The Twins Arrive

While Jun was contemplating life, two huge figures entered the hotel and approached the table where they were seated.

"Move."

Jun looked up and poured them a drink. "I didn't think you'd get here so quickly. Was the journey tough?"

Trevor pulled back his hood and, gripping his brother Vera's shoulders, said, "Well, we both ran."

"It was a whole day of running," Vera nodded in agreement with his brother's words.

"Do you know what we're after and what we can expect?" Jun asked, wanting to know if the twins were informed.

The twins had heard many things about a mysterious assassin on their way here.

That mysterious assassin had already enjoyed fame for over sixty years. He was a man who could face a massive army alone and come out victorious. To this day, they still couldn't understand which parts of those stories were so mythical, but outside of these regions, no one had heard of him.

Since entering places filled with many people, the twins stopped calling Jun by his name for that very reason; they only addressed him as Asura.

"We already have a pretty good idea of what's going on here." The twins had also encountered numerous free village settlements on their way.

"There are rumors that the King of Assassins will soon rise to power and claim control of all the assassins. This information comes from the fact that Zhao had planned to destroy the assassin clans. But do you know what's even funnier? That information was held by a shadow who was killed after stumbling upon a group of assassins," Jun said, still laughing.

"Is all this mess our fault?" The twins, realizing this, couldn't help but exclaim at the same time.

Shen, on the side, added, "That's why a new King of Assassins is being sought during this era."

Suddenly, the cotton blanket covering the hotel entrance lifted, and snow rushed in with the howling wind. Some of the rowdier guests were about to shout insults before sitting back down in fear.

Three people dressed in purple entered like ghosts. The color of their robes reflected off the snow, making everything glow with a purple hue. Outside, it was snowing furiously, but these people didn't seem affected, as if they were polar bears in their natural habitat.

On their clothing, symbols similar to those on the black robes worn by Jun and the twins indicated that they belonged to a rather ancient clan of assassins.

When the three men entered, they scanned the faces of everyone around them. Wherever they looked, the people in that direction felt as if all their secrets had been stripped away!

After a round of observation, they finally stepped inside and stood by the large fire basin. Then they realized there were no empty tables. One of them frowned and slammed the nearest table with his fist, pointing at the door with his finger.

The message was clear: that man was telling them to leave.

Coincidentally, the five men at this table were the same five whom Jun had told to leave when he arrived at this hotel and couldn't find the table he wanted.

How could they imagine being asked to leave again? But this time, they cleared the table even faster and left without a word, disappearing into the snow and wind, fearing they would be killed by those massive men.

These three men were from the Illusory Clan, and they were in a very bad mood. That's why no one dared to bother them.

The five men knew well that they definitely weren't worthy of arguing with those three. After all, how many people in this world could compare to those men who had been trained since childhood? The five men would rather lose face than lose their lives!

The hotel immediately fell silent. Those who had been boasting about their stories became especially quiet. They leaned over their tables to eat and didn't dare make a sound while chewing.

"Wine! Dishes! Serve the best you have!" One of the three men sat down, his face displeased. At the counter, the two owners lifted their heads, glanced at them, and then leaned back at the same time.

The waiter quickly served the food, cold sweat dripping from his forehead. The men dressed in purple began eating and drinking without speaking. Their expressions didn't show much arrogance, but there was a certain indifference in them.

The bustling inn fell silent in an instant. Everyone remained quiet. With the news that Zhao wanted to exterminate all assassin clans, these men, who belonged to an ancient clan of assassins, were obviously in a foul mood.

"How dare a dog of a king wish to wipe out all assassin villages in Zhao?"

"I didn't think all these things happened because of a leak, such bad luck..." Jun chuckled at the absurdities he had encountered along the way. Shen stared at him, pleading for him not to make a scene. It wasn't a good time for that.

"It seems the ceremony is near." Jun directed these words to the twins.

Trevor responded emotionlessly, "If we find the place, are you thinking of becoming the king of assassins? After all, commanding all the assassin villages would be a good thing."

Jun smiled without saying anything. He neither agreed nor disagreed.

Right now, the place was so quiet that you could hear the sound of snow falling on the vast land outside the door, brushing against the ground. The northern wind whistled, blowing back and forth. This crowded inn had unexpectedly turned silent, like a ghostly realm.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Outside, there were several loud, sharp sounds. It sounded like thin bamboo poles striking against hard ice. As the sounds grew closer, the exceptionally heavy footsteps and rather rapid breathing became clearly audible.

Nearer and nearer it came, until it finally reached the door.

The cotton curtain was lifted once again.

A stick appeared first before striking the ground heavily. A man covered in snow trudged in.

It wasn't until he entered that everyone noticed the man had only one leg, balancing himself with his remaining foot.

His face was wrinkled, and his head was wrapped in thick, white cloth, which had a bloodstain on it. The thick white cloth covered an eye that seemed blind. The other eye was filled with sorrow. He also carried a long, narrow bundle on his back.

Was this man also an assassin? Impossible—how could he have crossed the snowy mountains?

He continued moving with difficulty. Everyone stared at him only to see him coughing violently and shivering. Snowflakes fell at his feet, and some ice clung to his clothes. Several strands of hair poking out from the gap in his hat had frozen solid.

"Give me a flask of wine... Ten rice buns and a plate of meat." The old man kept trembling and could barely speak properly. He pulled a few pieces of silver from his pocket with his shaking hands. Everyone frowned as he spoke. He sounded horribly unwell, like a man who hadn't had a drink in days.

He looked around but couldn't find a seat. Unlike Jun or those three men in purple when they arrived, the old man, failing to find a seat, sat directly in front of the fireplace. He warmed his hands by breathing on them and rubbing them together before addressing everyone. "Hey... What a cold day..."

Since he entered, the three men in purple had been staring at him. They scrutinized him for a while before one of them laughed and spoke softly to the man. "My friend, where are you from? What happened to you?"

"Ah, thanks for asking. I wasn't lucky and ran into a group of bandits waiting under a mountain in this kind of weather. Can you imagine it? Sons of bitches."

The crippled man wanted to cry but couldn't produce any tears as he continued, "I did a whole year of business. With great effort, I finally gathered hundreds of grams of silver. I wanted to go home for the new year, but... Who would've thought I'd run into a group of bandits? All my personal belongings were looted. They even took the coat I had for my wife and kids... Those hundreds of grams of silver—only a few remain—the ones I just used. The worst part was when I begged for mercy and the bandit cut off one of my legs... Now I wonder if I'll make it home alive."

"Indeed, an unfortunate event..." said the man in purple, sighing sympathetically. "Thieves grow bolder near the new year. They want to start the next year on a good note. But who doesn't? Including those who were robbed, who doesn't want to reunite with their wife and kids?"

"Exactly..." The crippled man patted his thighs but felt unbearable pain, his single eye twitching in agony. "How heartless and lawless they are!"

"What did those bandits look like?" asked the man in purple cautiously. "Tell us so we can be careful later."

"I didn't see them clearly... It was snowing so heavily. With just a few blows, I was like this, begging for mercy while one of them broke my leg." The crippled man began to weep.

The man in purple said kindly, "At least you survived. You're luckier than the others, right?"

The crippled man sighed deeply. Then, the wine and steamed meat he ordered arrived, and he took a sip of the wine. Suddenly, he hung his head in sorrow, his shoulders trembling as he twisted his vest, as if crying.

Shen sighed and whispered, "With just one leg, it will be hard for him to walk. Jun, what do you say we help him?"

Jun had been scrutinizing the crippled man. Upon hearing Shen's suggestion, he smiled and said, "Open your eyes wide; you're mistaken."

There may be unfortunate people Jun had helped, but this crippled man definitely wouldn't be one of them. You never know—maybe by tomorrow morning, he'll miraculously be walking again!

"Is there something unusual about this man?"

"Yes, very unusual..." Both Jun and the twins laughed together.

With extremely sharp senses, Jun and the twins knew this one-legged man wasn't normal.

At the very least, Jun could sense a terrible killing aura from the old man. He immediately imagined the ancient King of Assassins, who had disappeared long ago and was now a legend whispered in all the assassin villages.

The King of Assassins, who would surely appear if anyone tried to claim his title.