Chapter 346 - 214: Sword and Qin

Chapter 346: Chapter 214: Sword and Qin

All was silent, leaving only the sound of breathing in the room.

At this hour of midnight, besides the chirping of insects, there should have been no other sounds.

But Xie Yuan and Situ Qin both heard a faint tapping sound from downstairs in the inn. Outside, the branches of the trees seemed to move without any wind, their leaves rustling softly.

CRACK. A roof tile above seemed to shift under some weight.

The night air grew subtle, dangerous. A nearly imperceptible fishy smell drifted in.

And killing intent.

Situ Qin’s cute little nose twitched, and her eyes lit up. Sitting on the couch, she looked at Xie Yuan, who was by the opposite wall, and gave a slight nod.

The two counted their heartbeats in silence, listening as extremely light, faint footsteps ascended the stairs, approached the corridor, and gradually came to a stop outside their two rooms.

A faint breeze blew past, causing the candlelight from downstairs to flicker. It cast the shadows from the second-floor corridor onto the paper of the windows.

Xie Yuan and Situ Qin looked over and could see several faint, blurry silhouettes standing silently outside their doors.

WHOOSH—

The candle downstairs was extinguished. The shadows outside the doors dimmed and were no longer visible.

With a BANG, the doors to both rooms were kicked open, and Martial Artists charged straight in.

At the same time, the window on the other side shattered. A lean man, a short blade clenched between his teeth, swung in from under the eaves. The moonlight silhouetted him, hiding his face in shadow.

A cold glint flashed in Xie Yuan’s eyes. He saw the assassins charging in from both sides and was about to strike the ones nearest the door. Suddenly, his ear twitched. He thought he heard an inaudible sound from within the room, and his heart skipped a beat.

An invisible wave of energy shot out from the couch in front of him. The two Martial Artists who had rushed through the door collapsed with gurgles before they could even speak, blood blossoming from their throats. At the same instant, the assassin who had swung through the window had just landed when his chest exploded. With a piercing scream, he was flung back out the way he came. A moment later, there was the sound of a heavy body hitting the ground.

"Aaargh—"

The short, sharp scream tore through the quiet of the night.

Xie Yuan’s eyes widened. ’I can’t believe Situ Qin is so efficient and decisive. She didn’t even leave any enemies for me.’

This was the first time he had seen Situ Qin in action, aside from that one time she’d peeled an apple. Only now did he truly witness her skill. The Guqin that could produce such heavenly music was also a deadly weapon in her hands.

But the first three intruders were clearly just the appetizer. A large group of disciples from the boat gang now swarmed in through the door and windows like a tidal wave.

The room instantly grew humid.

Xie Yuan strode to the doorway. A dazzling flash of a blade suddenly lit up the dimly lit room. Several boat gang assassins who had just charged in were sent flying back by a brilliant slash, shaped like a crescent moon. Screaming, they crashed through the second-floor railing and fell to the main hall below, dead before they landed.

The assassins outside froze, their feet hesitating instinctively. Urged on by their leader from behind, they stared wide-eyed and charged again into the pitch-black room. But the moment an assassin stepped inside, he was met with a glint of cold light that pierced his throat, and he slowly crumpled to the ground.

Xie Yuan stood guard at the door, holding the pass alone. No one could get even half a step inside!

On the other side, the premium room was a suite with several windows, inside and out. Dark figures were using the eaves and a large tree to try and swing into the room.

However, with a light wave of her fair hand, Situ Qin sent streams of invisible energy from the Guqin in her grasp. They were faster than sharp arrows. An assassin had barely leaned through a window before one of these "qin-arrows" shot him, sending him flying back to tumble to the ground. Her efficiency was so high that almost no one even managed to set foot on the floor. All were intercepted mid-air, no matter which window they tried.

A continuous series of THUDS sounded from the ground outside. The boat gang assassins had formed teams to breach the windows, but within breaths, as if coordinating with Situ Qin’s performance, they fell powerlessly from the floor above, one after another. Like a flock of birds shot down by a rain of arrows, they piled up on the ground like fallen leaves.

The assassins outside the inn all flinched, a chill running down their spines. They no longer dared to enter through those windows, which now seemed like gateways to hell. That side of the assault fell silent.

Xie Yuan cleaved another boat gang expert who charged at him. Although these were merely assassins focused on External Training, Xie Yuan felt a saber would be more convenient at the moment, so he had changed the shape of his Hundred-Change Profound Weapon.

Noticing the quiet behind him, he took a moment to silently give Situ Qin a thumbs-up. In response, Situ Qin lifted her chin proudly.

Although this was her first time venturing out without her guards, Situ Qin was clearly no stranger to bloodshed. She acted with cool decisiveness, utterly unshaken.

Growing up, especially in the years after her father’s death when her mother went on a rampage, Situ Qin had experienced countless assassination attempts.

Back then, she was just a little girl, often witnessing guards and assassins spurting blood and collapsing before her very eyes, their blood soaking her embroidered slippers.

It was only later, after the Saintess vanished and the turmoil of the Eight Sects gradually subsided, that Situ Qin’s life had grown peaceful in recent years. She dared to move about freely around Yunzhou Prefecture, only occasionally encountering some clueless petty thief who didn’t know any better.

’This was what Xie Yuan admired most about her. Any other young girl with her past would have either become hysterical and gone on a killing rampage, a true successor to the Demon Sect’s Demoness, or grown gloomy and spent her life walking on eggshells. She would never be so cheerful and open, still finding the world an interesting place.’

’Perhaps she inherited the heroic spirit of the King of Pingxi... but more than that, it was because she was, and always would be, the one and only Situ Qin.’