The fat man beamed, seemingly able to read their minds. “In business, every man wants to maximise his profits. Name your price without reservation, and we can parley.”
“… We can pay a thousand silver taels for you to kill the kid.”
Ming Feizhen furrowed his brows, displeased with how much he was deemed to be worth.
“Zhile, what do you say?” questioned the portly man.
The youth beside him quietly stuttered, “T-too little, maybe?”
“Hahaha, even my brother thinks it’s too little. Don’t you think your offer is a little too low?”
The group regarded each other and then, speaking on behalf of everyone, one man expressed, “Three thousand. This is the most we can offer. If this doesn’t work, we will have no choice but to ask someone else.”
“Hahaha, that will do. That will do. One payment per job. Be it two thousand or three thousand, I promise to kill any target without batting an eye.”
“Are you 100% confident you can kill him!”
“Is that a serious question? Of course not.”
Before the men could fly off the handle, the scholar in the corner stated, “Thirty thousand. As long as he’s killable, employ any means and expend no effort.”
The scholar’s allies all looked to him, eyes stretched to their end ranges.
The portly man smiled amiably with an undertone of praise. “Now that is a sensible client. Killing someone is one thing. Taking care of things afterwards is another task. How you take out the target, success or failure and all the steps leading up to either outcome are the product of many calculated steps. Failing to prepare is preparing to fail.”
“Shi Xintong, since when are you calling the shots? We’ll only have a few copper coins left if we pay twenty thousand.”
The scholar, Shi Xintong, responded, “As long as the white-haired boy lives, nobody can retrieve the item. If His Lordship wants to punish us for our failure, tell me who’ll survive.” Given he was the team leader, nobody argued with him.
Shi Xintong went to join the group at the table, where he placed a stack of currency notes dead centre. “Can you being preparations now?”
The chubby man didn’t spare the notes a single glance. “Obviously not.”
“Why?”
“Too little.”
“Twenty thousand is too little?”
“Indeed.”
“How about thirty thousand?”
“Still too little.”
“Master Le, can you just tell us how much exactly you demand?”
“Two hundred thousand silver taels. The payment needs to be delivered to three specified banks, or payments will not be accepted. You can pay in silver pieces, but you will have to pay a transaction fee for it. You have no say in when, where and how we eliminate the target.”
“Wait!” Head down and eyes up, Shi Xintong questioned, “Are you playing with me? I can accept you choosing the location and method, but we can’t even decide ‘when’? Are you telling me you’ll also count the job as a success if you just wait a few decades for him to die from old age?”
“Hahaha, why not?” Shi Xintong was going to rage when Master Le slammed the centre of the table, giving them all a fright, whilst still smiling. “You gentlemen don’t sound like you think very highly of us. We are all for Mizong Branch inciting conflict in the Central Plain because it means more business and joy for us. In saying that, it doesn’t change the fact that every life has a specific price tag. As long as you can afford their worth, there is nobody we can’t kill. Otherwise, I’m more than happy to teach you the price of life.”
“Is that a threat?”
“You still don’t seem to understand. Killing people is our profession. We don’t inflate or deflate any life’s worth. If you want their life, you must pay the price. We don’t do business that will incur losses. If you want to kill him, you will have to pay the corresponding price.”
“Who exactly is he?”
“We are League of Assassins, not League of Intelligence.”
“… Understood… However, you need to give us some time because we need time to gather the large sum.”
“Of course, of course. Even if we can’t do business, we don’t need to be enemies. There is always next time. I must remind you, though, that I can’t help you with anything until we are paid.”
“That is only fair. As I said, we need time to put togeth-”
“You misunderstand, hoho. What I’m saying is, if you start fighting with the people outside, I will only watch from the sidelines.”
Shi Xintong: There are people outside?
Ming Feizhen splintered the doors, destabilising Shi Xintong’s group with the residue winds.
Leading the group, Hua Qing flicked his sleeve as if he presided over the building. “Surrender now, scum! You can’t win fair and square against Brother Feizhen, so you’re resorting to hiring muscle? Embarrassing.”
“Exactly, you dolts!” Ming Feizhen thundered. “Why would you hire someone to kill me with that money? Pass it here. I’ll jump off a cliff for you.”
Nobody could come up with any comeback.
“Brother Feizhen, you’re not serious, are you?”
“Of course not. Thing is, they’re painfully stupid! Why would you give someone else money?! Give it to me! Hey, I only want a hundred and ninety thousand. You can beat me however you fancy. I won’t resist or complain.”
“You think you can still make jokes t out of us?” Shi Xintnog got to his foot. “Since you decided to come knocking, I’ll meet you at the door with my blade. Kill them!”
“I’m dead serious,” Ming Feizhen stressed.
In response to two slash-happy people, Hua Qing reached into his shirt for his flying daggers as he said, “Perfect timing. Have a taste of th-”
Thud! Ming Feizhen already sent the two into the wall with a palm strike.
Hua Qing: “I didn’t throw my daggers yet.”
Ming Feizhen: “Doesn’t this show that you’re accurate?”
“Don’t get full of yourself!” Five men charged at them.
Despite the narrow space that rendered their group formation executed during the day impossible, the men still coordinated their attacks adeptly.
Ming Feizhen snatched a flying dagger from Hua Qing’s pocket and hurled it behind him without looking.
Hua Qing: “Catch this!”
The dagger snapped blades in its way and downed seven men, stopping only when the wall denied it passage. Someone on the opposite of the wall cursed aloud as though he was stabbed.
Master Le: “There shouldn’t be anyone on the other side of the door. Who is it?”
Zhile stuttered, “L-Liu Shan Men’s constables, maybe?”
“Constables?” In spite of his giddy visage, Master Le’s eyes were as animate as ever.
To fulfil Hua Qing’s request to demonstrate his accuracy, Ming Feizhen sent out dagger after dagger, mowing their enemies down like mowing down autumn wheat. Shi Xintong managed to duck out of the way once, only to be kicked to sleep.
Someone no the other side of the wall ordered, “Blasted assassins, sneak attacking me. Find the cornhole who sneak attacked me.
Hearing the encroaching footsteps, Master Le activated a contraption, revealing a secret door behind him. They had already entered the dark passage when they turned around to see Ming Feizhen reach for the notes on the table.
“These men… and this money are mine now. What are you going to do about it?” Ming Feizhen asked.
Master Le responded, “Hahaha, I will not get in your way. You may be unaware, but people are keeping tabs on you ever since you showed up in the pugilistic world. I wouldn’t have come here if it was not for the chance to meet you.”
“Meet me? What do you want?”
“I merely wanted to ask for your name so that my boss would not penalise me.”
Reporting someone’s name to the boss of League of Assassins was pretty much putting them on the “must kill” list or something very close.
“Since you asked, make sure to listen carefully.”
“Everyone, freeze! You are all suspected of involvement in murder. Move and I’ll turn you into pin cushions.” The constable from Liu Shan Men breached the room with more than forty constables, only to see a group of men rolling on the ground, a chubby man and a young boy in a secret door, and, most eye-catching of all, a teenager standing with a thumb up.
“My name is Ming! Mie! Ba!” Ming Feizhen winked and stuck his tongue out.
