HuMing’s swift actions left the one-eyed man with no time to react. At that moment, the man finally understood the chasm of disparity between them. However, it was too late for regrets—he was acutely aware that he was now at HuMing’s mercy.
Planting his foot on the man’s other hand, HuMing stared down at him.
“Are you mute? No wonder you’ve been silent this whole time. But that’s fine—I only need to know who’s behind you.”
HuMing crouched and began searching the man’s pockets. The one-eyed man struggled desperately but was quickly subdued by a sharp kick to his stomach. All resistance faded as he gasped for air.
Picking up the man’s phone, HuMing found a blank interface. But when he opened the contacts, there was only a single entry: the digit “1.”
That was a contact number, but the "1" at the beginning felt unnervingly odd.
With this in mind, HuMing dialed the number.
In the dim forest, the sound of ringing echoed eerily.
The call connected quickly, yet the other side remained silent, as though waiting.
HuMing glanced at the one-eyed man before speaking slowly.
“Rats in the sewers don’t even dare to talk anymore? First Han ShuYi, now this one-eyed lackey. Your methods are laughable.”
Heavy breathing came through the phone—evidence that his words had struck a nerve.
HuMing chuckled mockingly. “What’s wrong? Cat got your tongue? You’re just as revolting as your biological parents.”
The voice on the other end finally broke its silence. It was low, hoarse, and brimming with restrained anger.
“HuMing, you’re just lucky. I failed this time, but next time, you won’t escape.”
“Luck? From a coward who doesn’t even dare to show their face? You think hiding in the shadows makes you some kind of mastermind? Look at your handiwork—you haven’t even touched my foundation. To me, you’re no different from that useless Han ShuYi.”
The voice, though clearly agitated, remained measured—a stark contrast to Han ShuYi’s tendency to lash out.
“You’ll never find me, HuMing. You’re destined to be crushed underfoot.”
“You sure talk big. After all these years of usurping my position, you’ve learned nothing. But that’s fine—useless pawns deserve to be discarded. Wouldn’t you agree?”
That jab hit a nerve. The voice on the other end rose in anger.
“HuMing, I hold all the advantages in this game!”
“Game? Who the hell is playing a game with you? If I’m annoyed, I’ll flip the whole board. Who do you think you are? Just a puppet of the idiot pulling your strings—a substitute for me.”
“I’ll make you regret this, HuMing. Mark my words!” the other party nearly roared into the phone.
HuMing remained unperturbed. “Barking dogs. Your subordinates are fools, and the one behind you is even worse for picking a fool like you as their puppet. Wait and see. When I stand before you, I hope you don’t wet yourself in fear.”
The call abruptly ended. HuMing tossed the phone back to the one-eyed man, who lay weakly on the ground.
HuMing pulled out a jade pendant from his pocket and dangled it in front of the man.
“You were trying to destroy this earlier, weren’t you? Too bad your intentions were written all over your face. If you hadn’t been so fixated on this pendant, I might’ve taken longer to figure out my grandfather’s words. Still, I get where you were coming from.”
Discarding his empty pistol, HuMing reached down to retrieve the dagger from the man’s hand.
The one-eyed man trembled visibly, his eye fixed on HuMing with a pleading look—perhaps begging for a quick death.
Ignoring the silent plea, HuMing continued speaking.
“Your boss’s first order must’ve been to destroy this pendant, with killing me as a secondary objective. But when time dragged on, your priorities shifted. You thought destroying the pendant was more critical than killing me. Killing me could wait until after you regrouped, right?”
Wiping the blood from the dagger with a leaf, HuMing studied the weapon that had been meant to end his life. Now, it would serve a different purpose.
“You’re a decent assassin, but not the best. Back in the smoke, if you’d gone for my chest instead of this pendant, you might’ve killed me.”
“In the end, you hesitated. And as an assassin, hesitation is fatal.”
In the darkness, the one-eyed man’s perception of HuMing shifted. The man before him no longer seemed human but a fierce predator, ready to tear his prey apart.
“Hey, do you want to live?”
The question snapped the man out of his thoughts. His remaining eye fixated on HuMing, and he swallowed hard.
But before he could answer, HuMing flicked his wrist.
The man’s throat went cold, and a warm liquid began pouring out. He clutched at his neck, desperate to stop the bleeding, but the blood flowed relentlessly, soaking into the earth below.
HuMing shook his head, his tone cold.
“As an assassin, you should never leave your enemy alive.”
Walking away, he glanced back at the man, who was futilely trying to resist death. His single eye widened in defiance against the inevitable.
But in the end, humans are fragile beings.
A single dagger was enough to end a life.
And HuMing intended to be the one holding the dagger.
The one-eyed man’s body convulsed before finally going still, the dagger lodged in his neck gleaming in the dim light.
Kneeling, HuMing reached out to brush aside the man’s bangs, accidentally dipping his fingers into the still-warm blood.
He froze for a moment, his mind wandering.
This was the second person he’d killed here—if Sui Zhao didn’t count…
Shaking his head, he sighed inwardly.
Who would’ve thought he’d end up in situations , when all he wanted was a peaceful life?
Maybe trouble was simply his destiny.
Sweeping aside the man’s bangs, HuMing revealed what lay beneath—an artificial glass eye glinting in the darkness.