Chapter 120: Assassination

The Underground Gambling House.

The first-floor hall was a cacophony of noise, filled with shouts and curses. Gamblers were completely engrossed, some with eyes bloodshot from their losses.

In a spacious room on the second floor.

Second Master Jin sat by a table with a grim expression, drinking sullenly. His face was a mask of displeasure.

The men he had sent to invite the person from Willow Shade Courtyard that afternoon had still not returned.

There hadn’t been a single word from them.

He had just sent a few more men out to search for them, with no idea when they would be back.

"Second Master!"

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from downstairs.

A few men came up the stairs and called out twice from the doorway.

"Come in!"

Second Master Jin said.

The men pushed the door open and entered.

Second Master Jin frowned and asked, "Where are the men who went out this afternoon?"

"G-gone," the man stammered.

"Gone?"

Second Master Jin flew into a rage, bellowing, "What do you mean, ’gone’? I want to see them alive or see their corpses! What does ’gone’ mean?"

"Second Master, please calm your anger."

The man, drenched in sweat, hastily explained, "They’ve really vanished. We asked around the area. Someone saw them enter the End of Bluestone Alley, but they never came out."

Another man added, "According to the reports, there were no sounds of fighting or anything of the sort. It’s been quiet the whole time. We didn’t dare go inside, so we rushed back to report."

"A bunch of useless trash!"

Second Master Jin cursed.

But he quickly calmed down. His expression shifted several times, and a cold sweat broke out on his skin.

’Lu Bai’s big win today had caused him to lose so much on this bet that he’d lost his head.’

’How could someone who can casually take out a hundred thousand gold not have some skills, some backing?’

’Making dozens of men vanish into thin air...’

’Those were elite fighters he had personally trained over the years!’

’There were even two Innate Martial Artists among them!’

Second Master Jin stood up and began pacing back and forth in the room.

"Alright, you’re all dismissed."

For some reason, he felt a wave of unease and extreme agitation wash over his Heart and Spirit. He waved his hand dismissively.

As if granted a pardon, the men quickly exited the room, pulling the door closed behind them.

Second Master Jin stood still for a moment, then suddenly frowned and muttered, "Why haven’t you scrammed yet?"

The men had closed the door, yet he could faintly hear another person breathing inside the room!

Suddenly!

A vicious gust of wind rushed at the back of his head!

Second Master Jin’s expression changed drastically. He spun around, gathering Innate True Qi in his palms, and thrust them forward with all his might!

But when he turned, there was nothing behind him.

His palms struck empty air.

"What’s going on?"

Second Master Jin froze for a second.

PFFT!

Before he could react, a sharp pain shot through his abdomen!

"AARGH!"

Second Master Jin let out a pained cry and staggered backward.

He looked down to see a short blade plunged into his stomach, buried completely to the hilt.

Before he could process what had happened, his joints were instantly seized, rendering him immobile.

The next moment, a cold voice sounded in his ear.

"Where is the Witch who’s giving you orders!"

The voice sounded vaguely familiar.

In a flash, Second Master Jin realized who it was.

"It’s you, Lu—Ugh!"

Before Second Master Jin could finish, the short blade was abruptly yanked from his stomach, and blood gushed out.

Reeling from the pain, Second Master Jin was about to scream when a right hand clamped over his mouth and nose, leaving him able to only make muffled ’mmph, mmph’ sounds!

Thanks to the Mountain Demon Hat, Lu Bai had concealed himself, found a Bone-Cutting Saber in the back kitchen, and followed the group of men upstairs, remaining in the room.

Although Second Master Jin was an Innate Martial Artist, he couldn’t see Lu Bai and was subdued in a single move.

As soon as they clashed, Lu Bai realized that this Second Master Jin was just a Martial Artist, not a member of the Witch Race.

In other words, there was someone else behind Second Master Jin!

"I’ll ask you again, where is that member of the Witch Race!"

Lu Bai’s voice was bone-chillingly cold, brimming with killing intent.

"It has nothing to do with me—Hiss!"

Second Master Jin sucked in a sharp breath, fighting through the intense pain as he said in a trembling voice, "Go find Miss Yiyi. She knows. I’m just..."

PFFT!

Lu Bai stabbed him again, this time straight through the chest.

The blade pierced his heart. Second Master Jin’s body went stiff, his legs struggled for a moment, and then he gradually went limp.

"Second Master, is everything alright in there?" someone asked, knocking on the door.

The commotion in the room had still alerted a few of the gambling house Guards.

Second Master Jin was already dead. The room was silent.

"Second Master, are you in there? Are you okay?"

The knocking at the door grew more urgent.

Someone could burst in at any moment.

Lu Bai pulled out the Bone-Cutting Saber, wiped the blood on Second Master Jin’s clothes, and calmly walked over to the window, unlatching it.

CRACK!

The instant the door was smashed open, Lu Bai forcefully threw open the second-floor window, while he himself ducked into a corner to watch coldly from the side.

"Second Master!"

Several Guards swarmed in, their faces paling when they saw Second Master Jin lying in a pool of blood.

"Help! Someone, help!"

"There’s an intruder!"

"The Second Master is dead!"

"Quick, go after them! The intruder just escaped through the window!" someone shouted.

The crowd rushed out of the room with a great clamor. When the news reached the first-floor hall, it erupted into an uproar.

Some gamblers took advantage of the chaos to grab a handful of money and flee.

"Leave the money!"

"Fuck you!"

The first-floor hall instantly descended into chaos.

The elite fighters among the gambling house Guards had all disappeared that afternoon.

Another group was off chasing thin air.

The few remaining Guards were completely unable to control the current pandemonium.

Lu Bai went over to Second Master Jin and searched his body for a moment, but didn’t find any silver taels.

’For the boss of a gambling house, he sure doesn’t carry any silver on him.’

Lu Bai rummaged through the room for another moment and found a box in a hidden compartment under the bed.

He opened it and saw a Jade Bottle inside with a label on it.

Enlightenment Pill.

Lu Bai’s eyes lit up, and he tucked the Jade Bottle into his robes.

The sound of footsteps came from below.

Someone was already trying to fish in troubled waters, using the chaos as a chance to come upstairs and plunder.

Lu Bai turned slightly to the side, brushing past them. He avoided the crowd, his figure melting into the night as he headed straight for the Drunken Flower House.

Liu Yiyi. He had heard her name mentioned once before.

The top courtesan of the Drunken Flower Tower!

’With the help of the Mountain Demon Hat, on a dark and windy night... it’s the perfect time for a killing!’

A secluded pavilion deep within the Drunken Flower Tower.

A woman in a purple dress was sitting at her vanity, her exquisitely beautiful face reflected in the Copper Mirror.

Just then, a clamor of noisy shouts came from the distance. Judging by the direction, it seemed to be coming from the gambling house.

’I wonder what happened.’

"Miss."

Before long, a maidservant knocked gently on the door.

"Come in," the woman in purple said, then asked, "What’s going on outside?"

The maidservant pushed the door open and entered, her face deathly pale, clearly having received quite a scare. She said, "I heard that Second Master Jin from the gambling house has been killed!"

"Hmm?"

The purple-clad woman’s expression changed.

The maidservant continued, "They say the culprit has already escaped and hasn’t been found. I’ve already instructed the Guards to be on high alert. Miss, you shouldn’t go to the front of the house today."

"Mm... You may leave for now," the woman in purple said casually, her delicate brows knitting together. She seemed to be weighed down by heavy thoughts.