Amid the chaotic crowd, Chada's Thin Sword shot toward Du Yu's vital points like a hail of bullets, seizing every opening with the speed of a gale.
Yingning darted and twisted, steadily blocking Chada's blade.
"Chada, listen to me. It really is dangerous here," Du Yu said as he backed away. "Someone wants to hurt your daughter."
"I know. I'm killing that person right now."
Du Yu knew his words alone proved nothing. Chada had always been deeply suspicious, so he could only reach into his clothes for the letter while Yingning held him off.
Seeing Du Yu distracted, Chada pulled Casey behind him and suddenly intensified his assault. His entire Thin Sword bent into a bizarre arc, sweeping over with a whistling rush of wind.
Du Yu hurriedly pulled out the letter, unfolded it, and held it in front of his face.
At that very moment, Chada's sword stopped just before the letter.
He frowned.
"Code words: feather, pen, cloud?"
Chada froze after reading the first line. These were indeed the code words he had chosen for himself. Suspiciously, he took out his pocket watch and checked it. He had devised 365 sets of code words, a different set for each day, to prevent anyone from impersonating his future self and contacting him.
"These really are today's code words..." Chada put away his pocket watch, and the Thin Sword in his hand vanished. "Did 'I' send you?"
"That's right." Du Yu nodded. "Is there somewhere safe? I need to talk to you."
Chada considered for a moment, then said, "Follow me."
The two slipped through the crowd into an alley. Following Chada's lead, they entered a basement bar. Although its door was open, the place was dilapidated, with not a soul in sight.
Chada pushed open the door and