He managed to reach the guy before he could go up the stairs. Li Meng decided to lead with a sword attack. The assassin was too busy to defend against the incoming sword, that he failed to escape. Li Meng continued his attacks until he managed to push the assassin back to the first floor.
He wanted to avoid the smoke which filled half of the room. He couldn't give a favourable environment to a capable assassin like this one. He decided to rotate the sword sideways, which forced the assassin to defend horizontally leaving his upper body unguarded.
LI meng took advantage of this and used a thunderous palm strike on the left shoulder. The defence was laying a huge burden on the assassin's arm, and the thunder strike to the jointed, forced him to drop his sword, as half the arm suddenly lost its sensation. The figure jumped backwards to create some distance, but Li Meng didn't let him have a breather.
