Zoran was throwing the Bleeding Silver Diamond in the air with a senseless attitude as if he wasn't playing with a priceless gem that would send jewelers into a frenzy. There was even a slight smile on his face.
The shadows realized that Zoran had the Diamond all this time, and the gem that the cultivators from the Primordial Sun Dynasty was just a ruse and a distraction that Zoran executed to get out of their sights. Zoran. The 1st stage Physique stage cultivator was able to trick and out maneuver the 2nd stage professional assassins hired to track him.
If he was able to do that, he probably knew that the shadows were after him, and that they were watching him. He knew from the very start. This was a blunder that the shadows could never live down even if they tore Zoran's limbs apart. That was because instead of running away and disappearing for a while, Zoran showed his face to them as if he was confident that they wouldn't be able to catch him—a direct and clear provocation.
"Annoying little brat. You're dead!" threatened the leader of the shadows. But Zoran simply smiled at them and shrugged his shoulders.
The other shadows needed no other signal as they all pounced towards Zoran, with their shadows propelling them forward with a slight boost. Zoran's own arrogance will be his own downfall, the shadows thought. His little distraction of the fake gem was rendered useless the moment he showed his face to them again. It would be the easiest thing for them to catch him right now. If he had hidden away, then he would have lived for another few hours.
But instead of worrying about the incoming threat towards him, Zoran simply shook his head and pointed towards them. The shadows became alert as they used all their Yi energy for defense, thinking that Zoran would use an artskill to try and fight against them. But no such technique came from Zoran's body, instead, he spoke a few words that sent shivers down their spines.
"They are over there, officer."
As soon as Zoran said that, a few police officers wearing their signature black uniforms complete with a cap on their heads and a baton in their hands, came inside the alleyway to investigate. Immediately, the shadows went into a panic; this was the worst case scenario for them.
If the police came and knew that they were shadows from the Hidden Moon Dynasty, then they would quickly report it to their superiors which would trickle down the chain and eventually land into the hands of the Primordial Sun Dynasty. Then, it would only be a matter of time until their top cultivators came after the shadows. Even if they fled now, they wouldn't be able to hide from those experts.
Immediately, the shadows went into 'civilian' protocol. The shadows underneath their feet moved and wrapped around their black clothing. Within a millisecond, the shadow ripped the black robes off their bodies and revealed civilian clothes similar to that of the clothes worn around the plaza of this town.
If they were dropped into the middle of a crowd, they would be indistinguishable. Even their rampant Yi energy was toned down to the lowest activation possible to lower the suspicion of the police officers.
This was a protocol in place whenever they had to be seen in public, and it was the best chance for the shadows to evade the suspicion of the police officers. They just had to answer a few questions from the officers and pretend that they were merely lost in this alleyway. Their alibis and their identities were already established beforehand, so there was no place for confusion.
But they forgot one important factor in this scene. It was the beaten, bloodied, and naked cultivators in the back.
"H-help…"
"They—they robbed us!"
The weak and feeble voices of the cultivators immediately caught the attention of the three police officers. It was then that the officers saw the gruesome scene, with clothes all over, money scattered about, and personal belongings littering the floor. It looked to be a normal shakedown, but more brutal than others.
Then, they saw the victim's distinct red uniforms with a blaring sun embroidered in the back. Fuck. These cultivators were disciples from the Primordial Sun Dynasty. The officers tended up and immediately became more serious. If the victims were from the Dynasty, then this crime became even heavier than before. Everybody knew that messing with them was the same as messing with law; everybody ends up with a noose tied on their necks.
And the police officers weren't safe from this. If they didn't apprehend the perpetrators, then they could be the ones hanged instead because they could be treated as an 'accomplice' of the criminals by not being able to catch them. It was cruel, but that was how much the Primordial Sun Dynasty had influence over the police department.
"Hands in the air!" the police officers warned and the shadows complied.
The shadows couldn't move now or else the officers would get suspicious. But out of the corner of their eyes, they saw Zoran waving goodbye at them.
The leader of the shadows but his tongue out of anger. He couldn't let Zoran get away, not because of the mission, but because he wanted to rip that triumphant smile out of Zoran's face. A 1st stage Physique cultivator outsmarted them. What a coward.
"Officer, we're innocent. We didn't do anything," the leader begged as he wore a normal everyday suit and a robust face that could be seen anywhere in Griedsoil.
The officers took no chances and said, "we still need to take you in for questioning. If you're innocent, there's nothing to worry about."
That wasn't the problem for the shadows. Their identities were real because they stole it from real people who were already dead. Even through rigorous questioning, the shadows would be able to stand their grounds with ease. After all, no torture could amount to their training.
The problem was that their target was getting away. But they couldn't do anything about it. Zoran took one last look at them and disappeared into the crowd, with the Silver Bleeding Diamond in his hands. Everything was planned by him, with the fake, the cultivators, and now the police officers.
It infuriated the shadows. But they stored their anger because once they got their hands on Zoran, they could let him experience the same pain they experienced in their training and much more. He was just a lowly and weak 1st stage cultivator who had to resort to trickery and deception to run away from them.
Once they corner him, Zoran would have no chance but to surrender. He will be helpless as they all took turns to rip his body apart into pieces.