Chapter 276 - A Show Within a Show
It seemed that Plenty Gold Company’s inn had extremely high-quality soundproofing.
No matter how loud Xiao Sixteen screamed, no one came to his rescue.
In the room…
Xu Xiaoshou carefully helped apply medicine to the man’s wounds, silently praying that he would not move around.
He thought, ‘He is afraid!’
‘But I also want the intel!’
‘If Xiao Sixteen does not cooperate, then he can only die!’
‘It would be such a waste if he dies like this.’
With a look of seriousness, Xu Xiaoshou said, “I am saying this sincerely. You really cannot move around. Once you move, I will panic…”
Xiao Sixteen was on the verge of breaking down.
He thought, ‘What do you mean you will panic if I move? Is this something a human being should say?’
‘I only want to retrieve the Sovereign Pill from my ring. That’s all!’
‘I was being so sincere, but what did I get in return…’
Instinctively, he wanted to look down at his wound, but the fear from deep within his soul stopped him immediately.
‘I must not move!’
‘If I move again, I will really die!’
Xu Xiaoshou saw the wound recover gradually and sighed. “Okay, you can continue. You were talking about Zhang Taiying? What cultivation level is he?”
“Sovereign.”
No wonder. As the head of one of Tiansang City’s most powerful families, he was definitely not weak.
Xu Xiaoshou thought about for a moment and asked, “How many Sovereigns and Masters are there in the Zhang family?”
Xiao Sixteen’s eyes looked hollow as he replied instantly, “On the surface, there seem to be only Zhang Taiying. There might be more hidden within the shadows. I’d estimate at least three Sovereigns.”
“How about Masters?”
“I’m afraid the number is in the double digits.”
Xu Xiaoshou was speechless. This was indeed a big family.
From what he knew, on Shengshen Continent, as long as someone had attained the Master Stage, he or she already possessed the foundations to be a founder of an organization.
The organizations at the top of the pyramid would have the backing of Sovereign Cultivators.
Nevertheless, the Zhang family was a single silo organization. No matter how strong they were, they could never compare to organizations with a strong and robust educational system like the Spirit Palace. Hence, they basically only had Sovereigns that could be counted on one hand.
For the Zhang family to have at least three Sovereigns, it was sufficient to show their dominance and prowess.
It could be said that there were many talents within the family.
An organization as big and established as Tiansang Spirit Palace only had a few Sovereigns.
Even if those few senile guys were to be counted, it would only be slightly more than 10.
As for those who really could fight and were still strong, Xu Xiaoshou had only seen four…
The big four.
That was all.
If the Zhang family had at least three…
Xu Xiaoshou immediately retracted his plans to counterattack the Zhangs and chucked that dangerous thought aside.
It was not wise. What if they hid well, and there was a fourth, fifth…
What would he do then?
It would be like committing suicide.
Xu Xiaoshou stopped thinking and looked at Xiao Sixteen.
The man was as still as a stone. As long as Xu Xiaoshou was silent, the man was also silent. It was as if he had completely given up on struggling and only wanted to be an answering machine.
But then…
Locked-on, Passive Points +1
He might have been able to deceive Xu Xiaoshou, but he could not deceive the all-knowing Information Bar.
With this notification, Xiao Sixteen’s acting was immediately exposed.
Although Xu Xiaoshou had never let his guard down the whole time…
‘Such a pity. Though I didn’t plan to give you a chance from the start…’
‘But if you continue to act and think of ways to escape, then even that one in a million chance that I might let you go will never appear!’
‘Ugh.’
Xu Xiaoshou inwardly sighed.
Initially, he wasn’t sure if he could bring himself to end Xiao Sixteen’s life after the questioning. Now, it seemed that…
It was no longer a concern.
“Continue talking. Tell me what the Zhang family knows about me and my actions.”
Xu Xiaoshou’s eyes kept moving as if he was in deep thought about what Xiao Sixteen had said.
Xiao Sixteen’s voice remained hollow as he continued. “The Zhang family not only put up a reward for your head in Dark Street but, more importantly, in Three Incenses as well.”
“Three Incenses?” Xu Xiaoshou was puzzled.
“Yes, Three Incenses is the most mysterious assassin organization on the mainland. It is coined as the divine palace of all assassins. Those wanted by this organization can be considered dead.”
“Why?”
Xiao Sixteen finally looked interested and glanced at Xu Xiaoshou as if looking at a dead man and continued speaking.
“Three Incenses has split its wanted list into eight levels. The first five levels are for show and not for people to place their rewards on, so no one has ever taken up those jobs. The last three are the scariest.”
“This was how the name Three Incense came about. Dead Man, Evil Man, and Decayed Corpse are the sixth, seventh, and eighth levels of the wanted list, respectively.”
“Even the lowest level, Dead Man, has a reward of at least a million spirit crystals!”
Xu Xiaoshou’s face turned as pale as a white sheet upon hearing this.
A million spirit crystals?
Was he worth that much money?
He had the urge to chop his own head off and hand it over for the reward.
The Zhang family had to be crazy. How much money did they have to be able to put up such a reward for a weakling like him?
“A reward of millions of crystals…”
Xu Xiaoshou knew that assassins were extremely hungry for rewards.
If a mere 50,000 attracted the likes of Master assassins like Li Seven and Xiao Sixteen, what about a million?
What kind of a joke was this?
“You are lying!”
Xiao Sixteen’s lips curled into a smile. He finally saw fear from this devil’s eyes. It was a beautiful sight.
He thought, ‘If this fear can also be seen when I deal with him later, that would be perfect.’
“Lying to you?”
“I do not need to lie to you. What I said earlier is the truth. The reason you are still alive is that the big bosses at Three Incenses look down on your abilities.”
“To them, killing someone is a sign of status and image!”
“With your abilities, they do not even want to lift a finger.”
Xiao Sixteen chuckled and added, “That’s where we are different. As a minor assassin, I need resources and money!”
Xu Xiaoshou seemed to understand and said, “Everyone has their own troubles and problems. It must have been hard on you as an assassin.”
Xiao Sixteen muttered, “Huh?”
He thought, ‘What is this?’
‘Is he consoling me?’
‘Do I f*cking need your empathy?’
‘I am a cold-blooded killer. I do not need this!’
Suspected, Passive Points +1
Resisted, Passive Points +1
Xu Xiaoshou sighed and patted Xiao Sixteen’s shoulder. After a while, he asked, “Is there anything else you want to say?”
Xiao Sixteen shook his head.
“No.”
“I’ve said everything that needs to be said. I have also given you all of the Zhang family’s intel.”
“Besides the Zhang family, what you really need to take note of is the Three Incenses. That organization will not stop until you are dead.”
Xiao Sixteen had not dared to lift a single finger from the beginning until now.
Aside from still feeling pain, he could feel this young man’s medicine working very well between his muscles.
Even with his four limbs broken, he could now move a little.
Just a little more…
Xiao Sixteen silently plotted as he lowered his gaze. He was trying not to release any killing intent and only display signs of despair.
The despair was so strong that it was numbing him.
Xu Xiaoshou took his hands off Xiao Sixteen’s shoulder. He appeared to be in deep thought as he started muttering under his breath.
“Three Incenses…”
“Shkk!”
As he was muttering, he swiftly sliced his hands across Xiao Sixteen’s neck, causing the man’s head to fly.
