The sky was gradually brightening, the dawn clouds stained a blood-red. The morning market had yet to bustle when, inside Yanyu Pavilion, someone tossed three severed heads onto a table.
She wore a black veil, revealing only eyes that were cold and undisturbed.
"I want to join Yanyu Pavilion."
The people inside the pavilion were stunned. Once they realized the three heads belonged to the notorious bandit brothers—men who had committed countless crimes—the room erupted in clamor.
"Those were top-tier experts! They fought as a trio; they were incredibly difficult to deal with. This girl doesn't look old, yet she possesses such martial prowess!"
"Look! The Deputy Pavilion Master is coming down!"
Lingxiao’s gaze finally shifted to the man descending the stairs.
He wore a silver, patterned half-mask that obscured the upper half of his face. His exposed lips were thin and drawn into a slight, tight line, revealing a hint of murderous intent.
"You took the contract and successfully killed the target; you have earned the qualification to enter Yanyu Pavilion."
He stopped at the bend of the stairs, stretched out his hand, and crooked his finger at Lingxiao. "Come up."
Lingxiao’s fingers grazed a teacup. Seeing this gesture—as if he were summoning a dog—she immediately hurled the cup at him!
The man was slightly taken aback. As he raised his hand to catch it, he felt a fierce gust of wind and instinctively dodged to the side. With a thunderous "bang!", the teacup smashed a hole into the stairs, then continued through, embedding itself into the wall with a final "thud!"
The teacup itself remained completely intact without a single crack.
When the man turned back, his eyes held a touch of shock. After a moment of silence, he stepped down to personally invite Lingxiao upstairs.
Only then did Lingxiao rise and follow him up.
***
While Lingxiao sought entry into Yanyu Pavilion, inside the palace, Xiao Wuji was kneeling before the Hall of Supreme Harmony. His face was as pale as paper, devoid of all color.
The late autumn sunlight offered no warmth. He knelt on the cold white jade tiles dressed only in coarse sackcloth. His back was held arrow-straight; he could not control the trembling of his muscles, but he could control his pride.
No matter how wretched his state, he would not tarnish the name of the Imperial Grandson.
"Your Highness, you should return. His Majesty... will not see you."
A eunuch arrived to deliver the message. Xiao Wuji lowered his head, pressing his palms flat against the ground. "Your Majesty! I have returned from Liaoxi having cheated death a thousand times. I seek nothing else, only to see Your Majesty once more!"
The eunuch sighed helplessly. "Your Highness, everything is settled. His Majesty is kind-hearted and has not implicated you. Thanks to the Grand Princess pleading on your behalf, you remain the Imperial Grandson. Do not say any more!"
"If you continue, I fear even this final scrap of affection will be gone!"
Xiao Wuji remained prostrate on the floor. *Affection?* What affection did he have with His Majesty? From the death of his mother to his father being deposed, from his grandfather being framed for treason to his own experience of being poisoned and hunted—he had never felt any affection from His Majesty!
Now, his grandfather was set to be beheaded at the Meridian Gate, his father was locked in the Celestial Prison for pleading for mercy, and here he was, kneeling, unable to do a single thing.
"Your Majesty..."
"Xiao Wuji, get up."
Someone walked to Xiao Wuji’s side. The man was dressed in the robes of a Prince and appeared no older than Xiao Wuji; he was noble and strikingly handsome.
It was the Prince Han of Daqing, Xiao Fenglin.
"If you still value your life, get up, walk out of here, and don't utter another word for that traitor."
Xiao Wuji looked up. When he saw who it was, he turned his head away. "I need not trouble you, Imperial Uncle. I didn't die out there—I imagine you must find that quite regrettable."
Xiao Fenglin smiled. "I don't care whether you live or die. I am only advising you out of the brotherly bond I shared with your father."
"Xiao Wuji, you have no one to blame for your current state but yourself."
He reached out and patted Xiao Wuji on the shoulder. "If you must blame someone, blame yourself!"
A tickle rose in Xiao Wuji's throat, and he couldn't stop himself from vomiting a mouthful of blood. The purple liquid splattered onto the white jade floor, striking and vivid.
Xiao Fenglin was startled, then grabbed his shoulder. "How are you poisoned!"
Xiao Wuji sneered, drawing on his final strength. "Thanks to you, Imperial Uncle..."
Before he could finish, he collapsed from exhaustion. As he blacked out, he subconsciously tightened his grip on the bell hidden in his sleeve.
*Jingle, jingle!*
Lingxiao stood up abruptly. The Deputy Pavilion Master of Yanyu Pavilion jumped in fright, quickly grabbing the scroll in front of him for protection. "You... if you cannot choose, we can..."
But Lingxiao snatched the scroll from his hand. "I’ll choose him. I will bring his head back."
The Deputy paused, his eyes still wide with astonishment. "Do you know..."
Lingxiao glanced at the name on the scroll. "I know. He is a Prince, but I do not care, nor do I fear him."
This Prince’s fortune... it was no better than that of Your Highness Changsheng. Even if he had no karmic connection to her, killing him would provide some measure of cover.
"Hey! Wait! Every assassin who joins Yanyu Pavilion needs a codename. Do you... do you have a name in mind?"
Lingxiao was already turning to leave with the scroll. The Deputy hurried to block her path. Lingxiao paused and replied: "Scavenger."
The Deputy blinked, his neck craning forward. "What?"
Lingxiao tucked the scroll away, opened the window, and faced the morning glow, speaking coldly: "A scavenger of the mortal realm, to purge the demons and the devils."
The Deputy was completely stunned. He didn't understand—he couldn't understand why this woman had come. She was filled with killing intent, stained with the blood of the world, yet she claimed to be "purging demons and devils"?
By killing people, she would purge demons?
Did she even know who she was going to kill?
The Prince Han of Daqing was a man of extraordinary military merit. Countless people admired him. Even now, caught in the throes of a power struggle, no one dared to take this contract—yet she had accepted it without the slightest hesitation!
Was she ignorant of the Prince's status, or was the conviction in her heart weightier than even that?
Thinking of the information Lingxiao had requested in exchange for this task, the Deputy hesitated. "You! If this task fails, you still have another chance!"
Lingxiao stopped as she climbed out the window and nodded. "Thank you."
She vaulted out, stepped into the morning light, and slowly vanished into the crowd...
***
During the two years in Liaoxi, Xiao Wuji had been tortured incessantly—his body ravaged by poison, his spirit broken by constant loss and helplessness.
If his grandfather hadn't been framed for treason, he would never have rushed back from Liaoxi at all costs.
And he wouldn't have had all his loyal followers slaughtered, nor would he have been dragged into the dungeons of the Capital Suburban Garrison to endure such agony.
The poison gnawed at his body day and night. Even if he didn't die in the garrison, he would eventually die of the toxin.
So, the moment he saw an assassin in the dungeon, Xiao Wuji had truly wanted to die.
He couldn't go on.
But at that moment, Lingxiao had appeared. And now, Xiao Wuji slowly opened his eyes to see the girl sitting beside him.
She wore black, her face beautiful yet strikingly cold, save for the fleeting glimmer of worry and concern in her eyes when she looked at him.
"Your Highness Changsheng, are you alright?"