Universe Infinite Canteen

"Not long ago, you took on a dark commission," the employer asked you to send someone to kill a newly established small hunting group. I wonder if Vice Captain Jinjian still remembers that."

Jinjian's eyes circled around. "Five people, and a wind-walking prairie wolf. I know who you are; you're from the Twin Sunflower Hunting Group. The team I sent out to deal with you lost contact a week ago, it looks like you've taken care of them."

"Answer my question." Boggy stepped forward two paces, pressing the mechanical spear against Jinjian's throat.

Jinjian spread his hands. "Don't be in such a hurry. I have the answers you want, just be a little more patient, and I might even be able to give you more…"

"If you think you can buy time for reinforcements to arrive, you can forget about it." Ma Lu friendly reminded, "We took care of your backup before we came down here."

"I admit, I underestimated your abilities before," Jinjian said, "especially you."

He looked into Ma Lu's eyes with his characteristic magnetic voice, "Are you interested in joining Black Horn? I can offer you double, no, four times the price…"

Before Ma Lu could respond, he turned to the others. "The same goes for you. Black Horn's doors are always open to those with extraordinary talents. Here you can better showcase your abilities and earn more money.

"Plus, I can wipe the slate clean of the previous matter. I'll take care of those who wanted to go after you; following me, you can work in peace, assured that no one will dare to touch you again."

"Forget it. If it's money we're after, extorting you would be much quicker than being your lackey," Ma Lu said.

"You wouldn't want to go to war with Black Horn, believe me," Jinjian said. "No one in Great Curtain City can bear Sanrew's wrath; his power is beyond your imagination. You've already killed a number of Black Horn hunters. If anything else happens to me, this feud will get too big to handle, and Sanrew will eventually track you down."

"Enough talk, just tell me the name of the employer," Boggy demanded in a deep voice.

"Alright, Chi Qi. It was Chi Qi from the Harpist Hunting Group who found me and said he was willing to pay to have you killed."

Boggy was taken aback at the revelation. "Are you trying to deceive me?"

"I'm not lying to you. He's always wanted to drive you out of your father's hunting group, hasn't he?" Jinjian said with a sincere expression.

"I've already left the Harpist and even established a new hunting group, that should have been enough to put his mind at ease."

"He's not worried about you coming back now, but your new hunting group is too eye-catching, returning from every hunt with a great catch, one valuable prey after another. How does that make the others in the Harpist look at him?"

"Chi Qi initially tried to convince Guli to give up on you, arguing that your abilities weren't sufficient to be a hunter, and that you'd only drag the rest of the hunting group down. Yet after you left, your life got better and better, proving that he was wrong all along.

"Some even suspect he set you up on purpose, just to drive you away and take the vice captain position for himself. Anyways, he's not having an easy time now."

"Just over something like that, he wants us dead?"

"Young men are inevitably impulsive," Jinjian shrugged.

"No, hiring you would require a lot of money. Where would he get that much?"

"Like I said, Black Horn's doors are always open to those with special talents. A young hunter with not bad skills like him has ways to get money.

"If you're willing to come back with me to Great Curtain, I can find the IOU he wrote, and give it to you."

Boggy still found it hard to believe; the mechanical spear in his hand moved a few inches forward, and he said excitedly, "You're lying!"

Jinjian sighed, "I don't have it, and deep down you must know I'm telling the truth, so what are you going to do next? Are you going to kill him?"

"To kill the rising star of the Harpist Hunting Group should be an easy feat for you. But if you do that, the Hunting Group your father left behind will likely fall into ruin," Jinjian said, while carefully watching the expressions on Boggy's face, then abruptly switched the topic.

"Or, you could ask me to mediate the conflict between you two. I can make sure he behaves himself from now on and stops causing you trouble. This way, the matter can be put to rest, and everyone will be happy," Jinjian suggested.

Boggy stayed silent, the knuckles of the hand holding the mechanical spear turning white.

Mai Mai patted her on the shoulder, "Let me interrogate him. I think this guy won't cry until he sees his coffin; what he's telling you might not be true."

On hearing this, Jinjian's expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly said, "Don't rush to torture me, I can reveal another secret to you."

"What secret?" Ma Lu asked, intrigued.

"Don't you want to know why I came here?"

"Didn't you say this was a treasure-burying site?"

Jinjian lowered his voice a bit, "That was just a story I made up for others. In reality, there's a secret treasure hidden here."

Ma Lu sneered, "Secret treasures are just legends."

"The secret treasure is not a legend. The leader of the Golden Sword once obtained a secret treasure that enabled him to unlock a second psychic power, significantly enhancing his strength," Jinjian argued.

"Each person can only have one psychic power; that's an iron law no hunter can break," Seta countered, "Do you take us for fools?"

"The reason why it's called a secret treasure is precisely because of its incredible power," Jinjian insisted.

"I manage Black Horn's shady businesses and the related financial accounts. Ordinary treasures have long since failed to interest me.

"To tell you the truth, my search for the secret treasure was hidden from Sanrew, so when I first saw you, I truly thought the news had leaked, and he had sent you to snatch the secret treasure."

"How about it, now that you know my secret, can't we collaborate?" Jinjian's eyes flickered with greedy anticipation.

"There's also a Mother Spider outside the hall where the secret treasure is stored, more formidable than the three Spiked Leg Tailless Scorpions you've encountered combined. I had planned to wait for more people before taking it on, but obviously, you're much stronger than those useless ones,

"If you help me obtain that secret treasure, I can pay you a reward of 100, no, 300 million Electric Degrees each."

Upon hearing this number, Seta couldn't help but gasp, the large sum was enough to take care of his father's medical expenses for the rest of his life.

Ma Lu wasn't particularly interested in the money of this world, but the mention of the secret treasure's power made even him momentarily tempted.

His gaze toward Jinjian became somewhat sinister, as if knowing what he was thinking, Jinjian hurriedly said,

"The secret treasure requires a key to open, which could be anything—a stone, a feather, or some creature's bone. I've already hidden the key. If you kill me, you'll never be able to obtain the secret treasure."