# Chapter 16: Mist City
Inside VIP Compartment No. 3, the scenery outside the window flew past. The silver-haired hunter lay on the ground, completely devoid of life aura, a large pool of blood spreading beneath him.
There was no other information about the silver-haired hunter. Su Xiao only knew that this was an old hunter. It was very difficult to impersonate a hunter; the unique aura of a hunter could not be faked simply by wearing a black trench coat.
A short blade with a thin edge flipped between Su Xiao's fingers, nearly leaving afterimages. Aside from everything else, this knife was quite good. Not only did it have powerful penetration, but one-fifth of the blade was forged from crystallized material.
With Su Xiao's Alchemy and supernatural item sensing abilities, he could tell at a glance that this crystalline substance was highly toxic. In other words, after this knife pierced a human body, one-fifth of the crystalline substance would merge with the blood, causing lethal poison to invade the body, ultimately leading to death.
Picking up the document bag on the ground, he opened it and found 13 Hunter Medals inside—4 silver and 9 black—none of which contained World Force.
There was a problem over at the Watch Guild, but it wasn't a major issue. Based on Su Xiao's judgment, he felt that this silver-haired hunter had been ordered by some high-ranking member of the Watch Guild to carry out the assassination. However, that person could not represent the entire Watch Guild.
What could be ruled out was that this matter was not instigated by Haogui. Haogui simply didn't have the intelligence for it. This wasn't meant to look down on Haogui; that guy had invested all his "Skill Points" into combat abilities. If something could be solved with force, he would never use his brain.
Dong~
Just as someone knocked on the VIP compartment door, the unlocked door swung open on its own. The stewardess stood in the corridor outside the door, still maintaining her knocking posture.
A thick smell of blood hit her nostrils. The stewardess froze in place, her mind going blank from sheer terror.
"Shh~"
Baha raised a wing to his beak, signaling the stewardess not to scream. Just as she was still in shock, Bubu Wang nudged her from behind, causing her to stumble into the VIP compartment.
Bang!
Amu's large hand pushed the door shut, even leaving a handprint on the metal door.
"Miss, no need to be nervous. We're not bad people. At least not right now."
As Baha spoke, he signaled Amu to dispose of the body.
Crack, crack, crack~
Ice spread, freezing both the silver-haired hunter's corpse and the bloodstains on the floor. Amu pulled hard, and with a crack, he tore a large chunk of ice from the carriage floor. The floor was as clean as new, with no trace of blood. Baha leaped forward, and with a flash, he disappeared along with the silver-haired hunter's corpse. The entire process was smooth and practiced to perfection.
With a thud, the stewardess collapsed to her knees. Her legs had gone weak. The situation before her had exceeded what she could accept.
After a short while, Baha returned. He took out more than a dozen types of documents from the team space and, mixing coaxing with deception, got the stewardess nodding repeatedly.
"Got it now, right? That was a spy from the 'Niyel Duchy.' Someone will come to talk to you later. Don't be nervous. Just sign the confidentiality agreement."
Baha put away all the documents. The stewardess nodded like a chick pecking at rice.
"Stay calm. Go back to your work."
"Mm, mm, mm."
The stewardess leaned against the wall, stood up with some difficulty, and left the VIP compartment.
"Boss, I'm getting better and better at handling this kind of thing..."
Before Baha could finish his sentence.
"Murder!!"
A scream came from outside the door. It was that brave stewardess. In her eyes, Su Xiao was not a good person, Amu looked like a monster, and Baha was no good bird.
"Damn it~!"
Baha was so angry he almost spat out a mouthful of old blood. He had just finished showing off, and the next second, he was slapped in the face.
An hour later, at the steam train station of 'Ixingge City,' a steam train pulled into the platform. Su Xiao stepped down from the first carriage. He encountered no trouble. The train conductor of this steam train was very experienced. After understanding the basic situation, he quickly handled the matter.
As soon as he stepped off the train, Su Xiao saw a vast expanse of white fog. The air had become slightly fresher with the arrival of the heavy fog.
The foggy days of 'Ixingge City' were famous. Sometimes a single fog would last for several days or even half a month. The longest recorded instance lasted nearly 37 days. Therefore, this place was also called Mist City. If you said the name 'Ixingge,' most Rhine people would be full of question marks. But if you said 'Mist City,' people would immediately remember where it was.
There were quite a few pedestrians in the station. Mist City·Ixingge was one of the main strongholds of the Watch Guild. The foggy weather was very suitable for Dark Demons and Wraiths to hunt. However, under the suppression of the Watch Guild, Mist City·Ixingge had become one of the three safest cities in the Rhine Kingdom.
When Su Xiao passed by a newsstand in the station, he took out a Siler and bought a newspaper. Before the vendor could give him change, he had already walked into the fog.
Su Xiao's purpose in coming to Mist City was simple: to retrieve two relics here. The current owners of these two relics were a wealthy merchant and a pianist. This pianist was not only famous in the Rhine Kingdom but also well-known throughout the entire Federation, with countless titles to his name.
Su Xiao planned to find the wealthy merchant first. Walking through the fog, he began to read the newspaper in his hand. He hadn't missed any recent newspapers; this was one of his methods for gathering intelligence.
The Gentchi Factory Explosion Case and The Wanderer in the Fog—these two stories occupied most of the newspaper's layout. Su Xiao continued reading down. When he reached the third news item, his footsteps paused. The newspaper read: 'Policewoman Vina was murdered this morning in Suoduo City. The case is under investigation.'
The name Vina was somewhat familiar to Su Xiao. After thinking for a moment, he remembered. This was Detective Douglas's little sidekick. When they fought the Gluttony Dark Demon last time, she had been watching from nearby. From their conversations, Douglas and Vina were not just superior and subordinate; they were more like an elder and a junior.
"Baha, did Douglas contact the shelter house this morning?"
"He did. One of his subordinates died. He wanted to use the Watch Guild's intelligence channels to track down the murderer. Although it wasn't exactly according to protocol, I helped him report it. I'm not sure what the result is yet. Douglas has no family. That subordinate who died was very important to him. From his voice, he sounded very depressed, like he had lost a daughter."
"Is that so."
Su Xiao folded the newspaper in his hand and tossed it into a trash can by the roadside. From the current situation, there was nothing suspicious about this matter. At least Douglas's behavior and actions were very normal.
"Baha, handle reconnaissance. Bubu, stay at the station and look for suspicious targets. Amu, go to the pianist's side and ensure his safety."
After saying this, Su Xiao left the station. Bubu Wang, Amu, and Baha dispersed.
Walking through the foggy streets, Su Xiao could sense that he had been targeted as soon as he arrived in Mist City. This feeling of being watched was faint and elusive, and it was difficult to trace its source.
Buying a map of Mist City, Su Xiao walked along the street, heading straight south. The further he went, the lower and shabbier the buildings on both sides of the street became. Eventually, they were all dilapidated one-story houses, mixed with crude shacks.
People in tattered clothes sat by the street or inside the shacks. The way they looked at people was different from ordinary citizens. There was a certain fierceness and vigilance in everyone's eyes.
Su Xiao stopped in front of a dilapidated two-story building. After knocking on the door, it opened a crack. The person inside scrutinized Su Xiao. After a moment, the door opened just enough for one person to enter.
Just as Su Xiao stepped into the two-story building, several whooshing sounds appeared nearby. They were all wearing clothes that covered their entire bodies, with hoods over their heads.
"Haogui said he's very strong. You guys hold him off, and I'll take the relic."
A voice spoke. She was about 1.7 meters tall. Compared to the surrounding figures, who were at least 2.5 meters tall, she was the shortest. Her name was Emeng, a rare Wraith from the Dark Prison, and she was among the strongest tier of Ghosts.
Emeng's somewhat translucent hand pressed against the door. The door quickly decayed, turning into debris that fell to the ground.
"Charge in. Hold him off."
Emeng gave the order, and a total of ten Third Stage Dark Demons rushed into the two-story building.
Meanwhile, on Center Street in Mist City, in front of a luxurious mansion, Bubu Wang, who was blending into the environment, leaped into the small courtyard and began observing the surroundings. This was the wealthy merchant's real home. The Hunter Relic that Su Xiao needed was here. As for Su Xiao's arrangements at the station, that was just a diversion.