The Emperor and His Thief - Chapter 37

Deep in the night, several men dressed in black clothes leapt across the roofs of the buildings within the Capital City. They had their face fully covered, and weapons of different kinds in their hands. They only came to a stop when they are close to the Xia family’s residence.

“According to the information given, our target stays with his disciple in the guest room in the west wings of the outer courtyard,” one of the men said in an imposing tone. Just by his tone alone, one could guess that he is the leader of the group. “The guard patrol will end their shifts in a few moments. And according to our informants, the next guards on shifts will be delayed. We’ll make our move then.”

“Boss, do we really need this many people to deal with two persons?” one of them couldn’t help but ask.

“That’s right, ah! Just one or two should be enough, right?” another chimed in.

“Our target is one of the founding members of the Thunder Hawk. Do you think he will be easy to deal with? Even if he’s blind, there is still his disciple. In case you do not know, about twenty years ago, a single Thunder Hawk member can deal with a group of bandits,” the leader replied. “We cannot afford to look down on them.”

After hearing that, the group of men quieted down and didn’t ask any further questions. Thunder Hawk’s reputation could already speak for itself; the founding members are those who studied under the same martial art school with the current patriarch of the Xia family.

Soon, the patrol guard’s shifts end and finally, the Xia family household turned completely silent. The men dressed in black all began to move. Using the darkness as a cover, they easily sneaked into the guest courtyard and found the room where Lin Xiao and Long YinLian stays.

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They slowly crept closer and gently pried open the windows as to not alert the people inside. One of them entered the room in order to scout the situation. His feet were light as a feather as he threads carefully but when he reached closer to the bed, he noticed that something was wrong.

‘Why is the bed empty?’ he started to wonder.

He was just about to look around when he suddenly saw a huge tiger staring at him in the middle of the room. Tigers are nocturnal creatures so even though it is dark, they could see the intruder very well. A low dangerous growl escaped the tiger’s throat, making Lin Xiao wake up. “Zan-er, what’s wrong?” he asked sleepily as he parted his eyelids.

It took Lin Xiao a few moments to blink the sleepiness away and when he finally did, he saw the figure in the dark. “Who’s there?!” Lin Xiao immediately became alert. He quickly reached out for the sword that he kept near him and got up. Then, more figures entered the room following his earlier exclaim. Because of the noise caused, Wang Lan and Wang Fan also roused from their sleep and they began a defensive formation with Long YinLian and Lin Xiao at the center.

Long YinLian, who had also woken up when he heard Lin Xiao’s voice, stood in place. He could sense that there were more than ten people in the room, and he can’t help but feel uneasy.

“What is going on?! We weren’t told about the tigers!” one of the intruders said to the others.

“No matter! Our mission is only to kill the blind one! If we can just get him then our mission will be considered complete!”

“Oh, and where, pray to tell, is the blind one?! Can you see him?”

Hearing their conversation, Long YinLian finally knew why they are here. “Were you sent here to deal with me?” Long YinLian asked out loud even though he already knew the answer. “By who?”

“There he is!” when Long YinLian spoke, they finally found him. “Surround them and get him! There are only three tigers and one man. The blind one is disabled so it should be fairly easy since there are ten of us!”

The intruders started to move to surround them and Lin Xiao, knowing that they came to kill Long YinLian, was furious. “Lan-er, Fan-er, I will leave Shizun for you two to protect. If any of them come too close, kill them,” Lin Xiao said in a cold tone, eyes filled with murderous intent.

Lin Xiao unsheathed the sword in his hand and took his fighting stance. If they were just a group of thieves, Lin Xiao may let them go with few bruises and a warning but unfortunately, they just have to touch his reverse scale. They had only arrived in the capital today and someone already tried to assassinate Long YinLian. Lin Xiao doesn’t understand the specifics, but since it has come to this, he plans to uproot everything. “You will tell me who sent you when I’m done! Zan-er, come with me!” Lin Xiao roared out as he rushed towards the assassins. His roars were followed by another roar from Wang Zan which made the assassins flinch from fear and nervousness.

Sounds of battles could be heard from outside the room and the guards who were patrolling became aware of what happened. One rushed to tell the Patriarch about it while the others rushed to figure out what actually happened. By then, two of the assassins are rendered unconscious, while one died after being mauled by Wang Zan. But Lin Xiao did not escape unscathed as he sported few injuries though none were too serious.

Compared to the bandits in the mountain, these people are more skillful and agile. Each of their movements was carefully planned and they also worked together seamlessly. For some reason, being outnumbered like this felt familiar to Lin Xiao. It was as if he had once experienced something like this before.

Regardless, as soon as the guards arrived, the tide changed. Noticing that they are now being found, the remaining assassins tried to escape but they were quickly subdued. Not one of them was able to escape since they are completely surrounded even from the outside.

Not long after, Xia YuanFeng arrived at the scene. His eyes quickly found Long YinLian and when he saw that the other was safe and sound, he let out a sigh of relief. When he heard that there was an attack, his heart fell, and he thought that he might lose Long YinLian again. Now that he knows the other is safe, his fear turned to anger, and he ordered for a direct execution for the assassins.

“Wait!” Lin Xiao quickly cried out, stopping the guards from doing as they were ordered. “Martial uncle, they said it was a mission! Shouldn’t we figure out who sent them first? If not, what we’re doing is simply cutting off our only lead! This is only one time, if the one who sent them is being let off scot-free, who knows if he sends more in the future,” he told Xia YuanFeng.

“No need! I, YuanFeng, already have an idea who it is… gather all the elders! And make sure to bring their heads,” he pointed at the assassins who were already subdued, “Bring it to the meeting hall! Along with the dead!” Yuan Feng roared out before he went to Yin Lian’s side.

“Ah’Yin… are you alright?” Xia YuanFeng’s tone was different from his earlier authoritative tone. When he addressed Long YinLian, his tone was gentle and full of affection.

“I’m fine, Feng-ge. What about Xiao-er? He was the one fighting with Zan-er earlier. Are they alright?” Long YinLian asked, worrying about the two whom he considered his children.

Xia YuanFeng glanced over at Lin Xiao and Wang Zan, assessing their condition. “Zan…-er is alright. He didn’t get injured. Lin Xiao has few injuries, but I will call the physician over to treat him so don’t worry,” Xia YuanFeng informed Long YinLian.

After that, Xia YuanFeng pulled Long YinLian closer to him and he barked for the servants to come in. “Clean all the blood! And prepare that empty room beside mine to be used. We’re moving our guests there!” Xia YuanFeng ordered before he turned to Long YinLian once more. “Ah’Yin, my apologies but I will be needed your presence for the meeting. Lin Xiao as well.”

Long YinLian could only sigh. He knew that with this incident, their plan of leaving can only be delayed. “Alright. But Feng-ge, promise me that you won’t go overboard… I do not wish to cause a scene.”

“I…”

“If martial uncle won’t, I will,” while Xia YuanFeng hesitated, Lin Xiao quickly chirped in. “They tried to kill you, Shizun… If I don’t make the person responsible pay, then I would’ve failed you as your disciple,” he added. He then turned to Xia YuanFeng, giving him a warning glare. “Martial uncle will make sure that Shizun will get the justice he deserved, right? Or else…”

“Xiao-er…” Long YinLian tried to stop Lin Xiao but Xia YuanFeng’s next word made him swallow whatever it was he wanted to say.

“Ah’Yin was wronged within my residence. If I don’t get him justice, then I am a bad host. You don’t have to worry, I will get down to the root of this matter,” Xia YuanFeng said, giving his promise to Lin Xiao.

‘Good,’ Lin Xiao thought to himself. ‘It would’ve been far easier to find out who was behind this by torturing them. But since you said you have an idea who, I will make sure you don’t back out halfway.’