Vol. 2 - Chapter 67 - Lost

I stayed in that room for an entire day. From time to time, the man would drag in another child and throw them into the wooden cell.

Every so often, he would seal our mute acupoints to stop us from crying and drawing attention.

From the conversations I overheard between the men, I learned they were working for Fengyu Tower.

I’d heard of Fengyu Tower before—the largest assassin organization in the martial world.

I didn’t know why they were capturing these children, but whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.

That day, after hours of hopeless waiting, something finally shifted.

The man captured a fool—a big, strong fool.

Once thrown inside, the fool actually smashed one of the wooden bars of the cell with brute strength.

The guard, drunk and oblivious, didn’t notice a thing.

I knew—this was our only chance.

But… I also knew escaping wouldn’t be easy.

What if there were guards outside?

I couldn’t be taken by Fengyu Tower. I had to get out. I had to avenge my mother.

One by one, the children slipped out of the gap.

I whispered for them to stay quiet, to leave through the front door.

I didn’t know if there were guards at the front, but even if there were… those children could buy some time.

Just as I was about to climb out the window, I saw the fool standing there, blank-faced, ready to run out with the others.

If not for that fool, I wouldn’t even have this chance.

Without hesitation, I grabbed him, pointed to the window, signaling him to follow me.

The fool stared at me with a vacant look, simple and dazed.

I had no time to think. I grabbed the guard’s half-finished wine, poured it on the ground, and set the bed ablaze.

Just as I was about to leave, I noticed a book in the guard’s arms.

I realized it might be a legendary martial arts manual.

Without hesitation, I snatched the book, dragged the fool, and leapt out the window.

As we fled, my heart pounded with excitement.

Maybe… maybe I wouldn’t need Emei Sect or Hengshan Sect to learn martial arts after all!

After running two streets, we met someone—someone who would completely change my life.

From that day on, my destiny shifted forever.

He was a young man, around twenty, handsome, carrying an unusual aura— not quite a martial wanderer, not quite a scholar. Something… different.

His name was Chen Ye.

He was the fool’s father.

No— to be precise, the fool’s adoptive father.

He was the head of Yuhang Orphanage.

It was nothing I’d expected.

Chen Ye found the fool, asked him some questions.

From his manner of speaking, I could tell he wasn’t a bad person.

When Chen Ye led the fool away, he asked if I wanted to go too.

I didn’t trust him.

But somehow, I still followed the long street and found my way to Yuhang Nursery.

It was small— only Chen Ye and the fool lived there.

When I arrived, I saw Chen Ye rubbing safflower oil on the fool’s bruises.

Under the sun, the two of them laughed happily.

In that moment, I knew… I’d found the haven I’d been searching for.

Chen Ye was kind. He agreed to take me in, offering four taels of silver a month. In return, I washed clothes and cooked— duties of a servant girl.

He even gave me my own room, with fresh bedding.

Since leaving Fujian, after wandering so long, this was the first truly good person I’d met.

During my stay at the nursery, for the first time in years, I felt the warmth of a home.

Chen Ye was good… but also strange.

He often said odd things like “men and women are equal.”

He cooked so well, yet refused to open a restaurant. He only wanted to run his little nursery.

A strange man… and somehow, I liked him for it.

While living there, I practiced the techniques from the book—Jing Hua Finger. I made some progress.

I thought I was finally close to killing that man.

But one day, I witnessed a real battle between martial artists.

And I realized— what I thought was progress was laughable.

After that day, I gained a master.

Her name was Qin Yi, a gold-ranked assassin of Fengyu Tower. She was powerful.

I became her disciple, learning internal cultivation and the Tang Sect’s hidden weapons manual.

I knew my path to vengeance was still long.

Months passed. My skills grew rapidly. I reached Third Grade.

Not long after, Fengyu Tower faced upheaval.

My master said she wanted to take me to the headquarters, to temper my strength.

I hesitated. I didn’t want to leave him…

But deep down, I knew— I wasn’t strong enough yet.

I had to kill that man. I must.

I’ll never forget that morning when I left the nursery.

Chen Ye actually made white-flour dumplings to see me off.

He really was a good man. Truly good.

But I knew— I had something more important to do.

That morning, Chen Ye walked me to the city gates, handing me a lunchbox of dumplings for the road.

In that moment, my resolve wavered.

I wanted to give up. I wanted to stay.

Standing outside the gates, I felt my master’s gaze from a distance.

And then— the image of my mother’s soaked corpse in that courtyard flashed before my eyes.

I had to avenge her.

I steeled my heart, left Yuhang County, and followed my master and the assassins to the Fengyu Tower headquarters.

There, I faced my first true life-or-death crisis.

That day, I finally understood how terrifying First Grade warriors truly were.

My hidden weapons did nothing.

We were surrounded by warriors from Wanjin Hall and the Tang Sect.

I knew— we were going to die.

In that moment, the first thought in my heart wasn’t hatred.

It was… Chen Ye.

I’m sorry. I can’t come back.

That’s what I thought.

But the next instant—

He appeared.

Chen Ye stood before me, patting my head.

He was actually a Grandmaster. With ease, he killed that monk.

The warriors of Wanjin Hall and Tang Sect didn’t dare move.

We survived.

Chen Ye… was a Grandmaster…

I couldn’t believe it. But more than anything, I was happy.

Happy to be alive. Happy to see him again.

Chen Ye absorbed the remaining forces of Fengyu Tower and founded Yuye Hall.

After everything was settled, he returned to the nursery, lounging around lazily as always.

He called it “lying flat.”

I didn’t fully understand, but I was deeply grateful.

I became an assassin of Yuye Hall, continuing to kill in the martial world, tempering my skills.

As I steadily stepped into Second Grade, I truly felt the chasm between First and Second Grade— and the even greater gulf between a Grandmaster and First Grade.

Chen Ye seemed aware of my feelings for him. He quietly avoided them.

I could only bury my emotions deep in my heart. The gap between us was too vast.

I poured everything into perfecting my hidden weapons and assassination techniques.

In two years, I advanced to Second Grade and mastered the Tang Sect’s “Rain of Blossoms.”

Below First Grade, no one could rival me.

But even then, I knew I still couldn’t kill that man.

Until Chen Ye handed me a blueprint for a new hidden weapon.

From it, I forged the weapon known as Peacock Feather.

The moment it was completed, I knew— killing a First Grade warrior was no longer impossible.

After testing it, Chen Ye told me not to take lives lightly. He urged me to think it through.

And for the first time…

I felt lost.

When I finally had the power to kill a First Grade warrior—what I felt most wasn’t triumph…but confusion.