The Use of a Staff

"You know an assassin's mission is to kill, right? Last time you blew up a building and not a single person died. As an assassin, you don't even have a single life on your hands. Who would believe you with a resume like that?"

"But the mission itself didn't require killing anyone. One of the rules of an assassin's profession is not to kill anyone unrelated to the mission. Every survivor could be a target for the next mission. You know, in that situation, not killing is much harder than killing. I accomplished the mission perfectly."

"No one cares about that. They only know that you're an assassin who hasn't killed a single person."

"I've killed people before. I did kill someone on that mission in the Nation of Beauty last time, but I killed the wrong person—the kidnapper who had taken the mission target."

Do you think it's convincing to say something like this?

"... At least it proves that the Curse of 'my client will definitely die a violent death' is nonsense."

"This doesn't count as breaking the Curse; at most, it proves that 'as long as they don't ask you to kill someone, they won't die.' But if they don't kill anyone, why would they ask you for help?"

Qingyan sighed deeply, equally helpless.

Hongyi advised, "Actually, you can think more positively. Don't put all your eggs in one basket. I recently passed the military sports agent exam, which is internationally recognized. How about we switch careers? Recently, due to the war in the Northern Continent, sports matches have been suspended, resulting in a significant drop in our income. So I suggest you simply switch to Su State. The salaries there are higher, and I heard that a club is willing to offer a transfer fee of 100 million to invite you to join."

Just as Qingyan was about to refuse, the receptionist at the outpost suddenly approached and handed a letter to Hongyi. Qingyan' eyes lit up, guessing what it was, and he hurriedly urged, "Quick, take a look, is it a request?"

Hongyi hesitated for a moment before opening the letter. After glancing at it casually, he sighed and said, "The commission you requested has arrived. It's the same client as last time."

Then he muttered a few words under his breath, "There are really people who don't believe in evil," "They won't shed tears until they see the coffin," and "Let's see just how stubborn you really are."

After carefully reading the letter, Hongyi frowned. "This mission won't be easy."

An easy task wouldn't showcase his abilities, Qingyan urged impatiently, "Who exactly are we assassinating?"

Hongyi placed a photo in front of Qingyan and said, "This is 'Mad Ink,' who was once very famous and well-known on the battlefield between humans and demons. You should think carefully about this mission and not accept it casually."

Qingyan at the photo and felt that the person in it looked very familiar. It took him a while to remember who the person was. He was the boy he had met during a mission in the past, but the person in the photo was more mature and had a more imposing presence.

Unexpectedly, only a few years later, the unknown boy from back then had become a world-renowned powerhouse, while he himself remained unknown. Qingyan sighed inwardly and took the relevant information from Hongyi.

After looking at it for a while, Qingyan put down the documents with a troubled expression and sighed, "I can't take this mission. This kid's strength far surpasses mine. I don't even have a one in a thousand chance of assassinating him; it would just be courting death."

While it's possible to kill a Nascent Spirit Transformation with the strength of a weaker one if the opportunity is seized, there's always a limit to assassinating someone of a higher level. For example, the War God of the Military School Ba Shenhuang has offended countless people, and there are countless people who hate him to the bone. There must have been orders placed on him in private, but so far no assassin has been willing to take the job.

After all, assassins kill for money, not to fight against the strong. They won't take on missions with a low success rate or too much risk. An assassin's life is also a life, unlike that of a death squad.

For a powerful expert at the Early Spirit Transformation, as long as the arrangements are made in advance and the timing is right, Qingyan is confident that he can kill them with a single blow.

But he had heard of Mad Ink's achievements. This handsome young man Demon General on the battlefield as easily as killing a dog. What was even more troublesome was that this boy had also cultivated a body-strengthening martial art. Body-strengthening martial artists were the most hated targets of assassins, as they were easy to miss.

Upon hearing this, Hongyi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He was truly afraid that Qingyan would insist on taking the job regardless of the consequences, so he quickly chimed in, "Choosing to give up is the wise thing to do. Putting aside Mad Ink's own strength, he is also the disciple of the great swordsman Startling Rainbow Beyond the Heavens Yan. Once you offend him, you are likely to suffer retaliation from the Mohist Knight Guard. The Mohist School never talks about universal love and non-aggression when they kill people. Look, even the Blood Pupil Society didn't dare to take on this matter and had to accept the job under the name of another assassin organization. They probably had the idea of using someone else to do the dirty work. This commission wasn't specifically for you; it was a public mission that was sent to many people."

Just as Qingyan was reluctantly choosing to give up, he discovered a photo inside the envelope. He quickly took it out and saw a beautiful young woman with a somewhat cold gaze, clearly someone who was not easy to get along with.

Hongyi explained, "This is the woman beside Mad Ink. The commission is to assassinate her or kidnap her to threaten Mad Ink. On the surface, it seems easy to do, since this girl isn't even a Nascent Spirit Transformation yet. However, this action will definitely offend Mad Ink, and then incur the retaliation of the Mohist Knight Guard."

After a moment of silence, Qingyan asked, "Is this also a public mission?"

"Yes, if I'm not mistaken, the client must have a deep-seated grudge against Mad Ink, so they're trying every possible way to take revenge, not even sparing those around them. Their identity is very likely that of a Demon Race, or perhaps Remote Heaven Society the now infamous Miaotian Society."

"One of the assassin's rules is: don't care about the client's identity. As long as they can afford the reward, you can take the job even if the client is a pig."

Upon hearing this, Hongyi asked with a worried expression, "You wouldn't be thinking of...?"

"Okay, I'll take this task."

Chapter 697 The Uses of the Staff

Since Si Ming caused a scene at the military region last time, when they went there a second time, the other side no longer set up a 100-man formation, and even ignored Si Ming's comings and goings, completely giving up on resisting, just like someone who has resigned himself to his fate in an old saying.

Furthermore, the other side did not issue a warrant for Si Ming's arrest, perhaps because they felt that with Si Ming's strength, there would be no point in issuing one, especially since it was wartime and unrest in the rear was definitely not good news. Moreover, apart from scouting the Divine Pillar, Si Ming and his group had not engaged in any other illegal activities. They even held back when they stormed in last time, only injuring but not killing. Even if the stationed garrison did not appreciate this favor, there was really no need for them to risk their lives to test the other side's bottom line.

Of course, it's also possible that they haven't been able to see Si Ming's face clearly yet, and haven't even used a camera. If they put a blurry photo on the wanted poster, unsuspecting people might think the authorities are trying to catch a ghost.

In short, now that Si Ming can come and go freely, it saves him a lot of effort, as he doesn't have to outwit or outmaneuver others. However, he can no longer further test his new moves, and the lack of a free punching bag for testing his skills is a bit of a shame.

That day, he, Ji Shichen, and Hualiu finished their daily check-up of the Divine Pillar and were heading back to their base when they passed through the commercial street. A rich aroma wafted through their stomachs, so they said, "You two go back first, I'll go buy something to eat."

Ji Shichen nodded and said, "I'd like a serving of lamb tripe with minced meat."

Si Ming wore a speechless expression, because this meat-filled sheep tripe was a typical dark cuisine. The method of preparation was to hollow out the sheep's stomach, then chop up various sheep offal and stuff it in, then add onions, beef, spicy seasonings, etc., seal it, and cook it for several hours before cutting it open and eating it directly. It was quite a heavy-handed dish.

Anyway, when Si Ming saw the sheep's stomach cut open and revealing a bunch of dark lumps inside, he couldn't help but think of pig intestines and bladders, especially the unwashed kind. He didn't know if Ji Shichen had always had such heavy tastes since childhood, or if she only developed such tastes after becoming a fan of yaoi.

But everyone has their own preferences, and Si Ming couldn't say anything. Anyway, it wasn't him who was eating it, so he just silently made a note of it and headed towards the town's famous "food street".

The closer they got, the stronger the aroma became, a mixture of various snack scents, with a particularly outstanding sweet fragrance. Si Ming, with his keen sense of smell honed by his training in the Heaven-Howling Art, quickly identified the source of the aroma as a roasted chestnut stall.

The stall owner, an elderly woman, noticed Si Ming's gaze and immediately called out, "Young master, would you like some roasted chestnuts? They're fragrant and sweet, and you can try them for free. If you don't like them, you don't have to pay."

Si Ming laughed and said, "Then give me two jin."

"Okay." The old woman smiled, and the wrinkles on her face smoothed out.

As Si Ming looked at the steaming aroma emanating from the pot and the chestnuts being constantly stir-fried, he suddenly thought of something and couldn't help but chuckle.

As the old woman packed the roasted chestnuts into a paper bag, she asked, "Why are you laughing, young master?"

Si Ming, "I suddenly remembered those chivalrous novels I used to read. In them, whenever the protagonist encountered someone selling roasted chestnuts, the person would try to poison him, but they almost never succeeded. Roasted chestnuts equaled poison, which meant the assassination attempt had failed. It had become a golden rule."

The old woman looked surprised and hurriedly said, "My roasted chestnuts are not poisonous, young master, please don't talk nonsense. If you don't believe me, I'll eat some to show you, don't scare my customer away." As she spoke, she reached out to peel a chestnut.

Si Ming quickly stopped her, saying, "I was just saying, Grandma, don't take it seriously. I'm a novelist myself, so I like to think about these kinds of things. But if you think about it, you'll realize that no one in real life is that stupid as to actually do what School of Fiction makes up. Actually, poisoning roasted chestnuts is the most inconvenient thing to do because all the chestnuts are roasted in the same pot, making it very difficult to poison them individually. But if you poison them all, what will happen to ordinary passersby who buy the chestnuts? So, if you want to poison them, it's easiest to choose foods that are cooked separately, such as sesame cakes, fried pancakes, or pickled shrimp."

The old woman said irritably, "You young man, you scared me to death! I was thinking of waiving your bill because you're so handsome, but forget about it now." As she spoke, she handed the paper bag to Si Ming.