Only I am Venerable

Wen Bin looked at the bald young man and asked, "Is he good enough?"

The bald young man let out a soft sigh. Looking at Wen Bin, he said, "You need to be more careful next time. Once you decide to trust someone, don’t doubt them. Your attitude tonight already irritated Cao Hong. Otherwise, he would have told you exactly when that man would die!"

Wen Bin’s face reddened slightly. He nodded awkwardly without a word, thinking to himself, ’Once this is over, I have to cut ties with this bald youth.’ Although the Sun Family of the Tongtian City Lord and the Hai Family weren’t enemies, their relationship wasn’t good. If the Sun Family discovered he had colluded with the Hai Family to scheme against a Sect disciple within Tongtian City, they would be absolutely furious.

The Sun Family had always been very protective of its reputation and the various families and Sects within Tongtian City. If they didn’t, even with the Sun Family’s power, other families and Sects could simply choose to leave Tongtian City and move elsewhere.

That, in turn, would inevitably affect the prosperity and popularity of Tongtian City as a whole.

The bald young man probably knew their partnership would end after this, but he didn’t care. He had already used Wen Bin to sell dozens of defective Spiritual Artifacts. When the time came, he could just slip away, and even if the buyers came looking for trouble, they would only find Wen Bin.

At that point, even if Wen Bin tried to claim it was a Hai Family conspiracy, he would have no way to prove it. Worse, it could even cause a falling out between the two major powers.

With these thoughts in mind, the bald young man and Wen Bin went their separate ways, each lost in their own schemes.

Back in the inn, Qin Li sat alone after dinner, waiting for his enemies to retaliate. If they didn’t show up by the end of the night, he decided he would leave tomorrow and head straight for Lengqiu Palace.

If they didn’t retaliate or spread word of the incident, it would prove they were smart. But if they sent people after him, Qin Li could use the opportunity to test the waters and see just how powerful the experts in the Land of the Far West truly were.

Midnight came and went with no sign of activity. Qin Li smiled faintly. He already knew the precise locations of Lengqiu Palace and the Moon Shaking Immortal Palace, so it made no difference to him whether they came or whether this incident escalated.

Suddenly, Qin Li’s smile stiffened. His eyebrows rose, and he chuckled inwardly. ’Those two seemed like the type to seek revenge for the smallest slight. It would have been more surprising if they *hadn’t* sent someone after me.’

It seemed they had indeed found someone. ’And not just anyone, either. This is a master of assassination.’

The faint ripple of movement was many times quieter than a scurrying mouse. Even a powerful expert could have easily missed it, mistaking it for the rustle of wind or grass. It would be exhausting to pay attention to every single minor stir.

But Qin Li’s Divine Sense was different. Within its range, nothing could hide.

A figure clad in black was approaching his door with a bizarre gait. The inn had several floors, each with a central corridor flanked by rooms. Down this corridor, the man drifted as if weightless. To the naked eye, he was all but invisible.

Qin Li’s Divine Sense tracked the man all the way to his door. Amused, Qin Li watched, curious to see how the assassin planned to get inside.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

To Qin Li’s surprise, the man actually knocked. Qin Li’s eyes went wide. ’Is this guy crazy?’ he thought. ’To sneak into the inn so stealthily, only to brazenly knock on the door?’

Suddenly, Qin Li felt a flicker in his Divine Sense and realized the man’s figure had vanished!

Qin Li immediately expanded the range of his Divine Sense, shocked to find that in that single instant, the man had reappeared outside the inn!

’His speed is incredible,’ he mused. ’Even I would have trouble moving that fast!’

’This is getting interesting!’

A faint smile touched Qin Li’s lips. He walked over, opened the door, and pretended to glance around. Seeing nothing, he muttered, "Who’s the jerk, knocking on doors this late at night?"

As Qin Li spoke, he felt the window to his room silently open and shut. A smoke-like figure tumbled into the room and slid under his bed in an instant!

Qin Li shut the door with a SNAP, marveling inwardly, ’A true master!’

’I haven’t seen anyone with such brilliant assassination skills since I came to this world. Against anyone else, this little routine of his would most likely have worked.’

After all, anyone who hears a knock is bound to open the door and take a look. Even the most powerful cultivators have curiosity. And even if he encountered someone who stubbornly refused to open up, assassination would still be a simple matter with this man’s elusive abilities.

Qin Li chuckled to himself. ’I wonder if the assassin thinks I’m that gullible, opening the door for any random knock?’

With that thought, Qin Li went back to his bed, grumbled something under his breath, and lay down. The moment he was down, he instantly enveloped his entire body in his Protective Gang Qi.

Just then, a bone-chilling killing intent erupted from beneath the bed. Along with it, an incredibly sharp dagger sliced through the hard wooden bed frame as if it were tofu, stabbing toward the back of Qin Li’s heart!

TING!

The blade met with the clang of metal striking metal, as if it had hit an indestructible sheet of steel. Qin Li’s right arm lifted slightly, then shot down viciously to grab underneath the bed...

He instantly clamped down on the wrist holding the dagger and, with a powerful tug, yanked the black-clad assassin out from under the bed. With his fingers locked on the man’s vital pressure point, Qin Li gave a disdainful sneer.

"You’re strong, it’s a shame you’re an assassin. So, tell me. How do you want to die?"

The man was masked in black, but his eyes, fixed on Qin Li, shone with disbelief. Cao Hong still couldn’t understand where he had gone wrong. He had countless ways to assassinate Qin Li, and he had chosen the one with the most potential flaws.

He had scanned the room with his Divine Sense just moments before and hadn’t triggered any reaction from his target. Based on that, Cao Hong had concluded that the person staying here was no match for him.

Otherwise, he could have used a different, much less flawed method to kill his target. But he never imagined that after a lifetime of hunting geese, he would be the one to get his eye pecked out.

This person wasn’t just a master; he was an unfathomably powerful one!

At this thought, Cao Hong’s face turned ashen. All thought of resistance vanished. In a low voice, he said, "I was captured because my skills were inferior. Kill me however you wish."

𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Heh, aren’t you going to say anything?" Qin Li looked at Cao Hong with a smirk. "Like, for example, who sent you to kill me? Maybe if I’m in a good mood, I’ll let you go. You never know."

"You can mock my lack of skill, but don’t take me for an idiot!" Cao Hong sneered, looking at Qin Li with disdain. His eyes were filled with defiance and provocation.

"So you’re not afraid to die?" Qin Li asked, still gripping Cao Hong’s pressure point. He sat on the bed, his face unreadable.

Cao Hong glanced at Qin Li and rolled his eyes. "I just told you not to treat me like an idiot, and now you ask a stupid question like that? Who wants to die if they have a choice?"

"Then why aren’t you fighting for your life?" Qin Li asked, looking at Cao Hong strangely.

"Fight for what? I came here to kill you, not to have a heart-to-heart. Since I failed, you’ll kill me. That’s fair. Dozens have died by my hand over the years, and I never gave any of them a chance. I don’t expect you to give me one either," Cao Hong said, his expression calm.

But through Cao Hong’s mental fluctuations, Qin Li could sense an intense desire to live. Clearly, the assassin’s heart was nowhere near as calm as his face suggested.

Thinking this, Qin Li smiled slightly and said, "In that case, I’ll give you a chance. Answer one question for me, and I’ll let you go today."

"I don’t make a habit of betraying my clients," Cao Hong said calmly. At that moment, he had miraculously composed himself. Even Qin Li could no longer find any flaw in his mental state.

"No, I’m not asking about that," Qin Li said, his tone casual. "My question is, do you know anything about Lengqiu Palace?"

Cao Hong froze. When he heard the name Lengqiu Palace, a complex look flashed in his eyes. He hadn’t expected such a strange question. He glanced at Qin Li and asked, "If I tell you, will you really let me go?"

"You have no choice but to gamble on whether or not I keep my word," Qin Li said with a smile. "Besides, I don’t need you to tell me who your two clients are. I already know. This is my first day in Tongtian City. I don’t know anyone. Counting the staff at the inn, I’ve interacted with less than ten people... So you don’t need to tell me that."

Cao Hong stared at Qin Li, trying to read his expression, but he couldn’t discern a thing. After a moment’s thought, he answered, "Lengqiu Palace is a very mysterious Sect. They never have contact with the outside world. Almost no one knows anything about them..."

As he spoke, Cao Hong felt a flash of killing intent in Qin Li’s eyes. The hand clamped on his pressure point suddenly pulsed with terrifying power.

Such is human nature. If Qin Li had killed Cao Hong in that first instant, leaving him no time to react, death would have been a simple matter. But Qin Li hadn’t killed him. He had spoken to him, offering a glimmer of hope. Now, of course, Cao Hong didn’t want to die for nothing.

Not being afraid of death isn’t the same as wanting to die...

"However, I do happen to know a thing or two about Lengqiu Palace," Cao Hong said quickly.

Qin Li smiled and released his grip on Cao Hong’s pressure point. He pointed to a chair in the room. "Sit and talk."

Cao Hong let out a long sigh of relief. He had no thought of escaping. Instead, he removed his mask and sat down obediently.