On a moonless night, fierce winds howled through the narrow alleys of the dock town, drowning out all other sounds.

Chu Dingjiang’s spiritual energy covered the entire area, identifying occupied houses and assessing the martial arts levels of the occupants based on the map Sang Nu provided.

In a residence near the outskirts lived a seventh-rank expert.

Chu Dingjiang gestured for Lou Mingyue and Qiu Yunran to approach together, aiming for a silent resolution. The others waited in place, ready to respond if needed.

Everyone felt somewhat tense, knowing the success of this first strike would directly impact their confidence going forward.

Sun Dixian swallowed hard.

An Jiu listened intently. After about the time it takes to drink two cups of tea, a faint sound came from inside, followed by silence.

Two figures emerged from the courtyard, heading straight for them.

Qiu Yunran nodded to the group.

The atmosphere immediately relaxed. An experienced seventh-rank assassin had been dealt with in just half an hour – a great encouragement for everyone.

Chu Dingjiang led the group past the neighboring courtyard towards a small building in the distance.

An Jiu was puzzled but realized after some thought that while the occupant’s martial arts weren’t high, they were skilled with poisons. Apart from Qiu Yunran, no one else was suitable to handle this.

This time, Chu Dingjiang selected An Jiu and Sui Yunzhu.

Though not particularly strong or exceptional, Sui Yunzhu’s spiritual energy was similar to Chu Dingjiang’s, able to detect all living people.

An Jiu recalled that the occupant was only of the fifth rank.

Having witnessed An Jiu’s archery skills, Sui Yunzhu was satisfied with this pairing despite knowing she lacked internal energy.

The two exchanged glances, nodded, and silently approached, scaling the wall into the courtyard.

It was an atrium with stone slabs covered in slippery moss.

An Jiu pointed upstairs: Is the person up there?

Sui Yunzhu shook his head, indicating downstairs.

Seeing the small building, An Jiu took out some smoke powder and slipped it through the door crack. After half a cup of tea’s time, she used a dagger to pry open the door and slipped inside.

Sui Yunzhu could sense the target’s location, so An Jiu followed behind, gripping her Subduing Dragon Bow, ready to shoot at any moment.

As Sui Yunzhu was about to pick the lock, a startled female voice softly asked from inside, “Who’s there?”

For an instant, they both had the illusion that inside wasn’t an assassin, but a sheltered young woman.

An Jiu frowned. This was her first error using Mo Sigui’s drug.

The unexpected situation left Sui Yunzhu momentarily stunned.

An Jiu gently tapped him, holding up one finger: One person?

Sui Yunzhu nodded, pointing to the southeast corner: Over there.

Just then, the door creaked open.

A strong scent of powder wafted out. Inside, gauzy curtains swayed, faintly revealing a candle-lit bed. A woman’s voice spoke lazily and coquettishly, “Didn’t I say, darling, I’m not feeling well these days, so at night…”

This female assassin was a courtesan! Seizing this rare opportunity, An Jiu had already drawn her Subduing Dragon Bow.

Watching the speaking silhouette, Sui Yunzhu’s expression suddenly changed. He said softly, “She’s above.”

As he spoke, a fragrant breeze swept down from above. An Jiu looked up – they were only three feet apart! She didn’t dodge but raised her hand, releasing an arrow of spiritual energy.

With a hum, pure boundary-realm spiritual energy exploded in the woman’s mind.

Her mind went blank as she fell straight down. An Jiu blocked with her leg, drawing twin swords to pierce the woman’s chest.

The soft body slid down An Jiu’s leg. The woman finally regained her senses, enduring the chest pain and struggling to trigger something on the floor. An Jiu stepped on her fingers and swiftly delivered a finishing cut to her white neck.

The silhouette by the bed also collapsed.

Sui Yunzhu’s legs went weak. He hurriedly retreated, pushed open a window, and took several deep breaths to barely suppress the agitation in his body.

The fragrance in the woman’s room wasn’t powder, but an aphrodisiac targeting men with only a slight effect on women.

The wind blew the gauze curtains, revealing a black puppet on the bed, its mouth slightly open with wisps of white smoke emerging.

Sui Yunzhu panted heavily, his eyes bloodshot. Through blurred vision, he saw a slender figure approaching. The restlessness he had just suppressed erupted again. His blood seemed to burn and surge, rapidly gathering below his waist. A feeling of impending explosion overwhelmed him, causing him to reach out painfully towards the figure.

An Jiu blocked him with her Subduing Dragon Bow, separating herself from the red-eyed Sui Yunzhu.

She hadn’t expected the mission to go smoothly only to end up confronting an ally. She suddenly raised her leg, kicking him in the abdomen. Sui Yunzhu unleashed strength beyond his normal capability, not only avoiding injury but grabbing An Jiu’s ankle, trying to forcefully pull her closer.

An Jiu gritted her teeth, killing intent flashing in her eyes.

Just as she was about to release her sleeve arrow, she suddenly paused. Her fingers pulled the bowstring, concentrating all her spiritual energy at her fingertips.

Only two feet apart, she released her fingers. The bowstring hummed, and Sui Yunzhu’s body instantly froze.

An Jiu raised her hand and struck the back of his neck hard, catching his limp body before hurrying out.

At the meeting point, An Jiu threw him to the ground and said quietly, “Aphrodisiac.”

Qiu Yunran immediately crouched to check his pulse. After a moment, he took out a pill and fed it to Sui Yunzhu, then handed another to An Jiu.

An Jiu accepted it, lifted her mask, and made a swallowing gesture, but the small pill remained between her fingers. The dim light concealed this small action. It wasn’t that An Jiu was ungrateful; she simply disliked taking unfamiliar substances, especially medicine, from others.

Sui Yunzhu would need a moment to wake up. Chu Dingjiang ordered someone to carry him as they continued forward.

An Jiu walked at the back, feeling a slight heat in her body. After some thought, she took out the universal antidote Mo Sigui had given her and swallowed it.

Soon, An Jiu felt her symptoms ease slightly.

The next pair was Sun Dixian and Li Qing, tasked with dealing with a fourth-rank martial artist.

This was Gu Jinghou’s battle plan, rotating teams to eliminate as many targets as possible. As for on-site arrangements, Chu Dingjiang was in full control. Barring unexpected situations, his plan could eliminate half of the Piaomiao Mountain Villa’s people.

About ten miles north of the dock, on a dirt hill covered in dense forest.

Over twenty large men guarded the edge of the woods. At the front, a woman in blue robes was surrounded by hundreds of butterflies. The fierce cold wind blew them about like falling leaves, but when the wind paused, the intact butterflies slowly flew into the forest.

“Mo Sigui, you may have escaped the first, but you won’t escape the fifteenth,” the blue-robed woman snorted softly before entering the forest, followed by the burly men.

The wind was lighter in the dense forest. The butterflies flew dozens of times faster than normal ones, crossing the dirt hill and entering a small valley.

Upon entering, everyone felt the wind stop and the temperature rise. Despite being winter, the surrounding vegetation was still lush and green.