Chapter 54
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Chapter 54: Assassin
“What does the guest want to buy?”
In a small shop in CityWest City called Yunzhong, Cao Yang looked at the unfamiliar face entering the door and spoke. After lurking for years, he also needed to make a living. So, he opened a workshop in the city, but his skills were not great. He could only make some low-level magical tools, barely making ends meet.
“I want to create a flying sword. It should be three feet long…”
“No problem. This flying sword only needs one hundred and twenty spirit stones.”
“This is the deposit.”
The person was very generous, leaving a letter with spirit stones in a box, placing it in front of Cao Yang, and then saying a few words before leaving.
Cao Yang picked up the spirit stones in the box and found a piece of paper underneath. He took it as well. Walking into the shop, he read the contents of the paper, and his face immediately changed.
After thinking for a moment, Cao Yang closed the shop and headed home. When he arrived, a little girl happily hugged his leg and called out “Dad” in a blurry voice.
Seeing the little girl, Cao Yang smiled and lifted her up, spinning her around, making the child giggle. He also took out some snacks, making her even happier.
“You’re giving her candy again? All her teeth will be rotten.”
“If they rot, they rot. I’ll buy some elixirs later, and they’ll grow back.”
“Why did you come back so early today? I haven’t cooked dinner yet.”
Zhang Ruifang said. During the day, Cao Yang took care of the store, and he usually came back at night. Coming back in broad daylight—was there something he needed to do?
“The organization has issued a new mission.”
“What is it?”
Upon hearing this, Zhang Ruifang was incredibly shocked. They had been undercover for several years, and the organization hadn’t given any updates. They even wondered if the organization had disappeared. But now, there was news again.
“This time, the mission is to assassinate a cultivator in the Building Foundation Period named Wen Xing. We have half a year to complete it, and the commission is fifty thousand spirit stones. Within three days, we will receive ten thousand spirit stones as a deposit.”
“Wen Xing… Wen Xing… He’s a disciple of the Pill King.”
Zhang Ruifang’s complexion turned pale. This was a mission that would lead to their deaths. Wen Xing was a disciple of the Pill King. Would it be easy to kill him? And even if they managed to do so, they would likely struggle to escape.
“I know, but we can’t refuse the organization’s mission. If we refuse, we will be the ones who die.”
“Cao Yang, we’re done. Let’s go. Yun State is so big—no one can find us. We can leave Yun State and start a new life in another state.”
“Xiao Fang, do you think we can escape? You know how deep the organization’s influence is.”
“No matter how strong the organization is, they can’t compare to Zhonghang Sect and Cloud Sword Sect. They can’t reach outside the state.
Cao Yang, you have to think about our child. If we die, what will happen to our child? We’re not alone anymore.”
Zhang Ruifang said. She was completely different from years ago. She used to be a cold-blooded killer, but now she was a mother.
Her child was only two years old. If they died, the child would surely die too.
“It’s because of our child that we must complete this mission. Fifty thousand spirit stones are a lot—several times more than our previous missions.”
Cao Yang said. He didn’t want to run away. He and his wife didn’t have many skills. Their abilities in pill-making, talismans, item forging, and formations were very poor. Their alchemy shop couldn’t make much money—only enough for food.
But they were cultivators. They needed to cultivate, not just survive. Cultivation required a lot of resources.
Now that they had a son, he hoped his son would become a powerful cultivator in the future. Therefore, resources were essential.
“Cao Yang, have you thought about what will happen to our child if we die?”
“Yes, I have thought about it.
But what I consider more is—if we don’t have money, what will happen to our child?
And what about you and me? Do you really want to spend the rest of our lives like this?
Don’t you want to seek revenge for your brother? For my mother?”
“Revenge, revenge… Your mind is full of revenge! Do you even know who your enemy is?
After investigating for so many years, have you found your enemy?”
Zhang Ruifang suddenly exploded, angrily shouting at Cao Yang, who fell into silence.
She was right. He didn’t know who the enemy was.
Back then, his mother, White Snow, and Zhang Ruifang’s older brother had set up stalls in the large market. Later, they were tempted by other independent cultivators to explore the Yunzhong Mountain Range in search of the remains of previous cultivators.
They never came back.
At that time, Cao Yang was still practicing at home and hadn’t even met those people.
Although Zhang Ruifang had seen them, she couldn’t find those independent cultivators. The mobility of Yunzhong City’s independent cultivators was very high, so it was highly likely that their enemy had already died.
Later, Cao Yang went to the Yunzhong Mountain Range to find his mother. He encountered danger and was taken in by the Dark Night Organization.
It was then that he met Zhang Ruifang, and the two of them realized the fate that connected them.
“Xiao Fang, don’t get excited.”
“Why can’t I be excited? You’re my man. What will I do if you die? What will happen to our child?”
“But…”
Cao Yang didn’t know how to respond at first. He was willing to take on this task, and one big reason was that he didn’t want to live such a dull life.
Cultivators truly need resources. With resources, he could improve his skills and live a better life. The past few years of plain living had made him very depressed.
Now, they didn’t have much savings left. If they didn’t take on tasks, in two years, they wouldn’t even be able to afford a meal. The cost of living in Yunzhong City was too high.
When Zhang Ruifang saw how determined Cao Yang was, she didn’t press further. He didn’t plan to say these heartfelt words aloud.
He was a man.
Since he was someone’s husband and father, he would bear all of this.
“Senior Wen, would you like to buy a spiritual talisman?”
At West City Market, Lin Jiang looked at Wen Xing and spoke.
“Do you know me?”
Wen Xing raised an eyebrow, staring at the cultivator selling spiritual talismans in front of him.
“Senior Wen is a disciple of Pill King Li Ruoxu, and Li Ruoxu is a guiding light for us independent cultivators on the path of cultivation. How many independent cultivators in Yunzhong City don’t know Senior?”
Lin Jiang replied.
Knowing Wen Xing wasn’t strange.
Not knowing him would be.
As a relatively unknown independent cultivator, that was the right response.
“What is your name?”
“Lin Yang.”
“Lin Yang, Lin Yang… Do you know Lin Yu?”
“I know several people named Lin Yu. I don’t know which one you are referring to.”
“Like you, he is a talisman seller, probably around fifty or sixty years old, or possibly in the Building Foundation Period.”
“Then I don’t know him. The Lin Yus I know are at the Qi Refining stage, but it’s been a long time since I last saw them. I don’t know if they’re still alive.
May I ask why you are looking for this Lin Yu?”
“Riches and fame don’t make one happy. It’s like wearing fancy clothes in the dark.
That young man played tricks on me in the past, so naturally, I wanted revenge,” Wen Xing said.
He already knew.
It was that Lin Yu who had called several of his beautiful female friends to the big market, causing him to fail in love.
If it hadn’t been such a big deal, he probably wouldn’t be in the situation he was in now.
Of course, his revenge wasn’t about killing someone, but about humiliating him deeply.
To make him regret not helping back then.
Do you regret it?
If you had helped me, you would have had a friend in the Building Foundation Period—maybe even had the opportunity to get close to Li Ruoxu.
“If you’re seeking revenge, then I won’t get involved. I’m just a talisman seller, trying to make a living,” Lin Jiang replied.
But in his heart, he rolled his eyes.
“Hmph, you’re still holding grudges? Do you know how many people you’ve offended? How many people’s goddesses you’ve ruined? If you hadn’t made it onto Li Ruoxu’s list, you would’ve been killed long ago.”
“Don’t talisman sellers know how to chat like you?”
“Senior, please don’t involve us little people in matters between experts like you. We can’t afford it.”
“It’s boring.”
“Senior, won’t you buy a few talismans?”
“Go away.”
“Alright.”
Lin Jiang shut his mouth and watched as Wen Xing approached other talisman sellers to chat.
Lin Jiang touched his own face.
Luckily, he had practiced the Disguise Skill. Otherwise, he would have been exposed easily.
*”We need to learn the skill of disguise. Otherwise, we will end up offending people sooner or later.
And sometimes, we have to be cowardly when the time comes.”*
Lin Jiang thought to himself.
For someone like him, who constantly changed identities, the skill of disguise was extremely important.
After returning home, he would continue to study disguise techniques.
Ideally, to a level where no one could recognize him.
