Chapter 164: An Unconventional Female Assassin

Jiang Chen was somewhat surprised. He hadn't expected the assassin who suddenly broke in to be a woman.

"It's too dangerous here. You should leave quickly."

The assassin had come specifically to kill Shen Yinglong, meaning she had no real conflict with Jiang Chen. He was only giving a well-intentioned warning, knowing that this place would soon be surrounded by a large force.

Although Jiang Chen didn't want to see her fall into danger, she showed no appreciation for his kindness.

"You're trying to scare me!"

"Do you really think this young lady was scared out of her wits?"

Jiang Chen said helplessly, "That's not what I mean. As you saw just now, because of your interference, Shen Yinglong escaped through a secret passage. Next, he will definitely send people to deal with us. If you don't leave now, are you waiting to be hacked to death?"

"Wait a minute, how do you know there is a secret passage here?"

"Shen Yinglong said so himself. He used to come and play here all the time when he was a child, watching this prison being built brick by brick. It's no surprise that he knows there's a secret passage."

The female assassin glared fiercely at Jiang Chen and rebuked angrily, "You scoundrel, it seems you are quite trusted! Shen Yinglong even told you about things from his childhood!"

"That makes it all the more impossible for me to let you go. Take my blade!"

Before her voice had even faded, the petite female assassin suddenly flashed a short dagger from her sleeve, attempting a surprise attack on Jiang Chen's chest. In a split second, she shifted through three different blade techniques, every move aimed at taking a life with no room for mercy.

Jiang Chen met blow with blow. Even though the opponent was aggressive and her martial arts possessed a truly unique edge, he still handled her with composure, suffering no injury despite losing the initiative.

After exchanging more than ten moves, the female assassin grew suspicious upon finding her attacks ineffective. Instead, Jiang Chen seized the opportunity to kick the short dagger right out of her hand, instantly reversing their offensive and defensive momentum.

"Clang!"

Following a crisp, resonant impact, the short dagger flew high into the air, spinning rapidly before plunging straight into the soft ground upon landing.

Jiang Chen explained, "Young lady, I think you've misunderstood. Shen Yinglong and I are not on the same side. I was just about to force him to hand over something very important when you interrupted. I haven't even called you to account for it, so how can you turn around and hurl malicious accusations?"

"You're facing death yet still talking nonsense, trying to deceive your way out of this! Your crime is doubled!"

"Take this!"

The female assassin whipped her long, tassel-like ponytail, and several darts flew out directly from the tips of her hair. If Jiang Chen hadn't reacted with lightning speed, he truly would have fallen victim to that trick.

Seeing Jiang Chen effortlessly escape danger once again, the female assassin stomped her foot on the ground with intense vexation.

Judging by this action and the sound of her voice, the female assassin couldn't possibly be old. Heaven knows what crossed her mind to make her run off and attempt to assassinate Shen Yinglong.

With her amateurish methods and naive disposition, she could hardly be considered a rigorously trained, mature assassin. Charging into the city prison to carry out an assassination like this was extremely dangerous.

Had she not happened to bump into Jiang Chen causing a massive ruckus here, the female assassin's fate most likely would have been capture by Shen Yinglong, followed unquestionably by a miserable end.

Jiang Chen was about to speak when he suddenly remembered he was still wearing prison guard attire. No wonder she mistook him for one of Shen Yinglong's lackeys; this misunderstanding was genuinely a bit tricky to explain.

"Young lady, listen to me carefully. I am not a guard here. Just now, because..."

"Wait a moment!" The female assassin abruptly cut Jiang Chen off.

"How did you figure out I'm a woman?"

He hadn't expected the female assassin to ask such a laugh-out-loud question, and Jiang Chen was almost utterly rendered speechless.

Pausing in sheer exasperation, he said, "No..."

"Well... didn't you just say it yourself? You said this young lady wasn't scared out of her wits, right?"

The female assassin froze on the spot, seemingly struggling to recall what she had said earlier, unsure whether she had actually uttered those words.

Yet she still stared stubbornly at Jiang Chen and snapped, "Don't try that trick! You're just trying to muddy the waters so you can escape in the chaos, aren't you? I won't give you the chance! I am a very formidable assassin!"

Jiang Chen bluntly exposed her, "Young lady, even if you hadn't admitted to being a woman, I am at least not deaf. I could tell you were a girl just from the sound of your voice. Is that really so hard?"

"You..."

The female assassin abruptly turned around, looking somewhat embarrassed as she muttered to herself.

"Oh dear, how could I forget to use the voice-altering technique Master taught me? Why am I so foolish, making a laughingstock of myself in front of others?"

"Maybe I should just kill him outright. That way, such a shameful matter won't get spread around, and it would be bad if it tarnished my master's reputation."

Jiang Chen let out a long sigh. It was his first time encountering such a clumsy assassin. To think she had turned her back on him right then and there—wasn't she committing yet another major taboo?

He considered reminding her, but remembering her unappreciative attitude, he silently gave up on the idea.

"Listen well! You were clearly walking alongside Shen Yinglong just a moment ago, yet now you claim you're not with him. How do you expect me to believe your wild stories?"

"Master said that when executing a mission, you must never listen to the opponent's sweet words. Better to kill an innocent by mistake than let a guilty person go!"

Having made up her mind, the female assassin prepared to tangle with Jiang Chen once more.

When she raised her head to look, however, she saw that Jiang Chen had already retreated to a spot ten paces away. This movement had been accomplished almost completely in silence, and she hadn't noticed it at all.

"You!"

"You run fast enough!"

Jiang Chen smiled faintly, thinking to himself that while this little girl lacked exceptional martial prowess, she carried an unknown number of concealed weapons and hidden projectiles. When unleashed, they were genuinely tricky to guard against.

On the premise of not wanting to harm her, Jiang Chen decided to maintain some distance. That way, even if she pulled off another surprise projectile attack, he would have ample time to respond.

"Well? Your sword is on the ground, your short dagger was kicked away, and the strange hidden weapons in your hair failed to harm me. So, what new tricks do you have left?"

"I'm actually starting to get curious."

Taking this as mockery, the female assassin flushed a bright red. Although her red veil masked the truth, how could Jiang Chen miss her head-to-toe reactions?

"Hey!"

"Don't get cocky! I haven't used my ultimate lethal move yet, only it's too cruel and would instantly splatter your blood across the ground, so I didn't want to use it!"

Terrified that Jiang Chen wouldn't believe her, the female assassin even used her hands to gesture wildly in the air. Just as she did, Jiang Chen suddenly lunged forward toward her fiercely, and the two of them collided instantly...