Chapter 1: A Failed Assassination

A thick mist curled over the Azure Wind Sect, its pale tendrils weaving through the moonlit pines. The night was deep, the sect's disciples fast asleep, unaware of the silent shadow slipping through their sacred halls.

Ye Xian moved like a wraith, her dark robes blending into the slanted rooftops. Below, lanterns flickered, casting long, uncertain shadows over the courtyard. A faint breeze carried the scent of autumn leaves and distant rain.

Her pulse remained steady. One target. One strike. No witnesses.

She reached the highest rooftop overlooking the inner courtyard. Shen Liwei's residence stood at the heart of it all—elegant yet restrained, much like the man himself. A single candle burned behind the latticed windows, its flickering glow betraying his presence.

Perfect.

Ye Xian exhaled slowly, pulling out a delicate silver needle no longer than a hairpin. Its tip gleamed with a near-invisible coat of Silent Vein, one of her finest poisons. It would induce full-body paralysis within three heartbeats, leaving the victim conscious but utterly helpless. A painless death—clean, efficient.

A bitter amusement flickered in her mind.

What would the righteous Shen Liwei think, knowing his life would end in silence, without honor, without a blade to his throat?

She descended in a whisper of movement, slipping between wooden beams with practiced ease. Inside, the chamber was sparse—an inkstone, a scroll left unfinished, a single cup of untouched tea. The scent of sandalwood and ink filled the air, grounding and unwavering.

At the center of it all sat Shen Liwei.

Cross-legged before a low table, his posture was straight, his breathing deep and measured. His long hair, unbound, cascaded over his dark robes, catching the candlelight with a soft luster. At first glance, he appeared unaware of her presence.

Yet something in his stillness unsettled her.

Ye Xian dismissed the thought. Hesitation was death.

With a flick of her wrist, the needle flew toward the exposed skin at the base of his throat.

A heartbeat.

The air shuddered.

A gust of pure internal force erupted from his palm, so powerful it sent the needle spinning off-course. Ye Xian's eyes narrowed.

He deflected it? With his bare hand?

Before she could react, he moved.

A single step—too fast.

A hand closed around her wrist like steel, stopping her next strike before she could even draw another needle. The sheer precision of his grip sent a jolt through her. This was not the brutish strength of a warrior, but something else—calculated, controlled, absolute.

"Who sent you?" His voice was deep, steady, as if he had expected this.

Ye Xian met his gaze and nearly froze.

His eyes were not cold with anger, nor sharp with suspicion. Instead, there was calm scrutiny, a quiet patience that unnerved her more than fury ever could. He was studying her, as though peeling back layers she hadn't realized she exposed.

She masked her thoughts with a smirk. "If you have to ask, then maybe you don't deserve to know."

A flicker of amusement crossed his face—brief, unreadable. Damn him. He wasn't underestimating her. He was intrigued.

She twisted sharply, using the momentum to break free, flipping backward onto the wooden beams above. The candlelight flickered from the force of her movement.

His eyes followed her, unhurried. Not a single wasted motion.

"Poison. Assassination techniques." He spoke as though analyzing a puzzle. "Yet your movement is not purely of the Hidden Order. You've studied under another master."

Ye Xian didn't answer. She was already calculating her next move. Retreat. Regroup. Find another way.

Her fingers brushed another needle hidden in her sleeve. A second attempt? No—too risky. He was fully alert now, and his sword—Skybreaker—rested only a step away.

She needed to vanish.

A smoke pellet clashed against the floor, releasing a thick shroud of black mist. The chamber drowned in swirling darkness.

And yet—

The whisper of a blade. A blue arc slashed upward, cutting through the smoke.

Ye Xian barely twisted away in time. The tip of his sword nicked her sleeve, slicing through silk with surgical precision.

Her breath hitched. Fast. Precise. Lethal.

He had aimed for her sleeve, not her skin. A warning.

Ye Xian landed outside the chamber, her pulse quickening as she leapt onto the outer rooftops. Her form blurred into the night, retreating into the depths of the Azure Wind Sect.

Failure.

The word burned in her mind.

She had never miscalculated this badly before. Silent Vein should have worked. It had worked every time.

But Shen Liwei had barely reacted.

She touched the poisoned needle still hidden in her sleeve, a slow realization dawning.

He's immune.

The truth sent a shiver down her spine. Not resistant—immune. That was impossible. No one could withstand Silent Vein unless they had been deliberately conditioned against it.

Which meant…

Someone else had prepared him for this.

A sudden chill of understanding seeped into her bones. The Hidden Order had been clear: Shen Liwei was a threat. An obstacle. A man who stood too righteously against the tides of Jianghu.

But they had not told her this.

If the sect leader of the Azure Wind Sect was immune to poisons, then killing him was no longer a simple task.

She would have to get closer.

Shadows danced across the tiled roofs as she disappeared into the night, but deep in her chest, a new and unfamiliar feeling took root.

Not frustration. Not just the sting of failure.

Intrigue.

For the first time in her life, Ye Xian had encountered a man she could not kill.

And that made Shen Liwei the most dangerous target of all.

End of Chapter 1