"We are really screwed. To think that so many of us are unable to capture that lad!"
"Who knows, that fellow actually placed a Heart Protecting Mirror on his back. Even that guy had failed. Could it be that the lad knew that there would be an assassination? "
"Impossible! How could he possibly know? Don't spout nonsense. If anything were to leak out, someone might die! "
Another assassin who seemed to be of high status replied.
In an instant, the entire lake fell silent.
Lying underground, Wang Chong's heart skipped a beat. But after that, he heard nothing else. The group of assassins chose to remain silent.
Wang Chong sighed. He knew that these people were extremely cautious, and it was impossible for him to learn any secrets from them.
"What I want to know now is, what happened to that steed?"
Suddenly, a voice broke the silence.
"There are so many of us, and the steeds we ride are the cream of the crop. Yet, we are unable to match up to that steed, watching it escape with that lad. This is a humiliation! "
The mission this time around wasn't difficult at all. The six of them were top-notch assassins, and it was a walk in the park for them to kill their target.
But because of that steed, the mission fell through.
The six of them tried their best, but they were unable to catch up to the steed. From the start to the end, they didn't even cross blows with it.
In fact, if Wang Chong had been just a little slower when the six of them were lying in ambush in the forest, one of them would have already died. But that steed was extremely intelligent. Upon sensing danger, it abruptly increased its speed by half a beat.
It was this half a beat that turned the ambush into a chase.
There was no need to mention how upset the six of them were.
"That steed... I seem to recognize it a little. Its hooves are as white as snow, and it looks a little like the White Hoofed Horse of the royal family. Compared to it, our horses are far inferior. "
After an unknown period of time, another voice spoke hesitantly.
Even though the words were spoken hesitantly, recalling the speed of the steed, most of the six assassins believed it.
"Damn it! This isn't in the intelligence report! "
"That beast, if I were to catch it, I would skin it alive!"
Another voice full of murderous intent said hatefully.
Underground, Wang Chong let out a long sigh of relief when he heard their conversation.
"Looks like they didn't catch up to Little Shadow. Little Shadow is fine!"
Wang Chong was overjoyed.
What he was most worried about was Little Shadow. But now, it seemed that this group of people had seen Little Shadow and realized that there was no one on its back.
However, they could only see it in their field of vision and could not catch up to Little Shadow's speed. That was why they turned back to check.
"As long as Little Shadow is fine."
Wang Chong thought to himself.
This was probably the best news he had heard since he was assassinated.
"I found blood! There were bloodstains here. That kid was injured, and he did hide in this pool! — "
Suddenly, an excited and somewhat ferocious voice came from the side of the pool.
"Buzz!"
Wang Chong's heart skipped a beat, and his entire heart was in his throat.
Fresh blood!
Wang Chong immediately recalled the mouthful of fresh blood he spat out when he came out from the pool.
"Hua hua hua!"
The sound of water splashing could be heard. On the shore, a few black-clothed assassins leaped into the pool and swam in the direction of the assassin.
"There are really bloodstains. Judging from the color of the blood, it seems to have happened not too long ago. That lad was indeed hiding here! "
A voice said. The atmosphere suddenly turned tense.
"Hmph, how smart. To think that he would use such a tactic to lure the tiger away from the mountain! However, it's useless. He can't escape far. That fellow's bow isn't that easy to deal with. Even if he had a Heart Armor Mirror on his back, he must have sustained severe injuries! "
"With such injuries, he can't have gotten far!"
"Everyone, search carefully. He must be nearby!"
…
Amidst the sound of wind whistling, the black-clothed assassins leaped onto the shore simultaneously. The atmosphere suddenly turned dangerous.
Lying underground, Wang Chong's face warped.
These people were much more formidable than he had imagined.
He had already dealt with the bloodstains by the side of the pool. Even so, these assassins still managed to find some clues. Given the current situation, the six of them had already deduced his approximate location. This was extremely disadvantageous to him.
Weng!
Wang Chong closed all of his pores, and even his breathing stopped. All of his bodily functions were lowered to their limits, and even his sense of hearing had been weakened to the extreme by Wang Chong.
Following which, Wang Chong could be discovered at any moment.
"Search everywhere, don't let go of a single spot. He might still be here! "
A sinister voice said.
The six black-clothed assassins executed their movement techniques to their limits, searching through every bush, tree, and shrubs. They didn't even let go of the crevices of the rocks.
Weng!
Suddenly, the ground tremored, and a wide foot landed not too far away from Wang Chong.
It was an assassin!
Wang Chong's heart leaped into his throat.
He had already tried his best to conceal himself, but this method wasn't perfect. The perception of an assassin was much stronger than that of an ordinary person. If he were to get close enough, he could still be discovered.
Weng!
The second foot was even closer to Wang Chong, and Wang Chong could even feel a slight tremor coming from the ground.
That assassin seemed to have sensed something, and he slowly moved toward the bush Wang Chong was at.
Weng, another tremor.
This time, it was even closer to Wang Chong.
Lying underground, Wang Chong couldn't help but feel his scalp trembling. If he were to advance a little further, he would be able to step into the trench he had dug.
At such a close distance, there was a high chance that Wang Chong would be discovered.
"Number 2, have you discovered anything?"
Suddenly, a voice sounded from afar. The group of assassins didn't even address each other by name, using their codenames.
At the same time, upon hearing this voice, the footsteps came to an abrupt halt, stopping roughly a chi away from Wang Chong.
"Nothing!"
At a place where Wang Chong couldn't see, a tall and powerful black-clothed assassin stopped in his tracks. His eyes swept across the area where Wang Chong was at, and he brandished his sword for a moment before turning around and saying.
— — From his angle, he couldn't see anyone at all.
"Damn it, let's continue searching! He can't have gotten far! "
The 'leader' of the assassins said. His voice seemed to have come from the top of a tall tree.
The footsteps soon stopped a chi away from Wang Chong. Then, he turned around and began searching elsewhere. Underground, Wang Chong heaved a long sigh of relief.
In the next few days, with the lake as the center, the group of assassins searched the entire area. At the start, it was still fine. Wang Chong was still able to discern which group they were.
However, the subsequent developments exceeded Wang Chong's expectations.
In a short period of time, Wang Chong sensed three or four different groups of people. Their numbers and strength were completely different from the first group.
As they walked, the tremors they felt from the ground were completely different.
There were even a few times when Wang Chong felt like a warhorse was trampling over him. However, the senses of a warhorse were far inferior to a martial artist's, and the four chi of soil was more than enough for the group to notice nothing.
"What's going on here?"
Lying underground, Wang Chong was perplexed. He could understand the six people on the first day, but what was going on with the second, third, and fourth groups?
Could it be that there was more than one group?
Or perhaps, there were more than one group of people who wanted to deal with him?
But he had only offended a few clans in the capital. Or could it be that Geshu Han's men had crossed over to participate in this matter?
Surely he couldn't be that daring, could he?
Wang Chong suddenly realized that he couldn't understand the development of this matter. This was because while underground, Wang Chong had noticed that there were two groups of people who seemed to have clashed.
"What's going on here?"
Wang Chong was perplexed, his mind growing heavier and heavier. He was already injured, and after lying underground for the past few days, his injuries had worsened, causing him to grow weaker and weaker.
Gradually, Wang Chong fell asleep.
Wang Chong had no idea what was happening on the surface.
After some time, perhaps one day, two days, or three days, there was finally no more activity on the surface.
This abnormal silence finally roused Wang Chong from his reverie.
"Have they all left?"
Wang Chong thought to himself, but he didn't dare to get careless. He had no idea if those people were still hiding in the surroundings. The path of an assassin couldn't be judged with common sense.
After waiting for a few moments to make sure that there was no one around, Wang Chong finally pushed aside the soil and carefully peeked his head out.
It was calm outside, and the treetops were moist. It seemed like it had just rained.
Wang Chong listened intently for a moment, but there was no sound at all. Wang Chong didn't dare to get careless, even though there was no one around the pool.
He didn't know if they were lying in ambush somewhere else.
Moreover, without the White-hoofed Shadow, it would be very difficult for him to leave the capital on his own two feet. He didn't even know how long it would take for him to return to the capital.
The forest was currently fraught with danger.
His current situation hadn't changed much.
Sometimes, an unseen danger was even more terrifying than an actual danger.
Wang Chong poked half his body out of the soil, his mind in turmoil as he pondered over his current predicament, searching for a way to escape.
Crack!
As he was thinking, he suddenly heard a strange sound, and it seemed like something had fallen out of his sleeve.
Wang Chong lowered his head.
It was a bamboo tube about the thickness of a thumb and couldn't be any more ordinary. It fell by Wang Chong's elbow, and it was dusty and inconspicuous.
But upon seeing this small bamboo tube, Wang Chong couldn't help but fall into a daze.
He recognized this bamboo tube.
It was Zhao Qianqiu who threw it to him when he set off from the training camp. On top of that, he even said a few words back then.
"Open it only when you're in danger!"
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