Chapter 413: Your Secrets Are Safe in Death!

Serina ended the [Mind Talk] conversation before turning her attention back toward the middle-aged man behind the counter.

Her usual gentle smile returned as she leaned forward slightly. "In that case, I’d like to purchase everything."

The middle-aged man blinked in confusion. "Everything, honored guest?"

Serina nodded calmly. "That’s right. Everything your organization has already gathered about that foreign man. I don’t want you to leave out even the smallest detail."

Cynthia stepped forward beside her and added, "And we’d also like everything you know about the Kurogane Samurai Guild, including their strength, important members, headquarters, and connections."

She casually placed another storage pouch onto the wooden counter before continuing in her usual calm voice.

"And please understand something. When we say everything, we mean absolutely everything. We don’t want any information deliberately withheld."

The middle-aged man stared at the storage pouch for a moment before cautiously opening it.

However, the moment he examined the enormous amount of spirit stones inside, his eyes immediately widened.

"Holy shit! Just how wealthy are these two women?!"

He quickly closed the pouch, his previously professional smile becoming considerably wider.

"Wonderful! Absolutely wonderful! In that case, honored guests, you’ve certainly come to the right place!"

He eagerly stored the pouch away before straightening his posture.

"Please rest assured. As long as the information is available within our organization, I’ll make sure you receive everything you’ve paid for!"

Serina smiled pleasantly. "Fufu, excellent. Then please begin."

The middle-aged man nodded enthusiastically before retrieving several information records from beneath the counter.

For the next several minutes, he began explaining everything Yamikarasu had managed to gather about Damian and his companions.

However, since Damian had only recently entered Hanamiyako, the amount of information Yamikarasu possessed about him was actually rather limited.

On the other hand, their information regarding the Kurogane Samurai Guild was considerably more extensive.

According to the middle-aged man, the Kurogane Samurai Guild was a well-established Second Tier faction with numerous Nascent Soul cultivators occupying its higher ranks.

Its supreme leader, known as the Taishō, was a powerful cultivator named Kurogane Masanori, who had already reached the Peak Nascent Soul Realm.

Directly beneath him was the vice-commander, or Fuku-Taishō, named Takeda Shigenobu, another Peak Nascent Soul cultivator whose strength was said to be nearly comparable to that of the Taishō himself.

Below these two leaders were the Gokenin, an elite group consisting of powerful high-stage Nascent Soul cultivators who served as the guild’s senior officers and commanders.

Naturally, Masaru, the troublesome samurai Damian had encountered at Haruto’s inn, was also a member of this elite group.

The guild’s main headquarters was located outside the southern district, although numerous smaller branches, training halls, and affiliated establishments were scattered throughout Hanamiyako.

Their members specialized heavily in swordsmanship and traditional samurai martial arts, with particular emphasis on disciplined combat formations, battlefield tactics, and military-style sword techniques.

Furthermore, the guild possessed considerable influence throughout the Sakura Empire.

After all, samurai were widely respected as professional warriors, and the Kurogane Samurai Guild was one of the top samurai guild.

Once the middle-aged man finished his explanation, Cynthia smiled faintly and nodded in satisfaction. "How interesting. That’s certainly a considerable amount of useful information."

The man chuckled proudly, clearly pleased by her reaction. "Of course, honored guest! At Yamikarasu, we always make sure our customers receive information worth their money!"

He rubbed his hands together before asking cheerfully, "Now then, is there anything else I can assist you with?"

Cynthia merely smiled.

However, instead of answering his question, she casually flicked one finger.

SWISH!

A nearly invisible silver needle suddenly shot through the air and pierced the side of the middle-aged man’s neck.

His eyes immediately widened in shock. "What?!"

He instinctively reached toward his neck and attempted to circulate his Qi, only to discover that his meridians had suddenly become strangely numb.

Within seconds, he found himself unable to move his body properly. "W-Why?! What did you do to me?!"

Cynthia calmly adjusted her sleeve, looking completely unconcerned by his panicked reaction.

"Well, you see, there’s something rather troubling about your organization’s business practices."

The middle-aged man stared at her in confusion, unable to understand what she meant.

Cynthia continued in her usual professional tone. "You sold us information about your previous client remarkably easily. All we needed to do was offer enough spirit stones."

Hearing this, the man’s expression immediately stiffened.

Cynthia tilted her head slightly before adding, "Which means that if someone comes here tomorrow and offers you enough money, you’ll probably sell them everything about us as well."

The middle-aged man’s face instantly turned pale as he finally understood what she was implying.

Serina, who had been quietly watching the entire exchange, simply smiled gently. "Fufu, unfortunately, that would be rather inconvenient for us."

The middle-aged man immediately opened his mouth, attempting to shout for help, but all that escaped was a muffled groan. "U-Ugh... You..."

Unfortunately, the poison had already spread throughout his body, leaving him completely helpless.

His eyes widened in terror as he collapsed onto the floor, his body twitching violently for several seconds before finally going still.

Within moments, the middle-aged man was dead.

However, almost immediately afterward, several masked ninjas suddenly rushed out from the hidden rooms behind the counter.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

The moment they appeared, Serina and Cynthia immediately recognized them.

These were the very same ninjas who had been secretly following Damian’s group earlier!

One of the ninjas noticed the corpse lying on the floor and immediately drew his weapon. "You bastards! What have you done?!"

Another ninja quickly raised his katana and shouted, "Intruders! Kill them!"

However, Cynthia merely smiled faintly before casually raising both hands. "Oh? How convenient. You’re all here."

She lightly flicked her fingers.

[Venom Rain Needles]

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Dozens of nearly invisible needles suddenly shot through the room, moving so quickly that the ninjas barely had time to react.

"What the...?!"

Before they could even raise their weapons, the needles pierced precise points around their shoulders, legs, and necks.

Several ninjas immediately froze, their bodies becoming completely paralyzed as the terrifying poison spread through their meridians.

"UGH! P-POISON?!"

One of them desperately tried circulating his Qi, but it was already too late.

Within seconds, dark blood began leaking from their mouths as their bodies collapsed one after another.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

In less than a minute, every ninja inside the room had fallen dead.

Serina calmly glanced at the bodies scattered across the floor before turning toward Cynthia with a slightly amused expression. "Oh my, Cynthia. You actually killed all of them?"

Cynthia casually adjusted her sleeves before answering in her usual calm voice.

"Of course, Mistress Serina. We’ve already obtained the information we came for, so there’s no reason to keep them alive."

Serina tilted her head slightly before asking, "Fufu, but what about gathering more information concerning Yamikarasu itself? We haven’t really investigated their organization yet."

Cynthia suddenly paused. "Oh... Right. I forgot about that."

She glanced toward the corpses for a moment before shrugging calmly.

"Well, it doesn’t really matter. Regardless of how powerful their organization might be, I highly doubt they could pose any serious threat to us."

Serina considered her words for a moment before smiling in agreement. "Fufu, fair point. I suppose there’s no reason to worry too much about them."

With that settled, the two women casually turned around and walked toward the exit.

Neither showed the slightest concern about the corpses lying behind them.

Just like that, an entire Yamikarasu branch had been wiped out, and the two women responsible simply left as though they had finished an ordinary shopping trip.