A Showdown

"Whoosh"

With a sharp whooshing sound, Xie Yuyan, who seemed weak and powerless at first glance, swiftly drew the dagger from her waist and gripped it in her hand. Stepping forward, she mustered her last bit of strength to stab at the masked man.

No... I absolutely do not want to return to that place! I want to live my own life!

Oh? Poisoned?

Ye Feng, with his medical skills, noticed the wound on Xie Yuyan's abdomen under the faint light. Combined with her symptoms, it was highly likely that she had been poisoned with a paralyzing agent. It seemed that those pursuing her had no intention of taking her life.

"Die..."

The dagger was getting closer and closer to Ye Feng's heart, but he showed no intention of dodging.

No, this isn't right...

Xie Yuyan frowned, sensing something amiss in the blink of an eye. Although Ye Feng appeared to have his guard down, the cautious Xie Yuyan noticed his body slightly tilting to one side, as if preparing to dodge her attack.

Who is this guy? Could he be a newly trained assassin from the organization? Whatever, just kill him.

Thinking this, Xie Yuyan decided to rely on brute force to stab at Ye Feng's heart. With a quick step and a burst of strength, she lunged at him.

Just as the sharp dagger was about to pierce Ye Feng's heart, as Xie Yuyan had anticipated, the masked man lightly sidestepped, avoiding her attack. However, this seemingly obvious move was merely a feint on her part.

As their bodies brushed past each other, Xie Yuyan's hand suddenly moved. Her wrist deftly twisted, tossing the dagger from her right hand to her left, while her left hand reached out to grab the handle. This not only blocked the masked man's movement but also allowed her to deliver a fatal blow before he could react.

"Die!"

Xie Yuyan snorted coldly, gripping the flying dagger with her left hand and turning gracefully to stab at Ye Feng's exposed chest.

Just as Xie Yuyan thought everything was about to end, a sharp "clang" sound rang out, leaving her frozen in place.

The dagger spun in the air and eventually landed at her feet.

How... how could this be? He reacted so quickly? No! He had set this trap from the beginning, and I fell for it.

My own judgment led me to this...

"Bang"

Exhausted from using her last bit of strength, Xie Yuyan collapsed to her knees, barely managing to stay upright.

"Who... are you?"

"Me?"

Under the mask, Ye Feng put away his own dagger and pulled out a thick rope, testing its strength.

Hmm, she shouldn't be able to break free from this.

"I'm just a puppet following orders."

"Heh..."

Xie Yuyan wanted to say more, but the effects of the poison left her powerless, and she closed her eyes, collapsing to the ground.

Ye Feng did not approach immediately when Xie Yuyan fell. It wasn't until he saw her pale face and short, labored breaths that he finally relaxed.

In those brief moments of confrontation, Ye Feng had already sensed the difficulty of the situation, especially since Xie Yuyan was not at her full strength. Fortunately, her injury and the psychological pressure gave him the upper hand, or else he might have been killed with a single strike.

"This damn system really doesn't care about my life. If I didn't have intermediate skills in cold weapons and combat, I'd probably be dead by now."

Ye Feng muttered under his breath as he tied up the unconscious Xie Yuyan. Recalling her words earlier, he had already guessed a rough outline of her situation.

Xie Yuyan was likely an assassin, and her current state was probably due to being targeted by her own organization, leading to her downfall.

No, this place isn't safe. I need to get home quickly.

After tying a perfect knot around Xie Yuyan's wrists and ankles, Ye Feng covered the conspicuous rope with his outer coat. Although it was already past midnight, if they encountered anyone, it would be troublesome. So, he had to disguise it as if he were helping a drunk friend home to avoid suspicion.

Just as Ye Feng was about to carry Xie Yuyan away, he suddenly turned back to look at the dagger on the ground and the small amount of blood on the floor.

...

"Where is she? Tell me, where is she!"

Half an hour later, the place where Ye Feng and Xie Yuyan had been was now occupied by a bald man and several men with their heads bowed.

"Boss, we... we lost her trail here. The only trace left is a pool of blood, nothing else."

"So, you're saying she sprouted wings and flew away?"

"..."

The man who answered saw the murderous intent on his boss's face and trembled, lowering his head even further and not daring to speak again.

"Five minutes... If you don't find any clues within five minutes, then..."

"No need."

Before the bald man could finish, a voice filled with authority emerged from the shadows at the end of the alley, followed by the sound of approaching footsteps.

One of the subordinates, who had been staring at the ground, suddenly heard a strange noise. In the next moment, the bald man's figure appeared in his field of vision.

"Thud"

The bald man knelt on the ground, his face filled with terror, his forehead almost touching the floor.

"Please, Your Excellency, have mercy! That woman disappeared here, and I suspect someone took her. It wasn't me, really!"

"I have already shown you my mercy. Now, I am growing impatient."

As the footsteps drew closer, a dignified man in a suit emerged from the shadows, looking down at the bald man with disdain.

"You have missed your only chance. You will receive the appropriate punishment."

The suit man said calmly, his eyes showing no concern, as if the bald man were already a dead man.

"Screw you!"

Seeing that he couldn't gain the suit man's forgiveness, the bald man dropped his act.

"You're just a dog sent by the organization. I've given you enough face. Don't push your luck!"

With that, the bald man pulled out a pistol from his pocket and aimed it at the suit man.

"What if I kill you right now? No matter how strong you are, can you dodge a bullet...?"

Before the bald man could finish, his pistol fell to the ground, and his hands clutched his throat, revealing a look of horror.

"Cough... cough..."

A thin line had appeared on the bald man's neck, and as it widened, blood gushed uncontrollably.

In no time, the bald man collapsed to the ground, his eyes wide open, clearly dead.

The suit man greedily inhaled the thick smell of blood, his hand holding a claw knife dripping with blood...