(On a remote and shadowed planet, hidden somewhere in the vast expanse of the universe)
On a planet cloaked in eternal darkness and biting cold, renowned across the galaxy as the ultimate refuge for fugitives and outlaws, resided Mu Fan—the infamous branch head of the Mu family.
She was currently residing on the dark planet because of fears of the universal government officials arresting her and hunting her down, however, she expected the situation to improve in the coming months, as the main family negotiated terms of her pardon.
The main family knew that she was too important an asset to be allowed to rot on a desolate planet, and hence they were sure to buy her pardon, as soon as anger surrounding her last assassination mission started to fade.
"Branch Leader! Branch Leader! You must see this…"
The voice of a small boy broke her meditation, as Mu Fan instantly became alert.
*Thud*
The peace and calm of her insulated wooden cabin was broken by the violent opening of the cabin door, as a gust of bone chilling wind flew in, instantly dropping the temperature within the cabin by a few degrees.
*Thud*
Shivering, the underling closed the door behind him and stumbled toward Mu Fan, clutching a piece of paper in his trembling hands.
Icicles seemed to have formed on the young boy's face, his breath freezing mid-air and leaving frosty traces on his skin as it escaped his nose.
His skin was blue and he seemed to be on the verge of going into a shock, if Mu Fan did not help him.
"Here… have this" Mu Fan said, accepting the piece of paper from his hands as she handed him a small vial of red fluid.
"Drink…. It's not wise to travel on foot during winter, no matter how many layers of clothes you wear. Drink or you won't survive this night" Mu Fan instructed, as under her vigilant watch, the poor underling clumsily opened the vial, consuming the contents within in one short gulp.
"Agh–" The young boy moaned instantly, as he could feel the liquid running down his throat and setting every cell within his body on fire, as suddenly all the cold that he felt seemed to thaw, with rejuvenating heat returning to his body.
"Th–Thank you, Branch Leader," the young boy stammered, his voice barely above a whisper, as Mu Fan nodded curtly before gesturing toward the far corner of her cabin.
"Sit there and try not to breathe too loud," she instructed, her tone cold and sharp as she unfolded the letter in her hand with practiced precision.
"Aye," the boy replied, retreating to the corner, where he sat quietly, clutching his knees and trying to make himself as small as possible, while the Branch Leader focused on the message.
'I wonder what the urgent message is?' he thought, his wide eyes sneaking glances toward her face, hoping to catch a glimpse of her reaction.
Mu Fan, despite being over forty-five, looked no older than twenty. Her youthful appearance, a result of her status as a grandmaster warrior, had remained untouched by time.
If not for her cold, unapproachable nature and lethal reputation, countless admirers would have dared to pursue her. But her demeanor, like an unyielding glacier, left no room for warmth or affection.
'As always, the Branch Leader's expression doesn't change at all...' the boy noted with a twinge of disappointment, as no matter how grave or urgent the situation was, her icy calm never seemed to waver, with today seeming no different.
But then, something shifted.
Her eyebrow twitched, her forehead creased ever so slightly, and her usually impassive face showed the faintest flicker of tension.
'It changed? Something in that letter actually made the Branch Leader react?'
The boy's breath hitched as he stared at her, eyes wide with disbelief. Whatever was written in that letter had managed to crack the Branch Leader's legendary composure, and this shocked even the underling to his core.
'Whatever is written within that letter has to be groundbreaking if it causes even the branch leader to break her usual calm. Thank the gods that I came here running as fast as I did' The underling thought, as he felt proud of himself for braving to travel during the winter, just to bring the Branch Leader this message.
**********
(Meanwhile Mu Fan)
A few months ago, the Mu family main branch had assigned her the duty of scouting and pleasing a promising talent who went by the name of 'Leo Skyshard'.
He was a prodigy on-top of one of the universal governments rehabilitation arc-ships, that had managed to reach the realm of a 'Master' warrior, while just playing the induction game.
While reaching the 'Master' status itself was not impressive enough to enter the eyes of the Mu Clan, the fact that he did it in record time and that he single handedly broke the balance of the induction game, caught the Mu family's attention, who assigned his recruitment to Mu Fan.
As per universal government rules, although Mu Fan could not directly recruit him before he landed on his destination planet, she sent him a Grandmaster meditation manual, to hopefully enter his good graces and receive priority for his recruitment when he landed.
She was supposed to monitor his progress through the months and was supposed to stay in touch with the ship's captain bringing that talent about his development, however, with the past months being as hectic as they were, she completely lost touch of the project, until today.
The message she received today was sent by the ship's captain to the Mu Clan 14 days ago, however, with her being forced into hiding, it took 14 days for the message to finally reach her hands after travelling a fairly dangerous path.
Usually, such updates on a potential recruitment candidate would not constitute an emergency, however, the contents of this letter oddly did.
The candidate had allegedly tapped into the genetic skill [Parallel Processing], opening the potential for him to be the inheritor of the Timeless Assassin's bloodline.
A possibility that broke even Mu Fan's calm facade.