First update of the day! Still begging for votes to climb the rankings! Immense gratitude to all my brothers!!!

Turning and exiting the shop, Jun Xie walked all the way back. The Jun family certainly possessed carriages, and they were excessively luxurious ones at that, but Jun Xie always preferred to travel on foot; in his past life as an Assassin, the subconscious belief was that only by keeping his feet firmly on the ground could he be truly safe. Whether riding in a carriage or a boat always instilled in him a sense of crisis—that his fate was not entirely in his own hands. This feeling deeply unsettled Jun Xie.

Jun Xie's principle was this: his destiny would always be governed by his own control!

The personal bodyguards arranged for him by Elder Jun had long since been dismissed under various pretenses.

This was because Jun Xie knew that any guard trailing him was, at best, mere window dressing. No matter where he went, someone else would inevitably be following him in the shadows—that hidden individual was the genuine, top-tier master! Although Jun Xie had never actually seen them, and his current cultivation level made detection impossible, ever since Elder Jun assigned this person to follow him, Jun Xie could sense their presence with absolute clarity!

This feeling stemmed from the instinctive perception of a peak Assassin; though lacking concrete proof, Jun Xie was utterly convinced his judgment would never err!

Jun Xie was now intensely curious about this hidden watcher. While his current martial prowess was far from the razor-sharpness of his previous life, his mental perception had amplified several times over! Moreover, he had repeatedly attempted to shake off the tail using his own counter-tracking expertise, yet this person had managed to stick to him like a shadow every single time—a truly remarkable feat!

Jun Xie ambled along as if aimlessly wandering, but his spiritual senses meticulously controlled everything in his immediate vicinity, flowing like spilled mercury, penetrating every nook and cranny. While his pace wasn't rapid, every shift in direction, every subtle movement forward or back, was so abrupt and unexpected that only a master tracker might even notice it. Any ordinary person would surely have been shaken off until not even a shadow remained.

Yet, the person behind Jun Xie had not once lost his trail!

Truthfully, the man following Jun Xie was already inwardly lamenting his misfortune! Elder Jun had implored him to protect his grandson without letting the boy realize it, and he had agreed without a second thought. In his mind, at worst, he would simply be guarding a listless, spoiled young master—a task utterly without challenge! With his skill set, he reckoned he could shadow the boy for a lifetime, and the youth would remain blissfully unaware, as if dreaming.

Who could have known that two days of tracking had already given the master tracker a monstrous headache. The boy ahead behaved in a manner entirely contrary to all logic. Just when you assumed he was heading east, he would inexplicably change course, and when you overshot and circled back west, you would discover he had veered south instead...

This man was nearly the pinnacle of trackers in this world, yet in two days, he had misdirected himself several times. If Jun Xie's cultivation hadn't been so low, he might have vanished entirely by the first day! After several mistakes, the tracker was so frustrated he nearly went mad, even pulling out a few of his own beard hairs!

Several times he felt the urge to simply leap out, grab the boy by the collar, and demand: "What the hell are you doing, wandering around aimlessly like this, always going east when you should be going west, talking nonsense that makes no sense?! Can't you just behave normally?"

Did the dandy spot me? The thought crossed his mind, only to be instantly dismissed: Look at his dissolute appearance; how could he possibly detect me? It's entirely because this boy’s movements are so utterly erratic!

While contemplating this, he suddenly noticed Jun Xie ahead quickening his pace with excitement, heading straight into a shop selling cosmetics and powders. The tracker couldn't help but snort, thinking, As expected of a rake, charging into such a place for women. He waited, and waited, yet Jun Xie did not emerge. Finally losing patience, the tracker swept over like a gust of wind, stealthily peering inside, only to find no sign of Jun Xie. A wave of frustration washed over him: The brat must have slipped out the back door! How could I be so foolish as to not consider that?

He streaked toward the rear exit, searching wildly along the way.

Only when the tracker was far gone did Jun Xie confirm that the watchful aura tracking him had completely vanished. He then calmly stepped out of the powder shop, offered a polite word of thanks, retraced his steps, and strode away proudly.

Inside the shop, the few young female clerks stared with wide, round eyes, their jaws agape: This handsome young master looked perfectly healthy, so why did he suddenly develop severe diarrhea the moment he entered our shop? And why did he occupy the lavatory for so long? He nearly forced my sisters to burst from holding it in...

The sky gradually darkened, and the setting sun slowly sank below the horizon; it was the sorrow of twilight alone. The curtain of night had already unfurled its fearsome maw, ready to swallow the entire firmament the moment the last trace of sunset vanished!

Jun Xie took a couple of steps, then abruptly turned, switching to an entirely different path, heading toward the back door of the cosmetics shop. A smug, quiet laugh echoed in his mind: That fellow must be utterly dizzy by now, thanks to my circling. I, the King of Assassins, the master hunter of the jungle, excel at precisely this. If I can't even handle some local bumpkin from another world, that would be the real joke! Kid, compared to me, you’re still too green...

Jun Xie’s prediction proved accurate. After chasing perhaps forty paces, the tracker found no trace of Jun Xie and instantly realized he had been duped. He whipped back like a whirlwind, scouring the four cardinal directions, before stopping dumbfounded in front of the cosmetics shop. Staring at the throng of people passing by on the street, his face cycled through shades of blue and red, as if he owned a dye shop, and a profound sense of helplessness washed over him!

Having traversed the world for decades, his tracking technique had never once failed him. Yet today, he had stumbled badly over a mere youth—and one who appeared to be an ignorant, profligate wastrel! This was simply the height of absurdity! His gut feeling told him clearly: This time, I’ve truly lost him!

What a disgrace! To capsize the great ship in a shallow ditch...

Jun Zhantian, what kind of grandson have you raised? How can he be so utterly strange?

Jun Xie chuckled, feeling immensely satisfied. Although he knew the man meant him no harm, accustomed as he was to solitude, having someone trailing him like a persistent ghost made him feel inexplicably uneasy, just plain annoyed! Now that he was finally rid of the tail, he felt completely relaxed.

Suddenly, as Jun Xie was moving, his body muscles stiffened momentarily, then relaxed. His shoulder muscles twitched, and a throwing knife materialized in his palm as if by magic.

Several currents of icy cold energy, imbued with chilling indifference, converged from multiple directions—the target was the small-to-medium street where Jun Xie currently stood.

The aura of his former peers!

Assassins!

Could it be such a coincidence? I just managed to ditch my protector, and now I run right into an assassination attempt? If I actually kick the bucket here, it’ll be a true joke! Digging my own grave?! Jun Xie offered a bitter smile inwardly, but he couldn't deny the stirring of a long-lost excitement within his chest: Faintly tinged with the scent of blood—finally, at last, I might get to meet some of my counterparts in this world. I truly hope they don't... disappoint me!

Ahead, organized footsteps sounded, and a procession approached. In the center was a palanquin; its covering was imperial yellow, fringed with strings of pearls on either side, beneath which hung small, golden bells that chimed sweetly with every slight sway.

This was the royal carriage of Princess Lingmeng of the current dynasty!

Could these people not be after me? Is their target Princess Lingmeng?

Jun Xie quickly calculated the odds and deemed it highly plausible. His presence here was entirely unplanned. If they intended to assassinate him, there were countless locations far more suitable than this that he had already passed. There was no logical reason for assassins to follow him all this way before striking!

But to attempt an assassination of Princess Lingmeng in broad daylight, on the official road approaching the Imperial City—what kind of person would possess such audacious nerve?!

Forgive me for this tangent today; truthfully, my heart is overflowing with excitement. We are currently holding the number one spot on the click rankings! Hehe; please forgive me this once, brothers! Deepest thanks to all my brothers! And thank you to my sisters! It is you who have hoisted Xie Jun up! Feng Ling offers his sincere gratitude!! I am proud to possess such powerful brothers and sisters!! You are the absolute best!!! Thank you!!!!