Zhao Zhilan searched for a path among rocks and puddles, passing through large oaks and grey-green pines. The dense branches formed a canopy for him, temporarily shielding him from the pounding raindrops.
As he rode past a chestnut tree that had been struck by lightning and was covered with wild white roses, he heard a rustling sound in the grass.
Zhao Zhilan gripped her short sword alertly, assuming a defensive stance.
However, what emerged was a strangely shaped wild beast.
It resembles a wolf but is not a wolf, it resembles a leopard but is not a leopard.
The beast bared its teeth and growled at Zhao Zhilan.
But after He Xiao murmured something strange, he disappeared into the jungle without a trace.
"We're almost there!" He Xiao announced. "These are the wild beasts that Elder Gu keeps. Most of the time, they patrol Elder Gu's territory on his behalf."
Then, He Xiao spurred the horse and increased its speed.
Soon, they arrived at their destination: the training ground of the Xuanhua Palace Ancient School.
Zhao Zhilan couldn't believe that she could find stone houses in such a godforsaken place, so she imagined a wooden building surrounded by a fence in the bushes. Little did she know that the reality was even worse.
There was only a garbage dump, a pigsty, an empty sheep pen, and a hall covered with branches and mud.
What left Zhao Zhilan speechless was that the houses here didn't even have windows.
The hall was long and low, the wood was rough, and the roof was covered with thatch.
This "house" was built on a small slope that hardly deserved to be called a hill, and was surrounded by an earthen wall.
Years of rain have eroded countless small holes in the embankment, and brown water flows down the slope and merges into a winding stream that runs northward. Due to the torrential rain, the already abundant stream has become a dark torrent.
"This is where assassins are trained?"
“That’s right!” He Xiao announced, “Let’s go!”
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