Lady Rui gasped from her chair.
Lady Kui was equally shocked.
The infamous Gold Badge assassin Cat Girl had claimed the lives of countless spiritual practitioners at her own Tier.
She had vanished a few years ago, leading many to assume she had been caught during a botched assassination.
No one expected her to resurface, let alone end up on the Assassin Hall's kill list.
Lady Kui thought back to when she had rashly confronted them about harboring a great treasure. It was a miracle they hadn't killed her on the spot!
Li Ban was also surprised to see Cat Girl suddenly reveal her identity. While killing the city lord of Hundred Flowers City would permanently resolve their current crisis, why would she take such a risk?
Lady Hua asked much the same question.
"You—" Lady Hua unconsciously used a respectful tone, intimidated by the 5th Tier Gold Badge assassin. "Senior Cat, you are willing to assassinate the city lord?"
Lady Hua wasn't surprised. "What are your conditions?"
Cat Girl suddenly blurred into a phantom, reappearing right behind Lady Hua.
"Deputy Pavilion Master!"
Several people jumped in fright.
A layer of cold sweat instantly coated Lady Hua's back.
Only then did she clearly realize the massive gap in strength between herself and the legendary Gold Badge assassin.
Cat Girl leaned in from behind and whispered something into Lady Hua's ear.
Lady Hua froze, a look of utter disbelief crossing her face.
She turned her head to look, but Cat Girl had already returned to her original spot beside Li Ban. "Think it over. Once you agree, I'll state my next condition."
Lady Hua looked troubled. "There are more conditions?"
"Naturally. When others hire me, it's because they need someone dead. But you are hiring me so you can live. The price is obviously higher."
The sounds of battle outside were drawing closer. It was hard to say how much longer the defenders outside the vines could hold on.
Cat Girl twitched her ears. "How much time do you think you have to consider?"
"Speak," Lady Hua said helplessly.
Out of everyone present, only Cat Girl possessed the strength to assassinate the city lord.
Even if she failed, she would draw the enemy's attention and buy them time to breathe.
The main problem was that they had never expected Wang Yong to actually flip the table and risk everything.
He had acted with such absolute ruthlessness that if he failed, he would be left with no way out but death.
Cat Girl, however, pointed at Lady Kui, who had brought them inside. "My second condition is for Lady Kui alone."
Lady Hua and Lady Rui immediately looked at the dazed Lady Kui.
The latter seemed to still be lost in a trance.
"Kui'niang," Lady Rui called out softly, frowning.
"Ah!" Lady Kui jolted awake. Though she had been spacing out, she had actually heard the entire conversation. With a quick recall, she figured out what she needed to say. "Alright."
This time, however, Cat Girl didn't speak to Lady Kui alone. She shot Li Ban a look, and the three of them stepped out of the hall.
They entered a pitch-black corridor. Though the others were curious about the conditions, no one dared to follow them.
"Lady Kui, given the current situation, if you fail to defeat the city lord, forget Miaomiao—you won't even be able to save yourself, right?"
Lady Kui touched her sleeve. Miaomiao was tucked inside it right now.
Because the assassins had struck so suddenly, she had only had enough time to take Miaomiao with her.
Fortunately, there was soil all over the Hundred Flowers Pavilion. All she needed was to find an appropriately sized pot for the child.
"You're right, Miss Miaomiao." She was still somewhat terrified of Cat Girl. "If the Hundred Flowers Pavilion falls, none of us will meet a good end."
"Then how about giving me the 'Flesh on White Bones' early? That will boost my chances of a successful assassination."
Lady Kui stepped back, suddenly panicking.
She knew Cat Girl made sense.
If they wanted her to assassinate the city lord, the better her condition, the higher the success rate.
She had also taken Cat Girl's pulse and knew the state of her body.
But... if she handed over the 'Flesh on White Bones' right now, what if they just took it and ran?
She had already given them the method for cultivating Cyan Silk Algae Seeds. If she handed over the 'Flesh on White Bones' on top of that, she would truly have no leverage left.
Cat Girl saw her hesitation and nudged Li Ban's shoulder. "Let the young master fuse the 'Flesh on White Bones.' He happens to have a damaged element that he hasn't replaced yet. Once he finishes fusing it, he'll stay right here. That way, you won't have to worry about me running off with the goods."
Li Ban frowned. He hadn't interrupted while she was negotiating, but this was different.
"I'm going with you."
He wouldn't be a burden.
Fighting 4th Tier opponents above his level was no longer an issue for him.
Moreover, he didn't just have the Plain Rings 'Shadow Meld' and 'Invisibility' for concealment; he also had 'Right Eye' and 'Silver Kingfisher' for vigilance, and even 'Flute Sound' for covert ambushes.
Frankly, a professional assassin would be thrilled to have even one of those abilities.
Cat Girl's lips curled up. She tugged at his sleeve. "I'm used to working alone. I'm not worried about anything else—mainly just that you won't be able to keep up with my speed."
Standing on her tiptoes, she leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Stay here. There's still something else I need you to do for me."
Cat Girl murmured a few instructions, which Li Ban listened to intently.
When she finished, he gave her a surprised look.
Did this woman actually anticipate this situation the moment she saw Qiu She?
Then again, they were both veterans of the Assassin Hall. She understood their methods better than anyone.
While they were whispering, the vine wall next to them suddenly shuddered violently, tearing open a waist-high gap.
A mass of branches thrust inside from the outside, their tips stained with blood.
The people waiting in the hall immediately rushed out, chopping down the encroaching branches.
Lady Hua charged at the forefront and pressed her hand against the vines.
The split vines rapidly grew and thickened, sealing the breach once more.
Turning back to the group, she ordered, "Get ready. The rebel tree-folk have already reached us. The old vine won't hold them off for much longer."
The group, who had originally come inside to discuss countermeasures, had no choice but to draw their weapons once again.
Without a better plan, a bloody, head-on fight was their only remaining option.
After speaking, Lady Hua cast a glance at Li Ban and the others.
She clearly wanted to know how their negotiations with Lady Kui over the second condition were going.
If they dragged this out much longer, there wouldn't be a need to negotiate at all.
Lady Kui understood the urgency. She was out of time to hesitate.
She grabbed Li Ban and pulled him behind her, half-shielding him with her body. "Fine, I agree."
A moment later, Li Ban felt an object materialize in Lady Kui's palm before she pressed it into his hand.
Li Ban gripped it tightly. It felt like a small stone, yet it was warm—exactly the temperature of Lady Kui's body.
[Detected the element 'Flesh on White Bones'. Fuse?]
Li Ban didn't hesitate. He immediately fused it.
[Successfully fused the element 'Flesh on White Bones'. Acquired the ability 'Flesh Regeneration'.]
After gaining the ability, Li Ban realized it truly only regenerated flesh; it could not raise the dead.
Thus, its prerequisite was that the target had to still be alive.
Stepping out from behind Lady Kui, he rested a hand on Cat Girl's shoulder. "Be careful."
Spiritual rhinoceros surged into Cat Girl's body, carrying the power of Flesh Regeneration.
Unsure of how much her body had recovered, Li Ban simply poured all his spiritual rhinoceros into her without holding back.
Finally, feeling she had recovered enough and that further healing would be a waste, Cat Girl shifted her shoulder to stop him.
To the onlookers, it merely looked as though the two were gazing at each other affectionately for a brief moment.
Cat Girl took a step back and pressed herself against the vines. "I'm leaving. Open a door for me."
Lady Kui remained standing near Li Ban, terrified that he would try to run out after her.
Unaware of the details, Lady Hua pressed her hand against the vines again, opening a narrow slit for Cat Girl slightly away from the main battlefield.
Hidden by the darkness of night, the enemy shouldn't be able to spot the gap right away.
Cat Girl didn't delay any longer. Her figure turned into a blur as she slipped through the opening.
After she left, Lady Hua approached Li Ban. "Young Master Wen, please come with me."
Li Ban knew this was Lady Hua fulfilling her end of the bargain with Cat Girl.
She didn't dare go back on her word.
Not unless she planned to spend the rest of her life guarding against an elusive, ghost-like assassin.
"Kui'niang, Rui'niang, I'll leave this place to you for now. No matter what happens, you must hold out until dawn," Lady Hua told the other two deputy pavilion masters before leaving.
Lady Rui, who possessed stronger martial prowess, clutched her chest as she stood up. "Don't worry," she said with a solemn expression. "I won't let them breach the Thousand Trees Hall even if it kills me."
Lady Hua led Li Ban out of the hall and into the courtyard.
In the center of the courtyard sat an artificial mountain over two zhang tall, crowned with a small pavilion.
A stone staircase wound its way up the mountain.
The previously open-air courtyard was now completely covered by a canopy of vines, turning it into a sealed fortress.
"This way."
Lady Hua led him up the mountain.
A section of the stairs was obscured by rocks and trees. Here, Lady Hua opened a hidden door.
"This secret passage leads to the bottom of Lake Yunya. The Method of Imparting Life that Senior Cat requested is in the third hidden room midway through the tunnel."
She pulled a silver ruyi-shaped hairpin from her hair. "This is the key. If you force the door without it, the mechanisms will transfer the item elsewhere. Once you open the door, you must grab it immediately and leave within ten breaths. Otherwise, the door will lock permanently until I open it with a new key. And given our current situation, I won't have a chance to go down there and unlock it for you."
In other words, if Li Ban didn't exit the hidden room in time, he would starve or die of thirst inside.
"Once you have it, return immediately. If the Thousand Trees Hall is breached, the underground rooms will be permanently sealed.
"And until I confirm that Senior Cat has killed Wang Yong, I cannot allow you to leave the Thousand Trees Hall."
Li Ban took the hairpin key. "I understand. Thank you for the warning."
With that, Li Ban turned and stepped into the hidden passage.
The moment he was inside, Lady Hua shut the door behind him.
Once closed, the interior of the artificial mountain plunged into pitch-black darkness.
However, Li Ban had memorized the layout of the tunnel when the door was open, so navigating in the dark wasn't a problem for him.
The passage consisted of an incredibly narrow, steep staircase. Each step was only about a palm's length wide, making it dangerously easy to slip and fall.
But Li Ban was quite agile now. Tapping his toes against the stairs in a rhythm that was half-running and half-leaping, he quickly descended a long distance.
As the surrounding floor and walls began to feel damp, the stairs finally flattened out into a level path.
The space widened slightly, though it still wasn't enough for him to fully extend his arms.
From here on, glowing white stones were set into the walls for illumination. They were identical to the ones Li Ban had seen on the first level and Second Level of the Death Prison.
Li Ban sprinted forward until the first iron door appeared before him.
The door was forged from a highly unusual material that gave him an intense feeling of oppression.
"This door... it's actually made from Sun-Obscuring Spirit Iron, the same material as the Obscuring Sun Locks?"