Chapter 458: Chapter 24: Sooner or Later, One Family
After days of tough travel, Xie Yu finally arrived at Five Saints Town, feeling refreshed and invigorated.
As he had anticipated, Five Saints Town was packed with people, but being someone who always admired the finer things in life, he had taken the initiative to have the Assassin Alliance’s local representative rent a private courtyard with a hot spring for him in advance.
However, what really irritated him was that the local representative asked him to go to an inn called White Moon Pavilion to fetch the lease.
"What a pompous representative, demanding the presence of Killing God himself," luckily, Xie Yu was in a good mood thinking about the upcoming adventure.
Having arrived at White Moon Pavilion, he naturally wanted to taste the culinary skills of the famous local chef Mi Xiu, with two beauties sitting on either side of him, dishes in the left hand and wine in the right.
"Not bad, not bad at all, Five Saints Town truly deserves its reputation as a treasured place on the continent, with delicious food and unique beverages," Xie Yu quirked an eyebrow, his impression of Five Saints Town significantly improved in an instant.
Up ahead, a woman approached, and Xie Yu immediately noticed the Assassin Alliance’s insignia on her.
"Guo Ziyu, what a grand show you put on. You’re just a high-level assassin but you make Killing God himself wait," the two women sitting by Xie Yu, named Hua Rui and Hua Ye, were both high-level assassins of the Assassin Alliance.
"Subordinate greets the great Killing God. It’s not that I wish to make an imposing entrance, but rather because someone wishes to see the great Killing God," Guo Ziyu observed Xie Yu carefully.
This legendary charming Killing God, was indeed as breathtakingly beautiful as the rumors described, with a fair complexion smoother than a girl’s and eyes like peach blossoms.
In the autumnal flourish of Five Saints Town, he wore a richly green robe with wide sleeves, his waist cinched with a Fire Cloud Tassel Belt, and a single tortoiseshell hairpin amidst his black hair—an eye-catching sight.
Such an appearance, if you were to say he was an assassin, no one would believe it.
Yet even with such attire, the great Killing God didn’t give off even a hint of effeminacy.
"Oh, are you talking about Xie San? I heard that brat disappeared for a while. Just recently, I heard he arrived at Five Saints Town. Let me be clear, I can’t stand that guy; just seeing him ruins my appetite and sleep," Xie Yu smacked his lips, his grudge against Xie San tracing back to their births.
He and Xie San, both directly descended from the Killer aristocracy of the Xie Family, only he was the legitimate son while Xie San was born of a concubine.
The two shared a striking resemblance of ninety-nine percent similarity, yet sadly Xie San was born disabled, with only nine fingers.
Because of their origins and the selection for the successor of Killing God, Xie San harbored deep jealousy and hatred for Xie Yu, conspiring against him many times. If not for their father’s desperate pleas, Xie Yu would have dealt with him long ago.
"Oh, if you meet me, you truly won’t be able to enjoy your meals or sleep well?" Xie Yu felt a warmth by his ear, someone had blown a breath of hot air behind his ear.
A familiar golden mask was the first thing to confront Xie Yu.
Xie Yu was gripping ivory chopsticks when he heard that voice, his body instantly stiffening.
Below the golden mask was a beaming smile that dazzled his eyes.
"You, you," Xie Yu’s peach blossom eyes widened enormously, and his mouth gaped open enough to fit an egg.
The newcomer playfully lifted Xie Yu’s chin with a finger, glancing at the nearly empty dishes on the table, and clicked their tongue: "Your appetite seems quite healthy; it looks like you enjoy the food and drink here. All my hard work setting this up wasn’t in vain."
"You prepared this meal," Xie Yu shuddered, his skin gentler than tofu turning from white to red then to blue in an instant, then he jumped up with a shout, completely disregarding his image as he ran outside.
He had just stepped out when he immediately leaped back, revealing a wide grin and, like the wind, vanished without a trace.
Guo Ziyu and the others watching by the side were dumbfounded, secretly thinking, Could all the rumors be false? Judging by Captain Xie and Killing God’s interactions, they seemed not at odds at all but rather quite in sync.
"You finally decide to show your face," Xie Yu huffed and plopped down to sit, after ensuring Yue Jinghua hadn’t poisoned his meal, giving her a resentful look.
Since parting with Yue Jinghua in Shang Kingdom, Xie Yu had been entangled in family business affairs. By the time he had a moment to breathe, he discovered that his family had secretly dispatched people to kill Yue Jinghua.
After considerable pressure and incentive, the Assassin Alliance had finally called off the hit order, but Xie Yu had completely lost track of Yue Jinghua’s whereabouts.
Externally, Xie Yu appeared fine, but internally, he was frantically searching, having deployed nearly all of his forces.
Now, suddenly seeing Yue Jinghua, his delight was accompanied by a small tantrum.
"Don’t you care about whether Xie San is dead or alive?" Yue Jinghua was genuinely curious. After all, Xie San was also a captain of the Shadow Guard—the personal guard of Captain Xie himself.
"Who’s Xie San? That’s you," Xie Yu batted an alluring glance at her, "One of us is a wolf, the other a jackal—destined partners. Sooner or later, you’ll have to take my surname."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Xie Yu received a solid punch to the eye.
"Hey, hey, are you jealous because I’m prettier than you? Every time I see you, I have bad luck," Xie Yu complained, but the corners of his eyes revealed a mirthful intoxication, causing Yue Jinghua to break out in goosebumps—as if in the modern world, Xie Yu would absolutely be a haughty tsundere.
While Xie Yu begged for mercy, he was crystal clear at heart, "Our friendship aside, I do like you a lot, but business is business, personal is personal. This time, I won’t go easy on you."
"Given our solid friendship, I’ll tell you an important piece of news, and you help me with something," Yue Jinghua whispered something in Xie Yu’s ear.
After listening, Xie Yu’s brows lifted skeptically, "Is that really true?"
"Of course, it’s true. With this information, even if you can’t get the Ancient Hero Treasure, you can still report back successfully. I’ve told you what you need to know, and in return, you must make a promise to me. Before I find the Dragon Transformation Pond, you must ’disappear’ for a while," Yue Jinghua declared with a determined gaze and a well-crafted plan.
Xie Yu pondered for a moment then nodded in agreement.
The next morning, at dawn near the Ancient Hero Statue in the Central Area, a throng of people eagerly awaiting had already gathered.
Mercenaries made up the majority, followed by various Dark Practitioners dressed in different attire.
The lure for these people was not only the Ancient Hero Treasure but also Lady Qingyan’s promise that anyone who found it would inherit all of the Qing Family’s wealth.
It was still early, and Lady Qingyan and her party had yet to arrive.
By the Central Square, people kept trickling in.
"Look, it’s the Flying Fish Mercenary Group; even they’ve come,"
"There are people from the Fierce Battle Mercenary Group too,"
"I heard even the Divine Court’s members have arrived, but we haven’t seen them yet," as the mercenaries were discussing who among them was the strongest, suddenly, everyone fell silent.