Blood-Red Blades

The heavy curtains in the study of the Xiang Family Villa shut out the last trace of daylight. The air was so oppressive it seemed one could wring water from it, thick with the mingled scents of disinfectant, bitter herbs, and a faint trace of blood. Lanling King lay on a makeshift bed, his eyes tightly shut and his breathing so weak it was almost inaudible. Only the barely perceptible rise and fall of his chest proved that he was still alive. The black diamond-shaped poison dart remained glaringly embedded beneath his left shoulder blade. The blue-black web-like veins around the wound looked even more vicious beneath the dim desk lamp, slowly and stubbornly creeping toward his heart like a living thing. Guiguzi sat cross-legged beside him, his withered hands suspended above Lanling King's chest. The Xuan Weizi particles swirling around him emitted a gentle yet resilient pale golden glow, like an invisible dam desperately holding back the lethal corrosion. Fine beads of sweat covered his forehead, and every flicker of light revealed how difficult it was for him to maintain the seal.

Xiang Yi sat behind the desk, his small body ramrod straight like a fully drawn bow. The blood- and dust-stained document lay spread across the desk, while the photograph bearing the "Xu" brand and the symbol of ten interlocking rings had been placed prominently in the center. His gaze was nailed to the photograph, a storm suppressed to its limit raging in the depths of his pupils. His fingertips tapped unconsciously against the desktop, producing a faint but urgent patter. It was the countdown frantically ticking through his mind—twelve double-hours! Twenty-four hours! Every passing second was like another wound carved into Lanling King's heart meridians.

[System.]

[Bring up A Ke's summoning interface.]

[Ding!]

[Hero Pool: A Ke (Codename: Jing Ke)]

[Role: Assassin]

[Core Abilities: Flashstep (short-range high-speed displacement), Phantom Dance (refreshes skill cooldowns and grants brief invisibility after a kill/assist), Arc Light (rapid dual-dagger combo)]

[Summoning Cost: 100 Mental Power, 300 Energy Points.]

[Current Status: Mental Power 85/200 (recovering slowly), Energy Points 215.]

[Warning: Host's Mental Power has not reached full capacity. Forced summoning carries a risk of mental backlash and may cause temporary dizziness or sensory disruption.]

He was short by 85 Energy Points!

Xiang Yi's eyes swept across the system interface like the most precise instrument, scanning every resource that could possibly be used. Two hundred and fifteen Energy Points—those cold numbers seemed to mock his predicament. He abruptly shut his eyes and immersed his mind in the dazzling yet equally cold list within the system store.

[Basic Energy Crystal]—50 points each. Absorption required 3 hours. Maximum increase: 10 points. No time! And what he needed now was immediate Energy Points!

[One-Time Mental Power Amplification Potion (Small)]—80 points per vial. Effect: temporarily increases Mental Power cap by 30 for 1 hour. Side effect: Mental Power recovery speed halved for 12 hours after the effect ends. The side effect was too severe; the risks for the following operation would increase drastically.

[Random Skill Scroll (White)]—100 points each. There was a 99.9% chance of obtaining a worthless skill. Gambling? Xiang Yi could not afford to gamble!

The list scrolled rapidly. One expensive item after another, items with enormous side effects or those that could not solve his immediate problem, were ruthlessly discarded. Xiang Yi's brow furrowed tighter and tighter, and the tapping of his fingers grew faster until it nearly became a continuous sound. Time was being gnawed away bit by bit in his anxiety.

"Young friend," Guiguzi said in a low, weary voice, "the Xuan Weizi can sense it... the seal around young friend Lanling's heart meridians... is draining faster than expected. The poison... is abnormally stubborn. It is battering against this humble one's blockade."

Xiang Yi's eyes flew open, his pupils abruptly contracting! He saw Guiguzi's suspended arms tremble slightly, while a minute ripple appeared in the pale golden halo around Lanling King's chest! The spreading blue-black veins seemed to creep forward another imperceptible fraction!

That tiny fraction was like a red-hot branding iron, brutally searing Xiang Yi's taut nerves!

He could not wait any longer! Any hesitation would be murdering Lanling King!

His gaze instantly turned resolute, like a blade drawn from its sheath, locking onto an inconspicuous corner of the store.

[Energy Point Emergency Loan Agreement]

[Terms: The host may advance no more than 50% of the current Energy Point cap (current cap: 215 points; advance available: 107 points).]

[Interest: No interest if repaid within 24 hours. If not fully repaid by the deadline, a late fee equal to 20% of the unpaid balance will be charged daily, compounded.]

One hundred and seven points! Added to his existing 215, that made 322 points! Enough to summon A Ke, with 22 points left for emergencies!

The cost? Xiang Yi's gaze swept over the words "forcibly deduct Mental Power cap" and "strip Hero skill," and his heart seemed to be clutched by an icy hand. Mental Power cap was the foundation, while skills were his means of survival. Losing either would be a devastating blow. But...

His eyes shifted to Lanling King, barely clinging to life on the bed, then to Guiguzi struggling with all his strength to maintain the seal.

"Loan! Advance 107 points!" Xiang Yi's mental command held not a shred of hesitation, sharp and final! What he signed was not an agreement, but a pact of protection!

[Agreement activated!]

[Current Energy Points: 322 (215+107)]

[Countdown: 23:59:59...]

The cold countdown numbers lit up deep within Xiang Yi's consciousness like a sword hanging over his head. Yet all he felt now was the determination of someone who had smashed his boats and broken his cauldrons!

"Mr. Guiguzi, protect Lanling King's heart meridians! No matter what, hold on for another ten minutes!" Xiang Yi barked, his voice carrying an unquestionable command.

Before his words had faded, he had already slid from the chair and sat cross-legged directly on the carpet, his eyes tightly shut. The mental cultivation method of the Returning to the Hidden Formula surged through his mind like a waterfall. This was not slow meditative recovery, but almost plundering extraction! He forcibly guided the little Mental Power he had just recovered, still fragile as it was, and whipped it into a frantic circulation through the meridians of his body like a galloping horse. He squeezed every ounce of potential without restraint, all to raise his condition to the point where he could withstand the shock of summoning in the shortest possible time!

The Mental Power value struggled upward on the system interface: [86...87...88...] The pace was agonizingly slow. The pain in his meridians from the forced circulation was like countless fine needles stabbing into him. The veins at his temples throbbed faintly, and cold sweat beaded on his skin once more. Yet he clenched his teeth and did not move an inch, devoting his entire mind to the nearly self-destructive extraction.

Second by second, time passed. The only sounds left in the study were Lanling King's weak, intermittent breaths, the low hum of the Xuan Weizi particles as Guiguzi maintained the seal, and the roaring rush of Xiang Yi's accelerated blood, audible only to himself as he forcibly drove his cultivation method.

[95...96...97...]

Guiguzi's suspended arms trembled more visibly, and the ripples in the pale golden halo intensified! The blue-black coloration around Lanling King's shoulder wound advanced another fraction! Guiguzi's brows drew tight, and a deathly grayness covered his lean face.

[98...99...100!]

The instant his Mental Power value barely reached 100!

Xiang Yi's tightly shut eyes snapped open! Deep in his black pupils, two cold sparks seemed to ignite! Without the slightest pause, his mental command shot at the system interface like a cannonball!

"Summon! A Ke!"

Bzzzz—!

Centered on where Xiang Yi sat cross-legged, the space throughout the study abruptly collapsed inward and twisted! This was not the whirlpool of light and shadow that had accompanied Lanling King's or Guiguzi's arrival, but a sharper, more violent sensation of space being ripped apart! The air let out an overburdened wail as light was frantically stretched and shredded!

The next moment, a blinding dark-red blade flare, as though condensed from the deepest night, exploded from thin air without warning! It made no sound, yet carried an ultimate sharpness capable of severing all things and harvesting souls! The blade flare vanished in an instant, leaving behind a forcibly torn spatial rift whose edges crackled with unstable scarlet lightning!

A figure stepped out from that scarlet rift.

Tall and agile, like a leopard poised to strike. Her tight dark-red leather combat suit outlined curves brimming with explosive strength, while matte black metal armor covered her joints. Most striking of all was the savage fanged demon mask covering half her face, revealing only a pair of eyes—what kind of eyes were those? Cold and indifferent, like a deep pool frozen by ten thousand years of ice. They held not the slightest warmth of humanity, only pure focus and desire for slaughter. She gripped a pair of unusually shaped short daggers in reverse. Their narrow, curved blades resembled the fangs of venomous snakes, dark red from end to end, as though they had just been tempered in a pool of blood, radiating a chilling murderous aura.

A Ke!

The instant she appeared, the temperature in the study seemed to plunge several degrees. An invisible, viscous killing intent spread soundlessly like an icy tide, instantly flooding every corner. It was not deliberately released—it existed as naturally as breathing, part of her very life! Papers on the desk fluttered without wind, the desk lamp flame swayed violently, and even the light became dim and uncertain.

The Xuan Weizi particles around Guiguzi seemed to be agitated, suddenly rippling as the pale golden halo dimmed for an instant. Even the unconscious Lanling King appeared to tense instinctively for a moment.

A Ke's icebound eyes immediately locked onto Xiang Yi, seated cross-legged on the carpet, without the slightest hesitation. Her gaze was sharp as a blade, as though it would pierce through his flesh and strike directly at his soul, judging whether the existence who had summoned her from an endless cycle of slaughter was worthy of having her twin daggers serve him.

Xiang Yi felt an icy chill pierce through his skin and sink straight into his bones. It was not physical coldness, but the tremor of his spirit being watched by the purest will of death! The weakness caused by forcibly draining his Mental Power was magnified endlessly under the impact of that terrifying killing intent. His temples felt as though they had been struck by heavy hammers, darkness swam before his eyes, and a strong metallic sweetness surged into his throat!

He forcibly swallowed it down. His body swayed, but he straightened his spine through sheer ruthlessness and met A Ke's cold, emotionless gaze without retreating an inch.

"A Ke." Xiang Yi's voice was somewhat hoarse, but it carried an unquestionable core will. He pointed toward the dying Lanling King on the bed. "Your first mission: save him! The antidote is on that ship!" His other hand slammed down on the photograph bearing the symbols of the Sea Serpent and Ten Rings!

Following Xiang Yi's finger, A Ke's gaze coldly swept over the shocking black poison dart in Lanling King's shoulder blade and the spreading blue-black veins before finally landing on the photograph. When her eyes touched the symbol of ten interlocking rings, something seemed to ripple ever so slightly in those frozen eyes, like a tiny stone dropped into a deep pool. It vanished in an instant, so quickly that it seemed like an illusion. Immediately afterward, her cold killing intent did not recede. Instead, it surged violently like dry wood tossed into flames! It became more concentrated, more purposeful! It was as though the Ten Rings symbol itself was the target her twin daggers thirsted to drink blood from!

She said nothing. She merely tilted her head slightly, and the corner of her mouth beneath the mask seemed to curl into an extremely faint, extremely cold arc. The blood-red twin daggers in her hands silently flipped, their edges drawing a heart-chilling glint beneath the dim yellow light.

Suppressing the intense mental discomfort and physical weakness, Xiang Yi took a deep breath, turned to Guiguzi, and spoke quickly but clearly. "Mr. Guiguzi, lock onto the Sea Serpent's real-time position! I need to know where it is now, the guard deployment, especially the exact situation in Cabin 7! Can the Xuan Weizi conduct reconnaissance over the widest possible range?"

While maintaining Lanling King's seal, Guiguzi replied in a deep voice, "It can. However, the freighter is a massive steel construct traveling across the ocean. Its magnetic field is chaotic, its electromagnetic signals are mixed, and long-range infiltration by the Xuan Weizi consumes tremendous power. It cannot observe the entire picture, only outline areas with strong energy reactions and the rough disposition of the guards. To see it as clearly as lines in one's palm..." He shook his head slightly.

"The outline is enough!" Xiang Yi interrupted, decision flashing in his eyes. "We do not need to see every screw! I need to know where the iron walls are and where the gaps are! Where the guards are tight and where they are relatively weak! Especially the entrance to Cabin 7 and any possible ventilation ducts! What A Ke needs is an entry point and an escape route, not architectural blueprints!" He knew time was short; he had to focus on the essentials.

"Very well." Guiguzi spoke no further and half-closed his eyes. A more active stream of pale golden Xuan Weizi particles split off from the gentle flow that had been protecting Lanling King. Like living motes of dust, they rapidly gathered and spun, sketching an extremely blurry, constantly shifting image of part of the East Sea. Within it, a ship-shaped outline made of dense light points, representing the Sea Serpent, was slowly moving. Countless smaller red and yellow points, representing life or energy reactions, were scattered across the outline like stars. One area in the rear-middle section of the ship, representing Cabin 7, contained a noticeably denser cluster of red points, and a faint dark-blue glow indicating high-intensity energy shielding surrounded it.

"The ship has passed Okinawa. It is heading north-northwest at eighteen knots and is expected to reach the outer anchorage of East Sea Port in... around forty hours." Guiguzi's voice carried a faint breathlessness from the energy expenditure. "The ship's guards... twelve standard patrol groups on deck, at fifteen-minute intervals. Key points... the bridge, engine room, and outside Cabin 7 are heavily guarded... there may be energy-sensing devices... Look!" The crystal atop his staff flashed, and several pale gray lines representing ventilation ducts at the edge of Cabin 7 were specially marked. One thicker duct exited near the stern deck, where relatively few red points were gathered.

"This passage has the fewest guards," Guiguzi indicated.

Xiang Yi's eyes were like a hawk's, fixed on the marked ventilation duct. His mind raced at an unprecedented speed. Combining vague memories of freighter structures from his previous life with the outline provided by Guiguzi, a preliminary operation route rapidly took shape in his mind.

"A Ke!" Xiang Yi abruptly raised his head, his blade-sharp gaze stabbing toward A Ke, who stood still like a blood-red statue. "Target: the cargo container in Cabin 7 marked with the 'Xu' brand! Primary objective: obtain any antidote sample or relevant clues that may be inside! If that cannot be done, completely destroy the core of the container! Route: infiltrate through this vent on the stern deck, then descend through this duct..." He spoke extremely quickly, pointing through the Xuan Weizi light-map drawn by Guiguzi and clearly marking the infiltration route, possible guard points, and the best direction for retreat after completing the mission—toward the western waters, away from the main shipping lane where the currents were relatively calm.

"Infiltration must be absolutely covert. One strike, one kill, then vanish without a trace! Understand?" Xiang Yi's voice carried an iron-blooded command. "Your Phantom Dance is the key to this operation! I do not need a prolonged fight. I need the target gone, and you must return unharmed!" He emphasized "return unharmed," and his gaze swept over Lanling King. The meaning was self-evident.

A Ke listened quietly. Her icebound eyes moved slowly across the Xuan Weizi light-map in accordance with Xiang Yi's instructions, engraving every key point and every route deep into her instinct for slaughter. When Xiang Yi said "return unharmed," her gaze seemed to linger on Lanling King for one thousandth of a second.

There was no answer, no promise.

She merely slowly crossed her reverse-gripped blood-red daggers before her with an almost elegant gesture. Their sharp tips lightly touched, producing a faint ding that was barely audible yet seemed capable of freezing the soul.

The next moment, the viscous killing intent around her abruptly contracted inward, like the dead stillness before a storm! Her presence instantly became faint, as though she had merged into the dim light and shadows of the study, leaving behind only a blurred, blood-red outline poised to strike.

Xiang Yi knew this was an assassin's absolute focus before moving.

Enduring the fierce headache and waves of dizziness caused by forcibly circulating his Mental Power, he abruptly rose from the carpet. His small body swayed slightly from weakness, but he immediately steadied himself. He walked to the desk, picked up the photograph bearing the Ten Rings symbol, and held it out to A Ke.

"Remember this symbol." Xiang Yi's voice was low and powerful, every word like tempered steel. "And remember this: the blade in your hand is wielded to protect your companions! Tonight, sever the venomous snake and bring back life!"

A Ke's gaze fell upon the cold ten rings in the photograph, then slowly lifted. Through the savage fanged demon mask, she met Xiang Yi's eyes, burning with resolute fire.

One second.

Two seconds.

She extended a hand covered by a dark-red metal gauntlet and accepted the photograph. The movement was crisp and decisive, without a trace of excess.

Then she took a step back and leaned forward slightly, like a leopard about to pounce. A faint, shadowy gleam seemed to flow across the blades of her blood-red twin daggers.

There was no farewell, no oath.

The light and shadows in the study twisted violently again! A Ke's figure blurred like ink dropped into water, stretched out, and finally turned into a dark-red streak too fast for the naked eye to catch. Without a sound, she merged into the shadow on the wall and vanished completely! Only a faint trace of cold bloodlust remained, proving that she had ever been there.

Only after A Ke's presence vanished completely did Xiang Yi's nerves, stretched to their limit, suddenly loosen. Violent dizziness and pain crashed over him like a tsunami, and his vision abruptly went black! He let out a muffled groan as his body staggered backward uncontrollably. Warm liquid welled up from his nose once more!

"Young friend!" Guiguzi cried out.

Xiang Yi leaned against the cold desk, barely managing not to fall. He raised a hand to wipe away the warm blood beneath his nose, looked at the glaring scarlet on his fingertips, then at Lanling King, whose life hung by a thread on the bed, and finally toward the patch of shadow where A Ke had disappeared.

The blade had left its sheath; only blood would return it.

This steel beast called the Sea Serpent was destined to face a blood-red storm from the shadows before dawn.

And after the storm—life, or death?

Xiang Yi's bloodstained fingers slowly clenched into a fist.