Heaven rewards diligence; he fought his way through chaos to become a saint.

Suddenly, a thought popped into Ye Ci's mind.

This short, stocky man, is he probably not one of Shen Yixi's men?

This answer seems more reasonable.

After Shen Yixi left, this man followed her...

Only those who recognize Shen Yixi will know her whereabouts and wait for her at Wenyuan Hall in advance.

Ye Ci pondered as he looked at the man.

Their eyes met again for a moment.

The next second, the man, seemingly unintentionally, suddenly turned around and ran away, disappearing into the crowd like a snake entering the water.

"Auntie, have you chosen the rouge?"

In the rouge shop, Shen Yixi seemed somewhat absent-minded.

Shen Xin smiled faintly and gently patted the back of her hand.

"Judging from your absent-minded look, you must be thinking about your new clothes. Well, I've already chosen the rouge, let's go to the Brocade Pavilion now."

Jinxiu Pavilion, owned by Shen Xin, was located on this street. The two women followed the flow of people as they strolled past.

As soon as you step into the Brocade Pavilion, a faint fragrance of silk threads wafts towards you.

On the shelves on both sides of the shop, various colors of silk were neatly stacked, including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and black, each piece bright in color and delicate in texture.

Upon seeing Shen Xin enter, the shop assistant hurriedly bowed and greeted her: "Boss, the shop has just received a lot of fine fabrics, including brocade and satin..."

Shen Xin, arm in arm with Shen Yixi, gestured for the waiter to step aside.

"You may leave now; we'll see for ourselves."

After saying that, she pulled Shen Yixi to the shelf and said, "Look at this piece of cloth. The color is soft and the embroidery is exquisite. If it were made into a high-waisted ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), it would definitely make you look even more charming."

Shen Yixi stepped closer, seemingly not very interested:

Do you have ready-to-wear clothing?

Upon hearing this, Shen Xin smiled and tapped her forehead:

"You child, you're really being perfunctory."

As soon as he finished speaking, the waiter who had stepped aside hurriedly stepped forward, bowing deeply and speaking in a respectful and attentive tone:

"Master, Miss, we just received a few new garments today. They are all made with the finest new fabrics and are the most fashionable styles right now."

Shen Xin looked up and said, "In that case, bring all the ready-made clothes and let her try on the ones that fit."

"Yes, sir!"

He said it was just a few pieces, and the shopkeeper soon brought out several garments: "Miss, look, these are all newly made. This one, moon-white with blue embroidery, best suits your temperament..."

Shen Yixi bent down and glanced at them, still not very interested: "None of them really suit my taste."

"Bring all the finished garments over."

Shen Xin gave a casual instruction, her gaze casually sweeping outside, where she happened to catch a figure.

It's Ye Ci again!

"Yes, Miss, I'll go and fetch all the clothes right away. Please wait a moment..."

At that moment, the waiter quickly agreed and turned to walk into the inner room.

*******

Behind the shops along the street are courtyards and back rooms, like modern houses that combine business and residence, so there are deep alleys on both sides of the main street.

"Tap! Tap! Tap!"

At this moment, the short, stocky man moved with incredible speed, like a nimble ape, leaping swiftly across the wall.

He felt that the pursuers were like maggots clinging to his bones, impossible to shake off.

"Troublesome! This is a tough nut to crack."

Realizing that the person behind him had fallen a little behind, the short, stocky man took a step unsteadily, his body slid, and landed steadily.

He stared at the top of the wall, wanting to catch Ye Ci off guard.

The sound of footsteps "tap tap" reached my ears.

He raised his hand and launched two hidden arrows.

Ding ding ding—

Unexpectedly, the pursuers were prepared, and the hidden arrow was quickly blocked by the knife.

The short, stocky man looked up at the tall, slender figure in front of him, paused for a moment, then landed and slowly walked over.

A slight smile curved his handsome face as he spoke softly:

"Did you shake it off after running around in circles for so long?"

As an assassin, the short, stocky man rarely found himself in this situation.

It wasn't that he wanted to take a detour, but rather that Ye Ci had ambushed him several times in advance.

"Offering of leaves".

He sighed, then turned around, slowly rolled up his sleeve, and threw the hidden arrow on the ground.

Seeing this, Ye Ci stopped and spoke calmly:

"That's right."

"You are very confident."

"good."

A relaxed and pleasant atmosphere suddenly emerged between the two.

"My master has already informed me that I don't need to kill you, but I didn't expect you to insist on coming after me. I've already been lenient with you, but you still insist on chasing after me. Tell me... isn't this a way of seeking death?"

He spoke casually, seemingly not taking Ye Ci seriously, and then grinned.

Suddenly, his smile froze.

Because the young man in front of me seemed to have vanished, and the next moment, a sharp pain shot through my head.

Ye Ci raised his knife and slashed down at his forehead with a powerful "Mount Hua Cleave".

when--

In the instant blood splattered, Ye Ci delivered another vicious knee strike, causing the short, stocky man to curl up into a ball in pain, lying on the ground.

"Tell me, who is the host?"

Ye Ci remained expressionless as he flicked the blood off the blade.

The short, stocky man had never suffered such a loss before. Before he could even react, he was stabbed on the head.

If it weren't for his unique external martial arts technique, he would probably have been seriously injured.

However, the head is the part of the body with the most blood, so even the slightest injury will cause blood to flow down the face like a spring.

"You dare to launch a sneak attack!"

The short, stocky man's eyes flashed with a fierce light as he swung his fist forward with a deafening whooshing sound.

However, Ye Ci's figure was like a ghost, already in front of him, dodging the fist and slashing down fiercely with his sword.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The knife swung down relentlessly, like pounding glutinous rice cakes, the blows coming in a continuous, relentless stream.

This time, there will be no sneak attack.

It means to chop.

Regardless of whether he was injured or not, the short, stocky man felt that this scene was somewhat insane. He was not facing a martial artist, but a complete butcher.

The man didn't speak, he just swung his knife, leaving the man no time to parry.

A superior swordsmanship, in the instant of battle, often doesn't require too many moves and appears simple.

Ye Ci's blade converged into countless blade shadows, covering his entire body, and continued to slash down.

One cut, two cuts... countless cuts.

The short, stocky man desperately channeled his energy, pushing the defenses of his flesh and bones to their limit.

But it was still covered in blood.

Ye Ci felt that the person in front of him was different from others; his skin, flesh, and bones were very resilient to being cut, giving people a very comfortable feeling.

Or rather, the opponent not only possesses internal strength but also has exceptional external martial arts skills.

Ye Ci got excited and increased his strength.

Rumble!

With a heavy blow, the short, stocky man pushed off with both arms, making a crisp sound, but his body was sent flying, crashing through the wall.

Smoke and dust filled the air, and pebbles flew everywhere.

"This is outrageous!!"

With an angry roar, a seven-foot-tall figure suddenly leaped up, his body covered in blood.

But the man, who had been short and stocky before, suddenly grew taller, revealing bulging muscles between his arms, and managed to stop the bleeding from his wound.

The short, stocky man's face was covered in blood, his features twisted into a horrifying expression, and his eyes blazed with fury.

unusual.

Ye Ci's pupils constricted instinctively.

The person in front of me has changed in appearance and his aura is completely different from before!

"Master Ye, it's time for me to send you on your way!" the man sneered.