Assassination

A sleek, gleaming commercial van pulled up below the red brick building. A young woman dressed in a grey business suit skirt was bossing around three blue-collar workers, having them haul large cardboard boxes into the building. Up on the fourth floor, the landlady blocked the elevator doors. With hands on her hips, spit flew as she yelled at the workers, "What do you think you're doing? Hauling all sorts of junk up here—did you get my permission as the landlord? Get back down! Every last one of you!" The young woman in the grey suit skirt said, "Our boss will be staying here for a few days. You're the landlady, correct? Your tenant has already granted permission." "He gave permission, but I didn't!" Having not had an argument all day, the landlady's fiery temper had yet to find an outlet, and she had finally seized her chance. "This lady's property isn't for just anyone to live in! You think you can move in without an interview? Get out, get out! If you don't clear out right now, see if I don't smash this heap of scrap metal to pieces!" With that, she grabbed a small parcel, ready to slam it onto the floor. The young woman didn't panic in the slightest. She calmly stated, "That box contains limited-edition cigars from our boss's personal collection. One box is worth a hundred thousand Federation dollars." With lightning speed, the landlady set the parcel down, as if the thing were scorching hot. She stared at the young woman for several seconds before grumbling, "You just wait right there!" Turning around, she banged violently on the door to apartment 403. Zhang Yuanqing, who was in his bedroom video chatting with the Palace Master of Halting Slaughter, hastily hung up and dashed out to see what was going on. Confronted by piles of luggage and boxes, he froze in surprise. He looked blankly at the young woman in the grey business suit, bewildered. "This is..." He thought to himself: *I only invited the sole Knight heir to stay over for a few days, not take up permanent residence! What's with the mattress, toiletries, coffee maker, tea tray, and humidifier?* The landlady complained from the side, "Xiao Zhang, what's going on with you? Bringing someone to stay without giving me a heads-up! Didn't I tell you that prospective tenants must be interviewed? I will never agree to someone acting first and asking permission later!" *This...* Zhang Yuanqing said with a steady voice, "Mrs. Landlady, I heard that Xiuxiu passed her math mock exam the day before yesterday." The landlady was immediately struck dumb. She let out a long sigh. "Rules are dead, but people are alive. Xiao Zhang, for your sake, Auntie is willing to make an exception!" She then turned to the young woman and huffed, "Be careful when moving things! Don't chip the floor tiles or ding the furniture!" Turning her head back, she gossiped, "Xiao Zhang, where's that girlfriend of yours?" "She went home to nurse her pregnancy." "Huh?" "Just kidding. She went home to visit family and will be back next month." "Oh, right, right. You've got to keep a close eye on your girlfriend—call her every night," the landlady kindly advised before heading back to apartment 401. The young woman in the grey business suit stepped forward proactively, extending a fair, delicate hand. "You must be Mr. Carefree. I am Boss Cai's secretary and assistant. My Spirit... my name is An Yeqi." *An Yeqi? Is there a sword hidden inside your chest or something?* Zhang Yuanqing sized up the young woman before him. She looked around twenty-five, with fair skin and pretty features. Her curving eyes and charming aegyo sal gave her the innocent air of a girl next door. Her hairline was just slightly high, though... "Carefree Sword Immortal!" Zhang Yuanqing shook her hand. The little secretary nodded, glancing inside the apartment. "Where is Boss Cai?" "He just finished off two jin of stinky tofu and said he needed to bathe and change." Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the dazzling array of items. "It's only for three days. Isn't this a bit..." "Boss Cai has exceptionally high standards for his living environment. If anything is even slightly off, he feels so uncomfortable he can't sleep. I hope Mr. Carefree understands," the little secretary bowed. ...Zhang Yuanqing could only reply, "Make yourselves at home." And so, this little secretary whose Spirit Realm ID was An Yeqi began directing the workers to replace the mattress, bedsheets, and everyday necessities, and to spray disinfectant. They also brought in a coffee maker, ashtray, humidifier, mini-fridge, and other items. Once everyone was done bustling about, Zhai Cai finally strolled leisurely out of the bedroom, clad in an opulent black-and-gold bathrobe, exposing two hairy legs. "Now I believe you're a big boss, because you look like someone who can't wait to replace even your toilet paper with gold foil," Zhang Yuanqing mocked sharply. "Once I'm done with it, I can bestow it upon you," Zhai Cai shrugged, then turned to the little secretary. "Did my cigars arrive? Light one for me, and light one for this little swordsman who's never used gold foil toilet paper." An Yeqi glanced at the bickering pair and silently clipped the cigar and lit it. Once her boss began puffing clouds of smoke, she dismissed the workers and asked, "Could you tell me what happened?" Puffing on his cigar, Zhai Cai laid out the entire plan of hunting Sect Master Tongtian to recover the Holy Plate. After listening, the little secretary smiled through gritted teeth. "For such a major matter, why didn't you consult me beforehand? Who was the enemy that destroyed the Holy See? You never cared to find out, nor did you investigate! Who is backing Sect Master Tongtian? You don't know that either! "You only advanced to Dominator last year—a Dominator, mind you, not a demigod!" Zhai Cai waved his hand dismissively. "If everything were investigated down to the last detail, what fun would there be? Life requires challenges and excitement!" Veins bulged on the little secretary's forehead. She looked like she wanted to grind her teeth to dust, yet had to force herself to keep smiling. *To be so cynical and play with the mortal world like this, this guy either has extraordinarily tough luck, or he's an absolute prodigy. A level-seven Dominator—not bad,* Zhang Yuanqing thought. At that moment, An Yeqi turned toward him with a polite smile. "Over the past few days, have you felt like you were being followed?" Zhang Yuanqing shook his head. "No." An Yeqi pondered for a moment and said, "Over the next few days, I will monitor the neighborhood surveillance twenty-four hours a day. If there is anything unusual, I'll contact you. As for my boss, just let him do as he pleases. He likes to mess around and fool about—please don't take it to heart." Zhang Yuanqing glanced at Zhai Cai, then back at the little secretary, showing a look of deep sympathy. "Understood!" He seemed to understand why her hairline was on the higher side. An Yeqi added, "Could you tell me the details of the bounty mission?" Having already orchestrated the entire self-directed farce while buying street snacks earlier, Zhang Yuanqing maintained a calm expression and said, "Only the general block was disclosed, not the exact address. Over the coming days, I will stay out in public as much as possible. I'll leave the surveillance to you." After seeing off the little secretary, Zhai Cai changed into his black mink coat, slipped on luxury-brand shoes, and looked ready to head out. "I haven't been to Chinatown in over a decade. Come on, let's take a stroll outside," he chuckled. "We can't stay cooped up at home. If you stay inside, how are you going to bait them into drawing their blades?" Zhang Yuanqing found this reasonable, so he stepped out with the sole Knight heir. A few minutes later, Zhai Cai was clutching a handful of lamb skewers, chewing as he remarked wistfully, "It's been over ten years, yet this place hardly seems to have changed. Living in a place without change gets dull after a while. Life still needs excitement and adventure." Zhang Yuanqing also remarked with feeling, "It's truly unbelievable that you could live this long without being beaten to death." Zhai Cai nodded. "To stay alive, I worked really hard to level up." *** Early the next morning, Zhang Yuanqing woke up early. Seeing no sign of the "Sixth Generation Heir," he quietly swiped a can of his cola and drank it as he headed downstairs for breakfast. Just as he stepped out of the apartment, he bumped into Cao Qianxiu heading to school. Looking in high spirits, she said, "We captured a few peripheral members of the Starry Covenant and extracted critical intel from them. This time, we might catch a big fish." "Could it be dangerous?" Cao Qianxiu shook her head slightly. "Heaven's Punishment has Saints on their side. Don't worry!" Zhang Yuanqing thought about it. Both of her parents were Spirit Realm walkers, so there was indeed no need for him to worry. He nodded and said, "Good luck." Taking the elevator down to the ground floor, amidst the bustling street, both of them immediately picked out the landlady's loud, domineering voice. "My mom is arguing again!" Cao Qianxiu let out a helpless sigh. The two followed the sound and looked over. The landlady was engaged in a shouting match with a woman of similar age. The other woman was clearly outmatched, retreating step by step under the verbal barrage, her face flushed red with fury. Among the crowd of onlookers, Zhang Yuanqing spotted Zhai Cai in his black mink coat, happily munching on a meat bun while admiring the landlady's verbal sparring. "Time-out, time-out!" Zhai Cai suddenly called out loudly. "Ladies, please cease this meaningless squabble!" Both sides instantly fell silent. *This guy actually did something a Knight is supposed to do!* Zhang Yuanqing thought. Halting disputes and maintaining order—that was a Knight's true duty. Instead, Zhai Cai raised the landlady's hand and proclaimed loudly, "I hereby declare that this contest goes to Ms. Yang Xiujuan in victory!" "..." Over the next two days, Zhang Yuanqing and the sole Knight heir remained practically joined at the hip, coming and going together as they waited for Sect Master Tongtian to walk into the trap. Occasionally, the sole Knight heir acted on his own—such as heading to Chinatown's pleasure houses to listen to music, watching middle-aged ladies perform square dancing, or wandering between barbecue joints and seafood stalls. At times, he would also join in on the landlady's screaming matches. He would listen with great relish as she cursed people out, and when the time was right, he would step forward in his role as an impartial Knight to deliver a verdict—declaring the landlady the winner. Then came that evening. *The final night. It's about time. In a bit, I'll have my avatar enter my dream to assassinate me. Then I'll take the opportunity to reveal that the bronze piece is on the Knight heir. After that, I'll watch the Hunter Guild and the Knight clash.* Zhang Yuanqing picked up a trash bag and left the apartment under the pretext of taking out the garbage. On his way back, he secretly took out the Yata no Kagami to create an avatar, sending it into Night Walk to hide in the stairwell and await the right moment. *Beep beep!* Zhang Yuanqing punched in the passcode and returned to the living room. Zhai Cai, his two hairy legs bare, was seated on the soft sofa with a cigar between his fingers, lost in deep, motionless contemplation. He had maintained that posture for more than two hours. Zhang Yuanqing offered a perfunctory greeting, "What are you thinking about?" "It seems I guessed wrong." Zhai Cai put down the cigar, stroked his chin, and said, "I thought you belonged to an evil profession, or were a Fallen. My intuition has always been sharp. The first day I met you, I sensed something was off about you. But after spending these three days together, I'm starting to think you might actually be a good person." *Dammit! What's with this guy?* Having just committed a deceitful deed, Zhang Yuanqing felt uncharacteristically guilty. He said, "So your willingness to stay with me wasn't to look for Sect Master Tongtian, but to observe me?" "What else?" Zhai Cai took a drag of his cigar, his lips curling in his signature smirk. "Do you know how many hunters there are in New York? The lower the level, the more hunters there are. The odds of Sect Master Tongtian happening to take this bounty aren't very high." "Not high doesn't mean zero." "The probability is about the same as winning the lottery." "What if he really comes?" "Then I'll call you 'Dad,' how's that?" *You said it yourself...* Zhang Yuanqing's body suddenly swayed. His eyelids grew terribly heavy, and a wave of overwhelming drowsiness washed over him. He staggered and, right before Zhai Cai's eyes, collapsed into a deep slumber on the floor. Zhai Cai stared dumbfounded, the cigar slipping from his fingers and hitting the floor with a soft thud. The next instant, his expression turned deadly serious as he leaped to his feet, quickly checking Zhang Yuanqing's chest and pulse. "He fell asleep?" He froze for several seconds before realization struck him like lightning. "No, it's a Dream Master! A Dream Master from the Second District?" *Has Sect Master Tongtian arrived? Or is it another hunter?* "Hey, hey! Wake up, wake up!" Zhai Cai swung his hand to slap him across the face. Yet this Carefree Sword Immortal remained sound asleep, unresponsive to the blows. The sole Knight heir realized the gravity of the situation. He rarely encountered Dream Masters in the First District, so he hadn't considered the possibility of the enemy being one. Caught off guard by this sudden turn of events, he was momentarily unprepared. *His pulse is growing weaker and weaker—did he suffer injuries in the dream? Whew, he's not dead yet; he should be able to hold on a bit longer.* Zhai Cai swiftly stood up. From his inventory, he drew a golden knightly longsword, a pauldron, and a bracer, donning them in a flash. Resting both hands upon the hilt of his sword, his expression grew stern and dignified, exuding an awe-inspiring, majestic aura. "In the name of the Knight, I decree: No living creature shall enter dreams!" A bronze-colored halo rippled out from the sword's tip, sweeping outward in wave after wave across the red brick building, across the street, and into the distance. The next second, his gaze snapped sharply into focus. Through the feedback of the power of rules, he located the criminal violating the decree—hidden right inside the stairwell of the red brick building. Just as Zhai Cai locked onto the enemy, however, the Dream Master in the stairwell abruptly vanished. Without giving him the chance to establish a second rule, the infiltrator executed a Dream Leap and fled. Zhai Cai did not pursue, knowing it would be pointless. On the floor, Zhang Yuanqing snapped his eyes open, gasping violently for air like a drowning man dragged back from the brink of death.