Zhang Heng jumped down from the balcony and landed lightly on the ground.
To his left, Lucilla's Domus was still filled with song and revelry. Musicians plucked the strings of their lyres, and the melodious music, accompanied by the laughter of the banquet, drifted over from beyond the wall, as if the merriment would never end.
In contrast, the streets outside were much quieter.
It was already past midnight, and hardly any pedestrians remained outside.
This was not good news for Zhang Heng, because assassins favored chaotic environments. Crowded markets, arena stands packed with spectators, and bustling taverns and brothels... such places could make an assassin disappear with ease.
Fortunately, the moonlight was not too bright tonight, and the darkness could provide Zhang Heng with some cover.
Zhang Heng did not go looking for Autrus right away. Instead, he first returned to the Southeast District and changed into a set of black clothes better suited for moving at night. As he replenished his quiver with arrows, he heard footsteps coming from the corridor outside.
Those footsteps were very light. If the floorboards in this apartment building had not been so old and poorly maintained, even with Zhang Heng's hearing, it would have been difficult for him to hear them through a door.
They were the footsteps of a standard assassin.
Zhang Heng was not surprised. His establishment of a new force in the Southeast District was no secret. Besides, the Hounds had the organization known as the Hive gathering intelligence for them. After Zhang Heng sensed that his identity might have been exposed, he had Marcus arrange several safe houses for him in the Southeast District. Now, however, it seemed that the Hounds had learned the locations of those safe houses as well.
Besides planting assassins at his residence, the