Chapter 20: Truly Heartless!

"May I ask, Mr. Sima, what exactly was the method you used to kill Chen Xuan?" Chen Tian asked, his eyes flickering.

How could Sima Xiba possibly tell him the truth?

He swayed his feathered fan, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile. "Young Master Chen, some things are better left unasked. Even if you ask, there is no answer."

This reply left Chen Tian feeling somewhat displeased.

However, this Mr. Sima possessed vast supernatural powers, handled all sorts of unsavory business in the shadows, and had never once failed. His reputation was impeccable, and Chen Tian dared not offend him.

"The head will certainly be delivered to you tonight. Those women you fancy will also be brought to your estate, safe and sound. I may be leaving the capital for a few days, so I would appreciate it if you could settle the payment now, Young Master Chen."

Sima Xiba smiled faintly. Though his face wore a smile, it carried an air of refusal that brooked no argument.

Hearing this, Chen Tian felt even more annoyed.

He had not yet seen Chen Xuan’s corpse, nor had the women he desired been delivered. Since the task was not yet complete, why was he being asked for payment now?

But annoyed as he was, he dared not cross Sima Xiba.

"Mr. Sima’s capabilities are legendary; I am well aware of them. Here is the five thousand taels of gold you requested."

As he spoke, he tossed out a ring.

It was a spatial ring, capable of holding items of significant volume, and was extremely expensive. The larger the storage space, the higher the price.

Chen Xuan certainly did not possess such a thing. It was not that he couldn't afford it, but the cheapest spatial ring was worth an entire mansion in the capital. Chen Xuan, having lost his parents at a young age, lived off the meager inheritance they left behind and dared not squander it.

Sima Xiba caught the spatial ring and scanned the interior with his divine sense. It was packed with five thousand taels of gold, not a single coin missing.

He immediately produced his own spatial ring, poured the gold from Chen Tian’s ring into it, and then returned the empty ring.

"It has been a pleasure doing business with you, Young Master Chen. I have other matters to attend to, so I shall take my leave."

He returned the ring and bowed slightly, preparing to depart.

Seeing this, Chen Tian could not help but frown.

He was just leaving?

Still, he said nothing more. After all, Sima Xiba’s professional record was indeed outstanding; he had never failed a task he was paid to perform. His only flaw was that he was far too expensive.

Five thousand taels of gold—converted to silver, that was fifty thousand taels!

"Damn you, Chen Xuan. To end your wretched life, I’ve had to spend so much money. Once your corpse is delivered, I will make sure to lash it into pieces!" Chen Tian spat, his voice cold and vicious.

But soon, he began to chuckle.

"Heh, those women will be in my chambers tonight. That little slut An Ruxue from the Snow Sword Sect possesses the legendary 'Ice Skin and Jade Bone' constitution, and she is still a virgin."

"If I practice dual cultivation with her and draw upon her Yin to nourish my Yang, I can replenish my own body. Within a year at most, I will break through the Warrior realm and reach the level of a Martial Master!"

"Once I attain the rank of Martial Master, I will be the youngest in the entire Chen family to do so in a hundred years. I will be a once-in-a-century genius. At that point, all the family’s cultivation resources will be funneled toward me. My cultivation speed will soar, and in the future, I might even have a chance to contend for the position of Clan Head."

"Though spending these five thousand taels makes my heart ache, it is worth it!"

If the men of the Golden Peak Stronghold knew that Sima Xiba had charged a commission of five thousand taels of gold while paying them—the ones doing the actual work—a mere one thousand, they would surely weep in despair.

What a black-hearted middleman! Utterly unscrupulous!

Having not slept all night, Chen Xuan led the women to an inn to rest, intending to continue their journey after a good sleep and purchase a few fine horses for travel. There was no helping it; the horses they had brought from the capital had all been killed by poison arrows.

While they rested at the inn, they were unaware that their actions had caused a massive stir throughout the Bandit Mountains!

Inside the Flowing Peak Stronghold:

"What did you say? The entire Golden Peak Stronghold—hundreds of bandits, top to bottom—were all killed?"

"Reporting to the Chief, I saw it with my own eyes. Not only were they all killed, but the stronghold was also razed to the ground by fire. It’s not just our Flowing Peak Stronghold that knows; the nearby hills have all heard the news. The report of Golden Peak’s destruction is spreading rapidly. It is true, there is no mistake!"

"Damn it! What kind of existence did those fools at Golden Peak provoke to be wiped out in a single night?"

"Could it have been the Imperial Court that destroyed them?"

"Impossible. Like us, Golden Peak is a bandit group in name, but in reality, they are running dogs for the Court, handling dirty work for the big shots. If the Court wanted to wipe them out, they would have received word in advance and gone into hiding."

"If not the Court, then who?"

"Could it be that some incredibly powerful figure has arrived in our Bandit Mountains recently?"

For a time, the entire Flowing Peak Stronghold was gripped by panic. Even the Chief, Liu Jinyu, felt uneasy.

After all, the Flowing Peak Stronghold was the closest to the Golden Peak Stronghold. If someone could wipe out Golden Peak overnight, couldn't they do the same to Flowing Peak?

It was only natural to be afraid.

"Damn it, send a carrier pigeon immediately to inform Master Qin of the Imperial Court. Master Qin is a high-ranking official, above everyone but a few. He surely knows something."

After much deliberation, Liu Jinyu gave the order.

Soon, a carrier pigeon took flight from the Flowing Peak Stronghold, soaring all the way to the mansion of a third-rank official in the capital.

Half an hour later, a pigeon flew out from that mansion, heading straight back toward the Flowing Peak Stronghold.

When Liu Jinyu saw the contents of the letter, he stood frozen, completely dumbfounded.

"Chief, what did Master Qin write in the letter?"

The subordinates, itching with curiosity, urged him to speak.

"Read it for yourselves!" Liu Jinyu threw the letter at them.

However, these bandits were all illiterate dropouts; they wouldn't recognize a single word even if it were etched in stone. If they had been literate, they would have become schoolteachers, not turned to banditry.

They couldn't recognize a single character on the page.

Seeing this, Liu Jinyu sighed in silence and picked up the letter to read it aloud.

"Master Qin says..."

"Master Qin himself is unaware of how Golden Peak was destroyed. He orders us to investigate the cause of their destruction ourselves and report back to him immediately with the findings."

As Liu Jinyu finished reading, the faces of every bandit in the Flowing Peak Stronghold turned a deathly shade of green.