Whether that dwarf had been intentionally investigating or had simply stumbled upon something, a person like that could not be allowed to live.
He had immediately consulted with Harvey, and the two reached an agreement. Once the dwarf left town, they would find an opportunity to quietly dispose of him and eliminate the threat forever.
They had done this kind of thing many times before and were long since accustomed to it.
But now, the Healer the dwarf had been so desperately searching for had reappeared.
Peter’s finger, which had been tapping the table, suddenly stopped, and his gaze turned grave.
If Barend had been looking for him specifically to find this Healer, did that mean this Healer also knew the Cross family’s secrets?
As he was lost in thought, the door was suddenly pushed open. Two subordinates walked in with their heads lowered, looking somewhat uneasy.
Peter was startled, his tone carrying a hint of surprise. “Why are you back so soon?”
The two subordinates glanced at each other before one of them plucked up the courage to speak. “Boss, we lost him. He suddenly turned into an alley, and by the time we caught up, he was gone.”
Peter frowned. They lost him? Had he been discovered?
But after just a moment, his brow smoothed, and his expression returned to calm. He was just an outsider; he couldn't cause much trouble.
“Forget it. He’s just an outsider with no background. We’ll just deal with him when it’s convenient to save ourselves future trouble.”
He waved his hand, his tone casual yet carrying an unquestionable command. “There are only a few places in town where he could be staying.”
“Go find out which inn he’s at and wait directly at the entrance to see when he returns. If he goes out tomorrow, make sure you watch him closely. Don’t lose him again.”
“Yes!” the two subordinates replied in unison, not daring to be negligent.
“When he leaves town…” Peter paused, leaning back against his chair with a sinister look in his eyes.
“Bring a few more people along. If he acts alone, dispose of him then. Remember to be quick and clean; don’t leave any trouble behind.”
The two subordinates nodded again and quietly retreated.
Peter sat alone for a moment, his thoughts drifting back to the dwarf Barend.
Calculating the time, ten days had already passed. That matter hadn't been settled yet; there could be no mistakes.
He shook his head, pushing those stray thoughts to the back of his mind. For now, the priority was to deal with that foreign Healer.
...
Early the next morning, when Bai Xuan went downstairs, the lobby of the White Lion Inn was already filled with guests, sitting in small groups at tables eating and chatting.
Carrying his tray, he walked straight to a seat by the window. He ordered a bowl of wheat porridge and some brown bread, eating slowly while unobtrusively scanning the street across from him.
As expected, the two people following him were back.
They had changed into ordinary civilian clothes and moved to a more hidden position to try and mask their movements, but their faint, prying gazes could not fool Bai Xuan.
Bai Xuan took a bite of the bread and chewed slowly, his expression calm while his mind was already calculating.
It was a bit troublesome; they had clearly found out where he was staying and would likely keep a close eye on him from now on.
But looking at it from another perspective, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The more closely they watched him, the more it showed how much they cared about him.
And he could use this opportunity to create an opening for them, prying information about Barend and the Cross family from their mouths.
Having made up his mind, Bai Xuan finished his meal quickly, stood up, and walked out of the inn composedly.
Unsurprisingly, the two people immediately followed, maintaining a moderate distance as they covertly tracked him.
Bai Xuan didn't look back or pay them any mind, heading straight for the Adventurer’s Guild.
Pushing open the guild’s doors, the interior was slightly quieter than it had been at dawn. A few adventurers sat at long tables resting, while others stood before the commission board, carefully selecting suitable tasks.
Bai Xuan walked straight over, his gaze quickly scanning the various commissions.
Bronze Rank, Iron Rank, Bronze Rank, Bronze Rank... most were basic tasks with low difficulty.
Just then, his gaze stopped on a specific commission slip, and a flicker of understanding crossed his eyes.
【Bronze Rank Commission: Goblin activities in the Eastern Hills have become frequent lately, with multiple attacks on passing merchant caravans and nearby villagers, causing great distress to travel around the town.】
【Requirement: Clear the goblin nest in the Eastern Hills to completely eliminate the threat.】
【Risk: The estimated challenge level of the aforementioned monsters is approximately Lv. 2. The nest size is about 20 to 30, with a suspected great goblin leader present. Single-person risk is high.】
【Reward: Base reward of 60 silver coins. Additional payment of 2 silver coins per goblin ear or Magic Core. Magic Cores will be valued separately.】
【Special Note: It is recommended for teams to accept this together to increase the success rate.】
A goblin nest.
Bai Xuan felt a sense of irony. When he first arrived in Blackcreek Town, the first commission he took was also to clear a goblin nest. Truly, fate was unpredictable.
Now facing a similar task again, the roles were reversed.
He reached out to take the commission slip and walked to the front desk. Jiwa was currently looking down, organizing documents. When she saw him, she quickly took the slip and glanced at it.
“You want to take this?” Jiwa was somewhat surprised, looking up at him. “Going alone? This commission is recommended for teams. It’s too dangerous for one person.”
Bai Xuan simply gave a slight nod, his tone calm. “It’s fine. I can handle it.”
Seeing his firm attitude, Jiwa didn't try to persuade him further and quickly registered the information.
She then returned the commission slip to him, her tone carrying a hint of concern. “Then you must be careful. If there’s danger, retreat immediately.”
Bai Xuan tucked the slip away, gave Jiwa a slight nod, and turned to walk out of the Adventurer’s Guild.
The two people across the street were still there. Seeing him come out, one of them immediately turned and left quickly, obviously going to report. The other remained in place, staring intently at his movements.
Bai Xuan didn't care at all, heading straight toward the east side of town with a composed expression.
He walked very slowly, even taking a deliberate detour to leave enough time for the person reporting. What he wanted was for the other party to send more people.
The more people that came, the better. More people meant more talk, making it easier for them to reveal flaws and easier for him to get Barend’s whereabouts from them.
The goblin nest was in the hills to the east of town, about half a day’s walk away.
Bai Xuan stopped and started along the way, occasionally pausing to bend down and examine wild berries by the roadside, looking like he was on a leisurely stroll. He had completely disguised himself as a defenseless, ordinary Healer.
Before he knew it, the sun had reached the middle of the sky. By the time Bai Xuan arrived near the goblin nest, it was almost noon.
He climbed a small hill nearby and looked down from his vantage point, his gaze quickly scanning the terrain ahead.
Ahead was a patch of tangled shrubs and bushes, thick enough to hide movements.
Further in, several massive rocks were stacked together, forming a narrow gap where faint, dark shadows could be seen—clearly the entrance to the goblin nest.
Bai Xuan didn't move toward the nest immediately. Instead, he slowly turned around and cast his gaze toward the forest behind him. He knew those people had already caught up.
Sure enough, several figures were moving at the edge of the woods. Four people in total were hiding behind tree trunks, peeking out to observe his movements, clearly planning to ambush him while he was off guard.
Bai Xuan glanced at them, his mental probe instantly figuring out their strength, and a faint, barely perceptible smile touched his lips.
Two Lv. 4 and two Lv. 3.
Such a lineup was more than enough to deal with an ordinary Healer—it was practically overkill. Clearly, the other party was determined to see him dead.
It seemed his disguise as an ordinary Healer had been very successful.
But these people probably hadn't considered why a truly ordinary Healer would dare to take a team-based commission alone, or why he would venture into such remote hills by himself.
Bai Xuan slowly tightened his grip on the Staff of Guidance. His aura quietly grew heavy, yet he remained standing in place.
Bai Xuan slowly turned around, his gaze calmly sweeping over the nearby bushes as he spoke indifferently. “You’ve followed me for so long; isn't it time to come out?”
The area behind the bushes fell into a dead silence for two seconds before four figures slowly emerged from different directions.
Two Swordsmen stood in front, while two Assassins quietly flanked him from the sides, faintly surrounding Bai Xuan in the middle and forming a pincer movement that left him with nowhere to run.
“As expected.” The leading Lv. 4 Swordsman spoke first, his tone carrying a hint of the certainty he had anticipated. “You noticed we were following you long ago.”
Bai Xuan’s expression didn't change. He only watched him silently, without saying a word, his entire being exuding an air of unhurried composure.
Seeing this, the Lv. 4 Swordsman continued, “Deliberately slowing your pace and waiting for us all to arrive before calling us out... it seems you are quite confident.”
“A Healer who dares to take a commission to clear a goblin nest alone is either hiding some trump card or waiting for reinforcements.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he gave a look to the Assassins on the sides. The two Assassins immediately understood, their footsteps light as they pressed forward a few more steps, tightening the circle.
“But it doesn’t matter. We brought this many people just to be safe.” The Lv. 4 Swordsman’s mouth curled into a cruel smile. “We can deal with you before your reinforcements arrive. Even if they do show up, they’ll just be two more corpses.”
Bai Xuan was about to ask who their master was, but the four didn't waste any more time and immediately attacked.
The two Swordsmen led the charge from the front.
The two Assassins behind them used the bushes as cover, flanking him from the sides with swift, coordinated movements. Clearly, this wasn't their first time working together on an assassination mission.
In Bai Xuan’s vision, their movements were clearly visible. This little trick didn't cause even a ripple of emotion in him.
He stood in place, holding the Staff of Guidance without moving a muscle.
The coordination of the four was indeed skilled. The two Swordsmen were responsible for the frontal distraction while the two Assassins blocked his escape routes. It seemed flawless, but in Bai Xuan’s eyes, their movements were laughably slow.
The leading Lv. 4 Swordsman reached him first, his longsword raised high and swinging down with a sharp wind.
Bai Xuan shifted his body slightly. The blade whistled past his shoulder, catching a stray hair.
The Lv. 4 Swordsman’s eyes flashed with surprise, but he didn't stop. He flicked his wrist, bringing the sword back in a horizontal slash.
The Lv. 3 Swordsman followed closely behind, his sword thrusting toward the direction Bai Xuan would have to dodge, completely sealing his retreat.
At the same time, the two Assassins pounced from behind, their sharp daggers aiming for Bai Xuan’s back at a vicious, tricky angle.
Front, back, left, right—all escape routes were completely blocked. He was trapped.
The Lv. 4 Swordsman was secretly smug: Let’s see how you dodge this!
But he never expected that Bai Xuan hadn't planned on dodging at all.
Bai Xuan slowly raised the Staff of Guidance. He didn't activate any flashy skills; he simply swung it directly at the Lv. 4 Swordsman’s incoming blade.
The moment the staff was about to collide with the sword, Bai Xuan’s mind flickered, and he quietly activated the Staff of Guidance’s Spirit-Weight Equilibrium.
The sneer on the Lv. 4 Swordsman’s face instantly froze, replaced by extreme terror.
He felt as if his sword hadn't hit a slender staff, but had instead slammed into a charging, frenzied rhinoceros.
A colossal, boundless force surged up the blade, turning his arms numb.
With a crisp shattering sound, the longsword was instantly smashed into pieces.
The momentum of the staff didn't diminish at all, continuing forward with destructive force.
The Lv. 4 Swordsman was scared out of his wits. He instinctively crossed his arms over his chest and threw his body to the side, trying to avoid the fatal blow.
But his speed was ultimately a step too slow.
With a dull thud, the Staff of Guidance slammed into his arms. Two sickening cracks echoed as his arms shattered on the spot.
Fortunately for him, he had managed to slightly avoid a direct frontal impact, the staff only grazing the right side of his body.
Even so, the massive force instantly exploded the right side of his body into a mist of blood. Shredded meat and bone fragments flew out, splashing all over his three companions and Bai Xuan.
Time seemed to stand still in that moment.
The remaining three killers stood frozen, their weapons still raised in mid-air, but they didn't dare take another step forward.
They stared in horror at the mangled corpse of the Lv. 4 Swordsman as it slumped to the ground, then looked down at the blood and gore splattered on themselves. Their minds were blank, filled only with primal fear.
They were four people ambushing a seemingly weak Healer. How could it have turned out like this?
Bai Xuan looked down at the bloodstains and bits of flesh on his white robes, his brow furrowing slightly. There was no ripple of emotion in his expression, only a faint, barely detectable trace of disgust.
The first to snap out of the fear was the Lv. 3 Swordsman. Terrified beyond belief, he no longer cared about anything else, turning and sprinting toward the depths of the forest.
Bai Xuan backhanded the staff out. This time, he deliberately held back most of his strength.
Even so, when the staff hit the man’s back, his body buckled inward, folding as he was sent flying. He crashed heavily onto the ground and didn't move again.
On the other side, the two Assassins had already run a dozen paces, trying to use the bushes to make their escape.
Bai Xuan’s eyes turned cold, and he raised his hand, violently throwing the Staff of Guidance toward them.
Rate on N.U.
