Don't Let Him Get Away!

A masked man dressed in all black sharpened into view on Feng Ming Sword. He raised a dagger into the air. Before the assassin could make any other moves, Mo Xian suddenly twisted around and swung his sheath into the masked man's chest with all of his strength. Caught completely off-guard, the masked man stumbled back several steps and almost fell to the ground. Mo Xian used his momentum to spring off the bed and unsheathe his sword.

"Who are you? Who sent you?" Mo Xian demanded.

The masked man did not answer. Since a dagger was no match for a sword, he dropped the dagger and pulled out a pair of scimitars from his back before charging at Mo Xian again. Clang! Mo Xian just managed to block the attack.

Wang Jingyuan had rolled out of bed as soon as Mo Xian did. With Feng Ming Sword completely out of its sheath now, she joined the battle. The room was far too small for the assassin to fight with his dual scimitars properly, since his weapons were more ideal for slashing. Wang Jingyuan and Mo Xian's swords were better suited for close-range stabbing and cutting, and they were two against one. Even so, Wang Jingyuan was shocked to discover that the assassin was holding his ground.

They made a huge racket in the room as they kicked over chairs and slammed into the table. "What's going on?!" Wang Jingyuan heard the innkeeper shout. A commotion began somewhere down the hall as people began waking up.

The assassin heard as well. Perhaps not wanting more people to catch him, he parried Mo Xian's attack, turned around, and burst through the window. Wang Jingyuan and Mo Xian ran up to the open window and saw the assassin's retreating back disappearing down the street.

"After him! I'm going to find out who sent him!" Mo Xian was furious. Without a second word, Wang Jingyuan grabbed Mo Xian's wrist and jumped with him out the window. With the awning as an intermediate between the second floor and the street and Wang Jingyuan's qing gong, they quickly descended to the street and began chasing after the masked man.

It was still drizzling. Wang Jingyuan and Mo Xian ran through and leapt over many puddles in their pursuit. The assassin sprinted all the way out of the city and into the surrounding forest. Mo Xian, with his longer legs, caught up first. He slammed his sword down on the assassin's head, who blocked it easily with his double scimitars.

"Who sent you? Answer me!" Mo Xian readied his sword to attack again.

The man's face from the eyes down was covered by black cloth. He spoke in a deep voice. "My master was surprised that you managed to evade the first round of assassins. He thought that perhaps you have improved in your skills, but just wait until I tell him you have gotten a miss to protect you."

Mo Xian's eyes blazed. He parried a slash from the scimitars. "Tell your dog master that if he dares to harm one hair on the girl, I will have him die in such a way that there won't even be anything to bury."

The assassin laughed coldly. "Oh, but you won't be able to do anything if you are also dead." His scimitars flashed dangerously close to Mo Xian. "My master also wanted me to bring you this message: 'You've always lost to me in our games of Go [1], and so you shall always lose to me in real life. Good-bye, brother dear'."

Mo Xian cursed. His suspicions were correct. He knew who was trying to kill him. "Fuck that bastard!" He shouted as he slashed his sword through the air.

The assassin merely danced out of his way. In terms of skill, the assassin was much better. Soon, Mo Xian could barely just defend himself from the relentless slashes of the scimitars. Suddenly, he spotted a hole in the assassin's defense and immediately stabbed his sword over. With a clang, the two scimitars locked together and caught Mo Xian's sword between them. It was a trap!

The assassin's eyes shone with cold mercilessness. With a flip of his wrists, the assassin wrenched Mo Xian's sword from his hand and sent it flying to the side, where it landed in a puddle. Defenseless, Mo Xian could only stumble back as the assassin's scimitars sliced towards him.

"Childe Mo! Watch out!" Wang Jingyuan shouted as she darted in between the assassin and Mo Xian. Feng Ming Sword intercepted the scimitars with a deafening clang!

"Miss Wang!" Mo Xian hurriedly jumped out of the way as Wang Jingyuan retracted her sword and slashed toward the assassin. "Be careful!"

Wang Jingyuan didn't answer, because she was entirely concentrated on her battle with the masked man. This was her first time fighting someone who wasn't also using a sword, so it took a while for her to get used to the different forms her opponent used. She would be anticipating a stab only for there to be a slash, or to spring back thinking she could avoid a blow entirely but still feel the blade whizz by too close for comfort.

Mo Xian retrieved his sword. He wanted to help, but they were going back and forth too quickly for him to jump in. He gripped his sword tightly and kept his eyes peeled for an opening or a hole in the assassin's defense.

Wang Jingyuan found that Xuanyan Sword Skills was barely enough to match the masked man's scimitar skills. Was it because she wasn't experienced enough so she couldn't utilize it to its full potential? The masked man's scimitars slashed at her again, and Wang Jingyuan raised Feng Ming to parry it aside. The force from the collision made her stagger a little. He was stronger in terms of arm strength, that's for sure.

The assassin's eyes glittered dangerously. This girl was exceeding his expectations. No wonder none of the assassins who were sent before came back. But no matter; he was a hundred times better than those half-experienced buffoons. That's why his master sent him personally to kill Mo Xian. Unlike the previous assassins, he shall not fail.

Mid-attack, the assassin changed his forms. He began to weave and slash his scimitars in a complicated criss-cross pattern, forcing Wang Jingyuan back. She couldn't penetrate his defenses and could only block all of his attacks.

There! Between the flashing blades, she spotted a sliver of empty space that would take her directly to the assassin's heart. Confident, Wang Jingyuan stabbed Feng Ming Sword straight through the gap. She failed to see the assassin's eyes smile maliciously.