I shook my head abruptly, furious with myself.
’Why am I thinking about that?! I need to pull myself together!’
I tried to regain my composure and asked a more serious question, masking the turmoil within .
"More seriously, why help ? I thought you were... different."
"Different?"
His gaze fell on , a hint of amusent in his silver eyes.
"You an I have all the traits of a pretentious young master?"
I shrugged.
"That too, yes."
He shook his head before staring into the void ahead.
"The Tao is just. Even if my lineage is blessed, I could have been arrogant and self-absorbed... and to be honest, I was. But I encountered obstacles that helped stay grounded."
His gaze slowly drifted to his bandaged left arm.
My eyes followed his, and a question crossed my mind.
’How did he get that injury?’ but I didn’t dare ask.
Instead, I sighed.
A dilemma was growing within .
I no longer wanted to kill him. But I had no choice.
So, in a final mont of clarity, I made a decision.
I discreetly activated a simple chanism to separate us.
I had failed to achieve my main goal, but at least I could still obtain the elixir.
With his power, it was a re formality; he would survive.
Finally, at the lake where the elixir rested.
But he was there.
Fate was mocking .
A puppet. A killing machine. That’s what I was. Using my body, my cunning, all my abilities. All to please Father.
I clenched my teeth beneath my mask, rage burning within .
"You should have left the labyrinth. Now... I have to kill you."
He didn’t respond imdiately.
I repeated those words to myself, over and over.
"I have no choice. I should have completed my mission from the start."
I convinced myself, as best I could.
And I attacked.
Our blades clashed violently.
Every strike I landed on him was filled with anger.
Not against him.
Against myself.
Why couldn’t I hate him? He was my damn target.
’Why, every ti our eyes t, did a strange weight settle in my chest?’
And why...
’Why did my heart ache so much?’
Love? Certainly not.
I clenched my teeth. These thoughts made no sense.
I’ve only known him for a few days. By the age of ten, I had already assassinated over fifty targets. I had never felt the slightest hesitation, the slightest pity.
Such feelings don’t exist for soone like .
’I’ll get rid of him by killing him.’
BaiShe was at my feet, his wrists and ankles chained. He was vulnerable, unable to defend himself. It was the perfect mont to finish him.
I tightened my grip on my daggers.
"I didn’t want to kill you... But it’s too late."
The blade approached his throat, cold and sharp, ready to fulfill my duty.
"You should have killed sooner. Your naivety will be your downfall—"
I didn’t have ti to finish my sentence. A sudden force struck my stomach. The air left my lungs in a painful gasp as my body was thrown backward.
BaiShe broke his chains with a single movent, brute force enough to twist the tal made of shadow. Before I hit the ground, he lunged at , following with a kick.
I barely had ti to cross my hands to envelop my body in Qi. But the power of the impact shattered my defense like glass. A searing pain shot through my arms, my numb fingers releasing my daggers, which scattered farther away.
My back slamd violently against the wall, almost cutting off my breath.
He was already on top of .
I was disard, cornered, with no escape.
At the last mont, one of my long braids lashed out like a snake. BaiShe narrowly dodged, but the hidden blade nicked his cheek, drawing a thin line of scarlet blood.
He didn’t retreat.
Instead, he closed his hand around my throat. His other arm pinned my wrists above my head.
I couldn’t move.
Totally vulnerable.
"Finish !" I gasped.
"No."
I clenched my teeth.
"If you don’t, I’ll kill you."
"No, you won’t..." he murmured.
His grip on my throat loosened. He only held my wrists now, still preventing from fleeing, but without violence.
Our faces were close. Too close.
If I hadn’t had my mask, I would have felt his warm breath against my skin.
I felt my resistance waver.
"How can you be so sure?" I asked.
"I’m sure."
I swallowed.
"If I don’t complete my mission, Father will send other assassins."
"I’ll just kill them."
I sighed.
"I’m just an object in his eyes. He’ll kill too."
BaiShe remained silent for a mont before whispering:
"Then... even if this object costs millions of taels of gold or thousands of spirit stones, I’ll buy it."
I froze.
The words resonated within in a strange way. An unfamiliar warmth spread through my chest.
’Why did he say that?’
"Why ?" I murmured, my heart racing.
I awaited his answer with a tension I didn’t even understand myself.
"Because—"
He cut himself off, abruptly turning his head toward the lake.
My gaze followed his.
A young man was floating above the water.
He seed only a few years older than us, but his aura...
"How...? Why didn’t I even sense him?" BaiShe frowned.
The newcor shook his head, a mocking smile at the corner of his lips.
"You pay an assassin, but instead of killing her target, she’s flirting?"
I clenched my teeth. This man...
BaiShe seed tense.
Without hesitation, he lunged at him.
"So it was you. I’ll settle this."
But the stranger didn’t respond.
Before BaiShe could grab him, he suddenly dove into the lake, disappearing beneath the surface in a golden whirlpool.
Only a few bubbles rose to the surface.
BaiShe stopped abruptly.
"Damn!" He cursed under his breath, hesitating.
I stepped forward slightly.
"Who was that?"
"Hu Fei. Probably the client who hired you to kill ."
"Hu?"
"As you might guess, he’s also part of the White Tiger Ancestral Family." BaiShe stroked his chin, thoughtful. "He’s been underwater for a few seconds already. Maybe there’s a secret passage."
His eyes rested on the lake again, narrowed with uncertainty.
Then he shook his head and gestured to .
"Anyway, you can use your gourd to collect the elixir."
I nodded, cautiously approaching the shimring water.
But before I could take another step, the surface of the lake exploded.
A roar echoed, followed by blinding light.
*Boom!*
A jet of golden light pierced the water with incredible violence.
Hu Fei burst out of it.
Sothing had changed.
His eyes were now entirely golden, glowing with a supernatural light. His hair, once dirty blond, now seed fluorescent, radiating a spectral glow.
"What—"
I didn’t have ti to finish.
Before BaiShe could intervene, a second burst of light exploded.
The shockwave of light hit full force.
I was thrown backward, my body slamming violently against the rocky wall.
Pain spread through my bones.
I fell limply to the ground, my body smoking from the impact.
My vision blurred, and everything went fuzzy.
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