studiobondurri Chapter 18 - Entanglement
Chapter 18 - Entanglement
Chapter 18 - EntanglementOn his way back to the inn, Tang Jinnian passed by a veritable swarm of soldiers hurrying toward the Zhou residence. Families gathered in the streets to watch the mansion that was engulfed in flames. Despite the hour, it was actually a very lively scene.
Tang Jinnian navigated the crowd and reached his room in the inn, firmly shutting the door behind him. As the crowd faded away, he took out the Transcendence Stone. The shimmering specks inside the stone shone like the vast starry sky; Tang Jinnian was momentarily entranced.
Eventually, the fire at the Zhou residence was finally extinguished, and the street outside Tang Jinnian's window had quieted down. The dead of night was punctuated only by the occasional chirping of insects and the barking of dogs.
Tang Jinnian was absorbed in examining the stone when his senses flared in alarm. His body instinctively shifted backward as a dagger flew through where his chest was and embedded itself into the wall beside him. Tang Jinnian sprang to the window to
In the blink of an eye, it was all over. Rao Shuang initially had the jump on Tang Jinnian but she somehow ended up being subdued in one strike.
"Uh!" Rao Shuang grunted as she took the heavy elbow strike, plummeting to the ground like a bird with broken wings.
Rao Shuang crashed onto the forest floor, winded. She had not recovered from her previous injuries and the recent fight only worsened her condition. She lay on the ground, blood trickling from her mouth.
Tang Jinnian landed steadily, walked over, and looked down at Rao Shuang as she stared up at him with a bloody face full of resentment.
Tang Jinnian withdrew the brocade fan he claimed yesterday and crouched down to meet her eyes.
"You want this fan so badly?"
Rao Shuang bit her blood-stained lower lip, not speaking, her face defiant.
Tang Jinnian used the fan to lift Rao Shuang's chin, tilting her head to face him and asked, "I’m asking you."
Rao Shuang hesitated and then nodded.
"Heh... even more than you want to live?" Tang Jinnian asked with a mocking tone.
Rao Shuang hesitated, then a glint of determination crossed her eyes before she solemnly nodded again.
Seeing Flowerless Butterfly's cherry lips part open slightly with no response, Tang Jinnian leaned in with the intention to keep ridiculing her for her repeated assassination attempts. Suddenly, a silver light flashed from her mouth at his face!
Tang Jinnian's expression changed; he immediately pushed off the ground with his legs, rapidly retreating backward! The silver light grazed his nose and flew into the sky.
By the time Tang Jinian dodged the hidden weapon and came back to look for Flowerless Butterfly, she had already disappeared without a trace.
Tang Jinnian's gloomy expression resembled a thundercloud barely holding back its fury.
Although it was still dark out, Tang Jinnian did not plan to sleep again so he pressed on with his journey.
Rao Shuang rushed through the dark forest, occasionally coughing. Her clothes were now completely soaked in blood, and her right arm hung limply by her side. It had been dislocated when Tang Jinnian caught the sword and disarmed her.
Rao Shuang knew her current injuries were serious, and without proper treatment, she might never properly recover. But I must take my fan back! Rao Shuang thought, her resolution firm in her gaze. That fan was her signature weapon and her master's legacy, the only one of its kind in the world and completely irreplaceable.
But that man was beyond terrifying. What could she do to get her brocade fan back?