Chapter 155 - 119: Stealth, Assassination, Gathering Intelligence
Before the words were even out of his mouth.
The longsword stabbed out once more.
"Two transformations? Is that supposed to be impressive?"
He withdrew his longsword, shook his head, and continued toward the others.
...
"..."
"..."
In front of the old Chen Family estate in Jiangbei, a crowd of gawking onlookers had gathered. Qi Feng and his men, having just returned from outside the city, now stood among them. With complicated expressions, they watched Chen Fan move through the crowd, executing the people pinned to the ground one by one, like King Yama calling the roll.
"Chen Fan’s purge is too thorough."
Elder Xu, standing beside Qi Feng, said in a low voice.
This purge wasn’t just about revenge.
It was a statement.
Even his own family members would be pinned here to die if they offended him.
And it eliminated many hidden dangers.
There would be no more instances of him being coerced—for example, by having his family taken hostage to be used as leverage against him.
...
"And now, you."
Chen Fan, carrying his blood-stained longsword, walked up to a man in white robes and said casually, "Any last words before you go? Something like... ’I won’t let you go even as a ghost’?"
"I’m not from the Slaughter Immortal Holy Land!"
The white-robed man, prone on the ground, spoke with extreme speed, as if terrified he’d be killed the next second. "I’m a prisoner of the Slaughter Immortal Holy Land! They drew out one of my souls and trapped it in a Soul Token held by Yu Ning’Er! With that token, she controlled my life and death. If the token shatters, I die!"
"Yu Ning’Er is dead. Her Life Token has shattered, so the Slaughter Immortal Holy Land must already know."
"I don’t have a Life Token from the Slaughter Immortal Holy Land."
"He—"
The man in white quickly pointed to a beggar lying on the ground nearby. "He’s from the Slaughter Immortal Holy Land! One night during the rainy season, the Meat Worms’ Ghost Tide suddenly surged toward your Nameless Mountain—he was the one who did it! He’s a special Cultivator, a Windwalker, with the ability to summon great winds."
"I specialize in stealth, assassination, and intelligence gathering!"
"The Mortal Realm is just starting to rise; you must be short on this kind of personnel. Take me in, and I can build a team of subordinates for you, responsible for stealth and assassination."
"..."
Chen Fan stood there silently, his face devoid of expression. The longsword he had raised high in the air hung there, hesitating to strike.
Stealth.
Assassination.
Intelligence gathering.
These three skills hit his absolute sweet spot. The words resonated deep within him; the temptation was simply too great.
’If...’
’If the Mortal Realm had a group of people responsible for stealth, assassination, and intelligence gathering... just the thought of it was wonderful. A faction’s reach was largely determined by the efforts of such people.’
He had an edge over other factions: he had the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage.
But he couldn’t just cruise around in the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage every day. Most of the time, he had to stay at his main base. Besides, the cost of using the Nine-Five Dragon Carriage was far too high.
He lowered his longsword, strode over to Yu Ning’Er’s corpse, and after patting her down for a moment, he did indeed pull a token engraved with the character for "Soul" from a pocket in her dudou. On the back, the face of the man in white was faintly visible.
A panel appeared.
-
「Exotic Treasure Name」: Soul Token.
「Exotic Treasure Level」: Green.
「Exotic Treasure Effect」: Can imprison one of a person’s souls. If the token shatters, the person dies. Currently imprisoning one soul. Source: 「Shao Qiu」.
-
"Your name is Shao Qiu?"
He tucked the Soul Token into his robes and walked over to the man in white, asking softly.
"Yes..."
Shao Qiu took a deep breath, adding another bargaining chip. "I was imprisoned by the Slaughter Immortal Holy Land, so I definitely have a grudge against them. I can bring you information about other regions, so the Mortal Realm won’t be flying blind when it ventures into new territories in the future."
"I also possess Secret Martial Techniques for stealth and assassination."
"Just give me some time."
"And I will make the Mortal Realm’s assassination division famous throughout the world!"
"Hmm..."
Chen Fan paused for a moment, then suddenly broke into a smile. He stood up and went to help the man in white to his feet. "Quick, get up. It’s getting chilly; you’ll catch a cold lying there for too long. We’ll talk in detail when we get back."
But he couldn’t pull him up.
Shao Qiu’s legs were still pinned to the ground by Sword Qi.
He looked toward the Jiangbei Old Demon.
The Jiangbei Old Demon immediately understood and retracted the Sword Qi.
After all that was done.
He turned his gaze, satisfied, to the beggar at the side. "He’s not a prisoner, is he?"
"No."
"Then kill him."
And then—
The slaughter soon came for the Chen Family Elders. Several Elders, prostrate on the ground, began to beg for their lives in trembling voices. "Young Master, Young Master! We have always been loyal to you at heart! The Patriarch had us disguise ourselves as members of the Wild Wolf Gang during the rainy season to receive the Ghost Stones and Exotic Treasures offered by the commoners and merchants."
"We hid a portion of them in a warehouse in the west of Jiangbei City."
"We were saving them for you, Young Master."
"We have always been on your side."
"Mm."
Chen Fan nodded lightly and looked at the men with a smile. "Then you don’t have to die. Zhou Mo, take some men and raid the Jiangbei Chen Family estate. The rest of you, follow these Elders, collect the hidden Ghost Stones, and then we’ll all head back to the Mortal Realm."
"I’m not a bloodthirsty person. I recall that you Elders never targeted me in the past."
"So, you can come with us."
All those who deserved to die were dead.
And with that, the matter was more or less concluded.
...
The sky gradually darkened.
All their belongings had been packed. Pulled by nine Flaming Dragon Horses, the Dragon Carriage proceeded slowly along the street toward the city gates. But at some point, the sides of the street had become packed with commoners.
The moment they saw the Dragon Carriage.
They all rushed forward.
Offering the things in their hands.
There were eggs, a few scattered Ghost Stones, cured meats, vegetables, and all sorts of other things, all forcibly stuffed into his carriage.
Shouts filled the city as countless commoners expressed their profound gratitude.
"What’s going on?"
Inside the carriage, Chen Fan was stunned. While lifting the curtain to smile and greet the people on both sides of the street, he frowned slightly. ’Is this a plot by some faction?’ he wondered. ’The only ones I’ve had a conflict with recently are that group from the World Pavilion in the teahouse. Have they hidden assassins among the commoners?’
But soon—
Big Fish, sitting beside him, whispered, "It was the Wild Wolf Gang’s Gang Leader. He spread the word about how the Jiangbei Chen Family embezzled Ghost Stones during the rainy season and set up the Ten Thousand Spirits Blood Transformation Array to sacrifice the entire city. You were the one who stopped the Grand Array. You saved the whole city."
"When the people of the city learned of this, they spontaneously gathered on both sides of the street to express their thanks to you, Domain Lord."
"The people are all saying you’re a saint who upheld justice even against your own kin."
"That’s what I heard, anyway."
"A saint?"
Chen Fan was momentarily stunned, then couldn’t help but laugh. He looked out at the people on both sides of the street. "No need for Ghost Stones, but I’ll take more of your local specialties! After all these days in the rainy season, I haven’t really had a full meal."
Perhaps it was because he seemed so approachable.
The commoners who had been too timid to approach now relaxed, and a huge amount of cured meat, chicken, eggs, and cabbage was stuffed into the carriage all at once.
It was much more than what they had purchased themselves.
The atmosphere was incredibly lively.
...
With the whole city seeing him off, his departure from the city became extremely slow, much slower than planned.
By the time he left the city gates, the sky was almost completely dark.
"Everyone, go on back now."
Chen Fan leaned out of the carriage, smiling and waving at the crowd of people standing at the city gates.
At that moment.
Darkness swept in from the distance like a cloud, quickly blanketing the world.
The Nine-Five Dragon Carriage once again sped through the darkness, carrying a carriage full of people and goods, racing toward Nameless Mountain!
...
「In the crowd.」
Standing at the city gate, the Jiangbei Old Demon looked at Gongyang Yiyue behind him and spoke softly, "You’re a Night Watcher. I remember Night Watchers have a special ability to hear sounds from ten thousand meters away, though it’s intermittent. Did you happen to hear anything about the situation on Nameless Mountain just now?"
"No."
Gongyang Yiyue slowly shook her head. "Night Watchers repel each other. Chen Fan has a Night Watcher with him, so I can’t hear anything from that area."
"Are you going to report this to the Sheep Race after the rainy season ends?"
"Of course."
"If possible, I hope you’ll do your best not to spread this information. I don’t want to see the Sheep Race get slaughtered like the Pill Sect."
"That will be for the Patriarch to decide."
Gongyang Yiyue shook her head. "I have no say in the decision, but I believe the Patriarch will not offend the Mortal Realm, and certainly won’t leak this information."