It was now the fifteenth day of the twelfth lunar month. When the drifting clouds parted, a full moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the snow-covered ground until it shone like a giant mirror.
This was the coldest time of year in Kyoto, a period the common folk called "dog-freezing cold."
This year was especially, freakishly cold.
You could even hear the sound of the ice cracking under the extreme cold.
It was a sound like shattering glass—crisp and ethereal.
In temperatures like these, even the assassins from the East Sea couldn't lie in wait for long.
They had all undergone extremely rigorous training since childhood, which naturally included specialized exercises to endure the bitter cold.
But in such extreme low temperatures, lying in wait for too long would still severely impact their ability to act.
So, they had no choice but to take shifts, rotating in batches to maintain their hidden perimeter.
