In the dark forest, an injured girl with violet eyes was atop a tree, silently waiting for her pursuer.

"CRUNCH.."

She jumped and quickly slit the masked man's throat, with her skill, anyone would doubt that this was her first kill. If she was not vastly outnumbered, and gravely injured, she would have never killed him. She believed that life was precious, even if it was an assassin's.

As she lifted the mask, she heard some unnatural sounds coming from the north, which meant that she needed to run again. Her mind had already decided on a divide and conquer strategy. The skill she had secretly learned in order to escape her many admirers, , came in handy. It never crossed her mind that this skill she found from her mother's belongings will one day save her life. She then made multiple clones that all went to different directions. As the bait was casted, she climbed a tree and waited for another fish to arrive.

Because of her haste, she didn't see the face of the assassin, who she would have recognized as someone who lived close to her.

She now had some regrets. She should have brought her guards. She left without informing anyone, except her favorite sister.

Another person garbed in black ran below her. She then used her skill [ice arrows] and simultaneously shot two extremely thin arrows that were invisible to the naked eye.

Upon reaching their target's head, the figure instantly went down. Two dead, how many were left?

She felt an unwanted accomplishment, dealing with two assassins on her own. Stretching her senses, when she heard nothing wrong, she immediately went down from the tree and ripped the mask of the figure.

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"No!" Her cry sounded throughout the forest, alerting the other assassins. She immediately ran again, and nearly stumbled since her tears blurred her sight. She recognized the assassin. She didn't expect that the one she killed was a woman, who was her sister's trusted handmaiden, a person who ate, laughed and shared jokes with her since youth. She considered her a friend.

Now it made sense. Her sister was the only one she trusted and informed of her excursions. Her heart still doubted her sister's role in this sinister act, but her mind was already thinking of her next set of action. In order to find answers, She decided to delay her return to the palace. She then went to one of her clones, sliced its neck using a dagger she retrieved from a previous assassin then ordered it to pretend to be dead.

After a few hours of waiting, her clone's pulse was inspected by an assassin. Nodding, he then released a firework, and immediately left. She was glad, this was the best outcome. If the assassin had insisted on claiming the body, she would have no choice but to kill the assassin and create another plan, since her clone can only last for a maximum of 12 hours. Sensing that the others have already fled from the forest, she flicked her finger, and her clone dissolved into water then vanished. She also left, searching for a nearby inn to rest and replenish her depleted energy.