The Assassin Unknown (Part Two)

Otherwise, who knew when the fallout from a battle between powerhouses might reap him like a weed?

"You want to join Sanctuary too?"

Yuzuriha's expression, which had only just improved, darkened again. She snorted. "I don't think you've ever even considered protecting the peace of the earth!"

"You just crave the power of Cosmo!"

"You're just like those vulgar fools, a selfish person blinded by power!"

"Someone like you has no right to join Sanctuary!"

With that, she left the room without looking back.

"Uh-"

The sudden reprimand left Wuxin speechless. Only after the girl's valiant figure had vanished completely through the doorway did he come back to his senses.

"Ah, I was still too impatient!" He smiled bitterly.

He had only himself to blame for being too impatient, for failing to resist the temptation of wielding supernatural power.

They had only just met, yet he was already rushing to join Sanctuary. Anyone would have become wary.

Especially since his identity was still unknown and Hakurei and Yuzuriha were keeping him under surveillance. Until he completely dispelled their suspicions, there was no way he could join Sanctuary, much less learn to wield Cosmo.

"It all comes back to square one. I still need to earn their trust as soon as possible!" He let out a long sigh, deeply troubled.

Fortunately, although Hakurei and Yuzuriha were watching him, they had not actually imprisoned him, allowing him to move freely nearby.

Thus, over the next few days, Wuxin eagerly set to work doing whatever chores he could for Hakurei and Yuzuriha, hoping to earn their trust as soon as possible.

Perhaps they saw through his intentions, for their attitudes not only failed to improve, but they grew even warier.

"This isn't working!" Wuxin scratched his head as he watched Yuzuriha training alone in the clearing nearby.

Hakurei was a little better. Shrewd with age and deeply calculating, he remained perfectly courteous on the surface, revealing nothing. Crane Yuzuriha, however, had no such patience. Everything showed on her face, and she was becoming increasingly impatient with him and increasingly disdainful.

He could not help wondering whether she might do something to him once her patience finally ran out.

Killing him probably would not go that far, but actually imprisoning him was a strong possibility.

"What should I do?" Wuxin was terribly anxious.

Just then, he suddenly noticed a thin layer of white mist spreading over the ground beneath his feet.

"Where did this mist come from?" Wuxin frowned involuntarily.

Jamir, where he was now staying, was Altar Hakurei's secluded retreat. It lay roughly along the western edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, at an extremely high altitude with abundant sunlight. By rights, there should not have been any mist here.

Especially now, at noon, with the sun overhead, white mist should have been even less likely to appear suddenly.

As he pondered this, the white mist on the ground thickened and rose rapidly, threatening to obscure everything around him.

"Something's wrong!"

His heart sank, and he strode toward Crane Yuzuriha.

Perhaps she had also noticed something amiss, for Yuzuriha's anxious voice came from the other side of the thick mist.

"Um... Wuxin, hurry over and join me. Something isn't right!"

Immediately afterward, Wuxin heard hurried footsteps coming from within the mist.

Clearly, even as Yuzuriha urged him to join her, she was moving toward him herself.

Soon, a figure rushed out of the thick mist, and Crane's agile form appeared before Wuxin.

"This mist appeared far too strangely. Be extremely careful, and don't go more than three meters away from me!" Yuzuriha cautioned him while searching their surroundings tensely.

The thick mist seemed to contain some special power. It not only obstructed her vision, but also severely clouded her perception.

After all, she was a Saint who had mastered the Sixth Sense Cosmo. Her five senses were keen, far beyond those of ordinary people.

Yet even so, she was little different from an ordinary person within this mist. She could observe no farther than five meters around her.

Wuxin dared not take her words lightly. He immediately put himself on full alert and carefully moved closer to Yuzuriha, standing back-to-back with her to keep watch.

Just then, a rustling sound came from deep within the mist.

"I think I hear something!" Wuxin reminded her quietly.

"Shh-"

"Don't distract me. Listen carefully!"

Yuzuriha gestured for silence and tilted her head, listening intently.

Rustle, rustle, rustle!

The sound within the thick mist grew louder and seemed to be approaching them.

Soon, as the sound drew nearer, a dark figure emerged from the thick mist and stopped roughly five meters away from them.

"Someone from Jamir?" Wuxin asked Yuzuriha tentatively in a low voice.

"No!"

Yuzuriha shook her head and said solemnly, "I don't sense any familiar aura from him!"

"Besides, one of our own would have no reason to act so mysteriously!"

"He should be an enemy!"

Given this particular timing, Yuzuriha immediately directed her suspicions toward Hades' Army.

"Who are you? As a member of Hades' Army, do you lack even the courage to give your name?" she demanded with feigned contempt, quietly untying the red scarf around her neck.

Unfortunately, the figure opposite her did not answer. Instead, he suddenly accelerated and charged at them.

Clang!

With a metallic ring, a streak of silver light cut through the thick mist and descended straight toward Yuzuriha's head.

Yet at that critical moment, the silver streak abruptly stopped in midair, unable to descend any farther.

Only then did Wuxin see that it was a sharp sword, which Yuzuriha had caught in her red scarf and blocked just in time.

Not only that, but Yuzuriha, who had been prepared, seized the opportunity to wind her scarf down along the sword's hilt, instantly binding the attacking enemy tightly.

"Whoever you are, you'll pay dearly for invading Jamir!" Yuzuriha snorted and manipulated her scarf, preparing to throw the enemy away.

Snap!

The scarf pulled taut under her strength, but the bound enemy did not budge, remaining firmly rooted to the spot.

Chapter 3: The Assassin Unknown (Part Two)

"Huh?"

Her surprise attack had succeeded, yet she could not move the enemy. This left the previously confident Yuzuriha somewhat stunned.

Before she could respond further, an overwhelmingly powerful aura erupted from the enemy.

Boom!

The tightly wound red scarf was instantly forced apart, while Yuzuriha and Wuxin were sent flying by the spreading shock wave.

"Aah-!"

Wuxin could not help letting out a scream.

He was only an ordinary person. Even an utterly ordinary shock wave was more than he could withstand.

That single blow broke several of his bones, leaving him gravely wounded and unable to rise.

Yet while the pain brought fear, it also strengthened his resolve.

I must master the power of Cosmo!

Being reaped at someone's whim like a weed is absolutely not the fate I should have! he silently swore, even seeming to put the pain of his injuries out of his mind.

But just then, a streak of silver light slashed through the thick mist and appeared before him again.

The enemy had not passed up this chance to pursue his attack, and had chosen him, a weakling who could not even truss a chicken, as his target.

No, I must not die here! Wuxin was terrified, his desire to survive filling his entire mind.

At that moment, he felt incomparably powerful, as though he could do anything.

Whoosh!

The silver light fell, carving a five-meter-long gash directly into the ground.

However, this terrifying strike did not hit Wuxin.

His powerful will to survive had unleashed his body's latent potential, allowing him to roll aside and evade the strike in time.

Perhaps surprised that he had dodged the blow, the enemy froze briefly, his attack abruptly coming to a halt.

At that very moment, a red scarf shot out of the thick mist again, sweeping toward him.

The enemy said nothing, merely swinging his sword hard to meet it.

Boom!

The red scarf burst apart, hurled backward by an even more terrifying force.

"Aah-!"

Deep within the mist, Yuzuriha clearly had not expected the enemy to be so powerful. Caught completely off guard, she screamed and was sent flying once more.

"Run! My strength can't stop him at all-" Yuzuriha struggled to give one last warning.

This time, she had taken a devastating blow and no longer had the strength to fight.

Wuxin's heart lurched at her words.

Of course he wanted to flee. He did not want to die here, but with such severe injuries, there was no way he could escape pursuit by such a powerful enemy.

"Who exactly are you?"

He struggled to inch backward, trying to coax the enemy into speaking and buy more time.

He had not forgotten that there was another big shot here: Altar Hakurei.

As long as he could hold out until Hakurei arrived, his life could still be saved.