Phainon: Kill Zhou Yi? That'll Cost Extra

"Boss, are you sure your escort agency takes any job?"

At the entrance to the Starry Sky Escort Agency in the Heaven Dou Empire, a wealthy-looking couple asked the question tentatively.

The young man receiving them had white hair.

His short silver-white hair fell in an uneven fringe around his temples, with mismatched eyes beneath it.

One eye was gold, the other blue, and faint patterns of sunlight seemed to ripple through both.

He wore fingerless gloves. His skin was almost translucent, but his gaze always held a distant hint of compassion.

"Please, make yourselves comfortable. What you see is what you get with our agency. We take any job."

"Even an assassination?

We want someone dead."

As soon as the couple said "assassination," they seemed to remember their target, and their faces twisted with hatred.

Phainon's eyes lit up.

An assassination?

That had to pay well.

He snapped his fingers and ushered the two guests inside. The doors swung shut behind them.

"What's this?"

Both looked startled.

"Don't worry. It's only to protect your privacy. Ordering a killing isn't exactly a good deed, so we'd best not discuss it out in the open."

"Oh, right."

They immediately understood. They had been so distraught that they had talked about killing someone right on the doorstep.

"Now, tell me what you need. Once you place the order, our agency will assess its difficulty and risk, then set a fair price. Would you mind explaining?

Of course, you'll need to tell me why you want this person dead. That's part of the assessment too."

Phainon poured them each a cup of tea, folded his hands on the table, and quietly waited.

At the mention of their reasons, both burst into tears.

"Boss, we have money. We're well-known wealthy merchants in the Heaven Dou Empire.

Neither of us has a powerful Martial Soul or much Innate Soul Power, but our son showed promise!

With all the resources we gave him, he reached level eighteen at twelve. We paid a fortune for a city lord's recommendation letter and sent him to Shrek Academy.

We thought he'd make it through the three-month entrance assessment and earn a place at Shrek Academy, bringing honor to our family. But those three months weren't a time of growth. They were a nightmare!"

The woman's voice rose.

"Shrek Academy has a monster of a teacher named Zhou Yi. During those three months, she drives the new students to the brink of death and calls it 'devil training.'

Our son was frail from birth. To gain more Soul Power from his First Soul Ring, he absorbed a Soul Ring hundreds of years beyond what he could safely handle. It badly damaged his body, and he never fully recovered.

He told Zhou Yi plainly that he was unwell. He could handle ordinary training, but he simply couldn't endure anything excessive.

Zhou Yi turned a deaf ear. She even decided he was a troublemaker trying to slack off.

She worked him to the bone every day, making him run under the weight of an Iron Garment. If he stopped, she crushed them with her pressure.

Zhou Yi said she'd bring in a powerful healing-type Soul Master after each stage to treat them. But how could a Soul Saint-level support Soul Master heal hidden injuries?

Over those three months, he finally broke down.

Afterward, she didn't offer so much as half an apology. She only said she was weeding out the bad coins, and that trash didn't deserve to stay at Shrek.

She'd already ruined our son's health, and then she had to drive a knife into his heart!

For the next year, we searched everywhere for precious medicines to treat him. But after a full year, his path of cultivation was still completely severed.

We went to Shrek to demand an explanation, but Zhou Yi unleashed the pressure of a Six-Ring Soul Emperor and drove us out of the academy.

Everyone at Shrek protects their own. They looked down their noses at us.

There was no road to heaven and no gate into the earth!

But we can't swallow this. Our precious son's whole life has been ruined!"

"Zhou Yi. Shrek." Phainon's expression did not change. "So you want us to go to Shrek and kill their star teacher, Zhou Yi, a Six-Ring Soul Emperor. I'm afraid..."

"Boss, does hearing Shrek's name make you afraid to take the job?

We heard about your agency on the black market. They said you were powerful. Just buying that information cost us a thousand Gold Soul Coins."

Pfft—

"What?"

Phainon spat out his tea.

He hurriedly wiped his mouth. "You paid a thousand Gold Soul Coins just to learn that our agency takes jobs?"

Those bastards. We work ourselves to the bone for a little money, and they make that much by flapping their lips.

"Boss?"

"It's nothing. I just remembered something unpleasant. Let's continue.

I'm deeply sorry for what happened to you.

But you know how famous Shrek Academy is, and how fiercely it protects its own. Zhou Yi almost never leaves the grounds, either. We'd practically be pulling a tooth from a tiger's mouth."

"Then... is there really no way?"

Despair crossed the woman's face.

Were they supposed to let Zhou Yi do whatever she pleased? Could they only watch their son live in pain?

After everything they had gone through to find an escort agency, even this one was afraid to take the job.

"No, no. You misunderstand.

I mean it'll cost extra."

"Huh?"

"You'd really go into Shrek Academy and kill Zhou Yi?"

"Isn't that what you're asking for?

We generally fulfill our clients' requests.

If you have other requirements, we can meet those too. You could even write a script for this job.

Of course, the more you ask for, the more it costs."

"About how much would it be?"

"I'll need to assess it. Give me a minute."

Phainon immediately called up the system panel.

[New order detected. Escort job: travel to Shrek Academy and kill Zhou Yi, a level sixty-four Soul Emperor.

Task difficulty: three stars.

Task rating: premium order.

Price range: ten to fifteen million Gold Soul Coins. Estimated earnings: one thousand to one thousand five hundred Escort Points.]

Phainon's eyes lit up at the assessment.

"System, she's just a Soul Emperor. Why is the reward almost as high as one for a five-star job?"

[Host, you've barely opened your mouth, and I've already spotted three problems.]

[First, she's a Soul Emperor at Shrek Academy.]

[Second, this reward is much better than a five-star job's.]

[Third, Zhou Yi may only be a Soul Emperor, but killing her means facing Shrek's entire Soul Tool Department. Her husband has considerable power—not that kind of power. He holds considerable influence in the Soul Tool Department.]

[By the way, those three pieces of information cost ten Escort Points. Detailed information has been sent to the agency mailbox for your review. Thank you for your patronage.]

"When did I ask for information?

I don't need it. Give me a refund!"

[Delivered information is nonrefundable. Enjoy your mission, Host.]

The couple grew increasingly nervous as Phainon's face darkened.

"Boss, is it very expensive?"

"Ten million Gold Soul Coins.

Pay that, and we can sign the contract whenever you're ready. You'll see her corpse the next day.

For extra money, you can customize the service. How do you want her to die?

What do you want her body to look like?

That's entirely up to you."

"Ten million Gold Soul Coins."

They drew in sharp breaths. It was most of their fortune. But if it bought revenge for their son, it would be worth it.

What stunned them more was that the agency truly dared to take a killing job at Shrek. It was every bit as bold as the black market had claimed.

The boss seemed as warm as a spring breeze.

Yet in his eyes, they saw profound sorrow and absolute confidence in his own strength.

As though going to Shrek to kill someone were as simple as eating and drinking.