CHAPTER 37: ASSASSIN’S AGAIN?

The ground squelched beneath their boots, half-rotted leaves and old beast remains crunching underfoot. A thick, eerie silence hung in the air, broken only by the occasional distant howl or guttural roar of something unseen.

Ye Qingxue’s blade sliced through the air in a practiced arc, cleanly severing the neck of a mutated boar-like creature that had lunged at her. Its body hit the ground with a wet thump, twitching a few times before falling still. Her breath was ragged, eyes alert.

Blood speckled her cheeks, and her muscles ached from constant tension. Still, her gaze remained sharp.

Above her, Ling Yu crouched down on the high branch, the hem of her clothes fluttering in the wind, her eyes were calm and unreadable. Ling Yu didn’t plan on interfering unless it was necessary. She would let Ye Qingxue take the lead till there’s a dangerous beast comes their way that the girl can’t handle. This wasn’t a fight for her; it was Ye Qingxue’s training ground.

There were a few things Ling Yu needed to look over. The beasts here had evolved unnaturally. Misshapen limbs, overgrown fangs, glowing eyes, and grotesque tumors revealed the effects of long-term exposure to the miasma that lingered in the Dark Forest’s depths. These creatures were stronger and ferocious than their counterparts outside and more aggressive.

Ye Qingxue adjusted her stance as more of those came. A clawed panther-like beast burst from the shadows, followed by something that resembled a wolf crossed with a serpent. She narrowed her eyes and charged forward, slicing one across the jaw before ducking under the tail of the other. Each step tests her limits and her instincts.

At that time, they still didn’t know what kind of calamity was waiting for them.

Ye Qingxue had just skewered the last of the pack when something whistled through the air. A glint of silver caught Ling Yu’s attention.

Shing!

A flash of silver that was a thin and sharp knife that seemed to be unnervingly fast cut through the air like lightning, aiming straight for Ye Qingxue’s throat.

"Qingxue! Duck!" Ling Yu screamed out to Ye Qingxue, alarming her at once at the sudden situation.

Instinct screamed in her veins as Ye Qingxue twisted her body at the last second. The knife grazed her shoulder instead, leaving a hot trail of blood. Staring up at Ling Yu with wide eyes and a stunned expression, Ye Qingxue stumbled but recovered soon, holding the hilt of the sword in her hand tightly as she raised it towards the dark, prepared to attack anything that came in her way.

From the shadows of the forest, a group of men emerged.

One by one, cloaked figures stepped into the clear place, more than a dozen men dressed in black, faces covered, their movements silent and unnervingly coordinated. Their eyes gleamed with a quiet malice.

Ye Qingxue hissed under her breath. "Assassins?"

Ling Yu dropped down beside her, brows knitting together. "Jiang Meng again... Tch. That girl really doesn’t know when to give up."

Even though she willingly gave up everything she said, Jiang Meng’s greed exceeded that of a demon at this rate.

Even as Ling Yu said this, something felt off about those people. Ling Yu didn’t know why she felt this way, but these guys didn’t seem like ordinary assassins. Their movements were sharp and precise, dangerous and devastating. Fighting with the Royal assassins for years in her past life, Ling Yu knew about most of their attack pattern by now, and being familiar with them did produce good results.

Furthermore, there was no royal crest on their cloaks, which means only one thing.

Whether they were a faction unrelated to the Royal family, or the Royal family hired people from the Assassins Guild to take care of her quietly.

Ling Yu had a hunch that none of the predictions were right. There was no other faction coming after her currently at this step of time, because aside from the Royal family, she hadn’t provoked any other organizations till now at this moment in time.

And if there were any movement in the Assassin’s Guild, she would’ve known that in one way or another.

All of that led her to only one option, and that was...

Jiang Meng joined hands with outside forces to wipe out her existence. These people surrounding her weren’t ordinary assassins. Their aim was to take her life.

In a short time, Ling Yu was able to think of all the information and reach a conclusion at the fastest rate. If her conclusion was right, then Ye Qingxue was also in danger. Because these people didn’t look like they would let off a witness alive so easily.

"You guys came from Jiang Meng’s order? Doesn’t seem too necessary. Since you are here already, shouldn’t you spill what you want from me?" Ling Yu asked in a cold, mocking voice as she taunted the men in black.

She already gave up everything she had, didn’t she?

Why was Jiang Meng so fixated on having her killed?

Since Jiaang Meng wanted to kill her, she would rather live till the end. Let that bitch hate her to death, Ling Yu didn’t care about that at all.

Ye Qingxue also seemed to feel the danger as she looked at Ling Yu and said firmly, "Master, fall back. You’re the target. I’ll buy time—"

"No." Ling Yu’s voice was flat, cold, even though her lips held a faint smirk. "This is beyond you. You don’t understand what you’re facing."

"I don’t care!" Ye Qingxue stepped forward, holding her sword at the ready. "You saved me. You gave me purpose. If I can’t even protect you, then what’s the point of calling myself a bodyguard?!"

The moment passed too quickly for words, but they didn’t seem to have any intention to answer her question. After all, a dead person doesn’t need to know so much, right?

A sharp sound of crackling filled the air.