Chapter 2: The Four Great Killers

  Linyang City is the city closest to Jinyang in this Mu State, and it relies on the largest Qilin Mountain Range in the entire Mu State. However, the city also faces the Baisha River that runs through the northwest of the entire Mu State, which can be described as "backing a mountain and facing water".

  Although it is almost half smaller than Jin City, the prosperity of Lin City is beyond comparison with Jin.

  In the northwest of this Jinshan City, there stands a manor, an extremely mysterious manor. This manor is not big at all, only covering a few square miles. The mystery of this manor lies in that it seems to be shrouded in a deathly aura at first glance.

  The manor's gate was wide open day and night, but it was rare to see anyone entering or leaving, and even rarer to see someone inside. Even when someone occasionally entered, they were all masked and fully covered.

  It was deep in the night, with a hazy moon shadow. A figure clad entirely in black, with even its face covered by a black cloth, appeared at the entrance of the manor. Without any hesitation, the black-clad person strode into the manor.

  Just like a familiar path, the black-clad man walked straight into a large house in the mansion. At this moment, dozens of black-clad figures appeared in the mansion, and from the gleaming light on their hands, it was clear that they were all holding weapons.

  However, the black-clad masked man was like nothing, turning left and right, and in an instant, he passed through the layers of obstruction and walked to the front door of the big house, and went straight in.

  Seeing the black-clad masked man walk into the mansion, the black-clad men inside the estate didn't continue to block him and disappeared into the night as if they had never appeared.

  "Who is the superior? Come to my Killer Mountain Villa!" Just as the black-clothed masked man entered the large house, the entire room suddenly lit up, and at the top of the house, several gray-robed old men appeared.

  "Come to Killer Manor, of course, is to invite a killer!" The black-clothed masked man smiled faintly, but his voice was hoarse and suppressed, apparently this black-clothed masked man did it on purpose.

  "A reward of 10,000 taels of gold to capture one person. He must be delivered to Jinzhou before August! Will you accept or not?" After a pause, the black-robed masked man slowly spoke up.

  "100,000 taels of gold?" The several grey-robed old men from the Killer Mansion were clearly surprised by such a large amount of gold. Even if they were to kill the Emperor of Mu Country, it would be at most this amount. Although capturing him alive was slightly more difficult than killing him, 100,000 taels of gold was absolutely worth it no matter what.

  "Who do you want to capture? Do you have any requirements?" The leader of the gray-robed old men slowly opened his mouth and asked, suppressing the shock in his heart.

  "A mere bookworm with no ability to tie a chicken! I only ask that the four top assassins of Kill Hand Manor take action personally! Of course, I want the people I want delivered to me intact!" The black-clothed masked man lightly laughed and flipped his hand, a large red poster flying out from it.

  That large red notice brought forth a whistling sound, rapidly shooting towards the several grey-robed old men. However, those few old men didn't show any signs of panic. Just as the large red notice was about to hit the face of one of the grey-robed old men, this old man stretched out two fingers, swift as lightning, and firmly clamped down on the notice.

  The big red poster had only a few words: "Piaoxue Manor? Ling Luo Yu."

  "We've taken the job!" The several old men looked at each other, almost simultaneously nodding their heads. They all knew about the Snowy Mountain Manor and the Killer's Mountain Manor, but they had no idea who Ling Luo was. However, with 10,000 taels of gold on the line, even if it meant assassinating the current master of the Snowy Mountain Manor, they would still take the job. And this task was simply to capture a minor figure from the Snowy Mountain Manor.

  "The rules of our Killer Mountain Villa are to pay half the deposit first, and after the matter is settled, pay the other half!" The black-clothed masked man's hand shook lightly, and five gold tickets fell out, slowly falling onto the tea table beside these gray-robed old men.

  Datong Qianzhuang's gold notes are used throughout the thirteen provinces and thirty-six states of the entire Mu country, north and south. Five gold notes, each with a face value of one thousand, is exactly five thousand taels.

  The moment the golden ticket fell, a gust of clear wind flashed by, and the figure of the black-clothed masked man had also disappeared.

  "This black-clothed masked man is not simple! With his skills, he actually still needs to spend 10,000 taels of gold to ask for our help! Is there something fishy going on here?" The gray-robed elder who was in charge picked up the few golden tickets, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

  "Great Master, what's the point of managing so many things! As long as this Golden Ticket is correct, that's all that matters! What about Snowflake Manor? With our Killhand Manor's four top aces, capturing someone alive is just a matter of reaching out and grabbing them!" The old man in gray on the left side suddenly had his eyes shining brightly, muttering to himself.

  "Third brother! Go to Jin Yang and investigate everything about the Flying Snow Manor and Ling Luo's affairs!" The gray-robed elder who was standing at the front glanced at the old man on his left, gave a slight shout, and then instructed another old man: "Fifth brother! Inform the Four Great Assassins to gather directly in Jin Yang!"

  "Yes!" Several voices of promise sounded, several shadows flashed, and the lights in the entire room suddenly went out. The whole manor fell silent again.

  An assassin is often not a master, but in unexpected situations, an ordinary assassin can often kill a master because the assassin excels at lurking and sudden attacks, hiding beneath the earth and moving above the sky. This can be said to be the truest portrayal of an assassin.

  On the official road leading to Jinyang, a horse-drawn carriage was moving at a leisurely pace. The carriage was very large, big enough for seven or eight people to sit inside without feeling crowded. The horses pulling the carriage were not like those of ordinary carriages with only one horse, but this carriage was pulled by four horses simultaneously. What's even more astonishing is that on the hooves of these four horses, there was a circle of white fur, while the rest of their bodies were pitch black. Anyone who knows a little about horses would know that these four horses are actually "Wuyun Gai Xue" (a rare breed), each worth hundreds of silver coins on the market. It's already impressive for an ordinary young master to have one such horse, but now these four horses were only used to pull a carriage.

  The person driving the carriage was a man in black, an ordinary-looking man in black. The man had a big mouth that seemed to be smiling at you all the time, with an innocent look on his face. One hand held a whip and the other held a jug of wine, looking relaxed and carefree.

  The appearance of this express delivery man is ordinary, but the person is not ordinary. Perhaps not many people have seen him, but those who have heard his name are absolutely not few. Even in many places, when children are disobedient, adults will use his name to scare them.

  He is Mu Yi, the treacherous knife Mu Yi of the four great assassins of Killer's Manor. It is said that Mu Yi has made a move one hundred and eighty-two times, but has never failed once. Of course, as an assassin, failure means death.

  Mo Yi killed people, and the people who were killed often only saw a flash of light before they found themselves beheaded. Many people knew that Mo Yi used a knife, but no one had ever seen his knife.

  "Brother Mu, hasn't Jin Yang arrived yet?" A crisp and pleasant voice rang out, and the head of a woman in a pink long dress emerged from the back compartment of the carriage. The woman looked pure and innocent, especially her smile, which seemed to make people feel so close.

  "Ah!" To this beautiful woman's question, Mu Yi did not respond, only casually answering with a grunt. Perhaps under this woman's smile, ordinary people would tell her even their ancestors' names for eighteen generations, but Mu Yi wouldn't, because he understood this woman and even felt a hint of fear towards her in his heart.

  At the moment when this woman smiled most brightly, it was also her most dangerous time. Mu Yi had once seen with his own eyes that this woman had turned a water town of one thousand two hundred and thirty-two mouths into pus, and at that time, the woman was also smiling so brightly.

  This woman is Qin Ling'er, the Poisonous Flower, and like Mu Yi, she is one of the Four Great Assassins of the Killer's Mansion. She doesn't kill with her fists or a knife; what she excels at using is poison.

  "Qin family's little sister, don't ask Mu brother, when we arrive at the destination, Mu brother will tell us!" In the carriage compartment, another loud and clear voice rang out, accompanied by several bright and cheerful laughs.

  Mu Yi didn't seem to care about her, but Qin Ling'er wasn't surprised. She smiled sweetly and retreated back into the carriage.

  In this carriage, there were two people. One of them was dressed in brocade and jade, with a face as smooth as a crown jewel, looking elegant and refined. He held a folding fan in his hand, gently swaying it back and forth. On one side of the fan were written the words "landscape" and on the other side "beauty". This person looked like he was born into a noble family of royal blood.

  However, the only thing that was a bit unusual was that at the moment when Qin Ling'er entered the carriage compartment, the other hand of the elegant young master who didn't hold the folding fan suddenly had a bunch of bottles and jars appear.

  "Brother Chen, you're teasing me again! If you keep this up, I won't talk to you anymore!" Seeing the bottles and jars in that person's hand, Qin Ling'er was slightly stunned, then smiled sweetly and snatched them away, clearly these were the various deadly poisons on her body.

  This person was able to steal so many things from Qin Ling'er in the instant she entered the carriage, without her knowledge or awareness, which shows just how quick and nimble this person's hands and feet are.

  Chasing the Wind Chen Kong, in the martial arts world of Mu Country, when it comes to speed, he is second to none. No one dares to claim they are faster than him. He never uses any weapons, but what's most terrifying is his bare hands. According to legend, there's nothing that Chen Kong can't steal, and that includes people's lives.

  Among the four top killers in Killer Villa, the most mysterious one is this Chen Kong, also known as Wind Chaser. It's rare to hear that he has ever made a move against anyone, yet his position among the four top killers remains unshakeable, and there's simply no one who can disturb it.

  Next to Chen Kong, however, was a person who formed a stark contrast with him. The man wore all white clothes and had an exceptionally pale face. His expression was even more frigid than ice, making the whole person look like a wooden puppet.

  However, this person is not a wooden man. When it comes to Thousand Hands Han Xiao, there are very few people in the Jianghu who don't know him. If you really want to use one word to describe him, then it can only be said - terrifying.

  What's terrifying is not Han Xiao himself, but the endless hidden weapons on his body. Rumors in Jianghu say that if you encounter Han Xiao, it's best not to step within ten zhang of him; otherwise, when Han Xiao makes a move, very few people can survive.

  Gu Dao Mu Yi, Poisonous Flower Qin Ling Er, Wind Chaser Chen Kong, Thousand Hands Han Xiao. These four people are the ace killers of Assassin's Mansion, and they are not only assassins but also masters. They are the most feared among the assassins. At this moment, their destination is Jin Yang.

  As the trump card of the entire Killer's Mansion, they also have a great deal of freedom. They don't take on jobs they don't want to, and they won't kill people they don't want to, not even if it's an order from the Killer's Mansion. However, when it comes to this job, all four of them suddenly felt curious at the same time, and surprisingly, all four chose to accept it.

  For the renowned Wulin First Manor, Piaoxue Manor, they also knew that the master of Piaoxue Manor, Ling Canghai, and the young master, Ling Luoyun, were both extraordinary figures. However, when it came to Ling Luofei, they had no idea who he was. Even with the all-pervasive intelligence system of the Killer Manor, they only managed to gather that Ling Luofei was the second young master of Piaoxue Manor, and everything else about him remained a complete mystery.

  However, the four of Mu Yi did not dare to underestimate Ling Luo Yu in the slightest. After all, someone was willing to spend 10,000 taels of gold to invite them to take action, and they knew that this person was absolutely not as simple as he appeared on the surface.