Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 363 A Dark and Windy Night for Murder (11,000 words)

There wasn't a breath of wind in the dark ditch.

The oil lamp flame rose straight up, and wisps of black smoke rose and finally dissipated above the ceramic pipe.

Looking up, all I could see was a patch of grayish-black grime.

Xiao Fei's breathing became somewhat rapid.

As the son of the Ghost Cave Master, even though he couldn't practice martial arts, his father still treated him quite well. At least from childhood to adulthood, he had never run out of money. However, when he suddenly heard the number one million silver, Xiao Fei still felt his scalp tingle.

One million taels of silver.

The Ghost Cave has existed for decades; could it have accumulated such a large sum of wealth?
That's right, Ghost Cave has a business of killing, kidnapping and trafficking women and children, and begging for children... But each of these businesses doesn't bring in much money. There are also 800 martial artists to support in Ghost Cave, and 900 ordinary people to fill their stomachs, and bribes to be made at all levels.

With more income, expenses are also more.

The amount of silver one could save throughout the year was extremely limited. Xiao Fei believed that a million taels of silver was a fortune that no one in the entire Ghost Cave, including his own father, could refuse. The dim candlelight flickered, illuminating Xiao Fei's eyes, which shone with an excited and frenzied light deep within.

Ghost Cave has its rules: don't provoke those nobles and officials. But when faced with millions of taels of silver, Xiao Fei felt that these rigid rules could be flexible.

The Ghost Cave Master, however, remained calm, as if he hadn't heard the number one million at all. He merely glanced at his son, a slight disappointment in his eyes. He had initially thought that although his son couldn't practice martial arts, he was intelligent, but now it seemed that his mind wasn't very sharp. At least when faced with strong temptations, his original cleverness vanished instantly, leaving only an unyielding greed and desire in his heart.

Letting out a breath, the Ghost Cave Master put down his book and rubbed his forehead: "I'm asking you, who was the person who came to hire us to kill Bu Yu and Song Yan?"

Xiao Fei was stunned: "How...how would I know? That person was wearing a mask."

Hearing this answer, the Ghost Cave Master felt even more disappointed.

After all, they are rats living in the gutter. Doing business with them requires extreme caution. Therefore, whether it is an employer hiring a hitman or a buyer purchasing goods, they will disguise themselves. The simplest and most convenient disguise is a mask.

In this way, even if Ghost Cave fails, is surrounded and captured, the employer will not be implicated.

However, even if you don't know the other party's identity, you can still pinpoint a general area from some clues.

The master of the Ghost Cave sighed and patiently explained, "Initially, the only request was to kill that woman, Bu Yu. Judging from this murder commission alone, it could barely be considered a personal grudge."

"But Song Yan appeared, and the employer offered an extra million taels of silver to buy Song Yan's life. This is enough to show that Song Yan was the target the employer had always wanted to kill."

“Bu Yu’s murder commission might just be the employer’s way of cutting off Song Yan’s supporters first, but that’s unlikely. After all, Song Yan’s sister-in-law is almost always by his side, protecting him closely. With a ninth-rank martial artist protecting him, a seventh-rank martial artist isn’t that valuable.”

"Therefore, there is only one other possibility: Bu Yu is a pawn that the employer wants to use to lead Song Yan into a desperate situation."

"You've heard about Song Yan's character. Zhao Feng, who offended him, was chopped into mincemeat that very night. He also beheaded Zhao Feng's mother. Guo Sheng and his family of three had their heads removed and piled up like a mound of skulls. Even his elder brother, Song Zhe, was thrown into the dungeon by Song Yan and died within a few days."

"This person is vengeful and will hold a grudge."

"Extremely bloodthirsty."

Xiao Fei still looked a little dazed, his brows furrowed, and he scratched his head in confusion. Seeing his son like this, the Ghost Cave Master's forehead was covered in black lines. Had he been blind before? How could he have thought his son was so clever? His son did have some talent in memory, able to recite the Four Books and Five Classics in a short time, but now it seemed that he was not very good at adapting to changing circumstances and deep thinking.

"Let me ask you again, if Bu Yu is an extremely important woman to Song Yan, what would Song Yan do after discovering that his woman has been severely injured by the people from Ghost Cave, given his personality?"

Faced with his father's question, Xiao Fei's eyes suddenly lit up: "Given Song Yan's vengeful nature, simply killing the nine people who were chasing him wouldn't be enough to quell his anger, so he would... attack the entire Ghost Cave?"

The Ghost Cave Master nodded approvingly, thankfully not completely foolish: "That's right, given Song Yan's personality, he would definitely do that."

"The dwarf's legs being severed does not necessarily mean he was killed. He may have been captured alive by Song Yan and tortured. Unlike the other members of Ghost Cave, the dwarf has a family, so the assassination team does not pose much of a threat to him. Under torture, it is hard to guarantee that the dwarf will not reveal anything."

"Once Song Yan has gathered enough intelligence, he will take action against Ghost Cave."

"And that's exactly what employers want to see."

"That person knew that Song Yan was protected by a ninth-rank martial artist, and it would be difficult to kill Song Yan in a normal way. So he deliberately provoked Song Yan to enter the Ghost Cave, so that he could use the Ghost Cave to get rid of Song Yan."

"The reward of one million and the deposit of two hundred thousand are probably just to provoke the brothers in Ghost Cave, so that they will fight Song Yan to the death and increase the probability of killing Song Yan as much as possible. After all, a heavy reward will surely bring forth brave men."

How many people in this world have lost their lives for money?

Xiao Fei's still somewhat immature face immediately showed an expression of sudden realization.

Isn't this a case of using someone else to do the dirty work?
From the moment Bu Yu was given the mission to kill, Ghost Cave had already been targeted by that person.

"That's a rather dirty method," Xiao Fei said.

The master of Ghost Cave sat down, smiled, poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and then spoke again: "It's not exactly dirty. For those nobles and officials, this is the simplest method."

"However, whether the method is simple or complex is not important, as long as it works."

The eagerness in Xiao Fei's eyes faded considerably: "That million, are we just going to give up like that?"

"Give up." The Ghost Cave Master shook his head: "Some money is too hot to handle. You have to be alive to spend it."

"I just asked you if you knew the employer's identity..." The Ghost Cave Master spoke again, "Now, do you have any leads?"

Xiao Fei frowned and pondered: "That person has a grudge against Song Yan, yet he can still directly take out 200,000 as a deposit."

"The Yang family, or Bailu Academy."

In Dongling City, there are quite a few people who can come up with 200,000 taels of silver.

But not many people have a grudge against Song Yan.

Even though someone like Zhao Gaizhi had a deep-seated hatred for Song Yan, he could never come up with 200,000 taels of silver; even selling the Marquis's mansion wouldn't be enough.

And then there are the censors of the Censorate, who are usually quite audacious. If they see anyone who doesn't like them in the slightest, they'll start spouting nonsense. When they get into a rage, they'll even criticize the emperor.

But when faced with someone as reckless as Song Yan, they became utterly cowardly. A group of them huddled together, trembling with fear; they simply didn't have the guts to hire an assassin.

Xiao Fei considered it several times in his mind, and finally concluded that only the Yang family and Bailu Academy could meet both requirements at the same time.

The cave master of the Ghost Cave looked approving. His son wasn't stupid; he just lacked experience and his thinking ability was somewhat lacking. With just a little guidance, he would immediately understand.

"That's right. This is a conflict between Song Yan and the Yang family or Bailu Academy. Song Yan is Emperor Ninghe's right-hand man, so to be precise, it is a struggle between Emperor Ninghe and aristocratic families or civil officials."

"If we really take on this mission, then we'll have to face Song Yan and his sister-in-law."

"Of course, as a fellow ninth-rank martial artist, I am naturally not afraid of Luo Tianyi."

"Elder, I just broke through to the ninth rank a few days ago."

"Relatively speaking, killing Song Yan and Luo Tianyi wouldn't be difficult, but what's the point?"

"What happens after they kill him? Everyone knows that Emperor Ninghe is harboring a lot of anger. The Yang family and Bailu Academy certainly don't want this anger to be directed at them. Therefore, killing Song Yan's Ghost Cave will become the best target for this anger. Emperor Ninghe will be able to re-establish his authority by eradicating Ghost Cave. Bailu Academy or the Yang family, even if they don't want to pay that million-dollar reward, will take advantage of his misfortune. In short, Ghost Cave will not have a good ending."

"With such powerful figures fighting like this, we Ghost Cave are nothing but ants; we should stay out of it."

He tapped the table: "As human beings, we should think more. Thinking can help us see through the hidden truth. When we do things, we should also think about what we really want?"

"Life? Or money?"

"If there is something or something that you value more than your own life, then do it without hesitation. Even if you fail completely, at least you tried."

"But silver and money obviously do not have such value."

"That's why I taught you from a young age not to value money too much, and not to let greed blind you. Whether it's millions of silver or millions of gold, you must remain calm when facing money."

The greed in Xiao Fei's eyes completely vanished.

Looking at her father, she felt a sense of admiration. He was indeed her father; he could think of so much in such a short time, which was something she couldn't compare to.

However, he had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

Although he analyzed that the employer was most likely a member of the Yang family or someone from Bailu Academy, for some reason, Xiaofei felt that the person seemed to be a businessman.

"Father, when will Song Yan attack Ghost Cave? What should we do?"

The Ghost Cave Master chuckled, a look of complete control on his face: "This isn't Pingyang. Song Yan doesn't have that many soldiers under his command, so he'll definitely need to rely on the constables and runners."

"It would be impossible to gather all these good-for-nothings in less than three to five days."

The Ghost Cave Master closed his eyes slightly: "As for how to do it, it's the same as always: withdraw all ground strongholds and send some people to their deaths."

"After killing some people, Song Yan's anger subsided, and the matter was over."

It's always been like this.

The Ghost Cave Master thought that Song Yan would be no exception.

"Also, go and contact the people we've placed among the constables. I need to keep track of Song Yan's every move."

There are still three to five days left. Before that, the Ghost Cave is still extremely safe, so there's no need to worry too much.

"My child understands."

After giving a reply, Xiao Fei left the room.

Looking at the martial artists outside, the greed in their eyes gradually faded. They had clearly agreed with the words of the Ghost Cave Master: do not let greed blind you. These were the words the Cave Master often taught them, how could they forget them?

Greed subsided, replaced by a fervent reverence for the cave master. Holding a torch, the leaping flames illuminated Xiao Fei's face, his slightly immature features beaming with a smile, yet his steps were lighter than before.

That feeling was like my soul being cleansed and my spirit being elevated.

The road, which twists and turns and is clearly very long, seems exceptionally short at this moment.

Before long, Xiao Fei arrived at the exit of the ditch.

There were originally many entrances and exits to the underground ditch, but most of them had become dilapidated due to years of neglect. This particular exit was carved out by Ghost Cave itself. In addition, there was another exit, which was a backup, used by Ghost Cave to escape in case of emergencies.

Looking up, I saw a heavy wooden plank above the wooden ladder.

Xiao Fei pursed his lips and climbed up the ladder.

After climbing to the top, he stuck the torch into the groove next to him, grabbed the ladder with one hand, and used the other hand to push the wooden plank above his head away little by little. When the moonlight shone on his face again, the fresh and cold air made Xiao Fei shiver slightly, and also dispelled the strong stench of the dark ditch.

"Hey yo".

With a forceful push of his arm, his body suddenly rose higher.

His head was already sticking out of the hole.

The next instant, a face appeared out of thin air in front of Xiao Fei.

It was a man's face, about sixteen or seventeen years old, with a touch of childishness. He looked more like a big boy than a man.

The big boy seemed startled by Afei's sudden appearance, and leaned back abruptly.

Eyes facing each other.

The atmosphere instantly became extremely awkward.

A few breaths passed before Song Yan blinked, seemingly finally recovering from the sudden shock. A smile spread across her face, and she politely waved to Xiao Fei.

"Hi, how are you!"

Waaaaaahhhhhh...

Song Yan swore that he was truly greeting her very seriously.

The boy who climbed out of the ladder seemed to be greatly shocked. He suddenly screamed, and then his body suddenly trembled. His grip on the ladder loosened, and he fell straight backward.

There was nothing behind him.

The next instant was free fall.

With a piercing scream echoing through the air, a few breaths later, Xiao Fei's body slammed heavily to the ground with a thud.

The screams stopped abruptly, followed by faint, suppressed groans.

Song Yan felt somewhat helpless. He thought his appearance shouldn't be that scary, so he wondered why this person had such a strong reaction.

After pursing her lips, Song Yan jumped down from the entrance.

Click.

Without realizing it, the sole of my foot landed on the legs of the person who had fallen earlier, and just from the sound, I knew that the person's legs were probably ruined.

Sure enough, another earth-shattering scream erupted.

He felt that this person's ability to endure pain was extremely poor; compared to the suffering endured by the dwarf, his pain was nothing at all.

She bent down, grabbed his hair, and dragged him aside.

One by one, figures fell from the entrance.

Luo Tianxuan.

Flowers pity the moon.

The Ghost Cave has at least one ninth-rank martial artist, while we have two grandmasters on our side. Well, that's a slight advantage, if we can't really say.

Then came Luo Tianyi and Ziyu, and even Nahetoya, who came to join in the fun.

Last but not least were the ten brothers he had brought from Dongling.

The pungent stench caused everyone to frown, a hint of discomfort showing in their eyes.

Song Yan then lifted the young man he had captured. The man's original faint smile had been twisted and replaced, his face almost ferocious. The intense pain made his body tremble, and his wide eyes stared intently at Song Yan: "You, who are you?"

"Song Yan".

Xiao Fei's pupils suddenly contracted.

The next moment, he smiled somewhat coldly.

From childhood to adulthood, he has always trusted his father implicitly, and his father's judgments have never been wrong.

But this time, Father had calculated everything correctly, except for one thing: Song Yan's personality was far more insane than they had imagined. He didn't gather any constables or guards; he just went alone, with the woman beside him and a dozen or so guards, and dared to storm into the Ghost Cave.

He's a madman.

The things a madman does are beyond calculation.

Thinking of the mound of heads piled up like the Ghost Cave brothers' skulls, Xiao Fei understood that if he fell into Song Yan's hands, he would have no chance of survival.

He will definitely die, but at least he will have a chance for revenge before he dies.

His wide eyes were bloodshot, and deep within them lay mockery and madness.

"Ask whatever you want," Xiao Fei grinned. "After you've asked, kill me."

"who are you?"

"The son of the Ghost Cave Master."

Song Yan raised an eyebrow, not expecting that this seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy would have such an identity.

Why would Ghost Cave chase after Bu Yu?

"A murder commission."

Who is the employer?

"Who knows? A guy wearing a mask could be a member of the Yang family, someone from Bailu Academy, or even... a businessman."

His cooperation was so good that even Song Yan found it unbelievable.

Although his eyes were full of mockery, for some reason, Song Yan felt that he was telling the truth.

"So, one last question: where are the people from Ghost Cave hiding?"

"Keep going this way, then turn left at the third fork..."

Without the slightest hesitation, Xiao Fei directly told Song Yan the route to the final stronghold of the Ghost Cave.

There was not a trace of remorse in his eyes for betraying his brothers in Ghost Cave and his own father; only a growing sense of smugness and mockery…

go Go.

My father is a martial artist who has been immersed in the ninth-grade realm for more than ten years.

The Grand Elder has just entered the Ninth Rank realm.

There were also several eighth-rank martial artists and dozens of seventh-rank martial artists.

Song Yan only has one sister-in-law by his side.

Two against one, if none of these people are grandmaster-level experts, they are doomed.

This was Xiaofei's final revenge.

As for what kind of retaliation his father and the others in Ghost Cave would suffer after killing Song Yan, Xiao Fei hadn't thought about it at all.

"Kill me." As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Fei's eyes slowly closed. Perhaps because he had seen all kinds of death in the dark ditch, he was not afraid of death and his face was full of calm.

Song Yan readily agreed to his request, and twisted his head slightly with the fingers that were gripping it.

With a series of crackling sounds, Xiao Fei's neck had already rotated 360 degrees.

His neck looked like a twisted rope, with cracked, distorted skin.

Blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, but somehow, a smug smile remained on Xiao Fei's face.

(End of this chapter)