Misty Rain of the Old Times

The Shadow Assassin, a top assassin from the Shadow Assassin Sect, quietly approached the small building, but Xia Mei saw right through him. Faced with her sharp gaze, Xia Mei's heart tightened, and he quickly adjusted his position and hid again at Xia Mei's reprimand.

This person did not immediately leave the target, but instead hid and constantly adjusted his position, his mind filled with suspicion and uncertainty. He was already wary of the Beggar Clan leader and had no way to deal with him, so how come there was another equally formidable character here? Where did the righteous path find him? He had never heard of him before. Could he have come from the martial arts world in the north?

For an assassin, exposing oneself is a major taboo. Only by taking the enemy by surprise can one maximize their advantages. Unless absolutely necessary, one will not easily confront someone head-on. Therefore, he avoids the enemy's sharp edge as soon as possible.

Xia Mei glanced at him once and then looked away, subtly scanning her surroundings. Her invisible aura made the evil cultivators coming from her direction tremble with fear and dare not approach.

Seeing the ace assassin hesitate about whether to continue, he thought, "That woman is dangerous, but is my disguise really that easy to see through? Or is it just a coincidence that I'm bluffing?"

The correct approach for an assassin is to flee far away if they miss their target. When doubts arise, don't hesitate, give up decisively. Too many novice assassins die because of blind confidence and gambling on luck.

This top assassin naturally understood these principles; caution was paramount, otherwise he wouldn't have survived to this day.

That was originally his thought, and he decided to give up here and find a new target. However, the current situation was not an assassination mission, but a battle between good and evil, a situation that could be described as a fight to the death. He could not do whatever he wanted.

Previously, they had all tacitly set their sights on a target. He chose Zhu Hong, the leader of the Beggars' Sect, and hesitated to make a move because he wasn't confident he could exchange him for someone else. If he didn't act soon, it would be taboo. Everyone else was risking their lives, so why should he shirk his responsibility? Regardless of the outcome, he would be held accountable afterward. Within the organization, even as a top assassin, he couldn't arbitrarily decide whether to act or remain neutral.

Already hesitant, he kept changing his position, glancing at the small building again, and his heart stirred.

This martial arts tournament caused quite a stir and was known to everyone in the martial arts world. Although it was initiated by the righteous side and initially targeted the bandits, the Shadow Killers and the Chongyan Sect were just using the opportunity to suppress and eliminate the righteous forces.

However, this does not mean that they are completely unaware of what is behind this. Although the time frame is too short to know the specifics, they do know something about the initiators behind it.

At this moment, he glanced at the small building again, and a certain guess began to form in his mind.

"According to reports, the initiator of this martial arts tournament was initially the eldest daughter of the Zheng family, for a rather ridiculous reason: to pity the suffering masses. Regardless, since she was the one who pushed for it, wouldn't she be present on such a special day? So, could she be inside the small building? The fact that there are five innate-level experts protecting her almost confirms this. With the Zheng family's wealth, they could easily afford to hire so many experts to protect them for a period of time!"

Thinking of this, the ace assassin couldn't help but have a plan. Right now, the good and evil sides are locked in fierce combat, and neither side has a clear advantage. If he could control Miss Zheng, he might not be able to make the righteous side hesitate to act, but he could use her as leverage to get the few innate masters protecting Miss Zheng to switch sides. After all, they are not martial artists, and protecting Miss Zheng is their top priority. If this works, his side will gain a huge advantage. Once the balance is tilted, eliminating the righteous side here could very well be achieved!

It's true that assassins often resort to any means to achieve their goals. This ace assassin is quite clever; he actually found a way to break the balance.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but feel excited. Once it was successful, his prestige would be even greater. After all, he had made an outstanding contribution, and various rewards were certain. In particular, the righteous path in the Southern Jianghu would be in decline afterward, while the evil path would grow stronger, and the benefits would be unimaginable.

Of course, this was not enough to make her lose her mind. Since he was wary of Xia Mei and had no confidence in her abilities, he could break into the building from another direction and capture Zheng Wanqian. Even if his judgment was wrong and Zheng Wanqian was not inside, he was still confident that he could escape as long as he did not get entangled with that woman.

If he wasn't confident in dealing with 'Xia Mei', was he not confident in handling the others?

With a thought flashing through his mind, the ace assassin no longer hesitated. He bypassed Xia Mei's direction and came to Du Juan's side, intending to use this as a breakthrough to enter the small building and capture Zheng Wanqian.

Based on his experience, he judged that the woman named 'Dujuan' had not been at the Innate Realm for very long, and he was fully confident that he could easily deal with her.

'This woman seems somewhat familiar,' the ace assassin who circled around to Du Juan's side couldn't help but have this thought flash through his mind. He didn't think too much about it at the moment, and decided to achieve his goal first.

Although Xia Mei stopped looking at the ace assassin after just one glance, how could she ignore such a threat? She had been keeping a close eye on him. Now she probably guessed what he was thinking and thought to herself that she was courting death. If Her Highness the Princess were frightened, she would not forgive herself.

Du Juan guarded the side of the small building, using leaves from the flowerbed next to it to kill dozens of evil people who attempted to attack the building, causing more people to be suspicious and dare not approach, even though they outnumbered her.

She kills people with leaves; it's hard to guess who she learned it from, but dealing with those at the Acquired Realm is effortless for her.

Holding two leaves between her fingers, she silently watched a group of hesitant heretics. Suddenly, an idea struck her, and she stomped her foot on the ground. With her stomp, dust rose and spread out in a radial pattern from the once clean ground.

However, this was only an appearance. With her innate cultivation, she was originally an assassin, and her senses were extremely sharp. When she discovered someone underground, her true energy surged into the ground with this kick, making the ground within a radius of two or three zhang as tough and difficult to penetrate as an iron plate under the reinforcement of true energy.

The next moment, two meters to her left, a fist-sized hole suddenly appeared in the cobblestone ground, and a dark shadow instantly attacked her. The black dagger, with a faint golden glint, was aimed directly at her throat, moving at an unbelievable speed.

Assassins typically don't have many flashy moves, because that would easily expose them. Their style is refined, precise, and deadly; dancing on the edge of a knife is the romance of an assassin.

'A senior colleague? He taught me how to kill people more than ten years ago.'

When the shadowy figure suddenly appeared, Du Juan couldn't help but think of this sentence. In an instant, she turned slightly to the side, and a two-foot-long short knife slid out of her sleeve and landed in her hand. The blade flashed with a dazzling crimson color. She swung the knife and slashed, as enchanting as the setting sun scattering on the petals of a begonia.

With a flash of the blade and a barely perceptible hissing sound, the Shadow Assassin's ace assassin was decapitated!
"It's you, you traitor..." The ace assassin died at Du Juan's hands before she could truly utter these words. The moment she burst out from underground, at such close range, she recognized the Du Juan she once knew.

There is no humanity in the assassin organization; everyone is trained to be a cold killing machine. Therefore, Du Juan felt no psychological burden when she cut off the head of the 'master' who taught her to kill. Instead, she felt a sense of satisfaction from the unbearable experiences she had endured in the past.

With a flick of her wrist, the dagger vanished from Du Juan's hand, as if she had done something insignificant. The only thing nearby was a headless corpse still bleeding.

At that moment, Xia Mei appeared beside her. She glanced at the ace assassin's corpse on the ground, secretly relieved, and asked with concern, "Xiao Juan, are you alright?"

"Thank you for your concern, Aunt Mei. I'm fine," Du Juan said with a smile and a nod.

Even the dead ace assassin required Xia Mei to take him somewhat seriously, yet he died so easily at Du Juan's hands. Seeing this, Xia Mei didn't say much, turning to say, "I'll go keep watch over there. Let me know if anything happens." "Okay."

After Xia Mei left, Du Juan waved her hand and threw away the body of the top assassin, wiping away all the bloodstains so that Madam wouldn't see it.

In fact, Du Juan had only reached the Innate Realm in about a year. In terms of cultivation, she was definitely inferior to the dead ace assassin. The fact that she eliminated him so easily did not mean that he was weak, nor did it mean that Du Juan was better than him. It just means that this is how the assassin profession is: it's either life or death!

There are actually many factors at play in this outcome. The ace assassin underestimated his opponent to some extent, and Du Juan was originally an assassin herself, so she was very familiar with the methods of this profession. Perhaps the two sides were not evenly matched in terms of skill, but without the advantage of a sneak attack, this result was almost inevitable.

Furthermore, being an ace assassin doesn't equate to having high cultivation levels. As long as you can eliminate your target and complete the mission, even someone at the acquired level can become an ace. The danger of an assassin lies in their assassination techniques, not their true strength.

Moreover, after Du Juan reached the Innate Realm, she was already a top assassin of the Shadow Killing Sect. How could she not have made any progress during the time she followed Chen Xuan? Of course, the key was the slash she unleashed after seeing through the opponent's sneak attack intention. The Nine Absolute Blades, a top-tier martial art taught by Chen Xuan, was not practiced for nothing. She also occasionally received guidance from Chen Xuan, a grandmaster. How could a top assassin dodge it at such a short distance?

It can only be said that most assassins are not good at head-on combat. If the ace assassin who died had recognized Du Juan first, the outcome would have been different. Or perhaps he could have lived a little longer if he had simply used Xia Mei as a breakthrough point. In any case, his death was rather hasty and frustrating.

While the fighting outside was raging, the small building was quite quiet. It wasn't that the soundproofing was particularly good, but rather that the noise had been blocked out by Xia Mei and the others using their internal energy.

Ignoring the external circumstances, and given the environment they were in, the little princess casually asked during their conversation, "Wanqian, how did you initially come up with the idea of ​​using martial arts figures to open up trade routes and benefit the people?"

Zheng Wanxi had always wanted to marry into the Chen family, and the little princess also intended to match her with her husband. Although they hadn't made it clear yet, things were progressing in the direction they wanted, and after spending some time together, they started addressing each other affectionately.

Hearing this, Zheng Wanxi smiled and said, "Qianning, as you know, I'm a businesswoman. I didn't think of this at first. I originally planned to quell the trade routes through the imperial court. It would just cost some money. In the process, I would inevitably be extorted and even have to accept being paid without doing anything. The reason I went through the hands of people in the martial arts world was because a manager of the Chamber of Commerce in charge of business in the south reminded me. He said that instead of asking the government, it would be better to go through the martial arts world. It would cost less money. People in the martial arts world are loyal and will get things done for money. Moreover, they are chivalrous and righteous. Going through them would save more time than the dragging government."

“That’s true. It seems your business guild has quite a few talented people,” the little princess nodded in agreement. After all, she was a princess, and although she didn’t concern herself with court affairs, she still understood what people were like from top to bottom.

Shaking her head, Zheng Wanxi frankly stated, "In business, we deal with all sorts of people. When the goal is the same, we naturally use whatever method is the most time-efficient and convenient."

It turned out that the current situation arose because of the reminders from others. Zheng Wanxi is still young, but experience is accumulated over time. After this experience, her perspective has gradually broadened.

Such a thought flashed through the little princess's mind at this moment. Of course, she asked this question only as an opening and to pave the way for what she would say next. Although the little princess hid it very well and even Chen Xuan did not notice, she still had something on her mind, so she did not think about it in depth.

So she asked quite naturally, "Wanqian, your family has businesses all over the world, so you must know a lot of extraordinary people, right?"

Without giving it much thought, Zheng Wanxi casually replied, "It's alright. The Chamber of Commerce covers all walks of life, so it's inevitable that we'll meet all sorts of strange people. And you know what? Many of them really do have real skills."

Upon hearing this, the little princess's heart stirred, and she casually asked, "Then, unfortunately, do you know which famous doctors are in Haozhou?"

"Qian Ning, why are you asking about this?" Zheng Wanxi was speechless, thinking to herself that when it comes to famous doctors, how can anyone compare to the imperial palace? Why go to such lengths?

The little princess said with a frank and half-joking expression, "Wanqian, as you know, my father is quite old. The imperial physicians in the palace know his condition very well. So I was thinking if there were any skilled doctors in the common people. If so, I would try my best to invite them to help my father's health. No matter what, it's my way of fulfilling my filial duty as a daughter. Now that we've come to Haozhou, it just so happens that you, Wanqian, are well-informed. So I'll inquire about them. If there really are any, I'll try to contact them privately and see if we can persuade them."

Hearing this, Zheng Wanxi was slightly moved and said, "Qianning's filial piety is truly admirable. If the Emperor Emeritus knew, he would surely be touched." She paused and then added, "Speaking of which, there are indeed several famous doctors in Haozhou. The most famous one is known as 'Yan Wangchou,' who is rumored to possess medical skills that can snatch people away from Yama himself. Since you've said so, Qianning, I will invite him for you no matter the cost when we get back today."

"Then thank you very much, Wanqian. But we can't force you. After all, people with such medical skills are bound to have some quirks. We shouldn't offend them," the little princess said, her eyes lighting up.

Zheng Wanqian was naturally eager to build a closer relationship, and nodded with a smile, "Don't worry, Qianning, I know what I'm doing."

After hesitating for a moment, the little princess instructed, "I will try my best to delay my husband's stay in Haozhou for a few more days. I hope Wanqian will keep this a secret for me and not let my husband know. If we really can't persuade him to stay, then so be it."

Seeing Zheng Wanqian's puzzled expression, she feigned emotion and said, "Although I don't know much about martial arts, Wanqian, you probably know how high my husband's cultivation level is. His relationship with my father is often more like that of a father and son. I'm worried that he'll complain if he finds out about something that even he can't handle, so please keep it a secret for me, Wanqian."

Although she felt something was amiss, she knew that entering the Chen family's gate required the little princess's approval, so Zheng Wanqian naturally had to go along with her. She nodded earnestly and said, "Qianning, don't worry, I will definitely keep my mouth shut."

"It's settled then, remember to keep it a secret," the little princess winked.

Actually, the little princess was feeling a bit anxious at this moment. Finding a famous doctor to treat Old Deng's body was just an excuse. In reality, she wanted to secretly confirm whether she was pregnant. They had only been married for a little over a month, and ordinary doctors certainly couldn't be sure. So she had to find a famous doctor.

If she is confirmed to be pregnant, it would be a wonderful thing for her, but she certainly cannot announce it before it is confirmed, lest she be disappointed.

Ideally, it would be best to be honest with Chen Xuan about this, since with his cultivation level, determining whether she was pregnant wouldn't be difficult. But the little princess wasn't sure what her husband was thinking. Would he be happy if she was pregnant? Would he be disappointed if it turned out she wasn't?

The key point is that the two of them had initially agreed not to have children for the next few years. What would his attitude be if they suddenly got pregnant?

For things that are still uncertain, the little princess seems to be experiencing a bit of "Imjin syndrome," unable to help but overthink, but she hides it very well on the surface, and no one has discovered that she is hiding such a big thing in her heart.

She is a princess after all. Don't be fooled by her gentle and considerate nature in front of Chen Xuan. When it comes to shrewdness, few people can match her.

On the other side, Chen Xuan, who was "stronger when facing stronger opponents," carried his knife and walked towards the gunman who suddenly appeared. He wondered if he was just overthinking things and felt that there was a hidden hand behind this fight.
'This sudden urge is really annoying, like Schrödinger's cat—uncertain. Otherwise, I would have already started hacking people to pieces. I'm just worried that if my guess is right, I'll scare them away. If I hadn't thought it through, I'd be furious, and yet I still managed to restrain myself from jumping out?'

Anyway, Chen Xuan felt something was off about this sudden clash between good and evil, so he kept slacking off, essentially baiting the hook and waiting for the fish to bite, just wondering if he was overthinking things and would end up empty-handed... (End of Chapter)