"The only person I have serious conflicts with is Liana Xiao. But we're both members of the Xiao family—could she really hire assassins to kill me?" Xena Xiao voiced her doubts, yet a strong instinct told her that Liana was indeed behind it. It was a hunch, a woman's intuition.
"What if it really was Liana?" Ethan Lin asked, his voice calm but purposeful.
"Well…" Xena hesitated, struggling to find an answer. After a moment, she finally said, "I'd inform the family and let them deal with it."
Ethan shook his head, unconvinced. "Xena, even if the Xiao family handles it, and even if it's proven that Liana was responsible, with her status as a direct family member and the influence of her branch, she won't face a death sentence. At most, she'd be severely punished. But this would only antagonize her branch further, making her a constant threat. You'd be dealing with her grudge for life."
"Then what would you do?" Xena asked, looking to him for a solution.
"Kill her." Ethan's gaze was sharp, his voice resolute. "If Liana truly hired assassins to eliminate you, someone as ruthless as her won't stop. People like her are venomous; leaving them alive only invites trouble."
"Killing someone… that's…" Xena's brow furrowed with hesitation.
Ethan understood her reluctance; after all, Xena had never killed anyone herself. The six assassins from earlier had been dealt with by him controlling her body. The thought of killing, especially a member of her own family, was something she couldn't accept easily.
"Xena, if it really was Liana, leave it to me," Ethan offered.
"Alright." Xena nodded, slowly warming to the idea as she realized Ethan's words made sense.
"Liana, I hope it wasn't you," she sighed inwardly.
…
Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the Blood Hand Syndicate, several senior members had already received news of the six assassins' deaths. Normally, they wouldn't be too concerned about assassins dying on a job—failures were common in their line of work. But this time, the report from one of the assassins raised serious questions.
"We confirmed with the employer beforehand that Xena Xiao was only a ninth-level Flesh Refinement awakener with a lower-tier Guardian Spirit, capable of a maximum attack strength of 76 units. Due to time constraints, we didn't investigate further. But we never expected…"
"Hmph. Where did that 76-unit Flesh Refinement student go? Our assassins didn't even have a chance to escape; they were all killed within minutes. The employer obviously hid critical information from us."
"Just received more specific details: Xena Xiao was indeed at the ninth level of Flesh Refinement but has been advancing quickly. In just days, she went from seventh level to eighth, and even defeated a peak eighth-level awakener. It's been over ten days since her last known power display. Clearly, the 76-unit attack strength was a smokescreen. Plus, she received a bottle of Essence Purification Elixir from Milanar Corporation on Milan Star. She may have already broken into the Purification Stage."
"Damn! This employer withheld a ton of information. If we'd known, we'd have sent stronger assassins for a job like this. But with this many gaps, it's no wonder the mission failed."
"Indeed. For targeting someone this talented, we usually start at a million for the bounty, not some paltry 200,000."
"It's clear the employer wanted to spend the minimum to get rid of a problem and didn't give us the full story. That violates our code of conduct. She didn't show us any consideration, so we're not obligated to follow protocol by keeping her identity hidden."
After some deliberation, the Blood Hand Syndicate's leaders agreed to leak the employer's identity but discreetly—revealing it publicly would harm the organization's reputation. Instead, they decided to send the information directly to Xena.
As for the six deceased assassins, they could only accept their fates.
…
Xena was online when a notification popped up on her email. Curious, she clicked on it.
The screen was dominated by an image of a blood-red hand—a symbol she instantly recognized.
"The Blood Hand Syndicate's emblem!"
Below the emblem were several lines explaining the details of the assassination attempt. It mentioned that the employer had withheld crucial information, leading to heavy losses for them. As retribution, the syndicate had chosen to reveal the identity of the employer.
"IP address—Xiao family residence. Payment account—Liana Xiao!"
Upon reading this, Xena no longer had any doubts. The person behind her assassination attempt was indeed Liana Xiao.
Then, without warning, the email vanished, wiped clean from her inbox as though it had never existed—a typical tactic of the Blood Hand Syndicate, leaving no traces behind.
"Ethan, it's confirmed. The one who hired assassins to kill me was Liana Xiao," Xena informed him through their shared consciousness.
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