Nine Nights Owl Song

Summer of the sixteenth year of Yong'an.

Ah Jiu is fifteen years old.

Eight years have passed since she left the Cangwu Mountain training camp. In those eight years, she has transformed from the youngest silver-ranked assassin in the Dark Pavilion into its most outstanding. Forty-seven missions, forty-seven completed, without a single failure. This achievement is second only to Yin Wuji in the history of the Dark Pavilion.

During his silver medal period, Yin Wuji completed fifty-two missions without a single failure.

Ah Jiu was five times away from him.

But the Dark Pavilion can't wait that long.

On the third day of the sixth lunar month, at the main altar of Cangwu Mountain.

Ajiu stood at the entrance of the main hall, the sunlight shining from behind her, casting her shadow long and long, stretching all the way to the bluestone floor inside the hall.

She was a little taller than she was three years ago, but still rather thin. Her short black thong hung loosely on her body, like a flag hanging on a flagpole.

Her face was even more hardened than it had been three years ago; the lines of her cheekbones and jaw were as if they had been carved with a knife, without a single extra curve.

Those eyes were still dark and bright, but they were as dark and bright as two pieces of cold glass; you could see inside them, but you couldn't see anything reflected in them.

The narrow-bladed straight sword hung at her waist, and the black lacquer on the scabbard had been worn away with several white marks, traces left from countless draws.

"Come in," came Hades' voice from inside the hall.

Ah Jiu pushed open the door and entered.

The furnishings in the main hall are exactly the same as before.

A long table, a chair, and that withered landscape painting in the hanging scroll.

Pluto looked the same as always, even older than he had eight years ago—his back was more hunched, he had more age spots on his skin, and his sparse white hair was almost all gone, revealing his scalp covered in age spots.

But Ajiu knew that the old man's martial arts skills were still far beyond her reach.

"Sit down." Hades gestured to the chair opposite the long table.

Ajiu sat down. This was the first time she had ever sat down in the main hall. Before, when she came, she would stand and receive orders, then leave. The fact that she was being asked to sit down today meant that this mission was extraordinary.

Hades pulled a file from under the long table, thicker than ever before, placed it on the table, and pushed it in front of Ajiu.

"Open it and take a look."

Ajiu opened the file.

The first page features a portrait—of a man in his forties, with a square face, thick eyebrows, large eyes, a short beard, wearing armor, a long sword at his waist, and piercing eyes, exuding an imposing aura. In the lower right corner of the portrait are three characters: Zhao Tianhu.

A-Jiu's fingers paused for a moment.

Zhao Tianhu.

She had heard of this name before. The most powerful warlord in the Sixteen Prefectures of Yan and Yun in the North, with an army of 100,000, occupying the three prefectures of Yan, Yun, and Ji, declaring himself King of Yan, and refusing to obey the orders of the imperial court.

The imperial court dispatched troops to suppress the rebellion three times, but each time the troops suffered a major defeat, with nearly 50,000 soldiers lost.

This man possessed extraordinary martial arts skills, reportedly having reached the peak of the Transformation Realm, only one step away from the Core Formation Realm. His Yan Yun Iron Cavalry was one of the strongest cavalry forces in the world, leaving nothing but desolation in their wake.

"The Gold Medal Trial?" Ajiu looked up at Hades.

"The Gold Medal Trial." Hades nodded.

"You've completed forty-seven silver-level missions. Theoretically, you only need to complete five more to advance to gold. But the Dark Pavilion has a rule—to advance from silver to gold, you must complete a gold-level trial mission. This is your trial."

Ajiu looked down at the file, turning the pages one by one.

The intelligence on Zhao Tianhu was more detailed than on any of her previous missions—his background, his rise to power, his troop deployment, the layout of his residence, his guards, his daily routine, and his martial arts style. The intelligence alone was over thirty pages long, densely covered with text, and in some places marked with the words "to be verified."

"Zhao Tianhu's mansion is located north of Yanzhou City, covering a hundred acres, and has three hundred guards, all elites selected from the Yan Yun Iron Cavalry. He has twelve personal bodyguards, known as the 'Twelve Riders of Yan Yun,' each a master of at least the Inner Strength level. His own martial arts have reached the peak of the Transformation level. Your current strength—" Hades paused, his cloudy eyes reflecting Ajiu's image, "Your current strength is at the peak of the Inner Strength level, just one step away from the Transformation level. If you were to fight him head-on, you wouldn't last ten moves."

Ajiu didn't refute it. It was the truth.

"So, the Dark Pavilion's mission for you isn't a direct assassination," Hades said. "Your mission is to find Zhao Tianhu's weakness within thirty days and kill him by any means necessary. The Dark Pavilion will provide all the resources you need—intelligence, weapons, money, even manpower. If you need, I can send two top assassins to assist you."

"No need," Ajiu said.

Hades raised an eyebrow slightly: "Are you sure?"

"One person makes you a smaller target, two people are easier to spot." Ajiu closed the file.

"I only need intelligence and weapons, not manpower."

Hades looked at her, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly nodded.

"We're leaving in three days," he said. "The mission has a thirty-day deadline. Success, and you'll be promoted to gold. Failure, and you won't be coming back."

Ajiu stood up, tucked the file under her arm, and turned to walk towards the door.

"Night Owl," Hades called out to her.

Ah Jiu stopped walking, but didn't turn around.

"Zhao Tianhu is not Zhou Mingyuan, not Chen Heting, not any of the people you killed before." Hades' voice was low and slow.

"He is a martial artist at the peak of the Transformation Realm, with a perception range exceeding thirty feet. He will sense you as soon as you get within thirty feet of him. You cannot kill him using the old methods."

"I know," Ajiu said.

She pushed open the door and went out.

Outside, the sunlight was blinding.

Ah Jiu squinted, carrying the dossier, and walked back to her stone house along the mountain path.

She walked slowly, thinking as she went. At the peak of the Transformation Realm, one's perception range is thirty feet. She was currently at the peak of the Dark Realm, her perception range only about ten feet. In other words, Zhao Tianhu would detect her before she even got close enough to make a move.

This gap cannot be bridged by skill alone.

She needed to find a way to either conceal her presence or carry out the assassination from thirty feet away.

Thirty feet away.

Ajiu stopped and stood by the mountain road, looking at the sea of ​​clouds in the distance.

Thirty zhang is nearly a hundred paces. A knife won't work; a knife isn't that long. Wire won't work either; wire isn't that long. A concealed weapon—the effective range of a concealed weapon is generally no more than twenty zhang; beyond twenty zhang, accuracy and power decrease significantly, making it difficult to guarantee a fatal blow.

She needs a weapon that can kill a peak-level martial artist from thirty feet away.

Does the Dark Pavilion have such a thing?

Ah Jiu quickened her pace and walked towards the stone house.

Three days later, she set off.

The Dark Pavilion provided her with everything she requested—a specially modified crossbow with a range of up to fifty feet, its bolts forged from cold iron and coated with a deadly poison that would kill on contact with blood; a set of night clothes made of special materials that could isolate body temperature and scent to the greatest extent possible; and a schedule of Zhao Tianhu's itinerary for the next thirty days, down to the hour in which he would be.

After checking all the equipment one by one, Ajiu shouldered his bag and walked out of the stone house.

The morning mist on Cangwu Mountain had not yet dissipated, and the mountain path was damp, her boots wet with dew. She walked down the path, and when she reached the foot of the mountain, she looked back.

Mount Cangwu was still shrouded in thick fog, and nothing could be seen.

She turned around and walked away without looking back.

Yanzhou City is located in the northern border region. It took Ajiu fifteen days to travel from Cangwu Mountain to Yanzhou. She could have traveled much faster, but she didn't. She needed time to think along the way, and time to mentally consider every possible course of action.

She arrived in Yanzhou City on the third day of the seventh lunar month, twelve days before the mission deadline.

Yanzhou City was a military town with towering city walls and heavy gates. Every ten steps along the city walls, a soldier stood guard, and at the city gates, soldiers checked passersby. It was heavily guarded.

Ajiu did not enter the city through the city gate. Instead, she crawled into a drainage ditch in the north of the city, wading through waist-deep sewage for nearly a hundred zhang before emerging from an abandoned livestock shed.

She found an inn near the Prince of Yan's residence and stayed there, using a false identity—an orphan girl who had come from the south to Yanzhou to visit relatives.

She changed her clothes, washed the dust off her face, braided her hair into two braids, and put on a faded blue cotton shirt. In the mirror, she looked like a different person—an ordinary fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl.

No one would associate this face with the "Killing Owl".

For the next five days, Ajiu wandered around the vicinity of the Prince of Yan's residence every day.

She observed the layout of the Prince of Yan's residence, the changing times of the guards, the patterns of Zhao Tianhu's comings and goings, and every detail that could become a breakthrough.

The defenses of the Prince of Yan's residence were even more formidable than she had anticipated. The walls were two zhang high, topped with iron spikes, and every ten zhang there was a watchtower, manned day and night.

The street in front of the mansion gate was cleared, and no one was allowed to linger in front of the mansion gate.

When Zhao Tianhu traveled, he was surrounded by guards on all sides, with at least half of the Twelve Riders of Yanyun accompanying him, completely encircling his sedan chair.

What's even more troublesome is that Zhao Tianhu's perception ability is indeed as sharp as Hades said.

Once, Ajiu was watching his sedan chair pass by from across the street, about forty zhang away, when Zhao Tianhu suddenly lifted the curtain and glanced in her direction.

With that one glance, even from a distance of forty feet, separated by the sedan curtain and the pedestrians on the street, Ajiu felt a chill.

That's not martial arts, that's intuition—the instinctive instinct for danger that comes from someone who has fought on the battlefield for decades.

Ajiu withdrew her gaze, blended into the crowd, and walked away as if nothing had happened.

She needs a new plan.

Approaching him head-on is impossible, a long-range sniper kill requires an opportunity, and poisoning him requires access to Zhao Tianhu's food—his diet is managed by a special person, and each dish must be tested for poison, making the success rate of poisoning almost zero.

Ajiu sat in her room at the inn, a layout map of the Prince of Yan's mansion spread out in front of her. She moved a finger slowly across the map, tracing the layout over and over again.

Time passes day by day.

Seventh day.

Eighth day.

Day 9.

tenth day.

With two days left in the mission deadline, Ajiu found an opportunity.

Intelligence indicates that Zhao Tianhu will leave the city to inspect the military camps on July 14th.

The military camp was located at the foot of a mountain twenty miles north of Yanzhou City. There was an official road leading from Yanzhou City to the military camp, with large areas of farmland and a few scattered groves on both sides of the road.

When Zhao Tianhu travels, all twelve riders of Yanyun will accompany him. However, after leaving the city, the formation of the guards will change from "close escort" to "leader and follower" - six cavalrymen will lead the way, Zhao Tianhu's carriage will be in the middle, and six cavalrymen will bring up the rear.

There will be a gap of about ten zhang between the carriage and the guards in front and behind.

Ten zhang, thirty-three steps.

Ajiu's crossbow has an effective range of fifty zhang, but to accurately hit a moving target's vital points from fifty zhang away requires extremely precise calculations. Ten zhang is enough.

But there was still one problem—she needed to find a place to hide, a place no more than thirty feet from the main road, with a wide view and a way out.

Ajiu searched through all the maps around Yanzhou City and found the place.

There was a sorghum field to the north of the official road. The sorghum had grown to be taller than a person, enough to provide shelter.

The sorghum field was about 25 zhang away from the official road, within the effective range of the crossbow.

To the north of Gaoliangdi lies a mountain forest. After the operation is successful, the enemy can quickly retreat into the forest and use the complex terrain to shake off their pursuers.

Ajiu drew a circle around that location on the map.

July 14th, sunny.

Ajiu set off before dawn. Wearing her specially made night clothes, with a crossbow and quiver on her back, and a straight knife and wire at her waist, she walked in the dark along the field ridge north of the official road to the sorghum field.

She found the best spot with the best view, squatted down in the sorghum stalks, set up the crossbow, placed the quiver within easy reach, and then began to wait.

The morning mist hung over the fields, and the dew dampened her hair and clothes. She squatted there motionless, like a stone, like a tree stump, like something that naturally grew in this sorghum field.

Her breathing dropped to less than twenty breaths per minute, her body temperature dropped to a level lower than the surrounding temperature, and her heartbeat was slow but strong, like a drum covered by a thick quilt.

She was waiting for Zhao Tianhu's carriage to pass by.

I waited for about an hour and a half.

The sun rose, and the morning mist gradually dissipated. In the distance, the sounds of horses' hooves and wheels rolling over the earth could be heard.

Ajiu's finger rested on the trigger of the crossbow, his eyes pressed against the sight, peering through the gaps between the sorghum poles at the official road.

coming.

First to appear were six cavalrymen, all clad in black armor, long swords at their waists, skilled riders, and their horses moving in perfect unison. They came from the south of the official road, moving at a moderate pace, their eyes scanning the fields and woods on either side of the road.

Ajiu didn't move.

Six cavalrymen passed by her, the sound of their hooves making the ground tremble slightly, and the dust they kicked up drifted into the sorghum field and landed on Ajiu's hair.

Then came Zhao Tianhu's carriage.

The carriage was large, pulled by four horses, and covered with iron sheets. The windows were sealed with iron mesh, and two guards were on the roof. The curtains were thick, dark silk, so that one could not see inside from the outside.

Ah Jiu aimed her sights at the carriage. But she didn't pull the trigger.

She couldn't see Zhao Tianhu. If she couldn't hit his vital points, everything would be in vain.

She was waiting for the moment the carriage passed directly in front of her—at that angle, sunlight would stream through the side window, and if the curtains weren't fully drawn, she might be able to see the shadows inside.

The carriage was getting closer.

Fifty feet.

Forty feet.

Thirty zhang (approximately 33 meters).

As the carriage passed directly in front of Ajiu, a gust of wind blew, and the curtain was opened a crack.

Ajiu saw the scene inside the carriage—Zhao Tianhu was sitting inside, holding a book and flipping through it. His profile was exposed through the gap in the curtain, a complete, unobstructed line running from his temple to his neck.

Right now.

Ah Jiu pulled the trigger.

The crossbow bolt shot out silently, so fast that its shadow was not even visible. It flew through the air for less than a breath, precisely passing through the gap in the carriage curtain and striking Zhao Tianhu in the temple.

The cold iron arrowhead pierced the skull, and the deadly poison entered the bloodstream within an instant.

Zhao Tianhu's body stiffened abruptly, the book in his hand fell onto his lap, and his eyes widened as if he hadn't realized what had happened.

He opened his mouth as if to shout something, but the poison had already taken effect, paralyzing his vocal cords, and he couldn't utter a single word.

The carriage continued for a few more feet before a muffled thud came from inside—Zhao Tianhu's body slid off the seat and crashed into the carriage floor.

"Your Highness?" The guard on the roof noticed something was wrong and lifted the curtain.

Inside the carriage, Zhao Tianhu lay in a pool of blood, a black crossbow bolt lodged in his temple, its fletching still trembling slightly.

"There's an assassin—"

The instant the shout rang out, Ajiu had already thrown away the crossbow and darted out of the sorghum field.

She didn't run towards the mountains to the north—that was a false target she left for her pursuers.

Her real retreat route was south, crawling along a dry irrigation ditch, crossing a field, and crawling into an abandoned cave outside Yanzhou City.

She hid in the cave for a whole day and night.

The sound of horses' hooves and the shouts of the search team could be heard outside. Several times the sounds were so close that they were almost right at the entrance of the cave. Ajiu held his breath, his fingers pressed on the hilt of his knife, ready to fight to the death at any moment.

But no one found her.

She heard the news in the cave dwelling—the Prince of Yan, Zhao Tianhu, had been assassinated, the Yan-Yun cavalry was leaderless, and the three prefectures were in chaos.

Ah Jiu closed her eyes and let out a long breath.

mission completed.

She returned to Cangwu Mountain on July 20th. The mission had a 30-day deadline, which she completed in 21 days, including travel time.

The main hall of the main altar.

Hades looked at the black token on the table—a gold medal, made of pure gold, with a black lotus flower engraved on the front and two words engraved on the back—"Gold Medal".

"From today onwards, you are the Dark Pavilion's top assassin," Hades said. "Code name remains the same: Night Owl."

Ah Jiu picked up the gold medal and weighed it in her hand.

The gold medal is much heavier than the silver medal; it feels like a stone pressing on your heart.

"How much money did the Dark Pavilion receive for Zhao Tianhu's mission?" Ajiu suddenly asked.

Hades glanced at her, seemingly surprised that she would ask such a question.

"Two hundred thousand taels," he said.

Ah Jiu nodded, stuffed the gold medal into her pocket, and turned to leave.

Two hundred thousand taels.

Her fee was five thousand taels.

The secret agency took 195,000 taels from her life.

Ajiu walked along the mountain path of Cangwu Mountain, the gold medal pressed against her chest, feeling heavy. She thought that one day, she would get back the 195,000 taels of silver, principal and interest.

It wasn't done with silver.

is blood.