Chapter 48: assassination (2)   Just when Ye Ling stepped out of his study, he suddenly felt a foreboding feeling hidden amidst the gentle breeze in the depths of the night.

His eyes narrowed in an instant and one of his hands moved instinctively onto the hilt of his sword.

The wind howled abruptly as a few shadows descended from the roofs.

In a flash, Ye Ling was surrounded by four figures draped in black garbs.

“Gentlemen, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit at this hour?” Ye Ling was putting on a front as his eyes scanned the vast courtyard. There was no sign of the guards who should had been on duty and aside from himself, only those four uninvited guests were around.

“Are you the head of this household?” One of them, who seemed to be the leader, asked.

“Yes.” Ye Ling answered.

The leader’s eyes flashed a menacing glare and as he exchanged glances with the others, they unsheathed their swords in the next instant and attacked Ye Ling without a word!

Ye Ling was shocked as he crossed swords with those men.

In the blink of an eye, sparks as many as stars in the night sky flew from the clash of their folded steel.

Those four men were powerful adversaries, even for Ye Ling when he was in his prime. Not to mention with his recent weakened condition, he could not hope to win against them and thus, broke out in a cold sweat within moments.

The leader sent Ye Ling flying with a sudden kick that knocked him down flat on the ground. Ye Ling’s life was about to be forfeited as those men dove towards him with their swords.

Just when the tip of their swords was about to penetrate his chest, an arc of slashing light flashed before them.

That was closely followed by a quartet of clangs from the men’s steel as the trajectory of their swords were knocked astray by that single streak of light!

A dainty figure had appeared suddenly from beyond the walls of the courtyard, cutting in straight between the men and Ye Ling.

However, Ye Ling was alarmed when he realized who that figure was.

“Tang Tang! Get out of here now!” Ye Ling could never expect his daughter to appear out of nowhere. Protecting himself from those men were already beyond his capabilities, even if Ye Qingtang possessed the strength of an innate seventh stage, defeating them would still be impossible.

Ye Qingtang bore a cold countenance as she stood in front of Ye Ling. Under the moonlight, her cold-eyed stare swept across the four bloodthirsty foes who preyed upon them.

“Lass, you wanna die too?” The leader furrowed his brow and exuded a murderous intent as he kept an eye on Ye Qingtang, who appeared out of the blue.

Ye Qingtang stood undaunted with Ye Ling behind her back. In her past on this night, her father was murdered by assassins employed by the Great Elder. She would never let that tragedy come to pass again now that she was reborn.

But….

She did not try her hand at putting up a fight because she was fully aware of the differences between their strength. With her current capabilities, she could never hope to defeat them.

Instead, Ye Qingtang began talking to them amicably: “I know you guys are after my father’s life for a price, and I know who’s the one behind this as well. What I didn’t know…. was the price that person offered, to engage such talented individuals such as yourselves? To think you all would totally ignore our family’s name and barge right in.”

“Lass, that has nothing to do with you. Since you knew our deal but showed yourself nonetheless, that’s too bad for you.” The leader gave a derisive laugh as he prepared to raise his sword again.

Ye Qingtang added without flinching: “It’s definitely not cheap to buy the services of Qin Luo’s Pavilion. May I ask the price for engaging your good self, Mr. Qin Luo, the great leader, and three of your highly talented subordinates? Let me guess, the price must be more than ten thousand gold, am I right?”