7: A business that can make big money!

Dusk settled, and candlelight flickered in the small courtyard.

Xiao Qiuyu knelt beside Liu Yuhang’s corpse, his pale fingers gently pulling back the cloth covering the dead man’s face.

The candlelight cast eerie shadows on the distorted face, and the tiny blood-hole in his throat seemed particularly glaring.

“What a fast sword,” Xiao Qiuyu’s voice sounded as if it came from an ice cellar.

“It was three parts faster than I imagined. Liu Yuhang never expected that his sword could be so fast, or that the simplest movement technique could be so swift.”

Shangguan Danfeng stood three steps away, her black silk robe gleaming with a dark luster in the candlelight.

Her fingertips unconsciously caressed her Phoenix Needle, her voice still soft and charming: “Faster than your sword?”

Xiao Qiuyu did not answer immediately.

He turned to another corpse — Dugu Fang’s body was laid flat on the bluestone slab, the wound in his heart identical to Liu Yuhang’s, both narrow, four-edged penetrating wounds.

But what was different was a tiny speck of blood in Dugu Fang’s right eye, almost imperceptible if one didn’t look closely.

“Interesting,” Xiao Qiuyu pried open Dugu Fang’s eyelid, then his skull, and from his brain, found an embroidery needle three inches long embedded in the cranium.

“A flying needle into the eye, straight into the brain, fixed in the cranium. He actually hid such a good hidden weapon.

An ordinary embroidery needle, launched by hand, would never have this much force. It’s a mechanical hidden weapon, single-shot, non-poisonous, used in combat. Small, convenient, silent—a good hidden weapon!”

“An embroidery needle?” Shangguan Feiyan frowned, “Can you tell what kind of mechanism it is?”

“I can’t. Perhaps Zhu Ting would know. This kind of delicate yet extremely powerful hidden weapon isn’t something an ordinary craftsman could make.”

“We all underestimated him!” Xiao Qiuyu suddenly laughed, his smile making his refined face appear particularly chilling.

“Dugu Fang’s greatest pride was his speed. His Soul-Chasing Life-Taking Three Absolute Swords had reached the Transcendent realm. Even if Lu Jiuyuan’s sword was faster, it would be impossible to kill him with a single blow in a head-on confrontation.”

He stood up, a soft sword sliding from his sleeve, carving several cold streaks of light in the air: “From the marks on the ground at the time, it’s clear Dugu Fang knew Lu Jiuyuan’s sword was fast and was already prepared.

When he used the Three Absolute Swords for the last time, he already had the absolute upper hand, forcing Lu Jiuyuan to retreat with no escape. It was at this moment that he was shot through the eye by this embroidery needle, causing a moment of hesitation. And in that instant of hesitation—”

The soft sword suddenly darted out like a viper striking, its tip trembling into a cold star before the candlelight.

“One needle blinds, one sword pierces the heart,” Xiao Qiuyu retracted his sword into his sleeve, “Clean and decisive, without any sloppiness.”

Shangguan Danfeng’s red lips tightened into a thin line: “So his strength…”

“Is not beneath mine,” Xiao Qiuyu lightly kicked Dugu Fang’s corpse, “If he can kill Dugu Fang, he can naturally kill me. In a fierce battle, I wouldn’t be able to block that flying needle.”

A night breeze swept through the hall, making the candlelight flicker violently. Shangguan Feiyan suddenly felt a chill down her neck.

“He figured it out,” she murmured, “He listened to Xue’er’s words too. He knows who I am.”

“If I can’t deal with him, then I can only let others deal with him!”

...Lu Jiuyuan left the small building, found a tailor shop, bought a set of blue close-fitting attire, replenished his embroidery needles, and also got ten coarse cloth handkerchiefs.

He rented a room at an inn and stayed for three days, uneventfully. As the sun began to set, the beautiful afterglow made Lu Jiuyuan, feeling a bit bored, decide to go out for a stroll and experience the local flavor.

He hadn't walked far from the door when he heard a delicate shout: “Jianren Lu, you stop right there!”

Lu Jiuyuan turned around to see a female knight in a large red dress charging towards him with an aggressive Aura,

her hands on her hips, her almond eyes wide open: “Jianren Lu, I finally found you!”

“Ninth Girl, what are you looking for me for?” Lu Jiuyuan asked with a look of astonishment.

Ninth Girl laughed in exasperation: “Lu Jiuyuan, you don’t think that free sex and a clean getaway are just going to be forgotten, do you?”

“Wait, you can’t just say things like that. How can you slander someone’s good name out of thin air?” Lu Jiuyuan looked surprised: “I don’t want to talk to you, I’m leaving!”

“If you dare to leave, I’ll scream!” Ninth Girl sneered.

“Scream what?”

“Scream that you raped me!”

“You’re slandering someone’s good name again!”

“Do you, Jianren, even have a good name?” Ninth Girl gritted her teeth: “Was the free sex a lie?”

“Are you a prostitute?”

“Of course not. This old lady is just a bit unrestrained, how could I be a prostitute?” Ninth Girl said without hesitation,

“Since you’re not selling yourself, then it was a consensual matter. You were comfortable, and I was comfortable, so how is it free sex?” Lu Jiuyuan asked.

“You didn’t pay!” Ninth Girl blurted out.

“If I paid, wouldn’t you become someone who sells herself? Wouldn’t you become a prostitute? Wouldn’t that needlessly tarnish your status? Isn’t that the logic?”

“That makes sense!” Ninth Girl nodded: “But I let you sleep with me because I asked you to do something for me. You only slept with me and didn’t do the favor, which is going too far!”

Lu Jiuyuan sighed, a hint of helplessness flashing in his eyes: “Ninth Girl, let’s be reasonable. One thing is one thing.

We met by chance, and a fleeting romance is inherently a matter of mutual needs.

You have a favor to ask; I can agree or refuse. Agreeing is kindness, refusing is my right!”

“But you not only didn’t agree, you even threw me out naked! Do you know how much harm that does to a girl?”

“Your request was unrealistic. Asking me to catch Lu Xiaofeng—do I have that much capability? Why don’t you ask me to pluck the sun from the sky?”

“Fine! Then I’ll make a simple request. Help me kill someone right now!” Ninth Girl immediately said.

“No!” Lu Jiuyuan refused without hesitation: “You want me to kill someone for you after one night of sex? What a joke! Do you think I’m a cheap assassin?

For the same pleasure, a few taels of silver are enough at a brothel. Those women are all gentle, speak nicely, and are even better at their job than you.”

Ninth Girl clenched her fists behind her back, gritting her teeth as she said: “Then what kind of thing would you agree to do?”

“Two taels…” Lu Jiuyuan held up two fingers, looking at Ninth Girl’s even darker expression, then took a breath and said: “Clearly priced. I’ll only help with things that can be resolved within ten taels of silver!”

“Two taels? Ten taels? What do you take me for? A street hawker with a half-open door?”

“They only need 20 copper coins!”

Ninth Girl’s chest heaved violently with anger, her red dress flapping in the wind: “Jianren Lu, you’re ruthless!”

Ninth Girl untied a gold-embroidered purse from her waist and poured out more than a dozen gold beans with a clatter, “These are worth at least two hundred taels of silver. Is that enough to buy my service once?”

Lu Jiuyuan’s eyes narrowed slightly, the gold beans shimmering with an enticing luster in the sunlight.

He reached out, picked up a bean, and squeezed it: “Good quality. Unfortunately, the price is too low. Not enough!”

“No need to kill anyone, just help me catch someone,” Ninth Girl lowered her voice.

“Who do you want to catch?”

“Shangguan Xue’er! A young girl,” Ninth Girl said with a hint of excitement: “I’ve uncovered a secret related to a Dynasty’s Treasure Trove. Others eat meat, we drink soup—we can make a lot of money!”