He slipped through the door and, using the shadows cast by the corridor pillars, darted like a civet cat to the window outside the main hall.
Several wavering figures were reflected on the window paper. One of them was a burly man with a face full of jowls and a scar across his left cheek,
He was embracing two concubines and boasting loudly about something—it was Zhao Kui.
"...Once I swallow up the Green Snake Gang in the south, no one in the western district will dare challenge me!"
Zhao Kui downed a mouthful of strong liquor, then slammed the empty cup onto the table with a sharp crack.
Cao Mo furrowed his brows slightly. He saw that there were seven other people in the hall. One was in the early stage of the Void Glimpse Realm, presumably the vice gang leader, while the rest were around the Grandmaster level.
Charging straight in was not impossible, but if he alarmed the other men in the front courtyard, it would inevitably lead to complications.
He was an assassin, so he was accustomed to killing from the shadows.
His gaze swept toward the old locust tree in the corner of the courtyard. Its trunk extended diagonally to the roof of the main hall, and its dense foliage made it the perfect place to hide.
His figure blurred, and Cao Mo landed soundlessly on the roof. Not a single tile shifted.
He lay atop the rafters and looked down through the gaps between the tiles, taking in everything happening in the hall.
Zhao Kui had risen to relieve himself and was staggering toward a side room beside the hall. Only one guard followed him.
Now!
Spiritual Energy stirred faintly at Cao Mo's fingertips. The dagger at his waist sprang from its sheath with a clang. Its blade was pitch-black—it was his favored Shadow Devouring Dagger.
Like a falling leaf, he slid down from the roof and landed outside the side room's window, perfectly avoiding the guard's line of sight.
Inside the side room, Zhao Kui was relieving himself over a chamber pot, still cursing under his breath.
Cao Mo abruptly shoved open the window and darted inside like a ghost. The Shadow Devouring Dagger carried a biting flash of cold light as it thrust straight toward Zhao Kui's back.
"Who?!" Zhao Kui was, after all, a Middle Void Comprehension Stage cultivator. He instinctively sensed the danger and spun around, crossing both arms to block.
"Pfft—"
The dagger pierced through his sleeve, but was stopped by the barrier condensed from Zhao Kui's Spiritual Energy.
At that moment of delay, the guard crashed through the door, his blade cleaving toward Cao Mo's back.
Cao Mo neither dodged nor retreated. He struck the guard in the chest with a backhanded palm. The guard let out a scream, flew backward, slammed into the wall, and fainted.
Zhao Kui seized the opportunity to retreat. The skull jade pendant at his waist lit up with a red glow, and a blood-colored barrier enveloped him.
"Who are you? How dare you trespass into the Black Wind Gang's headquarters?"
"The man here to take your life." Cao Mo's voice was cold. The Shadow Devouring Dagger drew three afterimages through the air,
It was the threefold variation of the Instant Shadow Dagger Kill Technique, locking onto Zhao Kui's throat, dantian, and brow center respectively.
"Clang, clang, clang—"
The dagger collided with the blood-colored barrier, ringing like clashing metal.
Zhao Kui's expression changed drastically. The barrier, capable of withstanding attacks from the Void Glimpse Peak, showed faint signs of cracking.
He had never expected his opponent to be in the Late Void Glimpse Stage yet possess strength far beyond his cultivation level.
"Men! There's an assassin!" Zhao Kui roared, trying to summon the people in the main hall.
How could Cao Mo give him the chance? He suddenly lowered himself, sending the dagger skimming along the floor before precisely stabbing into the shattered section of the barrier. The blood-colored barrier collapsed instantly.
"Ah—!" Zhao Kui screamed as he fell to his knees.
The Shadow Devouring Dagger followed through with an upward slash. A flash of cold light passed, and his throat was cut.
Zhao Kui's eyes widened in disbelief. In the end, he collapsed helplessly onto the floor, his blood staining the blue bricks red.
Cao Mo swiftly severed Zhao Kui's head and wrapped it in cloth. He then felt around his chest and retrieved the skull jade pendant—it was the proof of the mission.
After finishing everything, he glanced at the unconscious guard but did not kill him. He turned and dashed out of the side room, vanishing into the night after a few leaps.
It was not until half an hour later that the guards in the front courtyard noticed something was wrong and discovered the carnage in the side room.
The Black Wind Gang's headquarters immediately descended into chaos. Wails and furious shouts tore through the night sky, but the killer's trail had long since vanished.
Inside the General Store, Cao Mo placed Zhao Kui's head and the jade pendant on the counter and had them handed to the person who posted the bounty before leaving.
"Fellow comrades, I have lived up to your expectations! The mission is complete." After returning to the stronghold, Cao Mo said this to Jing Ke and the others!
Jing Ke smiled and stepped forward. "Thanks for your hard work, Brother Cao! Rest for a while first."
He then engraved the character "Complete" onto the main stele.
The next morning, just after the morning market in Qingzhou City opened, several rogue cultivators gathered together and discussed something in hushed voices.
"Have you heard? Zhao Kui of the Black Wind Gang died last night!" A bearded cultivator took a sip of hot porridge, excitement coloring his voice.
The cultivator selling low-grade pills beside him raised his brows at that. "Zhao Kui? That vicious star with the scar on his left cheek? He was at the Middle Void Comprehension Stage. Who would dare touch him?"
"Who knows? The Black Wind Gang's people have been running around like madmen this morning, asking everywhere about the killer. They say Zhao Kui was beheaded and died in a side room at their headquarters."
The bearded cultivator clicked his tongue in amazement. "I heard he died without making a sound. This method does seem like the work of an assassin organization."
A cultivator in a blue robe put down his chopsticks. "I think the Misty Rain Tower did it.
"Haven't rumors about them been spreading through the Black Market these past few days? They set up a bounty stele specifically to take on this kind of 'troublesome business.'"
"The Misty Rain Tower?" The cultivator selling low-grade pills clicked his tongue.
"You mean the Misty Rain Tower that can stand up to the Qingyun Sect?"
"Good heavens! They're trying to become the Eastern Region's third-largest assassin organization."
"Perhaps." The bearded cultivator chuckled. "In my opinion, with the Misty Rain Tower emerging into the world, the skies over Qingzhou are probably going to change."
Before you continue