Chapter 8
The second hand, radiating a brilliant glow, spun rapidly until it came to a halt at a fixed position. The light in Xia'er’s eyes faded, and she gradually began to sense the objects and temperature around her.
"Coming Day"
"June 18, Year 741 of the Holy Calendar, 4:45 AM"
"Countdown - 23:59:59"
The silvery-white space before her dissipated, leaving only a faint light screen that displayed the current time for Xia'er.
She had arrived at 4:45 AM on the 18th, full of energy.
She didn’t light the oil lamp; instead, she quietly got out of bed in the dark, took out the short knife she had sharpened and held it in her hand, then slowly opened the door.
Xia'er gently opened her sister Lichi's door. After confirming that Lichi was still asleep inside, she closed the door and headed downstairs.
Dressed in a gray linen outfit she had prepared in advance, with a tattered gray-black cloak draped over her shoulders and the hood pulled up, she slightly parted the curtains and began to observe the outside through the gap.
The streets were deserted at this early hour; even the most unscrupulous factories had stopped their machines, leaving the entire street enveloped in silence.
Zhongta Alley had no streetlights that stayed lit through the night. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness under the moonlight, she spotted a shadow leaning against the wall in the alley across from her.
In Zhongta Alley, the presence of homeless people and orphans was so common that it hardly raised any eyebrows. A figure lying at the alley's entrance would not attract suspicion, but the gray newsboy cap he used to shield his face revealed his identity.
The person sleeping across from her was the one who had been following her all along.
If she wanted to gather information, he was the easiest target. The rogue Aian might not know where Blade Solari was, but this stalker certainly did.
The night was deep. Xia'er gripped her knife and opened the door, stepping down the stairs slowly, heading toward the alley.
With the enhancement of her skill, [Agility Lv.1], she made no significant noise while opening doors or walking.
She approached the man in the newsboy cap, close enough to hear his faint snoring, and he remained completely unaware.
A fleeting silver-white light flashed, and a revolver appeared in Xia'er’s left hand. With her right hand, she swiftly thrust the knife forward, plunging it directly into his abdomen.
“Pfft—”
Warm blood splattered onto Xia'er’s hand.
“Ugh—!”
The intense pain caused the man sitting on the ground to curl up, and the newsboy cap covering his face slipped to the floor.
He clutched his chest and looked sharply in Xia'er’s direction, only to see the red-haired girl calmly aiming a gun at him under the moonlight.
“Keep it down,” Xia'er said calmly, maintaining a safe distance from the man.
She didn’t know where to stab to avoid a fatal blow while still incapacitating him, so she chose the softest spot—the abdomen—at least there were no vital organs that could cause immediate death.
“Where is Blade Solari?”
The steady tone of the girl made the man’s face twitch slightly, especially when he heard that name; panic and surprise flickered in his eyes.
“That cultist tricked Blade; the ritual is fake. If you tell me where he is, I’ll spare your life,” Xia'er stated, her voice devoid of any inflection.
These words were crafted from the information she already had. She was gambling, betting that he wouldn’t know more than she did and that he would value his life.
Looking at the bloodied knife in the red-haired girl’s hand and the revolver in her left, the man hesitated, baring his teeth for a moment before finally giving up resistance.
“He... he’s at the Blackwater Bar, the one on East Street... he’ll be there for the next couple of days... cough cough...” His voice grew weaker, punctuated by intermittent gasps.
The moment he finished speaking, he heard a crisp “click” sound—the hammer of the revolver being cocked.
“Lies won’t save your life; it seems my mercy was misplaced.”
A hint of “anger” flickered across Xia'er’s calm face as her left index finger pressed against the trigger. She took a step forward, forcing the man to awkwardly crawl back two steps.
The man’s eyes widened in shock at the scene before him, trembling as he pleaded, his voice rising, even taking on a whimpering tone:
“No... I’m not lying... cough cough cough... I’m telling the truth, he really is at the Blackwater Bar on East Street!”
Xia'er paused for a moment, then slowly released the hammer, waving the revolver toward the alley: “Get lost, and don’t let me see you again.”
“Thank... you...” The man propped himself up, leaning against the wall as he stumbled deeper into the alley, his frantic steps causing him to fall several times.
After he had walked nearly ten meters, he finally mustered the courage to look back. The alley was now only illuminated by the bright moonlight, and the girl’s figure had long since vanished.
He gasped heavily, and after a moment, he suddenly tore off his sweat-soaked shirt, rolled it up, and stuffed it into the gaping wound in his abdomen, barely managing to stem the flow of blood.
Covering the wound with his shirt, he limped out of the alley, glancing back to ensure no one was following before quickly turning left and running toward West Street.
But he was completely unaware that a figure hidden beneath a black cloak was leisurely following him from the rooftops.
As he navigated through alley after alley, he finally spotted a tavern with lights on, its sign reading “The Hammer.” Unable to resist, he quickened his pace, using the last of his strength to run toward the tavern.
“Almost there... just a bit more... Blade will have a doctor fix me up...” His mind was growing hazy, his lips pale from blood loss, mumbling as he struggled toward that beacon of hope.
“Thud...”
A heavy thud echoed from a nearby alley, causing him to instinctively turn his head toward the darkness.
In the shadowy alley, a hand holding a bloodied short knife reached out, rising slightly before plunging directly into his throat, all while he looked on in despair.
“Guh...”
The weakened man couldn’t even muster a cry for help as his body collapsed heavily, his breath replaced by the gurgling sound of blood filling his throat.
His corpse was dragged inch by inch into the dark alley, like prey being pulled by an indescribable creature lurking in the shadows.
After a few muffled sounds of the knife piercing flesh, the street fell silent once more.
Twenty seconds later, a red-haired girl emerged from the shadowy alley, her left hand gripping the blood-red short knife, while her right hand wiped the blood from her face with a handkerchief.
As Xia'er stepped out of the alley, she tilted her head back slightly, taking a deep breath of the air that, while still foul, lacked the metallic scent of blood, her gaze momentarily lost in thought.
Though she had killed Aian once in her notebook, this was the first time she had truly taken action.
Even in the simulation, the sensation of blood splattering on her face felt all too real. Even after wiping away the stains, the rusty stench lingered at the tip of her nose.
“I just wanted a peaceful life...”
“I’ve tried my best not to provoke anyone...”
“Why do you have to come after me...”
“Disrupting this peace...”
The girl spoke softly, not as if questioning a specific person, but as if addressing fate or the divine.
After a long pause, she put away the bloodied handkerchief. A black revolver appeared in her left hand, and Xia'er slowly made her way toward The Hammer tavern.
---
**Chapter Seven: The Ritual Interrupted, An Unexpected Intruder**
“How are the arrangements coming along, Blade?”
The bright lights of the tavern illuminated the figure of the man in the black cloak, but they could not dispel the shadows that clung to his face beneath the hood.
“All set. They have no idea,” Blade Solari replied, sitting across from the cloaked man, wiping his glass with a handkerchief. He then grabbed a bottle of strong liquor from the back shelf and poured it into his glass, downing it in one gulp.
The tavern was eerily quiet, with only the two of them present. The air felt tense and thick, and neither spoke for a long while. Finally, the leader of the Blackwater Gang, Blade, broke the silence:
“‘Your Excellency, the Shadow,’ I have great sincerity regarding this transaction. This is the last piece on the board; I can’t wait much longer... cough cough cough...”
Suddenly, Blade bent over, covering his mouth as he coughed violently, as if he were about to cough up a lung. Just as he regained his composure, the cloaked figure finally spoke.
“As long as everything follows the instructions in the ritual, there will be no issues,” the man in the cloak said.
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