Chapter 469: Taking One Down First
Chu Gou was frightened out of his wits, and the next instant, his pupils dilated because another person had appeared in the room without him realizing it.
He had never met this man before.
But he had seen a painting of him before.
Almost immediately, his heart fell into his stomach. Fear was painted all over his face.
“Li-Lin Jin, why are you here?”
Unable to move freely, Chu Gou stammered as he spoke. The person who had suddenly appeared inside his house was none other than Lin Jin.
The latter had been stalking him all this while. Looks like his patience paid off, as he had just been led into Chu Gou’s nest.
Lin Jin had a sip of the tea that was ready on the table and then smiled. “Hall Master Chu, of the Demonic Appraisal Association’s Dark Hall. Despite your position on the hierarchy, I’m surprised that you’re living in such a shabby place. A tiny yard with a two-room house. How beggarly.”
Chu Gou’s fingers had started to tremble.
He was no fool.
His promotion to Dark Hall’s hall master had only happened today. No one was supposed to know about it apart from Black Envoy and Elder Ye’s party.
So how did Lin Jin find out about it?
The answer was obvious. If the other three hadn’t sold him out, then Lin Jin must have been stalking him all this while, even when they were having dinner.
Why did things turn out this way? How did he manage to do it? Chu Gou did not dare to guess the answer. He knew that his life was at stake right now and he might not be able to see the light of tomorrow.
“A-Appraiser Lin, let’s talk nicely. Let’s no-” Chu Gou stammered, begging for mercy.
Despite his cruelty, Chu Gou had a terrible fear of dying.
Lin Jin did not act immediately. If he wanted to, he could have destroyed Chu Gou’s organs the instant he shot out that needle earlier. The man was only allowed to live for now because Lin Jin still had questions.
“Tell me everything you know about the Demonic Appraisal Association and listen well, if you try to keep any secrets from me, or if you trick me, you know full well what’s coming for you.”
Lin Jin toyed with the teacup in his hand. Although the place was plain, many of the items inside this house were quite valuable. Even this teacup was a piece of treasure worth at least several hundred taels.
Looks like Hall Master Chu was a man who enjoyed the finer things in life.
In other words, it was a sign that Lin Jin had the upper hand here. With this many material possessions, this man had all the more reason to comply with Lin Jin’s order.
Chu Gou hesitated. While he did know many things about the Demonic Appraisal Association, he understood the organization’s rules as well. Should the enemy hear anything from him, he would be dead meat.
With a smirk, Lin Jin pushed the silver needle into Chu Gou’s body. The moment that happened, one of his veins was turned to mush.
The excruciating pain made Chu Gou sweat profusely as his features contorted in agony.
His pet beast was inside his body but Chu Gou couldn’t exercise the powers of his blood contract right now. As if it was dead, the poisonous snake failed to react to this external threat.
No doubt, this was part of Lin Jin’s plan.
As his body shivered in pain, Chu Gou finally became aware that his life was being held in Lin Jin’s hands. If he wanted to live, he had to give some information or he wouldn’t make it through the night.
However, Chu Gou was also aware that he might not be released even after sharing the information. The thing was, he could buy time by talking, but if he didn’t talk, what awaited him was certain death.
And so, Chu Gou spilled the beans out of fear.
Lin Jin listened intently. Combined with what he overheard in the restaurant’s private room, Lin Jin now had a deeper understanding of the Demonic Appraisal Association.
The organization was much larger than he initially imagined and its roots ran deeper than expected.
Chu Gou had only just become the Dark Hall’s hall master but he knew that many of the organization’s upper echelons were here in Heavenly Spiral. Chief among them was ‘Black Envoy’, who was here in Heavenly Spiral City today too.
As for White Envoy and the chief of the Demonic Appraisal Association, Chu Gou had no idea where they were.
These were incredibly mysterious people. Even though Chu Gou had met Black Envoy, the latter wore a black ghost mask, so Chu Gou had no idea if the person was a man or a woman, young or old. However, he at least knew the location of one Dark Hall branch here in Heavenly Spiral City.
Chu Gou was forced to cough up all the information he knew, but it wasn’t a smooth process. Lin Jin was unsure whether his words were the truth or not. For all he knew, it may very well be a trap that was set up for people like him.
“That’s about it!” Lin Jin put down the teacup. Looking at the moon outside, he knew it was getting late and there was so much to do tonight. Lin Jin couldn’t afford to waste any more time here.
Chu Gou’s Myriad Poison Explosive Amulet was now in Lin Jin’s possession. This was clearly an uncommon item and the key that threatened Lin Jin’s existence.
And now, it was in Lin Jin’s possession.
He also learned how to activate the amulet from Chu Gou.
Lin Jin stepped out of the house without even looking back at Chu Gou.
Seeing this, the latter was secretly pleased, assuming he had just escaped a tragedy. However, the moment Lin Jin was outside, Chu Gou felt an acute pain in his head and his body convulsed before falling to the ground dead.
A silver needle flew out of his body, pierced through the window, and back into Lin Jin’s sleeve.
Lin Jin refined these silver needles, and there were only a little over a hundred of them. Every one of them was as precious as the other.
The mastermind Chu Gou was eliminated, and Lin Jin did not feel that he was too heavyhanded. If he didn’t kill Chu Gou, Chu Gou would kill him.
This residence was so secluded that Chu Gou’s corpse might only be found when daylight came.
Lin Jin didn’t try to hide Chu Gou’s body. Since the Demonic Appraisal Association was set on fighting him, why not declare war right here and let the games begin?
Gambling dens were lined up next to each other on a random street in Heavenly Spiral City. Although it was late outside, many gamblers still gathered around candlelights, enjoying the thrills of risks.
Piled on the table were taels, though mostly in pieces, there were also ingots and bullions. They seemed to be worth several thousand taels on this very table. Bare-chested gamblers were holding two clay bowls together as they shook the dices in a mad frenzy.
A bald man entered from outside.
“Shopkeeper Wei, you’re here.”
“Hello, shopkeeper.”
Many of the patrons here greeted him at once, but the bald shopkeeper was not as enthusiastic as they were. He barked at them, “It’s late. That will be all for tonight. Leave!”
At this, the bouncers of the place started chasing customers away, aware that their shopkeeper must have an assignment for them.
“Gather all our brothers.” Sure enough, the bald shopkeeper issued his instructions.
Soon, more than a dozen brawny men were crammed into this tiny room. The dim candlelight wasn’t enough to reveal everyone’s faces. Without wasting time, the bald shopkeeper explained, “Boss will be leaving for a long trip tomorrow and I’ll be going with. We’ll also need a few more men who are good at fighting. Who wants to come with us?”
The men were stunned and for a moment there, no one spoke.
Since the shopkeeper was going out on a mission, the challenge definitely wasn’t anything ordinary. Hence, it was better to play it safe.
The bald shopkeeper wasn’t fazed by their response.
“Since none of you will speak, I’ll do the picking. Lao San, you’re coming with,” said the bald shopkeeper. A tanned guy in a corner nodded. “Alright, Shopkeeper.”
“Lao Xue, you too.”
“Okay!”
“Er Qing, you as well.”
A young man nodded.
“While Boss and I are away, take care of the store and don’t cause any trouble. Even if something meddlesome happens, wait for our return.”
“Got it, Shopkeeper!”
Suddenly, a breeze swept in from nowhere and with a poof, the candle in the room was extinguished.
In an instant, the room fell into complete darkness.
Shopkeeper Wei was about to continue talking when he heard a series of dull thumps, a sound which reminded him of human bodies hitting the ground.