The assassins came over the outer wall in three places at once, full dark, no warning beyond a single snapped tripwire near the eastern watchpost. Wei Liang was already moving before the second alarm bell finished ringing, cutting through the courtyard toward the medicine hall where Shen Yue slept.
He reached the corridor just as a figure in plain gray dropped from the roofline, blade already drawn, moving with a precision that had nothing amateur in it.
"Not sect trained," Xu said instantly. "Watch the footwork. That's a killing style, built for silence and speed, not sanctioned combat forms."
The assassin struck fast, three rapid cuts aimed at throat, ribs, and knee in the same breath, forcing Wei Liang backward before he could set his stance. He caught the third strike on his forearm
