Moreover, the Shadow Hall had never failed a mission. Even if they had to chase the target to the ends of the earth, they would complete their task.
Even if the person being hunted managed to escape one attempt, the Shadow Hall would simply send more powerful assassins.
The Shadow Hall seemed to have emerged overnight and quickly gained a fearsome reputation in the martial world, naturally catching the attention of the Night Phantom Division.
Two years had passed, and the Night Phantom Division only knew a little about this organization.
What was most peculiar was that the Shadow Hall seemed to know the Night Phantom Division very well.
Her brother had sent people to test the Shadow Hall several times. Although they had clashed, the members of the Shadow Hall always managed to escape. During these encounters, it was discovered that they seemed to be very familiar with the martial arts styles of the Night Phantom Division's members.
In the past two years, the Shadow Hall had always avoided excessive contact with the Night Phantom Division.
The black - clothed men who had chased Xiao Hanzhi and Xuan Yuanjue in the Pufa Temple last time were actually assassins from the Shadow Hall. It was only after Han Yue had fought them and analyzed their martial arts moves that they were identified.
The Shadow Hall even dared to assassinate Xiao Hanzhi, the Fourth Prince of the current dynasty. It seemed that this organization truly had some skills. One couldn't help but wonder what would happen if they were to face off against others.
The letter brought by Han Yue of the Night Phantom Division not only revealed the origin of those black - clothed men but also uncovered some things that Shen Li had previously overlooked but now wanted to know the most.
"Han Yue, prepare two sets of night - traveling clothes. We're going out tonight!"
As night fell, Shen Li and Han Yue slipped through the city gates of the capital like ghosts and headed towards the outskirts.
The two used their lightness skills all the way, moving at twice the speed of a galloping horse. They didn't stop until an hour and a half later.
It was pitch - black all around. Shen Li stood on a tall tree and looked into the distance.
But unfortunately, the moon was hazy tonight, and she couldn't see clearly. She could only vaguely make out a towering mountain gate in the northeast direction.
"Han Yue, is this the place you got the information about?"
Han Yue looked around and only saw a shadow near the mountain gate. "According to the information, the Panhu Stockade is indeed here. How about I go ahead and scout it out?"
"No need! Let's go together!" Shen Li felt that this place was extremely eerie as there was not a single glimmer of light. She didn't feel comfortable letting Han Yue go alone.
The two flew towards the mountain gate in the darkness. After passing through the mountain gate and traveling for more than ten li, they finally saw some twinkling lights in the distance.
As they got closer, there was a stockade gate. On top of the tall gate, there were rows of people holding torches, patrolling.
Not daring to arouse suspicion, Shen Li and Han Yue only observed from the shadows. When it was nearly the third watch and the patrolling guards were changing shifts, they crossed the gate and entered the Panhu Stockade.
To their surprise, there were guards every few steps in the stockade, and the defenses were very strict.
Judging from Shen Li's past experience in military strategy on the battlefield, the management of the Panhu Stockade was very similar to that of an army.
Fearing to give themselves away, Shen Li and Han Yue only made a brief investigation before preparing to leave.
Just as Shen Li was about to leave, she noticed something strange about the soil under her feet. Looking around and seeing no one, she quickly squatted down and grabbed a handful of soil. She felt that there seemed to be many granular things mixed in the soil, but it was too dark to tell what they were.
Shen Li took out a black cloth from her bosom and wrapped the soil in it.
"Miss! Someone's coming!" Han Yue, who was standing guard, said.
Hearing this, Shen Li immediately stood up. But as soon as she lifted her head, she saw a black shadow quickly flying past not far in front of her.
Han Yue also noticed the passing shadow and looked at Shen Li.
"Chase!"
Without any hesitation, Shen Li flew after the black shadow.
Han Yue was better at lightness skills than Shen Li and flew in front of her, closely following the shadow.
The black - clothed man noticed them and ran even faster with his lightness skills, crossing the Panhu Stockade and flying towards the nearby forest.
Seeing that the forest was only a dozen steps away from the black - clothed man, Shen Li had an idea. Once the black - clothed man entered the forest, it would be much more difficult for them to chase.
In an instant, Shen Li made a decision. She turned and flew to the side while taking out two black balls from her bosom and throwing them towards the black - clothed man.
These two black balls were special capture nets made by the Night Phantom Division. After being thrown, the two balls would automatically spread out, pulling out the highly sticky threads inside to form a large square net to trap the person.
The net threads were specially made, with great stickiness and toughness. Once they touched the clothes, they would stick tightly and were not easy to break free.
Seeing this, Han Yue quickly dodged to the side.
Unexpectedly, the black - clothed man was extremely skilled in martial arts. He also dodged to the side, but was caught up by Han Yue and blocked in front.
Shen Li and Han Yue surrounded the black - clothed man from the front and back.
During this trip, Shen Li had felt that the Panhu Stockade was very strange. Now she had encountered a black - clothed man who seemed to be here to gather information. When he left the stockade just now, he seemed to be familiar with the place and had managed to avoid the guards inside. It seemed that this man should know something, so Shen Li took the risk to stop him.
Without giving him a chance to react, Shen Li quickly attacked.
Seeing this, Han Yue also advanced towards the black - clothed man.
Shen Li and Han Yue cooperated very well and tightly entangled the black - clothed man. After a dozen moves, the black - clothed man gradually became unable to withstand their attacks. He made a feign attack and tried to escape, but was first seen through by Shen Li and was hit by a palm.
Taking advantage of the black - clothed man's injury and momentary daze, Shen Li immediately threw out the silk net again. It seemed that the net had already touched half of the black - clothed man's body, and he was about to be caught.
But unexpectedly, another black - clothed man suddenly appeared. He drew his sword and cut the silk net, then quickly took the injured man away.
"Don't chase!"
Seeing Han Yue about to chase after them, Shen Li quickly stopped her, "Their martial arts are far superior to ours! If we chase now, we might be in danger!"
Shen Li looked at the two iron balls glinting in the darkness. She reached out and picked them up from the ground. There was clearly a piece of the black - clothed man's robe stuck on them.
"Let's go back! We'll investigate based on this piece of cloth tomorrow!" Shen Li said, holding the piece of black cloth in her hand and pondering.
In a mansion in the capital, two black shadows were reflected on the window of a room. They were the two black - clothed men who had just fought with Shen Li and Han Yue.
The black - clothed man with a torn robe took off the black cloth on his face, knelt on one knee, and clasped his fists, saying, "Your subordinate is guilty! I exposed our whereabouts today and almost put the young master in danger."
The other black - clothed man, with his back turned, didn't look at him. "It's okay! You were indeed careless today! There are many hidden masters in the capital. You must be more careful in your actions in the future."