Chapter 166 : Chapter 166
Chapter : 166
The person being pulled by the little girl was not small. Even standing on her tiptoes, the little girl could only grab onto the other person's pants. The person lowered his head slightly, looking at the tiny tot holding onto him.
The little girl looked up, shouting crisply, "Good-looking Big Brother, do you want a flower garland?"
I blinked, not expecting the good-looking Big Brother the little girl mentioned to actually be him.
This... I can only say that a child's aesthetic is sometimes really peculiar.
Seemingly sensing my gaze, the person being held by the little girl looked up. His sharp line of sight landed on me, simultaneously exposing his entire face to my view.
It was someone I had met once before.
Yuchir.
At that time, when I fell into the dungeon in the Bartovita capital to rescue Uncle Lane, I encountered another faction, 'Blood Mist'. Their current leader was this person before my eyes, the man named Yuchir.
The other party's appearance couldn't be described as very good-looking. It could only be said to be plain and ordinary; if thrown into a crowd, he would disappear instantly within a few seconds.
The only thing that left a deep impression was his height, which was like a small mountain, nearly two meters tall.
Oh, and the aura belonging to the inner world that he revealed in the dungeon was also memorable.
Looking at Yuchir now, who seemed like an ordinary passerby A, I lamented that this person's control over his aura was truly masterful.
If I hadn't seen Yuchir's other side, I probably would have really thought this man was just an ordinary passerby A.
Yuchir narrowed his eyes, his gaze sweeping across my face. He didn't recognize me.
But what was this faint sense of familiarity?
"Big Brother!" His pants were tugged twice more. Yuchir subtly pulled up his waistband to avoid having his pants pulled down by the little girl in the middle of the street; that would be a huge joke.
"What?" Yuchir's voice was flat. Compared to my coaxing voice that was practically pitched up for children, Yuchir's voice sounded somewhat like a fierce villain.
However, the little girl wasn't scared off at all. She stretched out her arms to display her flower garland. "Big Brother, do you want a flower garland?"
Yuchir glanced coldly at the flower garland in the little girl's hands. "No."
The little girl's eyes went round. "Why!"
"It's too ugly," Yuchir said unceremoniously. "And I have no money."
Little girl: ...
The little girl looked like she was about to cry, water gradually appearing in her eyes. She pursed her lips. "Not ugly, no money!"
She let go of the hand pulling Yuchir's pants and pointed in my direction. "That Big Brother gave it to you!"
Me: ???
Meeting Yuchir's gaze again, I felt a bit caught between laughter and tears. How did it turn into me giving it to him?
If I remembered correctly, I only told the little girl to casually give the remaining flower garlands to any Big Brothers or Big Sisters she liked, right?
The little girl's mother seemed to have noticed the situation here as well. She ran over with hurried steps, picked up her daughter, and revealed an apologetic expression.
"Sorry, sorry, did Xiao Guai do something wrong? Can I apologize on Xiao Guai's behalf?"
The woman looked at Yuchir somewhat cautiously. Yuchir's height really gave off an oppressive feeling that was too strong.
Although his appearance looked ordinary and honest, if he really refused to let it go with his physique, one punch from him would be disastrous.
"Mom!" The little girl hugged her mother's neck. "Big Brother said the flower garland is ugly."
Hearing this, the woman became even more nervous. She hurriedly covered the little girl's mouth with her hand. "Sorry, sorry, Xiao Guai didn't mean it."
Yuchir pursed his lips, meeting the little girl's teary eyes and the woman's nervous expression again, and sighed.
"It's fine, I don't get angry that easily," Yuchir's voice remained flat. "Also, that flower garland is really ugly."
The first sentence was to comfort the woman holding the little girl, and the latter sentence was obviously spoken to the little girl in the woman's arms.
Little girl: !!!
"Uwaaa—" Hearing someone call her meticulously crafted flower garland ugly again, the little girl finally couldn't hold back her grievance. "Where is it ugly!"
"Purple matched with red, isn't that ugly?" Yuchir answered very seriously.
He was speaking exactly of that 'riot of color' that I had somewhat disdained.
The little girl huffed angrily, "You're talking nonsense, that older brother liked it very much, he even wanted to give you a flower garland! Yet you dislike the flower garland that older brother gave, you are a bad uncle!"
There, the consequence of angering a child was turning from a Big Brother into a bad uncle in the next second.
And I was dragged out by the little girl again, becoming the kind-hearted Big Brother who insisted on giving Yuchir a flower garland.
I received Yuchir's gaze once more, and could even read the meaning of 'This person's taste is too terrible, right?
By the way, who are you? Why do you want to give me a flower garland?' from it. I couldn't help but cover my face.
Although Yuchir said it was fine, the pressure from his height, coupled with that vaguely revealed dangerous aura, made the woman dare not stay long.
She apologized again, pinched the little girl's mouth which was still babbling, and hurriedly left the scene of the accident.
Leaving Yuchir and me still standing in place.
Seeing Yuchir still looking at me, I couldn't help but adjust the flower garland on my wrist, pretending to admire it. "Hmm, I think it looks quite nice."
Yuchir frowned, looking at me scrutinizingly. It was fine when I didn't speak, but as soon as I opened my mouth, that familiar feeling washed over him again.
Who is it?
My expression was natural. The last time we met in Bartovita, I was still a little black cat; it was impossible for Yuchir to recognize me.
Yuchir looked a couple more times but still couldn't find the feeling of any acquaintance on me. He raised an eyebrow slightly. "You want to give me a flower garland?"
"How is that possible?" I shook my head. "It's just that the little girl thought you were good-looking and wanted to give you a flower garland, that's all."
Yuchir made no comment. Judging by his expression, he didn't believe it.
He had self-awareness regarding his current appearance.
Since the other party involved also said there was no such thing, Yuchir didn't continue to waste time here and turned to leave.
I stood in place, watching Yuchir's back as he disappeared into the coming and going crowd.
I narrowed my eyes. Why would the Boss of 'Blood Mist' appear here?
Is 'Blood Mist' about to make a move again?
Both times I bumped into people from 'Blood Mist', it was when 'Blood Mist' had a major operation.
The first time was at the auction house. 'Blood Mist' blew up the Augreer Auction House and killed many nobles.
Their target at the time seemed to be the Fifth Prince, Feu, though I don't know why they didn't kill him in the end.
The second time was in the dungeon of the Bartovita royal city, where 'Blood Mist' took out one of the Augreer family's underground strongholds.
The third time is now.
The first two times were related to the Augreer family, and coincidentally, there is an Augreer family auction house in Slanlipa City. My purpose for this trip is also the Augreer auction in three days.
This forced me to suspect that 'Blood Mist's' target was also this auction.
I thought about it but decided not to follow.
Whatever 'Blood Mist' wants to do, it doesn't conflict with my goals. At least we are consistent in our treatment of the Augreer family.
I also turned around, walking in the opposite direction of Yuchir. I had to find a place to stay first, then inquire about information regarding the auction.
***
"Boss, you're back!"
As soon as Yuchir entered the door, a sixteen or seventeen-year-old youth came up to welcome him, his attitude very respectful.
"Boss, we've figured it out. That little brat bought a courtyard. There are many guards in the courtyard, but he doesn't seem to be living in that courtyard."
"He should still be in the house arranged by the City Lord, but there are people from the City Lord's manor there, so it's not easy for us to make a move. Boss, should we wait for him to move into that courtyard before acting?"
Yuchir didn't reply. He first found a chair to sit down, poured himself a glass of water, and drank a mouthful to moisten his throat before saying, "Tell me in detail."
"Yes." That youth explained the investigated situation to Yuchir in detail.
Yuchir lowered his eyes in thought, his gaze landing on the few drops of water remaining in the cup.
Seeing that Yuchir didn't speak immediately, the person beside the youth couldn't help but say, "These guys are getting more and more cautious and cunning!"
"It's not strange. After all, last time, his brother died in the royal palace. Even in the heavily guarded royal palace, he could be assassinated, and successfully at that. Even if he isn't wary of his family, that good mother of his wouldn't allow him to have an accident again."
"It's a pity we can't sneak into the royal palace at will. I really don't know how that Joker did it? He and his accomplice are too amazing. Not only did they get rid of Feu, but they also left that old thing without descendants. It's really great, I've been annoyed with that old thing for a long time."
"It would be great if we could recruit that Joker. I feel like his strength is very high."
"Can he be stronger than Boss? If it weren't for the fact that Boss can't act at will, where would there be any room for that Joker?"
"What you said is true too."
Several 'Blood Mist' members muttered. Their voices weren't loud, but with Yuchir's hearing, it was hard to pretend not to hear.
His train of thought was disrupted. The familiar thread he was just about to grasp was scattered again, so he could only temporarily give up thinking about why he felt a person he had never met was familiar.
"Alright." As soon as Yuchir made a sound, the scene instantly quieted down. All eyes converged on him, and no one spoke to interrupt Yuchir again.
"Keep following. Figure out Fitch's movements. No matter what, he will definitely appear around the time of the auction. Capture him then."
"Keep him alive. Ask clearly about his true purpose for coming to Slanlipa this time and the Augreer strongholds."
"Yes!" The people below responded in unison.
Having received their instructions, these people didn't continue to stay in this room. They left one after another, leaving only the youth who had reported to Yuchir at the beginning.
Yuchir looked up at him. "What is it?"
This youth belonged to the intelligence squad and was a good hand at collecting information. Staying behind at this moment, he obviously still had words to say to him.
"Boss." The youth looked around, confirming that only he and Yuchir were in the room, before speaking seriously, "In the process of tracking Fitch, the intelligence squad discovered another force also investigating the Augreer Auction House."
Yuchir raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Did you find out who they are?"
For some reason, the appearance of the black-haired man he had just seen on the street popped into his mind.
The youth shook his head. "The other party acts very carefully, and their strength is very high. Several times I was almost discovered and couldn't get close at all. I only know that their leader should be a woman."
Yuchir paused. "A woman?"
That inexplicable guess was thrown to the back of his mind. He thought for a moment. "Is their target also Fitch?"
The youth continued to shake his head. "That isn't clear, but what they are focusing on investigating seems to be the auction house?"
Yuchir: "Then don't worry about it. Let them do whatever they want, as long as they don't hinder us from taking Fitch away."
The youth nodded. "I understand."
Immediately after, he hesitated a little. "Boss, do you really think Fitch would know the list of the Augreer family's underground strongholds? His brother didn't even know such important things, what could he know?"
Yuchir glanced at the youth. The youth unconsciously lowered his head, cold sweat breaking out instantly.
Their Boss hated being questioned by others the most. He had just spoken his doubts without thinking, and now it was bad.
"You underestimate Fitch too much." Yuchir's voice was still that cold. "On the surface, among the three sons born to that Queen from the Augreer family, the eldest son has the highest reputation. Gentle and elegant, he is the successor with the highest call."
"Of the second son and the youngest son, one is lecherous and loves gambling, and the other is cowardly and timid. Leaving aside the dead Feu for now, do you think a cowardly and timid prince would dare to run to Romunik with such 'fanfare' not long after his twin brother was attacked?"
"Furthermore, can a prince meticulously raised by that Queen really be cowardly and timid?" Yuchir scoffed coldly. "It's just the camouflage these royalty and nobles are best at."
It was unclear whether Yuchir's mood at this moment was good or bad. To say it was good, his eyes were icy cold, and his tone was like ice knives scraping against one's skin painfully. To say it was bad, he was willing to explain to the youth.
The youth observed carefully, confirming that Yuchir probably wasn't angry, before relaxing a little. "Then Boss, do you mean that this Fitch is very likely the next successor cultivated by the Augreer family?"
The current head of the Augreer family was that Queen's brother, and he and his wife had not produced any children.
Based on various intelligence, the 'Blood Mist' intelligence group inferred that while the Augreer family was ostensibly ruled by the family head, he was actually just a puppet. The one truly in power was that woman who had killed the former queen and ascended to the position herself.
The operation 'Blood Mist' launched against Feu at the auction a year ago started because they inferred that Feu was very likely the successor that Queen was cultivating for Augreer, holding a secret industrial chain in his hands. They needed to obtain information on that secret industrial chain and destroy it.
Only it was a pity that something went wrong with the operation at the auction house. Some unknown bounty hunter targeted the auction house's warehouse and hijacked a batch of goods, alerting the auction house and strengthening its guards. They failed to take Feu away smoothly.
They were even played by the Augreer people and received a fake stronghold address. Their subsequent operations were almost completely wiped out.
If it weren't for the Boss's strength being there, and the appearance of another unknown force that helped them, they would have lost quite a few people in that operation.
"Whether he is or not, we'll know once we catch him." Yuchir stood up. "Be careful with the operation. If anyone leaks information before the operation... bring them back too."
The youth froze, then his expression changed slightly. "Understood."
Was the Boss suspecting... that a traitor had appeared among them?
***
I wandered around the city for two days and confirmed that there were indeed people from 'Blood Mist' in this Slanlipa City, and quite a few of them.
My database had already unlocked the 'Blood Mist' faction. Basically, the 'Blood Mist' members I encountered would have their affiliation marked above their heads, making them particularly conspicuous among a group of ordinary merchants.
Just like fireflies in the dark, exceptionally eye-catching.
I watched again as a 'Blood Mist' member disguised as a farmer squatted by the roadside selling dried fish.
His shouting sounded decent; if I hadn't already seen the words 'Blood Mist' above his head, I would have thought this was a simple and honest farmer.
In my two days in Slanlipa City, I didn't find many clues about the imprisoned giant dragon, but I did figure out what these 'Blood Mist' people were doing.
They were tracking and inquiring about the whereabouts of a noble from Bartovita. That noble's surname was Barton, a very common surname. Even if Alice were here, she probably wouldn't be able to say what this Barton family did.
However, after combining the known clues and thinking about it, I easily concluded that this Barton had a deep relationship with Augreer.
Spending a little money at the Bounty Hunter's Association to buy some gossip from Bartovita, I could further conclude that this Barton noble was actually using an alias, and I was familiar with his true identity.
Fitch, the twin brother of the Fifth Prince Feu, whom I had killed.
Sure enough, 'Blood Mist' was coming for the Augreer family again. It was just that the first two times were against Feu, and now that Feu was dead, they started targeting his brother Fitch.
I was really curious about what deep hatred existed between 'Blood Mist' and Augreer. I had encountered it three times alone, so there must be more instances I didn't know about, right?
But the Augreer family indeed wasn't anything good. Just smuggling and selling demonic beasts was irredeemable.
Being targeted by 'Blood Mist' could only be considered their just deserts—who asked them to do bad things?
Now running to Slanlipa City under an alias, it didn't look like they intended to be law-abiding either.
Having figured out 'Blood Mist's' purpose, I planned not to intervene even more. Avoiding the people from 'Blood Mist', I focused on investigating who exactly was running over every month to secretly sell dragon blood and dragon scales.
With my ability to collect and analyze intelligence, finding that person was only a matter of time.
This time it went incredibly smoothly; the auction hadn't even started yet, and I had already found the person selling dragon scales and dragon blood.
...It turned out to be the son of the Slanlipa City Lord.
After reaching the conclusion, I was still a bit incredulous. I ran to a high-end restaurant to provoke the Senior Manager stationed by Augreer in Slanlipa City, kidnapped him, tied him up, and threw him into the wilderness. Disguising myself as him, I went to the Augreer Auction House and checked the transaction records.
The buyer and seller in the transaction records naturally wouldn't write things too obviously and would use various codes and references, but I went to confirm with the answer in hand. I easily cracked the codes and reconfirmed that the seller was indeed the City Lord's son.
"Tsk." I closed the transaction records. "I thought this City Lord was a good one, didn't expect him to be another guy who acts one way to your face and another behind your back."
Slanlipa City was managed to be prosperous and beautiful. Looking at the mental outlook of the residents in the city, it was very good, at least much better than the few cities I had visited before.
Not to mention living affluently, at least they had enough to eat and wear, and had spare energy to enrich their spiritual world.
I originally thought that since this City Lord could allow the residents under his rule to live and work in peace, he was somewhat of a good official. I didn't expect his son to be a member of the Eternal Divine Sect, and it looked like he was at least a small leader.
What kind of place is the Eternal Divine Sect? An evil cult that plunders the talents of its believers through self-sacrifice in the name of the Lord of Eternity. Could someone who became a small leader be a good person?
If the son is a member of the Eternal Divine Sect, can the father remain uninvolved?
I pressed between my eyebrows. The next steps would be simple: just track this City Lord's son, confirm the Eternal Divine Sect's stronghold nearby, and then destroy it and rescue the imprisoned giant dragon along the way.
These things could be left to Isabel's people to do. I didn't even need to participate; I just needed to hand over the information I found to Isabel.
I restored all items to their original positions, cleared the traces of my visit, and walked out imitating that Senior Manager's gait, keeping a straight face while my mind wandered, thinking about whether I should participate in Isabel's operation.
Passing by people who greeted me, I maintained that Manager's supercilious and arrogant attitude, not even giving a look, just passing straight by.
Until I passed a corner, and another man with an honest face bowed and greeted me, "Good afternoon, Sir."
My gaze swept over the man's head, pausing slightly for a split second, then moved away quickly before he could react, as if nothing had happened.
Why is it a 'Blood Mist' person again?
This sentence had just popped up when the honest man's fist suddenly attacked. My body reacted faster than my brain. I jerked sideways, and the wind from the fist grazed my cheek and landed heavily on the wall beside me, leaving a distinct fist imprint.
Me: ?
The man seemed not to have expected that I would be so agile as to avoid this blow, but he reacted extremely quickly. With a turn of his wrist, a dagger appeared. After twirling a beautiful knife flower in mid-air, he pointed it straight at my vitals, pouncing over again in silence.
Me: ???
I retreated rapidly, opening up the distance between me and the man. I casually pulled at a decorative railing beside me; the railing was instantly uprooted, blocking his tiger-like dagger horizontally in front of my chest, emitting crisp 'clang clang clang' sounds.
A trace of surprise flashed through the man's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by indifferent killing intent. Or rather, the other party's killing intent became even thicker, and the speed of his dagger's slashing increased a few notches.
I was speechless. During these few seconds of entanglement with the man, I also understood. So the people from 'Blood Mist' had also targeted this Senior Manager. I just didn't know if they were targeting the identity of the Senior Manager, or the person himself.
However, seeing the other party's ruthless moves, wishing he could stab me to death right here, I estimated they were targeting the identity of the Senior Manager.
They probably had the same goal as me: kidnap the original Senior Manager or kill him directly, and then have their own people replace him as the Senior Manager to do some unsavory things.
But the problem is, the current Senior Manager isn't the person himself, but me, a substitute driver logged in from a different location.
So, am I being killed by the original account owner's enemies after hacking the account?
I sighed in my heart, not daring to relax in the slightest against this man wielding a dagger. His strength was not weak, his level was also over sixty, and his appearance was honest and simple, making it hard for people to raise their guard.
If it were that dead fat Senior Manager, he might have been stabbed through upon meeting.
The man gripping the dagger and constantly attacking me was filled with uncertainty and shock after this short exchange of mere dozens of seconds.
The anticipated one-hit kill wasn't achieved. Even in these short dozens of seconds of exchanging blows, he was faintly at a disadvantage. Behind the opponent's seemingly difficult resistance was an effortless response.
At this moment, the man had countless curses he wanted to shout in his heart: What the hell is the intelligence squad doing?