Bing Tuo's eyes fluttered open.
For a moment, his vision swam—smoke, shattered earth, the metallic taste of blood in his mouth.
"W… what happened…?"
Memory came crashing back.
"Ji!"
He scrambled forward, his heart pounding as he grabbed his nephew's shoulders, shaking him desperately.
"Ji, wake up! Ji!"
No response.
Fear clawed up his spine.
He looked around wildly.
Then he saw it.
In the distance, his master was fighting.
An unknown figure stood before the elder—engulfed in black-red armor, jagged and monstrous. Each clash cracked the ground beneath them. Lightning flared. Steel screamed.
Bing Tuo froze in terror.
Those eyes—
They weren't human.
"Ji… Ji, we have to go…"
He forced himself to move, lifting his nephew into his arms. His legs screamed in protest as he stumbled away, every step driven by raw panic.
Then—
He glanced back.
His master lay on the ground.
Head severed.
The world stopped.
"No…"
His knees nearly buckled. His chest tightened until he couldn't breathe.
"Move… MOVE!"
He bit down hard on his tongue, pain exploding through his senses. Blood filled his mouth, grounding him. He forced his legs to obey and ran.
Behind him—
Lin Shu turned.
Lightning crackled around his hand.
"Thunderbolt Arc."
A bolt tore through the air.
It struck Bing Tuo's leg.
The impact sent him crashing forward. His grip loosened, and Dang Ji slipped from his arms, rolling across the dirt.
Before Bing Tuo could crawl after him—
Lin Shu was there.
He caught the boy effortlessly.
Bing Tuo looked up, his vision blurring as he stared at the raised fist silhouetted against the sky.
In that instant, everything he had ever hoped for shattered.
"So this is it…" he thought hollowly.
"Was revenge a dream?"
"Was saving Wan a dream?"
"Was growing strong enough to protect Ji… just another foolish wish crushed by the world?"
His thoughts faded.
The fist came down.
His skull caved in.
Silence returned.
Lin Shu looked down at the lifeless body without emotion.
He turned to the unconscious boy.
A single, efficient motion ended Dang Ji's life.
"It's time," Lin Shu thought calmly. "I'll hang them near Twin Pillars… then deal with the last one."
---
By noon, Lin Shu returned to the outskirts of Twin Pillars.
The corpses told a story—one he carefully constructed.
The Rong elder's body alongside Bing Tuo and Dang Ji on the ground along side many corpses. The elder's decapitated head was impaled on a spear that cut through a tree he wanted it to look more like a battle field he knew he was asked to ahng the corpses but he didn't want to do that and risk the rong clan suspecting something he wanted it to look like an actual clash between clans not an assassination.
Around them, Lin Shu carved destruction.
Broken weapons. Scattered blood. False trails of qi.
He made it look like a battlefield.
He even killed several members of a rival clan and left their insignia behind.
The blame would fall on the ji Clan—longtime enemies of the Rong Clan.
The Rong Clan would never ignore such provocation.
Their elder dead. Their disciples slaughtered. Their enemy's mark everywhere.
Rage would cloud judgment.
Lin Shu nodded to himself.
"That should be enough."
Once the bodies were discovered, the Rong Clan would mobilize. Their patriarch—the only rank-two cultivator—would march out to confront the Iron Vipers.
That would leave the clan vulnerable.
He wasn't willing to gamble on whether the patriarch possessed a rank-two technique. Low clans sometimes had one… sometimes none.
He wouldn't risk it.
Night fell.
Lin Shu waited inside the inn, watching.
Minutes passed.
Then an hour.
Nothing.
His eyes narrowed.
Then—
From the direction of the Rong Clan's gates, a heavy pressure rolled through the air.
Lin Shu felt it immediately.
A rank-two aura.
Earlier that day, the patriarch of the Rong Clan sat at the head of the council hall.
Elders lined both sides of the long stone table, voices low as they discussed clan affairs. The atmosphere was heavy but orderly—until the doors burst open.
A young man stumbled inside.
Every elder turned in shock, then anger.
"How dare—!"
Guards stepped forward, weapons half-drawn.
The patriarch lifted a single hand.
The room froze.
His eyes narrowed as he studied the intruder. The man's face was deathly pale, his breathing ragged, fear written into every twitch of his body.
"You've interrupted a council meeting," the patriarch said calmly.
"Do you understand what that means?"
The man swallowed hard, nodding frantically.
"Y–Yes, Patriarch… but… please…"
The patriarch's gaze sharpened.
"Speak."
The man straightened with effort, forcing air into his lungs.
"I—I was hunting blood beasts near the village," he said quickly. "One escaped, and while chasing it, I found something strange. Trees uprooted. Ground shattered. Signs of a battle."
His voice trembled.
"I went closer… and I saw corpses."
The hall grew quiet.
"They were wearing Ji Clan robes," he continued. "Many of them… disfigured beyond recognition."
A murmur rippled through the elders.
"Then… then I found two bodies wearing our clan's robes. I couldn't recognize them at first."
He paused, his face draining of color.
"And then I saw it."
His knees nearly buckled.
"A head… impaled on a spear. Hanging from a tree."
Silence.
"I… I recognized it."
The man's voice cracked.
"It was Elder Mo."
For a heartbeat, the world stopped.
Then—
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!"
The patriarch's voice thundered through the hall.
"YOU DARE CLAIM ELDER MO WAS KILLED?!"
An elder slammed his palm on the table.
"He said he found Ji Clan robes there! It must be them!"
Another elder stood, fury blazing.
"This cannot go unanswered! We must retaliate immediately!"
Shouts erupted, rage spilling over like fire.
The patriarch inhaled deeply.
"SILENCE."
The single word crushed the chaos.
He rose slowly, his presence filling the hall like a storm.
He walked up to the trembling man, eyes cold and sharp.
"Take me to the place you saw," he said quietly.
"And pray you are not lying."
Moments later, the patriarch left the clan grounds, his aura completely unrestrained. Elders followed close behind, their killing intent blazing.
---
Lin Shu watched from the inn.
The moment the patriarch departed, he smiled beneath his mask.
"Perfect."
He moved immediately.
Avoiding the main gate, he slipped into a narrow alley near the clan walls. With a controlled leap, he vaulted onto a rooftop, then silently dropped into the inner quarters.
The impact made a faint sound.
Instantly, ivory-coated steel flowed over his body.
His chameleon technique activated, his armor darkening to match the shadows.
A guard approached.
Lin Shu remained still.
The guard hesitated, glanced around, then moved on.
Lin Shu exhaled slowly and continued, sticking to darkness and blind angles. He moved carefully—he had no technique to silence footsteps, only patience.
Soon, he spotted a maid walking alone between residences.
He closed the distance in a blink.
A hand clamped over her mouth.
"Do you want to die?" he whispered.
Tears streamed down her face as she shook her head violently.
"Where is Bing Wan?"
She pointed frantically.
Lin Shu broke her neck without hesitation and lowered her body soundlessly.
He caught a guard next.
Same question.
Same answer.
Then death.
The information was correct.
Lin Shu reached the house and sliced a clean square from a window pane using an ivory blade. He lifted it free and slipped inside.
The room was dim.
A sick woman lay on the bed, a cloth resting on her forehead. A maid sat beside her, gently wiping her face.
Neither had time to scream.
The maid's throat was cut in one motion.
Bing Wan didn't even turn.
Her body was too weak. Her senses dulled by pain and fever.
Lin Shu stepped forward and snapped her neck.
He retrieved a rope as he hanged her.
because the contract demanded it.
He left the house without a sound.
By the time the patriarch returned, Twin Pillars would already be empty of its dead.
Lin Shu moved swiftly, leaving the village behind.
Before dawn, he was already on the road back to Gloomvale.
Half a day later, Lin Shu returned to Gloomvale City.
He didn't linger.
After entering through the gates, he headed straight for the section assigned to him by the Vermilion Titans. The weapons shop was active despite the late hour—customers browsing blades and armor, voices low, transactions quick.
Lin Shu scanned the room until he spotted Yin speaking with a customer.
Yin noticed him almost immediately. His eyes lingered briefly on Lin Shu's mask before he finished the conversation and gestured toward the staircase.
"Follow me."
They ascended to the upper floor.
"You're back already?" Yin said quietly. "I expected at least a week. Looks like I underestimated you—good for us."
He paused before a door.
"You came at the right time. The section members are here. The leader too."
Yin knocked once and entered, Lin Shu following.
Inside the room were three people.
One was a man wearing a hawk mask, a black hawk perched calmly on his shoulder—its sharp eyes locked onto Lin Shu the moment he stepped inside.
Another was a woman lounging in a chair, long black hair falling like silk down her back. Her robe was loose, her posture careless, boredom etched plainly across her face.
Behind a desk sat a man with black hair streaked with white, tied into a ponytail. His green eyes were sharp and alert.
He frowned slightly.
"Yin," he said, "didn't I send you back to manage the shop? And who's this?"
Yin smiled.
"Our new recruit. Joined yesterday morning. I sent him on a mission immediately."
The woman laughed softly.
"Already back?" she said lazily. "He looks young. Let me guess—got scared and let his targets go?"
The man behind the desk looked at Lin Shu.
"Name?"
"I'm De Feng," he continued. "The annoying one is Na Ying. Hawk-mask is Haoyu."
"Nie," Lin Shu said.
De Feng nodded.
"So, Nie. How did your mission go? I assume Yin already explained the rules. So don't disappoint me with your answer."
Lin Shu reached into his storage and placed the mission file on the desk.
"I killed all assigned targets," he said calmly. "An elder of the Rong Clan intervened. I killed him as well."
The room went quiet.
"I didn't hang two of the bodies," Lin Shu continued. "I used them to infiltrate the clan and kill the final target—Bing Wan so i couldn't hang them like the mission said. But their bodies sre damaged enough for it to be satisfactory towards the one who employed this request and i hanged bing wan so i fullfiled that."
De Feng flipped through the file, his expression unreadable.
"Whether that's true or not," he said after a moment, "will be confirmed soon enough."
He closed the folder.
"If your mission is verified, you'll be paid. Return tomorrow. News like this doesn't take long to spread."
Lin Shu nodded once and turned to leave.
---
After the door closed, De Feng looked at Yin.
"Do you think he's lying?" he asked. "An elder isn't something just anyone can kill. What rank did you give him?"
Yin shook his head.
"No. Haoyu tested him personally and issued a Scarlet Titan token."
De Feng glanced at the hawk-masked man.
"He's capable," Haoyu said simply. "Strong enough to kill an elder from a small clan."
Na Ying frowned slightly.
"Then why is his cultivation only at the high stage?" she asked. "He tried to suppress it, but it wasn't perfect."
Yin adjusted his glasses.
"Either he's using a concealment technique," he said, "or he possesses something that allows him to fight above his level."
De Feng waved the discussion away.
"Doesn't matter. Monitor the Rong Clan. If his report checks out, pay him. If not…"
He didn't finish the sentence.
He didn't need to.