No wonder he was called the Gun God, Aka. The moment the bullet struck the afterimage of Shi Aotian, Aka knew he had failed once again, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Relying on his years of assassin's intuition, he fired another shot toward where Shi Aotian had landed. With his three bullets spent, he swiftly flicked open the revolver's cylinder, then spat a bullet directly from his mouth into the chamber.
This move left the mysterious woman in the tree utterly stunned.
Shi Aotian, having just steadied himself, had to admire Aka's keen perception. Although he had evaded the first two bullets with his Shadow Step technique, his opponent had still sensed his landing spot, and the third bullet shot straight for his heart like a dagger. At that instant, Shi Aotian tilted his body slightly, and the bullet grazed past the edge of his chest. All three bullets had missed.
This record was enough to etch itself into Aka's mind. The bullet he had spat out earlier was already aimed at Shi Aotian—this time, he would not fail. At the same time Shi Aotian dodged the third bullet, he summoned the Scorpion King Sword in an instant. He dared not recklessly charge forward, for Aka's reloading and firing were almost without any warning. Now that there was one bullet in Aka's gun, Shi Aotian knew that without a weapon, avoiding it would be difficult.
As Shi Aotian dodged the third bullet, Aka had already pulled the trigger, confidently firing the fourth. Shi Aotian distinctly felt a powerful force near his temple, and with sharp instinct, he swung his sword, deflecting Aka's fourth bullet. Cold sweat ran down his back—had he hesitated even for a moment, he would have been dead.
All this happened in just a few seconds—both coincidental and inevitable. Seeing
"You know why I haven't killed you yet?" Shi Aotian's gaze was icy as he stared at the woman. He continued, "It's not that I can't kill you, it's that I don't want to kill you right now."
He pointed at Aka's corpse. "Originally, I had no intention of killing him either, but with you here, he lost all value to me."
"Who exactly are you? And what's your connection to the Black List?" the woman asked, her elegant brows knitting tightly. She was already convinced that Shi Aotian had some deep connection to the Black List—perhaps even as one of its most mysterious top-tier experts.
"That's what I should be asking you," Shi Aotian replied coolly. At this point, he hadn't made a move precisely because he wanted to use her to learn more about this so-called Black List.
"What do you mean?" the woman asked warily, on high alert.
Shi Aotian had no interest in wasting more words. His body flashed as he leapt forward. The mysterious woman, already prepared, jumped back from the tree, landing lightly on the ground. But when she looked again, her heart jolted—he was gone.
In truth, Shi Aotian had used Shift Shadow mid-leap, silently reappearing right behind her. Just as the woman was puzzling over his disappearance, a cold shiver ran down her spine—she could sense someone standing there. She was about to strike when a chilling voice whispered into her ear:
"Don't move if you want to live."
The woman felt an oppressive breath pressing against her neck, a sensation she couldn't quite describe. Shi Aotian had already placed his blade quietly against her throat, his tone indifferent:
"I'll ask a question, you'll answer. Otherwise, you'll die a miserable death."
The mysterious woman now fully understood the situation. Cold sweat broke out on her forehead. She didn't even dare to glance down at the "deadly weapon" against her neck—much less move—because Shi Aotian was pressed so close behind her that any slight motion would mean ending up like Aka… or worse.
"What do you want to know?" she asked, regaining some composure.
"What is the Black List?" Shi Aotian enunciated each word with unwavering firmness.
Her body trembled slightly. Why would he ask that? Could it be he's not part of the Black List?
She was confused—how could someone with such absolute killing skills not belong to it? It seemed impossible.
"Hurry up and answer," Shi Aotian snapped, cutting off her thoughts.
"If you don't know, then I won't tell you," she replied firmly. She understood the rule well: revealing organizational secrets to outsiders meant only one thing—death. If she was going to die either way, she would rather keep silent. That was the basic principle of being an assassin.
Shi Aotian didn't grow angry. Instead, he slowly pressed the sharp edge of his blade closer to her neck. The woman could feel the cold steel pushing against her skin—just the slightest extra force and her blood would spray.
Still, she closed her eyes, ready to meet death.
Seeing this, Shi Aotian abruptly withdrew the blade and stepped in front of her, staring coldly. It wasn't that he couldn't kill her, but without answers, he wouldn't be satisfied.
The mysterious woman felt the pressure at her neck vanish. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked at the merciless figure before her. Mustering her courage, she forced a mocking smile and said, "What's wrong? Not killing me now? You were so aggressive just a moment ago. What happened—did you see my beauty and fall for me?"
Under normal circumstances, Shi Aotian would have already swung his blade at such words. But right now, she was his only lead to the Black List. Perhaps through her, he could find the killers who had murdered his family all those years ago. For that, he would have to swallow his pride—just this once.
"What's the matter? Cat got your tongue at the sight of a beauty? You men are all the same." As she spoke, she discreetly reached behind her back and, in a flash, pulled out several silver needles, flicking them toward Shi Aotian. She knew that if she missed this one chance to strike, she would never be able to defeat him.
But Shi Aotian—who could dodge 108 flying needles blindfolded—found her sneak attack laughably simple. Even the fastest silver needles couldn't outpace bullets. He raised his hand, catching all five needles neatly in his palm.
The woman was stunned when she saw Shi Aotian deftly catch the flying needles.
Before she could even think, she quickly leapt several steps backward.
Not caring about anything else, she tore off her belt and flicked it toward Shi Aotian.
In an instant, hundreds of flying needles embedded in the belt shot straight toward Shi Aotian's vital points.
At such close range, Shi Aotian hadn't expected her to use such a move.
He immediately leapt into the air, both hands forming blades, slashing frantically at the flying needles in midair.
When he landed without a scratch, the mysterious woman had already fled far away.
Knowing she was no match for him, she could only rely on this delaying tactic to make her escape.
But how could Shi Aotian let her get away? He immediately gave chase.
When it came to lightness skill, aside from his master, Shi Aotian could claim to be second to none.
Though the woman's footwork was agile, there was still a gap compared to Shi Aotian.
When he closed the distance to three meters, Shi Aotian used his Shifting Shadows technique, instantly appearing in front of the woman.
She hadn't even seen the figure appear before realizing it was Shi Aotian.
Unable to stop in time, she crashed straight into his chest.
The mysterious woman felt as though she had slammed into a wall.
With an "Ouch!" she bounced back in pain and fell to the ground.
Once again, she saw Shi Aotian's cold, merciless eyes right before her,
and from them, she could sense an intense killing intent.
This was the price of a failed sneak attack — she had only succeeded in enraging him.
Shi Aotian's killing intent surged.
His left hand turned into a blade, and he thought, This woman has a vicious heart; leaving her alive would be a disaster.
The mysterious woman felt a wave of fear.
Even as a killer, she had never seen such an aura before.
Her face changed color, and she didn't even have the courage to stand up.
Shi Aotian quickly calmed himself.
Killing her would be easy — but losing the chance to learn about the Black List would be a great loss.
Thinking this through, he used reason to suppress his primal urge.
The blade-like energy in his hand instantly dissipated, and he coldly said to the woman on the ground:
> "I'll give you one last chance. My patience has limits."
The woman sat there, dumbfounded.
In truth, she was terrified of Shi Aotian, but her pride refused to yield.
She knew that if she angered him again, the outcome would certainly be death.
But betraying her organization would also mean death.
And as a killer, one should never bow their head — even in the face of death.
> "Don't waste your time. I won't tell you anything. If you want to kill me, then do it."
She turned her head away, voice hard.
The moment the words left her lips, Shi Aotian slashed downward with his blade-hand.
Her hat split cleanly in two and fell to the ground.
The woman, only now realizing what had happened, turned pale with fright, cold sweat beading on her forehead.
She cautiously opened her eyes and, finding herself unharmed, gradually calmed down.
But the arrogant defiance she'd shown earlier had completely vanished under the shock.
Shi Aotian hadn't stopped because he didn't want to kill her —
he had simply thought of something better than killing her, and so stayed his hand.
Otherwise, she would have already been sent to meet the King of Hell.
A cold, sinister smile curved across Shi Aotian's lips,
sending a shiver through the woman on the ground and making her body go rigid.
> "What… what are you going to do?" she asked instinctively.
Shi Aotian didn't answer.
Instead, he pulled the Scorpion King necklace from his neck.
The Scorpion King, attuned to its master's mind, instantly understood his intentions.
It transformed into a palm-sized red scorpion, leapt from Shi Aotian's hand, and scurried swiftly toward the woman on the ground.
The mysterious woman had never seen such a bizarre thing before.
Though she prided herself on her composure, watching the scorpion creep closer nearly made her faint from fright.
"What are you trying to do? What is that thing? Get it away from me!" The mysterious woman backed away, speaking incoherently. The Scorpion King waved its pincers and swaggered toward her. When it was close enough, it suddenly leapt into the air and landed directly on her neck. Before she could even see it clearly, she let out a startled cry and hurriedly slapped at the Scorpion King on her neck, but no matter how hard she hit, it was useless. The Scorpion King flicked its tail and injected venom into her bloodstream, then swiftly leapt back to Shi Aotian's neck, turning instantly into a small black pendant.
After being stung by the Scorpion King, the woman's consciousness began to fade. Her head felt unbearably heavy, and she finally collapsed to the ground. The Scorpion King's toxin rapidly spread through her body, paralyzing her major brain nerves. It felt like she was drifting into a dream.
This was exactly the result Shi Aotian wanted. The venom released by the Scorpion King was a neurotoxin with a hypnotic effect, which would allow him to extract the answers he sought from her.
Two minutes later, the mysterious woman lay on the ground, her eyes half-open, her consciousness completely blurred. Shi Aotian approached her and asked, "What is the Black List? Who are you?"
Under hypnosis, the woman slowly opened her mouth and replied in a soft voice, "The Black List is an assassin organization with tens of thousands of members. It was founded by a mysterious figure. My name is Mo Junyan, I'm twenty years old, and also a member of the Black List."
Mo Junyan's eyes were vacant, and her voice was weak. Shi Aotian believed every word she said, because he had complete faith in the Scorpion King, an ancient divine creature.
"Who is the mysterious founder of the Black List?" Shi Aotian quickly asked.
"I don't know. No one has ever seen him," Mo Junyan answered.
Shi Aotian fell into deep thought. His interest in this mysterious figure grew stronger. He continued, "Do you know if there's a killer in the Black List who likes to stab their target in the forehead, with the blade exiting through the back of the skull?" Shi Aotian had gotten to the heart of the matter—he was desperate to know if such a person existed in the organization.
"I don't know. Many killers are highly secretive. Among the top ten killers on the Black List, there's no one like that."
"Besides the Black List, are there any other assassin organizations?"
"There are, but none as powerful as the Black List. The Black List has the highest number of elite assassins."
"Why are you here?" Shi Aotian pressed.
Mo Junyan replied, "My mission was to kill Yue San."
Although Shi Aotian didn't know why she was tasked to kill Yue San, it had nothing to do with him, so he didn't ask further.
The assassin who poisoned Yue San at the police station had been Mo Junyan, acting on a Black List contract from Liu Tian. After killing Yue San, she had intended to leave the area, but unexpectedly ran into Shi Aotian and Aka midway.
From Mo Junyan's words, Shi Aotian learned about the Black List. Not only was he intrigued, but his instincts told him that the murderer of his family was among its members.
A few minutes later, the Scorpion King's toxin began to fade, and Mo Junyan's consciousness gradually cleared. Sweat beaded on her forehead, and she felt as though she had just recovered from a serious illness. Her whole body was limp.
"What did you just do to me?" Mo Junyan, still lying on the ground, found her clothes intact and asked Shi Aotian weakly.
"Nothing much—just made you say the things you didn't want to say," Shi Aotian replied, the curve of his lips disappearing.
"What did I say?" Mo Junyan asked nervously. "What sorcery did you use on me? What exactly did I reveal?"
Shi Aotian was already plotting something bigger. He sneered and said, "Nothing much. I just learned that your name is Mo Junyan. And a few things about the Black List."
Mo Junyan, sitting on the ground, heard him call out her name and could hardly believe her ears. She realized she had already revealed the secrets of the Black List. What had just happened felt like a dream, and now, recalling it, she couldn't remember any of it clearly. Her fear of Shi Aotian deepened yet again. At this moment, disheartened and hopeless, Mo Junyan knew that having divulged the organization's secrets, even if Shi Aotian spared her life, she would still be doomed.
"Since you already know everything, then kill me," Mo Junyan said wearily, knowing she was no match for him.
"Killing you would be easy, but right now, I don't feel like killing you," Shi Aotian replied indifferently.
"What exactly do you want? If you don't kill me, I'll die all the same. Dead is dead. Since that's the case, I might as well end it myself."
With that, Mo Junyan drew a dagger from her waist and aimed it at her own chest.
Seeing this, Shi Aotian swiftly kicked the dagger out of her hand. "Did I say I wanted you dead?" he said coldly.
"What do you want, then?" Mo Junyan asked in despair, her attempt at ending her life thwarted.
Shi Aotian was silent for a moment. In his heart, he had already formed a new plan. He spoke in a low, deliberate tone: "You can't die yet. I want to enter the Black List, and you will be my introducer."
Mo Junyan was taken aback. Although she didn't know his true identity, from his skills alone it was clear he was no ordinary man. And in his eyes, she could see the unmistakable glint of hatred.
"I can't help you. You'd better just kill me," Mo Junyan answered stubbornly.
With Aka dead, Mo Junyan was the only Black List member Shi Aotian knew. Though she was cunning, Shi Aotian had absolute confidence that he could break down her psychological defenses.