The Balance Blade had unilaterally cut off all connections with Zhang Heng, but that did not mean that Zhang Heng would never find them anymore. A while ago, Zhang Heng was lying blindfolded in the carriage to travel to where the priestess was to meet her. Along the way to the destination, Zhang Heng silently made mental notes about the sounds he could hear on the path that the carriage traveled on and its condition. After that, he reached an agreement with the priestess, and he was busy working as an advisor for Commodus. Hence, he did not look for the secret location at that time.
And now he needed to reconnect with the Balance Blade. The only way to achieve such a goal was to look for their secret location. Later, Zhang Heng looked for Marcus and asked the latter to get a carriage for him. In order to reenact the scene on that night as much as possible, Zhang Heng even ordered a carriage that was exactly the same as the one he had laid in before. Once that was done, Zhang Heng asked Marcus to drive to the arch bridge by the Tiber River in the middle of the night.
This was the spot where Zhang Heng got on the carriage that night. If he wanted to retrace the path he traveled on, he had to start his journey from the exact same spot. After that, he would need to dig deep into his memory and look for the place where he met the priestess.
However, that night’s first attempt ended up in failure. This was because it rained in the afternoon and the water had changed the road’s condition. Even if there were only a slight deviation, it would greatly affect the location of the bumps and the sound that he heard on the paths. So, Zhang Heng had to wait until the next day to do it again. The day after tomorrow was the day for him to inspect the barracks with Commodus. In other words, Zhang Heng could not afford to fail again tonight. Otherwise, he would not be able to contact the Balance Blade before he inspected the barracks.
Fortunately, he was quite lucky today. Not only did it not rain, but the sun in the afternoon was quite strong as well. Without the moisture, Zhang Heng’s memory was no longer affected by external factors. Hence, Marcus drove the carriage, and Zhang Heng lay in the carding and instructed Marcus at the same time.
But even so, it took them four hours to look for the final destination, accompanied by constant trial and error.
Zhang Heng got off the carriage, looked at the domus in front of him, and asked Marcus on the side, “Do you know whose house this is?”
Marcus had apparently done some research in advance. He immediately replied, “The owner of this domus is Stucas, a young man from the Corasu family. It is said that he rarely comes here for about two years now. There is only an old servant who lives here.”
Zhang Heng nodded, “I can do the rest alone. You can go back now.”
Marcus did not ask much after that. He turned around and left with the carriage. This was what Zhang Heng admired about him the most. He knew very well what he should be asking and what he shouldn’t. While waiting for Marcus to leave his sight completely, Zhang Heng put on a hood.
This was a special time. Let’s not talk about whether there were Balance Blade’s members in the domus. Even if this place was a secret stronghold for the priestess, Zhang Heng decided it was better he covered himself up after knowing that there were traitors in the Balance Blade.
After that, he jumped over the wall and landed in the front hall.
And as soon as he landed, the hair on his body stood on its ends. He could feel that someone was about to stab his waist with a dagger. Fortunately, Zhang Heng’s reflexes were fast enough. Earlier, he had been working hard to improve his footing, and his hard work allowed him to dodge the attack in time. However, the enemy had no intention to stop, becoming even more aggressive instead. He drew another dagger to charge at Zhang Heng again.
And Zhang Heng also drew out his two Persian swords and flicked them backward. They landed accurately on the attacker’s dagger. Zhang Heng’s response to the attack managed to stun the attackers for a split second. And Zhang Heng did not plan to waste this rare opportunity. When he finally turned around, he and saw the face of the attacker.
There was a veil covering the attacker’s face, and although Zhang Heng could not see the other person’s appearance, he recognized that it was the veiled woman from the perfume shop.
When the two met for the first time, Zhang Heng knew that this woman was also an assassin. However, he did not expect her to be so skillful. After fighting with her for a few rounds, he realized that her assassination skills were way better than Dadatis’.
Zhang Heng also speculated that she was most likely a core member of the Balance Blade.
The woman on the other side seemed to recognize Zhang Heng as well—not through his appearance but his moves.
“It appears Dadatis values you a lot. He taught you all his unique skills,” the woman said. “Of course, you are a fast learner as well. I saw how you fought in the Victor Arena when you were still a gladiator. Technically speaking, you shouldn’t have avoided my attack just now.”
Zhang Heng immediately thought of something. Dadatis had once told him that there were only four people who knew his identity. The woman in front of him was obviously not the priestess nor Faceless. So, there was only one possibility left. Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows.
“Are you Hyacinth?”
“It seems Dadatis has mentioned about me,” the woman wearing the veil said. “I’m very curious. What does he think of me?”
Zhang Heng could sense that Hyacinth and Dadatis had a rather complicated relationship. They were surely more than just friends. Therefore, Zhang Henng decided to help out Dadatis by saying something good.
“He said you are the best assassin ever.”
Hyacinth sneered when she heard what Zhang Heng said. “Save it. I know him well enough that he will never say such a thing. He did tell me about your unlimited potential. You are like an unpolished gem. If someone put in some hard work to train you well, you will surely become the strongest assassin in Rome.”
“Well…”
Zhang Heng was interrupted by Hyacinth before he could say anything. “But now it seems he was exaggerating. You haven’t been able to kill Altrus for so long. Even if you are a talented young man, you are definitely not limitless.
“If I remember correctly, didn’t you guys fail to get rid of him for a long time, too?” asked Zhang Heng. “You don’t even know what he looks like.”
“That was in the past. Now, we have found the opportunity to assassinate Altrus. In other words, you have failed your test. As for whether the organization will accept you in the future, you’ll need to wait for the evaluation after this event,” Hyacinth said casually.
“The opportunity that you are talking about is when Commodus inspects the barracks tomorrow, right? But as far as I know, Altrus’s physical condition does not allow him to appear in public.” Zhang Heng was not bothered by Hyacinth’s sarcastic tone.
“We know that the Altrus, who go with Commodus tomorrow to the barracks, is a fake.” Hyacinth’s answer surprised Zhang Heng. She paused at this point and continued, “Not only do we know that Altrus is fake, but we also know why the real Altrus would do something like this. Other than baiting us, he wanted to cover his true purpose as well.” Hyacinth put away her dagger while talking.
“Anyway, it’s impressive that you managed to find this place. Thank you for the information, especially the fact that Altrus is physically inconvenient. We will verify it when we find our target. Other than that, do you still have anything else you’d wish to talk about?” Although Hyacinth’s tone was still polite, her mannerism indicated that she did not want Zhang Heng to stay here any longer.
It was not because she was unhappy with him or anything. She actually had a more important thing to attend to.
After Zhang Heng saw the reactions from her body, he stopped talking. He just nodded and said, “Then I wish you all the best tomorrow.”
The Balance Blade had unilaterally cut off all connections with Zhang Heng, but that did not mean that Zhang Heng would never find them anymore. A while ago, Zhang Heng was lying blindfolded in the carriage to travel to where the priestess was to meet her. Along the way to the destination, Zhang Heng silently made mental notes about the sounds he could hear on the path that the carriage traveled on and its condition. After that, he reached an agreement with the priestess, and he was busy working as an advisor for Commodus. Hence, he did not look for the secret location at that time.
And now he needed to reconnect with the Balance Blade. The only way to achieve such a goal was to look for their secret location. Later, Zhang Heng looked for Marcus and asked the latter to get a carriage for him. In order to reenact the scene on that night as much as possible, Zhang Heng even ordered a carriage that was exactly the same as the one he had laid in before. Once that was done, Zhang Heng asked Marcus to drive to the arch bridge by the Tiber River in the middle of the night.
This was the spot where Zhang Heng got on the carriage that night. If he wanted to retrace the path he traveled on, he had to start his journey from the exact same spot. After that, he would need to dig deep into his memory and look for the place where he met the priestess.
However, that night’s first attempt ended up in failure. This was because it rained in the afternoon and the water had changed the road’s condition. Even if there were only a slight deviation, it would greatly affect the location of the bumps and the sound that he heard on the paths. So, Zhang Heng had to wait until the next day to do it again. The day after tomorrow was the day for him to inspect the barracks with Commodus. In other words, Zhang Heng could not afford to fail again tonight. Otherwise, he would not be able to contact the Balance Blade before he inspected the barracks.
Fortunately, he was quite lucky today. Not only did it not rain, but the sun in the afternoon was quite strong as well. Without the moisture, Zhang Heng’s memory was no longer affected by external factors. Hence, Marcus drove the carriage, and Zhang Heng lay in the carding and instructed Marcus at the same time.
But even so, it took them four hours to look for the final destination, accompanied by constant trial and error.
Zhang Heng got off the carriage, looked at the domus in front of him, and asked Marcus on the side, “Do you know whose house this is?”
Marcus had apparently done some research in advance. He immediately replied, “The owner of this domus is Stucas, a young man from the Corasu family. It is said that he rarely comes here for about two years now. There is only an old servant who lives here.”
Zhang Heng nodded, “I can do the rest alone. You can go back now.”
Marcus did not ask much after that. He turned around and left with the carriage. This was what Zhang Heng admired about him the most. He knew very well what he should be asking and what he shouldn’t. While waiting for Marcus to leave his sight completely, Zhang Heng put on a hood.
This was a special time. Let’s not talk about whether there were Balance Blade’s members in the domus. Even if this place was a secret stronghold for the priestess, Zhang Heng decided it was better he covered himself up after knowing that there were traitors in the Balance Blade.
After that, he jumped over the wall and landed in the front hall.
And as soon as he landed, the hair on his body stood on its ends. He could feel that someone was about to stab his waist with a dagger. Fortunately, Zhang Heng’s reflexes were fast enough. Earlier, he had been working hard to improve his footing, and his hard work allowed him to dodge the attack in time. However, the enemy had no intention to stop, becoming even more aggressive instead. He drew another dagger to charge at Zhang Heng again.
And Zhang Heng also drew out his two Persian swords and flicked them backward. They landed accurately on the attacker’s dagger. Zhang Heng’s response to the attack managed to stun the attackers for a split second. And Zhang Heng did not plan to waste this rare opportunity. When he finally turned around, he and saw the face of the attacker.
There was a veil covering the attacker’s face, and although Zhang Heng could not see the other person’s appearance, he recognized that it was the veiled woman from the perfume shop.
When the two met for the first time, Zhang Heng knew that this woman was also an assassin. However, he did not expect her to be so skillful. After fighting with her for a few rounds, he realized that her assassination skills were way better than Dadatis’.
Zhang Heng also speculated that she was most likely a core member of the Balance Blade.
The woman on the other side seemed to recognize Zhang Heng as well—not through his appearance but his moves.
“It appears Dadatis values you a lot. He taught you all his unique skills,” the woman said. “Of course, you are a fast learner as well. I saw how you fought in the Victor Arena when you were still a gladiator. Technically speaking, you shouldn’t have avoided my attack just now.”
Zhang Heng immediately thought of something. Dadatis had once told him that there were only four people who knew his identity. The woman in front of him was obviously not the priestess nor Faceless. So, there was only one possibility left. Zhang Heng raised his eyebrows.
“Are you Hyacinth?”
“It seems Dadatis has mentioned about me,” the woman wearing the veil said. “I’m very curious. What does he think of me?”
Zhang Heng could sense that Hyacinth and Dadatis had a rather complicated relationship. They were surely more than just friends. Therefore, Zhang Henng decided to help out Dadatis by saying something good.
“He said you are the best assassin ever.”
Hyacinth sneered when she heard what Zhang Heng said. “Save it. I know him well enough that he will never say such a thing. He did tell me about your unlimited potential. You are like an unpolished gem. If someone put in some hard work to train you well, you will surely become the strongest assassin in Rome.”
“Well…”
Zhang Heng was interrupted by Hyacinth before he could say anything. “But now it seems he was exaggerating. You haven’t been able to kill Altrus for so long. Even if you are a talented young man, you are definitely not limitless.
“If I remember correctly, didn’t you guys fail to get rid of him for a long time, too?” asked Zhang Heng. “You don’t even know what he looks like.”
“That was in the past. Now, we have found the opportunity to assassinate Altrus. In other words, you have failed your test. As for whether the organization will accept you in the future, you’ll need to wait for the evaluation after this event,” Hyacinth said casually.
“The opportunity that you are talking about is when Commodus inspects the barracks tomorrow, right? But as far as I know, Altrus’s physical condition does not allow him to appear in public.” Zhang Heng was not bothered by Hyacinth’s sarcastic tone.
“We know that the Altrus, who go with Commodus tomorrow to the barracks, is a fake.” Hyacinth’s answer surprised Zhang Heng. She paused at this point and continued, “Not only do we know that Altrus is fake, but we also know why the real Altrus would do something like this. Other than baiting us, he wanted to cover his true purpose as well.” Hyacinth put away her dagger while talking.
“Anyway, it’s impressive that you managed to find this place. Thank you for the information, especially the fact that Altrus is physically inconvenient. We will verify it when we find our target. Other than that, do you still have anything else you’d wish to talk about?” Although Hyacinth’s tone was still polite, her mannerism indicated that she did not want Zhang Heng to stay here any longer.
It was not because she was unhappy with him or anything. She actually had a more important thing to attend to.
After Zhang Heng saw the reactions from her body, he stopped talking. He just nodded and said, “Then I wish you all the best tomorrow.”
