Chapter 177 - Itchy

It's been a while since the last time The Zookeeper had sent a message to the Qings. Honestly, The Fox's patience was already running a little thin. They had been stalling for too long. 

When they have heard that Feng Xuan had entered an assassin school, Fox already suggested that they should already make their move.

But The Zookeeper raised his hand to stop Fox from continuing. "Would you really want to hit the enemy while they are at their weakest?" Zookeeper shook his head. "I don't think you should do that, Fox. You should take down your enemy while they are still punching and kicking. That way when you win, it would be considered a fair match."

Fox was about to say that it was a waste of time and that it might be harder to find another time when the Qings would be vulnerable but The Zookeeper shushed him.

"Quiet, Fox. This one might escape," he held out his binoculars. Fox took it and placed a rifle as its replacement. "Don't be so ill-tempered with replacing Wuming as the top assassin. You'll get your time to shine. Besides, from the latest updates, I heard he had fallen in love with a young woman."

Fox sighed. He had read all about it in the reports that came every other two weeks. "But that doesn't mean he would quit doing what he does."

"Trust me," The Zookeeper laughed, a deep rumble from his big stomach. "That'll be the end of him. That way you wouldn't have to kill him."

Fox stood up so fast that The Zookeeper jumped in surprise and fired the gun.

"Ah," The Zookeeper groaned and rubbed on his forehead. "Look what you made me do."

The next few seconds were filled with gunshots. It was almost deafening that Fox turned away from the noise. When the whole clip was finished, The Zookeeper leaned against the railing and asked the men from below. "Is he dead?"

The men from the ground floor took a few seconds before raising a thumbs-up to their boss. "You did well, sir!"

The Zookeeper chuckled, satisfied. He turned away from the huge desert and tossed the gun to the other man keeping watch. He sat down on his chair with a cough and took a sip of tea. "You were saying something?" he asked Fox.

Fox wondered if the rumors were true, that the Zookeeper was sick. He pushed away the thought. He breathed out and sat down next to his boss. "All I'm saying is, I don't really want to live in a world where Wuming is alive. He might quit and I might reach the top but then again, he would still be breathing and I'll know that the other best one was still out there."

The Zookeeper bellowed laughter. "You're too ambitious. I like it. But what you want to do is completely unnecessary. But whatever it is that would give you peace of mind, then so be it. However, taking out Wuming from this world would not be something you can achieve easily."

"I'm good at what I do—"

"Yes, and you should work on getting better. Remember, you said it yourself, he's one of the best. He's not going down without a fight."

The Zookeeper waved him away. "Release some of that tension out of your body. There's a present waiting for you in your room. Thank me tomorrow."

He knew better than to counter Zookeeper when he already dismissed you. They were somewhere in the world filled with deserts. The huge white mansion stood out like a divine oasis in this place. It was already nighttime and The Zookeeper wanted to do a little hunt with one of his prisoners. 

The deal was, if he could get over the gate, he would attain his freedom. The Zookeeper was no good shot. That was what made things fun for him. Because his prisoners actually thought they would escape for he could miss. But all it would take was one rain fire. Dozens of bullets and when one lands home, it would be game over.

When Fox had arrived at this mansion, he thought this was possibly the best one The Zookeeper had. The place was simple with many arching windows and walkways. The furnitures looked small with the huge spaces. Almost everything there was white.

Fox made his way to his room at the second floor. The door was an ornate wood with mirrored symbols. It was varnished deep and rich, the handle was a curved steel. He turned it and entered the room. There he found a girl on top of the carpet made out of tiger's skin.

"Don't you find it itchy?" he asked.

The woman who was n.a.k.e.d only ran her hand against the dead animal. Fox wondered if the woman understood what he was saying even though he used a language he was almost sure most people understood.

"Get up," he said to the woman and she followed. There was a huge red bow serving as her headband and fishnets covered her legs.

Fox made his way to the bed and dropped down on it, rubbing a hand on his face. He was not a fan of doing this. Heavens knew he had done this more than enough times for him to loathe it. But being in this line of work, you'd be far better off waiting for your death than wait for a woman to come along. That was why when one is given to you, for a night or for a short period of time, you have to be thankful for the company.

As the woman started kissing his face, she spoke with a hard accent, "I'm gift. I'm new. Never touched." It sounded like it had been rehearsed, like she was taught how to say those words. "They say pay well?"

"Yes, sweet thing," he said. "You'll be rich afterwards."

At the mention of that, the woman kissed his lips.