Chapter 174 What Lies Beneath
The firelight danced across the scattered rocks, stretching everyone's shadows into long, wavering shapes.
I was still staring blankly at the hollow reed when I heard Lian murmur, almost inaudibly,
"Back."
My heart skipped.
I was just about to ask, Back from what? when—
Splash!
It wasn't the ordinary sound of water.
It was as if some enormous beast had burst violently up from the depths.
I instinctively leapt backward.
Hua Xiang caught my sleeve in one swift motion and pulled me behind him.
"Don't go near it."
His voice remained steady, but his grip tightened around my arm.
Before I had time to think, the water exploded open as four or five dark figures shot out. They moved far faster than the "hairy head" we'd seen earlier, as though they had been lying in wait beneath the surface all along. In a single leap, they reached the shore.
"People!" Hua shouted. "They're people!"
I blinked.
Only then did I realize that the so-called water monsters were living men wrapped in water weeds as camouflage.
The reeds sticking out of their mouths were the very hollow stalks they'd been using to breathe underwater.
So they weren't water demons after all.
They had been hiding beneath the water the entire time, breathing through reeds.
I was just about to complain that I'd been scared for nothing when one of them lunged ashore like a dragon breaking from the river.
He landed without making a sound.
A flash of cold steel flickered as his wrist turned, and a hooked claw whipped straight toward Lian.
"Watch out!" I shouted.
Lian had clearly anticipated the attack.
A thin cord shot from his sleeve like a serpent gliding through grass, instantly wrapping itself around the hook.
"Get lost."
With a flick of his wrist, the cord twisted violently backward.
The attacker nearly had his entire right arm torn out of its socket and stumbled several steps back.
At almost the same moment, another assailant charged Hua.
His folding fan snapped open with a sharp whoosh.
Hidden between its ribs were razor-thin blades that gleamed coldly in the firelight.
One sweep—
A deep gash opened across the man's hand.
Blood, dark crimson beneath the flames, splattered onto the stones.
The third attacker rushed Mu Cangli.
Unlike Lian's graceful agility or Hua's effortless elegance, Mu Cangli fought with the immovable stillness of solid rock.
Two short daggers gleamed in his hands.
With a sharp clash, he crossed the blades to intercept the attack without taking a single step.
Then, changing angles in one smooth motion, one dagger slashed upward.
A single point of cold steel shot toward his opponent's ribs.
Had the man reacted even a heartbeat slower, he would have died where he stood.
My heart hammered in my chest.
Hua Xiang frowned and yanked me farther behind him.
"Don't get in their way."
His tone wasn't particularly harsh, merely detached—as if he were casually moving an inconvenient obstacle aside.
Looking at his back, I suddenly remembered that he had yet to recover his martial arts.
He was, for now, little more than an ordinary man.
Unable to help myself, I whispered,
"...If you're protecting me like this... can you even protect yourself?"
Without so much as glancing back, Hua Xiang replied in a voice cold enough to freeze water.
"I'm not protecting you. I just don't want to have to explain to Lian why I stood there and watched you get dragged away."
"..."
Well...
At least he was honest.
The battle on the riverbank intensified.
Lian's silk cord, Hua's folding fan, and Mu Cangli's twin daggers—
Three entirely different weapons.
Yet within only a few exchanges, they had driven the attackers back, preventing them from gaining any foothold on shore.
Still, these men were obviously well trained.
Whether diving into the river or emerging from it, every movement was swift and disciplined.
It was clear they had been lying in ambush beneath the water, waiting for us to walk straight into their trap.
Before anyone could speak again, two more dark figures burst onto the bank from somewhere unseen.
Hua let out a cold chuckle.
"Perfect."
Lian's silk cord spun so densely it formed an almost impenetrable web.
When it shot outward, it twisted like a silver serpent.
When it withdrew, it vanished like a shadow.
Hua's folding fan flowed effortlessly between offense and defense.
He appeared almost leisurely, yet every strike concealed deadly intent.
Mu Cangli faced two opponents alone.
His twin daggers carved shining arcs through the night like ripples across water.
His eyes never wavered.
Calm.
Precise.
Decisive.
Watching him fight sent a chill crawling down my spine.
"They're skilled," Hua said grimly.
Lian gave a cold laugh.
"Not skilled enough."
Easy for him to say.
There were six of them.
They could hide beneath the water and fight with frightening coordination.
These were clearly specialists trained for exactly this kind of ambush.
The three of them fought all six attackers for nearly the time it took a stick of incense to burn.
I watched from the sidelines with sweaty palms.
Hua Xiang stared at the battle, brows knitted tightly.
"These men... aren't locals from North Ridge."
"Of course they aren't!" I blurted out.
"Sure, mountain folk might know how to breathe underwater with reeds. They might even use climbing hooks. But I've never seen mountain folk ambush strangers like this."
"..."
For once, Hua Xiang had no response.
At last—
Lian's silk cord wrapped around one attacker's throat.
He gave it a gentle tug.
The man collapsed without another sound.
Hua's folding fan swept across another man's chest.
Blood burst forth as the attacker crumpled to the ground.
Over on Mu Cangli's side, there came only a muffled grunt.
He knocked aside his opponent's weapon with one dagger before striking with the other.
The man was sent flying backward into the river.
He never resurfaced.
Seeing the tide turn, the remaining three wasted no time.
Without hesitation, they threw themselves back into the water.
Within moments, they vanished beneath the surface.
My eyes widened.
"They can escape through the water too?"
Lian reeled in his silk cord.
"They're simply holding their breath. It's no kind of sorcery."
Six attackers.
Four were gone.
Two remained on the ground, badly wounded.
One was coughing blood.
The other was still barely conscious.
Lian and Hua approached, intending to interrogate them.
But just as they drew near, both wounded men lifted their heads.
Their eyes turned vicious.
Then, in perfect unison—
They bit down on the poison hidden in their back molars.
I nearly jumped.
"Wait! Slow down! We haven't even questioned you yet—"
Thud.
Blood poured from all seven of their facial orifices.
Both men collapsed, dead.
I stood frozen.
"...There are even dead-sworn assassins out here in the middle of nowhere? Is this some secret headquarters of a martial sect?"
Lian answered coldly,
"No martial sect has territory north of Beichuan City. The Blood Lotus Sect controls the branches around Beichuan, yet even we have never extended our reach this far."
I stared at him.
"Then... who are they?"
Hua was already searching the bodies.
His movements were swift and efficient.
A few moments later he said,
"No official identification. No command tokens. No sect insignia."
He paused before pulling back the soaked cloth covering one man's left arm.
"But look here."
I leaned in.
The moment I saw it, my soul nearly left my body.
A black peony was tattooed on his arm.
Its lines were sharp and intricate.
This was no ordinary tattooist's work.
Mu Cangli frowned slightly.
"All three have the same mark."
Hua Xiang stepped closer for a look.
His expression darkened.
"I've roamed North Ridge for years. I've never seen this symbol before. Perhaps someone from the imperial court entered the mountains... and brought these people with them."
"The court again?"
I instinctively stepped backward, my face pale.
"Imperial agents tattoo peonies on their arms? Since when is that official policy?"
No one answered.
I couldn't stop myself from continuing.
"But seriously... why would a bunch of grown men tattoo flowers on themselves?
To scare people?
To show loyalty?
Or... to cover up something ugly?"
Hua glanced at me.
"I think you're overthinking it."
I protested immediately.
"I'm not scared.
I'm analyzing!"
Hua Xiang spoke quietly.
"The peony is king among flowers—a symbol of nobility and supremacy. A tattoo like this most likely represents allegiance."
"Allegiance to whom?" I asked.
Silence settled over the group.
Finally, Lian answered,
"I don't know."
A chill crept through me.
Today really had been cursed.
First I'd nearly been scared to death by what I thought was a water monster.
Then we'd run into a squad of fanatical assassins.
Between the two, there wasn't much courage left in me.
"So..." I asked hesitantly.
"Were they lying in wait for us?"
Lian lowered his eyes.
"Not necessarily."
Hua considered it for a moment.
"They may have been waiting for someone else... and happened to cross paths with us."
Hua Xiang frowned.
"This isn't far from the ruined temple."
I immediately understood what he meant.
A cold shiver ran down my back.
"You think... they're connected to the corpse we found in the temple?"
No one spoke for a long moment.
Finally, Lian nodded.
"We can't rule that out."
I swallowed hard.
"The thing is... we were only passing through. How did we end up stumbling into something like this?"
Hua smiled faintly.
"Xiao Gonggong, the one thing the jianghu never lacks... is coincidence."
Hua Xiang withdrew his gaze.
"Whatever the truth may be, we leave this place first."
I nodded without hesitation.
"Agreed! This place... gives me the creeps."