Right when killing intent surged from the four Yingsha members and they were about to strike, Xie Zhaolin suddenly made a move no one could've predicted.
She didn't take a defensive or offensive stance. Instead, her wrist flipped, and a palm sized token, neither metal nor wood, appeared in her hand. It was pitch black.
A breath before the four attackers unleashed their strike, she lifted her arm and tossed the token toward the feminine looking man in the lead. The gesture was so casual it looked like she was throwing out trash.
"Catch." Her voice was still hoarse and calm, without a hint of emotion.
The unexpected action froze all four in their tracks. Even the murderous intent they'd built up wavered.
The effeminate man caught the token by reflex. When his gaze landed on the totem carved on its surface, his expression shifted instantly. The killing intent on his face and the faces of the three behind him vanished, replaced by disbelief and shock.
The woman in purple stepped forward half a step. She stared closely at the lines on the token, especially the unique character for "Shadow." Her breathing grew quicker.
The effeminate man raised his right hand and forced out a drop of blood at his fingertip. He flicked it, and the blood landed precisely on the "Shadow" mark.
The drop didn't slide off. It sank into the carved character as if devoured. A heartbeat later, the character lit up with a faint, barely noticeable crimson glow. The light flashed and vanished, so quickly it almost seemed imagined.
But the cold aura coming from the token intensified, as if something dormant inside it had been briefly awakened.
"Blood verification confirms it. It's a real Shadow Order token." The tall, thin man's voice was dry.
"The highest grade Shadow Order. Whoever holds it is equivalent to the leader appearing in person." The short, stocky man muttered. Confusion filled his gaze as he looked at Xie Zhaolin.
The effeminate man's previous softness vanished completely, replaced by deep solemnity, even a faint trace of awe he couldn't hide.
He took a slow breath, then raised the token with both hands and returned it to her with extreme care. His voice was low and respectful. "Senior, who exactly are you? Why do you possess Yingsha's highest grade Shadow Order?"
This token represented an authority and identity few inside Yingsha could ever hope to see. Even many veteran assassins had only heard of it. Whoever held it could mobilize a portion of Yingsha's resources. Their commands were binding on all lower ranked members.
Elder Chou, watching from the side, was stunned.
She never imagined Elder Mo, who Xie Zhaolin was currently impersonating, carried something like this. She hadn't expected any connection at all between her and the mysterious Yingsha organization. Now, fear and doubt twisted together in Elder Chou's mind.
Xie Zhaolin caught every change in their expressions.
The token had come from her previous life, when she infiltrated deep into the demon race's territory and conducted certain "transactions" with Yingsha. Their leader had given it as a show of sincerity, and the authority attached to it was extremely high.
She hadn't expected it would still be useful after her rebirth.
This was one of the trump cards she'd planned to use when she eventually entered the demon race again. Yingsha had roots there as well, and she'd intended to rely on this connection once she left the Tianxu Secret Realm.
But fate had brought it into play far earlier.
Still, maybe that wasn't a bad thing.
Xie Zhaolin accepted the token again like it was nothing special. Her tone remained calm, but it carried an undeniable authority.
"Who I am isn't something you need to know. What you need to understand is simple. Seeing this token is the same as seeing the leader."
The effeminate man bowed deeper, his respect growing with every breath. "Y-yes, Senior. I spoke out of turn."
He didn't dare speculate any further. Anyone who possessed the highest grade Shadow Order certainly wasn't someone people like him had the right to guess at.
Xie Zhaolin ignored whatever he was thinking. She got straight to the point. "Where exactly is this place inside the secret realm? Give me a copy of your map and every abnormality you've detected recently."
What mattered to her now was orienting herself, planning her route, and finding opportunities. Whatever mission these four had didn't concern her, as long as it didn't get in her way.
The effeminate man didn't dare delay. He immediately pulled out an empty jade slip, pressed it to his forehead, and quickly imprinted all relevant information. Then he presented it with both hands. "Senior, this should be the rocky forest edge in the southwest portion of the secret realm. The map and all detected abnormalities are in the jade slip."
Xie Zhaolin scanned it with her divine sense, forming a plan quickly.
Their map was far more detailed than anything she had. Not only were danger zones and resource points marked, but several areas with recent abnormal energy fluctuations were also recorded.
Once she finished reading, her eyes flickered. She glanced at Elder Chou beside her, who looked conflicted and silent, then chose to transmit her next words directly into the minds of the four Yingsha members.
"I've got an additional order for you."
The four straightened instantly, focusing on every word.
"Find a way to kill Yu Xiaotang of the Hehuan Sect." Xie Zhaolin's tone was flat. There wasn't a hint of emotion in it. "At any cost."
Yu Xiaotang was guarded by a Nascent Soul elder, so Xie Zhaolin still couldn't kill her personally. But a ready made sharp blade like Yingsha shouldn't go unused.
Even if they failed, they'd at least cause Yu Xiaotang enough trouble that she wouldn't have the bandwidth to deal with anything else.
But instead of showing surprise or hesitation, the four exchanged extremely strange looks. They glanced at one another, at a loss for words.
Xie Zhaolin caught the instant shift in their mood. Her brows drew together as her mental voice cooled. "What? Difficult?"
The effeminate man flinched, hurriedly bowing as he transmitted back, embarrassed and incredulous. "Senior, it's not difficult. It's just that… killing the Hehuan Sect's Young Sect Master Yu Xiaotang is already one of our core missions in this secret realm. It's a death order personally issued by the leader."
What?
Yingsha's target this time… was Yu Xiaotang? And the leader had personally given a death order?
This was entirely outside her expectations.
She knew Yu Xiaotang was good at manipulating situations behind the scenes and rarely made direct enemies. She expected the girl to have offended some people, sure, but enough to make even Yingsha deploy an elite squad under a death order?
Who was it? Who wanted Yu Xiaotang dead so badly they were willing to pay such a staggering price? And inside the Tianxu Secret Realm on top of that?
Did Yu Xiaotang accidentally provoke someone she absolutely shouldn't have?
Or was this tied to something deeper? Something like internal Hehuan Sect power struggles? Or maybe some other faction's schemes?
Interesting. Far too interesting.
===
So, I Became a Fairy And Lived Forever In The Fairy World is already rewritten and up on my AO3 account plus I changed the webnovel version. Now it's The Cube Queen's Apocalypse Feast's turn, it'll get the same treatment, rewritten and published on AO3 and on Webnovel.
After that, I might work on The Villainess Refuses to Repent or Troublemaker's Guide to Immortality, then I'll move on to Feng Ling's novels like Stealing Luck and The Heir of Chaos. Basically, every novel I've released on Webnovel that I later post on AO3 will get the same process. I'll rewrite, expand, and smooth everything out, but I won't touch the Webnovel version. That means each story will eventually have two versions, the polished one with my current style and the original one where you can see my whole journey as a translator and how my style slowly turned into what it is now.
If you want to follow my projects, I really recommend subscribing to my AO3 profile under the name Rikhi. For the latest announcements and updates, you can also join my Discord server at discord.gg/75sprU6DdD