Chapter 98: A Meaty Reward
Nightfall.
The Twin Leaf Sect had gone quiet, save for the soft rustling of leaves and the occasional splat of a junior disciple tripping during midnight training.
In the shadows beneath the outer kitchens, a small, foul-smelling tunnel awaited. Han Yu knelt before it, clutching a humble bundle wrapped in rice paper. His expression was that of a man who had seen too much, sacrificed too deeply, and still couldn’t feel his eyebrows after Pill #7.
"I have it," he whispered solemnly into the darkness.
There was silence. Then a rustle. A squeak. And a glint of tiny eyes.
From the tunnel emerged a rat the size of a teacup, wearing what could only be described as a tattered cape made from old disciple robes. Behind it scurried five more—one dragging a broken toothpick like a sword, another with a walnut helmet, and the smallest riding a beetle like some kind of unholy cavalry.
They were the Rat Syndicate.
And this was a very serious mission.
"Password?" squeaked the lead rat, whose name was Warlord Sniffles.
Han Yu closed his eyes, filled with shame.
"Squeak twice for business, thrice for betrayal... long live the cheese."