Chapter 19: You're Almost Putting Half the Mountain's Fireflies to Shame
Blackwind Stronghold, in the northern outskirts of the capital.
The stronghold lay deep within the mountains and forests, surrounded by sheer cliffs. It was easy to defend and nearly impossible to attack.
The gates of the stronghold had been built from hundreds of stacked logs, while torches stood along the walls at five-step intervals.
Night had fallen. The cold wind howled.
Along the narrow path outside the stronghold, two figures were moving swiftly under the cover of scattered rocks and shrubs, crouching low.
The little girl in front moved as lightly as a falling leaf.
She deftly climbed over a pile of rocks, moving so quickly that she did not even disturb the treetops.
Behind her, an unknown creature with a black burlap sack over its head looked especially ridiculous.
Although its head was covered, its exposed neck and shoulders glowed with an eerie Barbie-pink light, like neon.
In the pitch-black mountains, that pink glow was even more conspicuous than a lighthouse.
“Brother, could you tone it down a little?”
Su Yaoyao lowered her voice, her tone helpless. “You’re practically outshining half the fireflies on the mountain.”
With the sack over his head, Su Jin glowed with every step he took. Every now and then, he even seemed eager to break into a moonwalk.
He was so miserable he wanted to bang his head against a wall. Lowering his voice, he replied, “Can you really blame me? The potion hasn’t worn off yet!”
“And this lousy sack isn’t helping. The light is practically burning through it!”
Su Yaoyao’s lips twitched.
She pulled a metal disk resembling a compass from her robes.
It was an interstellar detector from her personal storage space.
A pale blue ripple pulsed at the center of the disk as it scanned the vital signs in the vicinity.
“Stop whining. There are two guards fifty meters to the left ahead. They’re dozing off.”
Su Yaoyao made a hand signal, indicating that Su Jin should follow closely.
She lightly leaped onto a massive rock, her eyes sharp as lightning.
With the aid of the interstellar detector, Blackwind Stronghold’s defensive layout was completely exposed to Su Yaoyao.
Every hidden sentry post, trap, and concealed guard was marked on the detector’s screen as a red dot.
“These idiots actually set the trap two meters away. Who are they trying to stop?”
Su Yaoyao gave a disdainful smile and led Su Jin around a trench filled with spikes.
Following behind his sister, Su Jin was too stunned for words.
He had thought that his illegitimate sister was merely relying on the Tyrant Emperor’s favor to behave recklessly.
But after witnessing Su Yaoyao’s ability to evade ambushes, Su Jin’s entire view of her changed.
Even the finest scouts stationed at the border could not match these skills.
“Little sis, what exactly is that treasure of yours?”
Unable to hold back any longer, Su Jin asked in a low voice. There was now a hint of awe in his tone.
Without looking back, Su Yaoyao climbed over a fence.
“Don’t ask questions. When we get back, you can be my test subject. These gadgets will keep you entertained for the rest of your life.”
The two moved one after the other, avoiding every hidden sentry as they silently approached the heart of Blackwind Stronghold.
Ahead stood a huge stone warehouse.
It was the vital stockpile where the Grand General stored his gunpowder.
Heavy iron chains coiled around the warehouse’s outer walls. Several Blackwind Stronghold bandits stood nearby with wine bottles in hand, cursing and grumbling.
“This damned wind is freezing. Who knows how much longer the Grand General is going to make us guard these jars?”
“Stop complaining. I heard we’re going to pull off something big on the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival. When that happens, we’ll be heroes!”
Crouching behind a section of broken wall, Su Yaoyao’s eyes lit up with excitement.
At last! As long as I blow this place to pieces, let’s see what that Grand General can use to start a rebellion!
She exchanged a glance with Su Jin, and the two slowly approached the warehouse doors.
Su Yaoyao took a thermal cutting torch from her storage space and prepared to cut through the iron chains.
Just as she was about to touch the lock—
A sudden burst of heavy, chaotic footsteps came from the woods to the side.
Boots crushed dead branches with loud snaps.
Su Yaoyao’s expression shifted. She grabbed Su Jin and pulled him back into the shadows.
On the detector, dozens of red dots were converging from every direction.
It was a well-trained assassin squad.
Every member wore black scale armor and carried a long, poisoned blade.
They were the Blood Drip Squad, the unit the Grand General was proudest of.
Leading the squad was a sinister-looking man with one eye.
The One-Eyed Dragon was conducting a routine patrol with his men when they happened to spot the unusual glow outside the warehouse.
The One-Eyed Dragon stopped and raised his right hand. The squad immediately spread out into an encircling formation.
“Who goes there?”
The One-Eyed Dragon shouted harshly, fixing his gaze on the patch of pink light.
“How dare you trespass in Blackwind Stronghold! You’ve got some nerve!”
“Come out, all of you, or you’ll be killed without mercy!”
Since their whereabouts had been exposed, Su Yaoyao decided there was no point in hiding any longer.
She tugged at her night clothes, then reached over and yanked the ridiculous black sack off Su Jin’s head.
The dazzling Barbie-pink glow radiating from Su Jin instantly illuminated the entire warehouse.
The light was so intense that the assassins nearby could barely keep their eyes open. They staggered backward several steps.
“What... what kind of monster is that?!”
The One-Eyed Dragon was shaken to the scalp by the sudden pink radiance. He shouted in shock and uncertainty.
He looked at the glowing man, then at the little girl standing beside him.
Even a killer who had seen all manner of strange things was left utterly bewildered.
“What kind of demon are you? Stop playing tricks!”
The One-Eyed Dragon quickly regained his composure and swung the long blade in his hand.
“Surround them! Don’t let a single one escape!”
More than a dozen Blood Drip assassins shot into the air, their long blades carving streaks of cold light through the darkness.
In the blink of an eye, Su Yaoyao and Su Jin were surrounded on all sides.
More than a dozen poison-coated blades glimmered with a chilling sheen beneath the moonlight, sealing off every possible escape route.
A suffocating aura of death filled the air.
The One-Eyed Dragon was clearly far more ruthless than the ordinary guards.
He had no intention of taking them alive.
Instead, he walked straight to the warehouse doors.
A gunpowder barrel had apparently been handled carelessly, spilling a scattering of black powder across the ground in front of the doors.
The air reeked of pungent sulfur.
The One-Eyed Dragon gave a cold laugh and pulled a fire striker from inside his robes. With a sharp puff, he lit it.
He held the bright flame above the spilled gunpowder.
“I don’t care whether you’re demons or men. Anyone who causes trouble in Blackwind Stronghold has only one fate—death!”
The One-Eyed Dragon’s eyes were vicious, and his arm trembled as he stood ready to drop the fire striker at any moment.
“Make one wrong move, and we all go to the grave together!”
The flame danced in the cold wind, hovering dangerously close to the gunpowder on the ground.
Su Jin’s pupils contracted sharply. His fingers tightened around his dagger until his knuckles turned white.
The true qi within him surged. He was prepared to force his way through the poison’s effects and kill the One-Eyed Dragon before the fire striker hit the ground, even if it meant fighting to the death.
At that critical moment—
Su Yaoyao calmly let out a sigh.
Then she took a small golden abacus from inside her robes.