Assassination

Just then, a knock sounded at the door.

The old butler stood respectfully outside, his expression troubled.

"Student An, the master... he suddenly wants to go out."

An Changqing immediately rose to his feet: "Going out? Where?"

The butler lowered his head, his voice dropping even further.

"The master said that only at Miss Su Qing's place can he sleep peacefully. None of us could stop him."

"Su Qing is the master's... a rather close female friend."

The old butler's face was full of embarrassment—he had been deliberately vague.

An Changqing's expression sank completely.

Leaving the most heavily guarded estate at a time like this to go to a mistress's residence—how was that any different from walking straight into a hunter's trap?

"We're going with him!"

An Changqing said decisively.

But they were already a step too late.

By the time they reached the garage, Liu Tiancheng's private car had already started moving, ignoring everyone's pleas, and drove straight out of the estate gates.

An Changqing immediately arranged for another vehicle, and the four of them quickly followed.

The car wove through the neon-lit night of the city, finally pulling up before a standalone luxury home with equally tight security.

The moment the car came to a stop, in Chen Guan's mind, Baal suddenly laughed—a laugh full of the delight of discovering a new toy.

"The show is about to begin, my contractor."

Baal's voice carried a trace of amusement.

"That woman called Su Qing inside—she has His scent on her."

...

The car fell into absolute silence, broken only by the faint hum of tires over the road.

Long Ao gripped the steering wheel, staring at the taillights of Liu Tiancheng's car ahead, his brows knitted into a knot.

"Going to his mistress's place? I think the old man has lost his mind. The estate is a hundred times safer than this place."

Hong Yuan, clutching her giant axe in the back seat, was equally puzzled.

"Exactly. What if that Su Qing woman has something wrong with her too?"

An Changqing's gaze shifted from the navigation screen to sweep across the nightscape flashing past the window, his voice still steady.

"That's exactly why we're following."

He turned his head to glance at Chen Guan, who was sitting beside him with his eyes closed.

"Chen Guan, do you sense anything?"

Chen Guan calmly spat out two words.

"Hostility."

Baal chuckled softly in his mind, a hint of anticipation in his tone.

"Not just hostility—it's the scent of one of our kind. Diluted a million times over, and hidden very, very well."

The vehicle soon came to a stop before an upscale apartment complex.

Liu Tiancheng's car drove directly into the underground garage.

An Changqing looked at the brightly lit lobby and the security at the entrance, then gave the order in a low voice: "Use the back door."

The four of them silently made their way around to the rear of the building, a small garden that happened to be a blind spot for the surveillance cameras.

An Changqing waved both hands, and an invisible ripple swept over the locked fire-escape door, causing the lock to spring open on its own.

The entire motion was fluid and practiced, without a single sound.

Chen Guan watched this and thought to himself: He'd never have guessed An Changqing had a talent for burglary.

They made their way up the stairs to the floor where Liu Tiancheng had entered. The corridor was carpeted with thick layers that absorbed every footstep completely.

The four stopped before a door. An Changqing pressed his ear against the panel, while Long Ao and Hong Yuan took positions left and right, watching both ends of the hallway.

From inside came the gentle voice of a woman.

"Tiancheng, don't scare yourself like this."

The woman paused, then added: "I've watched Chengjun grow up. How could he ever hurt you?"

Liu Tiancheng's weary voice replied.

"You don't know. You don't understand. The way he looks at me—it's like he's looking at a dead man."

"Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. As long as I'm here, no one can hurt you."

The woman comforted him softly, followed by the rustling of fabric and the sound of pouring water.

"Here, drink some hot water to warm yourself up. You're just too tense."

"Lie down. Let me give you a massage."

Outside the door, Long Ao's expression wavered. He lowered his voice to An Changqing: "Sounds... pretty normal, doesn't it?"

Hong Yuan also whispered in agreement: "Yeah, it's just an ordinary woman comforting him. Maybe we're being too paranoid."

Though she disapproved of such affairs, she wouldn't smear someone without evidence.

An Changqing said nothing, simply turned back to look at Chen Guan, his eyes asking the question.

Chen Guan's brow, which had furrowed the moment he heard the woman's voice, tightened even more.

He could clearly sense that the hostility Baal had called "one of their kind" hadn't diminished in the slightest because of this tender exchange. Instead, it coiled like a venomous snake, slowly flicking its tongue, waiting for the moment its prey let its guard down completely.

He made a silent gesture to An Changqing—get ready to strike.

An Changqing's gaze hardened. Without hesitation, his right hand silently rested on the sword hilt at his waist.

He trusted Chen Guan's judgment more than anything else.

Inside the room, Liu Tiancheng had completely let his guard down. He lay face-down on the soft sofa, burying his face deep into Su Qing's embrace.

The familiar fragrance loosened his taut nerves inch by inch.

"See? It's better here with you. Only at your place can I truly sleep."

Su Qing gently stroked his back, her voice so soft it was nearly inaudible.

"Sleep. Sleep, and everything will be fine."

She looked down at the crown of the man's head, the warmth in her eyes gone in an instant, replaced by nothing but murderous intent.

"I'll give you... eternal rest."

The moment she finished, a pitch-black steel needle slid out from her hairpin, pinched steadily between two fingers, and silently pierced toward Liu Tiancheng's completely unprotected back.

Her movement was fast, precise, and ruthless—the mark of a rigorously trained killer.

Just as the needle's tip was about to break skin—

"Shift of Stars."

An Changqing's voice came from an unsettling angle.

Outside the door, his form dissolved into a blur, instantly exchanging positions with a blue-and-white porcelain vase in the corner of the living room.

An Changqing appeared directly behind Liu Tiancheng, with no time even to draw his sword.

Clink.

A crisp ring.

He reversed the scabbard and, using its end, deflected the needle's point at the last possible moment.

The sheer force numbed Su Qing's fingers. The needle flew from her hand and dropped onto the carpet.

Assassination failed.

A flicker of panic never crossed Su Qing's face. She didn't linger for even a second. Her body slid smoothly off the sofa and, turning, she charged straight at the floor-to-ceiling window of the living room.

BANG.

Long Ao and Hong Yuan burst through the door at the same moment.

"Where do you think you're going?!"

Long Ao roared, throwing a punch through the air, the blast chasing Su Qing's back.

Su Qing didn't dodge. Instead, she used the force of the punch as momentum, shattering the glass at an even greater speed, her figure vanishing into the night in a flash.

Chen Guan didn't give chase. He walked slowly to the broken window, gazing in the direction where Su Qing had disappeared. In such a short span, she was already gone without a trace.

She was no ordinary human.

Baal's voice echoed in his mind.

"She won't get away. The scent of Him on her—it's like a firefly in the dark. I've already memorized it."

In the room, Liu Tiancheng remained in his prone position, body rigid.

He slowly turned his head, staring blankly at the shards of glass on the floor, at the deadly steel needle on the carpet, and then at An Changqing and the others who had suddenly appeared in his home.

The fact that she had been stabbed by the very person she trusted most—the one who shared her bed—finally crushed the last frayed thread of her composure.