Jenny woke at first light.
She pushed open her door and walked into the courtyard.
Haeru still lay beside the courtyard gate, his golden eyes already open. He glanced at Jenny, then closed them again.
The courtyard was quiet.
Jenny walked to Keane's door and raised her hand to knock.
"Keane, time to get up."
A rustling came from inside.
After a moment, Keane opened the door, rubbing his eyes.
"So early?"
"We still have to travel today."
Lambert emerged from another room as well. He first glanced at Linley's closed door, then surveyed the courtyard.
"Lord Lei isn't awake yet?"
"He may still be training," Jenny said softly.
None of the three noticed that two windows on the third floor of the main building had quietly opened.
Four bows were drawn to their full extent at once.
Their arrowheads were aimed at Jenny and Keane.
"Loose."
A low voice came from behind the windows.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Four arrows left their bowstrings simultaneously.
Two shot toward Keane's chest, one toward Jenny's throat, and the last blocked her path to dodge to the side.
Lambert's expression changed drastically.
"Young miss!"
He was still nearly ten meters from the siblings.
It was too late.
The arrows were already in front of Jenny.
A black shadow suddenly darted out from the corner of the wall.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
All four arrows snapped at once.
The broken shafts fell to the ground.
Jenny and Keane stood where they were, their faces deathly pale.
Bebe landed on the courtyard wall and looked back toward the third floor of the main building.
Linley's door opened immediately afterward.
"Bebe, they're yours."
"Boss, watch me."
Bebe pushed off with all four limbs.
He became a black blur, crossed the courtyard, and shot straight toward the main building.
Inside the third-floor windows, the four archers had already begun retreating.
"Go!"
Two of them turned and rushed toward the door.
Bebe had already leaped through the window.
Two claw shadows flashed.
Shlick!
Shlick!
Two archers fell, clutching their throats.
In the neighboring room, the other two had just pulled open the door when the wall suddenly exploded.
Bebe charged out through the rubble.
The two men only had time to turn their heads.
A black shadow swept past.
Two more brief screams rang out.
The main building fell quiet again.
Only a dozen or so breaths had passed from beginning to end.
Bebe jumped back into the courtyard through the window and landed on Haeru's back.
"Taken care of."
Haeru gave a low growl.
Bebe immediately said, "You guarded the gate last night, and I handled upstairs. Boss already divided up the work."
Haeru swished his tail and ignored him.
Linley walked over to Jenny and her brother.
"Are you hurt?"
Jenny shook her head.
Keane looked at the broken arrows on the ground, his face still somewhat pale.
"Just now, I couldn't see what happened at all."
"So don't stand out in the open from now on," Linley said.
Keane hurriedly nodded.
Lambert walked over, bent down, and picked up a broken arrow.
The arrowhead was black, with a faint blue tint along its edges.
"Poisoned."
Jenny's face grew even paler.
Linley glanced at the arrowhead.
"An ordinary poison."
"Lord Lei, will they come again?" Lambert asked.
"Yes."
There wasn't the slightest hesitation in Linley's answer.
Doehring and Bebe had discovered the four archers the previous night, but had not acted immediately, precisely because they were waiting for them to expose themselves.
Now that all four were dead, the people behind them would naturally try another method.
Doehring came out of the room.
He walked to the foot of the main building and looked up at the hole blasted through the wall.
"These men were only responsible for shooting arrows."
"The person actually leading them never showed himself," Linley said.
"At least a warrior of the seventh rank."
"Still nearby?"
"His aura has disappeared," Doehring said. "He should have withdrawn already."
Linley did not have Bebe track him.
Their objective was not to search for assassins in Blackstone City, but to escort Jenny and her brother to Chier County City.
As long as they continued on their way, the people behind this would eventually appear again.
"Pack your things," Linley said. "We'll leave after breakfast."
Jenny nodded lightly.
She was just about to take Keane back to their rooms when a knock suddenly came at the courtyard gate.
"Guests, your breakfast is here."
Lambert immediately gripped his sword hilt.
Linley looked toward the gate.
There were two people outside.
Their breathing was steady.
Their footsteps were light as well.
"Let them in," Linley said.
Lambert hesitated for a moment, but opened the courtyard gate.
Two men dressed as inn attendants pushed a food cart inside. Bread, meat soup, and several plates of smoked meat sat on the cart.
"Guests, your breakfast is ready."
Keeping their heads lowered, the two carried the food into the sitting room.
Linley stood to one side without speaking.
The first attendant picked up the meat soup.
His movements were steady.
His palms were broad and thick, with heavy calluses on his thumbs and the webbing between thumb and forefinger.
The other attendant bent down to set down the bread.
His right foot was forward, its toes pointed directly at Keane.
Doehring glanced at the two men.
"They aren't attendants."
"I know," Linley said.
"How do you plan to deal with them?"
"Wait for them to act."
The two attendants laid breakfast on the table.
One picked up the last plate of smoked meat and walked over to Keane.
"Young master, please enjoy."
Keane reached out to take it.
Both attendants moved at once.
The plate was flipped over.
The first man curled his five fingers and grabbed straight for Keane's throat. The other slid a short blade from his sleeve and stabbed toward Keane's back, behind his heart.
They were too close.
Lambert had only just drawn his longsword when the short blade reached Keane's back.
Linley snorted coldly.
Purple light flashed.
Shlick! Shlick! Shlick! Shlick!
Four hands fell to the floor.
The two assassins froze for an instant.
Then excruciating pain struck.
"Aah!"
Screams resounded through the sitting room.
Linley stood where he was, the Purple Blood Soft Sword already back in his hand.
The blade remained an eerie purple.
There was no red mist.
Nor did any baleful aura leak out.
He had used only the Purple Blood Soft Sword's own sharpness.
Clutching their severed wrists, the two assassins staggered backward.
Lambert charged forward and delivered two kicks in succession to their chests.
Bang! Bang!
The two men slammed into the wall and fell to the floor.
Only then did Keane react, hurriedly retreating to Jenny's side.
Jenny pulled him behind her, her face completely drained of color.
Linley looked at the two assassins.
"Who sent you?"
The two clenched their teeth and did not answer.
Lambert stepped forward.
"Was it the first madam?"
One man's eyes changed slightly.
The change was very subtle.
But Linley saw it.
"It seems there's no need to ask."
Lambert's face was grim.
"Lord Lei, leave them to me."
Linley nodded.
The two assassins were not strong. With their hands gone, they no longer posed a threat.
Linley walked out of the sitting room and gently flicked the blood off the Purple Blood Soft Sword.
He did not put the sword into his interspatial ring.
Ever since discovering its baleful aura, he had continued to carry the Purple Blood Soft Sword, but no longer probed deep into it with his spiritual energy. As long as he did not deliberately touch the baleful aura within, this divine artifact remained an exceedingly sharp weapon.
Doehring followed him into the courtyard.
"You could have killed them outright just now."
"Lambert needed to confirm who sent them."
"Now he has."
"Yes."
Linley wrapped the Purple Blood Soft Sword around his waist again.
Doehring looked at him and suddenly asked, "How do you plan to travel?"
"We'll leave Blackstone City and take the main road to Chier County City."
"With you still out in front, handling everything yourself?"
Linley fell silent for a moment.
Just last night, Doehring had reminded him that even when he was confident, he still needed to look out for his own safety rather than thinking of shouldering all the pressure himself.
"Bebe will stay beside Jenny and Keane," Linley said. "Haeru will patrol the perimeter. If anyone follows us, Haeru will handle them."
Haeru raised his head.
"I'll handle enemies coming at us head-on," Linley continued. "If there are too many, we'll fight together."
A faint smile appeared on Doehring's face.
"This time, at least it sounds like a division of labor."
"It's simply the most suitable arrangement."
"I didn't say it wasn't."
Jenny and Keane soon finished packing their luggage.
Lambert also emerged from the sitting room. There was no blood on his longsword. The two assassins were tied beside a pillar, their faces pale, already unconscious.
"Lord Ley, we're ready to leave."
"Yes."
Linley looked at Jenny and her younger brother.
"From now on, stay within ten meters of Bebe."
"All right," Jenny agreed immediately.
Keane looked at Bebe, who was crouched on Haeru's back.
"Can it block arrows like the ones from earlier?"
Bebe grinned.
"Didn't you just see for yourself?"
Keane could not understand Bebe's magical beast language, but he understood his expression.
"I understand."
They left the courtyard.
The innkeeper stood at a distance. When he saw the holes in the wall and the bound assassins, his expression turned ugly, but he did not dare say a word.
Haeru walked along the outermost edge of the group.
Bebe no longer lay on his back, instead jumping onto the roof of Keane and Jenny's carriage.
Linley walked in front.
Doehring walked beside him, his divine aura still so thoroughly restrained that not a trace leaked out.
The streets of Blackstone City had already grown lively.
At the sight of Haeru in the distance, pedestrians immediately moved aside. No one knew that, just a short while earlier, six assassins had already died or fallen at this group's hands.
In a restaurant on a street corner, a red-haired man stood behind a window.
He watched Linley's group head toward the city gate, his expression grim.
The four archers were dead.
The two close-combat assassins had failed as well.
He was a warrior of the seventh rank, yet he had no confidence that he could survive an encounter with Linley and that black panther.
The red-haired man took a short whistle from inside his clothes and blew it twice.
An azure bird flew up from the restaurant's rear courtyard and landed by the window.
He slipped a prepared note into a slender tube and tied it to the azure bird's leg.
"Take this back to Chier County City."
The Azure Wind Eagle spread its wings and shot into the sky.
As Linley approached the city gate, he suddenly glanced up.
In the sky, a speck of azure was flying southeast.
"A messenger," Doehring said.
"Let it go."
Linley did not stop walking.
Once the message reached its destination, the person behind this would naturally know that ordinary assassins were no longer of any use.
Whoever came next would certainly be stronger.
Blackstone City's gate slowly receded behind them.
Ahead, the main road stretched all the way to Chier County City.
Linley tightened his grip on Edgeless's hilt.
He wanted to see just what sort of experts the ruler of a county city could still bring in.