Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
Ding!
A gentle breeze brushed across the earth, stirring the bell hanging beside the window and making it ring clearly.
The sound made the Black-Clothed Man, who was treating his wounds, stop at once. He rose warily and went to the corner, straining to hear what was happening outside.
The bell was connected to a trap he had set up outside. If an enemy came, it would ring.
Now the bell was swaying and ringing, and his first thought was that someone was outside.
"My courtyard has no neighbors nearby, and nobody ever bothers me. If someone really has come, they can't mean well!"
His heart pounded. In just a few minutes, the Black-Clothed Man's thoughts had wandered to the ends of the earth, who knew where.
"Who could it be? How did they find out I live in this courtyard? Could it be someone from the Yamen? No, I've only been in White Stone City a short while, and I haven't started committing crimes. The authorities couldn't possibly know. Or could it be... him?"
The Black-Clothed Man wondered, and a familiar figure suddenly flashed through his mind: Su Chen.
But on second thought, it seemed impossible. With his speed, shaking Su Chen off should have been as easy as turning over a hand. How could the other man have followed him to his home?
After waiting a while, the Black-Clothed Man still heard nothing outside. Only the gusting howl of the breeze swept in again and again.
He relaxed a little, guessing he might have been seeing ghosts. He'd become as jumpy as a bird startled by the twang of a bow.
"Hmm? What's that smell? Oh no, someone poisoned me?!"
Suddenly, a faint odor crept up from his nostrils to his brain, making him groggy