, unsheathed sword. Bringing with it a biting chill and an absolute will to death, it instantly enveloped the entire ruined temple. The air seemed to freeze, even the chirping of insects in the corners abruptly stopped.
Su Qinghan's pupils suddenly shrank, almost as an instinctive reaction, and her right hand instantly gripped the hilt of the "Hanjiangxue" sword at her waist.
It’s... him!
It was the kind of atmosphere that made her feel like a thorn in her back and cold all over in the Governor's Mansion in Yangzhou!
This killing intent was pure to the extreme, devoid of any distractions, and had a single purpose—annihilation. It was like an invisible tide, pressing in from all directions, causing her breathing to stagnate.
Su Qinghan's muscles tensed, entering a state of maximum alert. She forced herself to calm down, her inner energy flowing slowly through her meridians, resisting the mental pressure. She was finally certain that the mysterious assassin was indeed from the Tianji Pavilion!
And Liu Meng behind her reacted even worse than her.
When the killing intent descended upon him, the greed and stubbornness on his face were instantly replaced by boundless fear. His face turned pale as paper, his eyes widened, and his teeth chattered uncontrollably, making a "click" sound.
"It's... it's 'Zhu Ying'... Master 'Zhu Ying' has arrived..." He cried desperately, like a chicken with its throat strangled. As a peripheral member of the Tianji Pavilion, he might never have seen the true face of "Zhu Ying," but he had heard countless terrifying legends associated with this code name. It was the nightmare of everyone within the Tianji Pavilion, the sharpest and most ruthless knife in the hands of the Pavilion Master.
He was done. He was completely done.
A black figure, as if separated from the shadow of the moonlight, appeared silently at the door of the ruined temple.
He made no sound of his footsteps, as if he had simply been standing there, blending into the darkness. Only when he moved did people sense his presence.
Shen Ye stepped into the ruined temple and recognized the female assassin "Fei Yue" at a glance.
For the first time, a ripple appeared in his calm eyes.
After parting in Yangzhou, he thought this interesting "prey" would disappear. He never expected to meet her again in this way, on this occasion. She was the contact person sent by "Youquan".
Chen Ye's gaze lingered on her for a moment. She was more alert than last time, her grip on the sword steady and powerful. Although her aura was suppressed by her own murderous intent, it did not dissipate. Instead, it was like a piece of compressed steel, containing power that could explode at any moment.
Quite interesting.
His mission was to clean up the mess and retrieve the blueprints, but this woman was clearly there to stop him.
When their eyes met, there seemed to be invisible lightning flashing in the air.
Su Qinghan's heart was beating rapidly as she stared at the man through the veil. Although she couldn't see his full appearance, his figure, his posture, and the overwhelming sense of oppression he felt were all perfectly consistent with her memories of Yangzhou. Her suspicions were confirmed, and a mixture of anger, fear, and... a tinge of trembling excitement surged up in her.
The traitor Liu Meng, standing nearby, completely collapsed under the collision and pressure of these two powerful auras. He felt like he was caught between two giant millstones, ready to be crushed to dust in the next second.
The instinct for survival overwhelmed all reason.
"ah--!!"
Liu Qi let out a shrill scream, and he suddenly took out the oilcloth bag from his arms, and with his other hand he grabbed a fire starter and a small bag of black powder!
It's gunpowder!
He actually wanted to die together with us!
"You can never hope to die even if I do!" Liu Meng acted like a madman, and was about to bring the lighter towards the gunpowder.
At this critical moment!
Something unexpected happened!
Su Qinghan and Shen Ye moved almost at the same time!
Su Qinghan's goal was intelligence. She couldn't let the blueprints be destroyed! Her figure was like a wisp of smoke, unleashing the Su family's unique skill, "Treading on Snow Without a Trace," as she drifted toward Liu Meng. The soft sword "Cold River Snow" in her hand swung a sword flower, the tip of the sword pointing directly at Liu Qi's wrist, where he held the fire starter! Her sword moves were agile and elegant, aimed at injuring and seizing, not killing.
However, there was a figure that was faster than her!
A dark flash of lightning!
Chen Ye's "fleeting glimpses" of movement lacked any aesthetic appeal, relying solely on extreme speed and efficiency. His purpose was purer and more ruthless.
Kill people, take things, and leave no trouble behind.
He arrived first after starting later, his figure leaving an almost uncaptured afterimage in the moonlight, and he instantly approached Liu Qi's side.
"laugh!"
A sound so soft that it was almost inaudible.
The black dagger instantly slashed across Liu Qi's throat like a poisonous snake emerging from a hole.
All of Liu Qi's movements froze at that moment. The madness on his face hadn't faded yet, but his eyes were filled with the confusion and fear of his life slipping away. He couldn't even see how the other party drew his sword.
But the crisis is not over!
His hand holding the lighter still stubbornly fell towards the gunpowder bag in his arms because of the death spasm of his nerves!
Just before Su Qinghan's sword was about to reach her, she made an astonishing countermeasure. She flicked her wrist, the sword's momentum remained unchanged, and her left hand fingers flicked with lightning speed!
"call out!"
A steel nail as thin as an ox hair, with a sharp sound of breaking through the air, arrived first and hit Liu Qi's "Quchixue" accurately.
This is the secret hidden weapon technique of the Six Gates - "Three-Inch Nail"!
Liu Qi's arm suddenly felt numb and he lost all his strength in an instant. The hand holding the tinder dropped weakly and brushed past the gunpowder bag.
"thump."
Liu Meng's body slumped to the ground, warm blood gushing from the wound in his throat, quickly staining the dusty ground in a dark red. The oilcloth bag containing the secrets of the Tianji Pavilion also rolled out of his arms and landed between the two of them.
The gunpowder and fire starters were scattered aside, and the crisis was completely resolved.
The entire process, from Liu Qi's attack to his death, happened in a flash.
The two of them displayed a thrilling tacit understanding in their cooperation. One attacked with the main force, the other covered the gap, as if they had practiced it a thousand times.
However, when the dust settled, the ruined temple fell into a silence even more terrifying than before.
The short-lived "collaboration" ended.
They are still enemies.
Su Qinghan slowly sheathed her sword, her gaze never leaving the assassin. A wave of shock surged within her. This man's sword was too fast. It was unbelievably fast, unreasonably fast. It was a sword technique designed purely for killing.
Shen Ye also stood there quietly. He glanced at the fallen "Three-Inch Nail" and then at the female assassin. This woman's adaptability and methods once again exceeded his expectations. She was more than just a swordsman.
He spoke slowly, his voice still as cold as ever, without any emotion: "Not everyone can meddle in the affairs of Tianji Pavilion."
This sentence is both a warning and an expulsion.
Su Qinghan gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, met his gaze that seemed to be real, and replied coldly, "I'm only interested in intelligence."
Her meaning was clear. You could kill the person, but she wanted to take the intelligence.
At this moment, the traitor's cold body lay at their feet, and a new confrontation had begun.
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