CHAPTER 541: CHAPTER 541. THE LAST TARGET

Three days passed after the end of the Ancient Ascension Trial. Pu Zhang had been extremely depressed during these days. The horse he bet on had lost. Not only did the horse lose the race, but it also died as a result.

He was now without a patron. Once Prince Huang San ascended to the throne, no one would protect him. Huang San had no goodwill toward him, as he had never shown any support. To make matters worse, Huang San’s favorite follower was his nemesis. He did not doubt Amon would give him trouble once Huang San was king.

He had been lamenting his situation by spending his time in multiple taverns and brothels these past few days, to the point of neglecting his court duties. The way he saw it, his career was now stuck. He had no chance to prosper under Huang San’s rule.

He continued to curse as he drank and whored. He didn’t understand how Prince Huang Zi could lose. He was the most favored candidate among the four who entered the trial. Huang San’s team must have cheated. If not, how could a weak team such as his win against three teams clearly stronger than his?

’That’s it!’ He thought as he pounded a whore from behind. Huang San’s team must have cheated! Once he left this place, he would dedicate himself to finding proof of their fraud. If he could prove it to the king, it would annul Huang San’s right to ascend. He preferred Huang Er to ascend the throne. This way, he and Amon would remain on a level playing field.

"Yes," he uttered while increasing his pace. The woman he was pounding thought he was close to climax, while he was in fact getting excited for having found a ray of hope in his hopeless situation.

He started devising a plan in his mind. He still held influence in the court. There was no doubt many of his colleagues had the same thoughts, not to mention Huang Er’s original supporters. They would prefer having Princess Huang Er as their sovereign rather than Prince Huang San. If push came to shove, he could even persuade them to plant fake evidence, anything to disqualify Prince Huang San from sitting on the throne.

"Yes," he said again. This time, he was truly near the climax. He groaned as he released his seed.

After he was done with the whore, he pushed her away. "Get out!" He said curtly.

The woman ran out, still naked. She had heard some of her friends getting roughed up by this man. She was happy if she no longer needed to spend time with him.

Pu Zhang put on his robe and sat on a chair. He picked up a pipe on the table and started smoking. He continued to think about his plan as he puffed on his pipe contentedly.

"You look rather pleased."

The voice made him jump from his chair. He turned around and saw Amon sitting in the corner.

"You...? You...! When did you enter?!" Pu Zhang demanded.

"I have been here for quite some while already," Amon answered. "I saw you were too busy with the woman, so I didn’t disturb you."

Pu Zhang was stumped. He had heard about Amon possessing potent concealment art, but he never expected it to be this good.

He glanced at the door. He thought about bolting toward the door. If it were before, he wouldn’t be concerned. Amon was still an Intermediate Mystic Stage then, but now, Amon was an Intermediate Spirit Stage. As for him, he was a Peak Mystic Stage. He wouldn’t be able to win against Amon if Amon meant him harm.

When he was about to lunge toward the door, four large knives appeared and hovered before the door, blocking his path.

"If you think about shouting to warn the bodyguards you post outside, don’t bother," Amon said.

"You have taken them out?" Pu Zhang asked.

"Not me. It was the women in this brothel who took them somewhere else to have a good time," Amon answered. "They probably thought you would be as usual, spending a few more hours in here before leaving, so they thought it wouldn’t hurt to leave for a while. You had, after all, placed other guards at the entrance of this building. They thought you were safe."

"They will still hear me if I shout," Pu Zhang said.

"Not really," Amon chuckled. "You frequented this type of venue, but you didn’t know the way they worked? High-class brothels like this one had words of power engraved outside every room. The engraving keeps whatever noise the guests make inside the room from being heard outside. You can scream all you want, and the people outside won’t hear you."

"You...! What do you want?!" Pu Zhang asked.

"What do you think I want?" Amon asked in return with a grin.

The grin scared Pu Zhang. "Do you think you have won! You are nobody! Who do you think I am? I am a senior minister!"

"And I will be the prime minister by next week," Amon uttered.

"Like hell you will!" Pu Zhang exclaimed.

Amon chuckled. "You know the custom. Once the crown is transferred to Prince Huang San, King Huang Ti will step back from the royal court, and so will his prime minister. They will become court elders who bestow advice but will not be directly involved with governing the kingdom. Huang San will have someone he trusts as his new prime minister. Who do you think this person will be?"

"Ugh...!" Pu Zhang gritted his teeth. He didn’t refute Amon’s claim. This was the source of his dilemma over the past few days, something he wanted very much to prevent.

"You... You won’t do anything to me! The people of this place know I am here. They should have seen you come in as well. People will know you are involved if something happens to me!" Pu Zhang warned.

"The people of this place? Hehe... You have been careless. Did you not investigate an establishment before using its service? Are you not aware this brothel is run by the Demon Gang?"

Pu Zhang’s face became pale. He had indeed been careless. As a senior minister, he rarely had to worry about where he went. All establishments would bow their heads every time he came to visit. Every business owner would ensure he had the best time in their venues.

"You... You still won’t get away if something happens to me!" Pu Zhang said with desperate defiance.

"People won’t know what happens to you. You will disappear. Most will think you flee the country out of fear of retaliation from me, for what you did to the Lin Clan."

"You want revenge for that pathetic clan?" Pu Zhang asked.

"Not really," Amon answered. "I don’t truly care about that clan. I, however, made a promise to someone. I intend to honor that promise. You are my last target after the Wei and Yan Clans."

"Don’t think that you can defeat me so easily!" Pu Zhang exclaimed. He channeled his aether. He would break the door. The commotion should draw people’s attention. If there were witnesses, he didn’t believe Amon dared to murder him.

However, he found it strange when no aether gathered upon his command. He felt like he was devoid of energy.

"What...?" He felt intense fatigue. He even had a problem standing. His legs wobbled, and he had to hold the table to prevent himself from falling.

Amon rose from his seat. He said, "I forgot to tell you. I did something to your pipe when you were busy."

"Wh–What...?" Pu Zhang looked at the pipe he used to smoke not long ago. He then remembered Amon was once suspected of being a poison user. "You... You put poison in my pipe...?"

"I did, but it’s not a deadly poison," Amon said while approaching. "The poison in your pipe only makes you weak, so you don’t give me trouble."

Amon’s hand turned black, and it clamped around Pu Zhang’s neck. He lifted the senior minister off his feet like he was a doll. Pu Zhang had trouble breathing as Amon’s hand choked him.

"For what you did to my foster mother, you deserve to be tortured before death, but I am not someone who wants to bother with that kind of punishment. I am also not interrogating you for any valuable information, so I guess you should be glad you don’t need to suffer. Still, I at least need you to die in my hands. That’s why I didn’t give you fatal poison."

Finished speaking, Amon clenched his hand. His claw pressed into Pu Zhang’s throat and crushed it. While Pu Zhang choked from his destroyed throat, Amon’s black hand pumped Cold Stiff Poison into him. He soon turned stiff as his body contorted into a fetal pose.

Amon released the corpse, and it dropped on the floor. Bo Wu came out of his left hand with a chuckling grin.

"You know what to do," Amon told his hell passenger.

Bo Wu immediately devoured the corpse on the floor. He even licked all the blood until nothing was left. After it was done, Amon left and told the brothel manager to inform the bodyguards that Pu Zhang had sneaked out with a woman.

Under normal circumstances, an investigation would occur when a senior minister disappeared suspiciously, but he assured the manager that any investigation would be dropped as soon as it started. He would soon be a big player in the court. If he told city officials to drop a case, they would.