Chapter Two Hundred Sixty-Three: The Great Manager

Chapter Two Hundred Sixty-Three: The Great Manager

Although Su Mo had a short acquaintance with Ji Shuhua, having met him just twice,

At first, he hadn't really paid much attention to this so-called code of eternal righteousness.

But this time, seeing that Ji Shuhua was still thinking about the favor his friend asked of him even until his death, Su Mo couldn't help but feel respect.

Making a promise means sticking to it, even if it kills you.

It sounds simple, but how many people can truly do it, really?

Su Mo often tells himself that he's never been one of those so-called great heroes.

Both Su Tianyang and Yang Yizhi have a kind of heroism about them, something that Su Mo knows he could never learn in his lifetime.

If it were truly a matter of life and death, he'd look out for himself first, and everything else would come later.

And it is precisely because he cannot do certain things himself that he admires those who can even more so.

Because of this, Su Mo showed no mercy to these black-clad men.

He directly used the "Three Days of Pain" technique on them.

After Liu Mo took the men away, Su Mo let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding and took out the box that Ji Shuhua had been carrying.

He'd have to take a look to see what this "strange iron" really was.

Unlike when Su Mo had helped escort the Mysterious Mechanism Buckle.

At that time, all Su Mo could think about was how to escape.

He wasn't the least bit interested in what was inside the box.

So, the whole way there, he never checked what was inside.

But Ji Shuhua had already explained what was in the box, so Su Mo naturally wanted to check it.

But admiration aside, Su Mo took some precautions before opening the box.

He still had Yang Xiaoyun stay behind him while he used the Flicking Finger technique to open the box.

The memory of Yu Lingxin hiding the Perennial Wicked Rain Needles in the box still gave Su Mo chills.

He didn't think Ji Shuhua had deadly intentions, but he worried there might be something else strange inside.

In the jianghu, or martial arts world, many people suffer losses because of the "unexpected."

Su Mo knew he couldn't make everything foolproof, but thinking and guarding more might help avoid some pitfalls.

Even if ten thousand attempts fail, the ten thousand and first just might succeed.

As Su Mo's finger wind fell, the box popped open, triggering the mechanism.

Another flick later, and the lid was finally lifted.

No fanfare, Su Mo and Yang Xiaoyun leaned in, and sure enough, there was the strange iron...

And more than just one piece.

There was a large piece and several smaller, scattered pieces, looking quite dirty and messy.

Su Mo glanced at Yang Xiaoyun:

"Does Sister Xiaoyun recognize this item?"

Yang Xiaoyun shook her head decisively: "Nope!"

She liked weapons because they had a practical use in battle.

However, she had never considered forging weapons herself, so her knowledge in this area was limited.

Su Mo wasn’t familiar with it either.

Upon closer inspection, it was clear that this so-called ‘strange iron’ had some extraordinary features.

Its color was dark with faint hints of deep blue, and there seemed to be a sparkling brilliance hidden inside.

Its full form wasn’t visible since most of it was encased in ordinary stone.

Su Mo paused for a moment before closing the box. As Fu Hanyuan and the others returned, Su Mo had them bring over some seals to secure the box.

He then passed the box to Fu Hanyuan:

"Take it and have someone keep a close watch on it. I’ll be heading to Jifeng Mountain in the next few days for this journey."

"Yes," Fu Hanyuan responded, taking the box before leaving.

Su Mo waved his hand, "All right, everyone, go and rest."

Hu Sandao and Zhen Xiaoxiao immediately left, while Su Mo took Yang Xiaoyun back to the study and began to plan the journey to Jifeng Mountain.

Actually, the entire route to Wusheng Hall was unfamiliar territory.

According to what Yang Xiaoyun and Su Mo knew, when Su Tianyang was still alive, he had traveled towards Wusheng Hall.

Besides that, within Sunset City, only the Yangwei Escort Bureau ran that route.

But if Su Mo and the others asked the Yangwei Escort Bureau for directions, wouldn't that be inappropriate?

Even though the people from the escort bureau wouldn't dare to do anything to the number one expert of the Eastern Wastes, wouldn't they be cursing in their hearts?

This wasn't just robbing them of business; it was practically taking away their livelihood.

As the Ziyang Escort Bureau gradually expanded, the surviving Yangwei Escort Bureau in Sunset City could no longer compete.

There were no business conflicts between them before.

The Iron Blood Escort Bureau ran the East City route, Heaven Gate Escort Bureau handled the Heaven Blade Sect route, and Yangwei Escort Bureau covered the Wusheng Hall route.

Early on, the Ziyang Escort Bureau had taken over the routes of the Iron Blood and Heaven Gate Escort Bureaus and never expanded westward.

Now, however, their route coincided exactly with that of the Yangwei Escort Bureau.

"Within Sunset City, there are still quite a few large and small escort bureaus. Scattered here and there, including the Yangwei Escort Bureau, there are a total of nine."

"Previously, the three major security agencies were thriving in Sunset City, but they hadn't completely lost their means of living.

"Now that our Purple Sun security agency is at its peak, even if unintentionally, we are bound to encroach on others' livelihoods.

"Xiao Mo, have you thought about how to handle this?"

Yang Xiaoyun took the opportunity to discuss it with Su Mo.

After thinking for a moment, Su Mo softly said:

"The expansion of the Purple Sun security agency is already inevitable.

"On this trip back, I consulted with the great master. He has allowed me to recruit disciples within the Purple Sun security agency.

"They will become the thirty-third generation of disciples in the Purple Sun Sect.

"Once this is accomplished, the agency will naturally be different...

"As for the other security agencies in Sunset City, after the matter with Wusheng Hall is concluded, I plan to invite them all to a small meeting.

"Are you thinking of...?"

Yang Xiaoyun's eyes widened suddenly, clearly realizing Su Mo's intention.

Su Mo nodded slightly: "Finding common ground while accepting differences is the key to long-term success. Let's see what choices they make...

"Otherwise, if we don't do anything, as the Purple Sun security agency grows to a certain scale, they will naturally fade away.

"I just want to... give them a way out."

Yang Xiaoyun's eyes sparkled: "In that case, the Purple Sun security agency could truly become a completely different entity."

Su Mo nodded slightly but didn't say more.

After deciding on the route, the two left the study.

Su Mo wanted to take Yang Xiaoyun to his room to rest, but Yang Xiaoyun couldn't agree, could he?

Even though he was willing, they weren't married yet.

But to get away, he had to pay a price.

Finally, with no other choice, he left a kiss on Su Mo's cheek before managing to slip away.

Su Mo returned to his room but didn't rest immediately.

His mind involuntarily began thinking about the matter of the Xuantian Treasure Seal.

However, this issue was without a clear beginning or end, and the origins of the Jinglong Society remained a mystery to this day.

Though he suspected the Jinglong Society was a remnant of the Great Xuan dynasty, no one could be sure.

With the disappearance of the third trial of the Dragon Gate beneath the Wretched Abyss Court, many clues were lost.

For now, the only option is to head to Wusheng Hall for further investigation.

Only time will tell how much we can uncover."

The person who was struck by Zhen Xiaoxiao with a bronze figurine was knocked into the wall and didn't make it through the night.

In the middle of the night, the escort agents of the agency carried him out and threw him into a mass grave outside the city for burial.

The remaining two were still suffering from the three-day painful ordeal, and Su Mo didn't bother with them for the time being.

Meanwhile, someone else was guarding Ji Shuhua's box of rare iron.

Liu Mo led Fu Hanyuan out, and the two were going to find a good feng shui spot for Ji Shuhua's burial and consult a fortune teller for the auspicious time.

Ji Shuhua was a loner. Although he had friends far and wide, he had no family.

He spent his life wandering the world of martial arts but never formed a family.

As for who his friends were... it was difficult to keep count.

Naturally, it was impossible to notify everyone, so the arrangements were simplified.

Meanwhile, Uncle Fu and the others were waiting at the escort agency, as there would be visitors coming today.

However, Su Mo didn't need to handle it personally; Uncle Fu was more than capable.

Su Mo brought Yang Xiaoyun and Zhen Xiaoxiao to the city lord's mansion to visit Wei Ruhan.

However, there wasn't anything worth mentioning about the visit.

Su Mo's visit was a gesture of respect to Wei Ruhan, showing a respectful attitude.

But that was the extent of it.

The final decision on the leadership of the Fallen Phoenix Alliance would be decided in a few months' time.

Wei Ruhan wanted Su Mo to set the date, but Su Mo couldn't be bothered... The old man's intentions were questionable. If such a major decision were left to him, Su Mo, outsiders might think he was already part of the Fallen Phoenix Alliance.

Wei Ruhan was disappointed but didn't press the matter.

He didn't mention much about his relationship with Wei Ziyi.

Notably, Wei Ziyi had indeed returned to Heavenly Feather City.

She left quietly, without a word to Su Mo.

This left Su Mo puzzled, sensing something was off about the girl, though he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

In the end, the biggest gain from this trip was Zhen Xiaoxiao's.

As soon as Huang Yuan saw Zhen Xiaoxiao, he felt a headache coming on.

The kitchen staff immediately sprang into action.

Wei Ruhan, being elderly, ate very little despite the exquisite nature of his food.

But with Zhen Xiaoxiao around, the kitchen's supplies noticeably dwindled.

Were it not for the city lord's mansion's vast resources, Huang Yuan might have found himself at the gate, cursing in the direction of the Ziyang Escort Agency.

Another day passed, spent settling the affairs of Hu Sandao and his group, young and old.

The courtyard left by Wei Ziyi has been cleaned up, and this group has officially moved in.

Afterward, suitable individuals were selected to bolster the ranks of the Escort Agency. Some capable women were assigned to help with various chores inside the agency instead.

As for those who were too old and frail to do anything, they were left in the courtyard to live out their remaining years in peace.

Once all these miscellaneous tasks were completed, Su Mo then summoned the two black-clad individuals.

Ever since he obtained the Painful Mantra, this was the first time someone had endured the infliction of such prolonged torment.

Back in East City, when they caught that old man from the Evil Glutton Sect, he confessed to things like secretly watching the neighbor's older sister bathe when he was a child, after just one day and night of torture.

However, after the Painful Mantra was removed from these two individuals, they tried to fall asleep without a word.

This was outrageous, which Fu Hanyuan anticipated. He had a bucket of water and waited on the side.

As soon as the two were about to fall into a comfortable sleep, each had half a bucket of water splashed on them.

They immediately jolted awake, but when they looked at Su Mo again, they no longer had the courage they had that night.

Whatever Su Mo asked, they answered honestly.

When it came to the cause of this incident, it was an invitation.

“The invitation suddenly appeared at our bedside, with several masks placed next to it.

“We don’t know how he or she found us.

“However, since he or she was able to place the invitation silently at our bedside, he or she also had the ability to silently take our lives.”

The black-clad individual furrowed his brow and explained:

“For such a person, we dared not ignore the invitation.

“After all, today it might be an invitation, but next time it might bring a deadly blade.

“So, without hesitation, we, the brothers, arrived at the location mentioned in the invitation.

“It was an inn outside a desolate wilderness, seemingly a newly built small building.

“The pavilions and terraces were new, emitting a strong scent of wood.

“There was no one guarding the front door, but after we pushed it open wearing the masks, the hall was filled with guests.

“Everyone wore the same masks as us, so it was impossible to tell who they were for a moment.

“However, at that time, we didn’t care about their identities, only focusing on the table placed at the highest position in the hall.”

Yang Xiaoyun raised her eyebrows and glanced at the black-clad individual in response.

He nodded deeply, his eyes revealing greed:

“A large table made by joining many tables together, covered with a red cloth. On top of the cloth, there was a massive pile of silver, at least ten thousand taels. It was truly shocking to behold!”

Had no choice but to bow his head and continue speaking:

"We had just arrived and couldn't figure out what was really going on, so we didn’t dare make any hasty moves.

We had no choice but to find a place to sit and stare at the silver, dumbfounded.

More people showed up later, but everyone was wearing different masks, so we couldn’t see their real faces.

The person behind the scenes probably used the different masks to tell us apart when sending out the invitations.

After around two hours, when no one else arrived, two young servants closed the main door.

Shortly after, a figure appeared before us.

This person too wore a mask—a chilling ghost mask.

He introduced himself as the great manager and said he had gathered everyone for a specific task.

Then… he brought up the strange iron piece on Ji Shuhua’s body…

He admitted he’d had his eye on this item for a while, but someone else had already gotten their hands on it.

Now it was in Ji Shuhua’s possession, and he was hoping we could help him get it.

If anyone could bring this strange iron to the great manager,

He promised to reward the person with 10,000 taels of silver!

Even now, every invited guest could take 500 taels of silver as a deposit.

Su Mo seemed to think for a moment as he listened.

He glanced up at the black-clad man with a smirk and asked, "Wasn’t anyone tempted by the silver?"

"Of course there were!"

The black-clad man gave a bitter smile. "Some tried to make a move to grab this huge fortune. But the moment they made a rash move, the great manager’s two swordsmen killed them.

And the sword skills of these two were top-notch.

Even though we didn’t step in, we could sense the deadliness of their swordplay—it was all about killing.

After that, nobody was foolish enough to make another rash move.

Eventually, someone stood up, still unsure but willing to take the risk, and took the 500 taels before leaving without a scratch.

That’s when everyone else followed along…

After we took the silver and left, we didn’t dare dwell on what had happened.

But the more we thought about it after going back, the weirder it felt.

So, we headed back to the place to take another look.

But there was no sign of the small building…

There was nothing, just a desolate field among the green mountains and thin mist.

If it weren’t for the silver in our hands, we’d have thought it was all just a dream."

Chief Escort Su gave a slight nod:

"Did this great manager mention how we should find him after obtaining this mysterious iron?"

"He said... there's no need for us to look for him, he will come find us with the money."

The black-clad man, upon saying this, suddenly began repeatedly bowing his head to the ground:

"Chief Escort Su, you are the number one expert in the world, we are but insignificant figures scraping out a living in the jianghu.

"Although we helped treat Master Ji's injuries, others also contributed to his harm, so it's unfair to blame us entirely.

"Please, Chief Escort Su, show mercy and give us a way to survive."

Su Mo sighed, nodded slightly, and without saying more, finished them off quickly with a single strike to each.

In the jianghu, birds of a feather flock together. Such incidents were certainly not uncommon.

Different positions lead to different attitudes.

They hadn't directly offended Su Mo, but they were responsible for Ji Shuhua's death.

Su Mo might forgive them, but what right did he have to forgive them on Ji Shuhua's behalf?

It was best to let them face Ji Shuhua and settle the matter themselves.

Su Mo ordered Liu Mo to take the bodies away for disposal, while Yang Xiaoyun turned to look at Su Mo:

"These ghostly tricks in the jianghu seem to be becoming more and more common."

Su Mo chuckled in response: "Delivering the invitations unnoticed isn't really that difficult.

"Their martial skills are average, but since the great manager employs experts, achieving this isn't particularly hard.

"The newly erected building can be torn down just as quickly.

"And given that the person behind this has such wealth but is unwilling to retrieve the item personally...

"Obviously, it's because they don't want to reveal their identity.

"And they claim to be the great manager themselves..."

"I wouldn't go so far as to say I understand," Su Mo smiled, "but I guess this person should be a businessman."