Chapter 123: Four Assassination Contracts (Part 3)

"Young Master Wei Yuning, the Shadow Guild actually has an unwritten rule: as long as you're willing to pay double, an assassination contract can be cancelled!" Perhaps in a good mood, Xue Duoduo came up with an even better idea.

"Wouldn't we get beaten for doing that?" Wei Yuning blurted out. He had always thought the Shadow Guild was a serious assassin organization, never expecting it to be so unscrupulous.

"The original founders of the Shadow Guild were just common folk—street vendors, wandering firefly beggars, down‑and‑out scholars, and nameless warriors—all bottom‑rung sufferers; whoever had money became the boss. They'd give up their lives for cash—so why fear being beaten?" Xue Duoduo sneered.

Wei Yuning scratched his head, feeling something was off. For the Shadow Guild to have grown to this point, it couldn't be that simple. If they swindled clients like this, they'd have been wiped out countless times already.

"Who runs the back‑office of the Shadow Guild now?" he couldn't help asking. He was merely probing, not expecting Xue Duoduo to answer. As an assassin intelligence group, if its back‑office were known, it wouldn't be a covert organization.

"The Shadow Guild has no back‑office, only Maintainers and Executors. It has its own rules; anyone who is recognized and willing to follow them can join, becoming either a Maintainer or an Executor, acting as a shadow or an assassin, with no restrictions. Based on task completion, each role receives the fairest promotion—higher rank means higher salary or bounty. Everyone inside is treated equally; only the rank differs! I could even say the Shadow Guild is the most perfect organization," Xue Duoduo said, eyes shining with admiration.

"So the Shadow Guild has no supervisors? Who guarantees that fairness then?" Wei Yuning wore a look of disbelief.

"There are no supervisors, because everyone is a supervisor. If someone breaks the rules, they are naturally shunned by everyone; no one will accept the contracts they post, nor act as their shadow. They become a transparent person within the Guild and eventually must leave. Thus, the Shadow Guild operates solely through rule enforcement," Xue Duoduo explained.

"I still don't believe it. If there's no ultimate beneficiary, where does the Guild's surplus income go?" Wei Yuning asked. As a former Earthling who has seen countless organizations, many claiming to be non‑profit, they all eventually turn out to be scams.

"The income funds new Shadow Guild outposts, recruits new Maintainers and Executors, and never stops!" Xue Duoduo said in an odd tone.

Not only Mei Xuan, but Wei Yuning also showed a fearful expression. If the organization continues expanding like this, it could sweep across the entire Spirit Beast World.

"Your friend relayed information about my assassination contract to me through you—does that violate the rules?" Wei Yuning stared blankly for a while before spotting a loophole.

"It doesn't count, because you're the principal party. According to the Shadow Guild's rules, if the contract issuer's wealth is likely lower than that of the executor, the Guild may inform the principal and allow them to pay double to cancel the contract. At the same time, the principal can issue a counter‑kill contract, whose bounty must exceed the original. So the Guild may or may not notify the principal, choosing based on circumstances—this is also one of the Guild's rules," Xue Duoduo said with a "you didn't see that coming" expression.

Wei Yuning silently praised the cleverness, thinking, "The original founders of the Shadow Guild were completely blinded by money, but this method is indeed formidable!"

Four assassination contracts, two employers are dead, the contracts are now void. Although Qing Wu's back‑office—Qing Cong and Tai Feng—are still alive, they cannot reactivate the contracts. And the back‑office assassin of the wealthy necromancer family, the Ci Mo, has…

As for the internal assassination contracts of the Shadow Guild. After hearing Xue Duoduo's briefing on the Guild, Wei Yuning realized the interior wasn't a solid block. The most satisfying approach would be to cancel the contract and then add a counter‑kill contract. However, since the target is a Guild member—likely that masked individual…

The opponent's contract bounty is only fifty medium‑grade spirit stones, showing the adversary isn't wealthy; therefore, using the Guild's rule, he can crush them with wealth alone—no need for a fight.

Having solved three problems, only the contract issued by Shenwu Gate remains, which is also…

Regarding retaliation against the remnants of Shenwu Gate's forces, Wei Yuning had already anticipated this possibility in his mind, but…

One hundred medium‑grade spirit stones, double that is two hundred; for Wei Yuning, this sum isn't unaffordable, just a bit painful—about half a month's profit for the Secret Medicine Pavilion.

After hesitating and struggling for a while, Wei Yuning finally decided: any issue solvable with spirit stones isn't a problem, so he simply cancelled all contracts. Since the first three contracts together required fewer spirit stones than a fraction of the latter, he thought it best to erase all records.

Xue Duoduo smiled brightly on the side, watching Wei Yuning's pained expression, as if she had long guessed he'd make this decision. She had achieved a huge result for her good friend, and his rank within the Shadow Guild could now rise again.

Higher rank in the Shadow Guild doesn't grant greater power, but it does provide more permissions.

Clients like Wei Yuning, a lavish spender, are the favorite of every merchant.

"Cao Cao, Cao Cao has arrived."

That evening, while Wei Yuning was cultivating inside a cave in Danyao Peak Valley, he received a carrier‑bird message from Monk Cheng Xin.

After a short while, the two met at the "Yunlai Yuesheng" restaurant.

Wei Yuning ate his fill in silence, watching Cheng Xin devour his meal. After surviving life‑and‑death together, they had become inseparable friends.

Buddhist cultivators are thick‑skinned fellows; that night Wei Yuning worried needlessly, thinking the handsome monk had been killed by a demon assassin. Three days later, Cheng Xin contacted him again, clarifying the night's events.

He was in a hurry to rush to the Demon Cave to rescue his master‑uncle. That day's destruction of the Demon Cave was thanks to the Buddhist cultivator master‑uncle from Black Water Temple, who threw an entire relic bone of a great monk into the cave, completely destroying it, though the fierce reaction between the relic and demonic energy also injured him.

In recent days, Cheng Xin has been tirelessly ferrying his master‑uncle back to Black Water Temple for treatment, then rushing back to deal with demon‑tainted creatures. He didn't expect Yunyin Sect to spare no expense, mobilizing the entire sect to combat demonic cultivators. In just half a month they eradicated the demon‑tainted creatures completely. After searching for several days, he found two stragglers, one of which wasn't even a demon‑tainted creature this time.

After eating and drinking their fill, Monk Cheng Xin flicked his hand, and three pitch‑black beads appeared in his hand.