Chapter 68: Recruiting the Crow
Little A Yan's big, round eyes glistened with innocence and a hint of tears. She expressed her displeasure with a series of high-pitched 'Eee-yah, eee-yah' sounds, her tiny face scrunching up.
Seeing that she was about to cry, Qin Xuan expertly took A Yan from Jingni's arms. He kissed her chubby little cheek, holding her close to his chest to comfort her.
Only then did A Yan stop crying, snuggling into his robes.
Vaguely, Jingni thought she saw A Yan, nestled securely in Qin Xuan's arms, give her a triumphant and smug smile.
...Was that an illusion?
"Aren't you going to try the Suzaku Domain?" Jingni asked, pushing the strange image from her mind and focusing on their training.
"That thing is a bit too ostentatious to use," Qin Xuan said, adjusting A Yan on his hip. "I'll find another opportunity to try it later. You also need to quickly familiarize yourself with your new Spirit Abilities."
Jingni nodded heavily. The task ahead of her was monumental.
The twenty-four new Spirit Abilities generated from her six 100,000-year spirit rings and the full set of 100,000-year Spirit Bones were all perfectly suited for her.
In addition to the Spirit Bone armor itself possessing extremely powerful defensive capabilities, the abilities it granted her fell into four distinct categories: control, single-target attack, group attack, and support. Each individual ability was exceptionally powerful.
She refused to become one of those "battle idiots" Qin Xuan spoke of—powerful Spirit Masters who, despite their overwhelming strength, frequently missed their ultimate moves, affected their own companions, preferred turn-based combat, and were ultimately played for fools by their enemies.
[Author's Note: All Titled Douluos of Spirit Hall, come out and take your beating.]
"Tomorrow is the half-month mark," Jingni reminded him, looking at the rapidly darkening sky. "We should set off to find Elder Lingyuan. Otherwise, she'll be getting anxious."
"No hurry," Qin Xuan replied. "With our current speed of sword flight, we can catch up in half a day. Before that, there's one more thing to handle."
Under Jingni and A Yan's astonished gazes, Qin Xuan took out the silver [Mo Ya Recruitment Card] he had drawn from the blind box so long ago.
The Qin's Moon World. Outside the capital city of Xinzheng, State of Han.
"You're too slow!"
"I'm waiting for you, afraid you'll lose too badly!"
Two figures, one black and one white, soared freely like birds in the afterglow of the setting sun. Finally, they landed simultaneously on the highest treetops of a mountain peak, overlooking the entire city of Xinzheng below.
"Every time you finish a mission, you get a little sentimental," Mo Ya said, his voice flat as he looked sideways at Bai Feng.
Bai Feng, the "White Phoenix," held a single black feather, identical to the one on Mo Ya's person, between his sword fingers. His tone was filled with a low, simmering unwillingness and anger. "Controlling others' lives, yet having to end them with your own hands... and your own fate is not in your control. Don't you find it cruel?"
To this, Mo Ya, the "Crow," had a different, colder understanding. "I'll try not to think about this problem. Thinking too much is also a bit cruel to myself. The important thing is that those who have died have found liberation. Only those who are alive can truly experience the pain."
Bai Feng remained silent, unable to refute the cold logic, but his tightly clenched hands revealed the unrest in his heart.
Caw—!
Suddenly, an eagle's cry came from above, accompanied by the sound of wind rustling through the leaves.
The two assassins subconsciously looked up, only to see a large, black hawk chasing a small, white Xiao Bai bird.
Mo Ya's eyes narrowed. "It's the General's most beloved hawk, chasing its prey."
"Actually, in the General's eyes, we are also hawks. We are constantly doing the same thing," Bai Feng's emotions, already unstable, began to spiral out of control.
The "General" they spoke of was the Grand General of Han, Ji Wuye. He was a corrupt and tyrannical official who wielded immense power, a man who was cunning, greedy, lustful, obsessed with power, and evil to the core.
He owned a private assassin organization called 'Nightfall'.
The "Hundred Birds," to which they belonged, was a branch of Nightfall, his personal flock of killers.
Seeing the situation worsen, Mo Ya intended to suggest 'saving that little Xiao Bai bird' to distract Bai Feng from his dark thoughts.
Suddenly, a leisurely, calm voice echoed in their ears, seeming to come from nowhere. "Actually, you can choose a different way of living."
As the words fell, a golden-red long rainbow streaked across their eyes, fleeting in an instant.
The hawk, which was about to snatch the Xiao Bai bird, was struck by something. Its body instantly burst into golden-red flames. Before it could even fall to the ground, or even let out a cry, it turned into ashes and dissipated between heaven and earth.
"The hawk was—"
Both were startled simultaneously. Mo Ya, with his faster instincts, reacted first, his voice a sharp, urgent warning: "Get out of the way!"
Almost at the instant the words fell, Bai Feng had already moved, his body blurring.
And Mo Ya was a step faster than Bai Feng. The two flew to the opposite side of the jungle, one on the left and one on the right, turning back to assume a combat stance. Their eyes were full of vigilance as they looked at the spot where they had just been standing.
Someone had appeared there at some unknown point.
He looked to be under twenty years old, dressed in luxurious, fiery-red fur-lined robes.
His long, dark hair cascaded like a waterfall, adorned with a fine, flawless white jade crown. His eyes were as black as ebony, his nose high and heroic, and his impeccable facial features combined in a way that would cause any woman to briefly lose herself upon seeing him.
And he was Qin Xuan, who had just crossed over using the recruitment card.
"Who are you? Aren't you afraid of offending our General by killing his hawk?"
Crows, in his line of work, symbolized death. From Qin Xuan, Mo Ya sensed an extremely dangerous, bone-chilling aura. He immediately invoked Ji Wuye's name, then winked at Bai Feng, signaling him to find an opportunity to escape. This man was not someone they could fight.
"Ji Wuye is a decaying corpse in a tomb. A dying man," Qin Xuan said, his voice calm. He extended his right hand. The little Xiao Bai bird, which had been frozen in terror, seemed to be summoned by something. It chirped and automatically flew into his hand.
Qin Xuan gently stroked the bird's back, then raised his hand and pointed at Mo Ya. "I came here... for you."
As his words fell, a faint sound of air being torn apart echoed. A single white feather flew straight towards Qin Xuan's glabella, a signature, deadly attack from Bai Feng.
But at half a meter from his body, the feather, like the hawk before it, simply turned into ashes, disintegrated by an invisible, scorching aura.
"If you want to touch Mo Ya, you'll have to get past me first!" Bai Feng instantly grew furious, disregarding the vast difference in their strengths. He immediately tried to move, to block Mo Ya.
But Mo Ya stopped him. He pressed down on Bai Feng's shoulder and asked with narrowed eyes, "Does Your Excellency wish to kill me?"
"With no grievances or enmity, I'm not that deranged." Qin Xuan took out some Blood Coagulation Powder from his Qiankun Bag and applied it to the Xiao Bai bird's wing.
Under the shocked gazes of Mo Ya and Bai Feng, the part where the Xiao Bai bird had been scratched by the hawk recovered at a visible speed.
The bird then affectionately rubbed its head against Qin Xuan's hand.
"It seems you like being with me. Then stay by my side from now on," Qin Xuan said, putting the small bird into his Qiankun Bag, which could store living things.
"From your previous conversation, I heard that you are not willing to work for that idiot, Ji Wuye. Mo Ya, I value your abilities greatly. Follow me, and I can help you get rid of Ji Wuye."
"Your Excellency must be joking. What's the difference between following you and following the General?"
Mo Ya was not so foolish as to immediately trust this person of unknown origin. He couldn't confirm how powerful Qin Xuan was, but Ji Wuye's terror had long been deeply ingrained in the hearts of those in Nightfall.
He couldn't just leave with Qin Xuan because of a single sentence. And he also couldn't abandon Bai Feng.
Qin Xuan said, "Of course there's a difference. I'm a leader who values talent. In my hands, your fate, though still not your own, at least you can live like a human being. A flesh-and-blood person with emotions."
"But in Ji Wuye's hands, a hawk is always a hawk, summoned and dismissed at will. Once it loses its value, it can be discarded or even eliminated at any time."
"Alright," Qin Xuan sighed, "I know no matter what I say, you won't fully believe me. And even if you do, you won't be able to let go of the fledgling beside you."
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