The moment the words fell, Yae Sakura's expression changed. A violent numbness and weakness shot up through her limbs and bones, as if her sinews and skeleton had been ripped away in an instant.
She tried to tighten her grip on the hilt, but her fingers disobeyed and slipped loose. With a clang, the tachi fell to the floor. Then her legs went weak, and her whole body pitched forward out of her control, slamming heavily to the ground. She could only barely prop up her upper body with her elbows.
"You... despicable!" Yae Sakura glared furiously at Raven, her breathing growing ragged under the poison's effects. "You actually used poison!"
"Poison?" Raven seemed to have heard a joke. She slowly walked past her, her tone indifferent. "When an assassin kills, naturally she uses the most effective means. Besides..." She tilted her head and glanced at Yae Sakura. "Aren't you the same?"
No longer paying any attention to Yae Sakura, who was too powerless to resist, Raven moved again, darting like a ghost in the direction Kongming had fled.
Kongming had not gone far.
The building's structure was complicated, and she was not very familiar with the route. She had only just managed to rush up to the second-floor corridor when that icy, bone-piercing killing intent behind her had already followed like a shadow!
The second-floor corridor was narrow, with tightly shut doors on both sides and a stained-glass window at the end. Kongming had her back to the wall, her breathing slightly uneven. The talismans in her hand flickered with faint light, but the limited space made it hard to cast powerful arts that required the support of a formation.
She flung out several basic talismans in succession. Flecks of sparks and weak currents of air tried to