Chapter 129: A Straight Line is the Shortest Path

Chapter 129: Chapter 129: A Straight Line is the Shortest Path

A young man dressed in white robes walked along Yong’an Street, the most bustling thoroughfare in the Imperial City. He watched the endless flow of carriages and pedestrians with a look of pure contentment.

He bit a candied haw off a skewer and chewed vigorously, savoring the sweet and sour flavor that made his mouth water. The look of satisfaction on his face was impossible to hide.

"Delicious! I never thought this sour fruit—the kind that doesn’t fill you up and just makes you hungrier—could become so tasty just by being coated in syrup."

He finished the last two haws in another two bites and muttered to himself, "I hear the Crown Prince invented these candied hawthorns when he was a child."

’Hmm... That alone tells me he’s a fellow food lover.’

’For that reason alone, if it weren’t for our conflicting positions, I’d almost be reluctant to make a move on him!’

As the young man muttered to himself with regret, as if he had already succeeded in pulling off an unprecedented suicide mission, a sudden commotion erupted from the crowd ahead.

Looking in the direction of the crowd’s flow, he saw several Officials posting a notice on a public wall.

He squeezed closer and was slightly taken aback when he saw the notice’s contents.

The notice featured a drawing of a person whose face was covered by a black cloth, revealing only a pair of eyes, making it impossible to tell if they were male or female.

Beside the portrait was information about this person:

Assassin Yi Ersan, wanted for the failed assassination attempt on Crown Prince Jing. A reward of ten thousand taels is offered for information leading to his capture.

After reading the text, he looked back at the portrait. The more he looked, the more familiar it seemed.

’Even though the face is covered so I can’t see their features, aren’t those eyes in the portrait exactly the same as the ones belonging to Yi Ersan, the assassin I met in the mountains who shared my dream?’

"This Yi... he moved so fast?"

Fifth Six Seven stared at the wanted poster and muttered to himself.

’I followed the exact direction he pointed me in. How is it that I’ve just arrived in the Imperial City, and he’s already failed an assassination attempt?’

’Don’t tell me... he knew an even shorter route to the Imperial City?’

’But I flew in a straight line. The shortest distance between two points... isn’t it supposed to be a straight line?’

Fifth Six Seven scratched his head, feeling like his brain wasn’t quite working right.

He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but ever since getting hit by that brick, he felt he wasn’t as brilliantly clever as he used to be.

The thought of the brick made the back of Fifth Six Seven’s head start to throb with a dull ache.

’That guy... he really doesn’t hold back!’

Shaking his head, Fifth Six Seven decided he needed to contact the assassin Yi Ersan and ask him what was going on.

’We agreed to support each other! We agreed to share information!’

’I can’t be over here not even knowing what the target looks like while you’ve already made an attempt!’

’I’ve got to at least get some useful information out of him.’

’But before that, I need to find a safe place to stay.’

As an assassin, Fifth Six Seven had years of experience in failed assassinations.

From these failed experiences, he had compiled a must-read classic for becoming a top-tier assassin—the Assassin’s Manual.

Assassin’s Manual, Rule One: An assassin must learn how to infiltrate secretly and approach the target.

Assassin’s Manual, Rule Two: An assassin must possess a one-hit-kill technique. Once you’ve confirmed your target with your eyes, strike like lightning. The strike must succeed, and upon success, you retreat.

Assassin’s Manual, Rule Three: An assassin must be absolutely ruthless. They must learn to use every factor to their advantage to complete the mission.

Assassin’s Manual, Rule Four: An assassin must learn to case the location before striking. After the assassination, successful or not, strike once and then flee a thousand miles.

Assassin’s Manual, Rule Five, the most core and most important rule of all: An assassin must always maintain peak condition.

And to maintain peak condition, one must eat well, sleep well, and have fun. Only with a happy body and mind can one’s condition remain superb!

Therefore... Fifth Six Seven felt that his most urgent task at hand was to inquire about the best inn and most famous delicacies in the Imperial City.

Resting in an inn with the best environment would help him adjust his condition.

Eating delicious food would bring him physical and mental pleasure, allowing him to perform at two hundred percent of his ability during the assassination mission.

Asking around as he walked and thought, Fifth Six Seven soon checked into the Natural Residence, the most high-end establishment in the Imperial City that combined both lodging and fine dining.

Led by an attendant, he settled into the Green Bamboo Residence within the Natural Residence’s Celestial Courtyard. Lying on the soft, comfortable bed, Fifth Six Seven felt his body and mind fill with bliss.

"Worthy of being the most high-end establishment in the Imperial City. Even though you have to register with your real name to check in, the environment and the service... they’re truly first-class!"

Musing to himself, Fifth Six Seven took out the Communication Talisman that Yi Ersan had given him, infused it with Spiritual Power, and called Yi Ersan.

After a few seconds of waiting, the call connected.

"Fifth Brother? Are you lost again?"

The moment the call connected, that was the first thing he heard from the other side.

From that single sentence, Fifth Six Seven could feel Yi Ersan’s profound malice toward him.

’What do you mean, lost *again*?’

’Am I the type of person who’s always getting lost?’

’Hah... he already pointed me in the right direction. If I still managed to get lost, I might as well just buy a block of tofu and smash my head against it.’

"Of course not! I’ve already arrived in the Imperial City."

Su Han froze, nearly dropping the Jade Talisman in his hand.

"You... arrived where?"

Fifth Six Seven was puzzled. ’What kind of reaction is this?’

"I’ve arrived in the Imperial City! Brother Yi, you really look down on people. I, Fifth Six Seven, am at least an assassin ranked... uh, an assassin with my name on the Assassin’s Alliance’s leaderboard."

"Last time I only got lost because I fainted from hunger. You pointed me in the right direction, so how could I possibly take the wrong path again?"

Su Han: "..."

’Look down on you?’

’If anything, I’m suddenly starting to think I overestimated you!’

’I also figured that, as an assassin, at the very least, after I pointed you in a direction, you’d eventually realize you were flying the wrong way, right?’

’Even if you didn’t realize you were flying in the wrong direction, you should have known to contact me for advice after flying for half a day and still not reaching the Imperial City.’

’But what happens now?’

’I pointed you in the complete opposite direction, yet you still managed to fly to the Imperial City?’

’Here... take this pen. Could you please draw it for me—how on earth did you fly here?’

"Fifth Brother, how... did you fly to the Imperial City?"

Fifth Six Seven rolled his eyes. "How else would I fly? In a straight line, of course! You pointed the way, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, so I just flew in a straight line and got here!"

Su Han: "..."

’So, just what kind of misunderstanding do you have about the word "straight line"?’

’To be able to fly a perfectly straight line into a large semicircle connected to a smaller semicircle!’