Chapter 10: Chapter 10

After half a month on the road, they encountered no further assassination attempts following the incident in the Taihang Mountains. At last, after some alarm but no real danger, they reached Lüzhou.

Hexi lay less than two thousand li beyond Lüzhou. Once they arrived there, the journey would be over.

The party entered Lüzhou City and found an inn. They planned to rest there for three days before making one final push directly to Hexi.

Lüzhou City was founded more than two hundred years ago. It had subsequently endured the ravages of war and been rebuilt several times, causing the present-day city to become far larger than it had originally been.

Lüzhou was also close to the grasslands, and traveling south from there into Jiangnan was quick and convenient. As a result, merchants from all directions stopped there to rest, gradually transforming Lüzhou into a vital transportation hub.

Although it was far from Jiangnan, it was no less lively or prosperous.

Beneath the hazy night sky, Zhao Jiu washed, changed his clothes, and went out to explore Lüzhou.

It had been almost three years since he transmigrated, yet Zhao Jiu still enjoyed going out at night. Perhaps it was a habit born of his profession, or perhaps he simply missed another sky filled with stars.

He did not wander far. After eating a bowl of noodles outside, he carried a flask of wine back to the inn.

As usual, Zhao Jiu carried a reclining chair into the courtyard and lay down.

However, it could no longer be described as enjoying the cool evening air. It was already October, deep into late autumn. Claiming that he had come outside to cool off would have been pure self-deception.

A gentle autumn breeze drifted through the courtyard, pleasantly cool and refreshing.

Such peaceful moments were especially precious.

Two days passed without incident. Everything was so calm that the assassination attempt half a month ago almost seemed like an illusion.

As it happened, the weather that night was poor. Dark clouds covered the moon, and not a single star was visible. The sky was a murky gray, as though rain could begin at any moment.

Zhao Jiu liked this kind of weather.

His instincts told him that if another assassination attempt was coming, it would most likely happen tonight.

Therefore, he did not lie in the courtyard.

He was already exposed in the open. Why would he drag out a reclining chair and turn himself into a target?

Did he think he was Huo Yuanjia?

He was not Jinmen’s Number One Fighter!

At midnight, Zhao Jiu awoke on his bed.

Rain was already falling outside.

A dark and windy night was made for killing.

The time should be close.

He gently opened his door, slipped outside with his back against the wall, and concealed himself around a corner. He activated the Turtle-Breathing Technique and listened closely to the movements in the courtyard.

Most of his attention was focused on his client’s room.

Nothing could be allowed to happen to Liu Rouwei. The remaining payment had not been settled yet!

There could be no such despicable thing as bad debt in the accounts of Zhao Jiu!

SPLASH.

The noise from outside the courtyard was extremely faint, but Zhao Jiu, who was pressed against the courtyard wall, heard it clearly.

“How unprofessional. How could an assassin step into a puddle?” Zhao Jiu complained inwardly.

A black-clad man climbed over the courtyard wall.

Before he could steady himself, a Throwing Needle struck him directly between the eyebrows.

Zhao Jiu hurriedly caught the falling man and dragged him into the corner. By then, he could already hear the clash of sabers and swords.

He did not dare delay.

Accelerating sharply, Zhao Jiu leaped onto the second floor, pushed open a window, and entered Liu Rouwei’s room.

Liu Rouwei was still sleeping soundly.

When she sensed someone entering and tried to cry out, a hand immediately covered her mouth.

“Forgive the offense, Miss Liu.”

Zhao Jiu raised a finger to his lips, signaling for her to remain silent.

Only after she nodded did he release her.

“Old Nine? What are you trying to do?” Liu Rouwei asked in confusion.

“Miss Liu, I have no intention of offending you. Come with me. Xiong Wu and Song Fu are already fighting outside. There has been no movement from Zhou Yun, so he is probably dead.”

“This attack is different from the last one. This time, they have come specifically to kill you.”

“I… Why should I trust you?”

“Because you paid me!”

Without waiting for Liu Rouwei to respond, Zhao Jiu wrapped an arm around her waist, smashed through the window, and jumped down. He then raced toward the street behind the inn.

Liu Rouwei turned pale with fright.

However, she did not know Martial Arts. Although countless questions filled her mind, she could not ask any of them while they were fleeing. All she could do was cling fearfully to Zhao Jiu’s waist.

The sound of the window shattering attracted several black-clad men.

They exchanged glances, turned around, and pursued the pair.

Zhao Jiu’s Internal Qi surged. Still holding Liu Rouwei around the waist, he sprinted several steps before abruptly turning and releasing a dense cloud of Hidden Weapons.

He did not expect to kill anyone.

He merely wanted to delay them and gain time.

The pursuers were forced to stop, draw their weapons, and deflect the incoming Hidden Weapons.

By then, Zhao Jiu and Liu Rouwei had already mounted a horse.

“Hyah!”

Zhao Jiu urged the horse into a furious gallop.

The black-clad men could only watch helplessly as the pair disappeared into the distance on horseback.

Outside Lüzhou City, the rain grew increasingly heavy.

By the time Zhao Jiu and Liu Rouwei dismounted at a ruined temple outside the city, both of them were soaked to the skin.

Fortunately, although the temple was dilapidated, it could still provide shelter from the wind and rain.

“Old Nine, could you go back and save Chunzhu and Uncle Gao?” Liu Rouwei cautiously asked Zhao Jiu as he started a fire.

“Not really. There is no need to rescue them either. We will leave once the rain stops at dawn. By the time I return to the city, their bodies will already be stiff,” Zhao Jiu replied indifferently.

You are my client. They are not.

If a job cannot be done, then do not do it. Only an idiot would deliberately make life difficult for himself.

“Grrrroowl…”

Liu Rouwei’s stomach began to rumble.

After their frantic escape and the drenching rain, she had expended a great deal of energy. She was now both cold and hungry.

“Do you have anything to eat?”

Liu Rouwei’s voice trembled as she asked.

Hunger could not be helped. It was intense, obvious, and impossible to suppress.

“Here.”

Zhao Jiu handed her two cold steamed buns.

He then stood, tossed her a quilt, and said, “Take off your wet clothes and wrap yourself in this. Place your clothes beside the fire to dry.”

With that, he walked outside and stood beneath the eaves to shelter from the rain.

“Do not speak. Someone is coming,” Zhao Jiu suddenly said.

“Ah!”

Liu Rouwei immediately wrapped the quilt tightly around herself and shrank into a corner.

The rain outside the ruined temple grew heavier. It struck the roof tiles with a loud, distinct patter.

From inside the temple, the sound of rain falling upon the tiles was exceptionally clear.

Other than that, there was no sound at all.

Liu Rouwei looked at Zhao Jiu in confusion.

“Did you hear incorrectly? I can only hear the rain. Please do not frighten me, all right?”

Her voice gradually grew quieter and began to tremble.

She was clearly afraid.

Surely a person approaching would make some noise.

If there was no sound at all, would that not mean it was a ghost?

Liu Rouwei’s imagination inexplicably wandered in the wrong direction.

In truth, Zhao Jiu had not intended to frighten her. There really were hoofbeats nearby. They were simply still some distance away.

Liu Rouwei was not Zhao Jiu, so it was perfectly normal that she could not hear them.

“Old Nine, what is your real name?” Liu Rouwei asked, attempting to ease the tension.

“Zhao Jiu,” he answered instinctively.

Perhaps it was merely psychological, but Liu Rouwei asked again, “How do you know that someone… is coming?”

“…”

“I heard them, of course. It is definitely a person, not a ghost. Stop imagining things.”

“The more wildly people imagine, the more frightened they become. The more frightened they become, the less they can stop imagining. Eventually, even something false starts to feel real!” Zhao Jiu said impatiently.

After hearing that, Liu Rouwei wrapped the quilt around herself even more tightly.

Zhao Jiu was left speechless.

Telling the truth did not work, and lying would not work either.

She was extraordinarily difficult to deal with.

The hoofbeats drew closer.

This time, Liu Rouwei heard them clearly as well.

Just as she was about to speak, Zhao Jiu raised a finger to his lips.

Within the darkness, a shadowy figure pulled up outside the temple, dismounted, and walked inside.