Raising Orphans, Not Assassins

Xiao Lian didn't say a word; she had already made up her mind.

Both of them had to die!

However, she would kill Tang Hao first.

Without a sound, Xiao Lian walked to Qin Yi's side. Tang Hao, who was channeling his inner strength to dispel the cold energy, saw this and looked delighted.

"Good, little girl. People like her, who have killed countless innocents, deserve to die! Once you kill her, I'll give you 1,000 taels of silver!"

Seeing Xiao Lian approach her, Qin Yi's autumn-water-like eyes dimmed slightly. She sighed inwardly. Was she going to die here today?

It was fate.

In her final moments, what concerned Qin Yi the most was why the Tang Sect had set a trap for Fengyu Tower. She had a faint feeling that Fengyu Tower's intelligence network had been compromised.

Under Tang Hao's fervent gaze, Xiao Lian picked up the long sword that Qin Yi had dropped. As soon as her fair hand touched the sword, a piercing cold surged from it. Her fingers stung, and she let go, causing the sword to fall to the ground again.

'So cold.'

Xiao Lian looked down and saw that her fingertips were red and numb, as if she had dipped them in icy water in the middle of winter. Xiao Lian glanced around and noticed the bedsheet on the inn's bed. She tore it off and wrapped it around the sword's hilt.

"Good, good, good! Little girl, you are truly clever! Once you kill this demoness, you'll be a great hero! You will be blessed with boundless merit!"

Tang Hao continued to shower her with praises.

Xiao Lian picked up the sword again, glanced coldly at Tang Hao, and then moved towards him. Seeing this, Tang Hao's expression changed, and he panicked.

He hadn't expected Xiao Lian to pick up the sword to stab him!

"Little girl, calm down. I am a disciple of a reputable sect. I will definitely give you the promised 1,000 taels."

"With 1,000 taels, you can buy many clothes, jewelry, and even real estate..."

Tang Hao kept talking, trying to make Xiao Lian stop. But Xiao Lian's gaze was resolute. She held the sword firmly, pointing it at Tang Hao. The distance between them was no more than ten steps.

Qin Yi, who had resigned herself to death, was surprised and delighted by this unexpected turn of events.

"Little girl, stop!" Qin Yi suddenly said.

Hearing this, Xiao Lian stopped in confusion and looked at Qin Yi, unsure why she was being told to stop.

"Little girl, he's a Tang Sect disciple. He likely has hidden mechanisms and traps on him. Approaching him so closely could make you vulnerable to an ambush."

Qin Yi, lying weak on the ground, whispered to Xiao Lian in a faint voice. Xiao Lian stood still, recalling the contents of the "Jing Hua Zhi" manual.

The world's hidden weapons are categorized into four types: mechanisms, thrown, poison sprays, and whips.

Mechanism-based hidden weapons require the least skill to use; generally, just pressing a switch will fire the weapon.

Thinking of this, Xiao Lian felt a chill of fear. If she had moved any faster, she might have already been killed.

Xiao Lian threw down the sword, reconsidered, and then moved towards the already cold corpse of Tang Feng.

She crouched down and searched Tang Feng's waist. Soon, she found a narrow silk pouch with some hard objects inside. Xiao Lian took the pouch from Tang Feng's waist and looked inside. It contained darts and iron caltrops, the tips glowing green with a faint fishy smell.

Xiao Lian's face lit up with joy. This was a pouch for hidden weapons!

As expected, as described in the book, hidden weapon users carry such pouches. Tang Hao saw Xiao Lian moving to Tang Feng's body and searching it, feeling an ominous premonition. Lying nearby, Qin Yi saw Xiao Lian pick up the pouch and suddenly remembered her.

"Little girl, it's you," Qin Yi said, her voice tinged with excitement and joy.

This little girl was from Fengyu Tower!

Tang Hao, sitting cross-legged and channeling his internal energy, heard the excitement in Qin Yi's voice, and his face darkened. Damn it, these two know each other!

Tang Hao was now furious, wanting nothing more than to tear Tang Feng's body apart. As a bandit, you captured a little girl, and it just so happened to be someone who knows Yu Luo Sha!

Xiao Lian ignored Qin Yi, taking out a three-inch dart and examining it closely.

After a moment of thought, she positioned the dart between her fingers and threw it towards Tang Hao using the flick-hand technique. Seeing Xiao Lian use the hand flick technique, Tang Hao was terrified.

'It's over, this little girl knows how to use hidden weapons!'

'My life is finished!'

Tang Hao instinctively closed his eyes, feeling despair.

Thud!

Clang

First, there was the dull sound of the dart hitting wood, followed by the clinking sound of it falling to the ground. Tang Hao opened his eyes in confusion, seeing a dart on the ground not far from him.

Qin Yi, lying on the ground, was also stunned.

'When they were on the street, this little girl had clearly shown proficiency in the Jing Hua Finger technique, so why was her dart throwing so poor?'

Xiao Lian's pretty, fair face remained expressionless. She took out another dart and casually threw it again.

Thud!

Clang

Just like before, it fell to the ground.

Tang Hao's emotions surged like waves, his previously tense heart relaxed. He exhaled deeply, barely containing his excitement. It seemed this little girl hadn't been practicing with hidden weapons for long; her technique was clumsy, and her aim was poor!

Tang Hao took a deep breath and quickly circulated his internal energy. There was still a chance. The frost on his face was slowly receding, turning into water. In a few more seconds, he would suppress the icy internal energy.

Then, the outcome would be decided.

Seeing that her two attempts had missed, Xiao Lian frowned slightly. Darts were different from stones; their weight and the feeling of throwing them were not the same. Even though she was good at throwing stones, it didn't mean she could hit her target with darts.

Her fair hand reached into the hidden weapon pouch again, taking out another dart. This time, Xiao Lian didn't rush. She weighed it in her hand, feeling its weight.

Tang Hao, seeing Xiao Lian pause, felt even more elated. In just a few more seconds, he would completely suppress Qin Yi's icy internal energy!

Qin Yi noticed that Tang Hao's complexion was becoming more flushed, his breathing more steady. She sighed inwardly. Tang Hao was about to recover.

Xiao Lian, after feeling the dart's weight, had a spark of understanding in her eyes. Her right hand reached into the hidden weapon pouch again.

Whoosh!

The dart in her hand flew out once again. Qin Yi, lying nearby, watched with tense eyes. Judging by the trajectory, this time it should hit!

Just as the dart was about to strike Tang Hao, he suddenly turned his head, narrowly avoiding it. His body, previously stiff from the cold, was warming up quickly. Tang Hao had managed to suppress most of Qin Yi's icy internal energy.

As Tang Hao thought he had evaded the dart, a shadow struck him in his left eye.

"Ah!"

Tang Hao let out a painful scream.

A dart had precisely pierced his left eye.

Qin Yi, lying on the ground, was stunned. She exclaimed, "Jing Hua Zhi mastery, a ray of hope in the darkness!"

Xiao Lian didn't stop; she quickly took more darts from the hidden weapon pouch, using the same technique to shoot at Tang Hao. In extreme pain, Tang Hao couldn't dodge. The following darts hit his eyes, face, and neck.

Knowing her strength was insufficient, Xiao Lian aimed for Tang Hao's vital points.

With his eyes blinded and his face and neck injured, the poison on the darts quickly took effect. In the combined agony of pain and poison, Tang Hao could no longer focus on suppressing the internal energy, and frost rapidly formed on his face.

Moments later, Tang Hao's body stiffened, and he collapsed.

Seeing that she had killed Tang Hao, Xiao Lian's body trembled slightly, her heart pounding violently. A wave of panic surged within her.

Did she really just kill someone?

For the first-time killer Xiao Lian, a deep sense of anxiety and panic welled up in her heart. But soon, she gritted her teeth, suppressing her emotions. Her gaze turned icy as she looked at Qin Yi.

There's still one more!