Volume 3: Profit Loss

"My Array has been destroyed." The short man in black stiffened noticeably. He then added, "It's the one I use for disguising this hideout."

The big man, their leader, narrowed his eyes. That had been one of his cohorts strongest arrays. The lightning was strong enough to kill even a mid-ranked Wulin warrior if they were hit directly, and stun the stronger ones.

"Those arrays you made should have killed the target based on the information we were given. Since that information is either out of date or wrong, I'm ordering a retreat." Turning to the cheerful one, he said, "You and him gather everything important and get ready to leave."

The Leader pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling extremely bitter.

It'd cost him a small fortune to get even a tiny vile of the Thousand Year Hell Poison, and that was with the Association's discount. The stuff was said to be powerful enough to cripple minor gods, so he'd expected it to easily work on the Mountain Lord. But did it?

No, it did not.

Even after dumping their entire stock onto him, that Mountain Lord had only been temporarily incapacitated. The Leader had really thought he was going to die when he saw that demon of a man simply spit out the poison like it was nothing. It was fortunate for the Leader that the rumor (which he'd originally not put much stock in) about the Mountain Lord's inability to leave his territory had been true. Otherwise the entire team would have been incinerated.

Then the poison had worked TOO well on the woman they were only hired to torture. She'd almost died. They'd given her a high-grade all-purpose poison antidote (which also cost a fortune), but there was no way that was enough to cure the Thousand Year Hell Poison. If she lived past a week's time, it'd be a miracle.

Now he was finding out the one person he was supposed to assassinate was much much stronger than he'd been told, and without the Thousand Year Hell Poison there was not a chance of him winning. Considering how things had gone with the Mountain Lord, he wasn't sure he'd be able to win even with it.

Source checking? Client sources? What the hell was that?! All the information had been incomplete or outdated! Everything about this job had been a catastrophe! He was frustrated enough to kill someone!

Incomplete missions meant reduced payout, period. No matter what excuse he gave. The only positive thing was that the primary purpose had been for torturing, with the assassination being a peripheral element. He could also sell information he'd gained from this job too. But he'd likely only make enough total to cover the initial funding costs. No profit, just breaking even.

Seriously, the first happy bystander he found he was going to beat to death, just so he could vent his frustration over this whole debacle.

"And the woman?" The cheerful one asked eagerly.

"Leave her."

"Eh..? But we're not finished!"

Their leader glared at the cheerful idiot next to him and sincerely wished he could kill him too. But the Association was strict about the few rules they had, and refraining from killing fellow associates on the job was one of those rules.

"Is what's in your pants more important than your life?"

The other man lifted his head and folded his arms stubbornly. "I only agreed because you promised I got her at the end!"

The Leader rubbed his forehead in annoyance, trying to suppress his growing killing urges. Even within the Association this one's perversions were… unique. He'd often dawdle to satisfy his lusts, taking unnecessary risks that he, the leader, disapproved of. But since the younger man was one of the highest ranked with the bow, and the Association encouraged most vices as long as the missions were completed, the leader put up with it.

"Fine. Stop the torture and do as you like, but don't expect any of us to save you when you get caught."

The other man tilted his head cockily. "Since when have I ever been caught?"

The leader's face darkened. Only fools thought they were invincible. "Just remember that if you do get caught—"

His foolish companion waived a hand dismissively. "I know, I know."

"Hm… I wonder if you do. In this world, there are things worse than death…" The leader shook his head in scornful disdain. As a long distance fighter, the younger man had avoided much of the risk that came with their profession, making him careless. "Anyway, remember, no evidence is to be left behind. Not even you."

"Of course!" The cheerful one winked cheekily before hurrying to gather or destroy anything meaningful in their hideout. The faster he was finished, the faster he could get to the part he really enjoyed, so he made sure to hurry.

The Leader watched him and smiled sinisterly under the black cloth covering his face. It wouldn't surprise him at all if his compatriot died today because of his stupidity. It made him feel a little better just thinking about the possibility.

————

Shan Hui stroked the grassy hill as if he was combing his hand through fur. After a moment he nodded.

The hill was hollow, which explained why Jin's thread ended at it. There seemed to be no entrance nearby, and even if there was, he had no intention of looking for it. Those damn circles had made them waste a lot of time already.

"Stand back." He ordered the twins (who hastily obeyed), digging his fingers into the dirt. Earth and wood elements converged on his hands and spread out like a strange net onto the hill.

Shan Hui took several breaths, taking a moment to call the power of the now distant mountains through his gold eye. There was a noticeable delay since he needed to move a great deal of power and he was far from his homeland. If he'd been on the mountains, it would have been instantaneous.

After he got enough, he gave a mighty pull on the elemental "net" he'd created. A perfectly cylindrical shaped piece of hill was dragged out and then tossed aside with an earth shaking thud. The hole it left behind was deep but wide enough for all three of them to enter at once.

The brothers all looked down the newly created entrance. Far below, they could see slates of wood neatly stuck together that let through a faint glow. Clearly a man-made object.

"Remember, they've got a poison that works on fairies. They've likely coated their weapons with the stuff. Don't let them hit you.. In fact, knock them out before they get the chance to do anything." Shan Hui glanced at the twins, eyebrow raised. "Ready?"

They both nodded.

Without further conversation, they leapt down. Yan Li landed first and with a powerful punch he splintered the thick wood walls. The three dropped through the hole, prepared for anything.

Only an eerie silence greeted them. The underground building had a long hallway, and they were near the center of it. Jin's thread was in front of them, so they knew they needed to go straight. Yan Li took a step, clearly intending to rush forward, but was stopped by his twin and Shan Hui. They both lightly shook their heads.

After those four circles, they had a pretty good idea how the people they were dealing with worked. It was all about traps and long distant fighting. It was highly unlikely they'd let someone just walk into their base.

Releasing Yan Li, Shi Ji touched the wall. Sure enough, he sensed several (albeit smaller) circles absorbing elements ahead and behind him.

"There are more of those circles," Shi Ji whispered to his brothers. "But they aren't absorbing as much power as the ones we've encountered before. So they're either much simpler or weaker, perhaps both."

Shan Hui narrowed his eye, his blue eye flashing slightly.

"En, I see it too." He replied in an equally quiet voice. "They likely know we're coming, with the noise I made getting in. And we've wasted too much time dealing with these cursed circles already—"

He reached out and grabbed his younger siblings, wrapping an arm around each of their waists. The younger boys looked at him in confused surprise.

"—so we're just going to make a run for it."

Shan Hui jetted forward, holding both of his siblings on each side as he went. If the situation hadn't been so serious, it would have been funny. The twins might have been younger, but they were taller and thicker than Shan Hui. Despite the size difference, he was hauling them along at break neck speeds as if they were no worse than two large bags of rice.

As he ran, feet barely touching the ground, the circles began to fire off their attacks: arrows, floor traps, spikes, and a host of other random deadly traps. But as Shi Ji had guessed, these were not as complex or powerful as the ones they'd encountered outside. Shan Hui was fast enough to avoid them and nothing chased after them either.

Up ahead were several doors, but thanks to the Old Man's string, they didn't have to guess at where their Mother was located. Shan Hui lifted Yan Li up and threw him at the door.

Of the three of them, Yan Li had the best martial arts capabilities. Even if he was surprised at getting suddenly tossed, his body responded on instinct. Legs forward, he delivered a powerful kick, splitting the door cleanly in half.

He almost gagged from fury at what his one clear eye witnessed.

"Mother!" Shi Ji cried out in horror a second later.

Mei Hua was there, bleeding profusely from a thousand small and large cuts, bruised everywhere, and even her hair cut raggedly short. Her battered body was hung from the ceiling by heavy metal chains that wrapped cruelly around her wrists. If that wasn't bad enough, there was a man dressed in all black cutting her clothes off. He'd already shredded her shirt, and his face and hands were in a place they definitely should not have been.

Shan Hui didn't say anything, he didn't even stop moving. His mind was white with rage. Before the man in black could even be surprised by the sudden intrusion, Shan Hui was on him. Two slender hands were around the black dressed man's neck as he violently pushed him off Mei Hua and into the far wall. The wood wall shattered and the packed dirt behind it caved in, causing the whole room to shudder and dirt to fall from the ceiling.

It was an instant knock out, but Shan Hui wasn't satisfied. He was still squeezing the man's neck, eager to hear it snap.

"Elder Brother!" Yan Li ran over hastily, "Remember what the Old Man said!"

It took Shan Hui a moment to register what the twin was getting at and then another moment to accept it. The black dressed man's face was already starting to change color from a lack of oxygen. He loosened his grip and the criminal fell to the ground with a thud.

Shi Ji was by his unconscious Mother, easily breaking the chains and freeing her. He took off his outer jacket and wrapped his Mother in it, tears freely streaming down his face as he did. He sincerely hoped she'd fainted before that b****rd had started touching her. Even though he knew humans could be wicked, he'd never believed they could take things so far.

"Yan Li, check the other rooms. See if anyone else is left. If not, see if there's evidence that more were here." Shan Hui managed through shaky breaths, trying to calm himself. Yan Li immediately did as commanded, hoping there was more so he could vent his own frustration out on someone.

Shan Hui walked over to Shi Ji, jaw tight at the sight. "Take her home." He finally said. "Father and the Fairy Doctor will heal her up. There's nothing they can't cure."

Shi Ji nodded and then very carefully lifted his Mother up. Holding her gently to him. Feeling the brokenness of her body through his jacket, he had to resist the urge to sob. He walked to the hallway and then remembered the circles. Some of them only worked once, but others were apparently able to recharge and fire again. He could probably outrun them, but it didn't seem wise going that fast with his precious burden.

"Wait." Shan Hui motioned for him to stop. Then he breathed in deeply, spreading his legs apart, he open palm punched a still-intact wall of the room. There was a great shudder as dirt and rock was pushed outward, leaving a messy oval hole just big enough for one person to climb through.

"This should be safer." He said, and waved Shi Ji to go through. The younger man gave a slight nod and immediately left.

Shan Hui walked back to the unconscious man.

"As long as I don't kill you, it should be fine…" He muttered, his expression clear and calm despite the terrible storm raging within him.