Princess Blind Assassin

五. 𝐀 𝐍𝐞𝐰 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 ☯︎

Upon reaching the manor, the assassins hid from detection; some hid behind bushes and trees in the garden, some behind pillars and some on the roof, like their female leader and the mystical red dragon, Ye Long who was perched on top of the leader's left shoulder. The leader's hand was on the hilt of her prized possession, her sword. From the rooftop, they could view two roomsㅡ a room in which the old official and his subjects celebrated and the other room in which his ill wife was being treated by a doctor.

The official was a vicious old man who served the court. He was known for his corruption, cruelty and greed. He had recently amassed a fortune by exploiting commoners. He lived in a lavish manor, guarded by competent guards, servants and maids. Tonight, he was holding a celebratory party with his subjects, having no clue that his death was lurking in the shadows.

The woman and the seven assassins with her stood in silence as she heard the old official shout "cheers" to the whole room. Her blood boiled with rage.

She took out her small sword and unsheathed it, ready to strike. "Keep your swords ready, you'll need to slaughter all of them," she whispered over her shoulder to the seven men behind her. "Yes, My Lady," the assassins chorused in a response.

She turned to them and said, "Repeat after me: We are the Crimson Dawn, we move like the wind. We are the Crimson Dawn, we catch our prey before they blink.'"

The assassins repeated enthusiastically after their leader.

Ye Long tilted her head and flew up in the sky, moaning softly.

Suddenly, the female assassin threw the short sword towards the window of the room. The sword flew through the window and into the room in a swift motion, unnoticed by anyone and upon reaching the old official, slashed his throat. The room froze as the man clutched the sword that was stuck in his throat, took it out and fell back on his chair, dead.

The room exploded with mayhem and panic as the leader of the assassins shouted, "Now!" to the others. The assassins slipped off the roof and were joined by their other hiding companions. They entered the room and started slaughtering the subjects and friends of the dead official, as instructed. Screams, cries and panic arose in the atmosphere but died down as soon as it had risen.

The assassins retreated out of the room and started climbing up the roofs again, making their escape. While the female leader was climbing, she accidentally slipped and was about to fall when she held onto the edges of the crafted roof.

She was hanging onto her dear lifeㅡ she still hadn't mastered the climbing of roofs. If she slipped and fell, she would fall right into the servants' quarters and her hands were already growing sweaty. Swinging a leg over the roof, she was able to get up halfway when suddenly an ear-splitting scream reached her ears.

"An assassin, a woman assassin!" a maid screamed. The leader panicked. A sudden blast of wind knocked her veil off and landed some feet away. The maid screamed louder this time.

"Sheㅡ she is blind!"

Tracing the direction of the voice, the female leader threw a knife at the maid and started running on the roof, though unsure of whether the knife hit the maid or not because the screams of a woman and other voices of commotion followed her while she fled from the manor, into the shadows.

* * *

"And while this was happening, Great Lord Lihui thought of changing the society and bringing reforms..."

"And then he probably was bald," Xiao Jun whispered while he drew an ironic picture of the Great Lord Lihui with a 5-inch moustache, a bush of beard and a big bald head on his parchment while Li Liang was trying his best not to laugh.