Xu Jingming looked at Sword Dharmaraja’s corpse on the ground and thought to himself, The Red Lotus Sect, which is bent on rebellion, has high-level figures who are all wanted criminals. If I offer the corpse of Sword Dharmaraja, I can at least be promoted to centurion in the Blood Rain Guard. Perhaps there will be other rewards! Unfortunately, offering Sword Dharmaraja’s corpse will make the empire suspect that I’m the murderer of Cheng Yanran.
Suddenly, he had an idea.
With Sword Dharmaraja being such a powerful person, Seven Kills Building should have a bounty on his head. With this realization, Xu Jingming immediately took off Sword Dharmaraja’s coat and wrapped up the head of Sword Dharmaraja.
“Take away their incomplete corpses.” Xu Jingming pointed at the incomplete corpses of Sword Dharmaraja and Cheng Yanran on the ground. “Get rid of them according to the plan.”
“Yes, sir!” Immediately a detachment moved in.
The original plan was to deal with Cheng Yanran’s corpse and push back the Blood Rain Guard’s discovery of Cheng Yanran’s death so that the bounty could be collected without trouble. Now, they had to deal with the incomplete corpses of Cheng Yanran and Sword Dharmaraja.
“There are Blood Rain Guards coming.” Xu Jingming glanced into the distance. “Retreat!”
Xu Jingming immediately led everyone to turn into afterimages and quickly retreat into the night!
The few Blood Rain Guards who first arrived didn’t approach upon seeing the crowd of criminals; they allowed them to leave.
Those who dare to touch the King of Yan’s Estate definitely aren’t run-of-the-mill criminals. Looking at the number of them… These Blood Rain Guards knew very well that just the few of them rushing forward was simply tempting fate.
“They’re gone.”
“Those criminals have left.”
A few Blood Rain Guards approached nervously and carefully observed the corpses on the ground. The dead included second-rate experts in charge of interception, as well as many subordinates of Sword Dharmaraja and Cheng Yanran.
“Who are these people?” The Blood Rain Guard gazed at the many corpses and found it difficult to identify them. “The arrows previously released were from King of Yan’s Estate. That’s probably where they come from. Some of them might be criminals.”
“I can’t recognize them.”
“None that I know.”
These Blood Rain Guards attempted to carefully identify the dozens of corpses, but they didn’t recognize any.
Emissary Xun was the strongest among them. Although he was a super expert, these Blood Rain Guards still didn’t recognize him because he kept a low profile.
“Let’s enter the residence.”
It could be seen at a glance that someone had rushed out of the residence—the courtyard walls along the way had been shattered.
These Blood Rain Guards entered the courtyard to investigate and finally saw the 12 guards who had died at the hall entrance.
“The 12 guards of the Prince of Yan, Cheng Yanran! I know them.”
“It’s the 12 guards.”
Two of the Blood Rain Guards recognized the deceased.
Cheng Yanran was too famous in the capital. He was surrounded by 12 guards when traveling through the capital! Not many people saw Cheng Yanran, but many people saw the 12 guards.
“I can tell that the 12 guards of King of Yan’s Estate were first to be killed along the path from the residence to the outside. After that, the remaining people outside the residence were also killed.”
“The 12 guards follow the Prince of Yan, right?”
“Where’s the Prince of Yan?”
“I don’t see him!”
These Blood Rain Guards looked at each other and had an ominous feeling.
As time passed, Blood Rain Guards arrived one after another and surrounded the crime scene. Investigators also rushed over.
…
After Xu Jingming’s team retreated, most people went offline when they arrived at secluded spots.
Xu Jingming carried the two bundles over his back and headed straight for Seven Kills Building’s imperial capital headquarters under the protection of three Lv. 8 experts. One of his two bundles contained his spoils, and the other contained the head of Sword Dharmaraja.
I hope nothing happens when I collect the bounty, he thought.
Master, after receiving the bounty, check if there’s a bounty for Sword Dharmaraja. If there is, take it. As Xu Jingming ran, he turned on autoplay for a few seconds. He then entered the virtual world and sent a message to his master before returning to Blood Rain World to continue forward.
******
Under the cloak of night, Liu Hai wore a bamboo hat and carried a bag as he arrived at the headquarters of Seven Kills Building.
I’m here. Liu Hai looked at the ordinary inn in front of him. From the outside, he couldn’t tell that this was Seven Kills Building’s headquarters in the capital.
Business in this inn was quite good. Customers walked in one after another.
After Liu Hai walked in, he showed his token and was led into a secret corridor by the waiter. The corridor was more than a hundred meters long and led to a huge hall.
This corridor is more than a hundred meters long, and there are many hidden traps. Even an army would suffer heavy casualties if they charged into the corridor. Liu Hai observed and didn’t say a word before entering the huge hall.
There were more than ten assassins in the hall, and there were many receptionists in Seven Kills Building.
Liu Hai walked to a spot.
“Is there a bounty mission for the Red Lotus Sect’s Sword Dharmaraja?” Liu Hai asked softly.
The young man in charge of serving him was stunned and nodded. “Yes.”
As he spoke, he familiarly took out a thick book from his side and flipped to one of the pages before handing it to Liu Hai to read.
Sword Dharmaraja Pang Cheng. Reward: 59,000 taels!
Only assassins at least Five-Kills could accept the mission. The mission had to be completed within a month. Collecting the bounty required verification by head.
Liu Hai nodded slightly.
“I’m here to hand in the mission.” Liu Hai handed the token to the receptionist in front of him.
“Which mission?” the receptionist asked casually.
“The bounty on the Prince of Yan, Cheng Yanran,” Liu Hai replied.
The receptionist was stunned, but he was a staff member of the imperial capital’s headquarters after all—he had seen plenty. It was normal for someone with a higher status than Cheng Yanran to be assassinated. The receptionist immediately took out one of the books and flipped to a page.
“Cheng Yanran…” The receptionist checked the token and confirmed that it was the right token that had accepted the mission.
“It requires a head or a left ear for verification,” the receptionist said with some anticipation. He looked forward to every mission that had a big bounty on a big shot.
Liu Hai placed the bundle down.
“Master,” the receptionist shouted, and a black-robed elder immediately walked over.
“Cheng Yanran?” The black-robed elder became much more serious when he was briefed on the details. He opened the bag and looked at the head in the box, then at the left ear.
The black-robed elder glanced at Liu Hai in surprise and said, “Impressive! It’s indeed Cheng Yanran. Your Excellency, please wait a moment. I’ll bring the reward over now. Also… Your Excellency’s token shall be upgraded to Five-Kills.”
The mission to kill Cheng Yanran was much more difficult than all the missions Xu Jingming had accepted combined. With this mission, he immediately advanced to Five-Kills.
Liu Hai nodded and waited silently.
The hall was huge, and their conversation was very soft. In fact, every assassin who came to hand in their missions kept a low profile and naturally kept their distance from each other.
In just a minute or two, the black-robed elder arrived with the gold.
“326 taels of gold—please take receipt!” The black-robed elder handed over a bag of gold.
Liu Hai checked it and weighed it in his hand. With his precise control of strength, he could confirm that the weight of the gold was correct.
“Your Excellency Five-Kills, this is your new token.” The black-robed elder handed the token to Liu Hai.
Liu Hai held his bag and a new token. “I want to accept another mission—the bounty on Red Lotus Sect’s Sword Dharmaraja.”
“Sword Dharmaraja’s mission?” The black-robed elder was a little surprised. “I’ll register it for you.”
Sword Dharmaraja had terrifying strength and had many experts following him. Most importantly, he rebelled all year round, so he was like a ghost! It was very difficult to track him down.
…
Liu Hai left the inn and suddenly heard birds chirping. He quickly entered an alley and saw Xu Jingming and the three Lv. 8 experts.
“What a coincidence. After completing Cheng Yanran’s mission, your token was upgraded to Five-Kills! You happen to be qualified to accept Sword Dharmaraja’s mission,” Liu Hai said.
“Cheng Yanran’s mission is very difficult. Completing a few missions of the same type can advance it to Six-Kills,” Xu Jingming said as he handed a bundle to his master. “This is the head of Sword Dharmaraja. Please make another trip, Master.”
“This is the bounty.” Liu Hai handed the bag to Xu Jingming. He then carried the bundle and headed into the inn again.
…
Huh? The same receptionist looked at Liu Hai in shock. The black-robed elder also walked over.
“I’m here to turn in the mission,” Liu Hai said. As he spoke, he opened his bag, revealing the head of Sword Dharmaraja.
The black-robed elder stared in shock.
Sword Dharmaraja? The black-robed elder recognized the head.
“Your Excellency Five-Kills, I’m impressed,” the black-robed elder said. He could guess that the assassin in front of him should’ve already killed Sword Dharmaraja before accepting the mission. However, Seven Kills Building didn’t care too much about this… As long as the mission wasn’t revoked, one could receive the bounty after taking on the mission and completing it.
Under normal circumstances, Seven Kills Building valued credibility.
Soon, Liu Hai received the bounty and left.
“He killed the Prince of Yan and Sword Dharmaraja. Where did this person come from?” the receptionist muttered softly after Liu Hai left.
“Maybe it’s a super expert.” The black-robed elder didn’t mind.
Almost all the Six-Kills and Seven-Kills assassins in Seven Kills Building were super experts! However, these super experts were only part-time. Their identities couldn’t be completely confirmed, and Seven Kills Building couldn’t really control them.
The assassins they nurtured were ultimately a minority.
It was precisely because of the lax management of assassins that Seven Kills Building could truly expand! That was why it could be ranked in the top three of Blood Rain World’s assassin organizations.
Many cosmic citizen players were also willing to work part-time at Seven Kills Building because it was loosely managed and had good credibility! Some other assassin organizations had much stricter management. Some assassin organizations even nurtured their own assassins.
******
Liu Hai was in charge of collecting the bounty because they were afraid of any accidents happening. After all, Xu Jingming’s identity was more important, so he couldn’t die easily. Liu Hai could establish a new character after dying in Blood Rain World.
“Jingming, be careful.” Liu Hai handed the bounty to his disciple.
“Don’t worry.” Xu Jingming nodded.
The two bounties totaled 916 taels of gold. If they were exchanged for coins, it would be 9,160.
According to the rules of Seven Kills Building, one could only receive a bounty exceeding 5,000 taels of silver in the capital headquarters! This was because the other ordinary branches didn’t have much cash in reserve.
Carrying the bounty and other items, Xu Jingming headed forward under the three Lv. 8 experts’ protection and quietly returned to the southern part of the city.
I hope there won’t be any accidents. Xu Jingming was also very nervous. This was the most amount of gold he had ever carried! He was also afraid that the world would target him.
…
Late at night, in the Fei residence.
“Sir, sir.” A silver-haired elder knocked lightly on the door, waking the sleeping Fei Qing.
“What’s wrong?” Fei Qing put on his clothes and opened the door. He looked at his personal guard—Lu Shao—and a Blood Rain Guard principales.
“Principales Zeng.” Fei Qing looked at him.
Principales Zeng’s expression was solemn as he said in a low voice, “Lord Fei, we’ve just confirmed that the Prince of Yan, Cheng Yanran, and the Red Lotus Sect’s Sword Dharmaraja are dead. Furthermore, the assassin went to Seven Kills Building’s headquarters to collect the bounty.”
“Cheng Yanran and the Red Lotus Sect’s Sword Dharmaraja?” Fei Qing shuddered. “Are you sure the Prince of Yan, Cheng Yanran, is dead?”
“Yes.” Principales Zeng nodded. “Very sure!”
“Does His Majesty know?” Fei Qing asked.
“Big Brother has set off for the palace. He sent me to inform you before setting off,” he said.
Fei Qing nodded.
Cheng Yanran is dead… A thought surfaced in Fei Qing’s mind. Could the King of Yan take this opportunity to completely rebel in the north?