Tong’s jaw dropped as Lin Hao haggled with the violet-clad enforcer. *This lunatic’s bargaining with the Nether Pavilion?!* He edged toward the exit, ready to bolt if blades flew.

Madam Zi’s veil rippled with what might’ve been amusement. “Bold. Precisely why you passed the trial.” Her gloved hand produced a gold card etched with spiraling sigils. “Ten million taels monthly—untasked. Fail a mission, repay tenfold.”

Lin Hao’s pulse quickened. *Ten million. Enough to armor a swarm.* He schooled his face to neutrality. “Terms?”

“Absolute obedience.” Her aura thickened, frost crystallizing on nearby shelves. “Refuse a decree from His Majesty’s shadow, and we harvest your bones.”

Lin Hao shrugged. “Pay me first.”

The card clinked onto the counter. Tong gasped—its twin phoenix emblem marked direct Imperial access. “Two million advance. Spend it on… *toys*.” Her gaze flicked to the Wolf Spider sharpening its legs on the floor tiles.

Lin Hao pricked his thumb with the Fly’s wing-tip. Blood smeared across the card’s engravings flared crimson, binding it to his life signature. A mental nudge revealed the balance: *2,000,000.00*.

“Transfer my fee,” Lin Hao ordered Tong, sliding over the eighty thousand taels in paper notes.

Tong’s silver card chimed against the gold. Runes interlocked like puzzle pieces. “Done.”

The numbers updated instantly. *Efficient magic banking.* Lin Hao pocketed the card. “Pleasure doing business.”

Rain sheeted outside as they exited. Madam Zi’s cloak repelled droplets like a duck’s feathers. “Your first decree arrives at—”

Steel rang. Li Kun emerged from an alley, sword glinting wetly. “Found you, vermin-herder!”

Lin Hao sighed. The Spider tensed, new leg-blades extending with a *shink*. The Fly hovered protectively, wings dusted with stolen Starfall toxin.

“Persistent pest,” Madam Zi observed. “Shall I…?” Her fingers twitched toward a hidden dagger.

“My mess.” Lin Hao stepped forward. “Watch and learn, Nether Lady.”

Li Kun’s blade arced—Whirlwind Sect’s signature overhead chop. The Wolf Spider leapt, deflecting the strike in a shower of sparks. Its upgraded carapace held firm.

“Again?!” Li Kun recoiled as the Fly dive-bombed his eyes, venom stinging his vision. The Spider exploited the opening, slashing his thigh.

“Enough!” Madam Zi snapped. A tendril of shadow lashed from her sleeve, pinning Li Kun to a wall. “Ma Clan’s starfall assassin arrives at dawn. Conserve your strength.”

Lin Hao crouched before the struggling swordsman. “Tell your employer…” He pressed the Fly’s toxin-dripping proboscis to Li Kun’s neck. “…my pets thirst for noble blood.”

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

The Spider severed the shadow bindings. Li Kun fled, limping into the storm.

Madam Zi’s eyes gleamed behind her veil. “You’ll need worse than bugs for what comes next.”

Lin Hao watched lightning fork over the city. “Worse is what I do best.”

***

Dawn found Lin Hao in a smuggler’s loft, gold card burning a hole in his pocket. The Wolf Spider crouched over a disassembled crossbow, integrating parts into its exoskeleton. The Fly chewed through a stolen spirit core, wings hardening to diamond-edged transparency.

*Ding! Evolution complete. Wolf Spider: Tier 4 Assassin-Class. New ability: Camouflage Field.*

He grinned. Ten million bought more than armor—it bought revolution.

Somewhere below, the safehouse door exploded inward. Starfall Assassins never knocked.

Lin Hao didn’t bother looking up. “Welcome to the slaughter.”

The Spider vanished. The Fly’s wings hummed to life.

Outside, Madam Zi watched through rain-streaked windows. *Report to His Majesty: Subject 47 exceeds expectations. Recommend immediate deployment to the northern front.

She melted into shadows as screams began.

----------------------------------------

The Assassin Ziye

Li Kun’s threat hung in the rain-soaked air for less than a breath. Purple light flashed as Ziye flicked her wrist. A needle thinner than a spider’s thread pierced his forehead, freezing his sneer in death.

“Efficient,” Lin Hao remarked dryly, watching the swordsman crumple. The Fly’s compound eyes analyzed the attack trajectory—needle velocity exceeding 300 m/s, qi-enhanced penetration.

Ziye strode forward without glancing at the corpse. “Follow.”

They walked three blocks before she spoke again. “Shall I call you Jing Ke… or Lin Hao?”

Lin Hao’s mask hid his tension. “Your spies work fast.”

“The landlord on Willow Lane has loose lips.” Ziye’s voice carried no inflection. “A silver coin bought your face. Ten more traced your steps from the smithy.”

The Wolf Spider stirred angrily under Lin Hao’s cloak. He stroked its carapace, calming it. “And you? Do I call you ‘Violet Shadow’ or something equally dramatic?”

She halted. Raindrops slid off her veil as she removed the bamboo hat. The Fly’s vision relayed sharp cheekbones, lips like frozen rose petals, eyes colder than winter steel.

“Ziye.” Her name cut through the storm. “Your handler in the Nether Pavilion.”

Lin Hao removed his mask. Milky eyes met her gaze unflinchingly. “They say blind men make the best listeners.”

Her brow twitched—the first crack in her ice. “The reports claimed you navigate walls like a sighted man. How?”

“Bats use sound.” He tapped his temple. “I’ve better teachers.”

The Wolf Spider chose that moment to peek out, front legs waving in mock salute. Ziye’s breath hitched—a vulnerability quickly smothered. “Your… pets. Where did you find them?”

“Trained them myself.” Lin Hao’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Stray bugs make loyal friends when the world kicks you.”

Ziye produced a talisman glowing with imprisoned fireflies. “Your mission: enter Tianyan Academy in two months. Use this to contact me once enrolled.”

The Fly analyzed the sigils—dimensional resonance patterns mixed with soul-binding glyphs. Lin Hao pocketed it gingerly. “Student by day, assassin by night? Charming.”

“Fail,” Ziye said as she re-donned her hat, “and the Nether Pavilion collects its investment.” She melted into an alleyway shadow, her final words trailing like smoke. “In *pieces*.”

***

Dawn found Lin Hao dissecting the talisman. The Wolf Spider skittered across its surface, venom dissolving enchantment layers.

*Ding! Decryption complete. Tracking array detected. Recommend neutralization.*

He smirked. Crushing the jade core with pliers, he hummed as the tracking light died. The Fly deposited the碎片 into a passing merchant’s coin purse—let the Pavilion chase false trails.

Two months to academy trials. Two months to armor his swarm.

Somewhere in the palace vaults, Ziye studied a crystal gone dark. Her lips curved—not a smile, but the edge of a blade being honed.

“Clever little rat,” she murmured. “Let’s see you chew through *this* trap.”

The real game had just begun.