Chapter 14: Blind Fish
That afternoon, Su Xiao put on Lily's leash and left the Atonement Heights. With the identity of an Asaka member, things became much more convenient. For now, aside from the central area and a certain peripheral zone (the Black Marsh Base Camp), he could freely access all other locations.
The first commission Su Xiao accepted was the one offering an Epic-grade sniper rifle as a reward. The compensation for this task needed no elaboration, and the content was simple and brutal—just kill one person.
Moreover, if Su Xiao succeeded in killing this person, he would undoubtedly make a name for himself in a short time, spreading the alias "Assassin Bai Ye" beyond a certain range.
The task was straightforward: assassinate St. Tool.
St. Tool, human male, 157 years old (middle-aged to elderly stage), Blind Saint Blade, extremely powerful.
"Is he the target?"
Lily, who was driving the tactical assault vehicle, turned her head to examine the photo in Su Xiao's hand, completely disregarding the mountain range rapidly approaching ahead.
"If you crash into that, I'll make you sleep in a sandworm nest tonight."
The moment Su Xiao finished speaking, Lily sharply turned the steering wheel. With a crisp crack, a large chunk of armor on the side of the tactical assault vehicle caved in. Driving without looking at the road was something Lily often did.
"Don't underestimate this old geezer."
Su Xiao closed the file on St. Tool. Being called the Blind Saint Blade meant the opponent was far from simple.
After an hour of travel, Su Xiao arrived at a hilly region. Among the hills stood bizarre rock formations, a truly spectacular sight.
On top of an arch-shaped rock formation, Su Xiao lay on his back, legs crossed, appearing to be taking a nap. Lily was nowhere to be seen.
A gale swept through, and the grass on the hills surged like a vast green ocean.
Jingle~
A bell chimed crisply. A pair of pitch-black horns emerged from the hills, followed by the appearance of a creature resembling a wild ox.
On the back of this wild ox sat a little girl about ten years old, delicate and adorable like a porcelain doll. Her jet-black eyes seemed curious about everything around her.
Beside the wild ox, covered in long brown fur, an old man was leading it. Behind him followed a young man, whose restless gaze as he looked around clearly showed impatience. Judging by the high-tech items he wore, he was definitely a rich kid—at least his family was wealthy in the Black Abyss or the Void.
"Old man, are you sure we can find that thing around here?"
The young man spoke. Though he appeared arrogant, his words were measured. Calling the old man "old man" didn't come off as rude but instead made their interaction more familiar and friendly.
"It won't be wrong."
The old man leading the ox had his left eye tightly shut, the sunken eyelid indicating the eyeball was gone. His right eye was indeed open, but the pupil was entirely pale white, clearly blind.
It was hard to imagine that someone would offer an Epic-grade piece of equipment to kill such a one-eyed blind old man.
The old man was very unremarkable. His head was bald, his eyebrows were completely gone, and his forehead wrinkles were deep. He wore loose robes, exposing his bony chest. It seemed he might be blown away by the wind just standing there.
However, there was one special thing about this old man: the rectangular wooden box he carried on his back. It was about 1.2 meters long and 30 centimeters wide. From the signs of corrosion and insect damage, this box might have existed for several hundred years. A bloody "psychic force," or perhaps a magnetic field, had formed on its surface, suppressing something inside the box.
"If nothing unexpected happens, we'll arrive soon."
The old man leading the ox stopped in his tracks. Not far ahead of him was the arch-shaped rock formation where Su Xiao was.
"Then hurry up. The wilderness of the Black Abyss is dangerous. The young miss must not be harmed."
The young man clearly wasn't very familiar with the old man; he was more concerned about the little girl's safety.
"Although that is also what I have in mind, but..."
The old man didn't finish. He looked up at the arch-shaped rock formation. The young man's gaze turned puzzled as he followed the old man's line of sight.
A demon girl with slightly dark skin and a wild beauty was sitting on top of the arch-shaped rock. Noticing the young man's gaze, the female demon glared at him. The meaning in her eyes was clear: look at me again, and I'll kill you.
"Don't stare at me. It's him who wants to kill you."
Maybe annoyed by being stared at, Lily spoke, but her words were a bit garbled as she chewed on a wild fruit.
"I'll handle the old one. Deal with the little one as you see fit."
Su Xiao sat up. He had slept thoroughly and felt refreshed all over. Since entering the Black Abyss, he hadn't rested this comfortably.
"Mm."
Lily casually responded, continuing to eat the wild fruit that resembled a cantaloupe.
"It seems our fate ends here."
The old man below spoke. His tone was unhurried, and he wore a full smile as he spoke. The smile wasn't particularly warm, but it didn't feel fake either. This old man was St. Tool.
"The commission..."
"They'll compensate you several times over."
As St. Tool spoke, he stepped forward, making the young man's expression even worse.
"Young miss, we..."
The young man looked up and saw the little girl on the ox's back staring at Su Xiao, Lily, and St. Tool with a red gleam in her eyes.
"We'll wait here."
"But..."
"That's the decision."
The little girl hadn't spoken much, but once she made a decision, the young man couldn't defy it.
"Princess syndrome of the Feather Clan."
Lily muttered under her breath. From her gaze, it seemed she recognized the little girl's identity.
Compared to those watching from behind, Su Xiao and St. Tool remained silent.
With a whoosh, Su Xiao leaped down from the rock formation and walked forward slowly, drawing his blade. The moment he saw St. Tool, he sensed this old man was no pushover. It wasn't until he detected one of the opponent's abilities—Blade Grandmaster Lv.17—that he confirmed it.
Even more troublesome was that none of St. Tool's melee attributes were below 98 points, all ranging between 98 and 100 points. His agility attribute was exactly at 100 points, clearly having broken through the limit.
100 points of True Agility attribute, Blade Grandmaster Lv.17—with just these two abilities, one could imagine how strong St. Tool was.
More importantly, Su Xiao felt a murky "psychic force" from the opponent. It wasn't the Nen energy from the Hunter world but rather a kind of will or magnetic field.
"Killing always needs a reason."
St. Tool smiled as he "looked" at Su Xiao, as if Su Xiao wasn't his life-or-death opponent but an old friend he hadn't seen in years.
"Asaka. No reason needed."
"So it's Asaka. If you weren't wearing masks, I really wouldn't have recognized you. That woman still hasn't given up, has she? It's been decades already. How persistent."
St. Tool unstrapped the wooden box from his back. With a crisp click, he inserted the box in front of him. The front and back panels immediately sprang open, and a series of sword hilts fanned out like a peacock spreading its tail.
St. Tool's wrinkled hand brushed over the wooden hilts. Soon, he grasped one of them.
"Blind Fish, I entrust my life to you today."
Clang~
A long sword about 1.1 meters long was drawn from the wooden box by St. Tool. The box slammed shut, and blood-red chains gradually appeared on its surface. Blind Fish would not return to its sheath without killing, nor could it be sheathed.