In the small town, Abe steals a horse and rides along the main road towards the nearest city. By dawn, he realizes where he is—he has traveled from Southwind City to Backmount City, a thousand miles to the north. Fortunately, Abe has safe houses in many cities. After blending into Backmount City at daybreak, he finds his safe house and uses the secret dicine stored there to treat his injuries.
After resting for a day, he packs his belongings, buys a horse, and continues his journey north. He can't contact his subordinates or family now. Most importantly, he must avoid the mysterious organization discovering that he had been captured.
After leaving Backmount City, he travels by night and rests by day, constantly taking detours and even disguising himself to circle back near the castle he escaped from. There, he sees a team of seven elite knights already searching the area.
Not lingering, he heads north, planning to reach Rainze City. He has many arrangents there that at least ensure his safety. What he doesn't know is that since his escape, Chick has been trailing him. Abe never escapes the sight of Chick's tracking team, and they follow him all the way to an estate outside Rainze City. Once Abe stops moving, Chick imdiately gathers his forces to discreetly set up a surveillance operation.
Sure enough, two teams infiltrate the estate half a month later. That night, the estate erupts with the sounds of battle, and by the latter half of the night, it catches fire, burning down to ruins. The attackers suffer heavy losses, clearly falling into a deadly trap Abe had set up within the estate.
Chick, unconcerned with Abe's fate, imdiately begins tracking the attackers. Just as Henwell predicted, these individuals are rcenaries hired to capture Abe. Now badly injured, they should follow the rcenary code and seek compensation from their employer. Unsurprisingly, these rcenaries are killed to prevent any leaks.
However, Chick focuses on a few high-ranking knights, who usually hide under various professions. So even have families and lead seemingly peaceful lives. Chick realizes these individuals are peripheral mbers of the mysterious organization.
Expecting a long surveillance operation, Chick is unexpectedly delighted to discover that Abe, sohow, is still alive. He has taken refuge in the City Lord's mansion in Rainze City, clearly having found protection. So the peripheral mbers of the mysterious organization quickly report this developnt.
Another half-month passes before the mysterious organization sends soone to handle the situation. Upon seeing the arrival, Chick refrains from acting rashly and imdiately informs Henwell in Divine Revelation City.
A few days later in Rainze City, Henwell and Chick watch from a distance as the mysterious organization's envoy arrives. Sohow, this person has managed to contact the City Lord of Rainze City and is now sitting face-to-face with Abe outside the City Lord's mansion in a dining establishnt.
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Disguised, Henwell and Chick enter the sa establishnt and sit ten ters away from the pair. Henwell grins and says, "Jar, do you rember this old acquaintance of ours?"
Chick smirks coldly, "How could I forget? It's Master Leom who bought ."
Henwell pours Chick a drink, "Don't rush. We might not have a chance this ti. However, soday, we might have to toast to the Skin Puppeteer Master."
While Henwell and Chick converse, Skin Puppeteer Master Leom speaks to Spider Abe. "Spider! We've known each other for quite so ti now. You've run into trouble, so why didn't you inform ? It makes quite sad."
Abe sighs, "Ah, Master, I'm just a minor figure trying to survive! If the organization finds out I was captured, they'll surely kill . But I can swear on my family's lives that I haven't said a word! I didn't report to you because this wasn't an attack on the organization, just on personally."
"I'm still investigating the reasons, and I planned to report to you once I had answers. But the organization seems impatient, which puts in a difficult position. I had to seek temporary refuge with the City Lord to buy ti for the investigation."
Leom eats his food leisurely, "Spider, you might have misunderstood! That night's events were the organization sending guards to ensure your safety. Unfortunately, you were too tense after escaping and mistook them for enemies. Things beca ssy, so I had to co personally to explain."
Abe, with a look of fear, says, "That was truly my mistake, misunderstanding the organization's goodwill. I apologize for my rashness. I'll compensate for the losses caused to the organization. Rest assured, I'll handle my matters promptly."
Leom puts down his knife and fork. "Spider, don't worry about it. The organization has already found out who captured you. The people who took you are from the capital, and you were held in Viscount Bloor's castle. He has no personal grudge against you, but soone behind him was affected by your business and thought you were sent to target them."
"Who is it?" Abe asks.
"A royal family mber! I won't ntion nas."
Abe pauses, then sighs, "Ah, that makes sense! The people who captured were skilled and resourceful. Their weapons, equipnt, and the resources they mobilized aren't sothing ordinary forces can muster! If it's the royal family, it all adds up. The interrogation thods and individual prowess are at the level of the royal secret guards."
What Abe doesn't say is that these people were likely targeting the organization, not him personally. But he dares not voice this, knowing it could an his death.
To dispel Leom's doubts, Abe continues, "Honestly, I always thought the organization was out to kill . In my understanding, only the Veil Organization could operate at such a level, so I didn't dare contact the organization."
Leom taps the table lightly, "Watch your words! Don't ntion the organization's na out loud! Have you forgotten the rules?"
Abe looks terrified, "Master, I was just shocked, I didn't an to!"
Leom nods gently, "I understand, just be more careful in the future! Now that things are clear, the organization has no intention of killing you. You're a part of the organization, even if only on the periphery, and your contributions are significant! Consider this a test. Soon, the organization will formally recognize your status. Take this opportunity to step back and put a puppet in the spotlight to draw attention away."
After so more instructions, Leom leaves the dining establishnt. As Abe watches Leom's back, his ingratiating smile fades. He knows he's being used as bait. The organization is still worried about a potential threat and plans to use him to lure out whoever is behind it.
Henwell and Chick follow Leom from a distance, smiling faintly. "Veil! Quite an apt na!"
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