Dragon Traversing Sect, Chen Jinzhong!

A flash of saber light came cleaving down, bearing the force to sever mountains!

The shadow of death had barely receded before it rushed at him again.

Chen Fan's mind was still in chaos, but his body reacted before he could think.

A completely unfamiliar surge of internal force coursed through his limbs and bones like a swimming fish. His feet tapped lightly against the ground at an incredible angle, and he drifted three feet backward and to the side like a weightless willow fluff.

Swoosh!

The chilling blade swept past the tip of his nose, and the fierce wind it raised made his cheeks sting.

That was close!

Li Zhong's saber struck empty air, and a flicker of surprise crossed his face. He hadn't expected the assassin, who should have been a spent crossbow bolt, to burst forth with such uncanny speed.

Chen Fan steadied himself as countless fragments of memory flooded into his mind like a tide.

One name surfaced clearly.

Chen Jinzhong.

A disciple of the Dragon Traversing Sect.

An outer-circle assassin for the White Lotus Sect.

So that was this body's name.

"You dare let your mind wander!"

Li Zhong's roar jolted him out of the torrent of memories. A second saber strike was already sweeping toward him, heavier and fiercer than the last, sealing off every avenue of escape.

Meeting it head-on means certain death!

Chen Fan had no time to think. His body's instincts took over again. Rather than block with the short dagger in his hand, he thrust it at Li Zhong's saber hand from a tricky angle, aiming straight for his wrist.

Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao!

That was the essence of the Dragon Traversing Sect's movement and assassination techniques: use speed to gain space, and strike at a stronger opponent's weakness to force them to defend.

Sure enough, Li Zhong was forced to change his move. His sweeping saber faltered, and he turned his wrist, knocking the back of the blade precisely against Chen Jinzhong's dagger.

Clang!

A tremendous force struck Chen Fan. His arm went numb, and the impact sent him stumbling back several steps.

The gap was too great.

Even with the internal force of an eighth-rank martial artist, he was more than a notch below a battle-hardened seventh-rank expert like Li Zhong in both strength and experience.

He was like a child brandishing a divine weapon, utterly unable to unleash its true power.

The cries of battle shook the heavens around him.

The residence's personal guards formed battle formations like black reefs, relentlessly cutting down the scattered White Lotus Sect followers. Arrows tore through the air, and from time to time, men in black screamed as they tumbled from the rooftops.

Defeat was certain.

As Chen Fan scrambled to dodge Li Zhong's storm of attacks, he rapidly digested the memories in his mind.

This operation had been a trap from the start.

The attempt on the princess consort's life was bait. The real target was Li Zhong, a commandant of the prince's residence. Chen Jinzhong's task was to keep Li Zhong tied down in the middle of the battlefield at any cost.

So Lin Shou's death had been part of the plan from the very beginning.

"Holy Maiden!"

A White Lotus Sect follower let out a desperate howl as the long sabers of three personal guards pierced his body at once.

On the roof, the battle between Su Xin and Li Zhong had also reached a fever pitch.

The pipa's notes came as fast as a sudden downpour, and invisible blades of sound frantically sliced through the air. Li Zhong's saber technique, by contrast, was full of wide, sweeping movements. Every strike carried immense force, shattering every sound blade.

But Su Xin's target didn't seem to be Li Zhong.

Twang!

An ear-piercing note burst forth!

A white wave of sound visible to the naked eye shot not at Li Zhong, but around him, streaking like lightning toward Li Rong'er, who was being shielded by several maids!

Li Zhong's expression changed, but unexpectedly, he made no move.

Su Xin's brows tightened, and she sneered.

She abandoned her pipa and drifted to Li Zhong's side like a ghost, then thrust a finger as white as jade toward his ribs.

There lay a gap in his heavy armor, his only opening!

Li Zhong brought his saber back to block, but he was a fraction too slow.

Pfft!

Su Xin's finger sank into his body.

Li Zhong grunted, his body shuddering violently, and his saber strokes instantly fell into disarray.

"Retreat!"

Having landed her blow, Su Xin showed no desire to prolong the fight. She gave a sharp cry and shot backward, covering more than ten zhang in a few leaps.

All the surviving White Lotus Sect followers, as though granted a pardon, immediately began fleeing in different directions.

"Trying to run?!"

Li Zhong clutched the wound beneath his ribs, blood gushing between his fingers. With an angry roar, he prepared to give chase.

But the moment he moved, he staggered, and his face instantly turned ashen.

That finger strike was poisoned!

Seeing this, Chen Fan didn't hesitate.

He pushed the Dragon Traversing Sect's movement technique to its limit, becoming a wisp of elusive black smoke. Rather than retreat, he charged toward the most chaotic part of the battle. After several twists and turns, he used the crowd as cover and slipped out of Li Zhong's sights.

Although the residence's personal guards were elite, most of them were tied down by the White Lotus Sect's desperadoes and had no time to spare for a slippery "little fish" like him.

Half an hour later.

At an abandoned freight dock in the south of the city.

Chen Fan leaned against a damp wooden crate, gasping for breath.

He had fully adjusted to his new body.

He had also completely absorbed Chen Jinzhong's memories.

The Dragon Traversing Sect was a second-rate sect renowned throughout the martial world for its movement and assassination techniques. Chen Jinzhong had been one of its finest disciples. After offending a powerful figure during a failed mission, he had been rescued by the White Lotus Sect and had risked his life in Su Xin's service ever since.

For this mission, he had been responsible for assassinating the princess consort, along with Lin Shou, the guard at her side.

In the distance came several birdcalls, the agreed-upon signal.

Chen Fan straightened his clothes and followed the route in his memories into a dilapidated warehouse deep inside the docks.

A heavy smell of blood and medicine filled the warehouse.

More than a dozen people in black sat or lay about, every one of them wounded. The atmosphere was oppressive and heavy.

More than thirty had set out. Now, fewer than half remained.

Su Xin sat cross-legged at the far end, her face pale as she circulated her internal force to heal her injuries.

When Chen Fan entered, everyone's eyes turned to him, but no one was surprised.

The Dragon Traversing Sect was famous throughout the world for its movement techniques. No one could match it when it came to running away.

Su Xin opened her eyes as well. No emotion could be read in her clear, lovely eyes.

"You're still alive."

Her voice betrayed neither pleasure nor anger.

"I was lucky." Chen Fan lowered his head and bowed, imitating Chen Jinzhong as he remembered him, his tone respectful.

"What about Li Zhong?" Su Xin asked.

"I don't know. When I got away, you had already gravely wounded him, Holy Maiden."

Su Xin asked no more and simply nodded.

She took a porcelain bottle from her robes and tossed it to him.

"This is your reward. Go tend to your injuries."

"Thank you, Holy Maiden." Chen Fan caught the medicine bottle, silently withdrew to one side, and found a corner to sit in.

The warehouse fell deathly silent again.

He didn't know how much time had passed when a follower sent out to gather news hurried in, his face alight with excitement and wild joy he couldn't suppress.

"Holy Maiden! A great victory! A great victory!"

He knelt before Su Xin, his voice trembling.

"The Prince of Xiushan's Residence... has hung white mourning banners!"

"Commandant Li Zhong died when the poison took effect after he returned to the residence!"