Tang Ning held her breath, as she remained motionlessly on top of the big tree as if she was fused into the tree as one.

 She was covered with mud to hide the smell of blood. Without taking a good look, no one could possibly realize there was someone on the tree.

 She watched as the four Shadow Mercs split up to look for her. Shifting her gaze briefly, she carefully climbed down from the tree.

 The four men were all Cultivators. One of them was a Level 5 Qi Refining Master. In her current state, she wouldn’t be so foolish as to directly engage with them. For now, it seemed that escaping was the best option.

 As she made her way towards a small trail leading down the mountain, she saw one of the Shadow Mercs holding his sword and looking around. Tang Ning quickly backed up against a tree and straightened her body to align with the tree trunk. Holding her breath, she tightened her grip on a sharp, pointed branch in her hand. Then, she suddenly took a stride forward.

 “Who…”

 When the Shadow Merc sensed that someone was near, he turned around and called out. At this time, Tang Ning suddenly pounced on him, locked his neck with her arm, and with her other hand, plunged the pointed branch into his neck.

 “Ugh!”

 Tang Ning stabbed him with such force that it wedged almost the entire branch in his skin. In an instant, fresh blood splattered. The Shadow Merc’s eyes widened in disbelief, as he refused to accept defeat. But after a brief struggle, he fell to the ground.

 Tang Ning quickly searched his body and looted anything that could be useful. Then, moving stealthily and carefully, she continued to make her way. The moment she reached the trail, she started to run down the mountain.

 “I smell blood.” The Shadow Merc, a Level 5 Qi Refining Master, was sniffing the air, and then he abruptly stopped, as if coming to an alarming realization. He suddenly screeched, “Damn it!”

 He took big and fast steps and followed the scent of blood, which led him to the dead body of the Shadow Merc. His face changed instantly. He gritted his teeth and shouted, “Hurry up! Send out the signal for reinforcements! This girl must die. The rest of you go find her!”

 Tang Ning, who was on her way down the mountain, heard some movement behind her from where she came. She turned around and saw a bright light shoot high up into the sky, giving out a signal of some kind. She frowned and turned back to her path, quickening her footsteps this time. Soon, she was sprinting and then racing wildly down the path without stopping. She kept running to keep herself alive.

 When she heard the sounds of her pursuers getting closer, she knew she had to think fast. Suddenly, she steered off the path and dashed towards a reed ditch on her way down the slope.

 “Faster! Don’t let her get away!”

 The bloodthirsty shouts and pounding footsteps could be heard moving quickly towards her. The sounds drew nearer, then further. Tang Ning remained still in the ditch.

 She was lying down flat in the ditch, submerged fully in muddy water, making her look like a terracotta figurine. She was holding her breath, using only a straw of reed in her mouth for air.

After about half an incense stick’s time, Tang Ning’s pursuers could not find her and decided to turn back. At this time, a reinforcement team of about seven to eight Shadow Mercs arrived due to the signal they received.

 “What happened? You can’t even control a girl, even when she has lost her cultivation base? What in the world are you doing!” Covering his face in disbelief, the leader reprimanded them in a heavy, solemn voice, clearly struggling to contain his fury.

 “We did as we were instructed, released over a hundred rats in the hut. She was so terrified that she kept screaming her guts out all night long. Then, the screaming stopped. We thought she had died of fright, or the rats bit her to death. W-Who would have thought she sneaked away while we weren’t looking. She even killed one of our brothers.”

 The Shadow Merc spoke with his head lowered. Nobody could have imagined that without cultivation and under those circumstances, Tang Ning could not just escape but even kill one of them.

 “Useless!” The leader of the Shadow Mercs was still fuming. “The most important thing now is to find her. If she escapes under our watch, it will be the greatest insult to the Seven Assassins’ Court!”