Summer nights are always so noisy, with the chirping of insects, the rustling of grass, and the swaying of trees.
The entire assassination squad was on high alert, their palms gripping their weapons slick with sweat, the sound of each other's breathing audible in the stillness.
Yet they completely failed to spot their target: Ye Yu.
Suddenly, something flashed rapidly toward the leader's head. With a sharp flick of his blade, the leader sliced the incoming projectile cleanly in two.
When it hit the ground, it proved to be nothing more than a pebble.
Simultaneously with the pebble, the sounds of his four comrades collapsing rang out behind him.
Panic seized the leader of the assassination squad. Hand trembling, he reached cautiously for the hidden darts inside his breast pocket, slowly turning his head in disbelief. Instantly, a hard, sharp point pressed against his throat. He forced his progressively heavier breathing to slow, terrified that the slightest lapse in caution would cause the steel blade to pierce right through him.
Straining his eyes downward, he saw Ye Yu holding the Falling Cherry Blossom Saber, gazing at him with cold detachment.
The murderous intent was almost tangible, like a ferocious evil spirit.
Swallowing involuntarily, the leader could hardly believe the two of them were standing so close.
The motion had drawn a thin line of blood across his neck; though it stung, he dared not move a muscle.
"Speak. Who sent you?"
Ye Yu's voice was flat, cutting straight to the heart of the matter.
For this bunch of amateurs to dare attempt an assassination meant there had to be someone behind them. He couldn't imagine what kind of twisted mind would hire such a trashy squad.
"It's... it's..." stammered the leader, trembling uncontrollably as terror gripped him.
Before he could finish, Ye Yu leaped instantly to the side. Something zipped straight into the leader's body with two soft thuds, and he collapsed to the ground, falling completely silent.
"Since Your Excellency has been hiding in the shadows, are you too ashamed to show your face?" Ye Yu brandished the Falling Cherry Blossom Saber, attempting to provoke the hidden assailant. Having anticipated that whoever wanted him dead wouldn't rely solely on such trash, he had kept his guard up the entire time.
What he hadn't expected, however, was for the adversary to ruthlessly silence their own comrades.
No response came from the darkness. Ye Yu's dark eyes swept rapidly across the surroundings, but no one emerged.
He had truly run into a master this time.
The optimal moment to strike should have been when he was dispatching those four, yet the enemy had held back. Were they testing him?
Doubt flickered in Ye Yu's mind, accompanied by a growing sense of difficulty. It seemed he had made far too much of a spectacle back at the training grounds.
How else could someone of this caliber have been dispatched against him?
The enemy was in the dark; Ye Yu was in the light.
Imperceptibly, Ye Yu had already fallen into a disadvantageous position.
He had to flush the opponent out!
Steeling his heart, Ye Yu—once the world's premier assassin in his past life—knew he could wait no longer. Dragging things out would only exhaust his own energy, effectively handing victory to the enemy on a silver platter.
With that thought, Ye Yu bolted into motion. Sheathing the Falling Cherry Blossom Saber, he dashed swiftly past the fallen leader's body and bolted toward the edge of the woods.
The assassin concealed within the trees faltered slightly. He hadn't expected his target to present such an opening so willingly; didn't the fool know never to turn his back on an enemy?
Unless it was a trap...
Narrowing his eyes, the assassin silently trailed behind Ye Yu, weighing the possibilities of both scenarios.
Reaching a narrow alleyway, Ye Yu frowned. He hadn't expected the enemy to possess such immense restraint.
Well, since you still refuse to show yourself, I suppose I can just guess your location!
Flipping three darts between his fingers, Ye Yu hurled them without hesitation toward three blind spots behind him. As he moved, a dark figure leaped straight out from the shadows, one of the darts embedding itself deep into the wall right where he had been standing.
An ordinary person would never have guessed that anyone could hide in such spots! Only a top-tier assassination expert like Ye Yu could pull off such a feat.
Thus, in terms of assassination technique alone, his opponent was a complete match for him.
Gazing at the assassin, whose entire body was swathed in black, Ye Yu slowly drew the Falling Cherry Blossom Saber once more. He stood on high alert, bracing himself as he tried to guess the intruder's identity.
The assassin stared at Ye Yu, then suddenly began to clap, a hoarse voice rasping out: "I never expected the Arm-Swallowing Demon to also be a top-tier assassin."
Disguised voice! Ye Yu frowned. Despite the opponent's superb skill, he sharply caught the unnatural distortion in the tone.
Hiding their identity on purpose... could it be because they had met before?
He glanced at the sword strapped to the assassin's back. It wasn't Murasame, which only added to his bewilderment. Aside from Gohzuki of the Four Rakshasas, who else in the Imperial Capital possessed such supreme assassination skills?
Could someone have hired the Oberg Assassination Syndicate to deal with him? But if it were them, there would be no need to conceal their identities.
The Oberg Assassination Syndicate, famed as a legendary band of killers, boasted numerous immensely powerful figures among its ranks.
"Who sent you?" Ye Yu demanded coldly.
Since he couldn't guess, he would just have to find out firsthand!
"You don't need to know that much." The assassin's raspy voice grated uncomfortably on the ears.
With a swift motion, the figure drew the sword from their back and lunged diagonally toward Ye Yu, slashing fiercely.
Moving at blistering speed, Ye Yu had no time to dodge and was forced to meet the blow head-on with the Falling Cherry Blossom Saber. The immense force sent a numb tingling sensation straight up his arm.
So strong!
Straining against the pressure, Ye Yu forced the Falling Cherry Blossom Saber upward, desperately deflecting the enemy's blade to the side in an attempt to lighten the burden.
This bastard's strength was actually on par with the Four Rakshasas.
Ye Yu felt a jolt of alarm. For his current self to cross paths with a master of this tier was essentially walking straight into a latrine with a lantern—looking for death.
Clearly perceiving Ye Yu's intent and giving him no chance to recover, the assassin delivered a fierce side kick straight into Ye Yu's stomach, sending him flying backward to crash against the wall before he dropped to the ground.
Ye Yu's hands trembled—not from fear, but from the bone-jarring impact that left him barely able to keep his grip on the Falling Cherry Blossom Saber. He forced himself up from the ground, letting out a couple of dry coughs.
The gap in raw power was exceedingly difficult to bridge with mere technique. If only he were an adult now, how could he possibly be driven to such a pathetic state?
Refusing to grant Ye Yu even a moment to catch his breath, the assassin saw him struggling back to his feet and charged again. Ye Yu once more had to muster every ounce of strength to raise the Falling Cherry Blossom Saber and parry the strike, only to be sent flying once more. Crashing through a trash can by the wall, he tumbled out into the street.
It was late at night, and this was far from a bustling avenue, leaving the street entirely devoid of pedestrians.
Pain racked Ye Yu's entire body until his vision began to blur. *Damn it all,* he thought, *to think my transmigrator career is going to end right here. They knocked me unconscious in a mere two moves—if only you'd let me develop for another two years!*
*I wonder if playing dead would work?*
His mind scattering, Ye Yu grew too unfocused to concentrate, his thoughts wandering wildly.
Noticing that Ye Yu had remained motionless for quite some time, the assassin advanced cautiously, terrified that the target might still have some hidden card up his sleeve.
After all, even a snake with only its head left could still bite.
"Hey! What's going on over there?!" a voice shouted loudly.
The assassin glanced toward the source of the noise to find a night patrol from the Imperial Capital Guard approaching.
Letting out an annoyed click of the tongue, the assassin hurled the sword in hand directly at Ye Yu, then turned and bounded up the wall to escape. The guards were too far away to save Ye Yu; the assassin was supremely confident in his technique.
Barring a miracle, Ye Yu's transmigrator journey was at an end.
Watching the incoming blade, Ye Yu instead felt a strange sense of calm wash over him. He had long since prepared himself for death; what left him deeply resentful was that his journey was ending before he could even begin.
At that moment, a figure materialized instantly in front of Ye Yu, catching the blade bare-handed and pulling him out of harm's way.
Catching sight of that familiar back, Ye Yu finally relaxed and closed his eyes.
He was saved.
The guards rushed up to them at that instant.
"Ah, it's Ye Yu!" cried one of the guards—Berkeley, who was on patrol tonight. He hurried forward to ask the elderly man shielding Ye Yu, "Who might you be to him?"
Had he not witnessed the old man save Ye Yu just now, he would have prepared to intervene by force; the boy looked terribly injured.
The old man, Lox, nodded. Dropping the blade he had caught and ignoring the wound on his hand, he retrieved the Falling Cherry Blossom Saber and its scabbard for Ye Yu. Then, scooping Ye Yu up into his arms, he offered a faint, gentle smile.
"I am young master Ye Yu's butler. Thank you all for your concern, but I must take the young master back for medical treatment now."
Giving a slight bow, Lox immediately carried Ye Yu away.
Watching Lox's retreating figure, Berkeley muttered to himself, "Ye Yu... and he even has a butler?"