Two days ago, beside the Bi Bo Lake behind the Comrce Guild headquarters in Xichang District, a middle-aged man with a golden-embroidered kasaya and a bald head sat calmly by the shore, fishing.
A man dressed in a silver kasaya, with a muscular build and a fierce face, bowed and said:
"Big Brother, the situation is roughly as follows. What do you think? Should we take further action?"
Pei Ruohai, the president of Xichang District, lay on a bamboo chair, eyes closed, and replied:
"At this point, with Lei Qiong heavily injured, we already have enough of an advantage. What more do you want to do?"
Vice President Pei Ruotao answered:
"I'm just worried about that Elder Ji Qinglin. If he really has so abilities... you know, this is a once-in-a-lifeti opportunity, it's better to ensure nothing goes wrong."
Pei Ruohai reminded him:
"What you do is up to you, but there’s one thing to rember: right now, New East Street doesn't know who injured Lei Qiong, their people are still investigating. If you leave any clues behind, it will be troubleso when you end up taking the fall for soone else."
"Understood, I'll do my best, but not force anything. Big Brother, who do you think could be the one who severely injured Lei Qiong?"
Upon hearing this question, Pei Ruohai, who had been resting his eyes, opened them:
"Anyone who could injure Lei Qiong like that but not kill him isn't likely from the Four Guilds. If they aren't one of the Nine Heroes, soone with that kind of power... it might be related to the Immortal’s corpse."
"Big Brother, are you saying the person who stole your Immortal’s corpse could also be the one who heavily injured Lei Qiong?"
"It’s too early to make a final judgnt. You’d better focus on preparing for the Cultivation Tournant."
"Yes."
After gauging the boundaries of their actions, Pei Ruotao didn't use the guild's resources but instead used 20,000 from his own assets to anonymously hire a skilled assassin.
He figured that killing Ji Qinglin, who might beco a problem, would also put his mind at ease regarding the Cultivation Tournant.
Even if Ji Qinglin had so abilities, he probably wouldn’t be able to reach the Grandmaster level. Hiring a Grandmaster-level assassin would guarantee his death, or at the very least a severe injury.
However, it was necessary to hire an outsider, soone unaware of the internal relationships between the guilds. Anyone familiar with the guilds could leave hidden dangers.
In the end, Pei Ruotao chose the infamous "Two-Faced Blade Demon" in the wilderness, an assassin who specialized in killing experts. He was cautious, always working with his own team, ensuring a high success rate.
The assassin, Killing Zhi, didn’t hesitate after hearing the task. He hadn’t heard of Ji Qinglin, but since the heads of New East Street were up for grabs, he took the deposit and quickly accepted the job. The next day, he and his three subordinates arrived at the hotel near the Ji Family General Store to stake it out.
Upon discovering only a master and disciple in the store, Killing Zhi, dressed in a black robe, cautiously decided not to rush in but to wait for a better opportunity.
The next day, upon seeing the female disciple return alone, he imdiately sent his newly recruited team mber, Jiao Yang, to probe the situation. If conditions allowed, Jiao Yang was to kill the female disciple first. If things went wrong, he should retreat imdiately and bring back the information.
Jiao Yang was average in strength, but he could easily escape from a fragile female disciple.
What the assassins didn’t expect was that after Jiao Yang entered, he never ca out again.
Strangely, there was no sound of fighting from outside. It seed as though Jiao Yang had defected once inside.
After a while, Ji Qinglin returned, humming a tune. He entered the store in a calm manner, as though nothing had happened.
Where was Jiao Yang?
The body wasn’t visible, but blood-red liquid was already flowing from the nearby drain. The remaining three assassins, all seasoned killers, imdiately darkened their faces.
Chen Sun, who was carrying a blood-red chanical arm known as the "Heart Extraction Hand," whispered:
"Boss, sothing feels off."
Killing Zhi adjusted his black cloak and nodded:
"Not a single sound. Jiao Yang isn’t this useless. Perhaps there’s so sort of trap in the store. Could it be a black market? No wonder the task pays so well. It seems the target is not simple."
Yang Qu, with his throat-cutting blades, said:
"The problem is, we don’t usually operate on New East Street, and we’re unfamiliar with their situation. The employer didn’t give us much detail about this kid’s background."
Killing Zhi felt as though Yang Qu was blaming him, the leader, and retorted:
"If I told you everything, would you be worth this much?"
"Boss, what do you an?"
Killing Zhi had survived in this line of work thanks to one rule: never act without enough intelligence.
After thinking for a mont, Killing Zhi gave an order:
"Look for assassins who’ve worked in New East Street on the dark web. Their records should be high, and the task should be recent."
Chen Sun asked:
"Boss, what are you thinking?"
Killing Zhi explained:
"This target is not simple. Let’s see if we can find any assassins with experience here. If they’re capable, we’ll hand the job over to them. After all, this job pays well. There’s no need for us to take risks. If we find soone with enough information, we can collaborate and share the proceeds."
"Great idea!"
Soon, Yang Qu found the perfect candidate.
"Boss, this Huang Silang is a good match. He’s never failed a job, and his most recent kill was Feitian Mantis Duan Tianpeng in New East Street. It wasn’t too long ago, so he must be familiar with the area. However, his profile mostly lists wanted criminals. There might not be any room for cooperation."
Killing Zhi glanced at the reply and responded:
"Not bad. Duan Tianpeng was a freak, but his skills were solid. Don’t worry about the profile. It’s just for outsiders. Based on Huang Silang’s frequency of accepting tasks, it’s obvious he’s short on money.
I’m sure he’s taken on plenty of other jobs privately but hasn’t listed them. And the target, Ji Qinglin, isn’t a simple person. He might even be a reford wanted criminal. Let’s contact him and see if he’s willing to take this job. We’ll talk money, and there’s no need for us to take any risks."
Yang Qu was worried:
"Boss, what if Huang Silang refuses to help and then warns them? Wouldn’t that alert the target?"
"No worries. Anyway, after Jiao Yang went in, the grass was already stirred up. If we make a big enough noise, even if we fail to kill the target, the employer will be satisfied with the result we got from the deposit. Let’s contact him and try."
Yang Qu and Chen Sun agreed. They quickly contacted "Huang Silang."
————————
Looking at the private task sent to him to have Huang Silang assassinate Ji Qinglin, Ji Qinglin and Yu Ye, his disciple, exchanged a confused glance.
Yu Ye furrowed her brow slightly and whispered:
"Master, has your identity been exposed? Is soone intentionally targeting you?"
Ji Qinglin thought to himself, this shouldn’t be the case. Besides going to the Dark Police, I haven’t revealed myself anywhere else.
Lei Qiuyun and Yu Jizi might know sothing, but they wouldn’t know Huang Silang on the dark web.
Could it be Qian Feng? No, judging by her temperant, she’d be more likely to co straight for the kill.
"Not necessarily. Let’s first see what kind of people we’re dealing with."
"Master, how should we respond?"
If it’s fake, and soone is playing gas with us, there’s no harm in replying however we want. If it’s real, then we’ll need to get so information and approach cautiously. Ji Qinglin glanced at the body in the corner and instructed Yu Ye to respond:
"It’s possible, but Ji Qinglin is extrely dangerous. You must not act in his store. He must be lured out for a chance. 5000 is far too little. At least 8000."
A quick reply ca soon after:
"Deal!"
Seeing the quick agreent, Ji Qinglin shook his head, sighing regretfully:
"D*mn! I should have asked for more money!"
Mad Ye: Your master is ruthless, even selling himself when necessary.
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