Chapter Forty-One: Such an Unjust Death

After all, being young and strong, several consecutive days of running exercise had greatly improved Chu Yun’s physical fitness, and his running speed had naturally increased a lot as well. So it wasn’t long before he caught up with the assassin, blocking his path.

Seeing Chu Yun catch up without even being out of breath, the assassin was even more convinced that Chu Yun was an exceptional fighter and not easy to deal with. He felt extremely frustrated. This was his first time taking on an assassination job! He had thought he only needed to frighten the target—a simple task—who could have guessed it would turn out to be hell-level?

Yet he didn’t surrender immediately; instead, he drew a bronze dagger and lunged at Chu Yun. Chu Yun sidestepped and engaged in close combat. It quickly became clear that he was no match for Chu Yun; in less than ten exchanges, his dagger was snatched away.

“Please, spare my life!” The assassin hurriedly dropped to his knees and begged for mercy, regret flashing through his mind—he had clearly judged that Chu Yun was a master, so why hadn’t he surrendered at once?

“Do you think begging for mercy will help now? From the moment you chose this line of work, you should have anticipated this day,” Chu Yun said coldly, unmoved by the assassin’s pleas.

Hearing this, the assassin hurried to plead further: “I was wrong, good sir, please spare me! I have elderly parents at home…”

Before he could finish, Chu Yun cut him off: “And you have a three-year-old child, life is hard, and you were forced into this, right?”

The assassin was stunned, his face full of astonishment. “How did you know what I was going to say?”

Chu Yun laughed. “Every man who kneels and begs for mercy gives the same speech. You ask how I knew?”

“Ah?” The assassin cried out in disbelief. “Everyone says that?”

Chu Yun nodded with a smile. “They all use that trick.”

“But I’m not lying! I really do have elderly parents and a child not yet three years old,” the assassin protested, feeling utterly speechless inside. He wondered what sort of people had said such things before, making it so that now, even when he told the truth, no one would believe him.

“You’re not lying, and you think I’ll believe you? Even if it’s true, is that your reason for choosing this profession?” Chu Yun replied.

The assassin grew anxious. “Please, spare my life! If you let me go, I’ll tell you a secret!”

Chu Yun couldn’t help but feel a flicker of interest at that. In this backward world with little law and order, he hadn’t yet decided how to deal with this fellow. So he snorted, “Speak, and quickly!”

The assassin answered, “Actually, I’m an assassin. Someone paid me to frighten you, to make everyone know that an assassin tried to attack you.”

Chu Yun was taken aback. He was surprised that this weakling before him was actually an assassin. With such poor skills, how could he be an assassin? Was this a joke?

He shook his head and laughed. “An assassin? You?”

“I really am an assassin!” the assassin insisted. He was at a loss, sighing inwardly—he really was an assassin, so why wouldn’t Chu Yun believe it? It’s not that I’m too weak, it’s that you’re too strong!

Chu Yun kept shaking his head, still laughing. “So, you’re an assassin, and someone paid you—not to kill me, but just to frighten me? To make it known that an assassin had targeted me?”

The assassin nodded vigorously. “Yes, that’s right.”

Chu Yun burst out laughing. “Ha! Do you think I’d believe such nonsense? Tell me, why would someone spend money just to scare me?”

The assassin shook his head. “I don’t know. I thought it would be a simple job, just scaring you. I never expected you to be so formidable!”

Hearing this, Chu Yun’s brow furrowed. He suddenly realized that although the man’s skills were poor, perhaps that was only because he had never been properly trained in this backward society. It was possible he really was an assassin.

“I believe you are an assassin,” Chu Yun said.

The assassin smiled. “You finally believe me. I’ve told you my secret; will you let me go now?”

But Chu Yun immediately drew the bronze dagger he had taken from the assassin and stabbed it into the man’s heart.

“Why?” the assassin asked, bewildered.

Chu Yun sneered. “Did you really think I’d be so foolish as to believe someone would pay you just to frighten me and not to kill me? As for who hired you, I doubt you’d tell me even if I asked.”

“By our code, I wouldn’t reveal who hired me, but my mission really was just to scare you, not to kill you…” the assassin said, tears welling in his eyes. He stared at the dagger in his chest, feeling deeply wronged. He truly did have a family, but Chu Yun didn’t believe him. He really was only supposed to frighten Chu Yun, not kill him, but Chu Yun still didn’t believe him. Such injustice!

Chu Yun looked coldly at the assassin’s corpse, then turned and left. If the man had been just a common thief, he might have gone out of his way to drag him to the authorities. But an assassin—one sent after him, no less—was someone he would never let go. He was not so merciful as to spare those who tried to kill him.

Leaving the scene, Chu Yun quickly returned to the inn. It was his first time killing in this world, but he felt no burden. In this backward, lawless place, no one would care about such matters, which was why he had hesitated on how to deal with the would-be thief.

As soon as he returned to the inn, Chu Yun saw Luo Feng waiting at his door. Clearly, as the personal guard to King Qi, Luo Feng was highly skilled and could not have failed to hear the commotion earlier. Seeing Chu Yun give chase, he had trusted in Chu Yun’s ability and not interfered.

Luo Feng asked with concern, “Doctor Chu, who was that you chased? You weren’t hurt, were you?” As he spoke, he looked Chu Yun up and down, making sure he was uninjured before breathing a sigh of relief. He silently acknowledged that Chu Yun was indeed formidable and there was no need to worry.

For the fastest updates of “Overlord from Humble Origins” by the great Jin Xixi, please be sure to bookmark this site! Chapter 41: What an Unjust Death.