Ding

[Your Heavenly Fate Fragment has restored its energy.]

[Your luck will increase while the fate power is active.]

While Cao Mao was exploring the city, the system gave him a piece of good news. The power of plot armor had become active again.

“Hmm.”

Cao Mao appreciated this power. Although he couldn’t tell if it made a difference, having a lucky charm was better than having none.

At the moment, Cao Mao’s legs dragged him to the red-light district. He was already satisfied with his current beautiful lusty wives, but his perverse nature sought for something new. He browsed through the brothel signboards, portraits, and pamphlets, checking if the girls here were interesting or not.

Cao Mao was disappointed.

His wives were a lot prettier and sexier than the local girls. Everyone here looked average compared to the disciples of Silver Phoenix Sect.

“Haiz, what a waste of time.”

Dejected, Cao Mao glanced at the last brothel that he hadn’t checked. It was the only modern building in this city – a 10-story concrete building that looked similar to a modern hotel.

At first, Cao Mao wanted to check that place first, but the PTSD he got from the Poseidon Spa House still lingered in his mind. He didn’t want to run into another 6th-stage succubus that was running a brothel business.

Most men on the street seemed to flock into that place. Different from Xu Xiuying’s brothel, many customers walked in and out freely. No malicious receptionists were tricking wandering men into the brothel to be succubus’ food.

“Meh, good or not, I hate high-class brothels.”

Cao Mao mumbled to himself and walked away.

But as Cao Mao’s mind was occupied with the bad experience in Xu Xiuying’s brothel, he didn’t notice another young man, who was behind him, walking toward the giant brothel.

POEK

Cao Mao’s shoulder and the young man’s shoulder bumped into each other.

Normally, a simple bump would only annoy both sides. However, a bump between strong cultivators gave a different impact. It revealed the physical strength and cultivation base of both sides.

The weaker ones would usually feel like they bumped into a wall. On the other hand, the stronger side would barely feel anything.

In this case, Cao Mao sensed a strong impact on his right shoulder as if someone rammed him with a hard object. As for the other bumper, he took a step back and grabbed his right shoulder in pain.

Both men stared at each other in frustration.

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” The young man grumbled in frustration.

Cao Mao snorted in annoyance, but he paced his breathing to calm his boiling blood. Had it been him in his early days in this world, he would have punched the guy in the face in anger. But after losing and dying so many times in the Isolation Training Space, he learned to partially control his unnecessary emotion during daily life and combat.

When his anger subsided, Cao Mao apologized and backed down.

“My bad.”

“Ah, no biggy. Be careful on the road.”

Surprisingly, the young man in front of Cao Mao was also reasonable. He ignored Cao Mao and proceeded to the brothel building in a hurry.

Now that Cao Mao got to look at the young man carefully, he noticed the stark appearance.

The young man’s face was as pretty as a girl. His skin was jade white, tender, and smooth. His white robes were as clean as brand new silver sheets.

However, the bump just now displayed the young man’s foundation. His cultivation base was merely at level 10 of Bone Refining Realm. Yet, he could push back Cao Mao, whose strength was half-step 4th-stage.

Cao Mao squinted his eyes as he speculated who he had encountered.

‘A handsome guy with a deep cultivation foundation? There can only be two people – A major antagonist or a protagonist. But since he’s here without an entourage, it leaves only one.’

A protagonist?

A protagonist that lived in this city?

Who else could it be other than that guy?

“Ma Moxi,” Cao Mao mumbled to himself, contemplating if he should use this opportunity to kill him in the middle of the city.

As Cao Mao was calculating the pros and cons, the young man’s feet stopped.

He took a sharp turn and walked into an alley. Then, he disappeared.

When Cao Mao left the crowded street and got to a secluded street with closed shops, Ma Moxi reappeared behind Cao Mao. He pointed his dagger at the latter’s Adam’s apple.

“Who are you? Why do you know my name?”

Cao Mao raised widened his eyes in surprise. He thought that he was mugged at first, but his left eyebrow was twitching. Since the new mysterious instinct was sending an alarm, he guessed that the protagonist might have come after him. Thus, Cao Mao simply sighed and showed no sign of resisting.

“Look, I already apologized.”

“Answer my question, or I’ll slit your throat on the spot.”

Cao Mao sighed again. It seemed that Ma Moxi had sensed his killing intent. However, the protagonist made several unforgivable blunders despite being an ex-professional hitman.

Ma Moxi should have killed Cao Mao when he had a chance!

Cao Mao circulated Life Essence and projected a pseudo aura barrier around his neck. His hands seized Ma Moxi’s right wrist and pulled him over as if he tried to throw him.

As soon as Cao Mao created an opening, he ducked, slipping to the back of Ma Moxi while he kept holding the latter’s right wrist, disarming the dagger.

Within a blink of an eye, Cao Mao pressed Ma Moxi to the ground with a hammerlock. The dagger also slipped out of Ma Moxi’s weakened grip.

Ma Moxi widened his eyes in shock as he never expected a modern martial art move in this world. He gritted his teeth as his right shoulder and elbow were being twisted.

Heaven and Earth Escape!

Ma Moxi’s body became transparent. Cao Mao suddenly couldn’t touch the protagonist’s body anymore.

Before Ma Moxi could counterattack, Cao Mao rolled his eyes and complained, “As an employer, why should I kill my employee? If you are intimidated by a mild killing intent, you’re disqualified as a hitman, Ma Moxi.”

Instead of stopping Ma Moxi’s counterattack, Cao Mao boldly provoked him.

Ma Moxi reappeared 5 meters behind Cao Mao. He kept his distance in wary, “Who are you?”

Cao Mao shrugged and pointed his thump at the giant brothel, “Let’s talk. There’s a lot that a newbie reincarnator like you needs to know about this world.”

“…”

Cao Mao intentionally leaked a lot of information to attract Ma Moxi’s attention.

And it worked. Ma Moxi couldn’t afford to kill Cao Mao now as he would miss vital information about this mysterious cultivation world.

Both men entered the 10-story building brothel. Although Cao Mao didn’t want to be here, he needed a crowded place as self-protection against this unpredictable protagonist. Since the latter was keeping a low-profile, he could never reveal his combat skill here.

On the other hand, Ma Moxi had several jobs to do with this brothel other than completing Cao Mao’s request. Coming here was like killing two birds with one stone.

An unspoken truce treaty had been formed.

.

VVIP Room, 10th floor

The entire floor was reserved for Cao Mao and Ma Moxie. Both men sat on a lounge area in the grand suite where two half-circle sofas were arranged around a glass table at the center. A classic marble teapot was on the table and four small cups were on marble trays.

This was not a part of Cao Mao’s plan. He wanted to talk in a crowded place, but Ma Moxi brought him here.

“Gentlemen, please wait in this room. I’ll call our best girls to serve you.”

The mama of this brothel was a middle-aged woman with a thick white makeup powder. Her white face contrasted with her natural tanned skin, which made her appearance funny.

Ma Moxi remembered this woman. The owner of his body visited here several times a week, and he banged almost every prostitute here already. He didn’t like it, though, since he was afraid of STD.

Still, as a former hitman, his expressionless pokerface never changed even though he was nervous.

On the other hand, Cao Mao was used to this type of environment. He leaned back on the leather sofa without trying to cover his openings.

“Thanks, mama. Also, give us the best spirit whiskey,” Cao Mao waved his hands and chased the mama away.

The mama was grinning from ear to ear. She rubbed her hands, “Sir, the room service and the wine will cost you 20 refined stones. The best girls here will cost you two refined stones per person per night. How many of them do you want to summon?”

Cao Mao put a small bag with 100 refined stones on the table, showing off his wealth and shutting the mama’s mouth.

“Eh, just call them all here. But don’t let them come yet. I have something to talk with this gentleman.”

“Oh?” The mama’s eyes beam in bright light when she saw the sparkling refined stones. Then, she glanced at her regular customer, Ma Moxi. She grinned and retreated, “Right away.”

The mama left the two men alone.

Seeing that nobody could hear their conversation, Ma Moxi glared at Cao Mao, “Start talking. Who are you?”

“Is that the tone you speak with your senior, Ma Moxi?”

“… Fine. sEnIoR, mAy i kNoW YoUr iNtEnTiOn?” Ma Moxi shrugged and spoke in a sarcastic tone.

“Relax. Haiz,” Cao Mao shook his head in disappointment. He reached out for the teapot and pour some spirit tea to drink. “Calm down, son. I’ve come in peace. Had I really planned to kill you, you would have been dead on the street.”

Ma Moxi stared at Cao Mao for a moment. He retracted his killing intent and decided to compromise. He sat on the sofa on the opposite side of Cao Mao and crossed his legs, “Alright. I know we have a bad start. How do you know that I was a hitman?”

Cao Mao sipped his tea. He glanced at the hitman, who crossed his arms and legs, showing the hint of insecurity mentality.

“You can say that I’m currently working in a similar business as you have done in the previous life. My employer gave me the details of several reincarnators and transmigrators in this world. Right now, I’ve accepted a job that I need to hunt someone down.”

“So, Am I one of your targets?”

Ma Moxi was sharp. He found fault in Cao Mao’s words right away.

“No,” Cao Mao laughed. “My target is Liu Bian.”

“Oh?” Ma Moxi nodded. He got the picture now why Cao Mao hired his clan to spread an ill rumor about Liu Bian. Also, he figured that this employer might know something about Liu Bian as well, “Do you mind if I can have the intel on all reincarnators and transmigrators?”

“That depends on your first job. Help me kill Liu Bian, and I’ll share the information.”

Ma Moxi snorted, “You know. Professional problem solvers don’t outsource to kill their targets. It affects their reputation.”

“That’s a naïve way of thinking. Oh well,” Cao Mao shrugged and ignored Ma Moxi’s ridicule. He sipped some more tea, “Will you cooperate with me, or will you continue to be a lone wolf? It’s your choice. I can only tell you this much at the moment. The Liu Clan is your family’s nemesis, so there’s nothing to lose in this job, no?”

“Ah, but I can’t trust you,” Ma Moxi glared at Cao Mao. “Unless you tell me about yourself, I won’t work for you.”

“A professional hitman doesn’t question for the employer’s motive or his businesses. You only have one job. Will you do it, or will you decline it? I only need one answer. Don’t answer me with a question.”

“…”

Ma Moxi was at a disadvantage in this negotiation as Cao Mao was pressuring him with the superior presence, demeanor, and information. He didn’t know anything about Cao Mao, but the latter seemed to know everything about him.

The difference in information power intimidated the former hitman.

In the end, Ma Moxi chose to bend.

“Fine. But my service won’t be cheap since it’s the crown prince.”

“Don’t worry. I have the money. For now, complete the first assignment and spread the rumor first. When I’m done with my preparation, I’ll tell you what to do next.”

“Alright. But tell me one more thing. Is the rumor legit? Can Liu Bian really use necromancy?”

Cao Mao sneered, “If I have that information, do you think it’s fake?”

Then, Cao Mao leaned forward and gave Ma Moxi a stern look, “If you doubt my intel, go investigate it yourself. This job has no time limit, so you can do it at your pace. As I said before, you only have one job. Don’t question your employer.”

“…”

The two men glared into each other’s eyes. No one could tell what they were thinking.

That day was the first confrontation between Cao Mao and Ma Moxi. It would also change the fate of this protagonist forever.