.
Shuǐ ChénLín stared at the face before him, and there was no doubt at this point.
He recognized those eyes from the minute 'Xuè Shèngrén' had come out from the restaurant, and even as a child, Zhao LanFeng always had bright eyes that seemed to defy the heavens.
Zhao LanFeng shook her head. "Hmph. I'll introduce myself properly then. I'm Zhao LanFeng, the 'Zhao Family Trash', but the North will become the South, before I let you capture me.
"Return my white ribbon and don't waste more of my time. After that, you can try your best to capture me, can't you?"
She raised her fan and it turned to the sword, but before she could move, a powerful feeling gripped her, sending an unbearable pain through her body.
'It's that aura again!" She realized. "The one from outside!"
This time, the aura was directed at her, and it felt like hot poison was burning through her meridians...
Her fan vanished, and she held her hands in a seal to counter-direct her qi, but she hadn't been quick enough, as she felt a gentle, 'thump' on her chest.
Shuǐ ChénLín was suddenly in front of her, and his palm had softly connected with her chest, sending in a negative flow of energy.
Shuǐ ChénLín looked down at her. "Just come with us for now. We won't harm you."
"You-! Another surprise attack - ?!" Zhao LanFeng felt blood rise to her throat, and she coughed blood onto Shuǐ ChénLín's sleeve.
Shuǐ ChénLín calmly stared down into her vivid irises. "I already told you surprise is important."
Zhao LanFeng's bloodstained lips managed to bend into an evil smile. "You-..." She began, but her head slumped unto Shuǐ ChénLín's arm, and her eyes drifted shut.
Shuǐ ChénLín shook off her weight, allowing her slump to the floor. He took out a handkerchief and attempted to wipe the blood off his sleeve, but gave up almost immediatey.
Lu FengHo let out a pent-up breath. "He's one strange fellow, isn't he?"
But Shuǐ ChénLín continued staring at Zhao LanFeng. 'There was something wrong with his aura...'
Just before his attack, Shuǐ ChénLín had felt the strange aura within Zhao LanFeng, so he had quickly infused his negative energy.
'What was that?' He wordered, but he couldit think of anything...
"Things were easier when we thought we were going after some elderly person." He spoke aloud.
The rumors that Zhao LanFeng was Xuè Shèngrén, had certainly floated into their ears, but Shuǐ ChénLín hadn't paid believed them, because he had known Zhao LanFeng had no spirit Power as a child.
"But Shuǐ Chén, is he really Zhao LanFeng?" Lu FengHo asked. "How can he possibly be nineteen and be this powerful?! How did he even manage to cultivate?!"
"The only thing I know for sure, is his identity... I met him twelve years ago, so I'm fairly certain he's the same person."
He turned to Lu FengHo. "How do you feel?"
Lu FengHo held up a free hand. "I'll be fine after a short while. That fellow was right." He nodded toward the unconscious figure.
"It's nothing too serious, but it would have been dangerous if I had moved too quickly." He surrounded his palm with a bright blue layer of energy, then put it to his chest.
"Did this person really kill anyone?"
Shuǐ ChénLín, "Rest for a while, then let's go back. The Clan Leaders will decide his fate."
.
.
A few days passed, and the sun rose on Xu province, which was near Camelia City.
In a large hall with brilliant sunrays, a figure in beautiful white and gold robes, sat atop a gilded throne.
His robes had a draping hood, which covered most of his face, but the assassins who knelt before him, didn't need to see his face, to know he was in the worst of moods.
His angry aura washed over them all, making them cower and try their best to avoid meeting his gaze.
"So you let the Wulin capture him first..." The voice sounded much older than what they expected, and for some reason, this seemed to strike an extra dose of fear, into the hearts of the assassins.
They had assumed they were here to meet the emissary, not 'him'!
Most of the assassins were men who had achieved a high level in their cultivation... They were certainly all above the black realm.
And yet, a shiver of fear passed through all of them.
"W-w-we are sorry Elder!" the Leader of the assassins touched his forehead to the ground, and his men all followed his action.
"The Shuǐ Brat, he..." The assassins' Leader began. "He somehow managed to acquire a personal item to track Xuè Shèngrén, so we stood no chance from the start!"
"'... stood no chance from the start...'" The Elder slightly threw back his head and laughed, which sent colder shivers down their spines. "If you stood no chance, then why did we pay your price of two hundred large gold pieces? Hmmm?"
"Elder!" The Assassin Leader began banging his head on the floor. "Please forgive us! We are willing to return every single piece of -!"
But the 'Elder' swiftly swung his hand outward, and the Assassin Leader's head, was no longer part of his body ...
The head rolled before his subordinates, and his body pathetically slumped forward.
"We told you from the start, that we won't accept a refund." The Elder said coldly.
Seeing how easily the Elder had canceled their Leader's existence, the remaining assassins began to bang their heads to the ground as well.
"Elder! Please give us another chance!" The second in command begged. He didn't dare offer to return the gold again.
'Won't I say anything here? After this, he won't see us again!' He thought to himself, then aloud, he said, "Elder, Please give us a chance to kill Xuè Shèngrén! We will go to Jade City and captu-!"
But just like the Leader, his own head had parted ways his body.
"You dare try and deceive me? I already fed you all a mild pill which would reveal your intents." The Elder stood and turned his back to the remaining assassins, who were now trembling in complete fear, afraid to say a word.
"Everyone here, report to the new emissary, if you want to live." He ordered, and they bowed and hurried away.
Wang LiKang, the now dead Clan Leader of the Southern Dragon Clan, had been the Elder's favourite emissary so far, and Xuè Shèngrén had killed him.
And because of Xuè Shèngrén's actions, he had lost control of the two ruling clans.
He definitely wanted Xuè Shèngrén dead, and he had nearly killed him a few days before... But the Shuǐ Clan had arrived first.
But one end of his lips lifted. 'Hmph. I deliberately helped the Shuǐ Clan capture him...' Now he didn't need to look for Xuè Shèngrén.
He knew exactly where he is going.