Chapter 159: Responsibility

Stone Building, reception hall, Wa Qing'er was already waiting here.

As Wu Tie and a large group of people entered, Wa Qing'er turned around and curiously sized him up from head to toe.

Wu Tie was momentarily stunned, he subconsciously asked Wa Qing'er: "That tavern owner, Old Wine, has quite a background, right?"

Wa Qing'er shook her head, gave a dismissive snort: "Just an old servant of Wa Valley, in charge of some shady odd jobs, dealing all day with a bunch of lowlifes… Since he was driven out, he was driven out."

Curiously stepping closer, she carefully examined Wu Tie's usually calm face, then moved right up to him, took a few deep breaths, and Wa Qing'er murmured to herself: "Strange, I thought you would kill everyone in that tavern."

"Is it my mother who asked you to ask that?" Wu Tie smiled warmly.

"I'm just curious, of course. And third aunt also told me to remind you not to go too far. Unlike the Gongsun clan, third aunt has been at odds with them for a long time… but Old Wine, after all, is an elder of Wa Valley, and you didn't kill him—that's good."

Wu Tie smiled even more happily.

He fell silent for a moment, then gently said to Wa Qing'er: "Please tell Mother, Wa Qing'er sister, that I am merely indulging myself this once."

Wa Qing'er widened her eyes, stared at Wu Tie for a while, then smiled and nodded.

"Third aunt told me to tell you: in Wa Valley, you have nothing to worry about. Do whatever you want, follow your heart—no one can do anything to you." Wa Qing'er glanced at Shan Dun and Jin Bi behind Wu Tie, curled the corner of her mouth slightly, smiled, and walked out.

Wu Tie smiled, watching Wa Qing'er dash off like a clever little jumping spider.

It seems there is still someone behind Old Wine; otherwise, if I had overturned that tavern, Wa Qing'er wouldn't have rushed over so quickly, and she wouldn't have brought Wa Mother's instructions.

But it's only a reminder; evidently the people behind Old Wine cannot greatly affect Wa Mother, and perhaps those who wanted to find fault have already been slapped back by Wa Mother.

Being able to indulge so recklessly under my mother's protection feels wonderfully novel to Wu Tie.

When at the Wu family's stone fort, Wu Zhan faced enormous pressure from neighboring rivals, and Wu Tie could never have had such a chance to indulge.

The feeling of freely bullying people in Wa Valley is great.

Whether it's the Gongsun clan's……

or that tavern's……

Wu Tie strode to the window of the reception hall, looked through the glass at the noisy tavern in the distance.

He stroked the spider-shaped pendant on his chest; Old Tie's crystal brain showed no response, lifeless and still, as if completely dead. But Wu Tie recalled a time when he had undergone special training from Old Tie, during which Old Tie suddenly spoke with deep feeling.

That time, Old Tie taught him how to use skill to cause the enemy maximum pain without endangering their life.

Frankly, that is the technique of torture and interrogation.

Old Tie kept telling Wu Tie, "Teaching a child these things is a bit inhumane… but 'what a damned world!'"

Wu Tie could still recall Old Tie's sigh—heavy, helpless, with a hint of numbness.

Old Tie later chattered on with many words; back then Wu Tie didn't understand, but now he has come to feel it deeply.

"People's growth always forces you to do things you don't want to do."

"For example, killing—you don't want to kill, but there are always many people and many matters that compel you to do so."

"With every head you chop off, the blade cuts not only the enemy's skull, but also cuts into yourself."

"It cuts into childhood, into inexperience, into naivety, into kindness."

"It cuts into morality, into human relations, into right and wrong, into good and evil."

"When you finally have nothing left to cut, you will discover that you have turned yourself into a bizarre statue, hacked apart by thousands of blades, utterly unlike the monster you imagined as a child."

"So, while you can still indulge, while Wa Mother's protection still allows you to indulge, go ahead and indulge."

Lao Bai was robbed of his gear by Lao Luo and injured by him—this is just a small matter.

Taking advantage of the moment to indulge, feel Wa Mother's care, feel this unprecedented strange warmth and coziness, let it warm Wu Tie's already somewhat numb, stiff, cold-as-iron heart, and then bury it… deep in the depths of his heart.

Wu Tie amusedly glanced at the chaotic, noisy tavern direction, took one last look, then turned around.

An invisible force field swept, the heavy metal window shut with a thud, sealing off all outside noise.

Just like Wu Tie's heart, he pressed that hint of strange warmth and coziness deep into his chest, restrained his smile, and sat upright in the same large chair where Wa Mother had sat when she visited him before.

"Please have a seat… Hanlu, have someone bring some drinks." Wu Tie smiled, pointing to the several large chairs in front of him.

"Is it my older brother who commissioned you to find me? I'm quite curious—I asked my mother, and from the time my older brother entered the Wa clan's ancestral lands until I received news that he was searching for me, it seems you only took a few days to spread the word?"

Wu Tie narrowed his eyes at Shan Dun and Jin Bi: "You—how did you manage that?"

Spreading his hands, Shan Dun shook his head: "Wu Jin brother entrusted me with a task; I found Jin Bi, gave him the cash Wu Jin brother had saved, and this little guy… I also don't know how he did it."

Small in stature, wrapped in a tattered snakeskin, Jin Bi grinned at Wu Tie: "We Ratfolk have our own unique channels; of course, this sort of thing… you outsiders don't need to know."

A humming sound.

Lao Bai's dagger at his waist suddenly flew out, pressing tightly against Jin Bi's neck.

An invisible force field immobilized Jin Bi's tiny body, preventing any movement, while also wrapping around the dagger; the sharp blade lightly slid across Jin Bi's neck, shaving off the hair there bit by bit until it was clean.

"This is Wa Valley… I just killed a few of Gongsun Yuan's brothers." Wu Tie looked at Jin Bi with a chuckle: "Lao Bai said you're Wa Valley's best information broker, so you should know who the Gongsun Yuan brothers are, right?"

Jin Bi's face twisted in anguish, he looked pitifully at Wu Tie.

Wu Tie laughed, flicked his hand— the dagger flew back into Lao Bai's waist sheath— then shook his wrist, and a pile of coins large enough to bury Jin Bi clattered out, forming a small mound before him.

"I'm very curious—how exactly do you spread information? Do you have a big organization behind you?" Wu Tie narrowed his eyes at Jin Bi: "You… can mess around in Wa Valley, and yet you're a Chonglou Realm Ratfolk? How interesting."

"The Ratfolk's talent is evident here—Sensing Mystery Realm Ratfolk are exceedingly rare, yet you, a Chonglou Realm, pretend to be weak, chased over debts of dozens of coins… Jin Bi, can you explain why?"

Wu Tie is truly curious.

He rushed from the Cangyan Realm to Wa Valley, taking a full half year—this was because he kept pressing on without lingering.

And what about Jin Bi?

According to Wa Mother's account, Jin Bi only needed a few days to get the news of Wu Jin searching for Wu Tie to Old Bai in the Cangyan Realm.

"The Dark Guild!" Jin Bi, who had been timid and meek, suddenly straightened his back, his whole body bristling with rat fur that stirred on its own, and a powerful aura of at least the tenth level of Chonglou Realm flickered briefly.

His bright eyes locked onto Wu Tie, Jin Bi let out a heavy sigh: "I hate dealing with smart people… look, Shan Dun and the like never ask how I spread news, or how fast or far I can send it."

"Of course, I told them I could spread the news to dozens of surrounding realms in just a few days, but their nearly dried-up brains would never ask why… they just assume it's a matter of course."

The sturdy Shan Dun and his several old partners scratched their heads in bewilderment.

Isn't that just a matter of course?

They pay money, and Jinbi finds people for them— isn't that just natural?

As for how Jinbi finds people, how he transmits messages, and through what channels he sends out information— what does that have to do with them?

"Dark Guild?" Wu Tie looked at Jinbi with great curiosity.

"I am the sole steward of the Dark Guild in Wa Valley..." Jinbi snatched up a gold coin, happily bit down hard, then sighed with feeling: "Gold Snake Stone— truly the finest-quality gold coin I've ever seen. Simply, fantastic..."

With a light flick of his wrist, all the gold coins vanished instantly.

Shandun and his companions stared wide-eyed…… They had hunted together with Jinbi outside for several months, never knowing that Jinbi possessed a storage treasure on his person.

"The Wa people of Wa Valley— these women are a nightmare to deal with, very hard to get along with, and to make matters worse, they have countless in-laws and powerful maternal relatives; provoke them and who knows how many strange people will pop out to cause us trouble?" Jinbi pointed at Wu Tie: "For example, someone like you, a hotheaded rookie..."

He shrugged, and the aura of the Chonglou Realm expert on Jinbi vanished without a trace.

Wu Tie secretly shuddered; just moments ago in the tavern— that is, the instant he flung open the tavern roof— his invisible force field had enveloped the whole tavern, and at the moment something flew out of the roof, he sensed a fleeting powerful aura from Jinbi.

This is a rare, powerful Chonglou Realm rat-man.

Given the rat-men's innate talent, even reaching the Sensory Mystery Realm is extremely rare, let alone the Chonglou Realm.

So Wu Tie immediately fixed his gaze on Jinbi; otherwise, he wouldn't have invited Shandun, Jinbi and the others to Stone Building for a detailed discussion.

"The Wa people are troublesome, so the Dark Guild in Wa Valley has only me as a proper steward." Jinbi let out a long sigh, looking pitifully at Wu Tie: "The Wa people themselves are well-informed, have their own channels for obtaining information and resources, and they never lack lackeys..."

Jinbi gritted his teeth in irritation: "All they have to do is let word out that they want to cause trouble for someone, and a huge crowd of lust‑crazed fools will step up to kill for them— so…… they lack nothing. Therefore, the Wa Valley business is scarce, scarce, scarce..."

Jinbi sighed pitifully: "So, poor Jinbi is penniless…… therefore, poor Jinbi has no business in Wa Valley…… therefore, poor Jinbi has been in Wa Valley all these years without a promotion, and every year during evaluations he gets cursed by his superiors."

Yan Hanlu had the servant girl bring food and drink.

At Wu Tie's greeting, the group sat down comfortably; Jinbi held a cup larger than his head and took a satisfying gulp: "Oh, this thirty‑year‑old fine liquor is…… absolutely fantastic."

"We are the Dark Guild, an organization that operates in the shadows to provide clients with all kinds of services." Jinbi looked at Wu Tie and said seriously: "We sell intelligence, hire assassins, hire bodyguards, escort caravans, even build armies to conquer a great domain..."

Jinbi said with a worried frown: "Anyway, as long as we have enough gold coins, we can accomplish many things."

He swayed his body gently and sighed softly: "Gold coins, gold coins, as long as we have enough gold coins, we can achieve so much more. The Dark Guild is ancient and powerful; as far as I know, its outposts cover at least five hundred great domains…… five hundred great domains…… this is a vast expanse of land I could never traverse in a lifetime."

Jinbi glanced at the dumbfounded Shandun and murmured: "The gold coins you gave me are only enough to relay messages to dozens of nearby great domains…… but the effect is not bad— look, didn't I help you find Wu Tie?"

Laobai coughed beside him: "That piece of news was what I told Wu Tie, according to your bounty..."

Jinbi's face fell instantly; he turned and looked seriously at Laobai: "Old White‑haired Elder, you follow such a wealthy big boss— why do you still have to squeeze a few pitiful gold coins from poor Jinbi's hands?"

Wu Tie suddenly spoke.

He reached out, grabbed Jinbi's head, turned his face toward himself, leaned in and asked: "So, I ask you— have you ever seen an emblem like this?"

Wu Tie waved his hand; a piece of smokeless coal flew out of the fireplace, and under the control of his invisible force field he precisely drew an odd emblem on the wall.

In a sheet of black mist, a skeletal hand reached out; in the palm of the skeletal hand lay several blood‑stained gold coins.

Wu Tie's soul power is immensely strong, his control exquisitely fine; this emblem is drawn with exquisite precision, identical to the one he had seen on the enemies who attacked the Wu family that day.

Jinbi opened his mouth, raised his eyebrows at Wu Tie and said: "Your enemies? Of course, this emblem…… I happen to know…… but the Dark Guild has fixed prices— as long as there is……"

Another pile of gold coins large enough to bury Jinbi appeared before him.

"Tell me who they are, where they are, and then lead me to them…… I'll give you more gold coins."

Wu Tie's tone turned icy: "Wu Jin is doing what he ought to do; then I too have my duty."

Wu Tie's duty is to behead those damned enemies, one by one.