Surprised This Old Man Isn't Dead?

He returned to his room.

Two fairly pretty female Servant Disciples had already warmed Zhou Ze's bed.

But he was in no hurry to rest. He sat down at his desk and took stock of the day's gains.

Two thousand spirit stones in all.

"That pretty much fills the hole." A satisfied smile curled Zhou Ze's lips. "I should be hearing about that brat Lin Mo's death tomorrow."

As long as Yun Fei could kill Lin Mo, Zhou Ze felt...

His spirit stones would have been well spent.

At first, Zhou Ze hadn't wanted to kill Lin Mo.

If Lin Mo hadn't swindled another thousand spirit stones out of him at the end that day, Zhou Ze would have been willing to pay eight hundred spirit stones to reconcile with him and eliminate the threat he posed.

Unfortunately, human greed was a snake trying to swallow an elephant.

People had to pay the price for their greed.

With the threat of Lin Mo gone, he could finally sleep easy.

At the very least, with his prestige and influence in the Maidservant Department, he could hold the position of steward until he died.

Putting away his Storage Ring, Zhou Ze approached the bed in high spirits.

The female Servants who had warmed his bed even thoughtfully lifted the covers for him.

Zhou Ze had just lain down, intending to lavish some affection on the two female Servants and reward himself, when...

A chilling gust suddenly swept through the room!

In the blink of an eye, two ribbons of spiritual power struck. Before the female Servants on either side of Zhou Ze could react, they lost consciousness.

Shnk!

An instant later, just as Zhou Ze sensed something was wrong...

A black saber had already pierced his chest.

He instinctively tried to cry for help, but a hand lined with the wrinkles of age clamped over his mouth.

When he focused his eyes, a familiar face came into view.

Lin Mo!

"Mmph... mmph...!"

Zhou Ze struggled, seemingly trying to say something.

At the same time, he could clearly feel the saber lodged in his chest rapidly eating away at his flesh and plundering his vitality.

Had he lifted his clothes, Zhou Ze would have seen...

The flesh around the stab wound was dying at a speed visible to the naked eye!

"Surprised this old man isn't dead?"

Lin Mo's expression was terrifyingly calm. "I don't know what you want to say, but I imagine it's some tiresome plea to spare your life."

"And you'll never have another chance to speak."

Just like that...

As the black saber continued to plunder his vitality, Zhou Ze's struggles grew weaker and weaker.

Until the light and life in his eyes vanished completely, leaving them as hollow as dead ashes.

Although Zhou Ze had stopped breathing, Lin Mo still didn't think it was safe enough.

With a single slash, he severed Zhou Ze's head.

Only after confirming that Zhou Ze was as dead as could be did Lin Mo loot all his Storage Rings.

Inside the little Wooden Hut.

"Eight thousand five hundred spirit stones... that sneaky old bastard was pretty fat with loot. This makes up for the injuries I suffered today."

After counting all of Zhou Ze's assets, Lin Mo clicked his tongue.

The position of steward of the Maidservant Department might have been worth less than a dog in the eyes of Inner Sect Disciples.

But there was no shortage of grease to skim from it.

Other Servant Disciples might have been poor.

Especially the newcomers.

They might not have had even a few spirit stones to their names.

But after enduring a few decades, even someone who managed to land a minor position in the Maidservant Department could skim off plenty of grease.

Let alone someone like Zhou Ze, who had served as the department's deputy steward for over a decade.

Moreover, Lin Mo knew that eight thousand five hundred spirit stones was nowhere near the limit of Zhou Ze's wealth.

Ever since becoming deputy steward of the Maidservant Department, he had made at least one visit to the Drunken Immortal Pavilion every year.

In more frequent years, he went three or four times.

That showed just how much grease the fellow had skimmed off.

He also had to spend plenty of spirit stones greasing palms when handling dirty business.

For instance, when someone died.

To avoid being held accountable by the Enforcement Hall, spending some spirit stones to tie up loose ends was necessary.

As for Lin Mo killing Zhou Ze tonight...

Lin Mo was absolutely certain that no one had noticed him throughout the operation.

He had even knocked the two female Servants unconscious before making his move.

Even if the Enforcement Hall investigated, the trail wouldn't lead to him.

Besides...

Only a steward of the Maidservant Department had died. The Enforcement Hall had no desire to give itself extra work for no reason.

They could simply replace him.

The next day.

The two female Servants awoke to find Zhou Ze's decapitated corpse, a sight that left them deeply traumatized.

People from the Enforcement Hall arrived shortly afterward.

They merely asked the two female Servants a few questions about whether either of them had seen Zhou Ze's killer.

When they failed to identify a specific suspect, the Enforcement Hall's people simply disposed of Zhou Ze's corpse.

Then they hastily closed the case.

With Zhou Ze murdered, both the steward and deputy steward positions in the Maidservant Department were left vacant.

Another day passed.

Shangguan Wuqing came to see him.

"Did you kill Zhou Ze?" Without beating around the bush, Shangguan Wuqing went straight to the point.

Lin Mo didn't answer. He merely smiled without confirming or denying it.

Shangguan Wuqing said, "Don't be nervous. I'm not here to investigate whether you were involved in Zhou Ze's death, although I know you probably were."

"But that doesn't matter."

"So many Servants die unnatural deaths every year. If we investigated every single one, the Enforcement Hall wouldn't have time for anything else."

This outcome was more or less what Lin Mo had expected.

He said, "Since you haven't come to question me, Captain Wuqing, I assume you must have some other business today."

"Yes."

Shangguan Wuqing nodded slightly. "Zhou Ze is dead, and the entire Maidservant Department has been left without anyone to manage it. Naturally, the sect needs to appoint someone else to take charge."

"The matter fell to me, so I came to ask whether you'd be interested in becoming the Maidservant Department's new steward."

Lin Mo fell silent for a moment before asking, "Captain Wuqing, there are several thousand people in the Maidservant Department. Why choose this old man?"

"Your cultivation is high enough, and you have plenty of seniority. You're one of the best candidates."

"Besides... you have a relationship with me, don't you? Naturally, you're the first person I consider when something good comes along."

"And wouldn't becoming steward of the Maidservant Department give you more freedom? That would make it easier for us to do things together, wouldn't it?" Shangguan Wuqing offered her reasons.

At her words, Lin Mo broke out in a cold sweat.

Fortunately, Liu Ziyan had gone out. Otherwise, if she had heard Shangguan Wuqing's last remark...

He would have been in for a world of suffering!

When that happened, Shangguan Wuqing probably wouldn't have been able to save herself either!

Besides, that last remark was surely the real reason she had come to see him.

"I'm sorry, Captain Wuqing. I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you."

Lin Mo politely declined. "To be honest, this old man has no interest in becoming steward of the Maidservant Department. Please find someone else."

Taking that position would mean having to manage all sorts of affairs.

Although there was grease to skim from the post, its many miscellaneous duties would undoubtedly slow his cultivation.

In the past, Lin Mo might have wanted to become steward of the Maidservant Department.

But now, in Lin Mo's eyes, the position had instead become a burden that would hold him back from growing stronger.