Chapter 66: 局与势

Episode Two: Pool of Covert Warfare

Horses neighed, a piercing night wind swept through, and a nightmarish battle raged on the long street.

Sword winds sliced through the chaos. A galloping warhorse had its front legs severed in mid-stride, blood gushing into the air as it crashed and rolled down the road. As the horse tumbled past, another guard's face exploded in a spray of blood and flesh, sending him flying backward. The remaining guards charged forward, only to be cut down, their steel swords and chests split open.

The woman's figure darted erratically. Five or six guards crisscrossed, attempting to block her, but they couldn't stop her advance. Her somewhat cumbersome longsword constantly sought openings amidst the clashing blades, creating swift lines of blood. Amidst the screams, she relentlessly drove forward along her path. In the darkness, the woman was already covered in blood, yet she exerted immense pressure, forcing Song Xian, who was trying to flee, towards the end of the road.

Both sides moved with astonishing speed on the long street. Guards swarmed from all directions, front, back, left, and right, desperate to block the woman's pursuit. Song Xian, too, was now fleeing. Suddenly, a guard lunged from the front, attempting to impede her chase. The next moment, a flash of sword light ripped diagonally from his left shoulder to his right abdomen, sending his body flying like a cannonball, blood erupting like a giant flower.

Blades flashed from both sides, tearing through the air. The woman ducked, drawing a gushing line of blood across the left man's thigh. She spun up, grabbed the back of his head, and slammed his face into the oncoming right assailant. In the same motion, she snatched a steel saber and flung it forward.

Song Xian had already sprinted several meters away and reached for the reins of an approaching warhorse. The spinning saber sliced across his ribs and then embedded itself with a thud into the running horse's lower leg. In a spray of blood, both man and horse tumbled forward almost simultaneously. The fighting behind him was chaotic. Just as he managed to scramble to his feet, the woman's figure, wreathed in violent bloodshed, was already closing in.

"You damn lunatic—"

*Bang!*

A burst of fire erupted, sending Song Xian flying backward again. His back hit the wall directly in the corner. The surrounding guards had failed to stop the woman for even a second. As he looked up, the ancient, unadorned sword blade slashed diagonally towards his head. He tilted his head, and the blade embedded itself in the wall with a tearing sound, dislodging a mass of earth and stone. Before the feeling of lingering fear could fully surface, the woman's right fist loomed large in Song Xian's vision.

*Thud!* His head vibrated, his skull hitting the wall behind him. His vision blurred, blood splattered, and time seemed to slow down, though his reactions were no faster. The charging figures and the sounds of combat grew distantly faint in this trembling, blood-soaked tableau. The woman turned and cleaved through a lunging guard with a single sword stroke. He instinctively raised his saber, but her gaze had already turned back to him.

His arm swung out, but the saber that should have struck the woman's body was gone. Blood streamed from his severed wrist, and the section of his arm still gripping the saber flew through the air, hitting the guards behind him. The woman's right elbow, seemingly imbued with the full force of her body, smashed towards his face. Darkness expanded.

*Boom!* A resounding blow!

He didn't know what happened, then a third impact struck again. The wall behind him, which had been his barrier, vanished from his consciousness. He was flying...

The carriage stopped at a bend in the road. Ning Yi had arrived shortly before and stood in the darkness beneath a tree, watching the scene at the end of the long street.

He hadn't witnessed the entire fight, but the devastation on the long street spoke volumes: the wreckage of two carriages, numerous corpses, blood, and warhorses with severed legs lying on the ground, struggling and neighing. These signs of combat stretched across the entire street, but the most astonishing sight was the final section of the battle.

Song Xian had initially participated in the fight, but the pressure from the woman was simply too overwhelming. By the time Ning Yi arrived, Song Xian was already preparing to flee. Yet, there was no escape. Most of the warhorses were injured, and the guards who chose to fight on foot were giving their utmost to block the woman's pursuit. The battle extended towards that end of the street with astounding speed. Still, they couldn't stop her. In the woman's attacks, the spray of blood seemed endless. Guards, both lightly and severely wounded, charged from all directions, only to be thrown aside until Song Xian was finally cornered at the very end of the long street.

*Boom, boom, boom!* Three consecutive impacts, and then the entire wall at the end of the long street utterly collapsed within his sight... A brick flew through the air, violently striking someone's head and shattering into dust. The battle continued...

"That's it, that's it..."

In the darkness, Ning Yi murmured, then adjusted his breathing and let out a long sigh.

"This is what I want..."

After this brief observation, there was no need to watch further. Reinforcements might already be arriving. Ning Yi turned and walked towards his carriage. He then glanced at a horse nearby, standing alone at the boundary of light and shadow. Its rider was dead, blood dripping from him. Ning Yi walked over, rummaged through the rider's clothes, and pulled out a bamboo tube used for fireworks, tucking it into his own embrace. He then looked around. There might be scattered residents on the long street, but none here. No one should have seen him. He returned to his carriage, quietly turned it, and drove away.

"...This is the final struggle; unite for tomorrow. The Internationale, it must... be realized..."

His fingers tapped lightly and rapidly on the carriage. In his mind, he calculated the nearby streets and potential pursuit layouts. He casually hummed a tune that came to mind. The flickering light illuminated his face, revealing a smile utterly unlike his usual one—an indescribable wildness beneath a humble exterior.

How many opportunities there would be, he didn't know. After all, there were too many variables, and it might even lead to trouble. But at this moment, he was certain: he wanted that thing; he wanted to obtain it...

If he didn't try, he probably wouldn't sleep tonight.

Fireworks rose into the city streets, but more often, it was the urgent sound of gongs.

It was a chaotic night.

As most of the crowd returning from Bailuzhou entered Jiangning City, the chaotic sounds here had already affected a significant portion of the city. Arriving Wu Lie soldiers and government constables busily pursued the female assassin darting through the city. Several skirmishes occurred, resulting in more casualties. When the returning residents spread towards this area, the female assassin likely intended to flee into the crowd. However, the elite Wu Lie troops who had originally accompanied Chen Yong also converged from that direction, forcing her to move towards a relatively quieter part of the city.

The woman must have been severely wounded, but her combat ability remained formidable. Unless someone was overly confident, they wouldn't dare engage her. Ordinary constables merely pursued her, making noise with gongs and drums. Given the large number of pursuers, the woman darted left and right, yet couldn't completely disappear.

This night was different from the Lantern Festival night. The urban streets here were now largely deserted. The woman was excessively stubborn tonight; unlike the Lantern Festival, she didn't leave immediately after being wounded. She had risked everything to kill Song Xian, and was severely injured herself, making it difficult for her to find an ideal hiding spot here. Although the Wu Dynasty had no curfew, most people, upon seeing the fireworks and hearing the gongs and drums, simply stayed indoors. However, there were still a few idlers wandering at night. Ning Yi, driving his carriage, lingered at the edges of the situation, which gave him an advantage. Occasionally, he would encounter soldiers or constables who would either exchange a few words or simply hurry away, paying him no mind.

Humming a tune, he circled several blocks, observing the distant chaos. His fingers, next to him, calculated the possible direction of each group he saw, the general situation within the entire area, the woman's location, and her potential choices. Establishing contact was extremely difficult. If he were to drive over now, encountering the woman would be simple, but meaningless. If he were to offer help, a clumsy overture like that would most likely get him killed instantly. He couldn't initiate contact; he had to find a specific environment where she would be forced to make the first move, only then would he have room to reveal his intentions.

Calculations involving human nature were always complex; even if he still had a team of advisors like in his previous life, he couldn't claim certainty now. Currently, he was alone and could only approach it with a trial-and-error mindset. Several districts in the city seemed ideal, but in this brief time, he had misjudged the woman's direction twice. One of those times had been a usable opportunity, but he missed it. About ten minutes later, he finally saw a possibility amidst the occasional disturbances.

The carriage sped along, winding down the long street towards the western part of the city. It reached a quiet alley. The urgent clang of gongs sounded from a distance, followed by the commotion of fighting. The woman, driving the chaos, was coming this way. At a certain point, the visible chaos disappeared again. Ning Yi calculated the time, took out the fireworks bamboo tube, pulled off the cap, and a signal flare shot skyward, illuminating the night. Then he cracked his whip, making the carriage rapidly leave the spot and head for nearby streets.

Theoretically, the female assassin's escape direction had been temporarily constrained. If he could get there in advance, his carriage might become an ideal bait, perhaps giving him a thirty percent chance of getting her to board, and then the possibility of making a deal... After driving two more blocks, a team of constables suddenly rushed from ahead and, upon seeing him, abruptly stopped him.

*Damn...*

If the distant fighting had still been ongoing, these constables wouldn't have bothered him. But since the woman's trail had temporarily vanished, Ning Yi had no choice but to stop his carriage and allow them to search. His carriage bore the Prince Consort's mansion flag, so the constables, of course, didn't make trouble. After a brief inspection, they immediately spoke kindly and let him go, but much time had already passed. When Ning Yi drove forward again, the woman's location had already passed his anticipated spot.

Accidents happened often, Ning Yi had long understood that, but this current setback left him truly regretful. He had already used the firework tube, losing his chance to control the woman's direction. Soon after, the woman's escape continued eastward. Ning Yi slowly drove his carriage away from the dangerous central area. Going further in that direction was pointless; even if he could save the woman, he likely couldn't avoid inspection by the Wu Lie soldiers and constables. The risk-to-reward ratio was too heavily skewed, making the adventure not worth it.

What a pity. He wondered if he would ever encounter someone so formidable again...

As he thought this, he drove back towards the Su Residence. The chaos behind him had been silent for a long time. When another firework signal and the clang of gongs caught his attention, he suddenly realized that the direction of the chaos had shifted back...

In a relatively secluded lakeside area west of the city, Ning Yi drove his carriage along the road bordering the lake. On one side lay the still water and trees, on the other, tall walls and grand courtyards adorned with lanterns. Occasionally, he saw one or two pedestrians, likely returning from the Flower Fair.

Far behind the carriage, a team of Wu Lie soldiers had bypassed the road and seemed to be coming this way. At the end of the fork ahead, constables were also patrolling towards this intersection. Ning Yi recalled the location of the recent fight. Near the intersection, by the roadside, he quietly stopped his carriage, got out, and stretched.

By the dark lakeside, the woman, wrapped in a black cloth, lay hidden deep within the undergrowth beneath the trees. She carefully regulated her breathing, trying to prevent the blood on her body from leaving too many traces, patiently waiting for the converging search parties to pass.

The carriage stopped not far from her hiding spot. She then watched as the driver got out, stretched, and walked towards the lake, humming a strange and leisurely tune, head bowed, searching for something in the grass...