Chapter 47: Midnight Errand
Silver moon hung high and pale over Silver Jade City, casting long, stark shadows across the sprawling rooftops of the Lu Family estate.
It was the next night, and the oppressive weight of impending doom had gnawed at Lu Bao’s sanity for twenty-four agonizing hours.
The anonymous, blood-chilling warning letter he had found on his bed had left him with no illusions; if he sat idly by while the higher-ups investigated the annihilation of his elite strike team, his head would soon roll to appease them. Terrified that a swift, silent blade or a formal tribunal would find him before he could secure his own safety, he decided he had no choice left but to move quickly.
So that night, long after the majority of the estate members had retired to their quarters and the sprawling courtyards had descended into a deceptive, hollow stillness, Lu Bao began his desperate journey.
He moved with nervous, hurried footsteps across his private chamber, his eyes darting toward the shadows as if an executioner were already waiting in the corners. He walked over to a heavily secured, hidden alcove tucked deep into the dark corner of his room. Kneeling down on the cold floorboards, he reached behind a loose stone panel and pulled out a small, iron-banded wooden box.
With trembling fingers, he flicked the small brass latch and lifted the lid. The interior glowed softly in the dim lamplight, revealing a neatly stacked hoard of heavy gold coins that easily totaled a thousand pieces—his secret emergency stash accumulated over years of skimming from family ventures and secret commissions.
He didn’t hesitate. Grabbing a heavy, reinforced leather money pouch, he began scooping the wealth inside. He shoveled in over a third of the gold coins, the metallic clinking sounding entirely too loud in the silent room, making him flinch and glance nervously toward his bedroom door.
Once the pouch was stuffed to the brim and heavy with the promise of bribes, he carefully hid the remaining box back in its secret alcove, sliding the stone panel shut.
He straightened up, clutching the heavy leather bag tightly against his ribs as a cold sweat broke out across his forehead.
"I’m not ready to die," he muttered under his breath, his voice trembling as panic clawed furiously at his throat. "Not like this. Not over a botched hit on that bastard Lu Feng."
With his heart hammering a frantic rhythm against his ribs, Lu Bao slipped out of his bedchamber, moving like a phantom through the dimly lit corridors of the main residence. He kept his head down, skirted the open courtyards, and made a beeline for the estate’s heavily fortified secondary gate.
The iron-studded wooden gates stood tall and imposing, guarded by four elite family sentries armed with polished halberds and spiritual detection talismans. As Lu Bao approached, the guards stiffened, instantly recognizing the young master of the household.
"Master Bao," the lead guard greeted respectfully, lowering his halberd slightly as Lu Bao stepped out from the shadows.
Lu Bao forced his breathing to steady, pasting a tense, hurried smile onto his face to mask the sheer terror radiating through his veins. "Evening, guards. Just handling a late-night private and personal errand. Nothing to concern yourselves with."
The guards exchanged casual glances, entirely oblivious to the frantic panic boiling just beneath the young master’s composed exterior. One of them chuckled softly, leaning on his spear. "Late-night errands? Sounds brutal, Young Master. Make sure you don’t work yourself to death before the sun rises, or the family might run out of wine."
A few of the other guards joined in with low, respectful chuckles, exchanging a couple of quick, lighthearted jokes with Lu Bao to break the midnight monotony. Lu Bao forced out a brief, strained laugh along with them, playing his part to perfection while his internal organs felt like they were twisting into knots.
"Right, well, keep up the good watch," Lu Bao said tightly, offering a rigid wave. "I have to get moving before my window closes."
Without waiting for another word, he slipped past the heavy threshold. The guards watched him go without the slightest hesitation or attempt to stop him—after all, he was a direct member of the family; questioning his movements was far above their station.
As the heavy gates creaked shut behind him, Lu Bao let out a ragged, unstable breath and picked up his pace, disappearing swiftly into the sprawling, darkened labyrinth of the outer residential sectors.
He moved out from the affluent noble district and pressed deeper into the main streets of Silver Jade City, his boots slapping against the cobblestones as he snakes through the city. Within minutes, the grand, pristine avenues gave way to a dense network of smaller, winding streets—a notorious quarter of the city where the most illicit, indulgent, and unregulated businesses operated under the cover of darkness.
This was the deep underbelly of the city, dominated by smoky taverns, underground gambling dens, and sprawling, neon-lit brothel areas.
As he navigated through the congested, shadowy alleyways, a few late-night revelers, shady brokers, and underworld contacts noticed his hurried silhouette darting past. Recognizing his expensive robes and familiar face, several of them offered low, knowing greetings.
"Well, if it isn’t Master Bao. Out late hunting for entertainment again?" a rough voice called out from the doorway of a sprawling, lavishly decorated pavilion where the sweet, heavy scent of lotus smoke and heavy perfumes drifted into the night air.
Lu Bao barely spared them a glance, merely offering a stiff nod of acknowledgment as he kept moving. He frequented this decadent district often enough to be a familiar face to the criminal element, a luxury that had once felt like a perk of his status, but now felt like a dangerous web of exposure.
Ignoring the seductive calls of courtesans and the loud, boisterous laughter echoing from the gambling halls, Lu Bao hurried past the main pleasure houses and plunged even deeper into the labyrinth.
He turned down a narrow, pitch-black, hidden alleyway where the moonlight barely reached the slick stone ground. The air here was damp, smelling of stagnant water and old iron. He pressed his back against the rough brick wall, taking a moment to check over his shoulder to ensure he hadn’t been followed by any prying eyes from the family estate.
Finding the alley completely deserted, he continued walking until he reached a dead end blocked by a crumbling, damp masonry wall.
Instead of turning back, Lu Bao approached the barrier with practiced familiarity. He reached out and pressed his hand firmly against a specific, moss-covered brick near the base. With a heavy, mechanical click, a concealed spring mechanism gave way.
The entire section of masonry—a false wall designed to mimic a dead end—swung inward with a silent, well-oiled motion, revealing a steep, descending flight of stone stairs swallowed by absolute darkness. A faint, amber glow flickered from deep below, accompanied by the muffled, rhythmic thrum of heavy protective talismans humming in the subterranean air.
Lu Bao didn’t hesitate for a second. He slipped through the narrow opening, pulled the false wall shut behind him until it clicked securely back into place, and began hurrying down the precipitous stairs.
The descent was short and within moments, the damp stone steps leveled out, leading directly into a cramped, heavy-timbered subterranean corridor. At the very end of the short hallway stood a single, reinforced iron-banded wooden door, completely devoid of any markings or symbols.
This was the hidden sanctum of one of the city’s most dangerous and resourceful information brokers—a man who operated entirely in the gray spaces between the major clans, trading in secrets, forged identities, and desperate escape routes.
Lu Bao walked up to the heavy door and raised his fist. He struck the wood with three deliberate, rhythmic knocks—two light, one heavy.
For a tense, agonizing second, nothing happened. The suffocating silence of the underground room pressed in on him from all sides, making the heavy leather bag of gold coins in his grip feel like an anchor.
Then, a low, raspy, muffled voice echoed from behind the thick timber. "The door is unlocked. Come in."
Lu Bao let out a long, shuddering exhale, his chest heaving as the cold sweat chilled on his skin. He gripped the iron handle, shoved the heavy door open, and stepped inside.