"Is that so?" Ye Lanshan pulled out another talisman, ready to slap it on, but this time she miscalculated.
That person was incredibly fast, dodging every time she tried to apply it.
"Judging by your footwork, you've had some special training," Ye Lanshan said casually.
A flicker of panic crossed the man's eyes, but he regained his composure in an instant. "How ridiculous. In your eyes, is everyone stronger than you specially trained?"
After dodging one of his moves, Ye Lanshan remarked, "Your technique resembles an assassin's, but it lacks that sharp edge. Yet you're better at disguising yourself than an assassin."
"If I hadn't been on guard, knowing someone would come for me, I might have actually fallen for it."
The man's movements grew faster, and he sneered at her analysis. "So what? I'll tell you straight—I just can't stand you. I can't bear to see you steal the spotlight that should be mine, so I'm killing you."
Ye Lanshan smiled eerily. "Is that so? Tell me, what spotlight did I steal from you?"
The black-clad man remained unfazed by her interrogation. Even while fighting, he spoke with deliberate calm. "At the tea party that day, if you hadn't butted in, I would have been the center of attention."
"Aside from playing that flute, I didn't do anything extra. How could I have stolen your spotlight? Besides, I never saw you that day," Ye Lanshan hit the nail on the head, exposing the flaw in his words.
But the man still wouldn't give up. He struggled to argue, "There were so many people there; it's normal you didn't see me. That performance of yours stole everyone's attention, making my later act seem worthless in their eyes."
Ye Lanshan looked at his slightly twisted face and scoffed, "Hah, as far as I know, besides my duet with Sun Yulu, there was no other performance at that tea party."
The man fell silent, but his attacks grew more vicious, as if he wanted to kill her on the spot.
But Ye Lanshan wasn't someone to be trifled with. Even without talismans, he couldn't kill her.
Gradually, she sensed something off. She glanced around and then chuckled, "Trying to lure me to a remote spot? Not bad psychological tactics."
A flicker of shock finally appeared in the man's eyes. How did she know? I had already diverted her attention, yet she still noticed. Just as the master said, she's very clever.
"So what if you've figured it out? You can't escape." The man suddenly relaxed as he said this.
Something's wrong, very wrong. Seeing his demeanor, Ye Lanshan felt a surge of danger.
Sure enough, another agile black-clad figure emerged from behind her.
Ye Lanshan rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Do you guys only wear black? Why is everyone who comes to kill me dressed in black?"
The two men preparing to surround her froze, stunned that someone could ask such a trivial question in such a dire moment.
"Do you really think we can't kill you?" one of them snapped angrily. "You're so confident. What, just because you saved the emperor once and won a battle, you think you're invincible?"
Ye Lanshan's heart sank, but she kept her composure, speaking lazily, "It's not about confidence. Do you really think the two of you can kill me?"
The man's anger finally peaked. "Blade of Dark Light"—in an instant, countless invisible blades shot toward her.
"Dark mystic force, huh? No wonder you're so confident." Ye Lanshan clutched her shoulder, cut by the blade, and closed her eyes.
Seeing her close her eyes, the two thought it was their chance, but to their surprise, her movements became even more agile.
"Dance of the Fire Serpent." Two whips of condensed fire appeared in her hands, lashing out at them.
The two barely dodged the whips, exchanged a glance, and unleashed their strongest move, "Myriad Shadows of Dark Light."
Ye Lanshan had no choice but to counter with "Wings of Carnage." Unfortunately, her opponents were both seventh-rank grand mystics.
No matter how talented she was, she couldn't take on two opponents of higher rank simultaneously, especially since they were fast, rendering her talismans useless.
But she wasn't limited to fire. "Holy Light Bird"—a move she'd learned from someone who once tried to kill her, and she'd thought it was impressive.
Sure enough, when she unleashed it, both men froze in shock. One exclaimed, "How do you know a sacred ground technique?"
"Sacred ground? You don't need to know." Seizing their moment of hesitation, Ye Lanshan slapped a talisman onto one of them.
"Hmph, so what if you know a sacred ground technique?" The other sneered at her reckless approach.
"What's happening? Why can't I move? Ye Lanshan, what did you do?" the talisman-struck man cried out in alarm.
"You don't need to know. Flame Tiger, come out and deal with him." Ye Lanshan pointed at the other man, addressing the tiger.
"What are you planning?" The man stared in terror as Ye Lanshan grabbed his arm.
"Relax, I won't let you die just yet." Her cold voice pierced his ears, only making him more afraid.
With a loud crash, the sleeping Elder Ye was jolted awake. He rushed to Ye Lanshan's courtyard, panicked. "What's going on?"
Ye Lanshan, who had just pulled out a dagger for interrogation, paused. A new idea struck her.
"Nothing, Grandfather. I just caught a thief. Oh, by the way, where's our dungeon?"
"What? Are you hurt?" Elder Ye hurried over to check her from head to toe.
Sure enough, he found several wounds on her shoulder.
Ye Lanshan didn't care about her injuries. She only wanted to interrogate the Sun family's motives.
"It's nothing, Grandfather. You don't need to worry about this. Just tell me where the dungeon is. Look, it's almost dawn—you should go back to sleep." Ye Lanshan tried to soothe the anxious Ye Luotian.
"How can I? Is that the thief?" Ye Luotian glared furiously at the man on the ground, as if ready to kill him on the spot.
"He can't die yet. I have questions for him. Grandfather, trust me, I'm fine. I'll handle this properly. Don't worry, go back to sleep." Ye Lanshan felt a bit helpless in the face of her doting grandfather.