Raising Orphans, Not Assassins
Vol. 2 - Ch. 31 - Xiao Lian?

“Techniques from the Tang Sect?”

Hua Xiyue's beautiful eyes swept lightly toward the knocked-over candied hawthorn on the ground.

Inside the carriage—

The woman in black frowned slightly.

That cross-dressing woman by the street just now… what hidden weapon technique did she use?

Why had she never seen it before?

Their gazes locked deeply for a moment.

At the end of the street, loud shouting erupted.

“There she is!”

“Damn it, you dare cause trouble on the Haijing Gang’s turf?”

“Must be tired of living!”

Dozens of burly men charged out from the Haijing Gang compound.

Most were bare-chested, sweat streaming down their muscular bodies.

Among them, several skilled fighters moved with practiced ease.

One of them, a middle-aged man dressed in sea-blue robes, had a rugged face and a towering frame.

His tiger-like eyes radiated authority.

Breaking through the crowd, he spotted Zhou Yunzhou lying by the roadside.

The man’s expression changed drastically, and he cried out, “Zhou’er!”

Zhou Yunzhou turned his head and gave a bitter smile upon seeing his father, Zhou Feng. “Father, I’m fine.”

“She only injured me.”

Zhou Feng glanced at his son’s wound and swiftly pulled out a spiked iron caltrop.

Zhou Yunzhou's face went pale, groaning softly.

Zhou Feng examined the caltrop closely—there was no sign of poison. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

“How brazen!”

Zhou Feng, the Hall Master of Haining Prefecture, turned his furious gaze toward the speeding carriage down the street.

With a swift movement of his foot, he launched into a popular coastal lightness skill: “Stepping Waters Without a Trace.”

In a blink, he had sprinted over ten zhang.

Several other Haijing Gang fighters at the second-tier level followed close behind.

Inside the carriage, the woman in black heard the shouts growing louder behind her. Her brows knitted tighter.

The mechanism box still needed at least ten more breaths to unlock.

She lifted her eyes and looked at the woman standing calmly by the street.

Hua Xiyue stared back with her beautiful eyes, unflinching and fearless.

The woman in black ignored her and continued working on the box.

She tapped lightly at the four corners—click—a faint sound came from inside.

Behind the carriage, the Haijing Gang was closing in.

“Such nerve!”

Zhou Feng, Hall Master of Funing Prefecture, charged at the front, fists clenched tightly, feet pounding the ground.

He leapt into the air, launching himself onto the carriage.

With a loud roar, he unleashed a flurry of fists, the air howling with force.

His Bone-Crushing Fist technique had reached mastery—a solid second-tier skill in the martial world.

The woman in black lifted her gaze and gave him a faint glance.

Her pale hand flicked—

A handful of dark light burst forth.

Zhou Feng’s heart clenched. He quickly dodged into the carriage.

But the carriage was narrow, and his massive build made escape impossible.

“Argh!”

A scream tore from his throat.

Several inch-long black needles embedded themselves into his once-proud fists, blood trickling down and splashing onto the ground.

The next moment—

The woman in black lashed out with a kick, slamming into his abdomen.

Zhou Feng tumbled out of the carriage.

The other second-tier experts chasing behind froze in place.

He’d just gotten onto the carriage—and was thrown off in a single exchange?

How terrifying was this woman’s strength?!

One of the Haijing Gang hall masters recognized her and cried out in shock:

“She’s ranked third on the Tianji Pavilion’s second-tier power list!”

“The Jade-Handed Asura—Chen Lian!”

Gasps of horror rippled through the crowd.

The charging brutes immediately slowed their pace.

There were only a few dozen second-tier experts in the entire Great Wu martial world.

Most hailed from prestigious sects, boasting strong foundations, profound skills, and overwhelming power.

Yet this woman in black had single-handedly slain several elite disciples of major sects.

Her strength was overwhelming, her mastery of hidden weapons impossible to defend against.

Rumor had it her techniques came from the Tang Sect—

And that she had achieved the Tang Sect’s supreme realm of thrown weapons: Blossoms in the Rain.

She could unleash sixty-four projectiles simultaneously, each targeting a different point.

In terms of hidden weapon mastery alone, she rivaled the Tang Sect’s very leader.

Some say that once the Jade-Handed Asura reached first-tier, she would become the deadliest hidden weapon assassin alive.

Perhaps even capable of assassinating the head of a major sect.

Such a terrifying assassin—how could she show up in the Haijing Gang?

The gang members who had given chase all froze in place, none daring to make a move.

The woman in black cast a faint glance at the people behind the carriage, then continued working on the mechanism box.

The two remaining second-grade experts from the Haijing Gang exchanged a look. They each pulled out a signal flare from their robes.

They ignited it.

“Whoosh!”

“Crack! Crack! Crack!”

A firework exploded in the sky, forming the shape of a whale.

The third-ranked expert on the Second Grade Power List was far beyond what they could handle.

And from the look of it, she was here to steal something from the Tang Sect.

Such a matter had to be handled by the gang master himself.

Without a first-grade expert, no one present could stand a chance against her.

On the side of the street, Hua Xiyue curled her lip slightly and muttered under her breath, “Her hidden weapon technique is quite refined.”

“About the same level I had when I was seventeen.”

She reached out casually for the nearby candied hawthorn skewer.

A hand suddenly reached out and slapped hers away.

The old man selling the skewers stared at her seriously. “Miss, pay first.”

“Five copper coins a skewer.”

The old man’s expression was stern and unyielding as he looked at her.

What? Just because you're strong in martial arts, you think you can eat for free?

Hua Xiyue felt speechless under his gaze, black lines forming across her face.

On the carriage—

“Click…” A light sound.

The mechanism box opened.

The woman in black exhaled a quiet breath of relief. Her gaze swiftly scanned the contents of the box.

After searching for a moment, a piece of metal wrapped in yellow cloth at the bottom came into view.

Its surface shimmered faintly gold. When she touched it, it felt warm and smooth.

She channeled her internal energy, her fingers pressing on the surface.

When she lifted her fingers, the metal remained unchanged.

Golden Soft Iron!

She had found it!

One of the finest materials for crafting hidden weapons.

A flash of heat lit up in the woman’s eyes. She continued scanning the box to see if there were any other materials.

As her eyes swept over the contents, a gleam of surprise appeared.

All the materials required to make a Peacock Plume—they were all here!

With these, the Peacock Plume could finally be brought to life!

Her breathing quickened, excitement flooding her chest.

She swiftly gathered the remaining needed materials and stuffed them into her robe.

Suddenly—

The woman flipped midair, her right hand instinctively flinging out dozens of hidden weapons.

“Clang! Clang! Clang!”

“Whoosh whoosh…”

A wave of palm wind struck, accompanied by the sound of surging sea waves.

Every hidden weapon she had thrown was knocked down by the powerful gust.

Upon hearing the sound of crashing waves, her body stiffened.

Without hesitation, she leapt onto the carriage roof.

Just as she was about to move again—

A man in a sea-blue robe appeared before her. Embroidered across his chest were patterns of a whale and crashing waves.

He had a rugged, masculine face with short bristles of beard, and a burly build.

Standing atop the carriage, he resembled a giant bear.

Haijing Gang Master — Qiong Longshan!

Qiong Longshan fixed his gaze on the woman in black, eyes narrowing slightly. She looked oddly familiar.

He said nothing, but suddenly struck out with a palm.

As the blow landed, the sound of crashing waves echoed in the air, and even the faint salty scent of sea breeze wafted through.

The woman moved with graceful agility, but her cold gaze flicked over Qiong Longshan, brimming with deep hatred and murderous intent.

Qiong Longshan caught the emotion in her eyes and frowned slightly.

He turned his palm into a claw—fast and forceful.

In the next instant—

He tore away the light veil covering her face.

A refined and breathtakingly beautiful face was revealed beneath.

Upon seeing that lovely face, Qiong Longshan froze. His voice came out hoarse:

“Xiao Lian?”