Chapter 49: assassination (3) The four men faltered for a moment when they heard Ye Qingtang’s statement. They were all fully masked, how did the lass know their identities? “Let’s see, if it’s at least ten thousand gold, how much more would that be? Wait, don’t tell me it’s just ten thousand?” Ye Qingtang asked with a grin. The men narrowed their eyes. Though they did not ascertain her answer, their silence affirmed her conjecture. Ye Qingtang chuckled and said:” For real? I didn’t expect our Great Elder to be so stingy, giving you guys such a meagre amount for this.” Did she just mention the Great Elder? Those men initially assumed Ye Qingtang was buying time, however…. Not only did she disclose their identities, she actually knew the Great Elder was the one who hired them. It was impossible for the men to remain indifferent in this situation. “Lass, what’re you trying to imply?” The leader asked in a cold and menacing voice. Ye Qingtang replied nonchalantly: “Nothing much, just giving my two cents. With your expertise, that amount of payment’s an insult to your capabilities, don’t you reckon? I’ll make you a much better deal. Forty thousand gold, for you guys to get rid of that stingy Great Elder instead.” The men were stunned by her words. Forty thousand? That’s four times the amount the Great Elder’s offering! The men exchanged glances quickly; to accept her offer now would be jumping the gun. The leader spoke: “Miss Ye, I know who you are. You’re presumptuous to take us for fools. We’re all aware of your circumstances. With how things are now for you and your father, let’s not talk about forty thousand, I’m afraid even that measly ten thousand gold’s unaffordable for you….” Ye Ling did not lower his guard for a moment whilst he stood behind Ye Qingtang. He too, assumed she was buying time for their escape, though regrettably, he had to go along with the leader’s presumption. It was impossible to fork out forty thousand gold given their current circumstances. However…. Ye Qingtang retained her grin and while looking them in the eye, she suddenly extracted solid gold from her dimension ring, setting them piece by piece in front of those men. Within moments, a stack of gold worth twenty thousand laid before them. Those pieces of glittering gold glowed like a fluorescent under the moonlight, almost too blinding for the men whose eyes had adapted to the darkness of the night. Although their organization had received numerous job offers in the past, payment wise was always in the range of thousands. A ten thousand gold offer by the Great Elder was already considered one of their highest bidders in these recent years. But…. Miss Ye’s offer was over the top, to think she was truly capable of forking out this much gold! “Here’s twenty thousand gold, as down payment for my job offer. As long as you can get rid of the Great Elder, the remaining twenty thousand gold will be yours in no time.” Ye Qingtang raised her eyes over the stack of gold and gazed at the four men, whom were clearly wavering by now. In her past, she was oblivious to the Great Elder’s plans, not to mention her negligible assets that was obviously insufficient to buy off these assassins. But… Things are different now. She could beat the Great Elder at his own game and give him a taste of his own medicine. The men were hesitant to accept Ye Qingtang’s offer at first, but after being presented with that stack of gold, they exchanged glances again. With a sagacious eye, the leader was clearly putting up a solemn fa?ade as he said: “We’re an organization which upholds our contracts. A job’s our obligation, we’ll see to its completion once accepted. If people get wind of us being this fickle on our terms, wouldn’t that be a smear on our good name?” Though the leader spoke in a cold voice as usual, it was not as menacing as before.