Chapter 47: The Assassins
After the meal, Su Xiao leaned back in a chair by the street, watching the bustling crowd before him. Beside him was Bubu Wang, with cream still smeared on the corner of his mouth.
As it turned out, trying to "reason" with this fool was clearly useless; a slipper was far more effective.
Just as Su Xiao was considering where to wander next, the phone in Hei Mali's arms rang.
"Hello, yes, no, let me ask."
Hei Mali refused the caller several times in a row.
"Mr. Bai Ye, it's the Ten Old Men's Brant. He wants to invite us over."
Hei Mali covered the phone with her hand and leaned down. From Su Xiao's angle, he could see a large expanse of fair skin inside her collar.
"What's the matter?"
"The Ten Old Men have hired a group of assassins at a high price. They want you to come and meet these assassins. I think they want you to put on a show of force. Should I refuse?"
"Agree to them."
"Yes."
Hei Mali said a few words and then hung up.
"Earlier than expected..."
"What?"
Hei Mali looked at Su Xiao with confusion.
"Nothing."
The two drove to the new venue for the auction. It wasn't far from the original auction site, only three blocks away.
In front of the new auction house, various colorful flowers were arranged. Some flowers were bundled into circles and placed at the entrance. Beside them stood a few panicked-looking gang members.
When they arrived by car, Su Xiao was stunned for a moment upon seeing those "flower wreaths." His first thought was, who died?
"Who died?"
"Huh?"
Hei Mali was a bit confused, then said, "Is there a smell of blood? As expected of Mr. Bai Ye. I'll have them patrol the area immediately."
Hei Mali made a move to get out of the car.
"Wait."
Su Xiao called out to Hei Mali and let out a slightly awkward cough. Those "flower wreaths" were probably a Hunter World celebration custom, similar to a store opening ceremony.
Flower wreaths for a store opening—Su Xiao found it strange no matter how he thought about it.
"Your customs here are really unique."
Su Xiao got out of the car, leaving a bewildered Hei Mali behind.
From these flower wreaths, it was clear that the new auction wasn't going smoothly. The auction house even needed to hold a celebration to attract guests. In the past, such things were unnecessary; guests would come on their own.
Hei Mali noticed Su Xiao's confusion and began to recount what had happened that morning.
After the auction site was raided once, most guests had developed a resistance to the Yorkshin Auction. No one was willing to risk their lives to attend an auction.
When the auction opened in the morning, the place was practically deserted. Not only were there no curious guests, but merchants and residents within a few hundred meters had all fled, treating the auction house like a plague.
This infuriated the Ten Old Men, but even though they were gangsters, they couldn't force guests to attend the auction at gunpoint.
To save face, the Ten Old Men had no choice but to resort to this measure: holding an unnecessary opening ceremony and summoning gang members to show support. This order terrified the direct gangs under the Ten Old Men's influence; they didn't want to attend the auction either.
At 8 a.m. that day, the Ten Old Men found that the auction still had few attendees, and even their own gang members were reluctant. Enraged, the Ten Old Men ordered that anyone who didn't show up would be expelled from the gang.
By 10 a.m., which was now, this was the result. The auction house entrance was lined with flower wreaths, and beside them stood nervous gang members with bulging waists.
After hearing Hei Mali's description, Su Xiao roughly understood the situation.
"So, besides the gang members, there are no other factions inside the auction house right now?"
"Yes, no one dares to come, given what happened before..."
Hei Mali was still a bit shaken. She had been present at the last auction.
"It's best if no one comes. But the Ten Old Men have been in the underworld for years; by the time the auction opens tonight, there will definitely be people to show support."
Su Xiao didn't care whether anyone attended the auction, as long as it could proceed smoothly.
Entering the auction house, the building was quite large, even bigger than the previous venue.
Inside, the auction house was filled with gang members, with no outsiders in sight. Su Xiao took the elevator from the first floor, which stopped at the sixth floor.
"The hired assassins have already arrived, waiting for you to show up."
Hei Mali led the way.
...
At that moment, in a reception room on the sixth floor, a short, bald, fat man wearing small round sunglasses and smoking a cigar was scrutinizing the assassins in the room.
The bald, fat man was named Jian Ji. That wasn't his original name; it was a nickname given to him after he joined the underworld, and over time, everyone called him that.
Jian Ji was the direct gang leader under the Ten Old Men's faction. It was only natural for him to receive these assassins, and he was happy to do so—it was a risk-free way to gain face.
Although his character wasn't great, Jian Ji was a smart man. In the original story, all the Ten Old Men died, but Jian Ji still lived comfortably. Of course, that was also because he was too weak; no one would bother to kill him specifically.
"One, two, three, four... Looks like everyone's here."
Jian Ji fiddled with his fingers, recalling the number of assassins he had hired. A subordinate behind him leaned in and replied, "Not everyone is here yet."
"Isn't the assassination group eight people?"
"It seems the Nostrade Family is bringing someone along."
Hearing the Nostrade Family, Jian Ji became a bit displeased. A feeling of jealousy spread in his heart.
"Tch, that guy who only relies on fortune-telling to bluff."
Though he said that, Jian Ji was actually envious. He wished he had a daughter like that.
As soon as he finished speaking, the door opened.
Light Nostrade and Kurapika walked into the room. Light Nostrade was the head of the Nostrade Family, the father of the fortune-telling girl Neon.
After entering, the two didn't speak, just stood to the side.
"Finally, everyone's here. The commission is to eliminate the Phantom Troupe. The auction will reopen tonight, and they might show up. Once spotted, kill on sight."
Jian Ji glanced around at the assassins present. They were dressed in various styles, but to the underworld, they were all experts.
This commission wasn't really an assassination; it was more about protection—waiting for the Troupe to come to the auction house. But since these were all assassins, directly telling them to protect the auction's smooth progress would be a bit of a blow to their pride.
"Since we're a team with the same goal, how about we decide on code names for communication?"
One assassin spoke. He had an ordinary face, the type that would never be noticed in a crowd.
"How about using colors? I'll be Blue."
An assassin in a vest spoke up.
"I'll be Red."
"Black."
As several assassins named their colors, two who had been standing silently finally spoke.
"This is like a child's game."
An old man with white hair and long, white, curled mustache spoke. He had his hands behind his back, and a long strip of cloth hung on his chest, inscribed with the words "Still Active in Career."