Qing Guang's sharp eyes widened. She swiftly moved and pushed Hu Ye out of the black arrow's way, the black arrow slightly grazing his right shoulder. Hu Ye, who was suddenly being pushed, instantly understood what might be going on.

"Guards!" He shouted. Fortunately for him, he had his sword beside him. He pulled out the shining black sword and cut down the next black arrow that came at him.

His movement was swift and elegant. He cut the black arrow into two. The black arrow fell on the ground beside him.

"Wow..." Qing Guang thought that his movements were beautiful. hen she gasped, a flash of thought coming to her. "What kind of assassin would dare to shoot two arrows at the Hu family's precious heir?"

"Fourth Young Master, Qing First Young Miss! Get back!" Someone shouted. From behind her, there were shadows that moved at the speed of light. Qing Guang looked up from her sitting position and saw three people jump and attack the bushes where the black arrows came from.

"We got him!" Fa Sui rejoiced.

"No, not 'we'. You did not got him, your needle missed, Sui." Falcon immediately raised an eyebrow..

"Ugh... I was blocking his escape route." Fa Sui tried to defend himself.

"That assassin is in the bushes. Your needles somehow stuck to the tree." Falcon raised an eyebrow. "Whose escape route are you trying to block? Birds and squirrels?"

"Hey, he could have jumped there to escape."

"Nah... not happening. That tree is far from him, dude"

"But, but..."

"Now, now. You two. The Qing First Miss is still here. Don't start a fight now." Zhi Yu calmed them down.

"Fourth Brother!"

"First Sister..." Hu Ye looked back and saw Hu Bai coming, Shou with her.

",,," Shou, who finally arrived, fell into silence when he saw the scenario.

Hu Ye suddenly thought of something. He looked around and saw that the fallen black arrows were gone. Hu Ye broke out in cold sweat. He wanted to say something but was cut off by Shou.

"Brother Zhi Yu. Can you check that bush?"

"Yes, I was about to do it but these two started to fight." Zhi Yu signed. He walked swiftly to the thick bushes that were located to Hu Ye's right. The other side of the road gave access to the training hall. With the help of the moonlight, Zhi Yu checked and searched the bushes but came up frowning. "Where did he go?"

"Eh!" Fa Sui and Falcon gasped simultaneously, also closing in. Fancon shook and Fa Sui took a step back out of instinct.

"He is gone?" Fa Sui almost shouted. "Impossible! We got him, I'm sure. Unless he can disappear into thin air, it was impossible to escape our eyes in such a close distance."

Falcon gulped. In front of him, there was only a piece of black clothing that was pierced severely by a scabbard and a spear, nothing more. Shou finally took a step forward and looked into the bushes with his own eyes. There really was nothing there. "What the.. I was hoping my radar was only off because Hu Zi placed a seal around herself but... there really is no one here."

"Do you know anything about this?" Zhi Yu asked Shou. "Some kind of rare martial art or elemental technique?"

"No." Shou answered, shaking his head. "I know several things but... none can explain this"

"What do you mean?" Fa Sui said.

"I mean, there are people who can hide their presence from a wind master's radar, but they are very rare in the first place. And even though that they can hide their presence, they cannot hide themself from human eyes, especially a martial practitioner's."

"Those people are rare? Then what about Third Sister?" Hu Ye looked at Shou.

"Ah yes, since I am able to do it, it is not strange that my disciple can too." Shou scratched the back of his neck, indicating that he was a little uncomfortable because he made Hu Zi upset just a while ago. "Anyway, we should investigate this case, fast."

While Shou was explaining about the disappearance to the others, Hu Bai closed in on Zhi Yu and whispered, "This is the second time..."

"..." Zhi Yu silently nodded, clenching his fist. "I should have predicted that it would happen again so soon."

"You just received the news an hour ago. Don't blame yourself." Hu Bai said sympathetically.

"...Yes." Zhi Yu smiled helplessly.

-----

On the other side of the city, in a secluded place near the dragon lake, Hu Zi looked toward the distance, where people were preparing for the upcoming winter festival. Hu Zi looked at the rock beside her and thought about the first time she met Shou here.

"He is a troublesome master," Hu Zi thought. "But..."

Hu Zi recalled when Shou came back from preparing the bath for her a few days ago, and saw Hu Cheng Se in her beautiful dress, looking very pretty with her makeup on. Shou had praised the new look of the fish-like lady, and suddenly, Hu Zi felt her heart ache a bit.

That heartache bothered her even till now.

"Sigh..."