"He's Xu Xiaoshou!" Shao Yi said telepathically. His tone was utterly serious.

"He's not Xu Xiaoshou!" Feng Kong glared at that figure on top of that fake mountain. "Xu Xiaoshou was at level eight. This one is at level nine."

​​

"He made a breakthrough!"

"Hehe, is there such a coincidence?"

"He doesn't dare to turn around! His silhouette matches Xu Xiaoshou's description almost entirely! His level of powers is definitely not at Innate level! He's wearing white clothes, and no assassin would be stupid enough to wear white!"

Shao Yi bombarded his partner with all that information, which he knew that Feng Kong would be able to process within a breath's time. Feng Kong would able to even speculate more than what he put forth.

Yet, he deemed it necessary to word his opinion nonetheless. He needed his partner to give him the greenlight.

Even if said greenlight would have plunged Shao Yi into a whole lot of trouble in just an instant, it would nonetheless allow Feng Kong to escape.

"Could it be truly as simple as it looks?"

Feng hesitated. He had to admit that he was stunned.

He was frozen in place, even if that man before him had a 99 percent chance of being Xu Xiaoshou.

Yet, he couldn't help but wonder what if that wasn't his target.

All the crater on the ground, a main house that was nowhere to be found, and someone was clearly in the compound yet no one answered the door.

He wondered what caused all of that.

Shao Yi was totally fine having Feng Kong throwing him into the fire and risk it, yet he wondered if he should or could be so cold-blooded.

If that man before them was not Xu Xiaoshou, then he would most probably be some terrifying figure who was even more capable than he was at concealing his powers, possibly even some among those 33 from the Inner Yard who had disappeared for a long time.

If he were to keep his hands to himself, catching sight of that silhouette would nonetheless allow him to live.

If he were to make a move, it would have given that man a reason to end them both right there and then.

He wondered if that was a fair price to pay for someone like Xu Xiaoshou.

Shao Yi was getting restless, after not hearing anything from his partner.

Feng Kong is hesitating!

He was stunned to find that his partner was actually hesitating.

It was worth noting that hesitation on the job was something terrifying to a professional killer.

Booom!

Flashes of lightning were seen in the sky and the rain became even heavier.

The compound was all silent, with only rustling noises were heard.

The man on that fake mountain remained silent, and the two who were puzzled as to what they got themselves into were silent as well. Both parties probably had a lot of questions going on in their minds, yet both parties knew one thing very well.

The first one to speak first, loses.

…

Doubted, Passive Points +1.

Doubted, Passive Points +1.

Doubted, Passive Points +1.

"…"

The Information Bar had lines rolling over and over. Hundreds of messages were actually seen in less than a minute.

Who is that mysterious guy standing on top of that fake mountain…

Do you even need to ask?

That's Xu Xiaoshou, of course!

His reason for being dressed in white? He couldn't get changed in time!

Why wouldn't he turn around? That's because he's Xu Xiaoshou!

Yet, why did he dare to stand before both of us?

Well, that's because he couldn't do anything else!

Xu Xiaoshou's legs were actually wobbling at the moment. If the two of them were to attack right away, he probably wouldn't be able to evade in time.

Yet, from what he could tell from his earlier observations, those two were…

Very patient, meticulous, and wouldn't act before making sure of things.

All of that being signs that they were trained killers.

At the same time, both of them were definitely capable of complex thoughts. At the very least, he could tell that the one at the rear was around, forcing both of them to speculate even more.

They definitely would speculate more. That's just how it'd be!

It was rather ironic that his compound was in such a state because he was being impudent with testing his attacks before, yet that state of things around was the thing that saved him at the moment.

He wondered if he could have them think what he wanted them to think, having them think what he let them think about what they were thinking or not thinking, and then think more on what to think, so as cause them to think even more and then confuse their thinking…

Xu Xiaoshou was feeling rather dizzy.

He knew very well that he had to think, for that was his only way out of this predicament at the moment.

One way or another, the two of them were very smart and very, very highly trained fighters. Fighting such people head on would be akin to throwing eggs at a stone wall. As such, he had to resort to smarts.

The question whether he could remain alive would be dependent on how much of his brains that he could use.

His strategy was to intimidate them so as to be able to firmly be on the offense, to have them think that he was someone else, based on bits of information that he fed them one way or another.

He was doing so as to have them ask themselves.

Who is he actually? If he's Xu Xiaoshou, why would he dare to stand before both of us? What causes the compound to look like this?

If he isn't Xu Xiaoshou, then he would be someone here to kill Xu Xiaoshou, which explains what happens in the compound. But we ran into him somehow and his powers are far above us, yet why isn't he killing us to silence us right away?

Xu Xiaoshou was feeling himself shaking inside out.

He had to keep his identity constantly shifting between the two at all times, so to prevent them from getting an affirmative answer. That was the only way to keep them speculating, and then keep being confused.

He wondered if he could really speculate what both of them were thinking without error.

That would be impossible.

As such, he kept quiet as well, so as to prevent giving his true identity off.

He saw that at times, giving possibilities to rule out when dealing with clever people, would bring about unexpected results instead.

As such, he simply said some enigmatic sounding things, and that was enough to cause the information in his mind to refresh like crazy. He knew that he partially succeeded in what he was trying to do.

Even if his chances of being able to intimidate them into inaction were 99 percent, if they were to try to attack him instead, he would definitely be doomed.

As such, he had to think about what to do next.

Truth to be told though…

He didn't know what else to do.

While he was having his back against them, his Sense allowed him to clearly perceive their facial expression, which served as his greatest weapon at the moment.

The silence between both parties continued. All three of them had their own agenda. Both parties were waiting for the other to speak first.

The 'doubted' lines in his mind dwindled considerably and he was getting very anxious.

Those two assassins were clearly more patient than he imagined, so much so that he was unable to find any way to misdirect them further.

This can't go on any longer. I have to say something. If I wait any longer, it'd be them going on their second round to verify who I am instead.

But… what should I say?

He knew that what he was about to say next would determine if he would live or die, and he hesitated.

"Heh, so you two are here to kill Xu Xiaoshou as well?" He lowered his voice.

"It's a pity that you came late." The line was enigmatic.

What the hell was that?

I'm practically telling them that I've just killed the guy myself! Gosh, only idiots would do that.

…

Feng Kong kept his gaze locked on that man on the fake mountain, not letting any bit of information slip past him.

Sweat and rainwater drenched the back of his head. He was shivering from inside out.

He was still in his belief that the man before them was Xu Xiaoshou, yet despite their steely performance, he wondered why nonetheless.

Why is that guy still able to keep himself up like that!?

He gave a very subtle look at his partner, who accepted the message right away.

Move!

"Hah?"

A sarcastic snicker that was very flighty, yet it stopped Shao Yi from moving nonetheless. The man on that fake mountain then lowered his head and mumbled, "you're running out of patience then…"

Both of them were able to hear what he just said, yet the sarcasm in his tone was unmistakable.

He acted like he was playing a game of cat and mouse with them, that their fates were sealed and that he simply enjoyed watching his prey struggle.

Feng Kong's pupils contracted and he was shivering all over.

He is able to see!

That guy hasn't even turn around yet. Just how is he able to tell that extremely subtle communication between me and Shao Yi?

"Are we going to get him or what?" Shao Yi was going crazy.

He could an oaf and still be able to tell that both of them were playing psychological games, yet it was a game that he couldn't be a part of, so he could only wait for Feng Kong's signal.

At present.

That signal was lost again.

Oh, for the sake of the heavens!

Shao Yi was at the edge of going nuts.