Rise of The Demon General

Chapter 257: Chapter 257. A Mission with Ties to Demons

Sui Kui was surprised to see the face behind the mask. He found it hard to believe the leader of the Demon Gang was such a young man, but then he gazed into Amon’s eyes. All of a sudden, he didn’t believe the person before him was young anymore. He had dealt with a lot of shady people and developed an instinct for judging a person. His instinct told him the person before him was not someone he should mess with.

Sui Kui sat back in his chair. ”What message do you want me to deliver?” He asked.

”First, let us set the ground rules,” Amon said. ”I am sending a message to the rebels, but never let them know from whom the message comes. I only deal with you. Otherwise, I would pry the rebels’ location from the guy we captured before handing him to the authorities. Is that clear?”

”I can work with that,” Sui Kui said. He preferred it this way. He had worked as an intermediary for a long time. He found it better if the parties he brought together didn’t know each other’s identity. In this way, his importance to both sides was guaranteed. Neither side was likely to replace him.

”The other rule. My message will be in the form of a letter,” Amon said while producing a folded letter with a seal. ”You are not to give in to your curiosity and never try reading the letter.”

”I am a professional. I never mess with the package I deliver.”

Sui Kui’s hand went to grab Amon’s letter, but Amon moved it away from his grip.

Amon said, ”If you break these rules, the consequence will not only be the termination of our collaboration. It will be the termination of your life. Do we have an understanding?”

Sui Kui gulped. ”Don’t worry. The reputation of your Demon Gang is well-known.”

Amon put the letter in Sui Kui’s hand. ”This letter is for either one of the three rebel elders.”

Sui Kui’s eyes widened upon hearing that. ”Are you nuts? Even I never laid eyes on the elders.”

”Just tell your contact the letter has something to do with the Allure Beacon. That should convince them enough to get the letter to the rebel elder.”

”Allure beacon? What is that?” Sui Kui asked.

”What did I say before about giving in to your curiosity?”

Sui Kui shrugged. ”Very well,” he said, storing both the letter and the bag filled with aer stones into his space ring.

”If you have a reply, pass a message to one of my people to arrange a meeting. Do not deliver the reply to anyone but me,” Amon said. ”None of my people or anyone else, for that matter, should know about our deal. This is a secret between you and me. Currently, only I and one of my trusted followers know that you have anything to do with the rebels. I believe you agree that the less who know about this, the better.”

Sui Kui nodded.

Amon resumed, ”If I want to send another message, I will find you. I know where you live.”

Sui Kui displayed a concerned face. ”You do?”

”Of course. In case you are thinking about relocating. Don’t bother. My people will just follow you to your new place.”

”Ugh... How do you know I have anything to do with the rebels, anyway? I believe I am always careful,” Sui Kui asked.

”You are, but not enough,” Amon said. ”You helped a rebel spy named Jian Dao flee this city. With enough investigation, I uncovered you are the most likely suspect who aided him. When I learned that you are also someone who sells smuggled goods, I had my people contact you to establish a relationship. From there, we started monitoring you until we got the confirmation that you are a rebel contact.”

”Tsk... So, our business is just a ruse?”

”Not really. We truly need Flame Powder. I see it as killing two birds with one stone. We will continue to buy the powder if you can continue to supply it. I believe you got the product from the rebels as well, didn’t you?”

”A good merchant never reveals its supplier,” Sui Kui said.

”Heh,” Amon chuckled. He put the demon mask back on and stood. He walked to Sui Kui’s side and put a hand on him. ”Don’t think about playing me, Sui Kui. If you follow my rules, you will be rich. If you don’t, I assure you, you will regret it.”

Sui Kui didn’t respond. Amon didn’t say anything more. He walked out of the teahouse. Sui Kui stared at Amon’s back as he left, unsure whether this arrangement was a boon or a calamity.

*

Nearing the end of the first year of the Junior class, Amon was at the Mission Center, staring at one of the mission boards. The mission listed on that board was the one he usually took.

Most of the missions he took fell into two categories. The first was to rout a bandit group. The second was missions with something to do with rumors about demon practitioners. He rarely took missions that dealt with spirit beasts, even though those missions were aplenty.

The one he was currently staring at was a mission that fell into the second category. He had taken such missions in the past, but they all turned out to be false rumors. He never met a demon practitioner. This was not strange. All encountered demon practitioners were being purged whenever found. Even if some existed, they were deep in hiding.

For this reason, there were never many missions in this category. Hence, if he found such a mission, he would make it a priority to snatch it. This time, unfortunately, someone beat him to it.

’Motherfucker, who took it first? This kind of mission is usually unpopular,’ Amon cursed in his mind.

A mission could only be handled by the first student who handed in the request. This was to avoid conflicts of interest. Some missions allowed more than one student to complete the task, but it was the first student who requested the mission who could decide who may accompany him.

Amon didn’t spend too much time staring at the board. He had the habit of sifting through multiple mission boards before handing in his mission requests to throw anyone watching him off his scent.

Someone stood in his way when he was moving away. It was Tuang Yin.

”I’ve been waiting for you,” she said. ”I know you will be interested in that mission. Guess who took it? So, how about we do the mission together?”

Amon sighed. ”No,” Amon said aloud. He resumed walking and passed Tuang Yin. Tuang Yin just looked at him.

Amon walked around the Mission Center a little longer before leaving the place without taking any mission. He returned to his residence. Inside, Tuang Yin was waiting. When Amon walked past her earlier, he whispered to tell her to go to his house.

”Do not pull this kind of stunt again. I’m serious,” Amon warned.

Tuang Yin pouted. ”What can I do? You never allow me to follow you on a mission. You are always busy. We rarely spend time together.”

”You should have known this from the start. I’m not someone who has the time for romance crap. Go find someone else if you are not content.”

”Ugh... You are mean, do you know that?”

”I know.”

”Fine! I will hand back this mission. You can take it once I do,” Tuang Yin said.

”No. It will be too obvious. If anyone is watching, they will know I am the one taking the mission after you hand it back.”

”You are truly paranoid. Is that truly necessary?”

”I am just being careful,” Amon answered. ”Plus, you will have your academic points subtracted if you hand the mission back without completing it.”

”Oh...! I’m so happy that you care,” Tuang Yin uttered.

”Cut the crap,” Amon said. ”If anyone was watching us at the Mission Center, they should have seen me rejecting your offer. We go separately to the stables at the edge of the city. We meet there and hire enhanced horses to go to the mission’s location.”

”How about inviting Wu Di and Xin Wuming?” Tuang Yin asked. ”This mission allows a maximum of four students to participate.”

”No,” Amon said firmly. He had a reason for taking missions containing rumors about demon practitioners. The fewer people were on the mission, the better.

”Fine to me. That means I get you all to myself,” Tuang Yin said. ”But we don’t need to go to the stables. The mission location is pretty far and isolated. The secure roads to that place are winding. Even the fastest enhanced horse should take us around two weeks to arrive. My clan has the privilege to use sky stables. We can go to the one in this city and rent a great eagle. With that beast, we can arrive in just one day.”