Chapter Eighty-One: Betrayal

Upon hearing Ye Ran’s words, Victor took a sharp drag of his cigarette, watching him with interest. “Xiao Ye, did I hear you right? You want to use drugs? If I recall, you always considered that the lowest of the low, something beneath you.” Victor remembered Ye Ran’s high-mindedness all too well. He and Rabbit Tyrant had invited him to join their crew more than once, but Ye Ran always refused, disdaining their underhanded methods and unwilling to associate with them.

Ye Ran replied, “Times change. One must learn to adapt. In the end, drugs are like weapons—their effects depend on the user.”

Victor nodded, smiling. “As always, I need their core attributes, the strength of their inner force, whether they have any special constitutions—the more detailed, the better. And tell me what kind of drug you need.”

In the Cannibal Rat gang, Victor was the master of concoctions—whether for harm or for healing, he excelled at all manner of potions.

Ye Ran shook his head. “We have no information on the target. Just something that will knock them out will do.”

Victor gave him a long, searching look, exhaling two smoke rings. “My old friend, you’re making things difficult for me. Different people have different cores, different inner force, different constitutions—their resistance to drugs varies accordingly. If I make you some random potion that ends up useless, I’d be doing you harm, and worse, ruin my own reputation. I’m a businessman. I never take jobs that damage my name.”

He stubbed his spent cigarette out in the ashtray. “You still don’t trust me. There’s no need for that. You know the Cannibal Rat crew is tight-lipped—we’ve never once leaked a client’s secret.”

He waved a hand. “And there’s no need to leak it, especially not for you, Xiao Ye. A few gold coins mean nothing to us, don’t you think?”

Victor’s eyes were sharp—almost frighteningly so.

Ye Ran relented. “All right, perhaps I’m overcautious. My target is a Divine Envoy from the Martial Heroes Hall. Beyond that, we know nothing.”

He spoke the truth. On the surface, the enemy was in the open and they in the shadows, but in truth, he and Meng Qi knew nothing of their opponent’s strength.

Victor tilted his head, wearing the same helpless look. “Xiao Ye, honestly, after all these years, this is the first time I’ve thought you a fool.”

Ye Ran snorted, unwilling to argue.

Victor stood and poured himself a glass of wine, poured one for Ye Ran, and pushed it across to him. “Drink. It’s wine—a gift from me.”

He took a sip and continued, “It’s no wonder you’re struggling. You come to me for drugs without even understanding your target. Xiao Ye, you still have much to learn.”

“But this time, you’ve come to the right place. We have specialists for dealing with Divine Envoys. How much have you prepared?”

“Ten gold coins,” Ye Ran answered.

Victor shook his head. “Far too little. At least a thousand gold coins.”

“A thousand?” Ye Ran shot to his feet. Damn it, was this daylight robbery?

“Don’t get so worked up. Since it’s your first time doing business with us, and for Rabbit Tyrant’s sake, I’ll give you half off—five hundred gold coins.”

Seeing Ye Ran about to explode again, Victor raised a hand. “Patience, my friend. Hear me out. You have no idea what kind of people Divine Envoys are—their raw power may not be overwhelming, but they’re extremely hard to deal with. We’d have to send an expert of at least eighth-level inner force just to gather detailed information.”

“Besides, Rabbit Tyrant already said your bill can be put on credit. Pay when you have the money.”

That finally calmed Ye Ran, though his head was spinning. Owing five hundred gold coins—he’d never pay it off, not even if he spent a lifetime hauling bricks on construction sites.

“Hmph, so be it. Put it on my tab. I’m not giving you these ten coins now, either.”

“Damn you,” Victor swore, but let it go. He gestured for Ye Ran to wait, then disappeared into a back room. After a while, he returned holding a hand-drawn map.

“What’s this?” Ye Ran asked.

“A map,” Victor replied. “Once you cross the Divine Envoy, you’ll have to leave Torrent City. You’re an orphan, with nowhere to go. This should be a decent refuge.”

Ye Ran’s fingers twitched, but in the end, he took the map and tucked it into his coat.

“Thanks, Victor. Please thank Rabbit Tyrant for me as well.”

“I will, my friend. Come for the drugs tomorrow.”

Ye Ran waved and left. As he passed, Big Mao glared fiercely at him.

“Come out, Yao’er,” Ye Ran called, just as he was about to leave the slums.

Sure enough, Yao’er scratched his head and stepped out of an alley.

“Brother Ye.”

“You have something to say to me?”

Yao’er nodded. “Brother Ye, about two weeks ago, Sister Xue came looking for you.”

Mi Xue? Ye Ran’s heart skipped. He remembered that fleeting glimpse by the window before the martial exam. Had she come seeking him...

“Brother Shu wouldn’t let us tell you, but you’ve always looked out for us... Brother Ye, Sister Xue has written you many letters this past year, and she’s come back several times, but you always avoided her. Someone’s been intercepting those letters on purpose—I overheard Big Mao and the others talking about it when they were drunk. That’s all I wanted to say. Please, don’t let anyone know it was me.”

“Alright. Thank you...”

A surge of complicated emotions welled up inside Ye Ran.

“Take care, Brother Ye.” Yao’er glanced around and darted into the alley.

Ye Ran stood on the gravel path between the slums and Bricklayer Street, unable to name the feeling in his heart.

Back then, during the martial exam, Mi Xue had begged him not to take part. She must have known there was more to Red Leaf Academy’s expansion.

After the exam, she’d hurried back to the Sixth Celestial Temple. Was it because her heart was truly broken?

“Ah Xue, everything has changed...”

Outside Torrent City, two carriages rolled slowly along the main road, wheels rumbling over the earth.

In the rear carriage, Sinclair sat with a grim face. There were no restraints on him, but the aura emanating from the carriage ahead left him feeling powerless.

Only the absolute suppression of strength could inspire such a sensation—no resistance, no escape.

The front carriage was unadorned, draped in a coarse brown cloth. Inside, a graceful woman sat with poise. She wore a red silk blouse, a black scarf wrapped around her neck, and held a small hand warmer.

Beside her sat Yu Bo, once a promising disciple of Martial Heroes Hall, his arm in a sling, silent.

“Stop. Someone’s coming,” the woman suddenly said. With Yu Bo’s surprised gaze upon her, she lifted the curtain and stepped down.

Sure enough, someone stood blocking the carriage’s path. He wore the gray and white garb of an assassin, a black cloth masking his face. In his hands, a pair of jade-hued blades glinted coldly—not exuding murderous intent, but conveying a resolute strength that demanded attention.