With a loud explosion, the large tree was blasted into smithereens, and countless wood chips flew in all directions, but Lin Chen’s figure was nowhere to be seen.
"Boss, what happened?"
The other assassins looked at the old man with puzzled faces. The assassin who had been most tense turned his head to look at the large tree, but there was nothing there at all.
"It’s nothing; perhaps I sensed it wrong."
The elder furrowed his brows slightly. Just a moment ago, he had clearly sensed someone spying on their conversation from that tree. With his palm wind being so swift, even Martial Artists of the Melding Earth Realm should not have been able to escape it.
But now, seeing the tree standing empty, could it really be that he’d sensed it wrong?
The old man’s gaze fell on the black-clothed assassin from before; his expression immediately turned grave.
"Liu Zhu, when you came back, you didn’t notice any suspicious people, did you, or during the execution of the mission?"
The old man looked at Liu Zhu, casting a questioning glance, which instantly made Liu Zhu and the others tense up.
"Absolutely not, boss. You know my movements—how could anyone have tailed me?"
Liu Zhu was frightened by the old man’s words; as an assassin of the Moon Shadow Pavilion, the most taboo thing was mission failure, because once a mission failed, they all as assassins knew all too well what they would face.
The Moon Shadow Pavilion could become a feared assassin organization across the continent due to its notorious reputation for a hundred percent mission success rate, because anyone who failed a mission would be eliminated, to be replaced by new assassins, until the mission was successfully completed.
Liu Zhu knew very well that if he was being followed, and if this brought trouble to their mission, how severe the consequences would be.
"I still trust your movement technique,"
After hearing Liu Zhu’s words, the old man nodded, his gaze shifting away from the large tree, thinking perhaps he had indeed sensed it wrong.
Liu Zhu’s skills in movement were indeed beyond his own, so it was unlikely for anyone to have followed them here.
Still, to be cautious, the old man grasped his cane and leapt into the air, making a round of inspection around the ruined temple, only relaxing after confirming there was no one else present.
What the group didn’t know was that Lin Chen, at the instant the old man released his Spiritual Power, had sensed it and instantly used a Space Compression Talisman Inscription on himself to flee the place.
Lin Chen activated the Primordial Transformation Art, concealing his aura to the extreme. He hid under a tree two li away from the ruined temple, waiting until the old man with the cane had finished his inspection. Only then did he dare to emerge and head back to the inn.
The old man’s strike had been terrifying, and Lin Chen admitted to himself that he wouldn’t have been able to withstand that palm. If he had been discovered, they would certainly have pursued him relentlessly.
Lin Chen continuously used Swift Talisman Inscriptions along with Space Compression Talismans, and before long, he had returned to the inn located within the vicinity of Li City.
Mu Qingxuan was still at the inn, and with so many powerful individuals there, Lin Chen was truly uneasy.
An hour later, Lin Chen arrived at the inn.
Walking into the inn, the young waiter at the counter was dozing off. He glanced at Lin Chen as he entered and then continued to sleep with his head down.
Lin Chen didn’t disturb him and headed straight for the upper room on the second floor.
However, just as Lin Chen had barely ascended a few steps, a loud noise came from the floor above.
Lin Chen’s heart tightened because the noise he heard was coming from the very room he had booked. He quickly ran upstairs only to discover a young girl who appeared to be around fourteen or fifteen, twisting the arm of a fat man with bulging cheeks and ears. The fat man must have weighed at least three hundred pounds and was shirtless, clearly not someone to mess with. His cultivation level was actually at the ninth layer of the Spirit Gathering Realm.
In the hands of the little girl, however, he was being twisted around like a small chicken. Then, without any effort, she tossed the chubby man out of the window.
Lin Chen looked out the window only to see the man hit the ground and create a large hole, taking quite some time to extricate himself before fleeing without looking back.
"Hmph, dare to cause trouble in my inn, truly courting death."
The young girl spat out these words and then turned her head to see Lin Chen standing in the hallway. New ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄhapters are published on novęlfire.net
"It’s you, quite the bold lad. You should count yourself lucky this is my inn, or your woman would have suffered greatly."
As she said this, she looked Lin Chen up and down.
Lin Chen’s heart tightened once more as he realized what had happened. Looking ahead, he saw a few splinters of wood near the door of the room he had booked.
It seemed that the fat man from earlier had tried to take advantage of Mu Qingxuan, but the young girl had caught him red-handed and taught the pudgy man a lesson.
"I must thank the young lady here. Is this your inn?"
Lin Chen approached the woman and bowed in gratitude.
"Young lady? Ha ha, you really have a sweet mouth, I’m old enough to be your grandmother. No respect for elders."
The woman stared at Lin Chen and grinned, not minding his unintentional comment. In fact, she seemed rather pleased by it; ever since she had opened this inn, her reputation had scared many off, and it had been a long time since someone had referred to her in such a manner. It seemed Lin Chen was a new guest.
At that moment, Mu Qingxuan came out of the room. Seeing Lin Chen, she smiled.
"Lin Chen, you’ve finally returned. I’ve been waiting for you for quite a while."
As Mu Qingxuan spoke, she moved to Lin Chen’s side and glanced at the woman, feeling a pang of jealousy. She didn’t understand why Lin Chen would be chatting with another woman in front of the door in the middle of the night, oblivious to what had just happened.
It must be said, the soundproofing of her inn was indeed excellent; it must have been fitted with a soundproof array.
"Lad, my inn is worth a stay, isn’t it? Worth the price, right? I seemed to hear you complaining about it being expensive last night. I did keep your woman safe and sound."
The woman looked at Mu Qingxuan, saying so with a smile.
The meaning behind their conversation was quite clear.
"Last night, I was indeed rude. Once again, I’d like to thank the innkeeper for her care," Lin Chen said hurriedly, taking out two middle-grade spirit stones and handing them to the woman.
"Oh, seems I was mistaken about you, turning out to be so generous."
"In that case, you two lovebirds get some good rest. Call me anytime, just call me Sister Wang."
Having said that, the woman pocketed the spirit stones Lin Chen gave her and descended the stairs with a swing of her narrow hips.
Two middle-grade spirit stones were worth two thousand low-grade spirit stones, but Lin Chen did not feel any pain in giving them away, as the woman’s earlier protection was well worth the price.
Meanwhile, Mu Qingxuan, hearing the innkeeper’s constant references to them as a ’little couple,’ was now completely immersed in joy, looking at Lin Chen with an increasingly affectionate gaze.