In the teahouse, Sui Yunzhu recorded the tall man’s basic information while keeping an eye on the situation outside.

The beggar-like man had initially considered going to Hejian, but An Jiu’s sudden appearance startled him, making him hesitate. In these times, women out on their own were either widows or had special status. He dared not agree, but also couldn’t refuse outright.

“My apologies, sir. You’re free to come or go. My young sister is playful, please forgive her,” Sui Yunzhu intervened, breaking the deadlock.

An Jiu looked at Sui Yunzhu through the slits in her hat, clearly not understanding why he suddenly lied.

Hearing this, the man quickly turned and left.

An Jiu’s spiritual power closely followed him.

“Why?” she asked Sui Yunzhu.

Sui Yunzhu replied, “Forced melons aren’t sweet.”

“It’s twisted, but who said anything about force!” An Jiu retorted, chasing after the man’s aura.

Sui Yunzhu sighed, letting her go. He decided to write to Lord Chu about this, feeling that only he could handle such a forceful woman. Sui Yunzhu felt truly overwhelmed.

An Jiu circled two streets and came to a dilapidated courtyard, leaping straight in.

The man was sitting by the well washing up. Seeing the black-clad woman appear like a ghost, his eyes widened. After a long pause, he stood up, “Miss, what esteemed personage are you?”

An Jiu was silent for a moment before speaking, “I’m An Jiu, from the Hejian Garrison. Do you want to join the army?”

How could there be women in the regular army? The man smiled bitterly, realizing what this meant. “So, even Hejian Prefecture has secret guards now?”

“You’re from the Crane-Controlling Army?” An Jiu was surprised. Her intuition was spot on.

The man nodded honestly, “Codename Blood Fiend.”

He was an assassin from the Crane-Controlling Army, pardoned for helping the current emperor ascend the throne by following Chu Dingjiang. He knew this wasn’t the emperor’s pardon, but Chu Dingjiang giving them a chance at a new life. Without household registration, he had been living in seclusion in Xingzhou, nearly out of money. If he didn’t find a way to make a living soon, he’d starve. Hejian Prefecture’s recruitment notice was tempting—with proper registration, he could find normal work and truly start anew. Even if war broke out between Liao and Song, his skills would ensure his safety in Hejian. He could always return later with a legitimate background.

An Jiu looked at his tattered clothes, thinking the codename didn’t suit his current state. “You shouldn’t be so destitute. Aren’t Crane-Controlling Army assassins supposed to be rich?”

“Who carries money while killing?” Blood Fiend sat heavily on the stone steps, looking dejected. “I didn’t expect to have a chance to leave so soon. It was novel at first, but then I realized there’s no real difference, maybe even more emptiness.”

“Without purpose, of course, you feel empty.” No one understood this feeling better than An Jiu. She tried to persuade him, “We’re a regular army, different from the Crane-Controlling Army. Besides, what else can you do besides killing?”

Assassins learned everything for killing. An Jiu, for instance, only knew how to herd sheep besides this.

But Blood Fiend disagreed. “I know plenty of things. With proper registration, I can live openly and honestly.”

An Jiu said nothing, staring at him motionlessly.

After a while, Blood Fiend said, “You don’t believe me? I can mix poisons, make silk flowers, and even write calligraphy!”

“You’re quite dexterous. Pity you’re not a girl, or you might thrive in the back courtyard,” An Jiu couldn’t associate a scruffy old man with making silk flowers. After deep thought, she said, “I’m not discriminating against you. Come with me.”

Blood Fiend was speechless. He threw the water dipper back into the bucket and leaned against a pillar to sunbathe and doze.

An Jiu simply squatted in front of him, staring at him from an even closer distance.

As a seasoned assassin, Blood Fiend was used to stalking others, never being stared at like this! Moreover, An Jiu’s spiritual power was almost tangible, her gaze feeling like a physical force. He felt as if a knife was scraping all over his body, thinking one wrong move could end his life.

After enduring for a while, Blood Fiend had to open his eyes. “Are you also from the Crane-Controlling Army?”

An Jiu nodded.

“Why make things difficult for a fellow professional?” Blood Fiend said this, but was calculating his chances in a fight. The girl before him had no internal energy, yet she found him so easily. And she showed no fear upon hearing his codename! Unable to gauge her, he hesitated to act, only continuing to talk, hoping for a chance to escape.

Knowing your enemy is key to victory. He decided to probe her identity, “Your codename?”

“An Jiu,” An Jiu blurted out, only then remembering her Crane-Controlling Army codename was Xuan Ren.

“What does that codename mean?” Blood Fiend frowned, trying to understand.

In the Crane-Controlling Army, besides ranked officials, regular assassins were named using heavenly stems and earthly branches. Only those on the Crane-Controlling list got special codenames, with the top ten able to choose their own.

Otherwise, only after an assassin’s death would their original name be engraved on a soul bell hung in the building.

An Jiu’s codename originally meant “angel,” but there was no such concept here. She thought for a moment, “Little treasure? Yeah, probably that.”

Blood Fiend looked at her with a conflicted expression, wondering if the Crane-Controlling Army had such bizarre codenames.

An Jiu was equally curious about Blood Fiend, seeing an assassin with such expressive features for the first time.

“You don’t know me?” Blood Fiend asked.

An Jiu, noticing his seemingly gentle but inherently cold gaze, suddenly realized why he was so fixated on this answer. “You’re on the Crane-Controlling list? Sorry, I only know three people from that list.”

Blood Fiend smiled, “I bet Gu Jinghong is one of them.”

An Jiu remained silent.

Blood Fiend continued, “I heard he died assassinating Yelü Huangwu. I never understood why they sent him alone. What a waste!”

Assassinating Yelü Huangwu was incredibly dangerous. Even if Gu Jinghong was top-ranked, how could the Crane-Controlling Army send him alone? Wasn’t that sending him to his death?

An Jiu scrutinized this seemingly sentimental middle-aged man and said calmly, “Don’t waste energy trying to escape. You won’t have the chance.”

Blood Fiend’s heart trembled. From the moment he saw An Jiu at the teahouse until now, he felt trapped in an impenetrable net, unable to find any weakness. Now that he was exposed, he gave up pretense. “I can’t go back to that life! Don’t force me to fight to the death!”

He looked ready to die rather than comply.

An Jiu was puzzled. Why were there so many effeminate men in the Crane-Controlling Army? Although Blood Fiend looked like a normal man, unlike the flamboyant Gao Dazhuang, he was essentially a stubborn little girl at heart.

Unsure how to handle such a person, An Jiu remained silent, just watching him—watching him drink water, eat, go to the outhouse…

“Aren’t you hungry?” Blood Fiend finally couldn’t take it anymore and spoke up, offering her a baked flatbread.