It doesn't matter what the lord is.

"Alaiya, do you know what people would do when they are in trouble on the snowy mountains?"

Alaia answered honestly:

"I've never seen such heavy snow, so I don't know."

Alas, poor southern child.

I looked at her sympathetically and said:

"We'll huddle together for warmth. And I'm a little cold now, you know what I mean?"

Alayya stood up, walked over and sat down behind me, silently stretching out her arms and hugging me.

It's warmer now.

Bai Huang angrily threw the cards in front of his eyes and said loudly:

"I... humph. King bomb!!"

I spread the cards in my hand forward and said:

"Okay, okay, you win."

Bai Huang folded his arms and said sadly:

"I feel like I've lost... in terms of life."

She thought for a while, and suddenly said for no reason:

"Oh, it would be nice if Heggie was a woman."

I almost choked to death on my saliva. Suddenly I remembered that He Ji had told me before that he had a crush on Bai Huang for several years. I immediately became curious and asked tentatively:

"Xiao Huang, what do you think of He Ji?"

Bai Huang tilted his head and replied:

"I like it very much."

Oh, there's hope.

I rubbed my hands and was about to ask more questions when I heard Bai Huang continue:

"He's obedient, sensible, and not bad looking. His abilities are just OK. He's also quite loyal to me. He's the most pleasing one among all the Yunhai Guards. How should I put it? I think he's a good guy. The only problem is that he's not a girl, so I can't hug him whenever I want, alas."

I stopped rubbing my hands and put them together. I silently mourned for Heji for three seconds.

It’s cold, brother!

But if you think about it carefully, Bai Huang never showed much about the feelings between men and women. It was the same when we were in Yunhai. I helped her put on makeup and taught her to dance. There was actually a lot of physical contact. But she didn't seem to care at all. She was a complete tomboy. Should I say she was too cheerful or an emotional idiot? Anyway, being friends is of course great, but if you like a girl like this, the process of pursuing her will definitely be long and difficult, and it is likely to end in tragedy.

Well, this has nothing to do with me.

Just as I was daydreaming, a gust of wind suddenly blew by. Maybe it was a little cold, and my body shivered inexplicably.

But I soon discovered that it wasn't because of the cold.

somebody is coming.

I can't figure out the direction, it should be still some distance away from us. But something is definitely approaching here.

I glanced at Alayya and Bai Huang, who were calm and composed, and knew that they probably couldn't sense it, so I just kept my composure. Bai Huang even asked me while she was packing up her playing cards:

"Why, are you shivering from the cold? A spoiled child like you should go back to bed and don't stay up late."

Aren't you only one year older than me?

I complained in my heart, but said:

"Where am I going to sleep? Should I go back to the bed? I need to go to the bathroom."

I stood up, and Alayya also stood up, still hugging me from behind.

I turned back helplessly and said:

"It's ok, Alayya. I'm much warmer."

Only then did Alayya release her arms.

I told her:

"Alaiya, I may go for a walk in a while. If I feel sleepy, I will go back to sleep. You stay with Bai Huang and follow her orders first. If the assassins really take action, they will definitely prioritize food and supplies. You don't have to worry about my safety. Also, I'd like to borrow your bedding tonight."

Alayya nodded. Bai Huang happily opened his arms and said to Alayya:

"Come, Alayya, come to me! I'm cold too!"

Alayya hesitated for a moment and did not take the initiative to hug Bai Huang, but she did not refuse her to hold her in her arms.

I didn't have time to appreciate the scene of the lilies blooming. I stood up and yawned as I walked away. When I was a little distance away from Alayya and Bai Huang, I began to try to sense where the faint breath came from. But the other party was obviously also a veteran, and his attainments in stealth were much higher than I thought. In addition, the various traps set by Bai Huang restricted my route to a great extent. I searched for a long time but couldn't find the specific whereabouts of the assassin.

But not long after, I suddenly found that a sentry post was empty. I walked over curiously and found a soldier lying on the ground, but he did not cause any commotion. I looked around and found that the silk threads on his hands had been cut off at the roots with the help of the dim light. The two silk threads were tied to two guardrails respectively. The other soldiers on guard did not notice anything wrong and thought their companions were still safe.

I slapped my forehead.

So Xiao Huang, that idiot...

22. First confrontation

I checked and found that the soldier had just fainted.

There was a silver needle stuck in the back of his neck. Judging from the technique, the silver needle coated with anesthetic should have been blown out in secret. After hitting the soldier, the soldier became drowsy and was about to fall down. The assassin quickly supported him from the dark, then cut the silk thread on his finger with a sharp weapon and tied it to a railing that was almost the same height as the original soldier's arm.

The whole action was done in one go, without making any sound, and even the silk thread did not shake.

This skillful technique is you! Edogawa——

Ahem, this is not the time to be daydreaming.

I stayed at the scene for a short time, and suddenly I heard a commotion in the distance. I heard a man's exciting voice:

"Come on, come on! Someone has fallen into the trap!"

Many people came forward with torches. I did not join in the fun, but wandered around. The surrounding area was originally full of residential houses, but because of the construction of the granary, the people who originally lived here have moved away. But some daily necessities are still left, such as the pile of firewood where Heji hid, and the iron bucket thrown at the door of this person's house.

I picked up the iron bucket and found that it was a little rusty, but it didn't affect its use. I drew half a bucket of water from a nearby well and walked around casually while carrying it in the bucket without being noticed.

Most of the crowd gathered around the trap. Someone holding a torch suddenly said loudly:

"No, no! Isn't this Nag? It's one of ours! Our people fell into the trap!"

"Pull him up quickly!"

"Now we should go back and continue to stand guard..."

"Help me first! I wonder if Nag is okay!"

"Don't just stand there, go and inform Lady Bai Huang! Tell her the assassin is here, everyone be on alert!"

All kinds of sounds were mixed together.

While countless people were running around, a short man walked past in a dignified manner and headed towards the granary.

The crowd was running around, so naturally no one noticed this person with her hands in her pockets. After all, she was wearing a soldier's uniform that came from nowhere. In the near-darkness around her, with only a little light left, she blended into the scene perfectly without any abruptness.

But eventually a soldier found her.

The two patrol members hiding in the bushes obviously saw that this person was heading to a place he shouldn't be going. They suddenly came out of the bushes, holding torches and said sternly:

"Stop, you're going to..."

Before he finished speaking, the torch suddenly went out. The first reaction of the two people was to scream, but just as the words reached their throats, they suddenly saw black, the world spun, and fell forward to the ground. The assassin straightened the mask on his face, and looked around with a pair of cold eyes, as if he had noticed something.

She held her breath and slowly moved towards a plain house, her eyes fixed on the back of the house. The moment she approached, she had a dagger in her hand, and when she went around the back of the house, the dagger in her hand had already been used, cutting through the air.

There was no one in front of me.

There was only an iron bucket full of water placed in an inconspicuous corner.

The assassin frowned.

Her eyes moved, and suddenly she saw a window without a window frame. There was only an empty hole. The assassin slowly walked to the window, pressed his body against the wall, and after observing for a while, he suddenly stuck his head into the room and took a look at the blind spot under the window.

Still nothing.

The assassin put away his dagger and walked back towards the granary.

When she was more than fifty meters away, I finally breathed a sigh of relief lying on the roof, turned down quietly, and picked up my broken iron bucket again.

Very risky.

The assassin continued to walk towards the granary, but she was obviously much more cautious. She almost always walked in dark places, without any breath or footsteps, just like a shadow in the night.

After passing the last few abandoned houses, she finally reached her destination.

Unexpectedly smooth.

Next, all we have to do is turn this place into a sea of ​​fire without anyone noticing.

The assassin stood at the door of the tall granary and opened it. There were rooms separated from each other, and the straw mats in each room were piled with plump rice. The assassin took down a torch stuck on the wall and walked into the granary.

In a flash, the moment the room was illuminated, the assassin suddenly frowned, threw the torch in his hand to the ground, and hid in the darkness. The next moment, the sword energy broke through the darkness like snow-white moonlight, creating a long crack where the assassin had just stood.

The White Phoenix that appeared out of nowhere stood in front of the granary in a heroic manner and sneered:

"Hmph! Do you really think that my aunt is a fool? You've made such a big scene, but in the end you're not going to set fire to the granary? I've been waiting for you here for a long time. Today I'll let you experience the feeling of catching a turtle in a jar!"

Heji stood solemnly in front of Bai Huang holding a sword. His gentle smile disappeared from his face, and his eyes were vigilantly examining the surroundings. His body was tense, and the veins on his sword-holding hand were bulging. He adjusted his breathing while preparing for the battle that could break out at any time. He was a person who had achieved the sixth level of perfection in the way of swordsmanship, and he had the highest combat power on the surface. He was also the one who had the most thorough understanding of the situation.

The sword just now was as fast as lightning, but the assassin still dodged it. This only shows that her strength is indeed superior to Heji, which makes Heji even more cautious.

However, after the fire was extinguished, the assassin seemed to hide in the granary and never showed up again. The granary was also pitch black, and Bai Huang was not stupid enough to enter casually, so the situation was at a stalemate for a while.

At this moment, the sound of fighting suddenly came from the granary. The sound of weapons colliding, the sound of grain flying, the sound of brick walls peeling off, including the sound of sharp blades cutting skin, and the sound of fists clashing. After a few seconds, the assassin quickly retreated and left the granary.

Alayya's figure then appeared.

One of her sleeves was stained with blood, but she didn't let go of the long sword [Yulong] in her hand. Her golden hair was scattered behind her, and her snow-white face with blood stains remained expressionless, as if she was not affected by the pain in her hand at all. It was better to say that she was like Heji, focusing all her attention on the assassin and had no time to take care of her own injuries.

Bai Huang put his hands on his waist, his face full of confidence, and snorted coldly:

"Tsk. I've known for a long time that a coward like you would hide in the dark when in danger, so I've already laid a trap in the dark. What? You've always been attacking others, but you didn't expect that one day you'd be attacked by someone?"

There were still a dozen torches stuck on the wall outside the granary, providing a little light in the darkness.

With the help of the faint firelight, one can see the assassin holding the dagger in his backhand, holding it in front of himself.

The mask covered half of her face, revealing only the part above the bridge of her nose. Just as Alayya had described, she looked like a young woman, but her eyes were lifeless, like a dead person. She kept holding the knife and looked at Heji and Alayya.

Alayya's hand holding the sword was bleeding, and the blood dripped into the soil through her fingers.

A cold wind blew, and three people formed an equilateral triangle, standing in the open space in front of the granary.

23. Are you looking for this?

Cold sweat dripped down Heji's forehead.

He obviously found that he couldn't figure out the assassin's true strength, so there was only one possibility, that the assassin's strength was higher than his. In addition, his boss and secret crush was watching from the side, so Heji was under considerable psychological pressure.

Bai Huang was very optimistic. He put his hands on his waist, looking like he had succeeded in his plan, and said loudly:

"Go ahead, Heggie. Give this bastard a lesson for looking down on me!"

Heji's sword drew a tiny arc.

His tense body was ready to go like an arrow on a bowstring, and Bai Huang's order was like the sound of a starting gun. At that moment, Heji rushed forward with his sword. His sword skills were very powerful, and as an attacker, he had a strong suppressive power. Every time he chopped, it was like a silver bottle breaking. Wherever the sword passed, the dark night became as bright as day.

The assassin held the dagger in his backhand, stepped back quickly, and blocked Heji's sword several times.

After two or three rounds of fighting, Heji changed to a two-handed sword, stepped back half a step with his left leg, and lowered his body. After a half-second pause, six silver sword lights shot out from different angles, aiming directly at the assassin's vital points. The sword light shattered the blue bricks, stirred up dust, and blurred the vision.

"Good job!"

Bai Huang praised him highly. He Ji frowned and suddenly shouted:

"Be careful, Master Bai Huang!"

When the smoke cleared, the place where the assassin had stood was empty.

Heji certainly didn't know the law of "smoke without injury", but he obviously found that he didn't have the feeling of hitting, so he suddenly spoke to remind Bai Huang. But it was still a step too late. The figure behind Bai Huang appeared like a ghost, and the short knife in his hand was about to be placed on Bai Huang's fair neck.

At this moment, a sword blocked the path of the dagger. At the moment when the sword and the dagger collided, a tiny gap appeared on the blade of the dagger.

Although it is a bit embarrassing to bully others by relying on the sharpness of the weapon, the long sword [Youlong] is after all affordable for lords at that level, and it is more than enough to deal with ordinary weapons.