Teacher by day, Farmer by passion-Chapter 179: Deception [6]

Ace stopped blinking as he stared at the new company. His body remained relaxed, but his mind was already racing, evaluating and, analyzing the formation, and subtly circulating qi to test its resistance.

Every breath, every heartbeat was measured.

"Undivided attention?" Ace echoed the phrase in his head, voice calm but cool.

What kind of lunatic says that before launching an ambush?

Outwardly though, he gave nothing away.

Behind him, Zhao Yun shifted slightly and Princess Soho, for all her royal calm, had gone still. Too still.

Either she was trying not to panic, or she was calculating too.

Ace's voice was even.

"You should've just made a reservation like everyone else."

The man chuckled. "That wouldn't have been fun." Then, almost childlike, he added, "Besides… I've been waiting so long for this very moment."

Without warning, a throwing dagger flew from the man's fingers, faster than most could see. Luckily Ace wasn't among the 'most'.

Ace twisted, mid-dodge as the dagger sliced the air where his head had been a moment before. His body reacted instinctively, parrying with a chopstick and spinning low to avoid a sweeping kick, but he could feel it now.

The drag.

Qi felt like it was swimming through mud, every muscle obeying him half a second too late. It wasn't just him, though, his opponent's strikes weren't clean either.

Slower, heavier. The formation wasn't just a prison; it was a suppression field.

"Aren't you quite the

generous lad?" Ace said as he blocked another blow, breath sharp. "You debuffed yourself down just to fight me fair?"

The assassin grinned, lashing out with a whip of silver thread. "I like a challenge."

Ace ducked, rolled under the thread, and countered with a flurry of jabs, each one targeted at vital joints.

The assassin deflected two, absorbed a third, and backstepped the rest with a low whistle.

"But if you'll be so kind," Ace said, voice dry, "to tell me who sent you… I'd appreciate knowing who's paying your hospital bill."

The man's grin didn't waver. He twirled the thread back into a coil on his wrist like it was a toy.

"Head Huntress."

Ace's foot slid mid-step. Just for a moment.

The Head Huntress.

His mother.

That nickname

hadn't crossed his ears in years. The very person responsible for his banishment from the Xiao family. Well,

not him,

the original Xiao Zhi.

Honestly though,

he didn't really harbor any emotion for the other party. When he transmigrated into this body, the original had already been banished and it had a been a while,

since he even remembered the original owner had a family.

Still,

not everyone knew his mother was the head huntress z not even him. Until Xie Ning'er shared that information with him days back.

And where exactly is Xie Ning'er right now… .. Wait didn't she also took away Yuu? What… his thoughts drifted away.

The silence stretched half a second too long.

"What's the matter?" the man sneered, his blade dancing closer. "Got scared?"

Ace snapped back to the present, narrowly avoiding a deep cut across his ribs. His silence was loud, heavy.

He didn't respond.

Instead, he pivoted, arm moving fluidly despite the weighted air, and smashed a fist into the assassin's gut.

The man grunted but managed to spin with the blow, countering with a backhand slash that Ace caught between two fingers. Barely.

Meanwhile Princess Soho hadn't moved. Not once.

She just stood there, her arms crossed, one hand lightly touching her lower lip, her eyes studying the two men as if they were the performers on a stage built for her entertainment.

Her gaze never drifted.

Never blinked.

She definitely knows something. Ace muttered to himself.

He

saw it in her poise, in the way her jaw hadn't clenched once since the first attack.

He parried another blow. Spun. Slid low and his heel clipped the assassin's ankle, sending him staggering.

They collided again, fists and blades sparking qi against the walls of the sealed chamber.

Their movements blurred again; slowed but vicious, trading blows while the tension around them coiled tighter.

Still, Princess Soho remained still. Watching. Not interfering.

In the midst of the fight, a blink of light appeared blinding them all for a split second.

"Oops. Time's up," the assassin said casually.

He flicked open a scroll, the paper pulsing with strange symbols. A flash of dull crimson light engulfed him—and in the next breath, he was gone.

Ace stood frozen for half a second, fingers still curled from his last strike.

"What the hell…" he muttered, scanning the room for any residual qi. There was nothing. The man was just… gone.

Their whole exchange had just been a measurement of the other party.

Neither of them had really gone all out,

it was evident from the fact that both hadn't even used soul energy.

They'd both been testing the waters.

Ace slowly sat down, folding one leg over the other. "So... why didn't the two of you act just now?"

Princess Soho didn't answer right away. She turned toward the window, moonlight slicing across her golden lashes.

"Because," she said with a small sigh, "this feels more like a warning."

Then she looked back at him and smiled.

That slow, amused sort of smile that belonged to someone watching others squirm from a throne of silk.

"Oh, and please, let's not forget…" she said, voice teasing, "he came for you, not me. Isn't that just amazing? You're officially a bigger target than the Princess Soho Verilith herself."

Ace rubbed the back of his neck. "Exactly what part of that is even amazing."

Across the table, Zhao Yun dropped onto a chair like a sack of potatoes. She stared mournfully at the duck dish, poisioned yet glistening with spice and promise.

"Well," she muttered, pouting, "you're the fifth and the last. Technically that makes you the worthle—"

She caught herself, lips tightening.

Ace narrowed his eyes, but she quickly changed the subject, eyes flicking toward the feast. "Anyway. Since this meal's ruined... can I feed it to my soul beast?"

She didn't even wait for a reply. Her chopsticks were already hovering with mischievous reverence, like she was about to offer a royal tribute to a god.

Ace blinked.

Her soul beast wasn't even out.

Zhao Yun, noticing his look, lifted her chin in mock offense. "What? It gets grumpy when it doesn't eat on time. Very moody. Very sharp claws."

She jabbed her chopsticks into a roast potato and muttered, "Just like some people I know."

Ace leaned back in his chair, staring between the two women.