?

Back in his room.

Two female servant disciples with somewhat delicate features had already warmed Zhou Ze's bed.

But he wasn't in a hurry to rest. Sitting at his desk, he tallied today's gains.

A total of two thousand Spirit Stones.

"That just about fills the hole."

A satisfied smile curled on Zhou Ze's lips.

"Tomorrow, I should receive news of that kid Han Lie being killed."

As long as Yun Fei could kill Han Lie, Zhou Ze believed his spending on those Spirit Stones was still worthwhile.

Initially, Zhou Ze hadn't wanted to kill Han Lie. If not for Han Lie swindling an extra thousand Spirit Stones from him that day, Zhou Ze would have been willing to use eight hundred Spirit Stones to reconcile with him and eliminate this threat.

Unfortunately, human greed knows no bounds, like a snake trying to swallow an elephant. One must always pay for their greed.

With Han Lie gone as a threat, he could finally rest easy now. At least, with his prestige and influence in the Servant Disciple department, he could hold onto this manager position until death without issue.

Putting away the storage ring, Zhou Ze approached his bed with a pleased mood. The female servant who had warmed his bed even considerately lifted the blanket for him.

Just as Zhou Ze lay down, intending to properly favor both female servants and reward himself—

A sudden sinister gust arose!

In that split second between a lightning flash and a flint spark, two streams of spiritual power lashed out!

Before they could react, the female servants flanking Zhou Ze on both sides lost consciousness.

Thud!

The next instant, just as Zhou Ze began sensing danger—a black longsword had already pierced through his chest!

He instinctively tried to cry for help, but a hand covered with age-worn wrinkles covered his mouth.

Looking closer—a familiar face came into view!

Han Lie!

"Mmph... mmph...!"

Zhou Ze struggled as if trying to say something. Simultaneously, he could clearly feel the longsword piercing his chest rapidly eroding his flesh and plundering his vitality!

If he lifted his clothes open, Zhou Ze would see the flesh centered around the wound necrotizing at a visible rate!

"Are you surprised that This Senior isn't dead?"

Han Lie's expression was terrifyingly calm.

"This Senior doesn't know what you want to say—but This Senior guesses it's nothing more than boring pleas for mercy."

"Besides—you've lost your chance to speak for this lifetime."

And so—as vitality was continuously plundered by the black blade—Zhou Ze's struggling movements grew weaker and weaker...

Until the light and spirit in his eyes completely vanished, leaving behind empty dullness like dead ashes!

Though Zhou Ze had stopped breathing, Han Lie still felt it wasn't secure enough!

One slash separated his head from his body!

Only after confirming Zhou Ze was thoroughly dead did Han Lie search all of Zhou Ze's storage rings.

Inside the small wooden hut.

"Eight thousand five hundred Spirit Stones... this old schemer was quite rich—compensating somewhat for today's injuries."

After counting all of Zhou Ze's assets, Han Lie clicked his tongue appreciatively.

Don't think that just because the Servant Disciple department manager position was considered worse than dog shit by Inner Disciples, there weren't plenty of illicit gains to be made from it!

Perhaps other servant disciples were poor—especially newcomers who might not even have a few Spirit Stones on them! But endure for several decades, even securing some minor position within the Servant Disciple department, and one could rake in considerable illicit gains! Let alone someone like Zhou Ze, who served as deputy manager for over ten years!

Moreover, Han Lie knew clearly: eight thousand five hundred Spirit Stones was far from Zhou Ze's limit!

Ever since becoming deputy manager, he visited Drunken Immortal Pavilion at least once yearly without fail! More frequently—three or four times yearly sometimes! Showing just how much illicit wealth this guy had amassed!

Plus, handling dirty business usually required spending considerable Spirit Stones too—for smoothing things over!

For instance, when deaths occurred among servants... To avoid accountability from the Law Enforcement Hall, spending some Spirit Stones handling loose ends became necessary!

As for tonight—Han Lie killing Zhou Ze... During the execution, Han Lie could be one hundred percent certain nobody detected him! Even at the moment of attack, he knocked out both female servants first before acting!

Even if the Law Enforcement Hall investigated later, they would not trace it back to him personally.

Furthermore, only a Servant Disciple Department manager had died. The Law Enforcement Hall would not want to create extra work for itself without cause. They could simply replace him.

Next day.

The two female servants woke from unconsciousness and were left deeply shaken by the sight of Manager Zhou Ze's headless corpse.

The Law Enforcement Hall's people arrived quickly enough.

They simply questioned the two women about whether they had seen the murderer. After receiving no specific suspect, the Law Enforcement Hall merely disposed of Zhou Ze's corpse.

Then they hastily closed the case.

With Zhou Ze dead, the positions of Servant Disciple Department manager and deputy manager both became vacant.

Another day passed.

Zhuo Hongyi came looking for him.

"Zhou Ze. Did you kill him?"

Without beating around the bush, Zhuo Hongyi went straight to the point.

Han Lie did not answer directly. He merely smiled noncommittally.

Zhuo Hongyi said, "Don't be nervous. I am not here to investigate whether you were involved in Zhou Ze's death, although I know it was most likely connected to you."

"But that does not matter."

"Many servant disciples die unnatural deaths every year."

"If we investigated every single case, our Law Enforcement Hall would never get anything else done."

This outcome basically matched Han Lie's expectations.

He said, "Since you are not here to question this old man, Captain Zhuo must have come today for another matter."

"Mhm." Zhuo Hongyi nodded slightly. "Zhou Ze is dead now. The vast Servant Disciple Department has no one managing it, so the sect naturally needs to appoint someone new to take over."

"This task landed in my hands. So I came to ask you: are you interested in becoming the new manager of the Servant Disciple Department?"

Han Lie remained silent for a moment before asking, "Captain Zhuo, the Servant Disciple Department has several thousand people. Why choose this old man specifically?"

"Your cultivation is sufficient, and your seniority is old enough. You are one of the best candidates available."

"Besides, who told you to be connected to me? When there is a good opportunity, I naturally consider you first."

"Furthermore, once you become the Servant Disciple Department manager, would you not have relatively more freedom? That would make our cooperation more convenient as well, would it not?"

Zhuo Hongyi gave her reasons.

Upon hearing the last sentence in particular, Han Lie instantly broke out in a cold sweat.

Fortunately, Ye Qingxuan had gone out earlier. Otherwise, if she had overheard Zhuo Hongyi's final remark, he would have suffered terribly. At that time, even Zhuo Hongyi herself might not have escaped unscathed.

Moreover, that final sentence was probably the real reason she had come looking for him.

"Apologies, Captain Zhuo. This old man may have to disappoint you."

Han Lie politely declined. "To be honest, I am not interested in the Servant Disciple Department manager position. Please find someone else."

Once he took that position, it would mean managing many affairs.

Although the position offered opportunities for illicit gains, the many miscellaneous duties would undoubtedly hinder his cultivation progress.

In the past, Han Lie might perhaps have wanted to become the Servant Disciple Department manager. But now, in Han Lie's eyes, the position had instead become a burden that would drag down his improvement.

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