The massive, jet-black stone bricks formed a majestic city wall a hundred zhang high. Up close, you couldn’t even see its end at a glance—it was like a primordial behemoth sprawling across the earth.

Such a magnificent city had never appeared in the history of his previous life.

One day, Edward Grant would return here and take a good look at this Great Qian capital.

Chapter Five: The Assassins

Great Qian Capital, Muyang Ward, in a small tavern on Chang’an Street.

Having just sent off Edward Grant, The Bolton Family immediately brought James Grant by carriage to this place and pushed open the door to a private room.

The very Daoist who had previously tried to assassinate Edward Grant with the Five Viscera Temple ghost was sitting inside.

His heart ghost had been swallowed by Edward Grant into the jade pendant’s space, but since he raised ghosts with his own five viscera, he could hardly be called human anymore. Even without a heart, he was still alive and well, just a bit pale.

“Madam, what took you so long? I’ve been waiting for ages, so I ordered a pot of top-grade Da Hong Pao. Don’t forget to pay for it later.”

The Daoist complained, slurping a mouthful of tea.

The Bolton Family snorted coldly, “Cut the nonsense. Did you find the people?”

The Daoist clapped his hands, and two people walked out from behind the screen in the room.

One was a one-eyed swordsman in white, in his thirties, with a cold, sharp face.

The other was even stranger—thin and sickly, his face gaunt as if suffering from some grave illness.

But his left arm was thick and swollen, wrapped round and round with coarse linen, looking extremely odd.

The Daoist pointed at the one-eyed swordsman in white and said, “This is Richard Foster, a discarded disciple of the He Yan Prefecture Breaking Sword Hall. The Breaking Sword technique is subtle and profound—when mastered, a single sword aura can shatter illusions and evil arts, extremely sharp.”

He then pointed at the sickly-looking man. “This is ‘Ghost Hand’ Samuel Wright, a discarded disciple of the Wu family from Xiangxi. The Wu family excels at severing meridians and ghost-refining arts. That ghost hand of his was cut from the arm of a general from the previous dynasty who had turned into a black zombie, and transplanted onto himself. Not only is it impervious to blades, with immense strength, but it’s also tainted with corpse poison.”

The Bolton Family frowned, “Why are they all discarded disciples?”

The Daoist rolled his eyes. “Nonsense. Which proper sect or noble family disciple would risk being hunted by the Jingye Division’s hounds to become a black market assassin?”

“Fine, they’ll do.”

But the Daoist didn’t move, only stretched out his hand, rubbing his thumb and forefinger together, as if making a heart gesture.

“What do you mean?”

“Money.”

The Bolton Family immediately raised her brows, displeased. “You still want money? Last time you said you’d handle it easily, fair and square, but that little brat is still alive and well. Now you want more money?”

The Daoist snorted coldly. “How could my heart ghost fail to kill an ordinary person? Clearly, your intel was faulty, which led to the failure!

That kid must have some kind of magical artifact protecting him. I even lost the heart ghost I’d cultivated for over a decade. I took a huge loss on this job—I haven’t even asked you for compensation yet!”

The Bolton Family shouted, “This is outright extortion!”

A cold, sinister smile suddenly appeared on the Daoist’s face. “Extortion? If that’s how you want to see it, Madam, so be it.”

At that moment, James Grant, who had been following The Bolton Family, suddenly screamed, pointing behind her in terror.

A little ghost with a kidney-shaped head had somehow crawled onto The Bolton Family’s shoulder and was rubbing against her cheek.

The Bolton Family forced herself not to scream, her face full of fear, trembling as she spoke:

“What do you want? Don’t you know my brother has already joined the Jiangnan Divine Thunder Hall?”

The Daoist sneered, “Trying to scare me? I dare to take jobs in the capital—do you think I’d be afraid of the Divine Thunder Hall? This is the capital, not Jiangnan!

Madam, you don’t understand cultivators, so don’t try to use your petty little schemes to guess at the world of cultivation.

Call it extortion or blackmail, whatever you like. I’ve found the people for you—whether you pay or not is up to you.

We do have some ties, and I recognize you, but my kidney ghost doesn’t!

Oh, and I forgot to mention—this kidney ghost was refined from a lust ghost. Madam, you may be a bit older, but you’re well maintained, still quite charming. See, it seems to like you a lot.”

As he spoke, the kidney ghost suddenly opened its big mouth and licked The Bolton Family’s cheek with its tongue, making her scream in fright.

“I’ll pay! I’ll pay!”

The Daoist waved his hand, recalling the kidney ghost, muttering, “Should’ve just paid up in the first place, instead of all this nonsense. People these days—business is tough.”

“These two—one thousand taels each.”

He pointed at the two men.

The Bolton Family gritted her teeth and threw two thousand tael notes to the Daoist.

“Madam, you still owe me a thousand taels.”

“Didn’t you say a thousand each?”

The Daoist pointed at himself. “Did you forget the rules of my trade, Madam? The agency fee.”

The Bolton Family gritted her teeth and threw out another thousand taels. Only then did the Daoist leave, satisfied with the money. As he left, he added, “Oh, and don’t forget to pay for the tea later, Madam. I’m a respectable man—I’d never dine and dash.”