Chapter 421 - 248: Conspiracy

Chapter 421: Chapter 248: Conspiracy

But since he was here, if a suitable mission arose, he wouldn’t mind taking it on. After all, it would be a waste to refuse Points that were practically being handed to him.

"Assassinate an ordinary person. The client is offering one hundred thousand taels of silver."

The Golden Wind Tower’s contact spoke.

"Who is it?"

Su Mu asked.

"Golden Wind Tower has its rules. We avoid assassinating officials of the seventh rank or higher unless it’s absolutely necessary. The same goes for disciples from renowned major sects."

The Golden Wind Tower contact said, "So you can rest assured, this person isn’t some major figure."

Outsiders looked at the Golden Wind Tower and saw only its formidable power. But in reality, its most formidable aspect was its knack for survival.

The Golden Wind Tower would never offend those it couldn’t afford to.

It wasn’t that they couldn’t assassinate court officials. But for those of too high a rank, they would quote an astronomical price to make the client back down.

The message was: It’s not that the Golden Wind Tower can’t do it, it’s that you can’t afford it.

If the client could still afford the price, only then would the Golden Wind Tower risk paying a certain price of its own to complete the assassination.

However, such situations were extremely rare. For the most part, the Golden Wind Tower’s targets were usually people with some power, but not too much.

The Golden Wind Tower contact took a piece of paper from his robes and handed it to Su Mu.

Su Mu took the paper. It was a portrait, and below it were a few lines of small text describing the target.

"Zhang Tongxiang, known as ’Model Zhang.’ An artisan by trade, he is especially skilled in architectural design."

A strange look flashed in Su Mu’s eyes as he read the description.

He actually knew this person.

The man wasn’t from Songjiang Prefecture; he had been specially invited from the Da Xuan Capital City by the Wu Family.

He had come to Songjiang Prefecture to help design the Songjiang Prefecture Bailu Academy!

Su Mu had met him several times before and was extremely satisfied with the blueprints he had designed.

What Su Mu hadn’t expected was that someone was willing to pay the high price of one hundred thousand taels of silver to assassinate him.

"The only difficulty in assassinating this man is making a clean getaway afterward. His current location is surrounded by Taiping Captains and Inspectors."

The Golden Wind Tower contact said.

"I’ll take the mission."

Su Mu said after a moment of thought.

According to Golden Wind Tower’s rules, once he accepted the mission, no one else could take it unless he failed.

’Zhang Tongxiang is the designer for the Songjiang Prefecture Bailu Academy. Nothing can happen to him.’

Construction of the Songjiang Prefecture Bailu Academy was already delayed because of the incident at the quarry outside the city. If something happened to the designer now, the schedule would be pushed back again and again.

Although the blueprints were complete, having the designer on-site versus not having him there made a world of difference in the final result.

"Good. Contact me for the silver after the mission is complete."

After speaking, the Golden Wind Tower contact moved like a civet cat, slipping into the darkness and vanishing in an instant.

Su Mu pondered for a moment, then his figure flickered and he too disappeared.

...

In Songjiang Prefecture, on a raised plot of land by the Songjiang River, was a site located right in the center of Songjiang Prefecture City.

Right now, a massive construction project was underway.

Using the elevated terrain as a foundation, a large complex of buildings was rising from the ground.

Several thousand artisans were bustling about the construction site.

An old man with white hair, accompanied by Lu Mingyang, was inspecting the site.

He would frequently stop to call over artisans and correct any parts of their construction that didn’t meet the standards.

He even personally inspected every single stone and piece of timber used on the site.

In the distance, several men watched them, expressions of annoyance on their faces.

"Master, this Zhang fellow is watching too closely. We can’t find any chance to bury the Thunder God’s Roar."

One of the men said in a low voice.

"Don’t be hasty."

A cold sneer was on Chen Yougong’s face. "Soon, this meddlesome old fool will disappear.

Once these Thunder God’s Roars are placed in key locations of the Songjiang Prefecture Bailu Academy, the academy will become a bargaining chip in our hands. I’ll be able to turn it to ash whenever I please."

’I refuse to believe Su Mu’s luck is so good that he can escape death every time!’

In his mind, Chen Yougong was also cursing Taishi Tianbi for being a useless failure.

He had thought Su Mu would die at Taishi Tianbi’s hands. But in the end, Su Mu had returned completely unscathed, while Taishi Tianbi had fled, gravely wounded.

’Fortunately, I, Chen Yougong, always have multiple backup plans.’

If one plan failed, he always had another in reserve.

He had spent a fortune to buy a batch of Thunder God’s Roars. As long as they were placed within the Songjiang Prefecture Bailu Academy, he could reduce it to dust at any moment.

When the Songjiang Prefecture Bailu Academy was completed, Su Mu and all those Da Xuan officials would gather there. He could then detonate the Thunder God’s Roars and blow them all to smithereens!

’If I can send them on their way, I’ll definitely secure my position as the Cyan Lotus Envoy!’

But with Zhang Tongxiang guarding the construction site all day, any attempt to bury the Thunder God’s Roars would surely be discovered by the old man.

Therefore, the old man had to be dealt with first.

Chen Yougong sneered internally. He wasn’t stupid enough to use his own men. Instead, he had paid for an assassin from the Golden Wind Tower.

That way, even if the matter was exposed, it could never be traced back to him.

If this plan also failed to kill Su Mu, then he, Chen Yougong, having infiltrated Su Mu’s circle, could still find opportunities to sow discord between Su Mu and the "exchange students" from the Demon Court.

’As long as I stay by Su Mu’s side, there will always be a chance to send him to his grave.’

’Once Old Man Zhang is dead, I’ll be the only one on this construction site that Su Mu and Lu Mingyang can rely on.

’Tampering with the Songjiang Prefecture Bailu Academy will be as easy as turning over my hand.’

Chen Yougong thought to himself.

As for whether the Golden Wind Tower could kill Zhang Tongxiang, that wasn’t even a concern.

Zhang Tongxiang was just an ordinary person; assassinating him was easy. The difficult part was escaping the pursuit of the surrounding Taiping Captains afterward.

It was precisely because he knew Taiping Captains were nearby that Chen Yougong had been willing to spend the money to hire a killer from the Golden Wind Tower.

Otherwise, he could have had any of his own subordinates kill Zhang Tongxiang easily.

This was a mark of his caution.

Now that he had finally succeeded in his infiltration, he would avoid even the slightest possibility of being exposed.

As for the silver, it was completely unimportant.

He had already made a fortune from the construction of the Songjiang Prefecture Bailu Academy.

’Su Mu, oh Su Mu, you would never have guessed it. I, the Cyan Lotus Envoy of the Pure Land Sect, have been skimming vast amounts of silver from you!’

A triumphant look appeared in Chen Yougong’s eyes. The Pure Land Sect had always been on the losing end when dealing with the imperial court. Only he, Chen Yougong, was capable of making money off the court.

’If I don’t become the Cyan Lotus Envoy, then who can?’

’Not only will I be the Cyan Lotus Envoy, but in the future, I’ll become a Dharma Guardian Envoy, and then the Sect Leader!’

A blazing fire named "ambition" burned in Chen Yougong’s pupils.

...

"Here! Tear it all down!"

Zhang Tongxiang’s beard trembled as he bellowed, "How many times have I told you? You must follow the blueprints strictly!

"In architecture, a tiny deviation leads to a monumental error!

"This wall is off by a full half-foot! After it’s built, it will start to lean in less than ten years. A hundred years from now, the wall will collapse and the building will fall!"

As they tore down the wall, the artisans grumbled to themselves. ’Isn’t lasting a hundred years good enough?’

’A hundred years from now, who knows if this Songjiang Prefecture Bailu Academy will even still be standing?’

"Any building I, Zhang Tongxiang, design must be built to last for ages! I will absolutely not tolerate any cutting of corners or shoddy work!"

Zhang Tongxiang declared righteously.

"Master Zhang, please don’t be angry."

Lu Mingyang tried to placate him. "Just have them rebuild it. The schedule is tight and everyone is working hard. It’s inevitable that some mistakes will be made."

"Lord Lu, you don’t understand."

Zhang Tongxiang didn’t give Lu Mingyang any face, striding to another spot. "Who dug this? Who told you to dig here?"

Lu Mingyang felt a little helpless. Artisans like Zhang Tongxiang were just this blunt. But the man was undeniably skilled, so even if his temper was foul, it didn’t matter as long as his work was good.

He had personally witnessed how the Songjiang Prefecture Bailu Academy had grown to its current scale under Zhang Tongxiang’s round-the-clock supervision.

"Chen Yougong! Chen Yougong!"

Zhang Tongxiang yelled, "Get your ass over here! Is this the lumber you bought?

"If you dare try to pass off inferior materials as quality goods again, I will definitely have you replaced!"

When Su Mu arrived at the construction site for the Songjiang Prefecture Bailu Academy, he happened to hear Zhang Tongxiang chewing Chen Yougong out.