Top-tier Unruly Master

Ding Fan didn't bid farewell to the people of the Lin Family; he simply left a note with the words "Take care" written on it.

Since the affairs in Honggang City had been settled, there was no need to continue staying there.

As free as clouds and wild cranes, with an open heart like a valley, the whole world as home...

After leaving the Lin Family, Ding Fan planned to return to Dancheng first. In the flowerbed of his villa in Dancheng, his Fragrant Mind-Consolidating Grass could thrive, but not elsewhere, so he wanted to go back to Dancheng to take a look.

With a long journey between Honggang and Dancheng, Ding Fan could have taken a plane, which would have saved a lot of time and trouble.

However, after weighing his options, Ding Fan decided to take the train instead. Though the journey was long, it offered an opportunity to experience different local customs and temper his mind.

Ding Fan chose the ordinary hard seat, not opting for a sleeper berth.

By the window, Ding Fan took a seat next to a very ordinary-looking man in his forties, dressed simply, clearly a laborer heading out to work.

Across from Ding Fan were two women.

They were obviously not together; the one near the window was a young woman in her mid-twenties, her features quite exquisite. However, her demeanor was exceedingly cold, and from her, Ding Fan could distinctly sense an aura of killer intent.

It was the kind of presence one only acquired from having truly taken a life.

What really piqued Ding Fan's interest was the ring on the woman's hand. Engraved on the ring were the initials HZZ.

Those same letters were on Zhunxing's fingers, and not just Zhunxing's—every Red Spider member Ding Fan had seen in the warehouse on the outskirts of Honggang City wore such a ring. Therefore, Ding Fan was certain this person was also from Red Spider.

After the warehouse incident had concluded, Zhunxing had become Ding Fan's subordinate, which meant that Ding Fan was now effectively the boss of Red Spider's boss.

So, this young female assassin caught Ding Fan's attention.

Her gaze seemed casual, but Ding Fan could feel that she was always carefully scrutinizing her surroundings.

Next to the young woman sat another who appeared to be an ordinary middle-aged lady, dressed very commonly. At a glance, anyone would think she was just an extremely typical middle-aged woman.

Yet, under the insight of his Divine Sense, Ding Fan sensed that this middle-aged woman was unusual.

She was clearly concealing her cultivation level with a Magic Artifact, and her cultivation level was not very high, at most fourth or third grade at the Human Level; otherwise, Ding Fan would not have been able to see her true cultivation level through the artifact.

Beyond that, Ding Fan could also sense that the middle-aged woman's purpose in disguising herself was to approach the young woman from Red Spider. However, the young female assassin seemed completely unaware of being targeted by the middle-aged woman.

As Red Spider was an organization that Ding Fan could command, he naturally wouldn't ignore the vitality of its members.

The train had run for most of the day without incident, and these people, including Ding Fan, remained silent, not uttering a word.

"Yo, little sister, traveling alone, huh? Lonely, aren't you? How about joining big brother for some fun..."

Just then, an incongruous voice broke the silence around Ding Fan and the others.

Ding Fan looked up to see that four or five gaudily dressed men had surrounded them, their eyes leering unabashedly at the young woman from Red Spider.

Even without using his Divine Sense, Ding Fan could tell that these individuals were nothing more than ordinary thugs. It made him feel a pang of pity for these hoodlums; they didn't know what they were getting into by messing with the Red Spider woman.

After all, for the female assassin to handle these thugs would be an extremely easy matter; these men were truly ignorant of fear.

"Excuse me, I'm getting off here, please make way..."

After speaking, the female assassin didn't pay any further attention to the thugs, she pushed through the crowd and headed straight for the door.

This area was mountainous, and the train was approaching only a small mountain station.

At this station, there were almost no staff to be seen, with mountains all around and not a sign of human habitation. This station might just be a temporary stop set up for the convenience of hunters in the mountains.

The thugs glanced outside at the surroundings, and after exchanging looks, they let out a sinister laugh.

From their eyes and smiles, Ding Fan guessed their intentions: they were in a remote mountainous area, scarcely populated, and these men apparently wanted to take advantage of the situation.

Ding Fan shook his head secretly, wondering what these ruffians' reactions would be when they realized that the person they were provoking was an assassin.

The train creaked...

After several more minutes, the train finally came to a stop.

Given this was a minor station, the train only halted for two minutes. After the female assassin disembarked, the hoodlums, one after the other, followed suit.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged woman who had concealed her cultivation level and had been sitting next to Ding Fan, along with a middle-aged man who was not far off, also got off the train.

Ding Fan could tell that both the middle-aged woman and man were targeting the female assassin, and after hesitating for a moment, he followed them off the train.

Suddenly, several people exited the train at the small station, though the female assassin noticed, she said nothing, carrying a leather suitcase and walking steadily onward.

The middle-aged man and woman noticed Ding Fan as well, but they didn't take him seriously. Without detecting any Inner Strength fluctuations from him, they assumed his intentions for getting off the train might be the same as those of the thugs...

"Hey gorgeous, why don't you sneak into the woods with big bro? As long as you take good care of us, we'll definitely not shortchange you," one of the men called out.

Not far from the station was a patch of woods where the eager hoodlums didn't waste any time approaching and blocking the young female assassin's path.

"Scram!" the female assassin said indifferently, without a shred of emotion.

"Damn! The girl's got quite the temper..." one of the thugs muttered as he rubbed his chin before giving his companions a meaningful look.

They caught on at once, and their faces could no longer hide their lustful intent. They were about to swarm the female assassin and drag her into the woods.

Whoosh...

With a swift movement of her right hand, the female assassin suddenly produced a short blade and slit the throat of the thug closest to her.

Thump, the thug's body went limp and he tumbled to the ground!

Fuck me!

The thugs were dumbstruck; they had not anticipated that such a beautiful woman would have a killer move right off the bat...

These hooligans could bully the meek and play the rogue, but they dare not strut before someone willing to wield a knife.

Instantly, the thugs scrambled to flee in all directions.

However, the female assassin clearly had no intention of letting them go. In her eyes, since she had already made her move, there was no reason to leave anyone alive.

Her silhouette flickered as she rapidly stabbed out with her knife, and within a minute, she had slain all the thugs.

"An assassin from Red Spider... but just so-so..."

After the woman had dispatched the thugs, the middle-aged woman from the couple who had gotten off the car with her spoke dismissively.

"Knowing I'm from Red Spider, you still dare to provoke me?" the female assassin looked coldly at the middle-aged woman.

At this moment, neither the middle-aged couple nor the female assassin paid much attention to Ding Fan, who was standing aside watching the commotion. In each other's eyes, they were the only real opponents worth noting.

"Leave the contents of your purse, and you can go," the middle-aged woman said to the female assassin.

The female assassin laughed lightly as if she had heard the funniest joke in the world. "If you're capable, come and take it."

The middle-aged woman snorted lightly. "You're seeking death!"

Suddenly, a strong killing intent burst forth from the middle-aged woman.

She then darted towards the female assassin, and the male accomplice who had been silent till then made his move as well.

In an instant, both of them closed in on the female assassin.

Ding Fan watched this scene unfold before his eyes.

The female assassin was quite skilled, but facing the combined attack of two Human Level Martial Artists, she was undoubtedly at a disadvantage.

Ding Fan could not simply watch someone from Red Spider being bullied. He retracted his right hand, and with a surge of True Qi, he drew some pebbles into his grasp.

Without hesitation, Ding Fan flicked the pebbles with his fingers, propelling them outward.

Just as the middle-aged woman almost reached the female assassin, she felt a sudden numbness in her back as if something had struck her.

Caught off guard for a moment, the female assassin's short blade had already swung in her direction.

The middle-aged woman, taken aback, tried to dodge to the side. However, her thigh was instantly hit as if struck by something, making it impossible to evade.

Shlick...

The female assassin's short blade cleanly slit the middle-aged woman's throat, causing a spurt of blood...

Thump, the middle-aged woman's body went limp and she collapsed onto the ground.

Ding Fan's intervention was exceedingly discreet and his control of the force was so precise that neither the female assassin nor the male onlooker realized he had secretly intervened.

"You..."

The male companion hastily retreated, not daring to move forward.

The middle-aged woman's cultivation had been higher than his, and yet she had been dispatched with a single blow by the female assassin. He was understandably hesitant to engage.

"Time to die!" The female assassin, clearly intent on killing, flickered in her movements and was instantly in front of the middle-aged man.

Seeing the female assassin's furious approach, the man attempted to turn and flee. But as his back went numb, he paused momentarily.

During that moment of hesitation, the female assassin's short blade had already made its deadly swing.

With a soft puncture, the middle-aged man was slain...

Having killed the middle-aged couple, the female assassin found it somewhat unbelievable that it had been so simple, given their non-negligible cultivation...

But after pondering for a moment without any clear answer, she finally turned with a cold face to look at Ding Fan standing aside.

"Come here..."