As night falls, only faint lights remain on the once bustling streets during the day.
To get back to the inn, Shen Yuan needed to cross a street and two alleys.
There were few pedestrians on the street. As Shen Yuan walked down the street and was about to take a shortcut into the alley, she suddenly felt someone following her.
She paused, then quickly turned around.
The street behind me was deserted, without a single person in sight.
Shen Yuan shook her head, holding the lantern pole. Was she being too paranoid?
Shen Yuan turned around and stepped into the dark alley.
Although it was mid-February, the capital was still very cold. Shen Yuan wrapped her cloak tighter around herself, wanting only to hurry back to the inn and crawl into the warm, cozy bed warmed by the fire.
But as she walked, she suddenly heard footsteps behind her.
She slowed down, and the footsteps behind her immediately stopped. She quickened her pace, and the footsteps behind her became hurried and rapid.
Shen Yuan's heart sank. She reached into her sleeve, pulled out the dagger strapped to her arm, and hid it inside.
Then continue walking forward.
She quickly exited the alley, turned right, and entered another alley.
Upon seeing this, the people following Shen Yuan immediately chased after her out of the alley.
Once outside the alley, there were two more alley entrances, one on the left and one on the right. The man in black stood at the corner, warily surveying both alley entrances, then turned to look at his companion behind him.
She gave him a look.
After his companion understood, he nodded, and the man in black went to the left to chase after him.
His companion went into the alley on the right.
Shen Yuan hid behind a row of bamboo strips piled up in the corner of the alley, watching the man approach her. The man was dressed in black and held a two-foot-long sword. He walked into the alley where Shen Yuan was.
The night was hazy, and the alley was very dark.
Shen Yuan could sense the man standing at the alley entrance searching for her. She held her breath and gripped the dagger tightly in her hand.
The man walked to the bamboo poles piled in the corner, paused, and then slashed at the bamboo poles with his sword.
The bamboo pole snapped in two, and Shen Yuan emerged from within. With a flick of her wrist, she sprayed the man's face with medicinal powder. The pungent powder choked the man, causing him to stumble back several steps.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Shen Yuan ran quickly to the other side of the alley.
The man cursed and wiped his face, then leaped onto the wall, spun in the air, and landed in front of Shen Yuan, completely blocking her path.
Shen Yuan braked suddenly and stopped, thus avoiding hitting the tip of the man's sword that was thrusting at her.
Because he had been drugged, the man's hand holding the sword was trembling slightly.
But he moved quickly, thrusting his sword at Shen Yuan. Shen Yuan blocked the sword with her lantern pole, which was split in two. She took the opportunity to bend down, revealing the dagger in her hand, and unexpectedly stabbed it into the man's stomach.
Thick blood splattered all over Shen Yuan's face, but Shen Yuan did not back down or hesitate at all. She quickly pulled the dagger out of the man's stomach.
Fresh blood gushed out instantly.
The man hadn't expected Shen Yuan to carry such a weapon. He looked down in disbelief at the bloody hole in his stomach, his legs went weak, and he almost collapsed.
But he only hesitated for a moment before swinging his sword at Shen Yuan again.
The man was injured, so his movements were naturally slower. Shen Yuan dodged to the side, narrowly missing the sword in his hand. The sharp blade grazed her clothes, cutting a gash.
Fortunately, it was just a minor cut.
The man was bleeding profusely from the spot where she stabbed him, and he soon collapsed to the ground, clutching his wound.
The man in black, who had turned into another alley, heard the commotion and rushed over. Seeing his companion seriously injured, his gaze toward Shen Yuan instantly turned incredibly gloomy.
Shen Yuan's heart jumped into her throat instantly.
The reason she was able to stab the man in black's companion was because the man underestimated her, was unprepared, and had been drugged by her, which gave her the opportunity to stab him.
But now her dagger is on the ground, some distance away from her. She has lost her weapon for self-defense, and only has a few packets of medicine powder left.
However, this powder is only effective when used at close range.
Therefore, Shen Yuan has absolutely no chance of winning.
But she was still trying to figure out a way to escape.
The man in black possessed exceptional lightness skills; he leaped up and slashed at Shen Yuan with his sword.
The sharp blade gleamed with a chilling light under the moonlight, sending shivers down one's spine.
The cold light stung Shen Yuan's eyes.
She instinctively raised her hand to cover her eyes.
But the next second, the sword in the black-clad man's hand pierced Shen Yuan's heart.
In the blink of an eye, a long knife slashed through the air, knocking the sword out of the black man's hand with a clang.
Shen Yuan suddenly opened her eyes and saw an ordinary-looking middle-aged man holding a knife and blocking her way.
That back view... why does it look so familiar?
After a few rounds of fighting with the man in black, the middle-aged man quickly gained the upper hand and slit the man in black's neck with a single stroke.
The entire alley was filled with a strong smell of blood.
The middle-aged man turned around and glanced at Shen Yuan.
Shen Yuan met the middle-aged man's gaze without flinching, and even brazenly examined the features on his face.
The middle-aged man darted forward, approached Shen Yuan, and his long knife naturally fell on her slender neck.
"Aren't you afraid of me?"
Shen Yuan raised her hand and gently pushed the back of the knife, effortlessly pushing the knife away from the middle-aged man's hand.
"Killing someone with the back of a knife, you won't see any blood, so what's there to be afraid of?"
"Your new mask is nice."
"Young Master Xiao."
Xiao Ling sheathed his sword and removed the human skin mask covering his face.
His exquisite and handsome features were finally exposed to the air.
Xiao Ling glanced at the human skin mask in his hand and said disdainfully, "It seems that old man Fuyun's skills are really mediocre; he can't fool you at all."
"You can't fool me because I know you very well. Even though you're wearing a mask and the knife you're using today isn't the one you usually use, I remember your figure and your swordsmanship, so it's easy for me to recognize you."
“More importantly, I have no relatives or friends in Kyoto. Apart from you, there shouldn’t be anyone else who would come to my rescue. That’s why I guessed it was you.”
After saying that, Shen Yuan's gaze fell on the human skin mask in Xiao Ling's hand. She was very interested: "Can I take a look?"
Xiao Ling handed the human skin mask to Shen Yuan and asked, "You've only been in the capital for three days? How did you attract assassins? Who wants to kill you?"
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