Yu Tianheng's Descent into Darkness, Hiring an Assassin

Late at night, the dormitory area of Heaven Dou Royal Academy had long since gone dark, and most students had already drifted into dreams. But Yu Tianheng could not sleep.

He sat alone on the rooftop terrace of the dormitory building, his back against the cold railing, clutching an empty wine flask in his hand.

Moonlight fell across his face, revealing an expression so gloomy it was frightening, as though his parents had died.

The scene from earlier that day replayed over and over in his mind. Dugu Yan had stood beside Lin Chen and told him in that icy tone, "I know him better than you know me."

That protective stance, that unwavering trust, stabbed into his heart like a knife and twisted back and forth.

He had pursued Dugu Yan for two years.

A full two years. The flowers and gifts he had given her, the times he had stood up for her, the beatings he had taken for her—there were too many to count.

He had thought that as long as he persisted, he would eventually move her.

And what happened? Lin Chen had been here for less than half a month, yet she had already thrown herself at him. The way she looked at Lin Chen, the way she spoke to him, the way she carried herself when standing by his side.

All of it was something he had dreamed of having but had never received.

Yu Tianheng viciously smashed the wine flask onto the ground, the sound of metal striking metal especially piercing in the night.

"Lin Chen..." He gritted his teeth and forced out the name through the gaps between them, his voice seeming to come from hell itself. "If you won't let me have peace, then don't expect any peace yourself."

He rose to his feet and stood in the darkness for a long time. Then, as if he had made up his mind, he turned and walked down from the rooftop.

Early the next morning, Yu Tianheng did not attend class. He changed into a plain gray cloth outfit, put on a bamboo hat that concealed most of his face, then pulled out a locked iron box from beneath his bed.

Inside the box was everything he had saved up over the years.

Gold Soul Coins, Soul Tools, several valuable ores, and some precious items his father and clan elders had bestowed upon him.

This was all of his private savings. He had originally intended to keep it for buying a soul bone someday or for emergencies.

He packed everything into a cloth bag, weighed it in his hand, then took a deep breath. Pushing open the window, he climbed out, avoided everyone's notice, and quietly left Heaven Dou Royal Academy along a small path behind the academy walls.

The place he was heading to was the most chaotic and shady district in Heaven Dou City—the Underground Street.

It was a gathering place for all sorts of unsavory people: assassins, thieves, black-market merchants, fugitives... every kind of person who could not stand in the light operated there.

As long as you could afford the price, you could buy anything there, including a human life.

Yu Tianheng had only heard of this place before. He had never come here himself.

He had grown up in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, clothed in finery and fed exquisite food, always standing high above others. He had never deigned to deal with people from a place like this.

But today, he had no other choice. He could not let the clan know that he intended to deal with Lin Chen.

Those old fossils in the clan had always valued their reputation. They would never allow him to use such underhanded methods against a twelve-year-old boy.

Nor could he let the academy know, much less Dugu Yan. He could only rely on himself.

The Underground Street was located in the southwestern corner of Heaven Dou City, hidden beneath a dilapidated residential district. Yu Tianheng walked down a narrow stone stairway for three levels, and the view before him suddenly opened up.

Yu Tianheng frowned, pulled the brim of his bamboo hat lower, and quickly crossed the street in search of his target.

He had asked around beforehand. There was a shop on the Underground Street that specialized in taking "dirty jobs," called Shadow Pavilion. It was said to be the most reliable assassin broker in all of Heaven Dou City.

He found the shop deep within a secluded alley.

The storefront was tiny, with not even a sign above the entrance. Only a vague shadow pattern was carved into the doorframe.

Yu Tianheng pushed the door open and walked inside. There was only an old man in the shop, sitting behind the counter with a hunched back, wiping an oil lamp with a rag.

The old man looked up and glanced at Yu Tianheng. A glint flashed through his cloudy eyes.

"Customer, you've come to the wrong place, haven't you?" the old man said in a hoarse, indifferent voice. "This isn't somewhere a young master like you should be."

"I'm in the right place." Yu Tianheng removed his bamboo hat, revealing his young but gloomy face. "I want to hire someone to kill."

The old man stared at him for several seconds before setting down the oil lamp and leaning back in his chair. "Who do you want killed?"

"A student from Heaven Dou Royal Academy named Lin Chen. He's twelve."

"Twelve?" The old man raised an eyebrow. "A twelve-year-old student is worth spending a fortune to hire someone on the Underground Street?"

"He isn't an ordinary student." Yu Tianheng gritted his teeth. "He's a Soul King, rank fifty-six. And two girls, both Soul Masters, are often with him. I can't touch him alone."

The old man's brows rose even higher. "A twelve-year-old Soul King? Are you sure?"

"I saw it with my own eyes."

The old man fell silent for a moment, then raised three fingers. "Three hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins."

Yu Tianheng's heart sank sharply.

Three hundred thousand. Everything he had brought probably added up to only a little more than that. It was as if the old man had seen through his bottom line and set the price precisely at his limit.

"...Fine." Yu Tianheng agreed through gritted teeth.

He placed the cloth bag on the counter and untied it, revealing the glittering coins and assorted valuables inside. The old man gave them a glance, nodded, then took out a yellowed contract from beneath the counter and pushed it toward him.

"Sign it. Leave the target's identifying details and daily movements. You'll receive word within three days."

Yu Tianheng picked up the pen and signed his name on the contract.

His hand trembled slightly, but he did not hesitate. Lin Chen's calm face kept flashing through his mind, along with Dugu Yan standing beside Lin Chen and the mocking laughter of the surrounding students.

After signing, he put down the pen, raised his head to look at the old man, and spoke in a hoarse yet resolute voice. "I want him dead. The more miserable his death, the better."

The old man put away the contract and said blandly, "Once the money is paid, you are a customer. We will do our best to satisfy a customer's request."

Yu Tianheng put on his bamboo hat, turned, and walked out of the shop.

He passed through the dim Underground Street, climbed the stone steps, and returned to the surface.

The sunlight made him squint. Standing amid the ruined residential district, he gulped down fresh air as if he had just been pulled from the water.

He turned back to look at the stone stairs leading to the Underground Street, a complicated expression flashing through his eyes.

But he quickly suppressed that trace of hesitation, replacing it with an almost crazed resolve.

Lin Chen, just wait. You destroyed my dignity, destroyed two years of my efforts, and destroyed my chance to win Yan Yan.

I'll make you pay. I'll make you die.