The dry branches outside tapped against the windowsill. Nan Shiying’s eyes snapped open, and she bolted from her room, throwing open the door to Poison Elder’s chamber and yanking him out of bed.
The bedding tumbled to the floor. Poison Elder, unfelt pain, instinctively reached for the bedding, but his wrist was grabbed.
“It’s me!”
Nan Shiying’s voice carried a hint of icy sharpness.
Poison Elder’s drowsiness finally dissipated. He stopped fumbling for the poison hidden beneath his pillow.
“You’ve arrived?”
He asked.
“Whoosh~”
“Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh~”
Arrows split the air, piercing the room.
Nan Shiying casually pulled a tablecloth, wrapping the incoming arrows within its fabric.
The pitch-black inn instantly blazed with light. Luan Wencheng and others, weapons in hand, deflected the arrows with their long swords, the blades clashing against arrowheads with a clang.
“Physician Feng?”
Luan Wencheng’s worried voice called from outside the door.
“All clear!”
Just as her assurance of safety faded, with a “bang,” the inn’s window was smashed open from the outside. A loud crash sounded from directly overhead, tiles falling as dozens of assassins in dark attire stormed into the room. Without a moment’s hesitation, they charged directly at Nan Shiying.
Nan Shiying shielded Poison Elder behind her, her sleeves flicking out a powder that carried the scent of irises.
The black-clad figures, however, seemed not to smell it, making no move to protect themselves. Their sword tips pointed directly at Nan Shiying’s vulnerable neck.
“Clang!”
Nan Shiying drew her dagger, gripping it in a reverse hold, and blocked the sword aimed at her neck.
The next moment, another sharp sword struck at her.
With a person unable to fend off multiple attackers, Nan Shiying, caught between more than a dozen black-clad assailants, was forced to abandon her composure.
“Feng Luan, in your next life…”
The leading black-clad assassin drove his long sword towards Nan Shiying’s neck. As the blade drew within millimeters of her skin, the assassin’s eyes were filled with cruelty and savagery. His victor’s declaration, barely begun, was suddenly halted. No matter how hard he tried, he could no longer push the sword even an inch further.
“How can this be?”
Sensing his body’s rigidity, the assassin’s eyes widened in disbelief.
They had used nose plugs and taken antidotes, so why were they still affected?
Their muscles first stiffened, then grew weak. Their bodies ached as if they had been beaten a thousand times. After the soreness, they felt a dissolving sensation, followed by agonizing pain.
From their limbs, their skin, muscles, blood, and bones began to dissolve, inch by inch.
“No, you…”
Before he could finish his sentence, his tongue turned into blood.
The fight outside continued. Nan Shiying casually picked up a long sword from the floor, guarding Poison Elder as they kicked open the door.
The scent of irises mingled with the smell of blood and surged outwards.
Luan Wencheng parried an assassin’s weapon with his sword and quickly turned back. His peripheral vision swept from Nan Shiying and Poison Elder into the room. No bodies were visible inside, only indistinct stains on the floor.
Luan Wencheng’s concentration wavered. He was instantly exposed, and a surge of fierce energy headed straight for his neck. By the time he reacted, he felt a cold touch on his throat.
“Clink~”
A flying needle struck his sword blade, deflecting the tip. The sword did not pierce Luan Wencheng’s throat but instead carved a wound across his neck.
The wound was shallow, not life-threatening, but the seeping blood looked rather shocking.
“Don’t get distracted!”
Nan Shiying shouted coldly.
Luan Wencheng quickly regained his focus and met the attack with his sword.
The tables and chairs within the inn were battered and scattered. The clash of weapons echoed incessantly. Wave after wave of black-clad figures poured into the inn, as dense as a locust swarm.
Including Jin Yang and the others, there were barely a dozen people in the inn. With a ratio of nearly one to twenty, everyone bore wounds.
Luan Wencheng pierced his opponent’s chest with a sword and gasped for breath, clutching his neck.
Seeing the increasing number of enemies, realizing that sheer numbers could wear them down, he turned to Nan Shiying and shouted, “Go!”
Nan Shiying’s sword was already stained with blood. Hearing Luan Wencheng’s furious roar, she showed no change in expression as she decapitated her opponent.
The group slowly closed ranks, back to back, repelling wave after wave of enemy attacks.
“Why aren’t we leaving?”
Luan Wencheng questioned angrily.
Nan Shiying glanced at the corpses on the ground, tapping her sword hilt with her fingers.
“One, two…”
“You…”
Nan Shiying counted to three. The attacking figures of the black-clad assassins faltered slightly. Then, like a row of dominoes, their weapons dropped one after another, culminating in a chorus of agonizing screams.
The black-clad assassins before their eyes dissolved into puddles of blood.
“Fall back!”
Someone shouted, and then the black-clad figures retreated like a tide.
Luan Wencheng was about to let out a sigh of relief when his peripheral vision caught a cold glint, a flash that plunged towards Feng Luan’s heart.