THE HUNTER OF DARKNESS

Assassins' Organization

"I don't know. They chose to die rather than answer my questions," Fang An said as he handed the seal he brought to Tang Fei.

"They were carrying this seal," he added.

Tang Fei widened his sleepy eyes. "It's true, someone is targeting you, Fang An. This seal belongs to a mysterious and infamous assassin organization."

"Let's talk about it tomorrow, Uncle. I want to bathe and sleep first," Fang An said, showing his blood-soaked hands.

"Alright. But where will you sleep? Isn’t your room badly damaged?" Tang Fei asked.

"I can sleep anywhere, Uncle. As long as I can lie down, that’s enough for me."

"Here, take your clothes and come back. You can bathe and sleep in my room; there's an empty bed you can use," Tang Fei offered.

Fang An nodded slightly and walked back to his room.

The night felt endlessly long for Fang An. His mind was filled with questions about who had hired the organization to kill him.

News of the four assassins trying to kill Fang An soon spread throughout the palace. Early in the morning, Emperor Li Wei and Princess Xian Lie, who had heard the news, rushed to Fang An's room to check on his condition. But when a soldier informed them he was in Tang Fei's room, they changed direction and headed for the royal advisor's quarters.

Emperor Li Wei wasn't too worried, as he believed Fang An could protect himself. But Princess Xian Lie was deeply anxious, her heart pounding with fear.

Once inside Tang Fei's room, both Emperor Li Wei and Princess Xian Lie breathed a sigh of relief to find Fang An unharmed.

"According to rumors, the culprits were from the Death Demon Organization. Is that true?" Emperor Li Wei asked.

"Forgive me, Your Majesty. Judging from the seal one of them carried, it seems likely they were involved. But we cannot accuse them outright. The seal could have been planted to mislead us," Fang An replied.

"Why do you think that?" the Emperor asked.

"I don’t know for sure, Your Majesty. But of the four men I killed last night, only one had the seal. I just want to be cautious before we accuse the Death Demon Organization."

"Then what do you suggest we do?" Tang Fei interjected.

"Do any of the kingdom's spies know where their base is located?" Fang An asked in return.

"They are highly organized, Fang An. No one has ever discovered their headquarters. But I will dispatch our spies today to find it."

"If the Death Demon Organization is truly behind this, I wonder who hired them?" Emperor Li Wei remarked.

"Then no one should know that you ordered the spies to investigate their base," Fang An advised.

"Are you suggesting the mastermind is inside the palace?"

"It’s highly possible, Your Majesty. If not, how would those four men know which room is mine?" Fang An bit his lower lip. "But what reason would anyone have to want me dead? I've never caused trouble for anyone since arriving at the palace."

The Emperor stroked his slightly long, whitening beard in thought. Suddenly, he recalled the recent argument in the royal hall between Tang Fei, Commander Lu Han, and Chancellor Shen Wei.

"Could they be the masterminds?" Emperor Li Wei blurted.

Fang An furrowed his brow, clearly intrigued.

"Do you mean Commander Lu Han and Chancellor Shen Wei?" Tang Fei asked.

The Emperor nodded. "Remember when you debated with them in the hall? You mentioned that Fang An was worthy of holding one of their positions."

"Could my words back then have sparked this, Your Majesty? I only mentioned their roles hypothetically," Tang Fei said, scratching his head.

"It’s possible. When someone is obsessed with power, they will defend their position by any means. Shen Wei and Lu Han may have taken your words as a serious threat and now see Fang An as a rival."

Fang An slowly began to understand the complexity of his situation. But he still wondered—why didn’t they confront him directly? If only things had been discussed openly, there wouldn’t have been a need for deadly conflict.

"Then we must assign spies to monitor both of them," Fang An responded, clutching the brass seal of the Death Demon Organization tightly in his hand.

"If they truly are behind this, what will you do, Your Majesty?" he asked.

"I will punish them both severely!" Emperor Li Wei declared with anger.

Meanwhile, in a secluded room elsewhere in the palace, Commander Lu Han and Chancellor Shen Wei were deep in conversation. They were increasingly convinced that Tang Fei’s claims about Fang An's martial prowess were true. That realization terrified them.

"Our first attempt to eliminate the boy failed completely, Commander. Do you have a more effective plan to kill him?" Shen Wei asked.

"I have no new plan at the moment, Chancellor. What matters is that Tang Fei doesn’t suspect we were behind last night’s attack," Lu Han replied.

Two nights later, a palace spy assigned to monitor Lu Han and Shen Wei arrived at Tang Fei's room to report.

A few moments later, the spy exited the room with a calm demeanor.

About five minutes passed before Tang Fei rushed out of his room and headed toward Fang An’s quarters. Judging by his expression, he had something important to share.

Without knocking, Tang Fei opened Fang An’s door and entered. His sudden entrance startled Fang An.

"What is it, Uncle?"

Tang Fei relayed everything the spy had reported.

"I see. Then let me be the one to track them," Fang An said.

"There’s more, Fang An. It turns out they also plan to assassinate His Majesty. With no crown prince, they intend to seize the throne."

"Are you sure of this report, Uncle?" Fang An frowned, shocked.

"Your closeness with Princess Xian Lie has made them fear being ousted from the palace. That fear has driven them to hatch this wicked scheme."

"Very well. I will depart immediately," Fang An said firmly.

Tang Fei nodded and left Fang An’s room. Shortly after, the young man with white hair followed.

Outside the capital, a royal spy descended from a tree after spotting Fang An. After paying his respects, he reported his findings.

They both moved quickly into the dense forest near the capital.

After nearly four hours, they arrived at a large building made of neatly arranged bricks.

In addition to being deep within the forest, the building was hidden by a small hill and camouflaged by thick undergrowth. No one would suspect a structure lay beyond that hill.

"That is the Death Demon Organization's headquarters, Sir," the spy said, pointing to the lone building in the forest.

Fang An was surprised. The distance between the base and the capital wasn’t far. Why hadn’t the palace known about it?

According to reports, the organization was notorious. Many merchants had mysteriously died due to its members.

They had taken only five steps closer when over forty men in black leaped from the trees and surrounded them.

"Hahaha! So easy to fool you, boy!" Suddenly, Shen Wei and Lu Han emerged behind the black-clad men.

What shocked Fang An even more was the spy beside him stepping away to join the forty men surrounding him.

"Traitor!" Fang An cursed inwardly. He couldn’t believe even the spies sent by Emperor Li Wei had turned against him.