Fang Bie placed the dagger steadily on Xue Ling'er's fair neck, watching the blade press down slightly, the mark left on the girl's throat, and the tiny goose bumps that rose across her fair skin.
It was the cool shiver of impending death.
The dagger was not sharp, so it could only slightly press against her skin, but with a little more pressure, or a slight slash, Xue Ling'er's throat would be severed, killing her instantly.
Fang Bie calmly gazed at the girl before him.
She had black hair, pale skin, and a resolute and beautiful face. She looked at him with a hint of fear, yet also a hint of curiosity.
Fang Bie, a time traveler, had traveled through a flood at the age of seven and was rescued and trained by the Hive Assassin He Ping.
Now, at seventeen, he was waiting for his bee wings.
And it was clear—the person before him was his bee wing.
Or rather, someone claiming to be his bee wing.
"If you don't answer, I'll count to three, and you'll die," Fang Bie said.
He spoke, shattering the silence and jolting Xue Ling'er awake for a moment: "Yes, I'm your partner."
"Partner?" Fang Bie countered.
Within the Hive, assassinations are generally performed in pairs.
The person in charge is called the Stinger, while the person responsible for coordinating the route and providing support is the Wing.
Fang Bie is currently a Stinger.
According to Hive rules, one cannot choose a Wing on their own; it must be assigned by the organization.
The woman before him is the Wing assigned to him by the organization, a testament to the organization's control.
Xue Ling'er quickly corrected him: "Wing, it's a Wing!"
Fang Bie nodded. He chose to control this girl, Lin Xue, not out of any genuine suspicion, or perhaps because her performance so far had been impeccable.
She had answered all the codes correctly and possessed a deep understanding of the Hive. His treatment of her was simply due to an instinctive sense of concern.
"Name," Fang Bie continued.
"Lin Xue."
"Gender," Fang Bie said expressionlessly, looking at Lin Xue's face.
It wasn't because Lin Xue wasn't good-looking, nor was it because her face was so ambiguously bizarre that it was difficult to tell whether she was male or female.It was just a routine questioning.
"Female," the other person said. She appeared to be wearing a bra, but her appearance and voice were undisguised.
Fang Bie could still tell from such close proximity whether she was disguised or not.
For some reason, the Hive's assassin duos were always one male and one female, so Fang Bie's acquisition of a female Bee Wing was not surprising.
Besides, this female Bee Wing didn't seem that stupid.
"Age," Fang Bie continued.
He had actually obtained information on this female Bee Wing in advance, and even if there were no discrepancies so far, it was always a good idea to check each item one by one. Fang Bie didn't mind trouble.
Fang Bie clearly saw the impatience on Lin Xue's face, but out of respect for the dagger at her neck, she answered obediently.
"Seventeen, born in the first month of the year, just had her birthday," Lin Xue replied.
The knife in the boy's hand remained motionless.
"Age in lunar years?" Fang Bie continued to inquire.
"Your age is also seventeen.
Tianlu, was born in the first month of the lunar calendar when I was fifteen, so I am older than you." Lin Xue said.
Fang Bie nodded: "Birthday?"
At this moment, Fang Bie was just an emotionless questioning machine.
After all, this was someone who would be by his side, so it was never too much to be cautious.
Lin Xue bit her lip slightly, but Fang Bie didn't care. He waited for her answer, and if she answered wrong, he would kill her.
"The twenty-second day of the first lunar month." Lin Xue's eyes were sharp for a moment, then deflated, as if she was weighing the strength comparison between the two people.
Well, Fang Bie nodded calmly, which was consistent with the information, but the questioning was far from over: "Father's name."
Lin Xue remained undeterred by the relentless barrage of questions, her answers remaining unhesitating.
"Lin Yuanqing, I passed the imperial examination, but never achieved a stable position. When I was nine, my family was robbed and killed. I wandered the world, first taken in by a master, but later killed. I then trained with the Beehive and became a member."
Her eyes reddened slightly as she spoke, looking as if she were deeply moved.
She answered questions beyond the point of the question, but Fang Bie wasn't particularly surprised.
After all, he had already annoyed her with his questions.
There were no questions for now; everything matched the information.
"What about my father's birthday?" Fang Bie asked abruptly.
He didn't know the correct answer, as it wasn't in the Beehive information he'd been given. But just because it wasn't there didn't mean he couldn't ask.
Fang Bie watched as Lin Xue opened her mouth, but no words came out.
She finally closed her eyes. "Just kill me,"
she pleaded, but Fang Bie smiled and sheathed the knife from her neck
Lin Xue opened her eyes in surprise, her nostrils flaring. "Why?"
The woman's breath was fragrant. Fang Bie looked at her through the black scarf. "Because your information doesn't even mention your father's birthday. Besides, you were only nine when your family perished. You might not even remember it by now."
Fang Bie watched her speechless and slightly annoyed expression, and felt a subtle sense of amusement.
"Okay, we've passed the first phase of the test."
"Now for the second phase."
"Excuse me."
"Was the Dugu Nine Swords created by Feng Qingyang?"
Fang Bie asked, his expression unchanged, but a hint of nervousness lingered deep within.
This was Fang Bie's most profound question. The answer wasn't important; what mattered was that it was a codeword used only among time travelers.Unless they had never heard of Jin Yong's novels.
Because in this world, there was Huashan, and on Huashan there were the Dugu Nine Swords, but there were no Feng Qingyang, Yue Buqun, or even Linghu Chong.
There were only Shaolin, Wudang, Huashan, Kunlun—famous and prosperous sects entrenched and flourishing on renowned mountains and rivers.
This world somewhat resembles ancient China, but even more remarkable is the variety of martial arts available. These aren't the kind of ordinary, peddling tricks that fool people, but truly capable of walking on water and splitting rocks with a wave of the hand. Fang Bie doesn't know if any of these martial arts have reached such extremes that they can move mountains and seas, but at least he knows at least ten that can invisibly kill people from a distance of ten steps.
Having determined that returning to his original world is hopeless, Fang Bie's top priority is survival.
Before his time travel, he was a diligent, virtuous, and virtuous New Century university student, but he died suddenly of a heart attack. Now, with the chance to be reborn, Fang Bie vows to exercise extreme caution, prioritizing his own safety before considering anything else.
This world is a dangerous place. Beyond the relatively respectable and prestigious sects, there are also three demonic sects, each with its own nexus of collusion.
Above all, the Jianghu, there's the imperial court, with the Six Gates, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Eastern Depot at the top, representing the world's most powerful secular forces.
Although Fang Bie unexpectedly entered the Hive directly because of his apprenticeship, the Hive is a super assassin organization that operates in secret and is responsible for various tasks such as intelligence assassination. If we were to select the most dangerous profession, then assassin would undoubtedly be the first.
If you ask Fang Bie why he chose to become a bee sting assassin,
then the answer is very simple - I have no choice.
Therefore, working hard to learn peerless martial arts, strive to avoid being killed, and complete assassin missions to strengthen myself, is also an important goal.
"The Nine Swords of Dugu is a secret of Huashan. It is only heard of, but rarely heard of anyone using it. Only the Zixia Divine Art is famous." Lin Xue answered honestly: "As for whether the Nine Swords of Dugu was created by that Feng or something, I don't know."
Fang Biebsighed lightly.
Not a time traveler.
(End of this chapter)