Seizing his moment, Zeng Mu finally made his move from within the crowd.
Whoosh! Light flashed. At first, people thought it was merely sunlight falling on their faces, but the beam kept expanding and intensifying, telling them this was no sunlight. Its brilliance engulfed their entire bodies and more than half the performance grounds. Not a single person could keep their eyes open at that instant.
Zhao Huai, Zhao Jingya, and the other honored guests were all affected. Even the highly skilled guards standing beside them, men who could kill with a mere flick of their hands, could not withstand such dazzling light with mortal bodies. Two of them forced themselves to keep their eyes open, only to leave the white glare lingering in their vision for another ten seconds or more, followed by nearly half a minute of blurred sight.
During those two seconds, when everyone seemed frozen in time, Zeng Mu moved. He flashed to Zhao Huai's side, formed his hand into a blade, and lightly chopped his neck. Then he tore a button from his outer garment, moved before Zhao Huai and Zhao Wei, pried open the stiff fingers, and slipped the button inside before turning and disappearing into the crowd.
The golden light faded, and everything returned to normal. Everyone had the same feeling: as though some sinister power had suddenly stripped two seconds out of time.
The assassination had gone more easily than expected, and the retreat naturally had to be carried out just as cleanly. While everyone was still dazed, Zeng Mu had already circled halfway around the crowd and returned, hiding beneath the stage curtain. He put the Phantom Spirit Beast Hide back on, and with Suoliya's help, quickly touched up his makeup, soon restoring his original comical appearance.
By the time the