Shadow Thorn (1)
Inside the Diamond World, everyone was extremely excited, gathered around several tables laden with all sorts of food, all local specialties from Turtle Island.
They ate and commented on each other, creating a lively atmosphere.
"Big brother, what kind of ability do you have?" A pretty girl in a floral dress stared intently at Fanxin's chest with her big eyes and asked curiously.
Just now, she saw Fanxin stuff a whole bunch of things into her stomach—it was amazing. Children at this age are very curious, and she was instantly captivated.
Fanxin smiled and gently patted the other's head, saying softly, "I have a world inside me, so I can fit so many things inside."
"A whole world? That's amazing!" Liangli exclaimed excitedly, a hint of envy in her voice. "I... can I go in and take a look?"
"Sure, but aren't you scared? If I kidnap you, you'll be in big trouble." Fanxin had a mischievous smile on his face, looking like a bad boy.
The pretty young girl seemed startled, taking a few steps back and looking timidly at Fanxin. Fanxin couldn't help but smile and said, "I was just teasing you. Come on, if you want to go in, I'll take you."
"Really?" The beautiful young woman remained wary, not readily believing Fanxin. Clearly, Fanxin's expression earlier had played a significant role in making her hesitate.
"Really." Fanxin's expression turned serious. The beautiful girl glanced at him, and for some reason, she believed him. She walked towards Fanxin step by step, her fear seemingly dissipating.
A moment later, she reached Fanxin's side. Fanxin grabbed her arm and led her inside.
The pretty young woman wandered around inside for a bit, then came out with a smile on her face, like a winner of a million-dollar lottery prize.
"Is it fun?" Fanxin asked with a smile.
"Mmm, it's fun." The pretty girl glanced at her mother beside her and sighed softly, "However, I have things to do, so I can't play for too long."
"What sensible children you are. You're busy, I'll be going now." Fanxin didn't want to disturb them any longer, because their stall was full of people who had come to buy things. He couldn't delay their business.
The beautiful young woman watched Fanxin leave, and only after Fanxin had completely disappeared did she reluctantly turn back and return to her work.
Fanxin swept through the area, devouring a lot of food. Many stalls were left empty, and the owners had no choice but to pack up and go home early.
As evening approached, Fanxin finally stopped. By then, his Diamond World was overflowing with food. He wasn't worried about wasting it, because he had several big-bellied kings in his Diamond Space. This amount of food was indeed a lot for ordinary people, but for those big-bellied kings, it was a piece of cake.
"It's getting dark, I should find a place to rest." Fanxin glanced around and spotted a hotel. Without hesitation, she strode over.
He had only taken a few steps when he suddenly stopped. He glanced back and his brows furrowed deeply, for he sensed that someone was following him.
He immediately unleashed his Haki, sweeping his gaze across what lay behind him. The entire scene behind him was vividly displayed in his mind, like a movie playing.
"A shadow?" Fanxin was taken aback. He caught sight of a shadow that blended into the darkness. Without mastering Haki, you probably wouldn't be able to spot it at all.
"Strange, what kind of ability is this?" Fanxin Xin muttered to himself, unable to figure it out. After a moment, he shook his head and didn't go over. However, he continued to monitor the other party, and no move the other party made could escape his surveillance.
He entered the hotel, booked a room, and then took the key and went back to his room.
"Hey, Little Black, is anything unusual over there?" After closing the door, Fanxin took out Den Den Mushi and contacted the Little Black Cat and the others.
"Boss, I was just about to tell you. It seems we're being followed. However, the person following us is like a shadow, perfectly blending into the darkness. Although we've noticed it," the Little Black Cat sighed helplessly, "We can't pinpoint their location."
"As expected." Fanxin Xin's expression immediately turned cold. After a moment of silence, he said, "You and the Little Fox should try to go to Bingfeng and Wang Yan's side. It'll be safer if you stay together."
"Okay, we'll go right away." The Little Black Cat asked curiously, "Boss, aren't we going to fight back?"
"A counterattack? That's for sure, but we need to figure out who's targeting us," Fanxin said in a deep voice.
His mind was a complete mess; he couldn't understand which force had targeted him again. He felt things were going very badly lately, and he was always getting into trouble.
"Then let us know when you retaliate, boss," the Little Black Cat said immediately.
"Okay, you go ahead!" Fanxin urged. "Try to stay together. Once I've investigated thoroughly, I'll formulate a plan, and we'll all act together."
"Mmm." The Little Black Cat obediently hummed in response, then hung up the Den Den Mushi.
Fanxin made another call to Bingfeng and Wang Yan, telling them to be careful of their surroundings and not to let their guard down.
After giving his explanation, Fanxin finally felt completely relieved. Immediately afterward, he took a shower, changed into clean clothes, concealed his body, released his soul form, and floated out of the window.
He planned to use this soul body to investigate thoroughly and find out which faction those people belonged to.
Soon, he silently arrived beside the shadow that had been following him, following it wherever it went, never leaving its side.
Under the cover of darkness, the shadow moved step by step toward the hotel where he was staying. With a leap, he landed on the window, gently parted the curtains, and peeked inside. After a moment, he flinched, as if startled by something, and immediately darted away, disappearing into the darkness.
Fanxin knew that the other party had been frightened by discovering that he was not in the house, and had hurriedly run away.
"Trying to run? No way." Fanxin sneered silently a few times, then immediately followed, his speed astonishing, like a shadow Following Like a Shadow his opponent.
The shadow ran swiftly, its movements as agile as a rabbit, hopping and leaping away, quickly disappearing from the area and reaching the edge of the island.
Fanxin followed along until they arrived at a somewhat dilapidated boat. The boat was brightly lit, and several people were sitting cross-legged inside, eating and drinking.
The shadow landed at the doorway, pushed it open, and went inside.
The people inside the room stopped abruptly and stared at the shadow. With the help of the lamplight, the shadow's appearance gradually became clear: a monkey-like face, a hunched body, and a sallow complexion, as if it were malnourished.
He walked step by step to the table and sat down angrily.
"Fifth Brother, what's wrong? Did something go wrong?" a bearded man asked. He was tall and imposing, practically a wall compared to the monkey-faced man.
"Stop talking, I've been found out." The monkey-faced man picked up a glass of wine, gulped it down, and slammed the glass heavily on the table, causing the food and wine bottle on the table to jump. He said, extremely annoyed.
"So what if we were discovered? Heh, while our Shadow Thorn have a high success rate, we do have our failures too," another bald man said dismissively.
"Not bad, just one failure. Next time, we'll be more careful," said the bearded man.
The man with the monkey-like face was still sullen, as if he had something heavy on his mind. Everyone looked puzzled and offered words of comfort, telling him to relax.
The monkey-faced man gave a wry smile and said, "I'm afraid we won't be able to return safely this time."
"Heh, you must be joking. While we Shadow Thorn may have had our failures, if we really wanted to escape, no one could stop us, especially in the dark." The bearded man disagreed and scoffed.
"Brother, you've only failed once, don't be so self-deprecating," the bald man said with a smile, pouring a glass of wine for the monkey-faced man.
The man with the monkey-like face had no interest in drinking. He said in a deep voice, "You should prepare for the worst. I feel like I'm being watched. Even sitting here, I feel like someone is watching me, which makes me extremely uncomfortable."
Upon hearing this, the bald man and the bearded man sprang to their feet and rushed out of the cabin. They looked around but saw nothing, and their brows furrowed deeply.
A moment later, the two exchanged a glance and returned to the cabin. Looking at the monkey-faced man, they asked, "Are you sure you're being followed?"
"I'm sure of it. I've tried everything, but I just can't shake him off. He's like my shadow." The monkey-faced man felt bitter. He was known as the Shadow Assassin, yet now he was being followed by an unseen shadow—a cruel irony.
"Who on earth is it that has a stealth technique even more powerful than our Shadow Thorn?" The bald man frowned, his face devoid of any smile. The monkey-faced man was one of the top figures in their Shadow Thorn; if he said that, it was clear he had been followed.
He was very distressed because he had just searched carefully but found nothing.
"The only ones who could remain undetected by us are the Soul Clan," the monkey-faced man said coldly. "I heard rumors that Fan Fanxin, the captain of the Fanxin Pirates, is a member of the Soul Clan. I didn't believe it at the time, but now I'm certain he is."
The Soul Clan can travel outside as invisible and intangible souls. He had just tried every method but couldn't locate the person following him; that person could only be a master of the Soul Clan.
"Damn it! That bastard hid the truth from us! No way, I have to confront him!" The bald man cursed angrily. He had obviously heard about the Soul Clan, otherwise he wouldn't be so furious.
"Let's get through tonight first!" The monkey-faced man sighed, looking out the door. Although he couldn't see anything, he knew that a shadow was standing outside, watching them.
That shadow was like a vengeful demon to them; once it made a move, they were utterly powerless to fight back.
The bald man and the bearded man were stunned for a moment, their expressions turning serious as they gripped their weapons tightly, ready to launch a counterattack at any moment.
Inside the cabin, a chilling silence fell over everyone; they could hear their own breathing and heartbeats. Sweat trickled down their foreheads, instantly wetting their faces.
After a long while, the monkey-faced man suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, a look of joy at surviving a disaster appearing on his face.
"What's wrong?" The bald man looked at the monkey-faced man with a puzzled expression.
"He's gone. I sensed it. The aura that was locked onto me has disappeared," the monkey-faced man said, wiping the sweat from his brow, still shaken.
Before, only others felt this sense of being watched by death when they were facing him. But now, he has become the one being watched by death.
The bald man glanced blankly out of the cabin and asked in a low voice, "Why don't we feel that way?"
"That's because he wasn't targeting you guys." The monkey-faced man downed several drinks, seemingly trying to vent his frustration. "He only targeted me, so I feel it the most."
Seeing the monkey-faced man covered in sweat, the bearded man knew he wasn't lying. After a moment of silence, he asked, "So what should we do? There's someone over there whom even we fear. Should we continue this mission?"
"Continue my ass! You want to die? I don't!" The monkey-faced man roared angrily, his eyes wide open. His petite body seemed to harbor a volcano, instantly silencing the bald man and the bearded man.
The monkey-faced man was furious, but it took him a long time to calm down before he said, "Recall our men immediately. There's no need to continue the operation."
"But we accepted the mission, and if we don't complete it, we..." The bald man hesitated. They were an assassin organization, paid to do things, and if they failed to complete the task assigned by their employer, they would have to return the commission and pay a considerable penalty.
The bearded man's expression was also unpleasant. He said, "Our employer is the Heavenly Star Alliance, which is not an easy force to deal with. Moreover, the one in power now is that unreasonable guy. I'm afraid they won't agree to cancel the mission, which is not good for us Shadow Thorn."
The monkey-faced man immediately fell silent, sensing something was amiss. While the Shadow Thorn were extraordinary, the Heavenly Star Alliance was no pushover either.
They accepted this mission, and if they fail to complete it, not only will they lose face, but more importantly, they will attract the attention of the Heavenly Star Alliance.
"So what do you think we should do?" the monkey-faced man asked, looking up.
The bald man rubbed his chin and said, "This is a difficult situation. If we make a move, we might be wiped out; if we don't, we'll be besieged by the Heavenly Star Alliance. We're caught in the middle!" He touched his bald head, feeling like his brain was a complete mess.
The bearded man sighed heavily, took out Den Den Mushi), placed it in the center of the table, and said, "Let's contact the boss first and ask what he thinks!"