I Build a Shelter in the Eternal Night

The man said nothing more. Resigned to his fate, he swallowed the pill Shao Qiu handed him before dropping from the cliff face to the gorge floor.

He stood there, head bowed, staring at the ground.

In this line of work, getting caught was a death sentence.

He had no expectation of survival.

But as he’d been told, at least it would be a quick end.

...

"This is all of them."

Leaning on his Jade Staff, Chen Fan slowly descended from the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage. His gaze swept over the figures lying in pools of blood on the ground and the brown-clothed man standing at the front as Shao Qiu stepped forward to report.

"There are no other hidden Assassins."

"Mm."

After glancing around, Chen Fan spoke softly, "Shao Qiu, what’s your take on this assassination attempt? Score it for me."

"On a scale of one to ten... I’d give it a six."

Shao Qiu tilted his head, pondering for a moment before answering. "The overall execution was quite a spectacle. If you, Domain Lord, hadn’t detected the threat in advance, it might have actually been risky."

"Could the Dark Pavilion pull this off?"

"Not yet. They need more training."

The man standing beside Shao Qiu glanced up at him, a subtle emotion flickering in his eyes. He was surprised that Shao Qiu had rated his assassination attempt so highly—a six out of ten.

That wasn’t a low score.

Especially coming from the man who had snuck up behind him without making a sound.

It was a mark of respect.

Chen Fan didn’t press further about the Dark Pavilion. Instead, he turned to the brown-clothed man beside Shao Qiu and said in a low voice, "The questions I’m about to ask are the same ones I asked your accomplice inside the Dragon Carriage."

"If a single detail doesn’t match..."

"I won’t question you further. Others will be assigned to... entertain you."

"What power are you from, where is your main base, who planned this assassination, and what was its objective?"

The brown-clothed man began speaking without the slightest hesitation. He had already accepted his fate. From the moment he entered this profession, he knew this day would come. He asked for nothing more than to suffer a little less before he died.

"We’re from the Wind and Rain Tower."

"It’s a pure Assassin organization. Our main source of income is accepting bounty missions from other powers. The Wind and Rain Tower has established fronts in every city for accepting and issuing missions."

"Our members are scattered far and wide. Many Wind and Rain Tower Assassins have infiltrated other powers. We use secret codes to identify one another, allowing us to coordinate attacks from both inside and out, or use methods like poison."

"In addition to that—"

"The Wind and Rain Tower also has a group of core members, which includes all of us here. Core members undergo regular training annually on a desolate, uninhabited island. I don’t know its exact location; we’re always blindfolded when we get on and off the boat."

"That island is the Wind and Rain Tower’s main headquarters."

"The person who planned this assassination was the Wind and Rain Tower’s Young Master. I was responsible for leading the team and carrying it out."

"You were the target. I don’t know the ultimate goal of the assassination, but as far as I know, this wasn’t a bounty mission. It was a direct order from the Tower Master of the Wind and Rain Tower."

"Furthermore, there are other Wind and Rain Tower operatives near the Mortal Realm. They used a Meat Ghost Mother-Child Fruit to telepathically inform me that you had left Mortal City."

The next moment!

Suddenly, the man coughed up a mouthful of black blood. Dark lines appeared on his chest, spreading rapidly outward. He looked like he wanted to say more, but his body went completely rigid and he fell backward with a thud.

A few moments later.

He dissolved into a pool of foul-smelling black blood.

All the other nearby Assassins who were still alive also died violently, melting into pools of the same black blood.

...

"Heart-Devouring Gu."

Shao Qiu observed the scene calmly. "It’s an extremely vicious Gu Insect implanted near the heart. Once the mother Gu is activated, the child Gu awakens from its slumber, burrows into the heart, and detonates. The toxins it contains can melt a person from the inside out within moments."

"This type of Gu Insect is incredibly rare now."

"As far as I know..."

"You have to cultivate the child Gu by planting Poisonous Mulberry Leaves in Level 5 Farmland. The mother Gu, meanwhile, is a rare Gu Insect-type Exotic Beast. The people behind this are cleaning house."

"Domain Lord, let me handle this."

"I’ll take care of it. The Dark Pavilion needs a real mission, one that draws blood, before it can truly mature."

"..."

Chen Fan fell silent for a moment, his expression calm. He then said softly, "The Dark Pavilion isn’t strong enough yet. If I give you this task, there will be casualties."

"Domain Lord."

"A ship in port is safe, but that is not what ships are built for."

"The Dark Pavilion needs a mission that draws blood to mature quickly."

"Holing up in the Yunling Pavilion to practice Cultivation every day is pointless without real combat experience, no matter how high one’s Cultivation Speed is."

The next moment—

"What!"

An incredulous shout suddenly rang out. It came from Qi Yue, who was usually the picture of calm. Now, he looked as if he had seen a ghost, his eyes wide with shock. He quickly collected himself, lowered his head, and began to mutter.

"That explains it, that explains it... I was wondering how Zhou Mo’s Cultivation Speed was so fast."

"..."

"..."

Shao Qiu, realizing a moment too late that he had let the secret slip, dropped to one knee, his face a mask of guilt and frustration. "Domain Lord, I accept my punishment!"

"Sigh..."

Chen Fan sighed and waved his hand. "It’s alright. Qi Yue isn’t an outsider. I was planning to tell him as a surprise, you see. You’ve just spoiled it for me, that’s all."

"I’m entrusting this matter to you and the Dark Pavilion."

"Set out at once."

"Start by taking out the Wind and Rain Tower’s fronts in the other cities. See how they react. Do whatever it takes to find the location of their island."

"Understood!"

Shao Qiu nodded firmly. He then retreated a few steps and vanished into the shadows.