Chapter 47: Chapter 44 Unsheathed Time Has Not Yet Come_1
"Breaking through the limits five times in cultivating a top-tier martial art is indeed not simple. Despite my repeated heavy blows, she only passed out."
Lu Yan thought to himself.
If she had not been injured, in her prime and with her complex and unpredictable tactics, Lu Yan wasn’t sure if he could’ve defeated her.
He still lacked experience in real combat.
Lu Yan reflected.
His various martial arts skills had been practiced to the realm of Unity of Man and Martial Arts, allowing him to wield them powerfully and effortlessly.
However, actual combat was not the same as solitary cultivation. How well one performed under pressure, maintaining a stable state of mind, especially when confronted with unfamiliar martial arts skills, and the required method of response, all relied on the accumulation of real combat experience.
Lu Yan’s previous opponents were all straightforward fighters, engaging in head-on collisions, meeting force with force. Naturally, he was the victor in such encounters.
But when he came across an opponent who was slippery like an autumn eel, at first Lu Yan was somewhat flustered. It was only then did he manage to be scratched a few times by her dagger. Fortunately, his strong Vajra Body resisted the onslaught.
Lu Yan picked up the woman, brought her to his bedroom, found a hemp rope, and tied her up like a rice dumpling.
Then he went through the other rooms to check.
During the fight just now, no one should have noticed.
All the red-clad guards had gone out, leaving only the servants.
But those servants, scared by the sounds of the fight, didn’t dare to light a lamp to check. They huddled in the corners of the room, frightened. The cover of the night and his cultivation level should have kept his abilities hidden.
He fetched a bowl of water, splashed it on the ’maid’s’ face, and then rubbed her face a few times. Indeed, the mark on the ’maid’s’ face was wiped off, revealing a beautiful and enchanting face.
Under the stimulation of cold water, the maid slowly woke up.
"I’ll ask, and you’ll answer."
Lu Yan said coldly, "You’re the assassin who killed Zhou Hezhen, right?"
The reason he didn’t immediately kill her was mainly to confirm her identity.
The woman gave Lu Yan a cold glance, remaining silent.
"You think if you don’t speak, I can’t confirm it?"
Lu Yan walked over, grabbed her clothes on the shoulder and tore a large piece of it off. A ferocious wound on her shoulder was exposed.
Lu Yan’s gaze fell on the wound on her shoulder.
It was a claw wound. The edges of the wound had burn marks, and some parts were even charred black.
"It’s said that Zhou Hezhen left bloodstains on his fingers, scratching his killer during his final struggle. Do you have anything to say?"
Lu Yan said lightly.
"How did you discover my flaw?"
The female killer asked.
"Because of the smell of blood." Lu Yan replied.
"Blood smell? I already used cutting my finger while killing a chicken as an excuse to cover up, what’s wrong with that?"
The female killer asked.
"The Zhou Clan’s top-tier martial art, Falcon Red Flame Claw, develops a Qi-blood and bone strength as hot as fire. Consequently, your blood smell carries a faint scent of burning, something you wouldn’t have from cutting your finger while killing a chicken."
Lu Yan said.
"Your nose is even more sensitive than a dog’s."
Grinding her teeth, the female killer was extremely unwilling.
If she had just gotten through tonight, she could have forced the bone strength out of her body, healed the wound, and then the Zhou Clan would have had no way of finding her.
"Thank you."
Lu Yan replied nonchalantly.
While learning hunting from Lu Qingshan, he had acquired proficiency in tracking techniques. To distinguish various smells in the forest, his nose had naturally become more sensitive than ordinary people’s.
"Just based on this, did you determine that I am the murderer?"
The female killer still seemed unwilling and posed another question.
"So, I tested you by saying that your birthmark’s position had changed."
"If you really had a birthmark, you should have been dumbfounded or confused upon hearing my words, not instinctively reaching out to touch it. Your subconscious instinct revealed you. In reality, I never paid attention to the position of your birthmark."
Lu Yan said.
"Just based on these?"
"Is that not enough?" Lu Yan retorted.
The female killer was stunned.
Yeah, with so many doubts, isn’t it enough?
The female killer fell silent for a while and then suddenly said: "I must say, your mind is very meticulous, but this matter involves a lot. You may want to let me go if you want to survive."
"Oh? Perhaps you should tell me how significant it is? Maybe I might consider it."
Lu Yan said.
"That’s because I come from an assassin organization called the ’Dark Moon’."
The female assassin said.
"Dark Moon?" Lu Yan was confused.
"You’ve never heard of it? The ’Dark Moon’ is not just the largest assassin organization in Li’an County, but one of the biggest in the entire Xuan Zhou region. If you betray or kill me, the Dark Moon organization will never let you go. You will face their relentless pursuit for the rest of your life."
The female assassin spoke as if she was explaining, but in actuality, she was threatening him.
However, Lu Yan just laughed - a laugh that confused the female assassin and sent a chill down her spine.
"What are you laughing at?"
Finally, the female assassin couldn’t help but ask.
"The most terrifying thing about an assassin is their concealment; hiding their skills and names. If they can’t hit their target, they immediately flee. Once they fail, they die. The assassin organization is no different. Their most terrifying feature is their mystique; no one can find their lair."
"No assassin would threaten with their backing organization after failing a mission. If every time an assassin fails, their organization seeks revenge, then the organization itself would not exist. It would have been eradicated long ago."
"So, you can’t possibly be a member of the ’Dark Moon.’"
Lu Yan declared confidently.
The female assassin turned pale.
She couldn’t understand how a 16-17-year-old could be so thoughtful and powerful.
"What can I do for you to spare me?"
The female assassin asked again.
"Your head is now worth 30,000 silver taels. Well, I will spare your life as long as you can come up with 30,000 silver taels to buy it."
Lu Yan said.
"If I had 30,000 taels of silver, I wouldn’t have taken this assassination mission." The female assassin said helplessly.
"Well, that’s unfortunate."
Lu Yan shook his head.
"I don’t have that much silver, but you can take anything else... anything you desire, I’ll satisfy you."
The woman writhed on the ground suggestively while she spoke. It was clear what she was implying.
She had a good figure, and her wet clothes clung to her skin, enhancing the curves of her body and making her look more enticing - it wasn’t hard to see why Zhou Hezhen had fallen for her.
Lu Yan was a normal man, but he resisted the temptation. Aside from a few lingering glances, he made no moves toward her.
The woman looked puzzled - was her charm not enough?
"You’re an assassin; even the Martial Marquis Zhou Hezhen died at your hands. I don’t want to die."
Lu Yan took a few deep breaths to cool down.
"I’ve got broken hands and I am tied up. What can I do to you? Little brother, don’t be afraid."
The female assassin tried to make her voice as gentle and seductive as possible.
"I’m afraid of the poison you might have hidden on you."
Lu Yan said.
"You..."
The female assassin’s face turned red.
Woosh!
Lu Yan took several more deep breaths to calm his heated thoughts.
His weapon was not yet ready to be unsheathed, at least not now.
Lu Yan got up, picked up the Red-clad Guard’s badge, and walked towards the female assassin. "I’ll take you in for the silver, but you know too much."
Clang!
The long sword was drawn from its sheath, cutting through the pitch-black bedroom, and the female assassin’s throat.
The look of disbelief in the female assassin’s eyes was poignant - she didn’t expect Lu Yan to kill her without any warning, not even giving her a chance to speak.
"Knowing my real cultivation level, you can’t live."
Lu Yan sheathed his sword with a grimace.
She was a smart assassin. The assassination of Zhou Hezhen was meticulously planned. She infiltrated as a hired servant before the feudal lords arrived, and no matter which lord hired her, she would have a place to hide.
Maybe the hefty bounty offered by the Zhou Clan was also part of her plan. She let people from the feudal clans search for her all over the city, while she stayed safe under their very noses.
Unfortunately for her, she ran into Lu Yan.
