<h4>Chapter 1207: Chapter 1214: Zhu Family Secrets</h4>


    Zhou Qian looked at Ren Han, the two of them exchanged nces, hesitation shing in their eyes. If it was just Ling Chen alone, they wouldn’t be afraid, but now with a Heavenly List expert backing Ling Chen, they couldn’t handle it.


    "We’re just Hong Wei’s henchmen. As far as we know, there’s a very formidable group of people behind Hong Wei, but we’ve never seen them. They’re the ones who specifically help Hong Wei eliminate rivals. The ones who attacked your eldersst night were probably them." After much hesitation, Zhou Qian finally made a decision.


    "You’ve worked with Hong Wei for so long, and you don’t know anything about them?"


    "We really don’t know," Ren Han said. "Hong Wei is a very cautious person, he wouldn’t easily reveal his true strength. In his eyes, we just take care of his security on the surface. In truth, he wouldn’t really entrust his safety to us. There’s another group in the shadows protecting him, they’re his true reliance."


    Ling Chen nodded. Ren Han and Zhou Qian didn’t seem to be lying, so there was some credibility to their words. "Alright, I’ll believe you for now. But don’t me me if I didn’t warn you, I will eventually remove this thorn, Hong Wei. If you continue to serve him, don’t me me for being ruthless." With that, Ling Chen took Ji Gang and turned to leave Chengde Martial Arts Hall.


    "Old Zhou, are you alright?" After Ling Chen left, Ren Han looked at Zhou Qian, who was pale, and asked.


    "I’m fine." Zhou Qian slowly exhaled. "Ren, what do you think we should do now? Should we tell Hong Wei about this, or..."


    "Do you think Hong Wei has the ability to deal with a Heavenly List expert?" Ren Han retorted.


    Hearing this, Zhou Qian fell into deep thought. After a long while, Zhou Qian nodded and said, "I understand what you mean. Let’s pretend nothing happened today, and no one is allowed to say a word."


    After leaving Chengde Martial Arts Hall, Ling Chen and Ji Gang took a car directly to the rented apartment.


    "Lady Zhu, you must be careful during your operation, there are many hidden experts protecting Hong Wei," Ling Chen instructed.


    Zhu Qing’s team was ready to take action tonight, and Ling Chen shared the information he got from Zhou Qian to let her be prepared to avoid any idents.


    However, Zhu Qing didn’t take Ling Chen’s warning seriously. "We’re professional assassins, not like thosemon killers." Zhu Qing was very confident in her abilities.


    Nightfall.


    Around midnight, Zhu Qing left the apartment alone. Ling Chen and Tang Guolun stayed behind, waiting for the oue.


    Since Zhu Qing was confident, Ling Chen chose not to get involved, to avoidplicating their actions.


    Waiting is undoubtedly an ordeal. As the clock on the wall ticked away, Ling Chen couldn’t help but feel a bit worried.


    It wasn’t until around three in the morning that there was finally a knock on the door. Ling Chen quickly got up, walked to the door, and opened it. As soon as the door was opened, a strong smell of blood rushed in. Under the bright light, Zhu Qing was covered in dark red stains, but because she was wearing ck, the bloodstains weren’t obvious.


    Seeing Zhu Qing panting, Ling Chen was slightly taken aback and urgently asked, "Lady Zhu, are you injured?"


    "I’m not. That’s someone else’s blood." With that, Zhu Qing went straight to the couch, picked up a cup of water, and drank it inrge gulps.


    Although Ling Chen was eager to know the result, he patiently let Zhu Qing catch her breath and rest for a bit.


    After a while, as her breathing became steady, Zhu Qing looked up at everyone in the room and said, "I’m sorry, the mission wasn’t sessful."


    Ling Chen wasn’t surprised by this oue, as Zhu Qing’s appearance on return had already said a lot.


    "What about your casualties?" Ling Chen asked.


    Hearing this, Zhu Qing’s gaze toward Ling Chen softened. As assassins, their creed was to serve the employer. Many employers cared only about the results and never about their casualties. So Ling Chen’s words brought some warmth to Zhu Qing.


    "Three injured, but we killed six of theirs."


    "Were those the hidden experts?"


    Zhu Qing nodded, "I need to report this to my family, to have them send reinforcements quickly."


    "What? The people you brought aren’t enough?"


    "No." At this point, Zhu Qing hesitated, looking as if she wanted to say something but didn’t.


    Noticing Zhu Qing’s expression, Ling Chen said, "Lady Zhu, I’m not just your employer; I’m also your friend. Besides, you’re working for me, is there anything you can’t say?"


    Zhu Qing pondered for a while and then said, "I know the identity and background of those people."


    "You know?" Ling Chen was shocked.


    "They’re the mortal enemies of our Zhu Family. Initially, they were part of the Zhu Family, but due to differing ideologies, they split. The Zhu Family ancestors were Imperial Secret Agents, serving the royal family and secretly eliminating traitors. Later, even after the court was overthrown, the Zhu Family began serving powerful figures. However, because the Zhu Family was very selective about its employers, many of us had no work. If this continued, the Zhu Family would eventually fall."


    "At that time, there were many voices of dissent within the Zhu Family, suggesting that anything can be done as long as there’s profit. Thus, the Zhu Family was divided into two factions. After over a decade of open and secret shes, it ended when one faction left. Those Zhu Family members set up their own establishment, shedding the assassinbel and bing killers for hire. As long as the price was right, they’d take up any task."


    "Because of this, their development was rapid, quickly overshadowing the Zhu Family. Later, due to their elusive whereabouts and discreet conduct, we haven’t encountered them since, nor do we know where they are. But internally, it’s heard that they formed an organization called the Skyhawk Pavilion, specializing in training elite killers."


    "The Skyhawk Pavilion?" Ling Chen’s eyes brightened at those words. He interrupted Zhu Qing and asked, "Did you just say Skyhawk Pavilion?"


    Zhu Qing nodded, "That’s right, the Skyhawk Pavilion. Why, have you heard of them?"


    "An elder mentioned them to me," Ling Chen casually replied. A while back, Tong Zhentian mentioned the Skyhawk Pavilion. It’s a secret organization that serves the Heavenly Mechanism Pavilion, dealing with matters that the pavilion can’t conveniently handle.


    These days, Ling Chen had been wary of the Skyhawk Pavilion’s emergence, unaware of its connection to the Zhu Family.