Chapter 420 - 248: Conspiracy

Chapter 420: Chapter 248: Conspiracy

As night fell, a figure silently vaulted into a remote, small courtyard.

The moment his feet touched the ground, a cold glint of light suddenly shot out from the room, reaching him in an instant.

A glint flashed in Su Mu’s eyes, and a longsword instantly appeared in his hand.

In a flash, sword light flickered.

The two exchanged several blows in an instant.

Strangely, not a single sound was made in the small courtyard.

They sparred rapidly, yet their swords never once clashed.

After several exchanges, the flashes of sword light abruptly ceased.

The tip of Su Mu’s sword rested at the other’s throat, while the tip of the other’s sword was poised under his arm.

"What fine Sword Technique!"

A hoarse voice emerged from the man’s throat as he slowly retracted his longsword.

His movements were slow, as if he feared provoking an aggressive reaction from Su Mu.

Seeing the man retract his longsword, Su Mu also slowly sheathed his own blade.

"With your level of skill, you should have become a Golden-faced Killer long ago,"

the man continued in his raspy voice.

His tone was odd; it was clearly a disguise.

Moreover, Su Mu could tell that the man’s face was likely fake as well.

But that was to be expected.

Assassins from the Golden Wind Tower rarely revealed their true faces, even to their own people.

Su Mu himself had only shown up after putting on a disguise.

Even in their recent exchange, he hadn’t used his full strength, instead employing the rarely used Gen Mountain Realm.

"And you’re still a silver-face, aren’t you?"

Su Mu manipulated the muscles in his throat, speaking in a gravelly, world-weary voice. "If I weren’t trying to become a Golden-faced Killer, I wouldn’t have contacted you. I want to see if there are any suitable missions from the Tower I can take."

The Golden Wind Tower had contacts in every region, but their contact in Songjiang Prefecture was hidden so deeply that even the Taiping Bureau hadn’t found them.

Su Mu had only managed to reach the man by using the Golden Wind Tower’s secret contact method.

Looking at the man, Su Mu felt an impulse.

’If I wiped out the Golden Wind Tower, would I, the Taiping Bureau Governor, get some kind of reward?’

But the thought was fleeting.

Although he had infiltrated the Golden Wind Tower as an assassin, he had only touched the tip of the iceberg and was far from its core.

He didn’t even know where the Golden Wind Tower was actually located.

Using this contact method as bait probably wouldn’t lure any important figures.

Besides, the Golden Wind Tower had existed for many years; it wouldn’t be so easy to eradicate.

The assassination business was like weeds—you could never truly root it out completely.

’Not worth it.’

"There is,"

the man said in a low voice. "Someone has offered five hundred thousand taels of silver for the head of Su Mu, the Taiping Bureau Governor of Songjiang Prefecture."

"Only five hundred thousand taels?"

Su Mu blurted out.

’Who are they trying to insult?’

’My head, Su Mu’s head, is only worth five hundred thousand taels of silver?’

"That was the old price,"

the man said. "Not long ago, Su Mu fought Taishi Tianbi. Taishi Tianbi was severely wounded and fled, while Su Mu escaped completely unscathed.

So, the Tower has raised its assessment of Su Mu. The price is now eight hundred thousand taels."

Su Mu clicked his tongue in amazement. ’The Golden Wind Tower really keeps up with the times.’

’Eight hundred thousand taels... I suppose that’s barely acceptable.’

’Thinking about it, the Demon Court is really petty. The annual tribute they demand from the Da Xuan Court is only a few tens of thousands of taels of silver—less than what the Golden Wind Tower makes on a single job.’

’Then again, the Demon Court probably hasn’t seen much silver. Before Liang Jinglue became the Demon Court National Preceptor, he came from a poor background. Even after becoming the National Preceptor, he was still dirt-poor.’

’So they probably think a few tens of thousands of taels of silver is a huge sum.’

But Su Mu wasn’t thinking about whether the Demon Court had ever seen real money. He was wondering who would be willing to spend eight hundred thousand taels of silver to assassinate him.

’He had an enemy that wealthy?’

"But I’d advise you not to take this mission,"

the man said gravely. "Su Mu is extremely strong. None of the Golden-faced Killers in the Tower are willing to take this job right now."

"Are there any other missions? What about assassinating Taishi Tianbi?"

Su Mu asked.

"There is,"

the man replied.

Joy flickered across Su Mu’s face. ’There really is a mission for him?’

"Someone has offered six hundred thousand taels of silver for the live capture of Taishi Tianbi,"

the man said.

"No one in the Tower has accepted either of these two missions yet,"

the man continued, "If you want to take one, I can have the Tower officially accept the mission from the client."

The Golden Wind Tower wasn’t stupid. They had a process for evaluating missions. If a job was too difficult, they wouldn’t accept it from a client unless one of their assassins was already willing to take it on.

It was only for simpler missions that the Golden Wind Tower would accept the job upfront, then publicly claim that once they took the money, they would be relentless in their pursuit.

This was how the Golden Wind Tower maintained its reputation.

Otherwise, if they accepted every mission that came their way, not even the Golden Wind Tower could guarantee a one hundred percent success rate.

"If I take the mission to capture Taishi Tianbi alive, can the Tower pinpoint his location?"

Su Mu asked thoughtfully.

"It would be very difficult."

The man shook his head. "Right now, there’s no news whatsoever regarding Taishi Tianbi’s whereabouts."

Su Mu felt a pang of disappointment, but on second thought, it wasn’t surprising.

The Taiping Bureau, the Inspectors, the Divine Weapon Pavilion, and the Shennong Hundred Herbs Sect had all failed to find Taishi Tianbi. Although the Golden Wind Tower was well-informed, it wasn’t necessarily more capable than those four powers combined.

"Both of these missions are too difficult, which is why the Tower hasn’t accepted them from the clients,"

the man continued. "However, there is a mission available right now that’s more suitable for you. With your skills, you should be able to complete it."

"What mission?"

Su Mu asked casually, not particularly interested.

His main goal was still to take down Taishi Tianbi.