Hearing the loud sound of the morning gong, Shu Ren pulled up his blanket and turned his head. But his wish to sleep in a little was thwarted in just an incense stick of time.
A loud banging was heard coming from his door. At first, Shu Ren tried to ignore it, but soon a few words fell on his ears: "Get up quickly. The others have already gathered at the sect gate."
Shu Ren jumped off his bed and hurriedly put on his outer disciple robes. How could I have forgotten such an important day? he scolded himself.
Getting dressed, he opened the door and was greeted by a slightly chubby boy. "Thank you, Hu Bao," he said with genuine gratitude.
"Forget about me," Hu Bao said. "Just go quickly. You'll be lucky if the one leading the team hasn't arrived yet."
Shu Ren nodded and closed the door behind him. Then, flashing Hu Bao a slight smile, he sprinted toward the sect gate. That was the place where his team for this mission was supposed to gather.
Since the main gate of the sect was close to the outer sect, Shu Ren easily reached it. Stopping a short distance away from the gathered group, he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the hem of his shirt. From the leisurely attitude of the disciples wearing the white-colored sect uniform, he presumed that the Foundation Establishment cultivator leading the group hadn't yet arrived.
Just as this thought crossed his mind, a female cultivator with blue circles on her sleeves could be seen coming toward them from the road leading to the inner sect. One look at her, and Shu Ren quickly joined up with the group.
Sadly, except for Hu Bao, he hadn't made any other friends in the sect over the past three years. He courteously greeted the others and stood at the side. The others also just nodded and ignored him.
Soon, silence pervaded the merry atmosphere. After reaching the gathered group, Senior Sister Zuo, who was at the Foundation Establishment realm, began to give instructions.
"The target this time in the sect mission is suspected to be a Qi Refinement Realm Seventh Layer cultivator. If you find him, just use the talisman given to you and wait for others to arrive."
Everyone in the group nodded their heads in understanding. From what Shu Ren remembered, the strongest among them was only at the Fifth Layer of Qi Refinement. A difference of two layers was fatal when facing an experienced killer.
Then Senior Sister Zuo proceeded to assign specific patrolling areas of Lige City to the group. Soon, everyone had a general idea of their monitoring routes.
Finally, they began their descent down the sect mountain. While moving down, Shu Ren carefully observed his group. Including him, there were fourteen others, both girls and boys, everyone looking to be in their teens. Even Senior Sister Zuo, who was supposed to be past her twenties, only seemed like a young girl.
Since the early morning mist hadn't faded yet, Shu Ren had to strain his eyes, and due to his intense focus, he easily got distanced from the rest of the group.
After walking down the mountainous stairs, the group reached the city gates. Showing the guards her Inner Disciple Token, Senior Sister Zuo ushered everyone inside. The whole group then split up and started to comb through the city.
After walking and looking through a few streets in his assigned areas, Shu Ren's stomach started to grumble. Since the mission was supposed to be early, he hadn't gotten a chance to eat anything. His eyes went to the small stall selling wantons, and saliva started to gather on his tongue due to the enchantingly meaty smell wafting from there. But controlling his natural urges, he quickly went away from that place. He would just go to his home and eat the food prepared by his mother after the mission was complete.
Slowly, he observed that more shops were opening. Some were selling foods, some clothes, and some earthen wares. After the morning rays of the sun began lighting up the city, the previously silent streets came to life with hordes of people moving about their daily lives. And Shu Ren was observing it happening in real time.
It was not the first time he had seen it, but the previous time was several months ago. However, the bustling streets were still very familiar to him, like the back of his hand. Being familiar with and raised in this city was the only reason he was selected for this mission, even if his cultivation was the lowest in the group.
After properly examining every nook and cranny of his assigned area, Shu Ren still didn't find even an inkling of the suspect. With his task completed, he decided to pay his home a visit before going back to the rendezvous location. The next time he would meet his mother and sister would be after a month only.
In no time, he had reached his home, as the area assigned to him was very near. His house was dilapidated, just like the houses around. Well, at least his family had a home to stay in, unlike many others. He went to the door and lightly tapped on it a few times. But even those small taps made loud noises due to the shabby wooden door.
He waited for some time, but neither his mother nor his sister opened the door. He once again tapped on the door and waited. Still nothing. Finally getting worried, Shu Ren started to bang on the door, but the door, which was supposed to be locked, was easily flung open.
What greeted him inside the house completely froze his mind. A metallic smell suddenly hit his nose. His attention went to the source of this smell. He was seeing it, but his mind refused to believe it. Slowly, he dragged his feet and approached the two bodies lying in a pool of their own blood.
Getting closer, his legs gave way, and he fell to his knees beside the bodies. His breathing grew uneven, and his eyes started to flutter quickly, as if trying to wake up from a dream. Suddenly, his chest started to ache very badly, and when he brought his hand closer to it, he felt a sharp sting in his hand. Looking down, he saw that a long dagger had pierced his chest and was protruding out from the front. Right then, he coughed out a stream of blood from his mouth and fell forward.
Lying down, Shu Ren's eyes went to the pair of shoes at the edge of his vision. Even with the searing pain coming from his chest, he moved his head slightly upward. His eyes focused on a masked man who was looking down at him, his eyes smiling. He realized without a doubt that this man was the killer.
"Arghhh…" Shu Ren shouted, which inadvertently increased the pain in his torn lungs. But the only thing on his mind was to get to the man. His hands left the floor and slowly stretched toward the killer, but with the strength draining from his body, they fell midway. The last thing he saw before his vision was engulfed by darkness was the slight delight in the eyes of that bastard.
The loud sound of the gong woke up Shu Ren. He jumped off the bed, the blanket falling down. Taking deep breaths, he gazed down and brought his right hand to his chest. But the expected wetness or pointed surface was not there. He quickly removed his coarse shirt and looked at his chest. Nothing was out of place, and there was no visible injury.
Shu Ren finally let out a deep breath. His whole tense body relaxed visibly. He slowly sat down on his bed. "I should probably try to get some proper sleep soon," he muttered to himself.