In the basement, dark and gloomy.
The demon assassin Hui Yue leaned against the wall, her expression extremely unpleasant.
"How is this possible!"
She still couldn't understand how she had been exposed, and even had the Six Bureaus coming to her doorstep, blocking all escape routes.
Most importantly, last night's assassination target was still alive.
This made her somewhat anxious.
But she wasn't yet desperate.
Because she heard clearly that the interrogation outside only mentioned suspicions without concrete evidence. As long as Secretary Li denied everything to the death, the people behind her could still manipulate things.
But at this moment, she heard the constable's excited and urgent cry.
"Demon hair! There's a demon in Secretary Li's house!"
"Notify headquarters!"
"Not good!"
Hui Yue's hair stood on end.
Her hair?!
She had been so careful, how could she possibly have left hair behind?!
Hui Yue couldn't understand.
But she knew that the balance had been broken. After discovering the demon hair, the defense here would not only not relax but would become even more stringent until the experts from the Six Bureaus dug up everything here.
So, if she wanted to escape, it had to be now!
As for what would happen to Secretary Li? Humans and demons had always been on different paths; why should she consider him? Good luck to him!
○
In the outer courtyard, seeing Secretary Li's panicked expression on the ground, Shen Yao understood something and couldn't help but turn her gaze toward the white-haired girl in the wheelchair.
The girl's expression was extremely calm.
Shen Yao now pretty much understood that all of Mu Qinglan's actions from beginning to end had been carefully planned.
She probably had possessed the relevant information early on and had just been waiting, waiting for the right opportunity to strike.
She herself might also be a part of her plan.
From using verbal offensives to break down the opponent's psychological defenses, to using demon hair to frame him, from start to finish, Secretary Li had been toyed with in the palm of this princess at her side.
Like prey fallen into a hunter's trap.
She couldn't help but admire her a bit. Earlier, she had underestimated her opponent. Now it seemed that Mu Qinglan's intelligence capabilities far exceeded imagination.
It might not even be impossible for her to help with her revenge.
So now there was only one question—the crucial evidence of Secretary Li's collusion with the demon had not yet been found. The demon hair alone was enough to send him to the imperial prison but not enough to condemn him.
Did she have another arrangement?
For some reason, Shen Yao instinctively felt that Mu Qinglan must have a backup plan.
Boom!!
Just as she was thinking, a huge explosion suddenly came from the backyard.
Secretary Li's face instantly turned pale.
Dust rose everywhere, and then a black shadow darted out like lightning, heading straight for the girl in the wheelchair.
"Demon assassin!"
The surrounding people exclaimed.
Without time to think further, Shen Yao stepped forward, shielding Mu Qinglan behind her, and then activated her spiritual power to draw the sword at her waist.
Ice-blue fragments of light surged.
The light on the blade grew brighter, emitting a freezing chill that made the surroundings feel like an ice cellar.
Ding—
A crisp explosion sounded as claws and ice blade engaged in close combat.
Terrifying force was applied to the blade.
However, Shen Yao stood her ground, staring at the opponent without retreating a step.
In the next instant, a sound like a torrential rainstorm suddenly erupted. The two figures disappeared from their original positions, and the ice-blue blade danced in the air, leaving behind illusory and beautiful traces, firmly blocking every offensive route of the assassin.
Wind pressure spread outward from the center of the two, blowing so hard that the surrounding constables could barely open their eyes.
Although all the constables were all transcendents, they were mostly eighth or ninth rank and couldn't intervene in the battle.
And Mu Qinglan couldn't even see the shadows of the two clearly.
But she could be certain that Shen Yao definitely had the upper hand.
Without even thinking about it.
As for why... she could only say that game characters differed from each other.
In most games, there was a saying—
Villains are ten times stronger; allies are seventy percent weaker.
In other words, bosses on the villain's side were definitely stronger than allies on the good side, and by quite a margin.
And coincidentally, in this game, Shen Yao was a legendary world boss [Ice Calamity] in the late game, a being who would reach the second rank of Martial Saint after two major versions. Although she hadn't yet betrayed the country and caused trouble, her strength was already evident.
—Unrivaled among those of the same rank.
In contrast, the assassin Miss Hui Yue was much more ordinary.
Just a very common friendly NPC.
With nothing to offer except a decent character portrait.
In fact, if it weren't for Shen Yao's lack of experience in dealing with demons and having to divide her attention to protect Mu Qinglan from harm, the battle would have ended long ago.
But even so, under Shen Yao's increasingly fierce attacks, the demon assassin was in dire straits.
Under high pressure, the assassin finally made a mistake.
"Opportunity!"
A flash of brilliance appeared in Shen Yao's eyes. She took a deep breath, and a sword light like a cold crescent moon cut through the air. Taking advantage of the moment when the old force had just gone and the new force had not yet come, she fiercely slashed at the demon assassin who didn't have time to dodge.
The assassin only had time to slightly twist her body, using her shoulder to block the blade.
In an instant.
From her left arm to her lower abdomen, a clear and terrifying gash appeared.
Rip—
With a sound like tearing cloth, Hui Yue's left arm fell limply like a rag doll without support, blood flowing down her arm and dripping onto the messy grass of the courtyard.
The distance between the two instantly widened.
The assassin took advantage of this opportunity to flash into the collapsed ruins of the backyard.
Shen Yao hesitated for a moment, not rashly pursuing, because this was, after all, enemy territory. No one knew what dangers reckless advance might encounter, or if the enemy might seize an opportunity to turn defeat into victory.
Compared to the assassin, the safety of the girl at her side was more important.
And at this moment.
"She's going to 'Blood Ignition'! Don't give her a chance."
A calm voice came from behind.
Blood Ignition? What's that?
A flash of confusion crossed Shen Yao's mind, but the trust generated by Mu Qinglan's previous correct decisions made her body move instinctively.
Bending, crouching, exerting force.
Silently, Shen Yao's figure disappeared from where she stood.
In the next instant, she suddenly appeared in the air above the ruins.
Several sword lights flashed, forcing the demon hiding in the shadows out.
At this moment, steam was rising around her, veins bulging all over her body, and fire-red patterns crawled along her meridians, covering her entire body, emitting an eerie color.
However, whether due to being interrupted or not, those patterns were somewhat sparse.
"You should die!"
A shrill screech swept across the surroundings.
After letting out a miserable shriek, Hui Yue turned her vertical pupils, which had turned crimson due to blood congestion, toward Mu Qinglan, her eyes filled with wild killing intent like a beast.
—In the Blood Ignition state, her bestial instincts were infinitely magnified.
This person... it's all because of this person!
Because of her, not only had the assassination failed, but her hiding place had also been found by the Six Bureaus.
She even knew about her secret Blood Ignition technique!
For the sake of the demon's grand plan, for revenge...
She must die!
Hui Yue stomped hard on the ground, causing it to sink an inch with a rumble.
From within the ruins, Hui Yue rose from the ground like a beast, rushing toward the wheelchair at a terrifying speed, directly crashing against Shen Yao's blade.
Just a few meters away from Mu Qinglan.
They seemed about to fall into a stalemate again.
And at this moment, the crisp sound of a porcelain bottle breaking came from her side.
Hui Yue originally didn't want to pay attention to that strange sound, but for some reason, a kind of inexplicable attraction from her instincts made her involuntarily turn to look at where the sound came from.
There was a pool of green liquid there.
"That is..."
Forcibly controlling the instinct to pounce on that thing, Hui Yue's mind recalled its name.
—Spirit medicine level catnip.
As a fifth-rank cat demon, Hui Yue should have long been able to easily control her various instincts. Even spirit medicine level catnip shouldn't make her lose composure.
But she was currently in Blood Ignition state.
Instincts rose, rationality sank, and the primitive desires from the depths of her bloodline took precedence, even overwhelming her combat instincts.
This moment of hesitation created a fatal opening.
How could...?
How could she know the weakness of the demon's secret Blood Ignition technique?!
This was classified even among the demons!
Before she could think further, the assassin felt a pain in her chest.
A cold chill spread from her chest, gradually creeping through her limbs and body. That power, which froze everything, sealed her spiritual power circulation while also locking her limbs, preventing her from taking any action.
It's over...
Hui Yue's eyes showed despair.
She never imagined that last night's confident assassination would turn into an inescapable death warrant today!
Where was the promised weakling?!
The creaking sound of the wheelchair slowly rose.
The immobilized assassin watched Mu Qinglan coming closer, her eyes blazing with fury, yet powerless.
"How should we deal with her?"
Shen Yao turned back and asked in a low voice.
At this moment, she was not the dutiful Chief Constable of the Six Bureaus, but the accomplice and hound of the white-haired girl at her side.
So naturally, she didn't need to consider the Six Bureaus' interrogation needs.
After the girl had demonstrated such intricate planning and such terrifying schemes, Shen Yao finally conceded—in terms of strategy, she fell far short of Mu Qinglan.
Being her hound temporarily was not unacceptable.
…How to deal with her? Mu Qinglan's eyes lowered slightly, lost in thought.
After being subdued by Shen Yao, this assassin from the demon clan no longer posed a threat, and her own strength, intelligence, and current hatred toward herself weren't worth the great effort to subdue.
So there weren't many options left.
Why not use her to test something she hadn't experimented with yet?
Thinking this, a malicious smile curled at the corner of Mu Qinglan's mouth, making Hui Yue clearly realize that she was about to face a great calamity.
'No!'
Hui Yue wanted to speak, but she couldn't even open her mouth.
She could only watch helplessly as Mu Qinglan took an exquisite hand crossbow from a shadow servant, then raised it with some effort, aiming at her forehead.
"Deal with her like this."
Mu Qinglan smiled gently.
In that instant, seeing the gentle smile at the corner of Mu Qinglan's mouth, countless regrets flooded Hui Yue's heart.
If given another chance, she would absolutely not provoke this treacherous and vicious woman!
But unfortunately.
Mu Qinglan would not give her a second chance.
Twang—
The sound of the bowstring releasing was barely audible, but a finger-thick hole had already appeared on the woman's forehead.
Her eyes became unfocused, her body swayed, and then stood straight on the spot.
And opposite—
Mu Qinglan sat in her wheelchair, looking at the corpse, the corners of her mouth involuntarily curling upward.
In a perspective that only she could see, slight white light points slowly emerged from the opponent's corpse, then flowed into her own body.
[Killed a fifth-rank warrior, gained 64 experience]
It seemed her player panel was still there.
Very nice.