At the moment before dawn, darkness enveloped the earth. The rippling lake surface reflected faint light, cold and pale white. The footsteps from both shores, like vengeful ghosts demanding life, finally caught up at this time. Chu Qiao’s shoulder was stained with blood, her lips blue-white. The consecutive battles, injuries, and fleeing had pushed her physical strength to its maximum limit. But when the enemy’s scent spread in her nostrils, she immediately stood up with tremendous willpower, her eyes narrowed like a sharp and agile leopard, waiting for the moment of crisis to arrive.

Light footsteps tread on the newly sprouted green grass, silent and stealthy. This small team had more than twenty people, plus four vicious dogs. Their leader was an experienced jungle combat pursuit tracker. Perhaps having seen the tragic deaths of their previous companions, they understood that the people they were trying to assassinate were not lambs waiting for slaughter, and thus became more cautious. None of the twenty people made a sound, and even the hunting dogs knew to hold their breath as they slowly advanced.

The moonlight was desolate, and a killing aura permeated the night. Chu Qiao’s expression was calm and composed. As a super commander of the National Security Bureau, maintaining composure in moments of crisis was a necessary rule and iron law. It was no coincidence that Agent 005 maintained an outstanding record in years of arduous missions. Perhaps her combat ability was not equal to the super agents of Action Division 9, but her calm and composed mind, keen and sharp intellect, incredibly quick adaptability, and firm and powerful confidence placed her at the forefront of the military department, ensuring she would always stand undefeated in battle.

The crowd slowly approached. Suddenly, the hunting dogs all rushed toward the left side, howling wildly.

The black-clothed assassins were immediately overjoyed. One person said coldly, “Quick! The targets are over there!”

More than twenty people swiftly passed by Chu Qiao. The girl gripped the dagger in her hand, took a deep breath, followed the enemy’s tail, and slowly followed. Everyone was focusing intently on the hunting dogs leading the way ahead. The dogs’ barking resounded chaotically in the forest, causing people to ignore other sounds, completely unaware that a deadly star of destruction was slowly approaching from behind.

Holding the dagger, she caught up with the enemy at the rear, firmly covering his mouth, and the blade went down smoothly, fiercely stabbing into the enemy’s carotid artery. She rotated the blade and pulled it horizontally. Blood immediately splattered silently. The man struggled a couple of times before expiring, having no chance to counterattack under Chu Qiao’s precise targeting of the fatal points on the human body.

The crowd continued to move forward rapidly, with no one paying attention to what was happening behind. After quickly changing into the dead man’s clothes and wrapping her head and face, Chu Qiao appeared as just another black-clothed assassin. In such pitch darkness, no one would notice.

Chu Qiao mingled with the crowd and, taking advantage of the hunting dogs’ frenzied barking, sent two more assassins to the netherworld using the same method. At this point, the hunting dogs stopped, barking wildly around a large tree. The assassin leader carefully retreated and said in a deep voice, “The targets are in the tree. Light the torches!”

Bright torches immediately lit up. Everyone drew their crossbows, ready to fire, silently waiting for the opportunity. The leader shouted coldly, saying loudly, “People up there, you can’t escape.”

A cold wind suddenly blew. Among the crisp, oil-green branches, a flash of bright red clothes suddenly appeared. A dense rain of arrows immediately shot toward it, whistling like locusts. However, moments later, there was not even half a cry of pain, evidently no one had been hit.

A fluttering sound suddenly came from the branches. A red hem flashed, and it was vaguely visible that someone was moving through the forest. Everyone’s spirits rose, and another round of sharp arrows was fired, but after a while, they still had no success.

The leader frowned, remained silent for a moment, and then suddenly said in a deep voice, “Cut down the tree!”

Hearing this, everyone was stunned, then started taking out their battle knives to begin felling the tree.

Chu Qiao dressed all in black, had not been noticed at all and dutifully joined the tree-cutting brigade.

The ancient trees around them reached to the sky, thick and massive. How difficult it would be to cut down such a tree, especially without proper tools. After working hard for a long time, they were about to succeed. The tree was wobbling and about to fall when suddenly they heard a “pop” sound. Everyone quickly looked up, just in time to see a red shadow flash overhead, drawing a dark red shadow against the black sky before disappearing into another tree.

Everyone was stunned. Could this be the legendary qinggong (lightness skill)?

The Red River Plateau had an extremely high elevation with a cold climate. The trees were sturdy, tall, and cold-resistant, but not as dense and compact as a tropical rainforest. Everyone stared dumbfounded, looking up at the huge gap, and couldn’t help but feel their scalps tingling.

What kind of master were they facing?

“You few, go up and take a look!”

The leader immediately ordered in a deep voice. Those whose names were called instantly turned ashen-faced, but constrained by orders, they had to cautiously begin climbing the tree, each retreating rather than pushing forward.

This large tree was extremely tall, easily over twenty meters, with branches only becoming dense toward the top. As soon as eight assassins went up, the ground immediately seemed empty. The leader swept the area with his tiger-like eyes, immediately frowned, and said in a deep voice, “Why are there fewer people?”

Everyone looked at each other in astonishment. The leader reacted most quickly, drawing his saber and saying in a low voice, “There’s an enemy!”

However, before he could locate the enemy’s direction, a heart-stopping sound of crossbow arrows suddenly rang out. Everyone was terrified. How could they defend against arrows fired at such close range? Just one hasty volley and five people were sent to the Yellow Springs!

The torches fell to the ground. It had just rained, and the forest was damp, immediately extinguishing them. The surroundings instantly fell into darkness.

Everyone was dressed the same way, how could they differentiate? The leader was greatly alarmed. At this moment, a shadow suddenly flashed to his side. The newcomer was short in stature, dressed in all black, and said in a low voice, “The targets are over there!”

The leader was stunned and looked up. However, the moment he raised his head, he knew he had been tricked. An assassin’s killing opportunity is always in that brief instant. Although he understood everything, it was already too late. The cold dagger instantly pierced his throat, preventing him from even letting out a scream.

“Chief?”

From the darkness opposite, someone was foolishly probing, but what responded to him was only a bloodthirsty arrow, instantly sealing his throat, causing blood to spurt.

Chu Qiao’s figure was like a ghost, flashing forward before the other could scream out, using the same swift method to thrust her blade into the chests of the remaining two assassins. In just the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, nine skilled assassins had all been settled under her efficient action, not a single one remaining!

At this moment, the eight assassins above had climbed to the top of the tree. Seeming to notice the situation below, these experienced assassins did not make a sound but silently climbed down quickly.

Chu Qiao came to the tree that had been half-sawed through, found the right angle, and suddenly swung a battle knife from the ground, chopping fiercely.

A series of cracking sounds was heard. The people above immediately realized what she was doing and, one by one, their souls flew in terror as they hastened their descent. However, at this moment, the tree suddenly broke and went forcefully toward the giant tree where people were. With thunderous momentum, it crashed with a boom. The great tree shook violently, and the people on it immediately fell whistling down from a height of more than twenty meters. With a series of thuds, they hit the ground heavily. For a time, no one could stand up completely unharmed.

Chu Qiao would not give them time to recover. A volley of arrows flew densely. A moment later, there were no survivors on the ground.

The large tree was still swaying, and a deathly silence spread all around. A red figure floated down from above. The girl pulled down her black face cover and reached up to catch the red figure.

A chirping sound was heard. Bound beneath the red robe was a young yellow bird. The bird, tied down by the heavy clothes, could not fly high and could only glide and flap between the trees, its cries muffled by the clothes.

The girl’s snow-white fingers brushed over the bird’s tender yellow feathers. Even dressed all in black, she could not conceal the intense smell of blood. She extended her hand and gently released the bird. With a joyful cry, it spread its wings and flew away.

In the night, the girl’s figure was like a ghost, disappearing in an instant into the thick darkness.

“Li Ce!”

The girl’s voice was crisp, echoing by the pond.

“Qiaoqiao, I’m still here.”

The man stood up, happily waving his arms. Seeing Chu Qiao quickly leap to his side, he looked behind her a couple of times and said, “Did you eliminate them all?”

Chu Qiao remained silent, coming to the edge of the pond, scooping up a handful of water with her hand, and drinking it.

“Qiaoqiao, that was amazing!”

Li Ce happily squatted beside Chu Qiao. Chu Qiao frowned at his tattered clothes, casually throwing his outer robe back to him, saying, “Put it on.”

“Oh.” The man obediently put on the clothes, his expression excited, showing not the slightest awareness of being prey.

“Qiaoqiao, are we going to find them now?”

Chu Qiao frowned. Li Ce was stunned, immediately becoming somewhat embarrassed, and explained, “I just thought, we could take them all out, which would make our escape easier.”

The girl raised a finger, slowly shaking it, and said in a deep voice, “First, it’s me, not us. Second, the enemy has over a thousand people, how many do you think I can kill? If you continue to shout like before at the sight of a mouse, I’ll eventually be killed because of you. Don’t blame me for not warning you, when there’s no way out, I’m very willing to hand you over to secure my escape.”

Li Ce frowned, looking upset, tugging at Chu Qiao’s clothing corner. “Qiaoqiao, don’t be so heartless.”

The girl suddenly groaned, frightening Li Ce into quickly withdrawing his hand. At the spot he had just pulled, fresh blood was seeping out in large amounts, clearly a new wound.

Chu Qiao frowned as she examined it and saw that under her left rib was an arrow wound. The wound wasn’t very large, but it was bleeding rapidly and was extremely painful. She hadn’t noticed such a wound earlier.

“Qiaoqiao, you’re wounded again.” Li Ce frowned, saying with concern, “How is it? Is it serious? You must hold on.”

Chu Qiao pressed her hand on the wound, closed her eyes, leaned against the tree, and said in a deep voice, “Help me bandage it.”

“Huh?”

“Help me bandage it!”

The girl’s voice suddenly became sharp. Li Ce nodded repeatedly, clumsily tearing off a strip of clothing, lifting the girl’s clothes to reveal her delicate skin, now stained red with fresh blood.

An arrowhead was deeply embedded under her left rib, the surrounding area swollen and red. Li Ce grabbed the broken arrow shaft and frowned, saying, “Qiaoqiao, if it hurts, just cry out. Or you can bite me.”

Chu Qiao closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and remained silent.

Li Ce’s face rarely showed such seriousness. He gripped the arrow shaft, suddenly frowned, and pulled it out with one swift motion!

Blood immediately splattered. Li Ce quickly pressed the cloth strip tightly over the wound. Chu Qiao painfully groaned and slumped forward. Li Ce opened his other arm and firmly embraced the girl.

“Qiaoqiao? Qiaoqiao?” Li Ce’s voice suddenly became somewhat panicked. Unable to see the girl’s face, he could only feel the sticky blood on his hands, making his heart contract tightly. With a tense expression, he called urgently, “Qiaoqiao? How are you?”

“Not dead yet.”

The low, raspy voice slowly sounded. The girl took a deep breath, her chin resting on Li Ce’s shoulder, breathing heavily.

Li Ce sighed in relief and quickly bandaged her to stop the bleeding. The night was dim and cold. The girl’s body was as cold as ice. Li Ce suddenly knew she could not withstand another fight.

However, at this critical moment, urgent footsteps suddenly sounded in the distance. The two immediately sat upright like tense rabbits, brows tightly knit, their gazes sharp.

“What should we do?” Chu Qiao’s brow furrowed. She had lost her fighting ability, and the smell of blood here was so thick; that waiting would only lead to death. The only way out was to take down Li Ce, using her disguise to create a chaotic situation, allowing her to escape safely.

Her eyes slowly glanced toward the man sitting beside her, only to see him with tightly knit brows, his expression solemn.

She was not a savior; she could only save people within her capabilities. When doing the right thing threatened her own life, smart people would immediately know what choice to make.

Moreover, Li Ce’s death would bring enormous benefits to Yan Xun. She should know what to do, must know what to do, and ought to do so. She had heavier burdens on her shoulders, and people were waiting for her. Her life was still precious and could not be easily given up.

Her fingers heavily reached for the dagger tied to her calf, ready to strike.

“Qiaoqiao!” Li Ce suddenly turned his head, his expression solemn, and said in a deep voice, “I’ll go draw them away, and you take the opportunity to escape. Be very careful!”

Chu Qiao was stunned, her eyes widening.

Li Ce took off his outer clothing, draped it over Chu Qiao, and then took a metal tube from his waist, handing it to her, saying, “I’m not skilled in martial arts. This is a defensive weapon my father specially made for me. You just need to pull the trigger, and fifty flying needles will shoot out. They’re coated with a potent poison; contact means certain death. It can be fired three times. Keep it carefully; in a critical moment, it can save your life.”

Chu Qiao held the metal cylinder in a daze, her brows furrowed, looking at Li Ce incomprehensibly, as if trying to see through this man.

“Hehe, have you suddenly discovered you’ve fallen in love with me?”

Li Ce suddenly smiled, revealing a row of white teeth, patting Chu Qiao’s shoulder with a laugh, “It’s okay when we return to Zhenhuang, you’ll still have a chance.”

“Li Ce!” Chu Qiao suddenly grabbed the man who was about to leave, saying in a deep voice, “Take this, I don’t need it.”

“I don’t need it either. I’m not very good at using it. I heard them say it’s so scary, I’m afraid that if I accidentally fire the needles at myself, wouldn’t that be the end of me? You try it first, if it works well, I’ll make more when I get back.”

Chu Qiao frowned, lightly biting her lower lip, finally releasing her hand, and said in a deep voice, “Be careful.”

Li Ce smiled, “You too, Qiaoqiao. When we get back, I still want to learn martial arts from you.”

Chu Qiao nodded, and the man stood up, stumbling through the thorns on the ground, heading in the direction of the noisy footsteps.

“Hey! Take a knife with you!”

Li Ce didn’t turn back, just casually waved his hand. In the cold moonlight, it was visible that the man was actually holding a rugged, uneven stone, covered in blood stains. His clothes were tattered, his steps stumbling, no longer showing any semblance of the Bian Tang Crown Prince’s demeanor, looking like a destitute beggar.

Chu Qiao watched his receding figure, her hand gripping the dagger gradually loosening.