Dan's words echoed like a thunderbolt inside Grace's mind. The young maiden's figure violently shook and she swiftly turned around in an effort to hide the upheaval in her emotions.
Dan knitted her eyebrows, 'Why is she reacting like that when I'm just asking if I can stay here for the night, maybe she's concerned about Natalie's anger if she finds out about this, though I don't really think that Natalie would mind it...'
Staring at her back, Dan continued, "It's fine if you don't want me to stay, after all, despite our relationship we still need to draw the line since we're both members of the opposite sex." Grace's shoulders trembled, she turned around and mumbled amidst her embarrassment and expectations.
"It's fine if the young master stays, but can you please don't tell Elder Sis that you stayed in my house?" Grace established her condition, The time that she spent together with Natalie made both of them grow closer with each other, and after knowing Dan and Natalie's relationship. She felt guilty about her own feelings and afraid that Natalie may hate her because of Dan.
Dan knew about Grace's worries and he reassured her, "Don't worry about it, Natalie's not short-minded, she will understand the circumstances..." Grace looked convinced but the light within her eyes expressed her lingering worries.
Dan could only shake his head and wait until Grace regained her composure. Meanwhile, at the Fragrant Peak Pavilion, Natalie carried Juliet in her arms and spoonfed the little girl. Despite the fact that Juliet could eat on her own, she still liked being doted upon and as her mother, how could Natalie refuse her daughter's adorable request?
"Mama, will Papa celebrate my birthday with us?" Juliet asked in a hushed voice, the fact that Dan disappeared for a month made her anxious if it would happen again. Natalie felt her daughter's worries and she revealed a smile of reassurance.
"Don't worry, Papa isn't so busy anymore so he will definitely attend Juliet's tenth birthday..." Natalie rubbed her head and the little girl stared at her mother and said, "Really? Papa will attend my birthday?" Natalie nodded her head and Juliet continued, "Then, Mama, can you give Juliet money?"
Natalie's expression flickered, why did Juliet suddenly ask for money? She stared at her daughter in confusion for a moment before giving her a coin pouch full of coins. Juliet tucked it inside her small robes and Natalie asked her, "What are you going to do with that money, Juliet?"
Juliet lifted her arm and placed her index finger before her lips, "Mama, It's a secret! I will surprise Papa with a present on my birthday..." Natalie lightly chuckled upon witnessing her daughter's display. Juliet didn't know that it was her that should receive presents and not the other way around. But of course, since she looked so excited about it, Natalie didn't become a killjoy and just nodded her head in approval.
Her mother's approval thrilled the little girl and she asked in a curious manner, "Mama, where is Papa, is he not coming home?" Natalie thought for a moment and a light of epiphany flashed in her eyes, "Papa is staying at Sister Grace's house, Since Sis needs some help from Papa, Papa will stay there for tonight..."
Juliet nodded her head and didn't continue her line of questioning. When the dawn of the night arrived, Natalie placed Juliet into sleep before sneaking away and heading towards the direction of the Entertainment Block. She wasn't stupid, with the commotion that Grace and Dan did against the Medicine Pavilion, something sinister was bound to happen.
Grace and Dan laid together atop a king-sized bed. The former's expression looked as red and as hot as molten lava while the other looked indifferent, seemingly in deep thought. Since it was the peak of the night, noises from the Entertainment Block considerably decreased and Dan could even feel his heartbeat.
Injecting a portion of his Spiritual Qi inside Grace's body without her knowledge, Dan heaved a sigh of relief and said, "I'll be going to the toilet for a moment, don't come out no matter what, Grace..." He warned her with a solemn voice and expression.
Grace knitted her eyebrows for a moment before realization struck her mind. So that's the reason why the young master insisted on staying in my residence! She took several pillows, covered it with a quilt so that it would look like a human figure before hiding under the bed. She didn't even dare to breathe as she tried her best in extinguishing her presence.
Inside the vast hall of the Mirthful Fairies Association, darkness reigned and an average person couldn't possibly see anything amidst this abyss. Silence also reigned and only Dan's footsteps broke the tranquility of the dark hall.
Dan lifted a cold smile and glanced around the area before mumbling under his breath, "Five Intruders, two at the main entrance and two at the back door while one at the Garden? As for their cultivation, four of them is at the Spirit Tempering Realm while the one at the Garden is at the Divine Ascendance Realm?"
Dan gave a bitter chuckle, even with his full strength, a Divine Ascendance Realm Expert could easily pulverize him with a single attack. His expression went solemn, he didn't expect that the bastards from the Medicine Pavilion would be so shameless and desperate that they sent a high-ranking Elder to assassinate them.
Clicking his tongue, Dan wielded both of his daggers and his figure suddenly disappeared amidst the darkness. The intruders who kept track regarding his position stared at his compass in confusion. The red dot that marked Dan's position suddenly disappeared, just what did happen?
"This is Number One, Sir, one of our main target has disappeared, waiting for further instructions..." A transparent figure that stood amidst the darkness softly mumbled under his breath. He, along with Number Two and Three was tasked to keep guard of the main entrance and track the positions of the targets.
"Number One, what happened?" A coarse voice echoed behind him and he turned around towards his comrade's direction, "It seems like one of our targets has disappeared, his last known position is seventy-meters twelve o'clock."
"Disappeared? That's strange, the tracking compass that we have can be compared to an Earth Grade Artifact, it couldn't possibly malfunction especially when we just finished our maintenance to it..."
Another unfamiliar voice echoed at the side, "Kekeke, that's fine, no matter what the two of them does, they will never escape our entrapment, after all, we have that Elder in our side..." His two comrades nodded their heads but suddenly, a spark of lightning momentarily flashed and before they knew it, a sharp pain struck their necks and fresh blood continuously streamed from the injury that they suffered.
"What the..."
"Just what did..."
The three Assassins held their necks and their eyes widened in despair and shock. As fine Assassins whose experience could be counted for several decades, their perception and senses weren't easily fooled but their assailant managed to land a fatal attack without them realizing what happened.
With a dull thud, their knees gave out and the light within their eyes ceased. As their corpses struck the wooden floor, a stream of ominous energy seeped out of their bodies and floated towards a slender-figure whose lips lifted in a satisfied smile.
The slender-figure wore a fiery-robe drenched in fresh blood. Her jet-black hair that swayed amidst the cold breeze and the murderous light within her eyes painted a terrifying scene that could send shivers down the spine of anyone.
Natalie spread her Divine Sense and immediately discovered the presence of a Divine Ascendance Realm Expert. Sucking a mouthful of cold air, she slowed her breathing and approached Grace's room with caution.
On the other hand, near the entrance of the Garden, Dan's lips revealed a small smile when he realized the arrival of Natalie and the disappearance of the three red dots marked in his minimap. "Damn, my little wife is becoming more ruthless as time passes by, could it be that it's the effect of receiving my clan's Demonic Cultivation Method?"
Dan shook his head and prepared himself for a confrontation against a Divine Ascendance Realm Expert. Lifting his head, he stared at the direction of Grace's room and hope that Natalie realized everything and help her escape.
"I didn't expect that our job this time would be this easy..." A voice echoed out of the darkness and a shadowy figure of a man manifested along with another figure that stood beside him.
"Indeed, this may be the easiest job that I received in my entire career..." The man beside the first person who spoke grimly chuckled.
"Number Five, is it really not possible to keep this girl alive? From the information that we received, it seems like she's quite an exotic beauty particularly, that silver-hair of hers..."
"Don't be stupid, our job is to kill her and make it look like an accident, we should not leave any clues that would make the authorities trace it back to us nor to our client..."
"Tcch, so upright, what are you, my mother?"
"Let's just finish this as soon as possible and I'll definitely treat you at the Hundred Fairies Palace..."
"Really? Remember your words, man..."
Both Assassins conversed for a moment before one of them took a needle that shone in a greenish light. To make an assassination look like an accident. Poison was every Assassin's best friend.
The Assassin flicked his wrist and the needle struck the bedsheets. As soon as the needle landed, a smile lifted on their faces but the other Assassin exclaimed, "No, that's not right! It's a dummy!" He uncovered the sheets and found stacks of pillows with his target out of sight.
"Damn it, did they notice our arrival beforehand? That should be impossible since that Elder said that there are no detecting formations around this establishment!"
"What should we do now, Number Four? Should we retreat or keep our pursuit?"
"We're going to keep our pursuit, you do know about the sum that the Elder offered, right? With that much money, we can keep ourselves happy for our entire life!"
Both Assassins nodded their heads and they started their search.
"One and two, so there are only two intruders in this room? How boring..." A cold feminine voice reverberated behind them and the instincts of the two Assassins made them hurl their throwing weapons at the door.
Bang!
The door collapsed under the force of the attack and the same feminine voice complained, "Is that how you treat women? How uncouth!"
The two Assassins stared at each other for a moment before nodding their heads. Moving in a predetermined distance away from each other, they ensured maximum efficiency when it comes to their cooperation. Staring at the door, they tensed up and prepared their weapons.
Bzzzz
A buzzing sound rang out and the two Assassin's knitted their eyebrows. Floating amidst the darkness was a spark of lightning that looked charming to the eyes.
The two of them lost their focus for a moment and when the most experienced of the two exclaimed in warning, a bright flash of lightning swerved through their necks followed by a sharp pain that brought them despair.
Natalie reappeared behind them with two daggers on both of her hands. The blade of the daggers was drenched with fresh blood along with her face. Feeling the sticky sensation on her skin, Natalie lifted a cold smile and started absorbing the cultivation of both men for her own.
Grace who witnessed Natalie's ruthlessness and terrifying composure as she killed was scared silly and couldn't move under the bed. She could only hope that Natalie wouldn't notice her existence.
Before the entrance to the Garden of Eden. Dan purchased numerous Flash Grenades and scanned through the Modern World Item Shop looking for a fully-automatic firearm that worked well in close range. After a moment of deliberation, Dan decided and bought an Atchisson Assault Shotgun.
Holding a dagger on his left hand and the shotgun on his right, Dan steeled his resolve and blasted the entrance of the Garden with a Frag Grenade.
A deafening roar reverberated inside the vast hall and the earth itself trembled. Dan felt a prickling sensation on his skin and a massive wave of pressuring aura encompassed his body. Eyes flashing in a critical light, Dan swiftly dodged to the side as an explosion of Spiritual Qi destroyed his initial location.
"I wondered who it was that dared to sneak attack me from behind but it looks like it's just that snotty brat from earlier..." A cold voice filled with disdain broke the silence and Dan's expression turned solemn.
"Since you came here looking to die, how could I refuse your wish?" Elder Rudolph stood stoically amidst the rubbles and when he spotted Dan's figure, his cultivation base rotated before sending a burst of Spiritual Qi which struck Dan's figure as another explosion reverberated throughout the entire hall.