The Silent Blade
Chapter 6: The Silent Blade
The air inside the Azure Wind Sect was unnaturally still.
Too still.
Ye Xian moved through the shadowed corridors, her footfalls silent against the polished wooden floors. The scent of pine resin lingered in the air, mixing with the distant smoke of burned incense. The torches lining the halls flickered—but there was no wind.
Someone had put them out.
A subtle but deliberate move.
Someone was here. An intruder.
Her fingers brushed the edge of the jade hairpin tucked in her sleeve, its poisoned tip cold against her skin. Not one of her own. Not the Hidden Order. This was someone else's game.
And that meant only one thing.
Shen Liwei was the target.
---
A Silent Death
Ye Xian didn't hesitate.
She moved, her body slipping through the darkness, her breath steady despite the tension coiling in her chest. No time to think. Only act.
The sect leader's residence was near. If she was right, the assassin would already be there.
She turned a corner—
And saw the shadow at the edge of the rooftop.
A figure crouched in the darkness, poised like a striking viper. Cloaked in black, with a blade curved like a crescent moon. No wasted movements. No hesitation.
A professional. Deadly. Precise.
And already inside the Azure Wind Sect.
Ye Xian's heart slowed. She was too late to stop the attack.
She could see it—Shen Liwei standing in his private chamber, back turned, completely unaware. The blade descending, a whisper of silver against the candlelight.
A perfect assassination.
Ye Xian didn't think.
She moved.
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Clash in the Dark
The moment before the blade struck, Ye Xian's dagger met steel.
A sharp metallic clash rang out as she deflected the assassin's strike—twisting her body midair to land between them and Shen Liwei.
The assassin reacted instantly, withdrawing in a blur of motion. Not startled. Not thrown off. Just adapting.
They knew what they were doing.
And now, Ye Xian was in their way.
A beat of silence.
Then the assassin lunged.
Ye Xian met them head-on, her movements swift and precise. Their blades clashed in rapid succession, steel flashing under the dim candlelight. Silent steps, calculated strikes, feints and counters.
This wasn't a fight of brute strength. It was a duel of speed and precision.
The assassin was good. Fast, fluid, relentless.
But Ye Xian had spent her life in the shadows.
She caught the next strike with the edge of her dagger, twisting it just enough to throw their balance off. One second. That was all she needed.
Her free hand darted forward, fingers brushing over their wrist—
A single pressure point strike.
The assassin's fingers convulsed. The blade slipped from their grip.
A mistake.
Ye Xian didn't hesitate.
Her leg snapped out in a sharp kick—slamming the assassin backward. They hit the wooden railing of the balcony, a sharp crack splitting through the air.
For a split second, their hood fell back—
Revealing a woman's face.
Sharp eyes. A scar along her jaw. And something else.
Recognition.
Ye Xian's breath hitched.
She knew this woman.
Mu Rongyin.
Once a legend among Jianghu assassins. A name that whispered through the underworld like a curse. Silent. Precise. Unstoppable.
And Ye Xian's former rival.
For a second, neither of them moved. Two shadows locked in a frozen moment.
Then, Mu Rongyin's expression shifted. Not shock. Not anger. Something worse.
Understanding.
"…It's you."
Ye Xian barely had time to react before Mu Rongyin threw herself backward—rolling off the balcony railing.
A heartbeat later, she was gone. Vanished into the night.
Silence.
Only the sound of Ye Xian's own breathing remained. Steady, controlled. But beneath it, something else thrummed in her chest.
Why was Mu Rongyin here? Who had sent her?
The Hidden Order had not given this mission to her. That meant another force was moving in Jianghu.
And worse—Mu Rongyin had recognized her.
If she speaks, my cover is blown.
She inhaled slowly, forcing the thoughts away. Not now. First, she had to deal with the man standing behind her.
---
---
The Sect Leader's Suspicion
"You knew she was here."
Shen Liwei's voice was quiet—too quiet.
Ye Xian turned, her pulse steady despite the tension curling in the air. He stood at the threshold of his private chamber, Skybreaker half-drawn, his grip relaxed but ready. Not a man startled from sleep. Not a man caught unaware.
A man who had been waiting.
For her? For the assassin? She couldn't tell.
The candlelight cast sharp shadows across his face, but his eyes burned with calculation. Not anger. Not even suspicion. Something deeper.
A test.
Ye Xian lowered her gaze slightly, pressing a hand to her heart—the same respectful gesture she had used before. "I heard movement outside," she said smoothly. "The halls were too quiet. It wasn't difficult to sense something was wrong."
A half-truth. Convincing, but incomplete.
Shen Liwei studied her.
The tension between them was thick—not the heat of battle, but the unspoken weight of two minds trying to outmaneuver each other.
He finally slid Skybreaker back into its sheath with an ease that made the motion feel deliberate. His voice, when he spoke again, was measured.
"You reacted fast."
Ye Xian tilted her head slightly, letting a hint of amusement touch her lips. "Would you rather I had waited?"
A pause. Then, a faint, unreadable smile.
"No."
He took a slow step forward, his presence filling the space between them. Close enough that she could see the faint scar near his brow—the same scar she had noticed before. The one that shouldn't exist on a man immune to poisons.
She held her ground.
Shen Liwei exhaled slightly, his gaze flickering toward the shattered balcony railing where the assassin had vanished.
"That wasn't an ordinary intruder," he said. "She was trained. Fast. Efficient." His eyes returned to her. "Much like you."
Ye Xian's fingers brushed against the rim of her medicine basket. A trap. He was testing for a reaction.
She didn't give him one.
"Perhaps," she said lightly. "But if you're suggesting I had something to do with this, I would question why I would save you in the first place."
Silence.
A sharp, knowing glint passed through his expression. He was reading her. Searching.
"That is a good question," Shen Liwei finally said. "One I intend to answer."
---
A Blade in the Shadows
Ye Xian left the sect leader's residence without another word, but her mind was already turning.
Mu Rongyin.
A ghost from her past. A rival. An enemy. A woman who had once been her equal—and had every reason to want her dead.
Why was she here?
More importantly—who had sent her?
She moved swiftly through the stone paths of the Azure Wind Sect, keeping to the quieter corridors. If Mu Rongyin was in the area, she wouldn't have gone far. Ye Xian needed answers.
She barely made it past the courtyard before she felt it—a shift in the air.
A whisper of movement.
A blade.
She twisted just in time to feel cold steel graze her shoulder—too fast to fully dodge, too well-aimed to be a warning.
Ye Xian spun, dagger flashing—only to meet Mu Rongyin's gaze in the moonlight.
For a moment, neither of them moved.
The night was deathly still.
Then Mu Rongyin smirked.
"I should have killed you years ago."
Ye Xian exhaled, ignoring the sharp sting in her shoulder. "Then why didn't you?"
Mu Rongyin's smirk didn't fade. But her grip on her dagger tightened.
"Because back then, I wasn't being paid for it."
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End of Chapter 6