“So that’s why we must find out exactly what Feng Yuqin can do,” Elder Zhao said.
“And what if we can’t?” Qi Ruyi asked. “Like tonight — we still don’t know when she sent those people outside.”
“She’s just a little girl. How dangerous could she be?” Elder Chen snapped at Qi Ruyi, eyes flashing. “Aren’t you always so bold? Why are you shrinking back now? Or maybe you just want us to take care of it so you can reap the rewards afterward.”
Qi Ruyi’s face tightened. Truth be told, that was exactly what she had been thinking. Once she realized no one else in the Qi clan would come to her aid, she had quietly hoped others would handle the problem. She hadn’t expected Elder Chen, impulsive as he often was, to see straight through her.
“You really think that, Elder Qi?” Elder Zhao asked, displeasure carved across his face as he watched her look guilty.
Lin Sixue leaned forward. “Elder Qi, Feng Yuqin has to be eliminated. Don’t hide behind my father and let us do the work while you take the profits.”
“I’m not— I don’t have anyone powerful,” Qi Ruyi protested. “You know the Qi family does have strong guardians, but they only show up when the clan’s life is on the line. For something like this? They wouldn’t appear.”
“Then hire someone,” Elder Lin said.
“You mean hire assassins?” Qi Ruyi said.
“Do you have anyone better? At least five tiers stronger than the people who showed up tonight,” Elder Lin countered.
Qi Ruyi was silent. She had no such people. She kept a few covert guards around her, but their strength was about the same as the men sent tonight. She was unwilling to send them out to die—who would be responsible for her safety after that?
“If there are no objections, that’s decided,” Elder Lin said. “Elder Zhao and I will send people to probe Feng Yuqin. You arrange for the assassins.”
“All assassins?” Elder Chen blurted. Lin Sixue looked at her father, puzzled.
“This has to be a decisive strike,” Elder Lin said. “If possible, don’t use our own people.”
…
Tonight, the investigation of the estate was left to Xiaoying. Xiaojin stayed in the herb field tending to the medicinal plants. When Xiaoying reported the elders’ resolution, Xiaojin frowned.
“They’re going to send assassins after the Mistress?” he asked.
“That’s what I heard,” Xiaoying said.
“We should make preparations,” Xiaojin said quietly.
“They’re likely to go all-out this time,” Xiaoying replied.
“All-out or not, we’ll hold,” Xiaojin said. “The Mistress is cultivating; we can’t disturb her. Let us handle whatever’s outside.”
Xiaoying agreed. Elder Zhao and Elder Lin had arranged people to probe Feng Yuqin, but Feng Yuqin had been in closed cultivation for days and refused visitors. Three days of effort had yielded no clear picture of her true strength. Unable to gauge her, they chose to act at the highest level—hire lethal professionals.
By the fifth day, Xiaoying sensed a large number of strong arrivals outside and couldn’t help but frown. “Xiaojin, the assassins tonight are far stronger than before. And Elder Lin and the others are trailing behind them, silent.”
“Then we should go out,” Xiaojin said.
“No, you can’t expose the Mistress,” Xiaoying said. “I’ll go.”
“You alone?” Xiaojin furrowed his brow and scanned the approaching killers and the elders with his spirit-sensing. “If you go out, our existence as spirit companions might be revealed.”
“There’s no choice,” Xiaoying said. “Even if the Mistress shows up, she won’t be able to handle all these assassins alone. Yan Xiao and the others are useless in this. It’s better if I deal with it.”
Xiaojin saw the logic. Xiaoying was right — no point exposing their secret unless necessary.
“I’m going,” Xiaoying said. “I’ll step out first.”
A voice sounded unexpectedly behind them. “I’m coming too.”
“Mistress?” Xiaojin and Xiaoying both turned to Feng Yuqin.
“Mistress, the people outside are powerful,” Xiaoying reported.
“I’m not going because they’re weak,” Feng Yuqin said calmly. “I need to consolidate my strength and push to the next level.”
Fighting after a bout of cultivation helped her stabilize her gains. Leaping up a rank without solidifying the foundation risked long-term instability — she would never let her body become that kind of liability. She had overheard Xiaojing and Xiaoying’s conversation and thought the timing could not be better. These assassins would be excellent practice.
“If you encounter mortal danger, remember to retreat,” Xiaoying cautioned earnestly.
Feng Yuqin smiled. “You think I’m afraid to live.”
She meant it. She valued her life.
The Mistress and her two spirit companions left the room. When they reached the courtyard, assassins were already scaling the wall. Among them, standing in the shadow of the wall, were Elder Lin, Elder Zhao, Elder Chen, and Qi Ruyi.
When the assassins saw Feng Yuqin’s face, they froze. She was unbearably beautiful — unlike any beauty they had seen before. The man closest stepped forward, awe and greed flickering across his features. “You’re Feng Yuqin?”
“It’s me — your great-aunt,” Feng Yuqin said in a tone that made the man’s expression change instantly.
“Suicide,” the assassin snarled, waving a hand. “Kill her.”
He hated the idea of such a beauty being wasted, but they had a contract from the elders. To survive in their line of work you didn’t break a job.
The assassins’ objective was clear; they surged toward Feng Yuqin.
“Xiaoying, don’t move. Let Xiaojin use his spatial field to shelter my cousin and Ke Ruxia and the others,” Feng Yuqin told Xiaoying through her spirit link as she shifted her weight.
Xiaoying went speechless. Having such a driven Mistress, did their spirit pets just exist for ornament? They never got to fight; even protective duties were being handed to Xiaojin.
If these had been ordinary people, Feng Yuqin might have hesitated. But these were assassins — a part of her past life. She had once been one of them: top of the underworld, the Number One assassin. She knew their tricks. Time and again she slipped out of their attacks. Once or twice could be luck; three, four, ten times in a row? It couldn’t be chance.
“How can Feng Yuqin be this formidable?” Qi Ruyi murmured, unbelieving.