An Jiu tucked the manual into her robe. "Not many people practice this Tendon Severing Palm. Even if it were thrown on the street, hardly anyone would pick it up."
Mo Sigui looked at her disdainfully. "Don’t act coy after getting such a bargain! Listen to me—wait until we return and I perform the second Reforging on you before continuing."
"Alright," An Jiu agreed.
"The first three foundational levels of Tendon Severing Palm don’t cause much damage to the body, though they’re practically useless against experts above the sixth rank," Mo Sigui reminded her. "When you infiltrate Misty Villa this time, don’t rely too heavily on it."
"Understood." Since her body had been reforged, An Jiu’s physical condition had nearly matched that of her previous life, with agility even surpassing it. She had confidence in her ability to protect herself in battle.
Since she couldn’t count on Tendon Severing Palm, An Jiu had to consider other options.
Her Dragon Subduing Bow only had two arrows imbued with lethal energy, and she still didn’t know their true power. As for the genuine Startling String technique, it could only be activated with Inner Force channeled by Chu Dingjiang...
After some deliberation, An Jiu realized that all she could rely on were her Mental Strength-based Startling String and the assassination skills she had learned in the past.
From then on, An Jiu spent every waking moment training—eating, sleeping, and using the restroom were her only breaks. Her clothes were soaked with sweat, dried, then soaked again, without a single idle moment.
Dockside Town
Chu Dingjiang wandered the town in disguise, using his Mental Strength to scan for any location that might be Misty Villa.
Over the past month, he had circled the area repeatedly. The places with the most foot traffic were either inns, taverns, or brothels. After prolonged covert investigation, he hadn’t found anything unusual in the short term.
Misty Villa was deeply hidden. If not for An Jiu’s accidental discovery of the suspicious activity at the docks and Chu Dingjiang’s subsequent plan to test it, they might still have no leads at all.
Chu Dingjiang was patient. Over the past two days, he had ruled out two taverns. Though crowded during the day, their numbers dwindled drastically at night, leaving only about a dozen people—likely the owner and waitstaff—by closing time. It didn’t seem like a hideout for assassins. Next, he eliminated all the inns. These establishments had a high turnover of guests, and their permanent residents were few.
In contrast, this privately owned brothel was bustling both day and night.
The brothel was nestled in a residential alley, surrounded by houses.
At dusk, Chu Dingjiang sat on the second floor of a tavern, gazing into the distance, when he suddenly heard a hoarse voice behind him. "Young man, could you spare this old man a bowl of sweet water?"
The old man had approached without him noticing!
Chu Dingjiang’s grip on his cup tightened momentarily before relaxing, leaving faint cracks on its surface.
Suppressing his surprise, he turned to examine the old man. At first glance, he froze—the man was gaunt, his tattered clothes hanging loosely, and his face looked strangely familiar, as if they had met before...
"Please, have a seat, elder," Chu Dingjiang said with a smile.
A waiter who had been about to shoo the old man away hesitated upon hearing this. "Waiter," Chu Dingjiang called, "bring a bowl of sweet water, two servings of rice, and a few hot dishes."
The old man remained silent, his eyes downcast, his expression weary.
When Chu Dingjiang noticed the whip marks peeking out from beneath the man’s collar, he suddenly remembered—he had once helped this old man at the docks!
The docks belonged to Misty Villa. This old man was likely no ordinary person either. So was his sudden appearance a coincidence, or...?
Before long, the food and sweet water arrived.The old man gulped down several mouthfuls of sweet water.
Chu Dingjiang pushed the meal toward him. "Elder, quench your thirst and have some food."
The old man thanked him gratefully and, without ceremony, took the bowl and began eating.
After the meal, he trembled as he rose and knelt before Chu Dingjiang. "For the kindness of this meal, this humble old man will repay you in the next life, even if it means knotting grass or holding a ring in my mouth."
Chu Dingjiang reached out to help him up. "Senior, please rise."
Through the fabric of his clothes, Chu Dingjiang felt the old man's skin was alarmingly hot. Upon closer inspection, he noticed a fine layer of sweat had already formed on the old man's forehead during the meal.
The old man descended the stairs.
Chu Dingjiang heard the waiter scolding in a low voice, "You old wretch, sneaking in the moment I look away! Luckily, today's guest was kind enough not to blame us, or you'd have gotten what you deserved! Now scram! Bah!"
Chu Dingjiang followed downstairs, tossed a silver ingot to the waiter, and hurried out the door.
Along the way, passersby either scorned the old man or mocked him for amusement, but he paid no heed, trudging alone toward the outskirts of town.
"Senior," Chu Dingjiang called out once they reached a secluded spot.
The old man moved slowly but steadily, winding his way through the woods.
Chu Dingjiang hesitated, ensuring no one else was around before continuing to follow.
The old man stopped beside a crumbling earthen shrine and sat cross-legged. "Since you've followed me, show yourself."
With a flicker of movement, Chu Dingjiang stood two zhang away from the old man.
"This is what you seek." The old man pulled an envelope from his robe and placed it on the ground before him. "This humble one is Sang Nu. At twenty, I pledged myself to my late master. After his passing, I became the overseer of the Earth Division at Misty Villa. Foolish by nature, it took me until today to see clearly the true nature of those beasts Wei Chuzhi and Wei Yuzhi! Cough, cough!"
The "late master" he referred to must have been Wei Yunshan.
Sang Nu's face flushed red, his entire body trembling. He gasped heavily for breath. "That brothel is the villa, but the assassins aren't inside. You'll understand once you see this map! Kill those two beasts, and I vow to serve you as a slave for all eternity!"
Sang Nu possessed formidable martial arts but was slow-witted—such men were prone to blind loyalty. After Wei Yunshan's death, he remained at Misty Villa. Though assigned to the Earth Division, he refused to kill indiscriminately. After several failed missions, Wei Chuzhi sidelined him, retaining his title but stripping him of authority. Three years ago, Sang Nu discovered something amiss in his cultivation—each time he emerged from seclusion, his Inner Force inexplicably diminished. Now, only his Mental Strength remained at the Transformation Realm, his body completely ruined.
From then on, Wei Yuzhi abandoned him, even withholding his monthly stipend, leaving him to endure abuse at the docks.
Only then did he recall the strange occurrences over the years.
Wei Yuzhi had drained his Inner Force!
Sang Nu was slow—it had taken him three years to piece this together.
Chu Dingjiang raised his hand from a distance, and the envelope floated into his grasp. With his experience in reading people, he could tell Sang Nu's emotions were genuine. Moreover, Sang Nu was nearing his end—facing death, a man's words are sincere.
He opened the envelope and unfolded the single sheet of paper inside with two fingers.
The diagram resembled an Eight Trigrams formation, radiating outward from the brothel at its center. Each square contained a red dot marked in cinnabar—at a glance, there were hundreds of them!It turned out that the surrounding area wasn't residential at all—it was entirely composed of Misty Villa assassins' dwellings! (To be continued...)
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