44: Chapter 44 The Prey Appears 44: Chapter 44 The Prey Appears After the bald man left, he headed straight back to the bar and, through a secret passageway, arrived in front of a private room on the third floor.
He knocked on the door, and a deep voice from inside said, “Co in!”
Pushing the door open, he craned his neck to peek inside.
The lighting in the room was dim, revealing a shadowy figure seated on the sofa.
A candle lit on the table beside cast a pale light on half of the shadowy figure’s face.
The atmosphere in the room was eerie and sinister.
The bald man thought it odd; the lights could have been turned on, yet this person had chosen to light a candle.
At the mont the door swung open, the shadowy figure on the sofa opened his eyes and looked over.
The bald man shrank his neck slightly and walked in respectfully.
“How’s the investigation going?”
The shadow spoke again, his tone emotionless.
The bald man swallowed and carefully replied, “That kid has so skills; must be trained in martial arts.
I’ve had people trap him downstairs.”
The shadow scoffed disdainfully and said to the bald man, “Those people can’t hold him.
Anyone who can afford to hire ‘Blood Hand Mantis’ must be capable.
I reckon he’s already escaped.”
The bald man hesitated, speechless.
The shadow stood and pulled out a stack of cash, handing it to the bald man, “This is your reward.
Don’t speak of our eting to anyone.”
The sight of the cash, amounting to tens of thousands, sparked greed in the bald man’s eyes.
He eagerly grabbed it, delightedly saying, “You can count on , Brother Bald!
Pleased to work with you this ti.
Look for again if you have more business!”
As he spoke, he fondled the cash in his hands, his expression filled with sheer ecstasy.
“Heh, I am quite confident.”
A chilling smile appeared on the shadow’s lips, as he muttered to himself, “Because a dead man doesn’t spill secrets!”
“Huh?”
The bald man’s face turned pale!
The next mont, before he could react, his eyes widened.
At his throat, a red line appeared, widening rapidly as blood spurted out!
He clutched his neck, struggling to breathe, blood flowing even more copiously.
The cash in his hands soaked in blood, scattering over the floor.
The bald man collapsed into the pool of his own blood, unwilling to admit his end!
“Mortals, how pitiful!”
The shadow turned his back, never once looking back at the bald man.
At that mont, between the fingers of his right hand, he held a dagger only two inches long!
The dagger, dark red and thin as a blade, devoid of a handle, flickered with a cold light under the wavering candlelight, ominously sharp.
“The prey has appeared, ti to kill!”
The shadow murmured, waved a hand to extinguish the candle, and silently left the room.
The dark room returned to silence, leaving behind only a body, unchanged from before.
…
Qin Lan’s ho was not in a bustling city center but in an old residential area awaiting redevelopnt.
The housing here was mostly built in the 1990s.
The area beca very quiet at night, with hardly any people in sight.
Arriving in front of a dilapidated low-rise building, they reached the floor where Qin Lan lived.
The corridor was dim, its walls plastered with countless ssy flyers.
Ye Xuan, supporting the tipsy Qin Lan, opened the door with his key.
The interior was a simple but clean two-bedroom apartnt with a small balcony outside.
By then, the rum was hitting hard; Qin Lan was completely out of it, unable to walk, her body hanging on Ye Xuan.
“Uh, I…
I need to use the bathroom…”
Qin Lan mumbled groggily.
Ye Xuan chuckled bitterly, eyeing the elegantly drunk beauty.
Who knew she could be so restless when drunk?
Suddenly, Qin Lan mustered so unknown strength, broke free from Ye Xuan’s embrace, and began frantically flailing her arms.
Trouble!
Ye Xuan internally cursed, not hesitating to scoop her up and rush to the bathroom.
Luckily, Ye Xuan was quick to react.
Otherwise, the consequences would have been dire!
Ye Xuan was about to help Qin Lan out when, to his utter bewildernt,
the woman started retching violently and vomited, instantly soiling her clothes.
“Damn it@@#$%…”
Ye Xuan was speechless.
This woman truly was a troubleso little demon!
Finally, having cleaned up the ss, and as Qin Lan fell back unconscious from the alcohol, Ye Xuan picked her up, placed her on the sofa in the living room, and covered her with a blanket, finally breathing a sigh of relief.
Seeing himself drenched in sweat, Ye Xuan headed into the bathroom to take a shower.
Just as he was about to undress, his eyes flickered and he pulled an ancient book from his pocket!
It was an old thread-bound booklet with yellowing pages, which Ye Xuan handled with extre care.
Flipping through the worn booklet, it contained all sorts of fantastical drawings.
There were images of n slaying dragons on mountains, capturing sea monsters, and even plucking stars and crossing dinsions!
It was like a series of bizarre comic strips.
The last few pages depicted various human figures, each forming different hand seals, sitting cross-legged as if ditating like in Buddhist practices or in Taoist cultivation.
“This ‘Naless Mysterious Technique,’ I’ve now cultivated to the second layer’s peak.
Just a bit more effort, and I hope to break through to the third layer soon!”
Ye Xuan’s eyes glead in determination, he closed the booklet and set it next to his clothes.
The ancient booklet had been a random find by an old man during his travels and later passed on to Ye Xuan, whose body harbored the strange energy from practicing the “Naless Mysterious Technique” described in the booklet.
Ye Xuan sat cross-legged in the bathtub, forming a strange hand seal, and began to cultivate with his eyes closed!
Who knows how much ti passed.
Boom!
Ye Xuan’s breath exploded like twin dragons erging, reaching up to two ters, a sight to behold.
He opened his eyes, feeling refreshed as if every pore in his body had opened up with a surging warm flow inside him.
After a quick rinse, Ye Xuan donned a bathrobe and walked out.
Yet, the mont he returned to the living room and saw Qin Lan lying on the sofa, his expression suddenly changed…
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