1. DARK NIGHT

It was a tense night. The air was colder than usual. Today, the moon seemed to be shining brighter than the previous nights.

Whuussss...

A black shadow flashed as fast as lightning through the cold night. The villagers were already in their homes, resting their bodies after a full day's work.

Meanwhile, on the roof of one of the houses. Four young men were sitting leisurely while looking at the deserted village. The four were high-ranking warriors, who were on patrol.

"How long are we here? I'm already tired from monitoring the village all day," Ye Chen complained.

The swordsman was dressed all in navy blue, hair tied up with the rest of his hair extending downwards. Not forgetting the sword in his hand.

They had been there for over thirty minutes, so Ye Chen started to complain. Lin Yan also got up from her seat.

"It's not just you who's tired, but all of us feel tired too. Especially Tang Xiu. He hasn't slept in three days because he's been keeping watch for the success of this mission. Don't you feel ashamed of him?" added Lin Yan while patting Ye Chen's shoulder.

"I don't care about his life." Ye Chen also sneaked a glance in any direction with his arms folded across his chest. "Right now, I just want to go back to Wu Dang and sleep in my soft bed."

Lin Yan also wanted to curse, her emotions could not be contained. She wanted to punch him. At the same time Tang Xiu reacted, not to break up the two, but a flash of black shadow made him immediately stand up and pull the sword from its sheath.

"He has come!" he exclaimed with a serious tone and a sharp gaze that contained a high degree of internal energy.

The other three youths looked at each other, then nodded together. Everyone had understood their respective tasks.

Tang Xiu moved first. With the science of lightening the body, he floated in the air. Then, his three companions followed.

The directions they took were different. Lin Yan went North. Ye Chen went South, while Xiao Yuan went West. While Tang Xiu went East, chasing after the shadow.

***

At the end of the village, there was a house that was not too big and the walls were made of wooden booths, and the floor was still on the ground.

Wusshhhh...

A beautiful woman in a flashy red dress, just set her foot on the ground. 30 minutes into her flight, she finally arrived at her home.

Even though it was simple and looked shabby, but her house held many memories that could never be forgotten.

He took a breath first, then straightened his clothes that were a little disheveled due to the long duration of flying. Just as she was about to take a step, she stopped.

"Black Spider Goddess! We finally meet!" exclaimed a young man who had been waiting for her for thirty minutes.

He was none other than Tang Xiu. The High Level Swordsman in Luoyang. Meanwhile, the girl named Zhi Zhu was on the same level as Tang Xiu.

"Apparently you already know my hiding place." Zhi Zhu said in a cold tone. "It turns out you came alone. It doesn't matter because it'll be easy for me to end your life!"

Without waiting any longer, Zhi Zhu ran over, pulling a sword from its sheath. Tang Xiu also took out his sword.

CLING ....

The two swords clashed against each other. Tang Xiu withstood the attack that Zhi Zhu tried to show. "Your skills aren't too bad," she quipped with a cynical smile.

Tang Xiu chose to ignore her. He suppressed his sword, at the same time instantly retracting the sword. Then, turning his body instantly he made an impromptu attack and was read by Zhi Zhu.

The two swords clashed again. There was a faint smile on Zhi Zhu's face. Tang Xiu guessed, it was a deadly smile.

Sure enough, just as his attack was blocked at almost the same time Zhi Zhu spewed a poisonous spider web from his mouth.

Tang Xiu was knocked several meters away, his sword even slipping out of his hand. It felt hot as the spider web that Zhi Zhu spit out, wrapped around his body.

Tang Xiu used his inner strength to neutralize the poison in the spider web. Slowly he could feel his blood flow freezing. Even his body now began to feel stiff, difficult to move freely.

Zhi Zhu laughed out loud. Seeing Tang Xiu's suffering gave him the upper hand now. No one would be able to escape the snare of his spider web. Tang Xiu's life energy would be sucked away, until there was nothing left.

Zhi Zhu could confirm, in a few more minutes Tang Xiu wouldn't be able to breathe anymore. However, slowly Zhi Zhu's smile faded along with the arrival of help.

CLING...

Lin Yan flicked his wooden fan, aimed so fast. Then, it cut through the spider web that had been wrapped around almost Tang Xiu's entire body from the back direction.

With just one swipe, the spider web was detached from Tang Xiu's body and shattered, accompanied by a cloud of white smoke, the result of the shattered spider web.

Tang Xiu could finally breathe freely again. Even so, he had to lose some of his inner strength and life energy.

His body was face down with one hand as a support to keep him from hitting the ground. Lin Yan hurriedly went over to Tang Xiu, he also immediately took out a small box containing some internal energy boosting pills.

Tang Xiu consumed the pills in one swallow. Lin Yan channeled his inner energy to make Tang Xiu absorb the nutrients from the pills faster.

Lin Yan's sudden arrival makes Zhi Zhu upset because Tang Xiu escapes from his trap. Now he had to face the two young men together and there was a high probability that someone else would come. Thus, Zhi Zhu prepared himself for any situation that might arise.

Finding Tang Xiu still absorbing the nutrients from the healing pills, made Zhi Zhu not want to let go of the great opportunity. Plus Lin Yan was still helping Tang Xiu by flowing her inner energy, so the defense of the two faltered.

Without wasting any more time, Zhi Zhu immediately drew his sword. Then, with a wind move he made a counterattack that was difficult for Tang Xiu and Lin Yan to read.

The two young men both fixed their eyes on Zhi Zhu who was only a few feet away.

Wusshhhh...

Zhi Zhu sprung back his spider web in the hope of killing two prey at once. However, his hopes were just wishful thinking.

Yaaaachhh...

Zhi Zhu received an attack that she never expected. Xiao Yuan appeared all of a sudden, out of nowhere. He kicked Zhi Zhu in the chest which made the woman nicknamed Spider Goddess bounce a few meters.

Her sword slipped out of her hand. Now Zhi Zhu could only rely on her poisonous spider web.

"Are you guys okay?" Xiao Yuan looked at Tang Xiu's limp condition. "Did you get hit by the poisonous spider web?"

Tang Xiu nodded. "If Lin Yan hadn't come sooner, then I would have died today." He slightly groaned in pain while clutching his chest.

"Be careful of the spider web because it can suck out life energy." Tang Xiu advised. He was sure that Xiao Yuan and Lin Yan did not know about the spider web.

The two of them nodded almost simultaneously and their alertness level increased now. Meanwhile, Zhi Zhu, who had been listening to their conversation, finally laughed while clapping his hands.

"I didn't expect to meet the most respected detectives in Luoyang tonight," she praised without hiding his murderous aura.

His murderous aura was thick, making Tang Xiu and the others even more wary. The two of them used their inner strength to suppress the murderous aura.