"Heh, it's you..." A weak voice came from mid-air, its tone indifferent yet laced with icy mockery. Tang Lici sighed. "You really sound like him. I heard you were stripped naked—how did you still have Shadowless Needles left to kill people?" The corpses strewn across the ground had all died by Shen Langhun's Shadowless Needles, each piercing through the forehead before they even realized it.
"My Shadowless Needles have always been hidden in my hair. I’ve heard some hidden weapon experts can carry dozens of concealed weapons on them, but I don’t have that skill. I’d rather not be killed by some poisoned needle I accidentally tucked into my own clothes." The man in the cage coughed twice, his voice hoarse. "I heard... Chi Yun is dead? Did you kill him?"
"I did," Tang Lici said softly. "Are you afraid?" Shen Langhun seemed to let out a laugh. "Killing... is just killing... cough ... When are you going to get me out of this cage?" Tang Lici picked up a long blade from the ground, leaped up, and slashed through the air. The venomous snakes coiled around the iron cage fell one by one, finally revealing Shen Langhun’s figure. He was indeed naked, save for a pair of pants. Leaning motionless against the cage, his body was covered in bloodstains, the extent of his injuries unclear. Tang Lici held the blade, fingers forming a blade incantation, his eyes smiling. "Judging by the wounds, they flayed you a thousand times." Shen Langhun chuckled. "Thirty-eight cuts... but I’m still alive..."
"Thirty-eight cuts—what were they trying to force out of you?" Tang Lici sighed, still holding the blade incantation, the edge of the sword poised but not yet striking. "And why leave you alive?" Shen Langhun gave a bitter laugh. "To persuade me to stab you when you least expect it, of course." Tang Lici sighed again. "Where are your guards? Surely not just these dozens of useless corpses on the ground?" Shen Langhun rasped, "Bai Suche went out. There were two others in the courtyard, but they’re gone now. I heard you and that damned girl Guan'er talking up front, so I took the chance to kill these idiots. That little brat knew there was no one guarding the back, so she played games with you to buy time... cough ..."
"You kidnapped Liu Yan. Aren’t you afraid I’ll kill you when we meet again?" Tang Lici’s voice lowered slightly. A breeze passed, his eyes still smiling, his blade incantation light, as if he had no intention of striking at all. Shen Langhun paused. "I told you long ago—before he gets you killed, I’ll kill him." His tone was flat. "I still haven’t done it yet. Do I owe you an apology? Damn it!"
With a crisp clang , Tang Lici swung his blade, severing the hanging iron cage. "When you curse, you really sound like him..." Before he could finish, Shen Langhun, half-dead in the cage, raised his right hand and drove a dagger—hidden beneath him all along—into Tang Lici’s abdomen.
A sharp clatter as the long blade hit the ground. Tang Lici stood motionless, while Shen Langhun stared in shock at his own hand gripping the dagger. Blood seeped slightly from the wound, splattering onto his knuckles. He widened his eyes at Tang Lici. "You—"
He had thought this strike would never land, so he had thrust with full force, unhesitating.Tang Lici's expression instantly turned blank. Shen Langhun asked in a low voice, "How could you—not dodge—"
The courtyard suddenly filled with many figures—Fu Cui, Bai Suche, and the mysterious black-clad man among them. Shen Langhun glared at Tang Lici in fury. "How the fuck could you not dodge? You clearly suspected something! You knew you should have asked me why they didn’t kill me, why they only cut me thirty-eight times! I told you they wanted me to stab you when you least expected it—how the fuck could you not understand? How could you not dodge? How could you—"
Two crisp claps interrupted him. Bai Suche applauded coldly. Fu Cui, gnawing on a chicken leg, grinned at Shen Langhun. "Truly worthy of a top-tier assassin. That stab was fast and precise—even a pig would’ve died from it. Your wife’s corpse is in the guest room on the left. Go bury her."
Shen Langhun clenched his teeth, staring at Tang Lici. Tang Lici smiled faintly, reached into his robe, and pressed something into Shen Langhun’s hand, murmuring, "Go." Shen Langhun shuddered violently. "You—you—you fucking idiot!" With a roar, he yanked his blade free. Blood sprayed, splattering over his own wounds, a ghastly sight. Tang Lici collapsed with the motion of the blade, clutching his wound. He coughed twice, looking slightly dazed, as droplets of blood fell onto the sandy ground.
Shen Langhun glanced down at the object Tang Lici had pressed into his hand—a hairpin adorned with emeralds, set on a golden base. It was an exquisite piece. "Ah—!" He let out a wild scream, trembling uncontrollably. This was the Spring Mountain Beauty Hairpin! The treasure that could retrieve He Niang’s corpse from the Thirteenth Desolate Tower! Clutching the hairpin tightly, he charged into the left guest room. A loud crash echoed as he smashed through a window. Fu Cui burst into laughter, but then a piercing howl erupted from inside the room. The corpse of a sow flew out, hacked into gory chunks before it even hit the ground. Shen Langhun emerged step by step, the Spring Mountain Beauty Hairpin in his grip, his eyes bloodshot. Drenched in blood—whether human or pig, it was impossible to tell—he moved stiffly, like a vengeful ghost.
"Dong Princess," Bai Suche said coolly. "Kill him to eliminate future trouble." Fu Cui spat out a chicken bone and swung her palm toward Shen Langhun’s head. Bai Suche drew the Severing Discipline Blade and slashed at Tang Lici, still on the ground.
A deafening explosion filled the air with white mist, obscuring their targets—likely a Thunderfire Bomb. Everyone instinctively retreated. A streak of red flames shot skyward. Fu Cui bellowed, striking repeatedly to disperse the fog, only to find the courtyard empty. Shen Langhun, shockingly composed, hadn’t rushed to fight but had instead rescued Tang Lici from the ground! She clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Didn’t expect that bastard Shen to slip away so fast. Seems he’s got some loyalty to Tang Lici after all." Bai Suche barked, "They’re wounded. Chase them in four directions!" The Demon Soul Death Warriors vaulted over the walls, scattering in pursuit.The black-clad man shook his head and said in a low voice, "Shen Langhun is the top assassin in the martial world, with few rivals in the art of concealment. Today, we unfortunately let him escape, and finding him again will be extremely difficult. Fortunately..." he added coldly, "the stab he delivered was indeed quite forceful. Even if Tang Lici doesn't die, he certainly won't be able to move for a long time."
"It was my failure that I couldn't kill him with one strike," Bai Suche said solemnly. Fu Cui glanced at her sideways. "Su Su, your stab just now seemed rather eager to claim credit..." Bai Suche lowered her head, neither admitting nor denying it, her gaze indifferent.
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