Nighttime Assassination of Liu Meng! [Please Read On!]

At the end of midnight, at the headquarters of the Canal Gang.

The night was thick and dark, blurring the eaves and brackets of the pavilions and towers into indistinct silhouettes. Only the red lanterns hanging from the eaves of the third floor of the "Listening to the Waves Pavilion" in the backyard swayed in the night wind, casting a blood-stained halo of light.

Su Yang had been lying in the shade of the rooftop across the street for nearly an hour.

Wearing thick, tough deerskin gloves, a dark blue night-clothes tightly wrapped around his body, and a dark gray coarse cloth covering his face, only his eyes, as calm as a cold pool, were visible, reflecting the lights and shadowy figures of the opposite pavilion.

Eight sword-wielding guards stood watch in all four directions. Their suppressed yawns and the subtle friction of their boots grinding against the gravel could not escape his keen hearing, honed after he had achieved a minor level of internal strength.

Just as the sounds of the clappers at midnight and 1-3 AM faded away, Su Yang made his move.

With his lightness skill at its peak, he unleashed his full potential, his figure drifting down from the rooftop like a wisp of night mist, stepping on tiles, skimming treetops, and touching railings, all without making a sound.

With internal force channeled into his fingertips, as firm as iron hooks, he gripped the brick seams and, in a few swift movements, climbed up the diamond-patterned wooden window on the east side of Tingtao Pavilion like a gecko. His fingers, like knives, made a cut in the window frame, and with a slight release of internal force, the latch snapped silently with a soft "click."

He glided into the room like a fish.

Inside the room, an intricately carved canopy bed stood in the center, its brocade curtains hanging low, behind which the silhouette of a burly figure rose and fell gently with his breath. Beside the bed, on a rosewood shelf, lay a ghost-headed sword with a blood-grooved blade, its blade gleaming with a cold, hard black light in the dim light.

"Clang!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Su Yang's ring-pommel sword emitted a clear, resonant sound that abruptly shattered the oppressive silence of the room!

The Overlord Blade's "Mountain-Splitting Strike" was devoid of any frills, carrying the resolute determination to sever everything, and crashed down towards the low-hanging brocade curtain!

"Sizzle—snap!"

The brocade quilt and the sturdy rosewood bed frame cracked open with a snap, and wood chips and shredded silk fluttered like butterflies.

"Who?!"

A roar of shock and rage erupted from inside the tent. Liu Meng reacted with lightning speed, rolling inward like a startled cat, his back against the corner of the wall in an instant, his bare upper body bulging with muscles, brimming with explosive power.

He reached out with his right hand, and the ghost-headed dagger was already in his palm; his left hand reached for the poisoned dart pouch hidden under his pillow. When he saw that there was only a masked man in front of him, and that the unfamiliar eyes were filled with only cold killing intent, his heart sank even further.

"Which gang are you from? State your name! How dare you break into my gang at night? You're asking for trouble!" Liu Meng shouted sharply, his voice like muffled thunder. It was both to embolden himself and to stall for time, as he quickly thought of a countermeasure and the identity of the enemy.

"laugh!"

Before Su Yang's Mountain-Splitting Strike had fully exerted its power, he flipped his wrist, changing the blade's momentum from a fierce downward slash to a treacherous horizontal cut. The chilling blade light, like a bolt of lightning, swept towards Liu Meng's waist and abdomen at a tricky angle.

"court death!"

Liu Meng's ferocity was fully unleashed. His ghost-head saber swept across the battlefield with a powerful gust of wind, a move that combined offense and defense known as "Sweeping Across a Thousand Armies." He intended to use brute force to overcome skill and knock away this tricky strike.

"clang!"

The two swords clashed violently, and sparks flew amidst the ear-piercing clang of metal!

Su Yang seemed to be forced by the force of the recoil, his feet staggered slightly, and he took half a step back, revealing a barely noticeable flaw in the center gate.

A fierce glint flashed in Liu Meng's eyes; how could he let such a golden opportunity slip by?

The ghost-head dagger changed from a sweeping motion to a thrusting motion, aiming straight for Su Yang's chest. At the same time, his left shoulder subtly sank – this was his unique starting move for throwing poison darts!

However, in the instant his shoulder moved!

"laugh!"

A streak of dark light tore through the air at an even more bizarre and swift speed!

It was Su Yang's left hand, which was hanging by his side, that moved. The black, three-edged poison dart drew an almost impossible arc, bypassing the trajectory of the ghost-head knife, and accurately pierced the depression below Liu Meng's collarbone.

"You...you...uh..."

The ruthlessness on Liu Meng's face froze instantly, turning into unbelievable horror.

He looked down at the dart's trembling tail protruding from his throat, wanting to roar, but only managing a hoarse, leaky sound. A strong sense of numbness swept through his body like a tidal wave from the wound, and the arm holding the knife instantly lost its strength.

"Clang!"

The ghost-head knife slipped from his hand and fell to the ground.

He was used to using poisoned darts to assassinate others throughout his life, dominating the canal gang and killing countless people. He never thought that he would fall victim to the same methods in this way.

Those gradually unfocused eyes were filled with overwhelming resentment and a deathly blankness.

Su Yang stepped forward, and the straight sword with its ring pommel gently kissed his neck like a lover's whisper.

A thin red line appeared, followed by a spray of blood mist.

Liu Meng's massive body went limp and he leaned against the corner of the wall, lifeless.

"Assassin! Protect the gang leader!"

"The third floor! The sound is coming from the third floor!"

"Quick! Assassin! There's an assassin!"

"........."

At this moment, the guards outside the pavilion who had heard Liu Meng's shout were alerted and rushed over.

The chaotic footsteps, the rapid sounds of swords being drawn, and even more shouts and curses converged instantly, surging towards the third floor like a boiling tide.

Su Yang's expression remained unchanged. He sheathed his ring-pommel sword, put away the poisoned darts, and moved with lightning speed, his keen senses spreading out as he quickly searched the room.

The mahogany bookshelf in the corner was the first thing that caught his attention.

Su Yang quickly moved it away, but the wall behind it was flat, and the sound of knocking was dull and solid, without any hollowness.

"No? That's impossible!"

He frowned slightly; time was running out, and the noise at the stairwell was already boiling.

His gaze was sharp as lightning, scanning the entire room once more.

The canopy bed, which had been knocked askew during the fight, had its brocade curtains torn. Blood from Liu Meng's corpse was slowly dripping down the edge of the bed, seeping into a barely visible crack in the edge of the bed frame.

"A canopy bed?"

Su Yang's heart stirred, and he strode to the bedside. Ignoring the bloodstains, he threw off the blankets and scanned the bed structure with his piercing gaze.

Time is of the essence!

He forced himself to calm down, his fingertips flying across the bedposts and railings, feeling every texture and any possible loosening.

No!

The shouts and chaotic footsteps of the pursuers rolled down the stairs like muffled thunder, and the torchlight flickered wildly on the window paper.

Just as his mind raced, his gaze suddenly fixed on the inside of the bed, where an inconspicuous lotus-shaped bronze ornament, the same color as the sandalwood, was inlaid. A few drops of fresh blood were stained on the petals, which were splashed on by Liu Meng when he rolled around.

Compared to luxurious beds, this item is too plain and its location is extremely discreet.

"Yes!"

Without hesitation, Su Yang channeled a wisp of internal energy into his index finger and pressed it down heavily onto the lotus heart!

The lotus-shaped bronze ornament remained motionless. He twisted it to the left, but there was no reaction. The moment he twisted it to the right, it stopped moving.

"Click!"

A crisp click of a mechanism came from inside the bed!

Immediately afterward, with a creak, a wooden board about two feet square near the headboard sprang up, revealing a narrow, hidden compartment covered with scarlet velvet. In an instant, a dazzling gleam of gold bars and jewels burst forth, illuminating almost half the bed!

"The assassin is inside! Break down the door!"

Almost simultaneously, the door was slammed shut with tremendous force, sending splinters flying!

Su Yang's pupils contracted, and his right hand darted into the hidden compartment like lightning, sweeping away everything—gold, silver, jewels, books, tokens, deeds—stuffing them all into his cloth bag. It felt heavy in his hand; besides the expected hard object, his fingertips seemed to touch a cold, slender, hard object, but he couldn't examine it closely.

He glanced one last time at Liu Meng's wide-open eyes, closed the hidden compartment, tossed the cloth bag behind him, and with a sharp tap of his toes on the ground, his figure transformed into a faint shadow as he crashed into the west-facing lattice window!

"Splash—!"

The wooden window was broken, and the night wind was blowing in from behind.

The instant his figure disappeared into the darkness outside the window, the door behind him was flung open with a loud crash, and the light of torches and the cold glint of weapons instantly engulfed the bedroom that had just experienced life and death and plunder.