The clerk led Xue Qiming and Xue Niang into an inner room and opened a hidden door. Xue Niang craned her neck to peek inside.
The clerk glanced at Xue Niang and then at Xue Qiming, his expression hesitant. He seemed to want to say something but held back.
Xue Qiming noticed and waved his hand impatiently. "What about it? She's my disciple. You wouldn't dare try to stop her, would you?"
The clerk quickly put on a fawning smile and bowed. "I wouldn’t dare... I wouldn’t dare..."
Xue Qiming patted Xue Niang on the back of her head and instructed the clerk, "Go about your business. I know the way."
The clerk responded repeatedly and backed out of the room.
Xue Niang looked past the hidden door where a staircase descended, and asked, "Are we going down?"
Xue Qiming nodded. "There are two levels underground. The assassins inside the guild handle orders deeper below, while departments like the Secretariat Pavilion, which manage files and documents, are on the second floor."
Xue Niang nodded, getting the gist of it.
"Let's go down," Xue Qiming said, taking Xue Niang's small hand with a smile. "Let's hope we're lucky and get a mission for our route. Otherwise, the two of us will have to beg our way to Miaojiang."
The staircase wasn’t long, but the dim lighting made going downstairs feel eerie. Xue Niang instinctively moved closer to Xue Qiming, relieved that it didn’t take long before her feet were back on solid ground. They appeared to have reached the bottom.
A doorway appeared ahead, covered only by a hanging curtain.
Xue Qiming, familiar with the place, stepped forward, lifted the curtain, and walked inside. The view opened up suddenly, revealing a brightly lit area.
Behind the curtain, the area within looked like a large mansion that had been divided into several rooms. As soon as Xue Qiming lifted the curtain, he almost bumped into someone coming out. He looked up and met the other person’s gaze. After a moment of eye contact, the person stepped aside, making way. Xue Qiming nodded at him and walked in with Xue Niang.
After walking a few steps, Xue Niang curiously glanced back and asked, "Was that person also an assassin?"
"Probably. Other than the stewards of the Ghostbane Association, only assassins come and go here. Besides, that person didn’t carry the air of a pen-pushing steward."
Xue Niang pursed her lips. "I thought he looked like a woodcutter based on his outfit."
Xue Qiming grinned. "If you could tell he’s an assassin at a glance, how would he ever get to kill anyone?"
As they talked, the two arrived at a room, and Xue Qiming led Xue Niang inside.
The room was quite spacious. Inside were several stewards seated in the inner area, along with Ghostbane Association assassins flipping through orders at desks.
Xue Qiming walked straight to one of the stewards, knocked on the desk, and asked across the counter, "Hey, do you have any bounties in the Shu Region or Miaojiang?"
The steward behind the counter looked up and sized up Xue Qiming. "We do. What class mission are you looking for?"
Xue Qiming thought for a moment. "Class A but Class B will do if there aren't any. Anything lower won’t earn much."
The steward’s gaze narrowed slightly. "Which branch are you from? I’ve never seen you before. What’s your alias?"
Xue Qiming grew impatient. "Why is the Chengdu branch so troublesome? Just give me the mission. What's with the questions?"
The steward wasn’t annoyed. He smiled and replied, "This is for your own good. Class A and B orders are usually only taken by those at the Earth rank or higher. If your skills are lacking, you’d just be throwing your life away. Losing your life is a small matter, but tarnishing the reputation of the Ghostbane Association is something we won't allow.."
Xue Qiming knocked his knuckles loudly on the table. "Nonsense. My skills are lacking? Be careful, or I might dig out your eyes as a snack to go with my wine!"
The steward snorted coldly and extended his hand, speaking in a deep voice. "Your token."
Xue Qiming pulled out his wooden token and slammed it onto the table.
The steward picked up the token, flipped it over, and his expression instantly changed.
"Heh." Xue Qiming grinned, baring his stark white teeth. He stared at the steward and asked, "Did you get a good look?"
The steward nodded blankly. "Y-Yes, I"
Xue Qiming asked again, "So, can I take the orders?"
The steward swallowed hard. "Yes, you can—"
Xue Qiming slapped the table with his palm.
"Then hurry up and bring them out!"
The steward was so startled that he flinched and scrambled to search through the cabinet. "Right away, right away!"
Moments later, the steward handed over a thin stack of rice paper along with Xue Qiming’s token. "Here are the Class A and B missions... they are all from the Shu Region and Miaojiang area..."
"That's so inefficient," Xue Qiming complained as he took the papers. He found a nearby stool and sat down to go through them. Xue Niang leaned over to take a look too.
"What kind of nonsense is this..." Xue Qiming frowned deeply as he read, muttering to himself, "Investigating a murder case? Isn't that something the government should do? How is it a Class A order?" He looked up at the steward and asked, "What’s going on? This should belong to the spy division, right? And it should only be a Mortal rank mission. Why did it get dumped here?"
The steward offered a nervous smile. "You might not know this, but this order originally belonged to the spy division. However, no one who accepted the mission came back alive, so it was moved up to Class A."
Xue Qiming pursed his lips. "This kind of thing is the worst. Troublesome and time-consuming. I’m not doing it." He tossed the paper aside and kept reading. Suddenly, he arched an eyebrow. "Rebel forces in Miaojiang? Tsk tsk, five thousand taels of gold to take the life of the rebel general?"
Xue Qiming looked at the steward again, a half-smile playing on his lips, and asked, "Interesting. So you’re handling all the imperial court’s dirty work? Investigating murders, killing rebels... if the Ghostbane Association does it all, what’s left for the court to do?"
The steward forced a smile. "Someone brought the order to the Ghostbane Association. There’s no reason for us to turn down business."
Xue Qiming thought for a moment. "This rebel general... is named Bahu? Where is he now?"
The steward chuckled. "General? They’re all self-proclaimed ranks. At best, he’s just the leader of one faction of the rebel forces. The rebellion started in Miaojiang, and Bahu’s faction has been advancing northward. He should currently be at the border between Miaojiang and its territories."
"A Miao tribesman?" Xue Qiming raised an eyebrow.
"Exactly," the steward replied.
Xue Qiming looked down at Xue Niang and asked softly, "Are they from your clan? You never told me your family was rebelling!"
Xue Niang shook her head. "They’re not from my family. They have the surname Ba, so they are from the Dark Miao tribe. My family’s surname is Lan, and is part of the Light Miao tribe."
Xue Qiming suddenly understood and slapped the table. "Alright, this one it is. I’ll take it!"
The steward nodded quickly. "I’ll register it for you right away. Once completed, you can turn it in at the Kunzhou Prefecture branch in Miaojiang."