Chapter 145: The Giant in the Shadow

Chapter 145: The Giant in the Shadow

Chapter 145: The Giant in the Shadow
Star-catching tower.

Li Yuan frowned slightly.

Naturally, he wanted to stay away from this notorious killer organization. He was a true disciple of the Divine Weapon Valley, with a family, a career, and martial arts skills. He would be crazy to want to be a killer.

But Boss...

In the drizzle, a gray-clothed man wearing a straw raincoat and a bamboo hat leaned against the door frame. After hearing no response for a long time, he raised his hand and knocked on the door lightly:

"Then I'll go?"

squeak~
The courtyard door opens.

Li Yuan looked with the hammer in hand. The gray-clothed man outside the courtyard gate was of medium build, with a fox-like iron mask and a black scimitar hanging from his waist.

"A top-grade famous instrument!"

Li Yuan glanced at the scimitar and felt a little scared, but he remained calm. He invited him into the house and closed the door.

"Tsk, spirit rat?"

The man in gray took a look at the shivering little mouse in the house and said, "I heard that spirit mice are the best at finding treasures. It seems that Li Zhenchuan is also a person of my sect!"

Blowing out the candle, he smiled and bowed:

"Linghu Baiwan, um, my pseudonym."

Li Yuan's mouth twitched: "Your Excellency is quite frank."

"We can't help it. Our reputation is bad. If our real name is leaked, we will be in big trouble. We have to be careful."

Linghu Baiwan spread his hands, and when he saw Li Yuan's face darken, he patted his forehead:
"Don't worry, Li Zhenchuan. I took the 'Soul-Confusing Pill' before I left. As soon as the sun rises, I will forget everything that happened today."

"Soul-Confusing Pill?"

Li Yuan was skeptical.

He had heard of the Soul-Confusing Pill and knew that taking it would be like blacking out after drinking alcohol, and that one would lose all of the experiences during the period of taking the pill.

But who knows whether he ate it or not?
"Once you enter the building, you will understand that building rules are as important as the sky. Your status is not worth me breaking such a big taboo."

Linghu Baiwan took off his bamboo hat, revealing his bald head:
"Although Elder Wang has made arrangements, I still need to take a look at the letter of recommendation."

"What's your identity?"

Li Yuan held the letter of recommendation.

Linghu Baiwan took out a bronze plate from his bosom, on which was a picture of a fox face:
"I don't have anything on me that could reveal my identity. This brand can barely be considered an identity."

Li Yuan glanced at it, took note of it silently, and handed over the letter of recommendation.

"Well, okay, let's go?"

Linghu Baiwan didn't even look at it. He just reached out and took out the fire starter and burned it before turning around.

"Mysterious."

Li Yuan frowned slightly, and sensed the glittering top-grade Liuhe boots in the weapon-control talisman. Then he put on his hat, picked up his hammer and followed.

Close the door before you leave.

……

In the drizzle, Li Yuan followed slowly.

Linghu Baiwan in front was walking very fast and would stop to wait for him from time to time. The two of them walked out of the inner island one after the other.

Linghu Baiwan casually unleashed a black-sailed boat from the shore and paddled it downstream.

The water in the cold pond connects to all the water veins in the mountains, and there are also rivers leading to the outside of the mountain. However, when the water flows out, it is no longer freezing cold.

Woohoo~
In the night rain, the wind is slightly cold.

Linghu Baiwan is very skilled in rowing the boat, fast and steady.

Li Yuan stood on the sampan, looking at the gloomy lake, and couldn't help but think of the red dragon fish king.

These days, he went to the library specifically to look for relevant records.

Before the migration of the Divine Weapon Pavilion, the Earth Fire Cold Pond was also a desolate place like the Fire Dragon Mouth and the Wind and Thunder Valley, rich in rare iron materials and home to many spiritual beasts.

For thousands of years, there have been many people trying to catch and kill the magical fish, but the thousand-foot-deep cold water is enough to stop even the most skilled fisherman.

The Red Dragon Fish King has appeared only a few times, with the last one being more than 30 years ago.

The last person to see the Red Dragon Fish King was Han Chuijun.

"Old Han suffered a loss because of that fish king."

Li Yuan shook his head in his heart.

The Chirong Cave is difficult to enter, and the Cold Pond is equally dangerous and unpredictable. No wonder the Divine Weapon Valley has not been able to find the Black Whale Hammer for more than a thousand years.

"arrive!"

Suddenly, Linghu Baiwan spoke and stopped the boat on the lake.

Ok?
Li Yuan looked back and could vaguely see the outline of the inner island in the night rain. How could the various places in the Zhaixing Tower be so close?

"This is a cold-proof pill."

Linghu Baiwan dropped the oars, handed Li Yuan a pill, and without waiting for Li Yuan to say anything, he dived into the pool.

Li Yuan frowned. Of course he couldn't take this kind of elixir of unknown origin. After controlling the red dragon fish's skin armor, he also went into the water.

The water in the cold pond becomes even colder in the night rain.

Li Yuan adapted himself a little and followed Linghu Baiwan to the river bank, which was more than eighty meters away from the river surface.

"Ok?"

Li Yuan opened his eyes wide and saw a ray of light from the cracks in the rocks. He immediately jumped in and crawled in.

Behind the crack in the rock was a cave, somewhat similar to the Hantan Cave. There were torches burning on the wall and an iron box on the ground.

It was filled with all kinds of masks.

"Pick a mask and put it on."

Linghu Baiwan wiped the water off his face and shivered a little: "Damn, this is too cold."

Inside the iron box were various animal-face masks, made of similar materials. Among them, Li Yuan also saw a ghost-face mask, which was very similar to the one Han Chuijun had.

Li Yuan's eyes flickered slightly, he chose the ghost mask and put it on, then followed Linghu Baiwan.

This area of ​​Zhaixing Tower is very secretive.

Li Yuan followed him through twists and turns in the tunnel, almost making himself dizzy, before he saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

After walking through the tunnel, the view suddenly opens up. It seems like a mountain that has been hollowed out, with a large space and many lights.

"How careful."

Li Yuan took a quick look and found at least hundreds of holes on the surrounding walls, some real and some fake, connecting to all directions.

It can be seen that the people who built this underground palace were very careful.

Li Yuan thought to himself that even if the information of this place was leaked or even if there was a traitor, it would be difficult to catch everyone in one fell swoop.

"I don't have a base in the Star Picking Tower. This cave is a temporary gathering place. All tasks can be accepted and submitted here."

Linghu Baiwan jumped down and landed in the cave, and Li Yuan followed.

"Linghu, are you here to hand in the mission?"

A hoarse voice was heard, and an old man in black, trembling as he walked, walked out of a cave somewhere.

Li Yuan took a glance and saw that the old man was wearing a snake-face mask and had no weapons. He was only leaning on an iron staff.

"Master!"

Li Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly.

This old man seems to be trembling, but in fact his body is like a python when he walks. It seems slow, but in fact he remains extremely vigilant.

"Well, I accepted the mission of extraditing a newcomer."

Linghu Baiwan responded and introduced him to Li Yuan: "This is Mr. She. He is the one who manages this stronghold."

"this……"

He looked at Li Yuan.

Li Yuan clasped his fists and said, "Ghost Face has met Snake Master."

"Oh."

The old man nodded and said, "Ghost Face, well, I will give you the token later."

"Thank you."

Li Yuan nodded and thanked him.

This stronghold was very simple. Li Yuan had a rough idea of ​​it after just a few glances. The only eye-catching thing was the huge stone tablet standing in the middle of the cave, which looked like a roof beam.

The stone tablet is covered with small characters.

"Besides those few rules, there are no other requirements in the building. If you want to accept a mission, come to this stone tablet to accept it. If you don't want to accept it, it doesn't matter."

Linghu Baiwan pointed at the stone tablet.

"Zhelong Zhaixing Tower, the killing list."

With the light of the torch, Li Yuan took a casual glance and saw many familiar names.

The first one is ram feather.

"Gong Yangyu, the master of the Divine Weapon Valley, was born with thirteen dragon-shaped bones. He is proficient in the five inner secrets of the Divine Weapon Valley and has the unique skill of 'Five Weapons and Five Colors of Spiritual Energy'. He wields the top-grade famous weapon, the Five Colors Lingxu Sword..." The small characters on the stone tablet clearly listed the intelligence information about Gong Yangyu, and many parts of it showed obvious signs of modification.

"...I completed the meridian training forty-two years ago, and refined my internal organs nine years ago. I suspect that I injured my internal organs when I was trying to complete the training..."

The information recorded on the stone tablet was more than what Li Yuan knew, and it was more detailed and even included information about Gong Yangyu's previous actions.

"The master of Zhelong Mansion can be ranked among the top three. Those who accept this task need to meet with the employer to discuss the reward."

Seeing the end, Li Yuan's eyes narrowed:
"It is suspected that he has practiced the method of worshipping gods."

Gong Yangyu practiced the method of worshipping gods? !
Li Yuan's heart was shocked.

"Gong Yangyu should be the best master in Zhelong Mansion. He has been famous for decades and his swordsmanship has reached the pinnacle."

Linghu Baiwan naturally knew what he was looking at, and said a few words casually: "In the past few decades, many people have taken on this task, but they all died."

"An expert in refining internal organs, a top expert in Fuzhou, anyone who dares to accept this task must be able to open meridians, right?"

Li Yuan saw the red mark "This mission failed sixteen times".

"Not really. It is said that there was a master of poison who was able to change his form. He was hung on the top of the city wall to dry and feed to dogs."

Linghu Baiwan's voice was calm:

"The building won't ask us to take on any missions, but some people don't know how to do it."

"Greed makes you lose your mind, right?"

Li Yuan saw the reward on the stone tablet, which included gold, silver, land, shops, famous utensils, elixirs, inner armor, and martial arts secrets. It had everything.

There was even a reward, with a number of the city's most beautiful women included.

After looking for a while, he found Han Chuijun's reward, but the handwriting was very faint, as if it had been erased a long time ago.

"If all the employers and their bloodline descendants have died, and no one has accepted the mission for more than ten years, the mission will be cancelled."

Linghu Baiwan added.

"No wonder Old Han kills entire families at will."

Li Yuan was a little dazed.

In a big family like the Zhao family, if someone escapes with the family wealth, even if they do not have the ability to seek revenge, they will offer a reward to other people.

The bounty on one person may not have much effect, but like other killer organizations, the bounties on Zhaixinglou will accumulate.

A person who has many enemies and cannot completely eliminate them will have his bounty piled up to a terrifying level.

Ba Wanli, Fang Baoluo, Qiu Changying, Shi Hong, and Ding Zhi.

The names of all the true disciples of Shenbing Valley were written on the stone tablet. Li Yuan even saw his own name, and his expression couldn't help but be a little strange.

"Li Yuan, dragon-shaped bones, suspected to be in the initial stage of internal strength, practicing the martial arts fighting hammer..."

"Reward: Three hundred taels of gold and a famous weapon."

Is that all?

Li Yuan shook his head in his heart: "No wonder no one answered..."

This reward is beyond the standard for an ordinary strong man, but when combined with the title of the true disciple of the Divine Weapon Valley, it seems too little.

'The reward for Ding Zhi is not low, but it has been crossed out.'

Li Yuan looked at both sides of the stone tablet. He felt that this stone tablet was more detailed and accurate than the various lists in Yunshu Tower.

This information was worth the trip.

"Token!"

A hoarse voice was heard, Li Yuan reached out to take the token, and found that it was a wooden token, and the ghost face painted on it was also very crude.

"Wood, iron, copper, silver, gold, five levels of tokens for killers. Different tokens can access different levels of intelligence and treatment."

The snake-faced old man said this and turned away.

Li Yuan took a glance and felt a little depressed.

The old man had a silver medal hanging on his lower back.

Linghu Baiwan is not yet a silver-medal killer, but the scimitar on his waist is a top-grade famous weapon, so he must be at least a master of Yixing Dacheng.

This snake-faced old man...

"If you accept ten tasks and complete half of them, you can get an iron medal. If you complete hundreds of tasks, you will get a silver medal."

Linghu Baiwan explained:
"I still need more than ten missions to reach the silver medal. There is only one gold medal killer in Zhelong Mansion..."

This fox-faced man killed at least a hundred people?
Li Yuan was a little frightened. A silver medal killer had to complete at least a hundred missions.

"Let's go and take a look around somewhere else."

Seeing that Li Yuan had seen enough, Linghu Baiwan led him into another cave.

The cave is very simple, but there is a different world inside.

Li Yuan was stunned when he walked in. The cave was brightly lit and filled with the aroma of wine and meat, like a restaurant.

"Give me two pots of monkey wine and three pounds of spiritual pork."

Linghu Baiwan greeted them and pulled Li Yuan to a corner far inside.

Soon, a woman wearing a cat-face mask brought the wine and meat.

"A pot of monkey wine for two ounces of gold. How does it taste?"

Linghu Baiwan reached out and poured a glass of wine for both of them.

"Good wine!"

Li Yuan tasted it and his eyes lit up.

He didn't know much about wine, but he liked this wine's strong fruity flavor and sweet taste without being astringent or spicy.

“It must be better if it’s more expensive.”

Linghu Baiwan drank a few cups and said:
"In Elder Wang's mission requirements, he asked me to introduce you to Zhaixing Tower. How much do you know about Zhaixing Tower?"

"According to the rumors in the market, one hundred and eight people assassinated the king."

Li Yuan answered honestly.

He really didn't know much about the Zhaixing Tower.

"It's about the same as it was then."

Linghu Baiwan was not surprised, and after organizing his words a little, he said:
"The rumors about 108 people are true. There are indeed only these core assassins in Zhaixing Tower. There have never been more than these in the past thousand years.
However, core killers are rare, while those like you and me who are just figures are numerous.”

"Core killer? Gold medal?"

Li Yuan's heart moved slightly, and he thought of Wang Wenyuan. Is that old man the core killer?
"Accepting thousands of missions and completing them all is the gold medal, but the gold medal does not count as the core. It can only be said that there is hope of becoming the core."

Linghu Baiwan shook his head: "Come to think of it, I have never seen a core killer so far."

Perhaps because of the mission, he had nothing to hide and told Li Yuan some unimportant information about the Zhaixing Tower.

From wood to gold, there is also a core killer above.

Li Yuan clutched the wine glass, feeling somewhat frightened.

The power of the Star Picking Tower is much greater than he had expected.

There is no headquarters in Zhaixing Tower, but similar gathering places are numerous, and the number of nominal killers is incalculable.

"What a huge monster!"

After Linghu Baiwan staggered away, Li Yuan did not waste any food and finished all the wine and meat and prepared to leave.

"Ghost Face, you have a mission."

As soon as he walked out of the restaurant, Li Yuan heard a familiar hoarse voice, and a snake-faced old man appeared like a ghost.

"Task?"

Li Yuan frowned. He had no plans to accept the mission for the time being. Besides, wasn’t there no mandatory mission in Zhaixing Tower?
"There is a core killer, and you are assigned to complete the task."

The snake-faced old man's voice changed slightly. This was the first time he had heard of such a thing in all these years.

"You can take a look at the missions and rewards first. Afterwards, you can choose to accept them or not."

Li Yuan took the sealed letter from the snake-faced old man and frowned slightly: "What does old man Wang want to do?"

After thinking about it, Li Yuan opened the letter. He guessed that it should be related to the follow-up of the "Worship God Method".

"You want to use the God-worship method to hang me?"

Li Yuan changed his mind and made up his mind not to be led by the nose by this old guy, but after just one look, his face changed.

This wasn't really a mission at all, it was more like intelligence.

The three pages of letter only said one thing, that there was suspected to be a mysterious weapon of heaven's destiny in the Divine Weapon Mountains, and the Divine Weapon Valley had searched for it for more than a thousand years but found nothing.

"Mysterious soldiers descended from the sky, born with spirits. However, precisely because of their spirits, those without destiny cannot see their traces."

At the end of the letter, Wang Wenyuan reminded:
"Some people just don't believe it."

Who doesn't believe it?
"People in the valley? The Evil God Cult? Or the Star-Picking Tower?"

After putting the letter away, Li Yuan frowned. He had originally wanted to take a walk around the cave, but now he had only one thought in his mind.

Someone wants to grab the hammer!

(End of this chapter)