Chu Qing’s mouth twitched; he really didn’t know what to say.

From what he saw, there was no mistaking it, this was clearly a ’Red Feathered Dove’ used by Mirror of Sin for communication.

In the past, he had heard from Bai Qi (his contact person at Mirror of Sin) that this type of carrier pigeon was specially bred by Mirror of Sin; not only was it fast, but it also flew high, making it hard to spot under normal circumstances.

The only drawback was its short lifespan, requiring frequent observation to ensure its condition.

Chu Qing looked at the one before him, obviously dead of natural causes... During the message delivery process, it happened to die just above Gentle’s head, falling right in front of her.

It seemed that the person at the branch who cared for the pigeons hadn’t noticed the pigeon’s condition, leading to this coincidence.

Yet Chu Qing felt, convinced that Gentle’s Innate Item-Picking Saint Body indeed had a huge effect.

With a lot of speculation in his mind, he casually opened the bamboo tube on the pigeon’s leg and took out the letter inside.

Glancing quickly, he was even more dumbfounded.

The content on it was surprisingly Zhou Fu’an’s suspicion about Sword Ghost’s identity, asking the Southern Domain Headquarters to conduct a targeted investigation.

It also included Zhou Fu’an’s speculations about the identities of Sword Ghost and Han San.

For a moment, Chu Qing didn’t know what to say...

He reached out and rubbed Gentle’s head:

"Well done."

"Extra meal tonight?"

In Gentle’s clear eyes, there was a trace of craving.

Chu Qing nodded:

"Alright, I’ll take you to kill someone first, then have a good meal tonight."

Gentle immediately nodded:

"Let’s go!"

Without hesitation, Chu Qing hid the Single Saber and the Cyan Night Sword, then led Gentle toward the branch.

This place was secretive, rarely seen by outsiders throughout the year.

Seeing two martial world guests suddenly visit, yet the dark sentries had no reaction.

The gaze of two farmers at the village entrance immediately changed.

They exchanged a glance, stood up casually, and walked out with their hoes, meeting Chu Qing and Gentle head-on.

At the instant they passed each other, the person on the left suddenly raised his hand, pulling a long sword out of the hoe’s handle, aiming straight for Chu Qing’s waist and flank.

The other followed suit, brandishing a sickle to hack at Chu Qing’s neck.

Chu Qing, anticipating this, moved his palm together, smoothly grabbing.

The ethereal force covered the swordsman’s wrist, shifting flowers and joining jade with a twist, the long sword immediately diverted from Chu Qing’s flank, aiming for the assassin’s neck on the other side.

Thud!

The sword edge pierced the throat, blood splattered!

The assassin wielding the sword showed no change in expression, pulling a dagger from behind his waist with one hand, stabbing at Chu Qing’s chest and abdomen without a care.

This move was all about killing the enemy, no concern for finesse.

But before he could thrust the dagger, the long sword that had pierced another assassin’s neck suddenly decapitated him like a lightning flash.

The dagger fell to the ground, and the headless corpse followed suit.

This scene unfolded in a flash, Gentle quietly observing, her usually indifferent emotions inexplicably stirred by this life-and-death confrontation.

Chu Qing took the assassin’s sword.

This sword was nothing special, the blade embedded in the hoe’s handle, round and uncomfortable to hold.

But it was barely usable.

He chuckled lightly and said to Gentle:

"These two idiots don’t even know what season it is now.

"Pretending to go out to farm... The autumn harvest is over, they could at least pretend to tidy up the granary for credibility.

"Mirror of Sin has slackened."

Gentle didn’t expect Chu Qing to say this initially.

However, thinking about it carefully, it made a lot of sense.

Spring germinates, summer grows, autumn harvests, and winter stores, with a hoe and sickle... Obviously intending to weed, but the problem is, at this time, not to mention weeds, there’s nothing but withered yellow grass, what are they weeding?

It seems assassins should use their brains when disguising.

Otherwise, they’ll not only fail to kill but also get killed. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

After death, they’ll be mocked as well.

"Let’s go."

Chu Qing led Gentle inside; these two were just gatekeepers, merely a beginning.

Upon stepping into the village gate, an old woman rushed forward, crying:

"My son!"

Pouncing toward Chu Qing and Gentle:

"You two villains, you must pay..."

Before the final word ’life’ could exit her mouth, the broken iron sword Chu Qing took from the assassin had already made a circle, revealing its edge, and the old woman’s head was off.

As the body fell, the hidden weapon was exposed.

Chu Qing shook his head:

"An old woman should look like an old woman, making a man disguise as an old woman... Not afraid of scaring children when they go out at night.

"By the way, there are no children in this village."

As he finished speaking, figures emerged from the houses all around.

Since Chu Qing came here, without asking for directions or speaking, killing three people in succession, it was evident he came with the intent to kill.

In this case, disguises were meaningless.

A unified rush, kill quickly was the way.

A figure suddenly leapt high, like a shooting star, reaching Chu Qing in the blink of an eye.

His hands were empty as he began, seemingly gathering palm momentum mid-flight. Upon reaching Chu Qing, he flipped his palms, revealing two daggers.

The understanding between palm technique and saber technique, the palm momentum he gathered was indeed saber momentum.

This ’Hidden Blade Technique’ variant was a common skill among assassins nurtured by Mirror of Sin itself.

When an opponent assumed a palm-based attack and responded accordingly, they were unsuspectingly caught.

As the double blades split, a head seemed destined to fly skyward.

Yet Chu Qing’s sword turned, sword momentum bringing saber momentum, saber momentum guiding the body, causing the assassin to spin thrice mid-air before acting.

Even keeping his indifferent gaze was hard, leaving his mind in chaos.

Then the sword edge came together, his body splitting in two, dying miserably.

Tai Chi Swordsmanship wasn’t traditionally aggressive, yet Chu Qing came with killing intent, showing the cruel side of this sword technique.

At the moment when the body split, several figures simultaneously attacked.

Their weapons varied—swords, daggers, hidden weapons, chain darts... Various tactics emerged.

Chu Qing lifted his sword slowly; his movements were not quick, but the sword momentum seemed adhesive, drawing all attacks into the ’circle’ Chu Qing formed with his lifted sword.

Tai Chi Swordsmanship emphasizes intent over form, divinity before the sword, continuous and never-ending.

Circle after circle, no matter the thousand wondrous tricks, all ended in his circles.

The scene was grand, as several attackers’ weapons became stuck to Chu Qing’s sword, forcing them helplessly into his circles.

Once the first circle completed, self-control was lost.

By the second circle, one head after another hit the ground.

Soon, all those who attacked lay dead.

This scene was truly terrifying, even for these assassins trained by Mirror of Sin since childhood, practically death warriors.

Such sights had not been witnessed before.

But Chu Qing ignored their shock, leading Gentle forward step by step, casually delivering sword strokes, creating circles with each stroke.

To resist meant to be drawn into the circle and die afterward.

To not resist meant instant death.

Thus, Chu Qing moved step by step, each step claiming a life...

It’s said to take ten steps to kill; Chu Qing needed only one per kill.

The whole process was without shouting, questioning, or speech.

Only assassins advancing relentlessly, displaying their moves.

Only Chu Qing, sword edge in the void, heads falling like rain.

...

...

In the village!

In a room, beside an open window lay a square table atop a couch.

An incense burner sat near the window, emitting curling smoke, wafting with the breeze.

Zhou Fu’an sat to one side, worry evident on his face.

Opposite him was a man in black, about thirty, his mask lifted, revealing a rather fierce face:

"Three experts from the Evil Extermination List, all dead at the hands of one man?

"Zhou Fu’an, are you telling me a joke?"