Chapter 25: That Shapeshifter, Intimidating

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When she was done, she handed the bloodied kunai to Yoka and ordered for the same to be done to Silenthawk.

Yuzuru returned with Reika and Kii just as the leader of assassins let out an agonising, muffled scream. Each of them were carrying a bucket of hot, steaming water as they stepped into this gruesome scene.

Reika caught sight of Whitemoon’s face and recognised him at once. Her grip on her bucket turned slack and the hot water spilled out everywhere, turning the outer room into a sea of red.

She dropped to her knees, trembling. She tried to speak but no words came out. Her mouth opened and closed, revealing the remnants of a severed tongue, but no words came out.

They couldn’t.

Reika recognised the mercenary leader’s face. She had seen him directing the black-clad men who filled Karatsu Castle that fateful night.

He had been the one who chased after her and her mother to silence them before they could alert the guards.

In one swift motion, he caught her arm and cut off her tongue. Just as he was about to end her life, her mother had stepped in, wrapped her into a tight embrace and died in her place.

The last word the washerwoman ever said to her had been in the moment right after, when Whitemoon was distracted by the call of one of his men who had located the daimyo and his family.

‘R-Run,’ she said weakly, blood gurgling from the slit in her throat. ‘Run.’

A thin bloodied hand reached out and grasped her trembling one, squeezing tight. She turned her head mechanically to meet a familiar ink-black gaze.

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