Chapter 18 Golden Inlaid Knife
Night falls on Xiaoxiang, adjacent to Baiyujing, situated in the middle of the region, and is the seat of the Wanjing Tifeng.
Abandoning the unreliable sword flight, Su Yunyu teleported directly here. Looking at the ten miles of beaded curtains, misty willows, and painted bridges before her, she almost burst into tears.
Finally... we've finally arrived!
After the embarrassing fall from the Snow Flower Sword and the insidious act of being taken in by someone with ulterior motives, she was finally teleported to Ye Xiaoxiang.
Sure enough, having strong cultivation is a good thing; even teleportation is very accurate.
Before me, the alleys and lanes are newly cleared, with carriages and palanquins flying overhead, pedestrians coming and going, vendors calling out their wares on the street, and a wide, long river with painted boats and green curtains.
Compared to the aloofness and loneliness of Baiyujing, this place is rich and elegant.
Amidst the dazzling prosperity, Xiao Shuying, without even raising her eyes, asked through the noise:
"Master, where to next?"
He didn't want to appear so proactive, but he had no choice. If he didn't take the initiative to ask, Su Yunyu might be able to stare at the bustling scene in front of her for an hour without being able to tear her mind away.
Upon hearing Xiao Shuying's question, Su Yunyu shuddered and answered without hesitation:
"Go check out the list of challenges posted by the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion this year."
You must obtain an invitation from the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion to enter the Immortal Demon Ruins and find the Nine Heavens Spirit Grass.
In truth, Su Yunyu really didn't want to work non-stop like this; he longed to have a great time in this glamorous and luxurious place...
However, there's no way around it; the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion's announcements have time limits. You can't just get the invitation whenever you complete the task.
In other words, if you're a step too late and the announcement is closed, then you can forget about entering the Immortal Demon Ruins this year; you'll have to wait until the year of the monkey to come back.
So Su Yunyu and Xiao Shuying had no choice but to go to the Tianji Pavilion's notice board again. Looking at it from afar, it seemed that no one was visiting, and they immediately felt that something was wrong.
The rankings on the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion are usually incredibly popular, yet the area before us is eerily quiet. There's only one possibility...
After reading through all the tasks on the list, Su Yunyu stood there as if struck by lightning.
Sure enough, we were late.
Kill a thousand Nightmares before midnight tomorrow.
There was still a full day left until that time, but Su Yunyu knew very well that even if Xiao Shuying had cultivation now, the two of them still wouldn't be able to kill a thousand.
Nightmare's core is special; if Nightmare dies, the core will only exist for two hours. Therefore, it takes a lot of effort, and its core is not commonly sold on the market.
If you want to get an invitation, you have to find a way...
Just as Su Yunyu was pondering, Xiao Shuying glanced at the notice, her eyes flashing, and as if remembering something, she reminded her:
“Master, I’ve heard that there’s a top-notch merchant guild here. Perhaps we could go and take a look.”
This chamber of commerce is called "Jin Cuo Dao". In addition to the basic trading functions, it can also post and accept bounties.
But none of these are the most important things. The important thing is...
Xiao Shuying looked up at Su Yunyu and said:
"I heard from people in the sect that Ye Xiaoxiang's Chamber of Commerce can issue bounties."
“...Really?” Su Yunyu’s eyes lit up when she heard that a bounty could be issued, and she was about to set off without delay.
But then, as if remembering something, he looked at Xiao Shuying again:
"Why don't you stay at the inn for the night?"
Otherwise, it feels like Long Aotian has almost become his little accessory.
Moreover, at his age, he must still be playful.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Shuying blinked, then slowly shook her head:
"Wherever Master goes, I will go."
It's just pretense, he's no slouch in that respect either.
Moreover, he absolutely had to go with Jin Cuodao...
“Alright,” Su Yunyu said without suspicion, and led Xiao Shuying to find the so-called number one merchant guild in the world.
In fact, it doesn't take much effort. Just walk a few miles from the notice posted at Tianji Pavilion and you'll reach a populated area where you'll see the sign for "Golden Inlaid Knife".
If it weren't for the words on the plaque, passersby might mistake it for the residence of some important figure.
After all, the scale of the business was already quite eye-catching.
Many embroidered carriages and carved saddles were parked in front of the shop. After Su Yunyu went inside, only a middle-aged man was standing in the lobby in front of her, tidying up the account books behind him.
Even though he clearly heard that a guest had arrived, he did not turn around.
This shows his usual arrogance.
Su Yunyu didn't intend to beat around the bush and went straight to the counter:
"I want to post a bounty."
The man had just closed one ledger when he opened another. Hearing this, he still didn't turn around, but simply said:
"We can't issue a bounty right now. The entire business is currently very busy and we don't have the manpower."
"..." Su Yunyu frowned slightly, unwilling to be dismissed so easily, and took out a bag of high-grade spirit stones from her spatial storage, placing it on the counter with a thud.
“You can name your price, I really have something urgent to do.”
Hearing the spirit stone make a clanging sound, the man put down the ledger, turned around, picked up the spirit stone, and weighed it in his hand.
It wasn't until he turned around that Su Yunyu was shocked to discover that there was a scar running through the man's eyebrows and jawline.
But the shock only lasted for a second. After all, although it was terrifying, it was nothing in the cultivation world. On the contrary, seeing the man weighing the spirit stones, she thought there was still room for maneuver.
"Your Excellency is truly wealthy and powerful," the man said, setting down the spirit stones with a cryptic laugh.
"However, even if you can offer more money, our company still doesn't have enough manpower."
As she spoke, she pushed the spirit stones back, and seeing that he was about to turn around and pick up the account book that had just been closed, Su Yunyu asked anxiously:
"Is there really no other way?"
The man remained silent and stopped commenting on the bounty.
Xiao Shuying watched his movements and suddenly asked:
"I've heard that you have a rule here."
The man's hand, which was flipping through the ledger, paused almost imperceptibly for a second. Xiao Shuying continued speaking:
"It's said that as long as you defeat the guild master—"
"Enough!"
But halfway through his sentence, the man slammed the ledger down, turned around, and this time, instead of a knowing smile, he looked down at him with a condescending gaze.
"We do have this rule: as long as you defeat the guild master, the trading company is at your disposal, but—"
Having said that, he raised his eyes and carefully examined the two people in front of him. He saw that Su Yunyu was wearing a mask, so her appearance was unknown and her cultivation level was also unclear. Looking at Xiao Shuying, it was obvious that she hadn't even entered the Qi Refining stage yet, and looked like an ordinary person. He immediately laughed:
"If we fail, we'll have to stay at Jin Cuodao's place and be at the mercy of the trading company for the rest of our lives. Are you sure you can accept that price?"
Hearing this, Su Yunyu had no time to pay attention to the rumors Xiao Shuying had heard. She only vaguely suspected something about the scar on the man's face, so she remained silent and calmly replied:
"Don't worry about that, please lead the way."
Just kidding, his cultivation level as the number one person in the world is practically a cheat code in this world.
He has never had an opponent in the three realms, not even one.
Upon hearing this, the man saw Su Yunyu's confident demeanor and immediately raised an eyebrow, then smiled.
"Okay, you said it yourself."
Just as she was about to step out from behind the counter, Su Yunyu felt her clothes being tugged. She turned her head and saw Xiao Shuying winking at her, as if she had something to say.
At this moment, her damned tacit understanding with Long Aotian came into play.
Su Yunyu understood immediately and said to the man:
"Wait, my brother and I have something to say to each other."
The man assumed it was just him being cowardly, chuckled, and said nothing, telling them to do as they pleased.
After all, challenging the chairman doesn't harm their interests as subordinates at all, so no one says anything about who wants to challenge him or who gives up halfway through.
The reason I don't easily reveal this rule is that I don't want to see anyone again become a slave to the golden-inlaid knife for life.
The man touched the scar on his face from the failure, then turned back to sorting through the ledger he had checked a hundred times.
Su Yunyu led Xiao Shuying to a secluded spot and unconsciously lowered her voice to ask:
"What's wrong"
Since no one spoke here, Su Yunyu's lowered voice echoed like a faint echo in an empty valley, carrying a strange and subtle quality.
Especially considering he's the number one person in the world, this humble demeanor is truly...
Xiao Shuying paused, suppressing a certain emotion, and when she looked up again, her eyes were pure and clear.
"Actually, one part of that rumor is false."
"Oh," Su Yunyu raised an eyebrow.
"Defeating the guild leader doesn't mean you can command the entire business. I heard..." Xiao Shuying paused slightly when mentioning the name, then quickly continued:
"According to Xiao Qingran, it has to be a fight to the death, otherwise even if you defeat the president, the president won't admit it."
The reality is not like that; Xiao Shuying was just making things up under the guise of Xiao Qingran.
He only wanted Su Yunyu to kill the chairman and sever the financial ties between Jin Cuodao and the Xiao family.
As for whether Su Yunyu will believe it or put it into practice, that depends on his personal choice.
Based on his understanding of this person, Su Yunyu is the most cold-hearted and vicious, and there is a 90% chance that she will kill the chairman.
After all, this person had chased after him to assassinate him so many times; in terms of human life, he probably didn't care much.
Upon hearing this, Su Yunyu frowned in distress. It had to be a fight to the death, which implied that she should just kill the chairman.
But as a model citizen of the 21st century, he wouldn't even dare to kill a fish normally; asking him to engage in a life-or-death struggle now seems a bit...
Hunting down Xiao Shuying was part of the mission, but killing someone else would be a catastrophe.
"This..." Su Yunyu realized he really had to agree to this condition, and could only nod slightly.
"I see."
He must obtain the invitation from Tianji Pavilion and complete the challenge, which means he must accept the merchant guild's so-called life-or-death struggle to defeat the guild leader.
Seeing him nod in agreement, Xiao Shuying thought to herself, "Just as I expected."
No matter how much this person tries to disguise themselves, they can't change their true nature.
If the chairman can be killed so easily, then the desire to kill him has probably never changed.
For some reason, the thought of this possibility stirred up a sense of unease in Xiao Shuying's heart.
Even after they returned to the main hall with Su Yunyu, and the man led them to a door, Xiao Shuying was still unable to calm her inexplicable anger.
The man stopped and pointed to the door, saying:
"The president is inside, please."
As he spoke, he glanced at Su Yunyu, who was wearing a mask. Although he couldn't discern her cultivation level, he still looked down on her, believing she was no match for him. So, he feigned a pained expression and continued:
"Good luck."
A note from the author:
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I feel so happy to have babies watering my plants with nutrient solution every day! [Sprinkling flowers] Don't let them get too fat on days when I don't update, okay? Love you all! [Kissing]
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