Gao Sipa, Lao Hansi, and Aunt Canola were reprimanded by Yan Xing before leaving the Lord’s Council Hall.
Yan Xing then ordered Olaf to bring up the captured Elf female assassin.
Last ti, she died too abruptly, and they didn’t get to ask who was behind her. Moreover, Yan Xing was very interested in "resurrection from death."
Arlanda was brought in.
During the scuffle, her clothes were torn in many places, her hair was disheveled, and her body bore nurous scars. The Werewolves would not be rciful to an Elf; if it weren’t for Yan Xing’s order to capture her alive, they would have torn Arlanda to pieces and eaten her long ago.
Olaf was extrely brutal toward the assassin who had attempted to murder his master. He grabbed Arlanda, dragged her in, and then roughly threw her to the ground. He then pulled out the fire axe slung on his back, ready to chop wherever his master commanded.
Arlanda, bound with nylon ropes, struggled to sit up. When she tried to stand again, Olaf kicked her down from behind. The fact that an assassin had gotten so close to his master without him noticing made Olaf extrely irritable and violent. His single eye was red with anger.
Arlanda struggled once more to stand.
Olaf lifted his leg to kick again, but Yan Xing waved a hand to stop him.
"Go, bring a chair for this clumsy assassin who failed to kill twice."
"Yes, my Lord."
Olaf imdiately brought over a chair. He then lifted Arlanda and plunked her down onto it heavily. He continued standing to the side, nacingly holding the axe.
Yan Xing gazed at Arlanda.
Arlanda likewise glared back at Yan Xing with a look of hatred, as if she wanted to kill him with her stare alone.
Yan Xing was not afraid Arlanda might suddenly attack him. The effects of the Ban-Magic Potion were still active, so she could not cast magic; she was no more than a hero with so physical strength.
After observing Arlanda for a while, Yan Xing said, "I don’t understand... I watched you die right in front of , and Count Theodore turned your body over to the Temple. Even if I were mistaken, Count Theodore wouldn’t have failed to see if you were rely feigning death. With wounds like yours, having lost so much blood, you couldn’t possibly be alive! You must have been dead at that ti. But how did you co back to life? And who revived you?"
When Arlanda heard Yan Xing’s questions, she imdiately realized he mistook her for her deceased sister.
Yes, my sister and I are twins, and we look almost identical. Back in Nuta City, we used that to our advantage. Only one of us would ever appear in public at a ti, leading local residents to believe that only one person lived in our house. That way, when one of us was on an assassination mission, the other could provide cover. If investigated, we could always create an alibi. For instance, during the assassination attempt on Yan Xing in Nuta City, while my sister carried out the attack, I was deliberately shopping in a crowded nearby market. That’s why, even after her death, when they investigated the area, they could only conclude that the assassin lived alone.
Arlanda neither denied nor admitted it. She answered, "Why should I tell you?"
After Yan Xing was attacked in Nuta City and the assassin found, the Lord’s Mansion had conducted a thorough search of the surrounding residences. The assassin lived alone; no other accomplices were found. Chui Chui only had one photo of Arlanda’s sister, critically wounded and captured. She was covered in blood, and the image, after processing, certainly wasn’t a perfect likeness. Therefore, Yan Xing hadn’t considered the possibility of twin sisters. His ingrained thinking led him to assu the Elven female assassin before him had been resurrected.
Her supposed resurrection, and who instructed her to assassinate the Temple officiant... This Elven female assassin weighed heavily on Yan Xing’s mind.
"You refuse to say who revived you... then who sent you to assassinate the Temple officiant?"
Arlanda answered, "Assassins don’t betray their employers. It is our code, and it is our honor."
At his side, Olaf said fiercely, "Answer whatever the Lord asks! Believe it or not, I can chop off your hand with this axe."
Arlanda also showed a ferocious look and snapped back, "Co on, do it... You’d better kill !"
Olaf raised his axe slightly but then lowered it. Without the Lord’s order, he truly didn’t dare to strike.
Yan Xing looked at the Elf in front of him and couldn’t help but rember the first ti he had seen her. What she believes in allows her to face death with such indifference, he mused. So, being tough on her probably wouldn’t work. Besides, my reluctance to kill her would make it difficult to act decisively, and I’d just end up being humiliated by her instead. I need to think of another way.
"Olaf, release her," Yan Xing said.
"My Lord," Olaf asked with concern, "she... she’s an assassin."
"Just a clumsy, foolish assassin," Yan Xing laughed contemptuously. "I have the protection of the Thunderous Swamp. She’s failed to assassinate twice already, and it’ll be no different if she tries again. Release her. I still have an account to settle with her."
Olaf considered this. The Lord is right, he thought. He’s so powerful, why fear a foolish assassin?
Olaf untied Arlanda.
Arlanda rubbed her numb wrists and asked Yan Xing, "What do you plan to do with ?"
Yan Xing said, "First, tell your na. That shouldn’t be sothing you can’t answer, right?"
Arlanda didn’t know what Yan Xing was thinking, but after pondering for a mont, she replied, "My na is Arlanda Jade."
"Jade?" Yan Xing asked. "Is that the na you registered with in my territory as well?"
"Yes, Aunt Canola nad Jade, and coincidentally, it’s also my surna."
"Quite a coincidence... Your hair color certainly does remind one of jade," Yan Xing nodded, then continued, "In my Eternal Domain, there’s a rule. Unless a cri is so severe that capital punishnt is unavoidable, it can be offset by penal servitude. You did try to assassinate twice...
"The first ti, you nearly killed , but you also paid with your life for that attempt.
"The second ti, you didn’t even make a move. It can only be said that you had the motive to assassinate but hadn’t yet acted on it. Legally, that’s considered attempted murder. You should be sentenced to three to ten years of imprisonnt.
"Assassinating a Lord, of course, warrants a more severe punishnt, so I sentence you to ten years of penal servitude. That ans you’ll work in my territory for ten years, after which you can be released and return ho. If you perform well, there’s even a chance for a reduced sentence..."
Arlanda was stunned!
She asked, "You... you’re not going to kill ?"
Yan Xing smiled and said, "Why should I kill you?"
"Because I truly did try to assassinate you. I’ve never known a lord who would allow an assassin who targeted them to live."
"Ah, well, now you have... You probably haven’t seen another territory like the Eternal Domain anywhere else, have you? You must have heard how this territory ca to be this way. And why Werewolves would risk their lives to protect this human territory. Because from its very inception, it wasn’t built on slaughter, but on a handshake—an agreent—between myself and the Werewolves.
"Against true enemies, I never hold back. But for those who have lost their way, I hold a weapon of punishnt in one hand, and a stead bun symbolizing goodwill in the other.
"From your eyes, I can see your confusion. Your desperate desire for death stems from hostility towards , mixed with other emotions—perhaps even feelings for this territory."
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