Chapter 174
174 The fatal trap
Xia ping ‘an used her long-distance vision ability and stared at Xu GUI for three whole days.
In these three days, Xia ping ‘an finally knew how Xu GUI had tricked the kidnappers and controlled the women who had come to Shangjing.
Shangjing city was a rich and prosperous place in the great Shang kingdom. Because of this, almost every day, countless women with all sorts of thoughts would pour into this city from all directions.
Many women had never been to Shangjing city before. They had heard that there were many wealthy families in Shangjing city. Not only was it easy to make money in Shangjing city, but if they were not careful, they could also become phoenixes.
Those women who came to the capital alone or with one or two female companions were the targets of Xu GUI and his men.
Xu GUI’s subordinate opened a broker in the dock area, which was equivalent to an intermediary company. It promised to find jobs for people who came here. There were many people in the broker looking for targets at the dock every day. When they saw single women or one or two women who came in groups, the broker would strike up a conversation with them and promised to find them jobs like nannies, maidservants, and maids in Shangjing. The benefits were high and the pay was good. They were from rich families.
Many women had just arrived in Shangjing and did not have any other means to make a living. They were looking for ordinary jobs like this. When they heard the introduction of the broker, they would be tempted. Then, the broker would trick them into coming to the broker, sign a contract, train them for a few days, and send them to the brothels in Shangjing to work as maidservants or maids.
For most of the women who had just arrived at the brothel, they were resistant at the beginning. However, once they wanted to go back on their word, the broker would immediately take out a contract and make them pay if they did not work.
Many women would give in at this time, thinking that they could just stay in the brothel for a while before leaving. And when the woman thought of it this way, it was over.
The environment of a brothel was a big dye vat for women.
When women who worked as maids found that their monthly salary of serving people in brothels was less than that of other women who worked in bed for one night, they would feel unbalanced and easily be dragged into the water and walk on the road of no return.
Only one or two of them wanted to go back on their word. The broker then took out the contract and demanded the woman to pay for breaking the contract. That woman would also take the high-interest loan. At this time, Xu GUI and his subordinates would use some tricks, such as threats, promises, and threats. As a result, 95% of the women would return to the brothel.
Many women couldn’t take it anymore and committed suicide at this time.
The head of the Ivory store was Xu GUI’s subordinate, not Xu GUI. Superficially, Xu GUI had opened a “Guili firm,” which was involved in the business of raw silk, cotton cloth and tea leaves. He didn’t care about the affairs of the Ivory store at all. No matter what, the “contract disputes” between the Ivory store and those women would never reach him even if they were sued. By contrast, Xu GUI transferred the profits of the Ivory store to “Guili firm” through the commercial exchanges between the Ivory store and the “Guili firm.”
Xu GUI’s Black market combined the use of contracts and human weaknesses to control and enslave women. He was so good at it that the police couldn’t find anything to use against him.
Using this method, Xu GUI had cheated countless women in Shangjing over the years.
This guy indeed deserved to die.
However, it would not be easy to kill him.
This was because Xu GUI had a Summoner that he had spent a lot of money to hire as a bodyguard.
Xu GUI’s Summoner bodyguard and Xu GUI were inseparable. Wherever Xu GUI went, the summoner would follow. Even when Xu GUI slept at night, the summoner would sleep next to Xu GUI’s room.
In addition to the summoner, Xu GUI also had a few guards with loaded guns. They followed him every day to ensure his safety.
Probably because he had done too many shameful things, Xu GUI lived a very careful life, afraid that someone would take revenge on him. Even the food he ate for every meal had to be tested for poison before he dared to eat it.
Under such circumstances, taking Xu GUI’s life would be a real test.
He definitely couldn’t force it. Xu GUI’s Summoner bodyguard wasn’t someone to be taken lightly.
The possibility of poisoning could also be ruled out.
Xu GUI usually lived in seclusion, so it wasn’t easy to find an opportunity to strike.
Xia ping ‘an finally understood why the Shadow Guard had given him the first mission to take Xu GUI’s life. This Xu GUI’s life was indeed not easy to take. The difficult part was how to kill Xu GUI without exposing himself and making contact with the summoner.
However, after watching Xu GUI for three days, Xia ping ‘an also discovered a hobby of Xu GUI’s, or rather, a living habit.
Xu GUI liked swimming.
Every afternoon, Xu GUI would leave his home or the “Guili enterprise” and go to a River near the sea in Shangjing to swim for a while.
Xu GUI was good at swimming. He especially liked to stand on a big rock on the riverbank and jump into the river from a height of seven or eight meters.
However, every time Xu GUI went for a swim, his bodyguards would clear the area and guard both sides of the river to prevent others from getting close. The water in the river was so clear that you could see the bottom, and it led directly to the sea. It was not easy to poison or hide people in the river.
However, this was not a problem for Xia ping ‘an. After observing Xu GUI for three days, a plan to kill Xu GUI had quietly taken shape in Xia ping’ an’s mind.
On the afternoon of the fourth day after receiving this task, Xia ping ‘an, who was well-prepared, first came to the small river where Xu GUI swam every day.
The small river was located on a mountain ridge. The surrounding environment was quite quiet, and there were almost no people around.
The sun was shining high above their heads, birds were chirping in the mountains, and the trees were green by the river. Xia Pingan took off her clothes and went into the water first, more than 200 meters upstream from where Xu GUI usually went into the water.
The river water here was so clear that the bottom could be seen. Standing by the river and looking through the sparkling surface of the river, one could see the cobblestones and fine sand in the river clearly.
After making sure that no one was around, Xia Pingan started to make a move in the water.
Under the surface of the water, Xia Pingan used 36 points of divine power to summon a Black Tortoise.
The Black Tortoise was a divine beast that could control water. It was very happy in the water.
Xia Pingan brought a few big rocks from the bottom of the river and asked the Black Tortoise to completely freeze the water around the big rocks, forming an ice base.
Ordinary ice blocks would float on the water surface; however, the ice blocks with stones inside would sink into the water instead of floating on the water surface. Additionally, the ice blocks were frozen by the river water. They were crystal clear and were as transparent as a piece of glass in the water. There was no abnormality at all.
After the big ice block was placed in the water, Xia Pingan had the Black Tortoise freeze the base of the ice block and grow more than three feet long ice thorns that were as sharp as knives and arrows.
As a result, the huge block of ice was completely transparent at the bottom of the water like a bayonet in a trap. Unless entering the water and cutting one’s hand by touching it, one could not find any abnormal phenomenon on the bank.
After doing all this, Xia ping ‘an carried this thing from the bottom of the water and swam down step by step to the place where Xu GUI had jumped into the water. After making some arrangements in the water, Xia ping’ an quickly swam back to the place where he had just jumped into the water. He put on his clothes and waited for Xu GUI to arrive.
Xu GUI arrived as scheduled.
Xu GUI’s Summoner bodyguard also arrived.
Xu GUI’s Summoner bodyguard first checked the place where Xu GUI was swimming. There were no fluctuations of divine power within a hundred meters, and no one. Then he nodded to Xu GUI and stepped aside.
After checking both sides of the river, Xu GUI’s bodyguards found that everything was as normal as before. After taking off his clothes, Xu GUI directly climbed onto the big rock where he usually jumped into the water. After stretching his limbs and drinking a mouth of the warm liquor given by the girl beside him, he laughed and touched his bald head. Closely after that, he dove into the river. Xu GUI’s movements were elegant and Swift like a legendary white-striped reeds in the waves.
What Xu GUI did not know was that there was a Dragon rearing platform in the clear river.
The moment Xu GUI entered the water, there was a small splash, but the river water instantly turned dark red.
Xu GUI’s body was pierced through by more than ten sharp and transparent ice thorns, which pierced the bottom of the river. One of the ice thorns directly went through Xu GUI’s eyes and head, penetrating his entire body.
“There’s an assassin!” Xu GUI’s guard shouted out in alarm. The two women who had followed Xu GUI here were so frightened by the scene in the river that they screamed.
Xu GUI’s Summoner bodyguard roared and pointed his finger. A wave lifted Xu GUI out of the water, but he was not breathing.