Free Web NovelChapter 91: Chapter 91: Crimson Wine Tavern
The Black Market, the Dark World of the Imperial Capital.
Here, one could find every kind of unsavory business.
The Crimson Wine Tavern was a part of the Black Market, located in the West City District of the Imperial Capital. Most of its patrons were killers and assassins.
"Haha, you have no idea what it was like when I slit that kid’s throat from the Noble Families. It was so exhilarating."
"Three days ago, I took a job to assassinate a disciple from the Li Family. Didn’t expect the kid to have an Earth Element Realm expert protecting him. I failed the assassination and barely made it back alive."
"And let me tell you, the guards at Lord Duan’s mansion are no joke. Even I almost bit the dust there. Luckily, my fortune is great. Not only did I kill the target, but I also walked away safely with a hefty reward."
A weasel-faced young man took a gulp of strong liquor, chuckling as he boasted about his achievements. This drew an envious gaze from a youth across from him. The youth smiled and said, "Brother Fei, you’re amazing. Let me toast to you."
After speaking, the youth raised his cup. The weasel-faced young man called Brother Fei raised his cup as well. They clinked them together, and the youth downed his drink in one go. But Brother Fei just smiled coolly, poured out the wine in his hand, a flash of coldness in his eyes. He sneered, "Poison Young Master, your Poison Skill has improved quite a bit, but you’re still too green."
"Tsk, tsk. The older the ginger, the spicier it is."
Even after being exposed, Poison Young Master’s expression didn’t change. In the Crimson Wine Tavern, death was a common occurrence, nothing to be surprised about. Besides, he and Brother Fei were about evenly matched. If they fought, it would likely end in mutual destruction, only benefiting any onlookers.
"Hmph. If you were after my reward money, you should have just said so. If I was in a good mood, I might have even tossed a few Gold Coins your way."
Hearing this, Poison Young Master gave a cold smile. "No matter how big your reward, how could it compare to the top entry that appeared on the Black Market’s Blood List yesterday? Assassinate Qin Ya, an Advanced Academy Teacher at Mingxin Academy. The reward... One Hundred Thousand Gold Coins!"
"Holy hell, One Hundred Thousand Gold Coins. A bounty this high hasn’t appeared in years. This Qin Ya is just a Martial Artist in the Spiritual Element Realm, I can’t believe he’s worth that much money." Brother Fei gulped, greed flashing in his eyes. freewebnoveℓ.com
The Blood List was the Black Market’s assassination list, ranked by the size of the reward.
Generally speaking, an Earth Element Realm Martial Artist would already be considered near the top of the Blood List, with a reward of at least ten thousand Gold Coins.
But for Qin Ya, merely at the Spiritual Element Realm, to have a bounty of One Hundred Thousand Gold Coins was simply unbelievable. The biggest reason for this was his status as an Advanced Academy Teacher.
"Sigh, from yesterday until now, the contract has probably already been taken. What a pity to miss out on such a juicy piece of meat." Brother Fei sighed, then asked, "So who took the contract?"
"Thousand Faces, impossible to tell man from woman!"
"It’s... Hua Wuchang!" Brother Fei exclaimed in shock.
Poison Young Master nodded with a grave expression. "That’s the one. One of the most troublesome Black Market Killers. That Disguise Skill is simply unsolvable. They say three years ago, she used that Disguise Skill to infiltrate Black Wood Village and assassinate the Black Wood Leader, who was at the Celestial Essence Realm at the time. Truly terrifying."
"That’s not all. The young master of the Imperial Capital’s Qian Family, the Cyan Bamboo Gang of the east city, the master of Nine Cloud Cave in the Celestial Fall Mountain Range... they all fell by her hand."
"That woman... is fucking terrifying."
"Woman? Heh. Impossible to tell man from woman. Who knows for sure."
Just then, a blood-red figure walked into the Crimson Wine Tavern. With red hair and blood-colored clothes, she was like a blood rose blooming in defiance.
At the sight of her, everyone’s eyes narrowed. The noisy tavern instantly fell silent, all eyes drawn to that red figure.
"It’s her, Hua Wuchang!"
Someone gasped in a low voice.
The Hua Wuchang of this moment had a gorgeous face. If Qin Ya were here, he would definitely realize that she had changed her appearance again.
And this current appearance was clearly the one she used when moving about the Black Market.
Under everyone’s gaze, Hua Wuchang walked to the counter and said to a middle-aged man with an indifferent expression, "I want to cancel a contract."
The middle-aged man paused for a moment, looking at Hua Wuchang in surprise.
"I. Want. To. Cancel."
"You really want to cancel? This will affect your reputation. Are you sure?" the middle-aged man asked.
"I’m sure."
Gritting her teeth, Hua Wuchang took out a card engraved with a blood-red pattern and handed it to the man. The man glanced at the card and asked in surprise, "Qin Ya? He’s just a Martial Artist at the Spiritual Element Realm, and the reward is a full One Hundred Thousand Gold Coins. This contract should be simple for you. Why are you canceling?"
"Simple?! Hmph. You’re the one thinking it’s too simple."
Hua Wuchang snorted coldly and left the Crimson Wine Tavern. In truth, if it were anyone else, she might have continued the hunt. But when it came to this Qin Ya, who could accurately see through her Disguise Skill, she was a little scared. It was as if she had met her natural predator.
One had to understand that the reputation of "Thousand Faces" she had built in the vast Black Market relied primarily on this very Disguise Skill. But now, that skill had been thwarted by a mere youth.
After thinking it over and over, she had finally decided to give up on this contract.
The moment Hua Wuchang left, the entire Crimson Wine Tavern erupted!
"Holy shit, Thousand Faces actually canceled a contract."
"And she was forced to cancel by a Spiritual Element Realm Martial Artist, no less! My goodness, what in the world did that Qin Ya do?"
"One Hundred Thousand Gold Coins, just handed over to someone else like that."
"I can’t believe my eyes. For Hua Wuchang to be forced to cancel a contract... just how strong is that Qin Ya?"
"That’s not necessarily true. Maybe there’s another reason."
Everyone broke into a flurry of discussion. What they had thought was a high-reward, low-risk contract had suddenly become bizarre. Didn’t they just see an assassin of Thousand Faces’ caliber return in failure?
"Haha, it’s great that Hua Wuchang canceled! That means the One Hundred Thousand Gold Coins are mine for the taking." A large man laughed heartily and walked toward the counter.
Poison Young Master and Brother Fei exchanged a look and also darted toward the counter.
"I want to take the contract."
Three voices rang out at once, and the atmosphere immediately tensed.
The large man looked at Poison Young Master and Brother Fei and said in a low voice, "What’s the meaning of this? You want to compete with me for the contract?"
"Heh, you big oaf. Anyone can accept a contract from the Blood List. Who the hell do you think you are?" Poison Young Master sneered.
"Who am I? Why don’t you find out for yourself?" The large man didn’t get angry, but laughed instead. A powerful aura erupted from him like a mountain torrent, enveloping Poison Young Master. The tension was palpable.
Just then, Brother Fei stepped forward and said, "Gentlemen, how about this? The three of us will accept the contract first. When the time comes, whoever manages to kill Qin Ya does so by their own skill. The losers can’t complain. What do you think?"
The large man and Poison Young Master pondered for a moment. The large man spoke first, "Fine. We’ll do it your way. In any case, those One Hundred Thousand Gold Coins will definitely be mine."
"I wouldn’t be so sure about that," Poison Young Master sneered.
