"Don't kill me. Don't you want to know who sent to kill you?" Feeling the shadow of death closing in, Gui Ren (Ghost Blade) was filled with both regret and resentment. He took a deep breath, his voice hoarse as he asked.
"Who?" Chu Xun's voice was even more raspy than Gui Ren's. The horrific wound on his throat made speaking a struggle, his distorted voice resembling a demon's question from the depths of hell.
"It's Chu Jie. He sent me to kill you, to avenge his brother, Chu Qing." When it came to life and death, Gui Ren had no hesitation in selling out Chu Jie.
"Chu Jie?" Upon hearing these words, Chu Xun's eyes turned even colder.
He never expected Chu Jie to be so narrow-minded and cruel. To settle a grudge, he was willing to kill his own kin!
"Is that all?" Chu Xun tore off a strip from his shirt and gritted his teeth to bind his throat wound, briefly attempting to stop the bleeding.
Once this was done, he coldly glanced at the dying Gui Ren and said, "If that's all, then you can die now!"
"No, don't kill me!" Gui Ren cried out again, then hurriedly added, "I'm a killer. I may not be wealthy, but I have some savings. If you spare me, I'll give you all of it! Sixty-plus standard crystal cores!"
"Sixty-plus standard crystal cores?" Hearing this, Chu Xun hesitated for a moment, as if tempted.
"Yes, and there are plenty of other valuable collections as well. You'll definitely be interested!" Seeing Chu Xun falter, Gui Ren's heart lightened.
If he could make it back home, he was confident he could survive. After all, he was a master of traps, and his home was full of mechanisms and snares!
As for whether Chu Xun would fall for his trap, Gui Ren wasn't worried at all. He knew Chu Xun's background well—those sixty crystal cores would be an irresistible fortune for a poor kid like him.
"Not interested." Just as Gui Ren was fantasizing about escaping and using his traps to kill Chu Xun, the cold, hoarse voice of Chu Xun cut through his thoughts.
"What?" Gui Ren froze, thinking he had misheard.
But in the next second, a black, smooth head appeared right in front of him, its terrifying jaws wide open.
In those jaws, sharp inner teeth gleamed with a cold light!
*Crack!*
With a crisp sound, the alien inner teeth shot out like bullets and, in Gui Ren's disbelieving gaze, pierced through his skull.
Blood and brain matter erupted out together.
Having ventured too deep, Gui Ren, the killer who had taken countless lives, met his own death at the hands of his target!
"How should I deal with this guy…" Looking at Gui Ren's corpse, Chu Xun hesitated.
To be honest, it would have been impossible for him not to be tempted by Gui Ren's offer. Sixty crystal cores was an enormous sum of money, and it could help him do many things, even allowing him to improve his strength significantly before the student assessment.
But even though he was tempted, after the lessons from the Qing Yi incident, he no longer gave enemies any chance for a comeback—no matter how slim that chance seemed!
Now, the question was how to dispose of Gui Ren's body. He could report the matter to the Law Enforcement Department, have them investigate the mastermind, and even personally accuse Chu Jie.
But would that be useful?
Yes, according to family rules, hiring an assassin to kill one's own kin was a serious crime. However, he didn't have direct evidence to prove that Gui Ren had been sent by Chu Jie. And, given that the faces of the law enforcement officers were as cold as corpses, they probably wouldn't risk offending the Chu family's financial powerhouse, Chu Han, for a powerless "waste" like him.
Furthermore, even if Chu Jie were convicted, what then? Would the family patriarch really kill him over this? And what benefits would Chu Xun gain from it? The only thing he would gain was probably more hatred from Chu Han's family.
He wasn't afraid of offending Chu Jie or Chu Qing, as this was simply a competition among family peers. The resources those two could wield were limited. But once Chu Han, the big fish, was involved, one wrong move, and he could be ruined beyond repair!
With that thought, Chu Xun finally made up his mind. He turned to the eager alien creature beside him and said, "It's yours now, my dear!"
"Hiss!" Upon hearing Chu Xun's words, the alien immediately let out a delighted hiss, then dove into Gui Ren's body, beginning to devour it ravenously.
As it consumed, the alien swiped at the items on Gui Ren's body, pushing them aside. It was then that Chu Xun's attention was caught by a small metal box and a blood-stained booklet.
"What's this?" A curious look appeared on Chu Xun's face as he crouched down and picked up the leather-bound booklet and the metal box.
*Click!*
With a soft click, Chu Xun opened the metal box, and soft blue light burst forth, filling his vision.
"Hiss!" The sight in front of him caused Chu Xun to instinctively suck in a breath, the sharp pain in his throat immediately snapping him back to reality. His body shuddered slightly, and he quickly closed the box, tucking it into his chest.
Meanwhile, the alien had completely devoured Gui Ren's body, leaving only a faint scent of blood. It sat beside Chu Xun, emitting a soft hiss as if still a little unsatisfied.
"Someone's coming!" Suddenly, Chu Xun thought he heard footsteps approaching from afar. His body stiffened, and he grabbed the alien, hoarsely ordering, "Someone's coming, transform into a card, now!"
"Hiss!" The alien hissed, then its body quickly transformed into purple light, condensing into a card that fused into Chu Xun's palm.
After securing the card, Chu Xun immediately sped up, running toward the other end of the alley.
From the time Gui Ren attacked him until now, despite a few twists and turns, no more than ten minutes had passed. The sky was still dim, and the cold wind howled through the empty streets, with no one in sight.
It made sense, though. In this cursed era, the temperature difference between day and night was extreme. For instance, in Chu City, it could reach over 30°C during the hottest part of the day, but now, the temperature was plunging well below zero. Who would be foolish enough to be out in this cold?
Only after the sun rose and the temperature started to rise would more people begin to appear on the streets.
Thankfully, that was the case, or Chu Xun, covered in blood, might have attracted unwanted attention…
However, what Chu Xun didn't know was that, shortly after he left, five dark figures appeared in the alley where he had just fought with Gui Ren.
These individuals were cloaked in black robes, with hoods concealing their faces, blending seamlessly into the shadows, making them impossible to identify.
"That's quite the kid…" Among the five, the leader, a burly man, glanced in the direction Chu Xun had gone and suddenly laughed.
"Indeed, he's impressive—decisive, talented, and knows how to make the right choices." Standing beside the burly man, a slender figure, clearly a woman, nodded and said in a soft voice, "If he had chosen to report this to the Law Enforcement Department or gone home with Gui Ren, he would either be dead or have suffered greatly!"
"Heh, Gui Ren never expected to die at the hands of a kid." A small, dwarfish figure, the exact opposite of the burly man, suddenly laughed oddly. "Tsk, tsk, this trash dares to call himself a killer? He's really disgraced the ancient profession of assassination."
"Ying Sha, remember, you're no longer a killer; you're a Night Watchman now!" The burly man snorted, as if displeased by the dwarf's words.
"Understood, boss!" The dwarf, clearly intimidated, trembled and nodded quickly, too afraid to say more.
"However, this kid is still a bit too inexperienced. Even though he cleared the body, he neglected to erase the signs of the battle and the blood. Doesn't he know that this could reveal a lot of information?" The burly man thought for a moment, then turned to the two identical black-clad figures behind him. "Shuang Sheng An Ying, clean this place up. Don't let the kid run into any trouble."
"Yes!" The two figures nodded simultaneously, their voices in perfect sync. Then, they waved their hands, and the broken ground began to melt as if subjected to extreme heat. It reformed quickly, erasing all traces of the battle.
In the blink of an eye, everything in the alley returned to its original state, as if nothing had ever happened, though the faint smell of blood still lingered in the air...
"Boss, should we report this to the City Lord?" The female black-clad figure asked after a pause, her voice thoughtful. "Sending an assassin after a kid seems like it might cross the line. Also, the kid has quite a bit of potential."
"No need. This is an internal matter of the Chu family. We stay out of it." The burly man shook his head, his voice low. "Remember our identity. We are Night Watchmen, guardians of Chu City's peace at night. Our