Chapter 100 – Secrets

Slowly sinking to the bottom of the lake, Jun Mo Xie opened his eyes to a world of azure colored water. After reorienting himself, he proceeded to slowly walk toward the pleasure boat. It was not long before the water had turned pitch dark, indicating that he had already arrived underneath the boat. Jun Mo Xie silently floated up before reaching out with one hand to tightly hold on to the hull. The reed held in his other hand was placed in his mouth and, with a sharp exhalation, the long piece of reed quietly extended out of the water by the side of the boat. A breath of fresh air filled Jun Mo Xie’s nearly asphyxiated lungs and a burst of relaxation involuntarily rush through his body.

A single careless mistake in this series of maneuvers and all his efforts would have gone down the drain. His targets would certainly become alert to his presence and possibly even try to kill him, leading to a fatal disaster!

Jun Mo Xie took no further actions and only waited motionlessly without showing any signs of impatience. His previous anxiety and misgivings have all but disappeared. He no longer worried in his heart whether the assassins will board the boat. Since he had already selected his targets, there is no room for regret!

Intuition! He firmly believes that the assassins will come on this boat!

Therefore, he was endlessly patient. As long as he can breathe, he will wait. It was just like in his previous life when he had to rely on his intuition to pursue murderers or hide from his enemies. At this moment, he is the King of Assassins! Jun Xie!

After some time passed, there finally came the sound of a young lady’s delicate laugh and the echoes of boorish men talking and laughing. As people embarked, the boat swayed, and the thudding of footsteps could be heard coming from above Jun Mo Xie.

One, two...six individuals!

Jun Mo Xie counted in silence. It seemed that three more people had joined the party of assassins that have arrived earlier.

Once the party had boarded the boat, their distinctive cold aura suddenly caused a reaction in Jun Mo Xie’s mind. In this ice-cold water, the cold killing intent made Jun Mo Xie feel a sense of familiarity.

This is my world!

The extravagant life of a noble—the glory, splendor, and wealth—admittedly was very comfortable, but Jun Mo Xie was the King of Assassins. He yearned to be unfettered like the king of wolves, arrogantly howling among a vast expanse of rolling grassland. Even if danger lurks around every corner, he still chose to be a king looking down on the world!

Suffering leads to growth; the lonely enjoys the loneliness. A solitary shadow charging into the unknown, brandishing his sword in defiance of the heavens. Ten steps to kill a person, a thousand miles without leaving a trace!

This is Jun Mo Xie’s grandest dream.

Unfortunately, it is uncertain whether Jun Mo Xie will have such an opportunity in his current body.

No one spoke after entering the boat’s cabin. Only the sounds of teacups softly touching followed by the “sipping and slurping” of tea and the occasional gentle laughter of a young lady could be heard.n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

It was only after some time had passed when a hoarse voice spoke up. “Lady Yue’er, do you know when Lord Liu will arrive? My brothers have been waiting here and we’ll get nowhere like this. The assassination attempt on the Princess is a serious criminal charge! There is still an ongoing manhunt in the city! That incident hasn’t even died down yet and we are already tasked with safekeeping these priceless Xuan beast tendons. If by any chance something was to happen...this one...”

A girl’s delicate laugh was heard before she voiced out unperturbed. “Hall Master Zhao, is there such cause for alarm? This is the Ni Chang Pavilion. Don’t tell me that you are now aware of what kind of place Ni Chang Pavilion is?

“There will naturally not be any mishaps here at Ni Chang Pavilion, but we can never be too careful! The failed assassination attempt has already put us on edge and backed up against a wall. With the many delays and the Xuan beast tendons now in our possession, it really would not be wise to stay any longer in Tianxiang!” The one surnamed Zhao was feeling somewhat embarrassed but replied nonetheless.

“So Hall Master Zhao is only thinking of washing his hands of this problematic situation. Perhaps the reason isn’t just some manhunt! What do you have to say about your failure? Don’t tell me the Hall Master plans on shifting the responsibility at this point?!...” The young lady chided derisively. Hall Master Zhao only gave a snort and did not open his mouth to retort.

However, one of his men spat in contempt. “Lady Yue’er, your words are too unfair. Surely we are not the only ones at fault for the previous mission’s failure. If the intelligence you provided had not been wrong, would we have returned having failed so dramatically? If we had known earlier that a Sky Xuan expert accompanied the princess, would our organization have planned the assassination like so? The mission difficulty is clearly not a trifling grade 3! It was an impossible task to challenge a Sky Xuan expert with the strength of the members who were previously dispatched. We demand that Er Ye provide our Hall Master with an acceptable explanation for the losses we have suffered.

The young lady was silent for a moment and then slowly replied. “You received the money. Our side requested you to kill a princess with the strength of Silver Xuan, did we not? And we had spent considerable amount of resources to arrange for a majority of the strength by the princess’ side to be away at that time. It could even be said that we have create the ideal conditions for you. If this is still not enough for you to succeed, then it is obviously you that is lacking. As for the Sky Xuan expert...hehe, whether or not this person really appeared, is still your problem. We paid you for results and not excuses.”

After a brief pause, the sound of the young lady standing up could clearly be heard. Slowly pacing back and forth, a low but clear voice said. “I am but an insignificant young lady. Speaking to me regarding this business is not worth your while. Don’t be impatient. When Lord Liu arrives, you will have plenty of opportunity to speak to him yourself.” She sat down on a chair before picking up a cup of tea. For a moment, an incomparably awkward atmosphere filled the cabin.

The assassins were extremely angry after hearing the young lady’s sophistry. In the time that one of the assassins was about to flare up, the bow of the pleasure boat swayed slightly as two individuals made their way onboard.

The atmosphere in the cabin had shifted once again with the appearance of these two persons. Presumably, one of the new arrivals has a significant background and is certain to be a peak level expert.

Jun Mo Xie could sense his surrounding gradually dim—the onset of night. On both shores of the Spirit Fog Lake, all kinds of lanterns shine upon the water surface, all the colors in profusion, as if a scene from a dream.

“What is going on?” A profound and imposing voice asked after having felt the strange atmosphere in the cabin. The penetrating manner of speaking revealed an eminent status kind of bearing.

“Lord Liu, our Blood Sword Hall demand that you provide us with an explanation for the business regarding the previous assassination attempt.” The hoarse-voiced assassin leader continued without reservation. “Why were we not informed that a Sky Xuan expert is escorting and protecting Princess Ling Ming? Our forces were caught unaware and have been entirely wiped out. The losses we suffered this time were unprecedented for my Blood Sword Hall!”

“Oh? So according to Hall Master Zhao, the assassination mission was not completed but the fault lies with us instead?” Lord Liu said unflustered and seemingly with a smile. “Then with the Blood Sword Hall’s reputation, I’m sure we can renegotiate a lower payment for your lack of results.”

The assassin leader’s hoarse voice replied. “Lord Liu, you are an expert. How does this business have anything to do with the Blood Sword Hall’s reputation? Once our Blood Sword Hall accepted payment, regardless of whom, we have always killed with no mistakes! But the missions have always been conducted under the assumption that the employer provided accurate information to determine the degree of difficulty and then dispatch the appropriate task force to ensure one hit one kill!”

While he was speaking with such intense vehemence, Jun Mo Xie was actually down below almost despising him to death! An assassin, even one who is leading a seasoned assassin organization, naively trusts in their employer’s information? Truly ludicrous! Even if the employer’s information was accurate, the assassin organization and the assassins themselves need to vet the details! To blindly trust your employer is to gamble with your own lives!

The man continued to speak. “Whether you were purposefully concealing or just overlook this crucial piece of information, the fact remains that a Sky Xuan expert had been present! If our Grandmaster knew beforehand about the Sky Xuan expert’s participation, he would not have only sent two Gold Xuan level assassins! Perhaps our Grandmaster would have personally undertaken this mission! The reason the mission was not completed was because your information was not satisfactory—how can the blame be on my Blood Sword Hall? Not to mention that this assassination absolutely was not just a grade 3 mission!”

Although his tone was rather blunt and disrespectful, Lord Lie inexplicably was not angered. Instead he muttered to himself irresolutely for a while before asking. “Are you certain? That person...was actually a Sky Xuan expert?”

“I am absolutely certain!” The assassin leader nodded his head with extreme vigor. “The Sky Xuan expert’s flying daggers were dark blue in color so his level of cultivation must have reached a peak level. What’s more, the control he displayed was as light as a feather as if he hadn’t used any power, indicating that his intention was deterrence! This level of control is already nearing the legendary skills of the Supreme Divine Xuan level existence! I dare to guarantee that although this expert is still in the Sky Xuan Realm, he is but one step away from the doorsteps of the Supreme Divine Xuan Realm!”

The more the assassin leader spoke, the more fortunate he felt that he had not personally participated in the operation this time. Otherwise, he may very well already be an ice-cold corpse! At this point, he felt confident that he had actually been tiptoeing around the gates of hell. His heart has already grown suspicious of this “Lord Liu” sitting in front of him as his eyes slightly narrowed. You did not intentionally deceive us so that we’ll throw away our lives right?

“Sky Xuan...Sky Xuan peak level expert...” Lord Liu paced back and forth, creased his brows and thought to himself. “When did such a person appear in the capital? Why are they...so unconventional? Too abnormal!”

“Lord Liu? How should we proceed with this matter!” The black-clothed assassin had waited for a long time without speaking but finally had to ask.

“Yes? Oh, well...since you are sure about this matter, then this must be reported back to Er Ye.” Lord Liu muttered. “To have the protection of a Sky Xuan expert, ordinary assassination methods will be ineffective...” He raised his head to glance at the three men in front of him. Even though he did not speak, the implication is clear to those people that they are no longer adequate.

“What Lord Liu said is not wrong; we are also aware. With this Sky Xuan level expert present, just the few of us are incapable of assassinating the princess.” The assassin leader said, holding back his anger with great difficulty. “But people that cannot even produce accurate information don’t appear to be very useful either?!”

“Oh? Hahaha...,” Lord Liu trembled but immediately laughs before changing the topic of discussion. “But you did not even kill Jun Mo Xie, such an opportunity gone forever, is indeed a great pity!”