NOVEL ONLINE FREE Chapter 13: Chapter 12
📖 CHAPTER 12: A BLADE IN THE DARK
The Gu Manor was never silent. Even in the dead of night, the wind carried whispers, rustling through the corridors like unseen ghosts.
Gu Qingyan sat by her window, fingers lightly drumming against the wooden sill. The events of the night replayed in her mind, each detail carefully dissected.
Her father had hesitated.
That alone was dangerous.
She had deflected the accusation, but a seed of doubt had been planted. She could feel it, lingering in the air like a storm waiting to break.
She exhaled softly.
If Gu Ruoyun thought she could play these games and win, she was sorely mistaken.
A flicker of movement.
Gu Qingyan's eyes sharpened.
Outside, the shadow of a figure shifted near the eastern wall.
She moved before thinking, slipping silently from her seat and into the darkness of her room.
Someone was watching her.
And tonight, she would find out who.
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📍 The Outer Courtyard
Gu Qingyan's steps were light, her breath steady. The cold night air pressed against her skin, but she paid it no mind.
She had followed the figure through the twisting corridors of the manor, her presence carefully masked.
They were leading her somewhere.
Or perhaps… testing her.
A trap, then.
She smirked slightly. Perfect.
The figure disappeared around a corner.
Gu Qingyan slowed.
Ahead, the path split into two—one leading toward the abandoned study, the other into the bamboo grove.
A deliberate choice.
They wanted her to pick.
She studied the shadows carefully, then turned.
The bamboo grove.
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📍 The Bamboo Grove
The night was eerily still as she stepped between the towering stalks of bamboo.
She kept her stance relaxed, but her senses remained sharp.
And then—
A whisper of movement behind her.
She spun, her hand instinctively reaching for the dagger hidden in her sleeve.
A blade sliced through the air.
She dodged.
The attacker was fast.
No hesitation. No wasted movement.
Whoever they were, they weren't an amateur.
Gu Qingyan twisted, avoiding the second strike, her mind calculating.
Their attacks were precise. Controlled.
An assassin.
Her eyes narrowed.
No—a trained one.
But whose?
She ducked beneath another strike and countered with her dagger. Their blades clashed, ringing through the night.
The assassin hesitated.
That pause was all she needed.
She moved with deadly grace, twisting her blade toward their exposed side.
A sharp intake of breath.
A graze.
The assassin leapt back, disappearing into the darkness as swiftly as they had come.
Gu Qingyan didn't pursue.
Instead, she let out a soft laugh, twirling the blood-stained tip of her dagger between her fingers.
"Interesting."
Whoever had sent them had underestimated her.
And that was their first mistake.
---
📍 Secret Chamber – Unknown Location
A figure knelt in the dim candlelight, their arm wrapped tightly around their wounded side.
The man in black stood before them, his golden eyes unreadable.
"She is stronger than anticipated," the assassin admitted, voice tight with pain.
The man chuckled. "Oh, I never doubted that."
He stepped forward, tilting his head slightly. "Tell me, did she hesitate?"
A pause.
"…No."
The man's smile widened.
"Good."
He turned, his robes flowing behind him. "Then it begins."
The assassin's head lowered.
The real game had only just started.