Night had fallen deep, and Tushan Manor was utterly silent.
But then a flash of cold light appeared. A longsword tore through the darkness, aimed straight at the back of Tushan Jingci's heart.
"Miss, watch out!"
By the time Yueshi turned around, there was no time to think. Her wrist flicked, and the long whip at her waist darted out like a spirit snake, its tip wrapping precisely around the sword.
She twisted and pulled with the momentum. The sword veered a few inches off course, grazing past Yueshi's shoulder before THUNK! It plunged into a veranda pillar, the blade trembling with a buzz.
Yueshi shielded Tushan Jingci behind her and swept her gaze across the courtyard. "Who's there!"
A shadow emerged at an unhurried pace.
He was wrapped in black robes, his face covered with black cloth. A short horn on his forehead glimmered faintly in the moonlight, and the demonic aura around him was so thick it was almost tangible.
"You trespassed into Tushan Manor. Do you know what crime that is?" Yueshi tightened her grip on the whip, her voice low.
The Man in Black didn't answer.
The next instant, he vanished from where he stood.
Yueshi's pupils contracted. She swept her long whip across, the tip cutting through the air with a sharp crack,
The Man in Black moved with blinding speed: he drew his sword, turned, and thrust, all in one fluid motion, the blade aimed once more at Tushan Jingci.
Yueshi didn't retreat. She surged forward instead, her whip tracing an arc through the air before coiling around the Man in Black's sword arm. She yanked hard, lifting him bodily and slamming him into the stone path in the courtyard.
BAM!
Stone fragments flew everywhere. The Man in Black hit the ground on his