Chapter 13: Assassin in the Residence
When Zi Su was being questioned, she panicked a little. Bai Luochu might have a brilliant smile on her face, but looking at the smile on her face that didn’t seem like a smile, Zi Su felt a chill run down her spine.
“Young Lady… Young Lady, please don’t be angry. Be it my Lord or everyone in the residence, none of us have any evil intentions towards you!” Zi Su quickly explained.
“I know that. I am still able to differentiate between good and bad and if anyone has any evil intentions towards me. I want to know… who is your Lord. You can tell me that, right?”
Bai Luochu picked up some vegetables and had a taste. The flavor was rather good and the texture was brilliant.
“My Lord? This…” Zi Su hesitated and didn’t know if she was allowed to reveal the information.
Looking at Zi Su’s expression, Bai Luochu smiled and casually said, “You only need to tell me his position in the imperial clan.”
“Young Lady, you…” Zi Su stared blankly and a look of astonishment appeared in her eyes. Looking at how the confident look on Bai Luochu’s face, she realized that she had still underestimated the lady in front of her.
“Since Young Lady already brought up the Imperial Princes, you should already have some suspicions in your heart. My Lord… My Lord is the current Imperial Clan’s First Prince, Pei Rumo. I didn’t mention it because I was afraid Young Lady might be over-anxious and develop an unfavourable impression of my Lord. If this servant made Young Lady unhappy by concealing this information, I seek your forgiveness!” Zi Su took a deep breath and explained earnestly.
A multitude of thoughts flew through Zi Su’s mind and she became a little terrified. On the other hand, Bai Luochu sighed with relief when she found out the identity of the Lord.
First Prince? Bai Luochu wasn’t acquainted with such a figure in her previous life. The relationship between the First Prince and herself was probably developed by the original owner of her body. However, for the original owner to be sold as a slave and thrown into the Bestial Battle Arena… what kind of relationship could she possibly have with the First Prince of the Imperial Clan?
How could a random slave be of any use to the First Prince?
“I was rude. I was too paranoid and I shouldn’t have frightened you.”
After Bai Luochu finished her dinner, she allowed Zi Su to leave and rest early after apologizing for scaring her just a moment ago. In the end, Bai Luochu didn’t want anyone to observe her when she used the ancient inheritance’s secret technique to cultivate.
The moment Zi Su carried the food boxes out of her room, Bai Luochu immediately entered the bedroom to resume her cultivation.
Deep in the night, that bright moon had extended half its face out from behind the dark clouds but the howling gale was only getting stronger and stronger. Apart from the whistling of the wind, there were also sounds of weapons clashing as the leaves rustled. Maybe the whistling of the wind was too loud, or perhaps, the sound of weapons clashing was too soft. Bai Luochu’s courtyard was extremely quiet and it seemed isolated from the rest of the world.
However, Bai Luochu’s spiritual energy was considered much more powerful than a regular person. Sound almost indiscernible to some people was crystal clear in Bai Luochu’s ear.
Maybe because she was too tired from her cultivation session in the day, or maybe because she had been unable to sleep peacefully during her days in the Bestial Battle Arena… Bai Luochu was sound asleep and she only stirred when she heard the commotion coming from outside.
“Are there assassins in the residence?” Bai Luochu muttered softly. She might have been a little dazed because she was sleeping, as she didn’t consider too much before wearing her shoes to leave the room. She wanted to take a closer look at the battle happening in the courtyard.
The moment she left the room, the chilling wind assaulted her face. Bai Luochu sobered up instantly. She finally reacted after recalling the place she was in. “An assassin actually infiltrated the heavily-guarded First Prince’s residence?!”
Flashes of blade light and sword shadows filled the sky as they illuminated the originally pitch-black courtyard. The two individuals crossing moves used strange movement techniques that constantly changed. With Bai Luochu’s current strength, it was impossible for her to see the array of movements of the two people with just her naked eye.
In order to see everything clearly, Bai Luochu closed her eyes and concentrated a portion of her spiritual energy along with the spirit qi that was currently within her body into her eyes. Her vision was instantly enhanced. When she opened her eyes again, their movements looked much slower and it allowed Bai Luochu to their moves clearly.
In the time it took half a stick of incense to burn, the two people in the sky exchanged a hundred moves! Another guard joined the fray before long. He probably entered the battle as he saw his comrade struggling to take the assassin down even after such a long time.
Originally, the two fighters in the sky were evenly matched. However, the moment the second guard joined in the battle, the masked man was instantly overwhelmed. It wasn’t long before flaws started appearing as the battle dragged on.
An air-piercing hiss suddenly echoed through the sky and an arrow shot from an unknown location flew straight at the assassin. Seemingly as though he detected the arrow, the assassin twisted his body, barely dodging it.
The moment he moved to dodge the arrow, he fell into a disadvantageous position against the two guards. Taking the opportunity, the two guards pressed in and executed their fatal killing moves without holding anything back.
Looking at the situation, the assassin didn’t continue the fight. According to the 36 Stratagems… when everything else fails, retreat! Making use of the killing moves executed by the guards, the assassin lightly pushed against their sword as he borrowed the momentum to turn around. Beating a hasty retreat, he left the battle and fled into the dark night.
When Bai Luochu saw how the assassin retreated in defeat, she wanted to chase him down. Just as she was about to head out, a black shadow appeared in front of her. The black shadow was like a giant pole blocking her way.
The black shadow bowed to Bai Luochu and said, “It is dangerous to travel deep in the night. It is best for Young Lady to return.”
The residence’s secret guard?
“What if I insist on going?” Bai Luochu let out a captivating smile. This First Prince’s residence surely had a lot of experts.
“Then this subordinate would have to offend Young Lady.” The secret guard spoke calmly but there was no doubt he was going to follow through with his words.
Like the parasol trees in the courtyard, the two of them stood facing each other and no one was willing to take a step back. For a moment, the courtyard’s atmosphere became so heavy it became hard to breathe.
There was a sudden gust of wind rustling the leaves on the trees. It seemed as though sand got into Bai Luochu’s eyes as she raised her hands to rub them. She said, “It is deep into the night and I am really tired. I will go back to my room now... you should rest early too.”
“I appreciate Young Lady’s kind intentions. I shall take my leave. Young Lady, please take your time.” After finishing his statement and bowing to Bai Luochu, the secret guard simply vanished into the darkness of the dusky night.
Bai Luochu turned to look at the spot where the secret guard was standing earlier and realized something. She was probably in too much of a rush when she wanted to chase after the assassin as her breathing quickened. Her unstable breaths were what allowed people to discover her presence. Well… it was also possible she was discovered a long time ago. After all, that arrow seemed to be shot by the secret guard.
She might have been exposed due to that assassin earlier, but it couldn’t be denied that the secret guard had formidable strength. The current her would certainly not be a match for him and not to mention the fact that there was no reason for her to offend anyone just to take a look at the assassin. Thinking up to this point, Bai Luochu turned around and walked back into her room.