"Blackmail?" Jin Luo Niu was confused.
Not just her—even Lin Chen Huan looked bewildered, "Rue Bu, that's a Rank Three Gu Master we're talking about... a-are you sure...?" she barely managed to voice her disagreement.
'It's not like I like it either...' Even Rue Bu himself wasn't exactly thrilled about it.
"Believe it or not, that's the only safe option I have right now." He spoke slowly to make sure they heard him clearly. "Let's say we do as Luo Niu suggested and kill the two Kui brothers—what then? Ignoring the chance they've already informed someone, do you think the Kui family won't investigate? Won't the Lin Tribe investigate? Won't the alliance investigate? And remember, that would be the third time the alliance loses students. It'll get complicated very fast, and I doubt you'll be able to hide your tracks well enough." He was mainly speaking to Luo Niu at the end, and she nodded in agreement.
"Then killing them won't work. Do we just ignore them? That's even more dangerous," he said, trailing off as he looked at both of them in silence.
"Not necessarily dangerous—just annoying," Luo Niu corrected, lazily.
"Just annoying for someone at your level. But a flimsy Rank One like me?" He shook his head, "I wouldn't survive two rich kids scared shitless that I'll expose them." He noticed Chen Huan's confusion and added, "If I ignore them and they find out how we survived, they'll assume the worst. That Luo Niu failed—either dead or injured—and that I now know someone's after me. And who else could it be but them?" He shrugged.
"So... they'll hire another assassin?" Chen Huan finally understood.
"And this time, it'll be someone way stronger than her," he nodded. "Possibly more than one. You know how rich an elder can be, right?" He winked at her.
"Yeah, that's dangerous..." She nodded, then shook her head. "But isn't blackmailing an elder even more dangerous? I can't imagine someone even talking back to my grandfather, let alone... blackmailing him."
"Well, yes and no. Normally I wouldn't even consider something like that, but this situation is different. If we try anything else, we'll just be making trouble for ourselves, like I said earlier. Sure, blackmail is risky—but only if the other party doesn't care about their reputation. And you know how Elder Kui Lang is. If it were any other elder, I'd be far less inclined to try it." He only knew rumors about him, but as the second-in-command of the Lin Tribe, it was impossible not to.
"...Elder Kui Lang has a very benevolent heart. It's not reputation he necessarily cares about—he's just a good person... but you're right. If it's Elder Kui Lang, he wouldn't risk the reputation of his grandchildren. Not his talented grandchildren. Not even two random tribe students if they're promising enough... but we have to give him no way out. Either he listens—or his grandchildren suffer. Or else..." She didn't dare imagine what that "or else" could be.
"That's only natural. And luckily for us, I record every meeting I have with all my clients—even the trivial ones," Luo Niu added.
"Oh? I was going to make you fabricate a story and meet with them again, but that's way more convenient... but are you sure you can do it?" He hesitated—this was a crucial point.
"Hahaha, don't worry, Mast... er... Rue Bu," she corrected herself and continued, "Those two fools didn't even sign a formal agreement with me. I can do whatever I want. Just give the order."
It wasn't that he disliked the title, but it was better for them to get used to using his name in case they met in public later.
"Good. Then listen carefully," he said, before repeating what the voice had told him just moments ago.
...
Just moments ago...
'We don't think "blackmail" is quite accurate. Maybe "encouragement" is a better term—since we'll make him think we're after resources, the host can think of them, but in truth, what we really want is for him to deal with his grandchildren,' the voice explained.
'We don't want the two Kui brothers thinking the host is a threat to them. So, the contents of the "blackmail" should suggest that Jin Luo Niu went back on her word and now wants to use them as leverage against their grandfather.'
'That will make the grandfather furious... punishment will be inevitable for such a mistake... and they won't be able to rely on his wealth anymore when dealing with me. In short: no assassins.' Rue Bu finally understood.
'Yes. But there's a big problem with this plan,' the voice said.
'Hmm... yeah, a Rank Two Gu Master isn't threatening enough to a Rank Three. If I were in Elder Kui Lang's shoes, I'd find them, cripple them, or even kill them,' Rue Bu agreed.
'We need something equivalent to Rank Three power to make him take us seriously.' the voice concluded.
...
"But if we want Elder Kui Lang to punish them, shouldn't we just release the footage publicly? Wouldn't that force his hand more?" Chen Huan suggested.
"No, that would just make things worse. The alliance would come after me immediately. How could they ignore a Jin tribeswoman killing one of their students? You two would also become suspects. 'Why would she kill Shui Tao and then suddenly go back on her word?' they'd wonder. Under expert questioning, you'd end up admitting everything—whether you want to or not," Luo Niu answered, with a shrug at the end.
"I have a solution to the Rank Three problem," she then looked at Rue Bu and said, "My master—the one who took me in when I was an orphan—is a Rank Three elder in the Jin Tribe. I can mention in the letter that I've already told him everything." She saw Rue Bu's face light up with happiness... and suddenly had a bad feeling.
'Was it a mistake to mention that...?' Yes. It was absolutely a mistake.
"Good, good," he nodded vigorously. "You should do that—but let's leave that aside for now..." He trailed off, clearly distracted by all the riches he imagined squeezing out of her and her Rank Three master.
"...First, tell me everything you know about the Mindless Wasp." He demanded with a serious expression.
"The Mindless Wasp..." She looked as if she were daydreaming, and Rue Bu grew nervous. He didn't doubt the Gu worm's power—but perhaps Luo Niu knew something?
"There's an interesting story about it in my tribe." He relaxed a little when it turned out to be just his paranoia. "But if anyone hears you talk about it, you'd most likely be investigated by a main team—either the elders or one of the stronger team captains." Luo Niu's expression was as lazy as it had been the entire time, but when she finished, one could see the faintest hint of a frown.
"What's the story?" Rue Bu didn't notice anything unusual and asked innocently.
"It starts as a bedtime story to scare kids, but when you grow up, you learn that it's not fiction, but a real event that happened in our tribe. And when it shifts from fiction to history, it becomes even scarier." Her expression grew darker and darker, and Rue Bu finally noticed it.
"A long time ago, almost one hundred years back, there was a young Gu Master named Jin Xiong Jianjun. He was incredibly talented—top of the A-grade. On top of that, he worked hard, which made him shine even more. But what made him truly special wasn't just his talent or work ethic—it was what he chose to invest that talent and effort into: enslavement path..."
"At first, everything was fine," she continued. "He climbed the social and political ladder, forming connections and friendships that helped him rise from a normal Rank Two straight to team captain. Then, just three or four years later, he advanced to Rank Three and became an elder. But good things don't last forever. Nothing stays the same. No one really knows the exact truth of what happened, but what we do know is this: after he reached Rank Three, his cultivation stagnated significantly, and the way he treated people changed. He 'changed.' And no one really knows how—or why..."
"And after that, it all came crashing down for him. The tribe discovered something—and it terrified them. The higher-ups immediately went after him and tried to capture him, but they didn't succeed. He was simply too powerful. Even though he was still only at Middle-stage Rank Three, no one could even reach him—not with the hundreds of thousands of guardians he had behind him. But his army wasn't inexhaustible. After some intense battles with the tribe's elders and even the tribe leader, he fled. But even that wasn't the end..."
"What really scares kids at night—what makes it so no one can talk about it— is what happened after he ran. He started appearing in front of our tribe's teams during missions, either wiping them out... or worse, kidnapping them. And not a single soul he took ever came back. There was a time when no team even wanted to leave the tribe's borders. The tribe's higher-ups had to act again. After painstaking searching, they finally found him and killed him for good. But it came at a cost: they had to sacrifice five elders, and it even delayed the tribe leader's advancement to Rank Five." She studied Rue Bu's reaction, then asked, "Can you guess how he was that strong?"
"...The Mindless Wasp?" It was only a guess, but he couldn't think of any other explanation.
"Correct. At first, he used mortals, so the tribe didn't bat an eye. But then students, Rank One Gu Masters, and even some team captains began to disappear. The tribe could no longer pretend they didn't know—so they acted and eventually drove him away. And after they finally killed him, they recovered much of his research. That's how they learned about the Mindless Wasp." Her explanation became less vague, as this research wasn't something her Rank Three master couldn't access.
"The Mindless Wasp he created was only a prototype. He didn't manage to achieve his ultimate goal. But even so, what he created was remarkable—a Gu worm that could enslave a Gu Master without needing a soul foundation. Its food would supply that. During the final battle, he had close to two hundred Gu Masters on his side..." Then she repeated what Chen Huan had already told him, which confused him.
"Can't you see that I already reached that limit, and it didn't detonate?" He hesitated, choosing not to tell them what had happened after he passed out.
"...Yeah, that's weird. I'm not entirely sure. But since the research didn't include the full recipe for the Mindless Wasp, rumors began spreading about another inheritance Jin Xiong Jianjun left behind—one that contains his complete research. But no clues ever surfaced. And even if it did exist, I doubt he left any hints for the Jin tribe to find." She didn't know much more than Chen Huan, aside from a more detailed narrative and the name of the Gu Master who created the Mindless Wasp.
'She is only a rank two Gu Master that mostly gets her information from other people, it's natural for her to not know everything. And no… even if it's only a rumor, it holds more weight coming from the Jin tribe. And didn't we already get a kind of clue?' Rue Bu thought, recalling his "encounter" with Lucas and Shui Tao.
'The host is correct. But more importantly, Jin Luo Niu hinted that they have incomplete recipes of the Mindless Wasp. Those are more important right now—to try and save the Gu worm from dying. And perhaps more clues will appear after it advances to a higher rank.' The voice concluded. He had made it analyze Luo Niu's words as she spoke to better understand the situation.
"...Okay then, continue whatever you were doing." He looked around the empty cave—there was nothing else to do. Luo Niu had been ready to leave the moment they arrived. "After you finish here, go back to your tribe and quit this assassin job. Even though it suits you, it won't benefit me. You'll integrate into the tribe, aim for a team captain position, and gather as many fragments of the Mindless Wasp recipe as you can. Can you do that?"
"...It won't be easy. But with a little help from Elder Jin Shun… maybe..." She was hesitant. She didn't have many real connections in the tribe—only one or two fellow assassins and her master, Jin Shun.
"You'll have to do it either way. That's my only option. And maybe you will learn something that your master didn't tell you about, who knows." He wanted to know whether the Mindless Wasp would die or not, but since she didn't know either, he had to improvise—take a risk and try to advance the Gu worm to save it from its burden.
"How far are you from Rank Three?" he asked hesitantly.
"...Three to four years. If I don't use any relic Gu worms..." She didn't show it, but she wasn't entirely confident.
"That's good. But if you're ever going to advance to Rank Three, you have to tell me beforehand..." He didn't know what would happen to the Mindless Wasp if she advanced. Would she escape from his control, or would the effect persist? He didn't want to find out the hard way.