Chapter 273 - 174: Overt Plot

Chapter 273: Chapter 174: Overt Plot

’Maybe I really misjudged him.’

"Uh—I don’t get all this officialdom stuff. Maybe I misunderstood you."

At this thought, Xue Shan felt a bit embarrassed. He quickly tucked away the five hundred thousand taels of silver notes and said with a sheepish grin, "I owe you one for this. Next time you have a similar job, come to me. I’ll give you a discount."

"Other assassins kill people. Have you gotten addicted to saving them?"

Su Mu couldn’t help but smile.

"It’s all the same. As long as there’s silver, I’ll do anything. It’s just making money, nothing to be ashamed of."

Xue Shan stuffed the silver notes into his robes, patted his chest, and spoke with a look of delight.

Five hundred thousand taels of silver was a considerable sum for him.

The key was that he had negotiated this himself and didn’t have to pay a commission to the Tower. It was pure profit.

"I remember you’re not from Wuling, right? What, you’re planning to stay in Wuling City?"

Su Mu asked curiously. From the way Xue Shan was talking, it seemed he planned to stay in Wuling City.

This was important news.

After all, Xue Shan was an assassin from the Golden Wind Tower.

The Taiping Bureau’s duty was to ensure peace, and Xue Shan was the type of unstable element that needed to be strictly monitored.

"You don’t know?"

Xue Shan gave Su Mu a strange look. "With something this big happening, how could I leave?"

"What’s happening?"

Su Mu asked, confused.

He had only asked casually, but from Xue Shan’s reaction, it seemed there was something major he didn’t know about.

These past few days, Zhao Poni hadn’t let anyone disturb him, so he had been resting in his small courtyard, completely unaware of any major events.

"You really don’t know."

Xue Shan said, "Hasn’t the Hundred Knows Hall recently appeared in the Jianghu?

"No one knows where this Hundred Knows Hall came from. They’re imitating the Divine Weapon Pavilion’s ranking of the world’s Divine Weapons and have created some kind of Dragon and Tiger List to rank the world’s Martial Artists.

"They’ve spread the word that the first Dragon and Tiger List will be announced in Wuling City.

"Of course I have to stick around and see what this Dragon and Tiger List is all about.

"I also want to see where I’ll rank on it."

"Hundred Knows Hall? Dragon and Tiger List?"

Su Mu murmured thoughtfully.

’First the Inspection Bureau, and now a Hundred Knows Hall emerges. The storm is coming.’

The moment Xue Shan mentioned a list, Su Mu subconsciously thought of the "pig-butchering lists" from his previous life.

No matter the world, things like ranking lists have always been a surefire way to stir up conflict.

Especially for Martial Artists.

Martial Artists are already full of vigor and extremely competitive.

Creating a ranking list for them? Isn’t that just provoking them?

’Scholars don’t compete for first place, but no warrior accepts second.’ Why is your rank higher than mine?

Why am I not as good as Er’gou from the village?

The Divine Weapon Pavilion’s Divine Weapon List, which ranked Divine Weapons, already had countless people who refused to accept the results. Many were indignant because the weapons they owned weren’t ranked highly.

The resulting conflicts were endless.

And those were just weapons.

Now they’re directly ranking people. Would the proud and arrogant Martial Artists accept it?

’The Hundred Knows Hall is just asking for trouble!’

This was the first thought that popped into Su Mu’s head.

"What’s the origin of this Hundred Knows Hall? And when will the Dragon and Tiger List be announced?"

Su Mu asked in a deep voice.

One could imagine that once the Dragon and Tiger List was announced, chaos would surely follow. And with the location being Wuling City, this was a major event that would directly affect the Taiping Bureau.

"No idea about their origin."

Xue Shan shrugged and said, "They’re very mysterious. Even my Golden Wind Tower hasn’t been able to dig up anything on them. But this Hundred Knows Hall has incredible reach. In just a few days, they’ve made the news known throughout the city. Tsk tsk, even the Golden Wind Tower would find that difficult to pull off."

The intelligence network of the Golden Wind Tower was known throughout the world, yet Xue Shan was admitting their inferiority to the Hundred Knows Hall. This showed that the Hundred Knows Hall’s capabilities were anything but ordinary.

"The Hundred Knows Hall hasn’t given a specific time for the announcement, but the location is definitely Wuling City. I’m a little curious, what method will they use to announce the list?

"If it were up to me, I’d definitely hang the list on the city walls..."

Xue Shan continued.

Su Mu had already stood up and was striding out, swift and decisive.

"Why are you leaving?"

Xue Shan muttered, then raised his voice. "Remember to settle the bill! I didn’t bring any silver!"

...

Su Mu went straight back to the Taiping Government Office.

He had a gut feeling that this Hundred Knows Hall might just be a good place to farm for merits.

Anything that affected the peace of the world was the Taiping Bureau’s responsibility to manage.

"Master Su."

After entering the Government Office, he encountered many familiar faces along the way. The Taiping Captains all stopped to salute Su Mu.

Su Mu smiled and returned the gesture.

’Somewhere along the line, I’ve become part of the ’Master’ generation.’

"Is Lord Zhao in?"

Su Mu asked.

"Lord Zhao has gone out of the city on patrol. The one on duty at the office today is Captain Zhao."

The Taiping Captain whom Su Mu had stopped replied respectfully.

He secretly glanced at the two cloud patterns on Su Mu’s lapel, his face filled with admiration.

"Alright, you can get back to your work. I’ll go find Captain Zhao."

Su Mu said casually.

Ever since they were besieged by monsters last time, the Taiping Bureau had instituted a new system: at all times, one Taiping Captain would remain on duty in the city to coordinate in case of trouble.

Just as Su Mu was about to go find the on-duty Captain Zhao to ask about the Hundred Knows Hall, he ran into Luo Anning.

Miss Luo was in a hurry.

"Master Su, I’m heading out on a mission. We’ll talk later."

Before Su Mu could say anything, she rushed off in a whirlwind.

Su Mu chuckled in spite of himself. ’Why does it feel like I’m the only person in the entire Wuling Taiping Bureau with nothing to do?’

Stepping into the main hall, Su Mu saw the on-duty Captain Zhao.

"Senior Brother Zhao..."

He briefly explained his reason for coming.

"I’ve heard about the Dragon and Tiger List."

Captain Zhao was in his thirties with a steady personality. He spoke slowly, "This Dragon and Tiger List was created by the Hundred Knows Hall in collaboration with the Inspection Bureau.

"The Inspection Bureau acts on behalf of the heavens to inspect the world. Nearly all Martial Artists fall under their surveillance. The information they possess might even be greater than what our Taiping Bureau has.

"For this Dragon and Tiger List, they have a uniquely advantageous position."

"What kind of background does this Hundred Knows Hall have to be able to team up with the Inspection Bureau?"

Su Mu cursed inwardly. ’The Inspection Bureau really knows how to stir up trouble. Are they afraid the world isn’t chaotic enough?’

’For that little bit of power in their hands, they really don’t care about the consequences.’

Captain Zhao slowly uttered a name: "Taiping Imperial Guard."

With just a little more explanation, Su Mu understood the origin of the Hundred Knows Hall.

Not everyone in the families of the Inspectors could have a talent for the Martial Dao. For those children without such talent, it wasn’t impossible for them to become Inspectors, but it was difficult to climb the ranks within the Inspection Bureau. So some genius came up with an idea: imitate the Taiping Bureau’s Taiping Imperial Guard and establish a Hundred Knows Hall.

This Hundred Knows Hall was created to place the friends and relatives of Inspectors who couldn’t become Inspectors themselves, using the Inspection Bureau’s resources to cash in...

However, the Taiping Imperial Guard are considered official soldiers, while the Hundred Knows Hall is not an official organization. The imperial court doesn’t support them.

It’s also hard to say that they are directly subordinate to the Inspection Bureau.

"Captain Zhao, I feel this Dragon and Tiger List could easily become a destabilizing factor. Shouldn’t we try to stop it?"

Su Mu asked thoughtfully.

"It’s useless."

Captain Zhao shook his head. "The Headquarters has already protested, but the Inspection Bureau is adamant. The high officials at court all think a mere list is harmless and might even inspire young Martial Artists to cultivate the Martial Dao with more passion.

"They believe that since our Da Xuan was founded on martial prowess, this Dragon and Tiger List is a good thing for Da Xuan."

"Those people are truly more of a hindrance than a help."

Su Mu said irritably. With all this energy, why not use it to deal with those demons?

"These are matters beyond our control."

Captain Zhao said, "Junior Brother Su, you’ve come at the right time. There’s something I needed to discuss with you.

"Captain Xu Chongyuan was taken away by the Inspection Bureau for investigation. The place he was responsible for guarding is temporarily without a replacement. Would you mind taking it on?"