HITA Chapter 4

Shi Shuiyue nibbled on a skewer of candied hawthorns¹traditional Chinese snack consisting of several rock sugar-coated fruits of Chinese hawthorn on a bamboo skewer as she walked on the street aimlessly. 

“Sweet and delicious apples!”

“One bun, twice as filling! Selling for a fair price!”

The peddlers hollered one after another. Shi Shuiyue looked around and finally found ‘Delicacies Pavilion’ next to a fabric shop. 

‘Delicacies Pavilion’ was the most famous restaurant in this world, and it also had the most branches. No one knew who the boss was, but it was said that the boss had a powerful background. As for Shi Shuiyue, she had fallen in love with the restaurant’s osmanthus cakes. The taste was beyond words!

“Shopkeeper, two portions of osmanthus cakes to go.” Shi Shuiyue plonked the money on the table.

“Alrighty!” The shopkeeper quickly called a waiter over and ordered, “Pack two portions of osmanthus cakes to go—hurry up!”

“Miss, please take a seat first. It will be ready soon!” The shopkeeper smiled at Shi Shuiyue, and then went to help another customer. 

Shi Shuiyue walked to a window seat and sat down.

“Papa, this time, our attack on Hundred Poison Sect, we…”

“Shu’er, we’re all counting on you!”

“Don’t worry, Papa. I definitely won’t…”

The sound from upstairs could be heard from time to time. Shi Shuiyue took a sip of tea and couldn’t help but click her tongue. That room had really bad sound insulation. 

The room was naturally well soundproofed, but Shi Shuiyue was highly skilled in martial arts and her hearing was more developed than that of ordinary people. For example, among those eating and drinking next to her, was there anyone who heard the conversation? 

But they seemed to have mentioned the Hundred Poison Sect? Shi Shuiyue tilted her head—she didn’t forget that she was now the leader of Hundred Poison Sect. Although Shi Shuiyue adhered to the principle of ‘villains didn’t need to randomly cause trouble’, she felt that it was still necessary for her to go take a look. 

“Ay…guest…” Before the waiter could stop Shi Shuiyue from going upstairs, the person in front of him had already disappeared. 

“Hey! What are you doing just standing there?! Quickly come over and serve the dishes!” The shopkeeper shouted. The waiter didn’t have time to worry about it too much and quickly ran over to serve the food. 

Shi Shuiyue skillfully poked a hole in the window, which was a convenient method for eavesdropping in ancient times. 

“Shu’er, how’s it going with the young master of the Tang family?” A middle-aged man drank a cup of wine, and then asked the young girl in pink clothes sitting across from him.  

“Don’t even ask!” Ran Shu pursed her lips and continued, “That man didn’t take me seriously at all!”

The middle-aged man frowned worriedly and said, “Just as expected, he’s not that easy to handle…”

Ran Shu, on the other hand, wasn’t too worried and said, “But I’ve seen men like him before. As long as we succeed in defeating Hundred Poison Sect this time, he will cling to us himself.”

When the middle-aged man heard her words, he reckoned that she was right and chortled, “Then it won’t be long before we get the Tang Clan!”

Ran Shu also smiled, “Papa was the one who taught me well…”

Creak

“Who’s there?!” With a wave of his hand, Ran Feng sent the door flying with the force of energy emitted from his palm, and thus, left Shi Shuiyue standing at the doorway in a daze. 

Shi Shuiyue looked at the two people who were scrutinizing her, and then calmly said with a nod, “If I say that I’m just lost, will you believe me?”

Ran Feng and Ran Shu: “…”

Who the heck would believe you?!

Then Shi Shuiyue ran away.

“Chase after her! We can’t let her tell anyone about what happened just now!” Ran Feng hastily chased after her. Ran Shu also finally reacted and chased after her with a sword in hand. 

Shi Shuiyue thought that it was too troublesome to go down the stairs, so she directly jumped down from the third floor. On her way out, she also took the osmanthus cakes that the waiter handed her and said, “Thank you.”

Before the waiter even got the chance to say anything, Shi Shuiyue had already left. He looked wonderingly at her back and was about to go inside, but was pushed aside by Ran Feng and Ran Shu who were chasing after her. 

The waiter: “…”

The shopkeeper hollered, “What are you doing?! Do you still want your job?! Quickly come over and serve the food!”

The waiter: “Ok…”

Shi Shuiyue, who ate as she ran, discovered that she had somehow ended up behind the two of them after randomly running around. 

Shi Shuiyue calmly took a bite of the osmanthus cake and returned to the inn as if nothing happened. 

Ran Feng, who was still looking around, had a serious look on his face as he said, “That person’s martial arts skill is higher than expected. She was able to escape so quickly!”

Ran Shu asked worriedly, “Will she tell others about our matter…”

Ran Feng told her not to worry, but in fact, he wasn’t sure about it himself. However, as the elder, he still reassured, “Don’t worry, it doesn’t look like she was here to spy on us.”

The two could only comfort themselves and return. 

Tang Xing took the report from Ling²Decided to use Ling, but his name literally means cold. and couldn’t help but laugh out loud. 

Ling’s eyes flickered but didn’t say anything. 

“Continue watching them.” Tang Xing looked up at Ling and continued, “Protect her safety.”

“…Yes.” Ling was stunned for a moment, and then replied. 

Ling was an expert tracker under Tang Xing, and of course, he was also an assassin. He and Wu were both death soldiers trained by Tang Xing, so they only followed his orders. 

But Tang Xing hadn’t expected that even Ling almost lost track of Shi Shuiyue. 

This was entirely due to the fact that Shi Shuiyue ran around in a completely random manner. It was impossible for Ling to predict her next move, so he almost lost track of her. 

One must admit that Shi Shuiyue was indeed a genius! 

Shi Shuiyue remained indifferent, “…”