Both Nie Zeng and Tie Linglong thought that they had found the assassin first and rushed at him at the same time. Only Chu Nanping strictly adhered by the killer's principles and leaped into the assassin's route of retreat.
The two of them were obsessed with competing against each other and had forgotten that since the other side could sneak inside the heavily guarded camp, he couldn't have been an ordinary kung fu expert. Only when their narrow sabers unexpectedly missed their target did they become startled.
This wasn't the kind of assassin from Golden Roc Castle that always kept a low profile when performing a mission. After escaping from the two killers' attack, not only did the intruder not rush to run away, but he instead exposed himself by jumping to a nearby flagpole.