The air was thick with silence. Not the kind that brought peace, but the kind that signaled death was near.
Xu stood, his blade held loosely at his side, his breath even. The shadows stretched long under the pale moonlight, and in them, he saw movement.
Five. No six figures. Cautious.
A mistake.
Xu moved.
His first step was soundless, his second brought him behind the nearest man. Before the fool could register the presence behind him, cold steel whispered against his throat. A single, clean cut quick, efficient.
The man fell with a gurgled choke, his life spilling onto the earth.
The others barely had time to react. One turned, eyes wide, mouth opening to shout, Xu was faster, he plunged his blade into the man chest, twisting just as he ripped it free. Blood sprayed across the dirt, dark under the moon.
Panic took them.
"Shit! It's him!"
Xu lunged, slamming his knee into another man ribs before driving his sword deep into his gut. He gasped choking, hands scrabbling at the blade before going still.
One tried to run, a fatal mistake.
Xu snatched a dagger out of his belt and sent it spinning through the air. Sinking deep into the back of the coward neck, he dropped like a puppet with strings cut.
Three left.
One swung wildly at him, Xu sidestepped, catching the man wrist and twisting hard, bone snapped. A scream tore trough the night, cut short as Xu silenced him with a blade through the throat.
Two.
One turned to flee. Xu didn't chase. Picked up the fallen man blade, and threw it, directly percing the heart, the man fell face-first, twitching before going still.
The last man trembled, his weapon shaking in his grip"w..we didn't mean... "
Xu stepped forward. The man flinched.
"Mercy" he begged
Xu expression didn't change "No"
"Choop"
The man head hit the ground before his body followed.
Xu whipped his blade against the tunic of his corpse before stepping over it
He glanced toward the house catching glimpse of something moving from the window.
With one step In an instant he appeared inside the house, but found nothing, Yue and Lian slept soundly.
Good.
He turned away, stepping into the Shadows.
But just as he left Yue opened her eye lids a little before closing them.