When Huai Shi woke from his long dream again, he felt as though his entire body had come back to life—utterly light and at ease.
Outside the window came birdsong and the fragrance of flowers. Not far away, the church rang out with a grand bell sound, while faint hymns and the melody of a Pipe Organ echoed in his ears.
It made him want to hum along.
Then he opened his eyes.
And saw that delicate face hovering above him, looking down. Slender, fair arms lightly braced against the headboard, supporting her entire body in midair through some bizarre application of leverage.
The Inquisition's assassination art, Spider Suspension Technique, had been employed with such exquisite skill that even Huai Shi had to praise it.
Yet the girl hanging above his bed and looking down at him merely blinked, studying his startled expression as a smile slowly curved across her lips.
Like a she-wolf lying in wait amid wind and snow.
"Good morning."
Anna's lips moved in a gentle greeting.
The dagger in her other hand aimed at his face and plunged down!
Bang!
As two fingers rose and closed together, the razor-sharp dagger and its poison-soaked edge stopped just before Huai Shi's eyeball. Huai Shi sighed, his fingers trembled slightly, and a hammer-like impact burst upward through the dagger, making Anna involuntarily let go.
Before she could draw the short sword from her lower back and attack again in midair, a palm pressed against her face, gently closing around it. Anna's eyes showed through the gaps between the spread fingers.
And she saw Huai Shi yawning.
The next instant, a deafening boom erupted!
As though she had been launched from a cannon, Anna flew backward. Propelled by that enormous force, she nimbly rolled and spun, skillfully dispersing its power.