He bent down and picked up the jade box. Upon opening it, he found a withered herb inside, emitting a faint fragrance.
However, the aura of this herb was not what he had sensed earlier. Could there be something peculiar about the box itself? Time was precious, so he put the box away and asked, "Old Ren, can I take this?"
Ren Ping smiled and replied, "Taking two or three items is fine, but don't take too many, or it will be obvious."
Ye Tian looked around the room again but found nothing else of particular interest. Six minutes had already passed.
He said, "Let's go to where the weapons are kept." After years of martial arts practice, he still didn't have a decent weapon.
Ren Ping chuckled, "It's right here."
He led Ye Tian to a room door. Upon opening it, Ye Tian saw that it was indeed filled with all sorts of weapons. After a brief scan, his gaze fell upon a short saber on a wooden rack.
The scabbard of the saber was made of sharkskin, and the hilt was wrapped with silver threads. He drew the blade, which was about half a meter long and emitted a faint red glow. A chilling aura made him shiver slightly.
"A good saber!" he exclaimed.
Ren Ping smiled, "Take it if you like it."
The two of them left the room. Only two minutes remained, and Ye Tian didn't want to be too hasty. He said, "Let's go upstairs."
Ren Ping replied, "Alright. Come back and look around next time you have time."
Leaving the office, Ye Tian drove, and the two headed to Ren Ping's home.
As they approached the residential area, Ye Tian suddenly stopped the car and said, "Let's settle this here. It's not good to do it at home; it might scare the children."
Ren Ping's expression turned serious. "The assassins have arrived?"
Ye Tian replied, "Wait for me in the car."
He parked the car by the roadside and then stood in front of it, his gaze fixed on the green belt on one side of the road. This green belt was about ten meters wide and planted with many trees and flowers.
"Come out. We have to meet eventually."
A person in black emerged, their face masked, with three swords at their waist. Their attire suggested they were a standard ninja. The only distinguishing feature was the embroidery of five bright red cherry blossoms on the cuff of their right sleeve.
Ninjas were skilled in assassination, yet this one walked out openly and stood before Ye Tian.
Ye Tian merely glanced at him before suddenly retreating. A beam of saber light flashed towards Ren Ping inside the car. As the saber light approached, with a sharp clang, Ye Tian made his move.
The saber light flashed and then stopped midway, violently flying back. It turned out that the person who had appeared was merely a distraction to draw Ye Tian's attention, while the real assassin was hidden to the side.
Fortunately, Ye Tian had sensed it earlier and had timely intervened.
Before their blades could clash, the opponent suddenly retreated, and a cloud of smoke erupted, obscuring their figure.
Ye Tian unleashed several golden needles from mid-air. These needles were propelled by his true energy, moving with incredible speed and silence. The person within the smoke felt a numbness in their chest and let out a muffled groan.
Then, Ye Tian struck with a palm strike in mid-air, causing the air to thunder. The smoke instantly dispersed. A man in black lay on the ground, his body stiff and unable to move.
Ye Tian, not entirely at ease, threw a few more golden needles before approaching to examine the ninja.
Not far away, the first ninja who had appeared had already turned and fled.
Ye Tian paid him no mind. He kicked the ninja's cervical spine, rendering him incapable of counter-attack. The ninja let out a pained cry, his face turned pale, and his eyes were filled with venom.
Ye Tian sneered, "You, a Xiantian Wu Wang, dare to be so presumptuous in front of me!"
Ren Ping asked through the car window, "Little brother, can I get out?"
Ye Tian replied, "Come down. Call your people to take him away."
Ren Ping chuckled and got out of the car. He said, "Brother, this person is a high-ranking ninja, likely the 'Ghost Ninja,' ranked third among the Twelve Constellations!"
Ye Tian asked, "Was there a bounty on him?"
Ren Ping smiled, "Of course, and the amount was even larger than the previous one."
Ye Tian nodded. "That's good."
Ren Ping continued, "With two Constellation assassins lost consecutively, Yong Ye will likely reassess. I wonder if they will deploy a Divine-level assassin?"
Ye Tian replied, "Don't worry, I told you, you won't die as long as I'm here."
Ren Ping said, "But they are Divine-level assassins after all."