When Chai Wang saw Xu Mu preparing to leave, he quickly stopped him.
He knew full well that with how bad things had gotten between the Chai and Xu families, Xu Mu would surely go to the police.
He had countless assets in hand — but if he died, none of that wealth could be taken with him.
He needed to stall Xu Mu, at least long enough to buy time.
Anyone sitting in his position would never allow others to hold such damning evidence against them — otherwise, they'd forever be at someone's mercy.
Xu Mu must die.
"Good. That's what I wanted to hear," Xu Mu said calmly. "Wait a second — let me see how much they're asking for."
Xu Mu hadn't contacted Yun Wu from Moonlit Dancer this time because one of the targets was Fang Chu.
Fang Chu was the male lead — Yun Wu wouldn't stand a chance against him.
Of course, even Rank-6 assassin Black Robe wouldn't be a match for Fang Chu either.
Xu Mu's goal in hiring him wasn't to win — he just wanted to witness Fang Chu's true strength with his own eyes.
If Fang Chu turned out to be unimpressive, Xu Mu planned to find another opportunity to personally send him to his grave.
There was a reason he chose Black Robe: in the novel's plot, the man was mentioned only once — described as cruel and bloodthirsty, with a penchant for torture and murder.
So even if he died, Xu Mu wouldn't feel the slightest pity.
He had actually wanted to hire someone ranked even higher — perhaps one of the top four killers on the Death List.
But he knew that would be nearly impossible.
Even if he managed to contact them, the Chai family couldn't possibly afford it.
At that level, money was meaningless. Those assassins didn't take currency — they demanded something else.
If one could provide what they wanted, they'd owe a favor — and might agree to kill someone in return.
"Oh, right. Give me high-resolution photos of Fang Chu and Dai Dongyang. Don't tell me you don't have them."
Xu Mu was already contacting the service representative.
Death List assassins didn't speak to clients directly — all communication went through dedicated customer service.
Chai Wang didn't dare refuse; he immediately sent over the two photos.
Following the representative's instructions, Xu Mu filled in the names, photos, and identity details.
When listing Fang Chu's realm, however, he only wrote mid-stage Hidden Force.
If he wrote it too high, the assassin might decline the job.
A few minutes later, a message came back.
Customer Service: "Hello, sir. After our 'Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts' review, Dai Dongyang has been identified as a genius from a hidden clan — the fee is 20 billion.
As for Fang Chu, also a martial artist, Mr. Black Robe's minimum rate is 5 billion."
Xu Mu nodded slightly — that was about what he expected.
He turned his phone toward Chai Wang. "Twenty and 5 billion."
Chai Wang cursed silently. Do I look like I have that much?
20 and 5 billion… how many years would it take his entertainment businesses to earn that back?
How many endorsement deals would his celebrities have to take just to make up the loss?
But he had no choice — if he didn't pay up now, Xu Mu could report him at any moment.
He regretted everything. If only he'd refused Fang Chu from the start instead of siding against the Xu family.
But it was far too late for that now.
"Xu Mu, could you give me a few days? I can't pull out that much cash all at once," Chai Wang pleaded.
"A few days? By then, the old man from the Nangong family will have already celebrated his birthday."
Xu Mu's tone hardened. "Today. When you were waging business wars against my family, didn't you have plenty of money? Where is it now?"
Chai Wang had no response.
Still, he wasn't stupid — liquidating his assets too quickly would only drive prices down, and the Chai family couldn't withstand such losses.
He came up with another plan — taking out a bank loan.
For someone of his status, borrowing two to 30 billion wasn't hard.
He immediately called his company's president and told him to handle the banking procedures.
"Xu Mu, why don't you leave me your account number? I guarantee the money will be transferred before the bank closes today," Chai Wang said. "If it isn't, you can go straight to the police."
Xu Mu thought for a moment, then nodded slightly.
Chai Wang wouldn't dare run — his crime was too severe. Even if he fled abroad, he'd be extradited back.
"Alright then. I'll be waiting for your money," Xu Mu said, patting his shoulder before leaving.
"But if you warn Fang Chu or Dai Dongyang ahead of time, you're finished."
Chai Wang's body trembled. Was Xu Mu a worm in my stomach?
He had been thinking of alerting Fang Chu and Dai Dongyang to discuss a countermeasure.
Watching Xu Mu's departing figure, his eyes turned venomous.
The Xu family must be destroyed — especially Xu Mu!
After handling all his business for the day, Xu Mu drove back to Jiang City.
Along the way, he received a call from Li Yun.
She said that Zhao Yingying was safe now.
With the new evidence presented, Zhao Yingying had been released on bail.
The lawyer had even shown the video to Zhao Ping and explained the relevant laws — then added,
"We'll request the court to investigate Zhao Ping's and his family's recent bank transactions."
Zhao Ping was so terrified that he immediately withdrew the lawsuit.
Li Yun then invited Xu Mu over for dinner.
After some thought, he agreed — he'd been so busy all day he hadn't earned a single Fate Point.
When he arrived at Li Yun's house, she was in a dress, slicing vegetables in the kitchen. She had prepared hotpot for dinner.
"Brother Mu, thank you for clearing my name," Zhao Yingying said tearfully, grabbing Xu Mu's hand as soon as he entered.
[Favorability +30]
She was still dazed — if not for Xu Mu, she wouldn't have known what to do.
"We're all on the same side," Xu Mu said with a smile, ruffling her hair.
When Li Yun came out of the kitchen and saw Xu Mu, she didn't even know where to look. Her heart began to race uncontrollably.
[Favorability +30]
And when she saw Zhao Yingying clinging to Xu Mu like that, something in her chest felt off.
But what was done was done — regret was useless now.
She decided to keep things open — she hadn't planned to find another man anyway.
"Xiao Mu, come sit down. Dinner's ready," Li Yun said with a smile.
"Okay, Sister Yun," Xu Mu replied.
"Huh? Brother Mu, why are you calling her Sister Yun now? Doesn't that make her a generation older than me?" Zhao Yingying asked playfully.
"Each of us calls her what we want," Xu Mu said with a grin. "When I go out with Sister Yun, people always think we're siblings."
Li Yun lowered her head, cheeks slightly flushed.
[Favorability +10]
Zhao Yingying laughed. "That's true — people often think we're sisters too."
While they were eating, Xu Mu's phone buzzed again — it was a message from the Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts customer service.
Customer Service: "Sir, have you decided not to go through with the hit?"
Xu Mu thought for a moment before replying, "Too expensive. I'm still thinking."
Customer Service: "Mr. Black Robe happens to be in Jiangbei these days. He'd like to take the job while he's nearby."
Xu Mu: "No money. How about ten billion off?"
Customer Service: "Deal."
"...?"
Xu Mu cursed inwardly — he'd asked for too little. Who knew you could even haggle with assassins?
Still, it wasn't his money, so he didn't care. There'd even be ten billion left in the account — a pleasant surprise.
After dinner, Xu Mu had planned to discuss Heavenly-Grade Lightning Arts with Li Yun,
but before he could, Ye Tong called.
He answered immediately. "What's wrong?"
"Honey, my brother's back," Ye Tong said cheerfully. "He wants to invite us to dinner."