Bai Hu used an Earth Burrowing Talisman to get underground and used an Aura Concealing Talisman to hide his presence.
Half an hour later, the assassin appeared right outside the fog. He frowned when observing the thick fog that prevented him from seeing more than a few feet from him.
"Weird, the info of this area says that this should be a simple forest housing some common beasts. There shouldn't be any fog here"
He took out his compass and saw that the arrow was indeed pointed into the fog.
Right now he was deliberating whether or not he should go into the fog to look for his target or retreat and report this anomaly. Going in would mean potential danger, and backing out would make him a laughing stock.
Pondering this for a while, the man grit his teeth and activated a stealth technique. The reward was too tempting for him to refuse, and going back would mean that he would have to share it.
Unbeknownst to him, his target was underground, hiding and waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike. Their roles in this cat and mouse game are now reversed.
The assassin carefully entered the thick fog, occasionally looking at his compass to make sure he was going in the right direction. Not too long after, he stopped in his tracks.
The compass that he was using to track Bai Hu was now spinning crazily instead of pointing in one direction.
"What?"
He smacked the device a few times but to no avail. The fog had gotten thicker and he assumed that it was interfering with the device's functions.
About to stomp away in frustration, a gray glint at the corner of his vision caught his eye.
Curious, the man walked over and bent down to observe the stump of one tree.
Swish!
"Argh!"
Like a viper lying in wait, the object shot out and took his ear in the process.
Thump!
He tumbled down while pressing a hand against the left side of his face, blood pouring out like a fountain.
"W-who is it!?"
At this moment, he'd already forgotten the number 1 rule amongst assassins. Never reveal yourself until the moment you strike to take a life.
All he could see was an endless fog and an occasional streak of gray light. He clumsily took out some recovery pills from his spatial pouch and consumed them, before circulating his qi to form a barrier.
Underground, Bai Hu sneered at the amateurish movements of the man. He clearly was a rookie who hasn't experienced any tough battles, much less life and death situations.
Aboveground, the man tried to quickly leave the foggy area while defending against the gray light. However, after a few minutes of running, he chanced upon a familiar set of trees, and that's when he realized how screwed he was.
"Formation!"
"W-who is it?! Come out instead of hiding!"
Just then, a black spear shot out of the earth in an attempt to kill its target. Unfortunately, if the assassin had some skill, it was definitely reaction speed.
Sensing the spear, the assassin jumped up into the air and landed on top of a tree branch. A gray streak tried to attack him from behind but only managed to nick his arm.
"Damn it!"
Under normal circumstances, the assassin would have been able to react to these attacks. However, Bai Hu's dagger possesses some stealth capabilities and is much harder to react to.
Bai Hu finally emerged from the ground and took out all his magic treasures.
"You!"
"Enough talk"
Weng!
The metal beads formed a domain that slowed down foreign objects and beings. The assassin immediately felt suppressed and tried to exit the field of suppression, only for Bai Hu to appear behind him and stab forth with his sword.
Clang!
The man had taken out a black dagger around a foot in length to block Bai Hu's sword.
Swish!
A small silver bird appeared out of the sword and ripped off the mask covering the man's face. Not feeling any killing intent behind this move, he couldn't react in time and was exposed.
"What?"
Just as the man reeled back in surprise, Bai Hu had already taken out a photographic jade and recorded his face.
It was the face of a middle aged man whose skin looked like it was being stretched thin. Other than that, there were no notable features to be seen. Bai Hu raised his eyebrows seeing the assassin's face as he had expected a young man after hearing his voice.
The assassin's face seemed to twist when he saw Bai Hu's expression. His face has always been a sore spot and was the result of practicing the wrong cultivation technique. After being rejected by many girls, he decided to become an assassin and hide his face.
Gritting his teeth, the man spat out a few drops of blood essence onto his boots and tried to run away. Bai Hu noticed that the boots were surprisingly high grade magic treasures and they glowed when the blood essence was absorbed into them.
The patterns on them lit up and a cool gale carried the man away. Bai Hu quickly moved to catch up but was surprised to see that the man was at least double his speed. The only reason he was still here was because of the Formations in the area.
Right now, the assassin was panicking. The many Formations that Bai Hu had put down was forcing him in, and without extensive knowledge of how to break out of such Formations, he was pretty much a sitting duck.
Whoosh!
He looked back and almost had a heart attack after seeing Bai Hu leave trails of wind and lightning in his wake. His speed instantly increased dramatically and nearly caught up with him.
With great difficulty, he spat out a few more drops of blood essence. This time though, his speed only increased a little bit.
Then, the cold voice above him was the last thing he heard.
"You're dead"
Swish!
Bai Hu stood over the now headless assassin and picked out his spatial pouch before setting the rest on fire. Surprisingly, the boots that he wore were unharmed and Bai Hu inspected it closer.
Judging by its aura, it was a high grade magic treasure of the wind element. He tried them on and they shrank to fit his feet.
Whoosh!
With a small injection of wind element qi, Bai Hu disappeared and reappeared several meters away in an instant. The smile on his face made it clear that he was quite pleased with this magic treasure.
Wind and lightning attributed items are rare and in high demand. Even people without those attributes would want those things and sometimes try to forcefully use them due to their power.
The assassin was one of those people, keeping the treasure as a trump card to use when no other methods work. Unfortunately, he could not match up to someone with innate wind and lightning elements, even losing his life and giving Bai Hu a magic treasure that suited him.
Bai Hu looked through the spatial pouch and found over 1000 spirit stones and the black dagger that he had used, a decent amount of wealth for someone at the Qi Refinement stage.
There was even a stealth technique of the Earth grade, much to Bai Hu's surprise. However, when he read through it, he quickly deduced that it was an unconventional method with many flaws and drawbacks.
After burning the book inside a bonfire that used flesh as kindling, Bai Hu left the crime scene in a hurry to make more money.
Inside the Inner Court however, a jade tablet snapped, alerting an elderly man sitting in meditation.
"Hmm"
He looked at the name engraved on the jade tablet before taking out a messaging talisman.
"To the Job Department: Number 11285 died. Write a report to the Archive Department on what job they took and investigate who or what killed them. Wait for further instructions"
With a wave of his hand, the talisman flew away leaving a trail of light in its wake. Shortly after, it appeared inside an underground area and into the hands of a masked man sitting by a desk. A board behind him held the profiles of several people, some with a red X marked over their faces.
Reading the message contained in the talisman, the masked man reached for a piece of jade. Several minutes later, another talisman flew out.
Finally, the talisman reached a different section of the underground area and into the hands of a woman dressed in revealing purple robes with matching purple hair. With blue eyes and a voluptuous figure, she was a clear seductress.
Her melodious voice filled the chamber, "Fill out the paperwork for me"
A figure resembling a shadow emerged from the darkness and took the talisman from the woman. She stretched, arching her back and showing off her bountiful assets. The shadow-like person showed no reaction and prepared to walk away when the woman gave another order.
"Find out more about that boy. The target, not the assassin"
The person merely paused for a brief moment before leaving to carry out their duties.
The woman set down the pipe that she was smoking with and a predatory look appeared on her fair and perfectly symmetrical face.
"What a handsome young man~"
She licked her lips and a blush appeared on her face, making her look even more stunning, "I wonder what he tastes like~"