53: Chapter 53

53

As the wind from the blade nearly grazed his skin, Lin Zimo finally spoke with a raspy voice.

He read genuine killing intent in the other man's eyes.

This man really dared to do it.

"Then let's talk about the Black Dragon Society."

"Don't play any tricks, otherwise..."

Jiang Haojie grinned, the tip of his sword not retreating an inch.

Seeing him stop, Lin Zimo secretly let out a breath.

"The Black Dragon Society currently..."

He had just started when Jiang Haojie cut him off.

"President Liu, I'll leave this man for you to question."

"I'm going next door to interrogate that one."

Jiang Haojie jerked his chin toward Kamo. "We'll cross-examine later—if there's even half a discrepancy in their stories, kill them immediately."

With that, he grabbed the ashen-faced Kamo and turned to walk toward a private room.

Kamo looked at Lin Zimo in panic, but before he could make a sound, he was dragged through the door.

"Now no one can play mind games. Speak, what exactly is the Black Dragon Society's layout?"

Watching Jiang Haojie lead the man away, Liu Jinglong turned to Lin Zimo, inwardly praising the cleverness of this separate interrogation and cross-verification tactic.

This way, the other party wouldn't dare to lie.

Lin Zimo had indeed not expected this move, and he had no choice but to put away his original thoughts of deception and began to explain in a heavy voice.

According to him, the scale of the Black Dragon Society was far larger than the outside world knew, with four divisions governing thirty-six halls.

The four divisions were named Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermillion Bird, and Black Tortoise, with nine halls under each division.

He belonged to the Gumu Hall under the Black Tortoise Division.

The Chief and Vice-Chief of each hall were required to have a Fifth-Order cultivation level to hold their positions.

And above the four divisions, there were even more unfathomable high-level members.

Hearing this, Liu Jinglong was inwardly shaken.

He had already overestimated the Black Dragon Society's strength, but he hadn't expected his estimation to still be too shallow.

If Lin Zimo was telling the truth, there might really be an Eighth Rank Awakened overseeing this society.

With such a foundation, even the Bounty Guild might find it difficult to shake them.

Liu Jinglong's voice echoed in the empty underground space: "Exactly how many people does the Black Dragon Society have? Where are their strongholds distributed?"

Now that he knew of this organization's existence, he absolutely could not sit idly by and watch it continue to expand.

Noticing the subtle change in Liu Jinglong's expression, Lin Zimo curled his lip into a mocking smile: "Worried now? Liu Jinglong, as long as you let us go, I guarantee the Black Dragon Society and Longcheng Guild will stay out of each other's way."

"Otherwise—"

"Otherwise what?"

A calm voice cut him off.

Jiang Haojie stepped out from the shadows, followed by a dejected Kamo.

When the crowd caught sight of the black and blue bruises on Kamo's face, they all involuntarily looked away—he had clearly undergone a rather unpleasant negotiation.

Jiang Haojie's appearance made Lin Zimo shut his mouth.

He could never figure out why Liu Jinglong, the President of the Longcheng Bounty Guild, would be so

obedient to this 'X'.

Jiang Haojie didn't give Lin Zimo a single glance, only leading Liu Jinglong aside for a low-voiced conversation.

The two cross-checked the information they had obtained; the content was roughly consistent, so it seemed the prisoners hadn't lied.

"I wanted to ask about their numbers and stronghold distribution,"

Liu Jinglong frowned, "but I couldn't get it out of him."

"Same here."

Jiang Haojie shook his head. "That guy said he only knows about his own hall's affairs and knows nothing about the other branches."

"What do we do next?"

"Evacuate first."

Jiang Haojie lowered his voice. "I pried some news out of him; they've already requested reinforcements from the Longcheng Hall, and the reinforcements are on their way."

If we don't leave now, it might be hard to escape."

Liu Jinglong glanced at Lin Zimo's group: "How should we handle these people?"

"President Liu, you guys go first."

A very faint curve appeared at the corner of Jiang Haojie's mouth. "I still have some things to chat with them about."

Liu Jinglong was startled for a moment, then immediately understood something, giving Jiang Haojie a deep look.

"The law will punish them; leave them to the Guard Department to handle."

There's no need to get your hands dirty with some things, otherwise even being in the right becomes being in the wrong."

He patted Jiang Haojie's shoulder and led his subordinates toward the elevator.

Not until the elevator doors closed did Jiang Haojie slowly turn toward Lin Zimo and the others.

"X, what do you want to do?"

Lin Zimo stared at him intently, his back tensed.

Jiang Haojie's face was expressionless: "The business between us isn't over yet."

I said I hate being threatened—and you just happened to use a threat to force me to appear."

"Don't say I didn't give you a chance."

I will only use one move. Whether you survive or not depends on your luck."

Lin Zimo was stunned at first, then suddenly realized, his face turning deathly pale in an instant.

Bai Wenluo and Xu Jing also realized something and opened their mouths to shout—

But it was already too late.

The air above Jiang Haojie's head distorted slightly, and a transparent phantom of a lion's head quietly condensed.

Everyone's pupils constricted; they knew the power of this strike all too well.

"Roar—!"

The roar that shook the space swept through the entire fifth underground floor like a wild tide, followed by the eruption of shrill wails.

Jiang Haojie did not look back. After performing the Lions Roar Technique, he turned and walked away, his footsteps gradually disappearing at the end of the corridor.

As for who could leave alive, it would depend on their own luck.

When Jiang Haojie stepped out of the elevator door, Liu Jinglong's group was still waiting there.

"President Liu, please contact the Guard Department and ask them to come and take these people away."

Liu Jinglong replied, "Alright."

"Thank you all for your help this time. Don't worry about the reward; you can collect it from President Liu tomorrow."

Jiang Haojie turned to the three Fourth-Order Awakened who had come to support.

The three quickly shook their heads: "Mr. X, you're being too polite. We didn't contribute much, so there's no need for a reward."

Their trip was less for X's sake and more out of respect for Liu Jinglong—as the manager of the Longcheng Bounty Guild, Liu Jinglong was their direct superior.

"Just leave these trivial matters to me."

Liu Jinglong didn't let Jiang Haojie continue.

Jiang Haojie gave a helpless smile; it seemed he owed another favor.

After a brief conversation with Liu Jinglong, Jiang Haojie turned and left.

"You guys did well. Come to the guild tomorrow to collect your reward."

---

During a brief respite, Jiang Haojie originally wanted to have a good sleep until the sun was high in the sky.

But as soon as dawn broke, Liu Jinglong's phone call woke him up.

"Mr. X, something has happened."

The first sentence dispelled all of Jiang Haojie's sleepiness.

He frowned and asked, "What's going on?"

"Lin Zimo was found dead at the Guard Department this morning. The forensic examiner determined the time of death was in the early hours."

Jiang Haojie's heart sank: "Lin Zimo is dead? That's impossible."

As a Fifth-Order Awakened and a hall master of the Black Dragon Society, his death was by no means a small matter, and the Black Dragon Society would never let it go easily.

"It is indeed hard to believe, but that's the fact."

Liu Jinglong's tone was bitter.

"How did the Black Dragon Society react?"

"The strange thing is, they are unusually quiet. Aside from picking up the others, they haven't made any moves."

Liu Jinglong was also puzzled.

Normally, losing a hall master shouldn't result in such silence.

Jiang Haojie's frown deepened, and he suddenly pressed, "Wait, did Lin Zimo die by accident, or was it homicide?"

The Guard Department should have known Lin Zimo's importance and shouldn't have let anything happen to him—his death now must have a hidden story behind it.

"It was homicide."

As far as I know, the one who did it was a street thug."

Jiang Haojie's lips twitched slightly.

A thug? How could a thug kill a Fifth-Order Awakened? Moreover, major criminals like Lin Zimo should have been kept in solitary confinement; how could a thug have been allowed to sneak in and succeed?

Jiang Haojie had a faint, lingering smile as he tapped his fingertips lightly on the edge of the communicator. "President Liu, it seems the waters in the Guard Department are much murkier than we thought."

Liu Jinglong let out a long sigh on the other end, his voice tinged with undisguisable fatigue: "I was careless."

The Black Dragon Society's reach is longer than expected. If the Guard Department is like this, then the Bounty Guild... is probably even more of a sieve."

Jiang Haojie didn't respond.

The Bounty Guild was already a place where all sorts of people gathered, a mix of dragons and snakes was the norm, and he himself was just one member of this chaos.

They both understood this truth without having to say it.

"I'm telling you this so you're aware."

Liu Jinglong's tone became serious, "Longcheng has been full of undercurrents lately; you must be careful."

Just as the communication was about to be cut, Jiang Haojie suddenly spoke: "Wait."

Are Bai Wenluo and Xu Jing still around?"

"Their lives are hanging by a thread for now, but they're not out of danger yet. Whether they can wake up... depends on their luck."

Liu Jinglong paused, seemingly a bit puzzled as to why Jiang Haojie cared about this.

Having received the answer, Jiang Haojie ended the call.

He didn't really care about their life or death; he just felt that if they died easily, it would be too lenient.

Knowing that they were struggling on the line between life and death was enough.

Silence returned to the room.

Jiang Haojie leaned back against the headboard, his thoughts sinking into how to deal with the quagmire of the Black Dragon Society.

Lin Zimo's death remained a mystery, but he was certain that the Black Dragon Society would not stop there.

Retaliation would come sooner or later. He wasn't afraid to face danger; his only concern was that it might affect his close relatives far away in his hometown.

With a slight thought, his consciousness dove into the system space that belonged solely to him.

In the vast space, besides a few commonly used weapons floating quietly, the rest was almost filled with various potions and shimmering talent crystals.

Potions were his life-saving trump cards, needless to say.

Next to them was a pile of beast sources, but their use had yet to be understood.

His gaze swept over ten floating drops of dark red blood—those were obtained from previously exterminating ten mutated monsters.

[Mutated Blood: System-rated Grade C resource.

Consuming it may trigger blood mutation in an organism, with a 50% probability of positive enhancement.

Note: Any individual is limited to one use.]

Scanning the description, Jiang Haojie lacked interest and casually pushed them to a corner.

Finally, his attention landed on the pile of talent crystals.

If he could find one or two high-grade crystals to grant his parents the qualification to cultivate, it would be enough to give them some self-preservation power before a sudden crisis; he didn't demand they reach the peak, only that they be safe.

However, inspecting them one by one, although there were many crystals, the grades were disappointing.

The vast majority were only the lowest F-grade and E-grade, with very few even reaching D-grade.

Quality of this level was as useless as chicken ribs.

If it were A-grade, or even the legendary S-grade... He shook his head, suppressing the unrealistic thought.

The method to obtain talent crystals wasn't complicated, but specific conditions had to be met; the grade of the crystal was directly related to the talent intensity of the 'source'.

Hunt indiscriminately for that? He asked himself and knew he couldn't cross that line in his heart.

Suddenly, Jiang Haojie's eyes narrowed.

Black Dragon Society.

The moment these three words surfaced in his mind, a dark glint flashed in his eyes.

The Black Dragon Society was indeed a target worth paying attention to; hopefully, an Awakened with A-grade or even S-grade talent would appear among them.

A crisp ringing suddenly sounded.

Jiang Haojie looked down at his phone screen, where a string of unknown numbers was jumping.

He paused for a moment before pressing the answer key.

"Hello there, X."

A bright, laughing voice came through the receiver.

"Who is this?"

"Allow me to introduce myself—my surname is Dong, name Yingqin, and I currently serve as the Hall Master of the Black Dragon Society's Gumu Hall."

Jiang Haojie's eyes narrowed slightly: "Oh? So that means Lin Zimo died at your hands."

"No, no, no, the death of the previous Hall Master has absolutely nothing to do with me."

Dong Yingqin's tone was relaxed.

"Then what do you mean by contacting me?"

Dong Yingqin answered straightforwardly: "I made this call, naturally, to thank you."

If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to take the position of Hall Master so quickly."

Jiang Haojie sneered in his heart, almost certain—the one who killed Lin Zimo was indeed Dong Yingqin.

"And so?"

"So, as a token of my gratitude, I'm specifically notifying you: your name has been added to the Black Dragon Society's must-kill list."

In three days, the organization will launch a clearing operation against you."

Jiang Haojie laughed: "I took the blame for you, and this is how you thank me?"

"Didn't I leave you three days to get your affairs in order?"

Dong Yingqin also began to laugh.

"Aren't you afraid I'll tell everyone that you're the real killer?"

"Someone would have to believe it first."

Dong Yingqin didn't care at all, "Now the entire Black Dragon Society believes that the previous Hall Master's death is directly related to you."

X, you won't be able to shake off this charge."

Jiang Haojie fell silent.

He knew Dong Yingqin was telling the truth; the people of the Black Dragon Society would never believe his words.

But none of that mattered anymore.

Since the other party had decided to move, he didn't plan on being polite either.