Chapter 152: Have To Take It Whether You Want To Or Not
Just like the Sihai Pawnshop in Yuhang, the back hall had thick black curtains hanging, not letting in a single ray of light. But the difference was that several candles were lit in the hall, so the appearances of the people inside the room could be seen clearly.
Inside the room, a middle-aged man who looked like the shopkeeper was sitting. Seeing the pawnbroker bring someone in, he invited the other party to kneel sit opposite him.
“Who is the target?” Seeing the White Porcelain Monkey, the shopkeeper didn’t waste words and got straight to the point.
“The only son, only daughter, wife, and father of Grand Court’s Right Censor Lu Xin.” Steward Zhang reported the targets in a cold voice.
“Lu Xin’s family…” The shopkeeper frowned slightly and gestured for the pawnbroker to retrieve a file from the counter.
By candlelight, the shopkeeper flipped through the file and shook his head. “Lu Xin is an Earth Rank Grandmaster. His son is a candidate for the Lu Clan’s Grand Competition next year. Right now, he is still training with a Grandmaster along with the other three. We won’t take this assignment.”
“Heh…” Steward Zhang sneered coldly. “I hear that your society values reputation the most. As long as you accept the assignment, no matter the cost or time, you will kill the target!”
“Indeed.” The shopkeeper said proudly, “Han Society does have that much reputation.”
“Then do you have any reason to refuse?” Steward Zhang questioned.
“Have we ever received a commission from this guest before?” Hearing this, the shopkeeper sized up Steward Zhang again, but had no impression of him.
“Young Master Lu Feng of my household.” Steward Zhang said coldly, “Several months ago, he commissioned you to assassinate this family. Shopkeeper, you won’t deny the account, will you?”
“You are…” The shopkeeper’s gaze flickered somewhat.
“I am the young master’s steward!” Steward Zhang slapped a nanmu waist token in front of the shopkeeper.
“Oh?” The shopkeeper picked up the waist token and examined it carefully for a moment, then said in some surprise, “So you are the steward of the Lu Clan’s Finance Steward.”
“Correct! I am here on behalf of my master!” Steward Zhang pointed at the shopkeeper and said sternly, “Because of your improper handling, not only did you fail to complete my young master’s commission, but you also leaked my young master’s identity, causing him to suffer revenge and die tragically! We must settle this account clearly!”
As Steward Zhang roared, the black curtain behind the shopkeeper trembled slightly, as if someone was about to rush out from behind!
Steward Zhang was unafraid and continued staring coldly at the shopkeeper.
The shopkeeper raised his hand, and the black curtain became perfectly still again.
“So you are here on behalf of Lu Clan’s Third Steward to hold us accountable.” The shopkeeper looked at Steward Zhang and said unhurriedly, “Indeed, we did accept Young Master Lu’s commission and did fail. But that time, it was due to an accident. A top expert that no one could provoke intervened, leading to failure to achieve success.”
“What kind of expert is it that even White Ape Society can’t provoke?” Steward Zhang dismissed it as an excuse.
“There aren’t many people White Ape Society can’t provoke, but that person happens to be one of them.” The shopkeeper said indifferently, “She is the Heavenly Maiden of Heavenly Master Dao.”
“Oh?” Steward Zhang had recently heard that Heavenly Master Dao seemed to have sent a Heavenly Maiden to the capital, but she appeared and disappeared like a dragon, clearly not wanting to contact the various clans. The various clans wisely pretended not to know and did not rashly seek a meeting, so as not to disrupt Heavenly Master Dao’s arrangement.
He hadn’t expected that this immortal had intervened to save Lu Xin’s family, which truly left one helpless. Steward Zhang snorted, deciding not to pursue the matter further.
“As for you saying that White Ape Society leaked your young master’s identity, that is utter nonsense.” The shopkeeper said in a deep voice, “Everyone under heaven knows that once someone from White Ape Society is captured, they will choose to end themselves immediately and will never leak the employer’s identity!”
“Then what happened to my young master?!” Steward Zhang said angrily.
“There are many ways to find out an enemy’s identity. White Ape Society can only guarantee that we ourselves have no issues and have no obligation or ability to guarantee that other places have no issues.” The shopkeeper said calmly.
Steward Zhang laughed in extreme anger, raised his hand to stop the shopkeeper from continuing, and said bluntly, “In any case, you failed to kill the person and even got the employer killed in the process. That’s undeniable, right?! I just ask you, what reason is there not to continue this commission?!”
“The guest does not know.” The shopkeeper still shook his head and warned Steward Zhang, “Because of a previous incident, our owner issued a new order. The employer must truthfully inform us of the target’s situation. If there is any concealment, we beg to be excused.” He paused, then said in a deep voice, “Your young master concealed Lu Yun’s true strength from us, saying he was weak and powerless, but that Lu Yun instantly beat Xie Tian, ranked 222nd on the Black Rank List, until he was searching for his teeth on the ground. So we had no fault in terminating the commission.”
“Good! Good!” Seeing him push all responsibility away cleanly, Steward Zhang laughed in extreme anger. “I see that the people of White Ape Society don’t seem like assassins, but like corrupt merchants!”
“When merchants mess up a deal, they just lose money. When we mess up a deal, we lose our lives…” The shopkeeper knew he was being somewhat unreasonable. But now Lu Yun’s importance to the Lu Clan was incomparable to before. Although they weren’t afraid of the Lu Clan, trouble was something better had as little as possible.
“You have to take this assignment whether you want to or not!” Steward Zhang also dug in his heels, pulling another waist token from his bosom and slamming it heavily in front of the shopkeeper.
Seeing that copper waist token gleaming with metallic luster under the candlelight, the shopkeeper’s expression finally tensed. He looked up at Steward Zhang and said, “This is your household master’s waist token?!”
“Correct!” Steward Zhang said proudly. “My master suspects that Lu Xin hired your White Ape Society to assassinate my young master! If White Ape Society is willing to cooperate this time, the previous account is written off. Otherwise, while Xiahou Clan can destroy your Yuhang branch, my Lu Clan can destroy your Luojing branch!”
“Nonsense! White Ape Society wouldn’t do such a thing as taking money from both sides!” The shopkeeper’s face immediately darkened, and he looked coldly at Steward Zhang. “Moreover, although the Lu Clan’s steward is formidable, he doesn’t have that capability!”
“This is also the intention of my Lu Clan Elder Council.” Steward Zhang leaned forward, looking at the shopkeeper with a chilling tone.
“Elder Council?” The shopkeeper was completely stunned. Normally, the Elder Council should be tasked with protecting their own disciples. How could the Lu Clan Elder Council hire killers to murder their own disciples?
“My master has already obtained the approval of the Great Elder. You just proceed, and there will be no trouble!” Seeing the shopkeeper finally soften, Steward Zhang sneered, “As for the reward, name your price!”
“This matter is of great importance.” The shopkeeper hesitated and said, “I cannot decide on my own. I must consult our owner.”
“Three days.” Steward Zhang gave a deadline, picked up the two waist tokens, and left.
“…” As soon as Steward Zhang left, the shopkeeper stood up and pulled open the black curtain, revealing a door.
The shopkeeper pushed the door and entered. Inside, a single lamp flickered dimly, and only vague silhouettes of several people sitting could be seen.
The conversation outside could be heard clearly here, so the shopkeeper didn’t need to waste words and quietly knelt there, waiting for these few people to decide.
“Trouble…” A black shadow said faintly, “That Lu Jian is a formidable figure. If we don’t agree, he certainly won’t let it rest.”
“Yes, after all, it is a previous assignment we accepted. If we don’t agree, it will affect our reputation.” Another black shadow spoke up.
“If it is truly the intention of the Lu Clan Great Elder and Third Steward, we just do it.” The previous black shadow said again, “There shouldn’t be any trouble.”
“I heard the Lu Clan is fighting fiercely now. I didn’t expect it to reach the point of hiring killers. There’s nothing to fear from such a noble clan.” Another black shadow sneered.
Everyone voiced their attitudes one after another, then all turned their gazes to the one sitting in the lead position, who was noticeably smaller than the others.
That person pondered for a long time, then said in a deep voice, “Do it cleanly and thoroughly, make sure to leave no future troubles!” He paused and said, “If necessary, this seat can personally take action!”
“That would truly be using a butcher’s knife to kill a chicken…” The several black shadows sighed, but since the target was a core disciple of a noble clan, they indeed needed to be extremely cautious.
