Chapter 45: Chapter 45

“Oh?” Lu Wenyu asked with considerable interest as he drank. “What do you mean by ‘the whore’ and ‘the chastity arch’? Why put up the chastity arch? And why play the whore?”

Zhao Jiu did not answer immediately. Instead, he poured himself a cup of Huadiao Wine.

He did not swallow it in a hurry. He held it in his mouth and slowly savored its fragrance. Only after the aroma of alcohol rushed into his nasal cavity did he swallow it little by little.

As the smooth, jade-like warmth slowly seeped from his throat into his body, Zhao Jiu narrowed his eyes slightly. He could almost smell the fresh sweetness of Jiangnan plums.

Jiangnan Has Nothing to Offer; I Can Only Send You a Sprig of Spring.

Only after thoroughly savoring the wine’s lingering aroma did he speak unhurriedly.

“Doing business is like drinking wine. People from different places drink different kinds of wine. Shengjing is bitterly cold. Forget eighteen-year-old Huadiao Wine—even hundred-and-eighty-year-old Huadiao Wine has no flavor if you can’t swallow it.

“Conversely, Jiangnan sees only gentle snow. If you drank a cup of hard liquor there, you might sleep through not only Jiangnan’s spring, but its autumn as well.

“Doing business is nothing more than deciding whether to put up the chastity arch before playing the whore or play the whore before putting up the arch. You can hardly refuse both to play the whore and to claim chastity, can you, Lord Lu?”

“Good, good. That is indeed the principle of it. Everything comes down to fame and profit.” Lu Wenyu exhaled. “So, Little Brother Pockmarked, do you want fame or profit? Or do you want both?”

He still could not taste anything special about the Huadiao Wine.

It was far too weak!

Zhao Jiu noticed Lu Wenyu’s confusion but said nothing. He silently moved the remaining half-jug of Huadiao Wine to his own table and fetched Lu Wenyu a fresh jug of Immortal’s Intoxication.

“I’m not paying extra,” Lu Wenyu joked with a cheerful smile, displaying a rare moment of good humor.

Zhao Jiu did not become angry.

“Consider it complimentary with the glutinous rice balls.”

Lu Wenyu was briefly astonished.

What a bargain! Those glutinous rice balls had been worth the money after all!

“As for me, I don’t possess any great abilities,” Zhao Jiu said with a slight nod. “I merely want to survive. If possible, I’d also like to live a little better…”

“Don’t say anything so dispiriting. If others heard you, they might think I was bullying a junior,” Lu Wenyu said magnanimously, his tone relaxing considerably as he drank. “Business should only be done when there is a profit to make. Who would willingly accept a job that cost both money and life?”

The corner of Zhao Jiu’s mouth twitched violently.

They might think you were bullying a junior?

Were you not bullying me?

If I could beat you, I’d have to say: Little Lu, I won’t fault you for calling me a junior in here. But once you step through that door, what are you supposed to call me?

Lu Wenyu remained unaware of Zhao Jiu’s thoughts.

Zhao Jiu restrained himself and stopped wasting time.

“Lord Lu, what instructions do you have for this junior? Why not state them plainly? Surely you don’t expect me to guess?”

“Why don’t you spend a while guessing?” Lu Wenyu asked cheerfully, intending to tease him.

When Zhao Jiu’s expression stiffened, Lu Wenyu said rather smugly, “It’s nothing major. Just kill a few people for me.”

Zhao Jiu had just finished a cup of wine and had not yet set it down.

Upon hearing this, his fingers lost their grip.

CLACK!

The cup fell to the floor.

“What?” Zhao Jiu exclaimed in astonishment. “Me? Are you serious?”

“Do I look as though I’m joking?”

Zhao Jiu was dumbfounded.

His expression shifted from disbelief to grim resolve, then to bitter unwillingness. Finally unable to endure the torment any longer, he stammered, “D-Don’t… I’m still a child! If you want someone dead, go kill them yourself. You’re a First-Rank expert, yet you’re making things difficult for someone at the Third Rank. That’s… not right!”

“First Rank? Heh. This old man is far beyond the First Rank!”

Lu Wenyu smiled disdainfully, sounding rather proud.

However, after glancing at Zhao Jiu, who had reached the Third Rank in only three years, he restrained his arrogant expression slightly.

“Do you think I, Lu Wenyu, am the sort of man who forces a respectable woman into prostitution? The jobs will certainly be within your capabilities, so rest assured! Do you think I would cheat you of your money?”

Zhao Jiu did not believe a single word.

You already had your pants off, yet you were claiming to be the chaste Liu Xiahui. At least pull them back up before saying that!

Nevertheless, Zhao Jiu was extremely interested in the phrase “far beyond the First Rank.”

He immediately put on a fawning expression.

“Lord Lu, what exactly do you mean by ‘far beyond the First Rank’?”

“You don’t know?”

Lu Wenyu’s eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.

How had an unaffiliated, self-taught martial artist advanced so quickly?

Could his own talent truly be that poor?

Unable to make sense of it, Lu Wenyu could only explain awkwardly, “Above the First Rank lies the Grandmaster Realm. Its first stage is the Lesser Grandmaster, also known as the Pseudo-Grandmaster. Beyond that is the Great Grandmaster. To put it plainly, it is the process of transforming Momentum into Intent…”

“What comes after the Great Grandmaster?” Zhao Jiu asked impatiently.

“Attaining Sainthood, attaining Immortality, or attaining Buddhahood.”

Lu Wenyu did not conceal anything and told him everything at once.

“But you should forget about reaching those realms. Not a single Saint has appeared in the past several centuries. Not one!”

Not a single Saint?

Zhao Jiu murmured to himself, then looked up at Lu Wenyu.

It appeared that he had found an extremely sturdy thigh to cling to.

Heh heh heh…

Still, he could not rush such things. Earning money came first.

His thoughts settled, Zhao Jiu changed the subject.

“What rank are you, Lord Lu? And who do you want me to kill?”

“I am naturally…” Lu Wenyu began, only to wave his hand impatiently. “You don’t need to ask. I’m stronger than you. That’s all you need to know.”

He then continued in a gentler tone, “The targets are several people from the jianghu…”

“That won’t do.”

Without giving it any thought, Zhao Jiu refused outright.

What kind of businessman agreed to a deal immediately? Would he not suffer a tremendous loss?

“Oh? Why not?”

“I’m a man of the jianghu myself! Lord Lu, the people of the jianghu are my colleagues and brothers, my dearest friends and kin! How could brothers-in-arms turn their backs on each other, draw weapons beneath the same roof, and slaughter one another?”

Zhao Jiu looked stricken with grief. He even clutched his chest as his body trembled.

He recalled every sorrowful experience from his previous life and desperately squeezed a single tear from the corner of his eye.

“This Zhao truly cannot bear to do it!” he cried mournfully.

Then Zhao Jiu raised his head slightly, his nostrils flaring and contracting as though he were desperately holding back tears.

Such acting!

Such emotion!

Such voice, delivery, bearing, and expression!

Such overwhelming emotional impact!

Did this performance not deserve a Magnolia Award?

Lu Wenyu stared at Zhao Jiu with his mouth hanging open in disbelief.

Had this man been possessed by a ghost?

Where had the model assassin who endured three of Eunuch Chen’s palm strikes for money gone?

Could Zhao Jiu genuinely not be acting?

“Then what are you suggesting?”

“Lord Lu, you know that I have always…”

Zhao Jiu’s expression abruptly changed. He gazed earnestly into Lu Wenyu’s eyes.

His eyes shone with such sincerity that Lu Wenyu began to wonder whether he had misjudged him.

“You’ll have to pay extra!”

Zhao Jiu’s decisive declaration left even the well-traveled Lu Wenyu dumbfounded.

After that heart-wrenching speech and tearful performance, Zhao Jiu was telling him that it had all been an attempt to demand more money?

This assassin did not study assassination techniques. He studied acting!

Lu Wenyu said impatiently, “Just tell me how much more you want.”

“Then I won’t stand on ceremony.”

Without waiting for a response, Zhao Jiu continued, “My demands aren’t high. One hundred taels a month, regardless of whether I kill anyone. Don’t complain that it’s too much. That’s merely the basic fee.

“Each kill must be calculated separately. Oh, right, the deposit must be paid in advance. I don’t accept work where I have to front the expenses. All forms of consumption must be included in the operating costs. You understand what I mean, don’t you?”

“I understand,” Lu Wenyu replied. “You’re merely afraid of suffering a loss. It’s good for a young man to be cautious. I’ll make the decision and approve it.”

Zhao Jiu clapped excitedly and flattered him without batting an eye.

“Excellent! As expected of a distinguished Third-Rank official. In my opinion, Lord Lu possesses the potential to attain Sainthood!”

Lu Wenyu repeatedly waved his hands, his face displaying complete rejection.

However, the corners of his mouth refused to stay down. He turned his head and pretended to pour himself more wine, when in truth, he was concealing his smile.

“Too much praise. Far too much praise. How could I possess such talent?”

What flattery?

This was called emotional intelligence!

“Uh, well, while Lord Lu is in a good mood, I’d like to raise just a few small points.”

Holding his wine cup, Zhao Jiu stood and pressed his free hand downward twice.

“Now, we aren’t saying that requirements can’t be overcome. We never said that. We have never said anything of the sort! What I’m saying is, well, the difficulties objectively exist, and an impact is inevitable, isn’t that so? I’m not saying it is certain—not certain at all! Ahem, what I mean is that the key—the key to resolving the difficulties lies in the key difficulties. Uh, not entirely. What we need is more—”

“Stop, stop, stop!”

Lu Wenyu could not endure another moment.

“What else do you want? Tell me everything at once! Stop giving me this tedious, long-winded speech.”

Zhao Jiu appeared to have said a great deal, but every word had been meaningless nonsense. If Lu Wenyu had not interrupted him, he could probably have continued until dawn.

“Well, I have one slightly excessive request.”

Zhao Jiu beamed, his eyes gleaming.

“Get me an easy official position with a relatively high rank. A military post would be best, since that would make concealing my identity more convenient. That’s all. This is definitely my final request.”

Lu Wenyu frowned and considered it before eventually nodding.

He had already agreed to provide the money, and procuring an easy sinecure was still within his abilities.

The only problem was finding an appropriate one.

He considered one post after another but could not find anything suitable.

Wait!

Was there not a ready-made position?

Lu Wenyu slapped his hands together. Once his thoughts opened, inspiration naturally followed!

“How about the post of Pacification Commissioner of the Northern Pacification Office? It is a Lower Fourth-Rank post primarily responsible for the Imperial Prison. I’ll make the necessary arrangements beforehand. You’ll only need to serve as a figurehead.”

Lu Wenyu had already shown such sincerity that refusing him again would be inappropriate.

Zhao Jiu therefore announced that, from this day forward, Lord Lu had officially entered the ranks of his Esteemed Clients!

“Excellent. Thank you, Lord Lu. This junior will certainly do his utmost.”