Mercenary Harem in Murim Novel

No one said anything. They were aware that he was right. In a sense, they could understand his anger and desperation. And the Elders didn\'t want the Patriarch to make a decision. Everyone sought the opportunity to get the highest position.

"Patriarch, how about we vote? Let us decide through democracy." Tang Heng proposed, "This is a serious matter, and we can\'t just sit here and do nothing. We need to take action."

The others nodded their heads, agreeing with his idea.

"I will support the voting system."

Having no other choice, Tang Jiaofu nodded his head.

"Alright, then we will start the voting."

He waved his hand, and a servant came in with a piece of paper and a brush.

"Everyone, write your answer. What should we do in this situation? Find the traitors and execute them or keep searching for more evidence?"

The hall was filled with the sound of scribbling. After a few minutes, the servants collected the paper and handed it to the Patriarch.

"Let\'s tally the result."

"Yes, Patriarch."

Tang Jiaofu\'s expression worsened after looking at it one by one.

To find the traitors, something had to be sacrificed. And this time, the sacrifice was his reputation. He had a bad feeling about the future.

A few minutes later, he cleared his throat and said, "Then, I will announce the result of this meeting."

Everyone looked at him, waiting for the result.

"As of today, we will not focus on the traitor. We will investigate more thoroughly and find out the source of the problem. But our priority is the clan\'s reputation and stability. That\'s all."

Majority of Elders voted to focus on the clan\'s reputation. Tang Jiaofu\'s face became paler and paler, but he said nothing.

"That\'s it. Meeting adjourned."

After the meeting was over, the Elders dispersed. Some went back to their own room, while the rest decided to meet somewhere else and discuss the issue in detail.

As for Tang Jiaofu himself, he stood up and left the hall. It had been 7 days since he last slept, but he couldn\'t rest yet. There were still documents he had to check and the problem that he needed to solve.

Spreading his Qi thinly, he wanted to ensure that no one was following him. As a 8 Stars Martial Artist that specialized in a poison and medicine that delved into the life and death realm, detecting life energy was easy. And he found something interesting.

In one part of this mansion, near his room, he found a part that he couldn\'t detect. This hadn\'t happened before, and he knew this wasn\'t ordinary.

\'An assassin?\' He narrowed his eyes.

At that moment, a voice rang in the room.

"Hmm? Oh! You\'re able to feel my presence? That\'s strange. I am sure I can\'t be felt or even be detected by anyone or machine."

"Who are you?!" Tang Jiaofu roared. His Qi began to gather in his hand, creating a green sphere of energy.

"Oh, calm down, sir."

Suddenly, the space seemed to distort and a figure appeared from thin air. She was a beautiful girl with a blonde air. Her clothes were skin tight and strange. But the feature that stood out the most from her was her clawed hands.

"Hmm... Should I kill him? Leader\'s order is to collect information, but I was found. I can\'t allow anyone to see me."

Her face changed into a dangerous expression as she mumbled quietly. A second later, she jumped toward the shocked Tang Jiaofu. Her speed was fast, and her claws were ready to tear him apart.

At the same time, Tang Jiaofu reacted quickly and said,

"Wait, are you from Hallowed Insect?"

The girl, Anya\'s clawed hand stopped right in front of his eyes. His Qi defense was breached easily. If she iwas serious at targeting him, he might be gone already without being able to react.

"Huh? What\'s that? Are you talking about our group? Yes, I am from the Hallowed Insect. Why?"

"I have a request." Tang Jiaofu said.

From the meeting earlier, he knew that the traitor had probably taken over a deep root in the Tang Clan. And this girl, from what he saw, was here not to assassinate him. Then, there was only one option.

\'She\'s gathering information. The Hallowed Insect probably found something and decided to send this extraordinary girl to investigate.\'

He had to use this chance.

"What\'s the request, sir?" Anya asked, trying to be as polite as possible. But she still didn\'t retract her claws yet.

She might look naive, but she wasn\'t stupid. Her life had resolved around the battlefield where getting betrayed was normal.

But from the information she gathered, this person here might be the patriarch that her Leader talked about once before. One of a \'good\' person in this world filled with people who only cared about themselves. Meaning, a potential client.

So she would hear him out before deciding what she would do next.

"I want to hire you. Your group. Please, help me find the traitors who side with Supreme Evil within our Tang Clan."

"Traitors...?" She blinked her eyes a few times, "Hmm, why should we care about your internal problems?"

"I\'ll pay anything."

Right now, Tang Jiaofu couldn\'t believe his own clansmen. They were too busy with their own agenda, and he didn\'t trust anyone. At least, this group seemed neutral and didn\'t care about the Murim world\'s politics.

\'But I shouldn\'t trust them blindly either. I need to keep my guard up. I don\'t have much time. I need to act now.\'

Anya blinked her eyes a few times before a big grin appeared on her face.

"Are they Venom Sect people?" She asked innocently.

However, that question enlightened the truth to Tang Jiaofu. He had never considered that possibility before.

Venom Sect had been long since gone. Hundreds of years had passed since they were destroyed and absorbed into the Tang Clan as the Poison Sect. All their members were killed or enslaved.

Yet, there were some remnants who had survived and were hiding within the Clan.

This information alone was worth thousands of Golds.

\'I should\'ve guessed it!\'

Tang Yao was replaced by no one but Supreme Evil\'s followers. He had acted as the patriarch\'s second son for too long.

When Tang Jiaofu saw his fake son\'s transformation, with scales growing on his body, he understood that his son was dead and replaced by an evil entity.

Scales and murky Qi. He should\'ve noticed it earlier.

"I see... So that\'s the case." He nodded his head.

Anya had no idea what was going through his mind. But, from the look on his face, he seemed to be in deep thought. Not that it was that important to her.

"Hello~? Is your offer still valid, mister?" She asked again, waving her hand in front of his eyes.

"Yes, yes, of course. You will get paid as much as you want. So, can we make a deal? Just tell me the identity of the traitor. I will pay 500 Golds for each name. If you are able to bring evidence, I will pay an extra 500."

That meant a thousand Golds each traitor if she could bring evidence too. Tang Clan was willing to spend a fortune just to find the traitor.

Anya was happy with the deal. Her private job from her Leader was to collect information. If she could bring money back while doing the same job, she was willing to do it.

"Deal!" She exclaimed energetically, "Shall we write the contract?"

"No need. I trust you."

Tang Jiaofu was a cautious man. He wouldn\'t put his signature on the contract. At least not in a secretive work like this.

"This will be kept between us. Or maybe also your Leader if you have to report it."

"Don\'t worry, mister. My Leader knows about the mission. He\'s the one who assigned me."

Anya didn\'t say anything else. She didn\'t know how to explain her Leader\'s genius plan. He surely knew that the Tang Clan\'s patriarch needed to hire them. That was why he sent her to this place to investigate.

\'There is no coincidence in this world.\' She remembered her Leader\'s words before he assigned her a mission, \'That\'s right. It\'s all within his plan.\'

"Good, then I\'ll leave it to you."

Tang Jiaofu smiled and sighed deeply. Having finished her business, Anya disappeared once again.

Finally, he could rest. The weight on his shoulders felt lighter. He tried to sense her, but this time he was unable to. She had learned her mistake and learned how to hide herself from him almost instantly.

\'What a terrifying talent. I wonder if she\'s willing to work under me.\'

Maybe it was a mistake not to fight her. But he thought it was a better option to make them his allies.

\'Well, it\'s not like I can defeat her anyway. At least, not alone.\'

With a bitter smile, Tang Jiaofu sat behind his desk. He had a lot of work to do and no time to waste.

As for Anya, she secretly communicated with Leo to report about her new job. She sounded pretty excited to secure a personal job from Tang Clan\'s patriarch by herself.