Chapter 23: A Dark Bargain

Just after three in the afternoon, the sky began to darken. When the last rays of sunlight were blocked by a distant upper continent, Qian Ye woke up on time, ate his fill, and then examined his physical condition. He was pleasantly surprised to find that the internal injuries he had sustained during his previous training had largely healed. It seemed that the recovery ability under the bloodline was indeed formidable.

With this, Qian Ye no longer had the biggest concern for practicing the Art of War. He could advance boldly. Thirty times at the King of Warriors level was clearly not his limit!

After a final check of Dawnlight, Qian Ye left his hiding place and headed towards Blackflow City.

Blackflow City still hadn’t closed its gates. Following the custom of the upper continents, the city gates would only close at midnight and open punctually at six in the morning.

Blackflow City wasn’t afraid of surprise attacks from dark races. Located in the heart of the human settlements, it was surrounded by several villages and towns, with thousands of expeditionary forces stationed within. The distance to an expeditionary army stronghold was only a few hundred kilometers, so the city lord followed the empire’s habits and didn’t take the dark races seriously.

Qian Ye, now sporting a thick beard and slightly yellowed hair, looked like a young scavenger. After paying fifty copper coins, he entered the city smoothly.

Like a real scavenger, Qian Ye found the cheapest inn to stay in and began observing Qi Yue’s movements.

The Qi family was a prominent clan in Blackflow City, with the main figure being Qi Yue’s father, who served as a major in charge of supplies in an expeditionary division. This position was equivalent to a battalion commander. Additionally, Qi Yue’s uncle was the city’s financial officer.

With these dual backgrounds, the Qi family ranked among the top five in Blackflow City. The Qi surname was also a major one; in the upper continents of the empire, the main branch of the Qi family was considered a second-tier noble family. However, the Qi family in Blackflow City was just a distant branch of the main line.

Qian Ye had already collected comprehensive information on the Qi family.

Qi Yue himself was a Second-Rank Warrior, practicing the Earthly Fortitude Technique, which provided additional physical bonuses. His weakness was a lack of offensive power. Qi Yue’s hobby was collecting primordial energy guns, and he had acquired several high-quality ones. But with his Second-Rank Warrior strength, most of them couldn’t be used to their full potential. Mr. Wang, who had died at Qian Ye’s hand, was indeed Qi Yue’s uncle and also the head of the Qi family’s peripheral business.

Since Mr. Wang’s death, Qi Yue had indeed become more cautious, always accompanied by at least two guards. However, Qian Ye observed that one of the guards was consistently a Third-Rank, and the Fourth-Rank guard was nowhere to be seen.

For three consecutive days, Qian Ye watched without finding a good opportunity. But he had plenty of patience. He once spent a week lying in wait to ambush a target. A bit of waiting was nothing.

On the fourth night, Qian Ye suddenly saw a truck leave the Qi residence and head toward the city gate. It was a regular supply truck used for transporting wild game. However, as it passed, Qian Ye caught a different scent, and the smell of fresh blood was strong inside the truck.

There were people inside! And the distinct blood scent Qian Ye had memorized indicated Qi Yue was among them.

Without showing any sign, Qian Ye waited until the truck drove away, then emerged from his hiding spot and, using the cover of night, followed the truck.

When the truck reached the city gate, it was already closed, but after some negotiation between the people in the truck and the gate guards, the steam engine rumbled, and the heavy steel gates slid open. The truck promptly exited the city, disappearing into the night.

Qian Ye watched the truck go, choosing not to use the gate but instead scaling a section of the unoccupied wall, then leaping over to follow the truck. The view on the wasteland was extensive, and Qian Ye had no fear of losing sight of the truck.

The truck traveled about a hundred kilometers before stopping next to an abandoned energy station.

Qi Yue and two others jumped out of the truck, waiting for something. One appeared to be a guard, while the other was an old man, likely a First-Rank, just barely able to protect himself in the wilderness.

Qian Ye hid a kilometer away, observing quietly.

Though it was night, he could see clearly, better than with a four-power night vision scope. His newly formed dark vision was even more powerful, and within five hundred meters, Qian Ye no longer needed a scope.

After nearly an hour, three figures emerged from the darkness, approaching like ghosts.

Qi Yue made a gesture, and the old man walked to the truck, took a box, and stood behind Qi Yue. Qi Yue’s guard unhesitatingly raised his primordial energy gun, pointing it at the three approaching figures.

Suddenly, Qian Ye sensed a subtle, hidden blood aura from the three. They were bloodkin!

Qian Ye was surprised. He hadn’t expected Qi Yue to be secretly meeting with bloodkin. As the young master of the Qi family and, according to Mr. Wang, holding another hidden identity, his presence here suggested something significant.

Without hesitation, Qian Ye began to stealthily move closer to the transaction site, hoping to eavesdrop.

His stealth was surprisingly successful. Using the cover of night and terrain, he got within fifty meters before stopping.

As an expert in stealth, his transformed bloodline now gave him the cold-blooded trait of bloodkin, allowing his body temperature to drop low enough to evade infrared detection. Additionally, he could control and conceal his blood aura, making human bloodkin detection ineffective.

Despite the primordial energy gun pointed at them, the three bloodkin showed no fear.

The leading bloodkin, with an aged voice, said, “You don’t think a broken gun can threaten us, do you? Don’t forget, in terms of primordial energy weapons, we descendants of the Sacred Blood are far superior.”

Qi Yue smiled, saying, “It’s just an extra layer of insurance. Though the gun isn’t much, it’s loaded with a secret silver bullet. I went to great lengths to obtain it, and I won’t use it unless absolutely necessary.”

The three bloodkin visibly flinched, one even stepping back.

The leading bloodkin angrily said, “You actually prepared a secret silver bullet! Are you insulting me?”

Facing the three powerful bloodkin, Qi Yue remained calm, saying, “No! On the contrary, my sincerity in this transaction is immense. This bullet is proof of my sincerity. I hope this transaction goes smoothly, and all future transactions as well. If my actions have offended you, the benefits of the transaction should be ample compensation.”

The three bloodkin’s attitudes softened.

The leading bloodkin gestured, and a companion behind him produced a briefcase from under his cloak and approached. The case, typical of bloodkin style, was black with matte patterns, bronze decorations, and exquisite craftsmanship. The value of its contents was clear.

Qi Yue gestured, and the old man also stepped forward, carrying a plain, unadorned box. Holding it with both hands, he moved cautiously, afraid of the slightest tilt.

“This box contains a special mechanism. Once activated, it must remain perfectly level for three hours. If it tilts more than five degrees, it will… boom!” Qi Yue made an explosion gesture.

The leading bloodkin glanced at Qi Yue, coldly saying, “You are very careful.”

Qi Yue smiled, “What can I do? Facing a powerful Fourth-Rank bloodkin, one can never be too careful. My goal is a smooth transaction.”

The bloodkin elder snorted, but there was no choice. Picking up the specially calibrated box meant they couldn’t avoid the secret silver bullet. To prevent any accidents in the next three hours, they had to leave quickly, as anything could happen in the wilderness.

Qi Yue’s setup completely eliminated any thoughts of hijacking the goods.

Though this was the first in a series of transactions, most bloodkin still viewed humans as slaves and food from a thousand years ago. Whether to keep agreements often depended on their mood.

The bloodkin elder had indeed planned to kill and rob if things didn’t go smoothly. As for the transaction, they could find another human. Humans were numerous, and Blackflow City wasn’t short of Qi families or young masters.

The bloodkin elder took the briefcase, carefully inspected it, and handed it to a companion. With a heavy snort, he turned and left.

Only after the three bloodkin disappeared did Qi Yue breathe a long sigh, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Facing a Fourth-Rank bloodkin was extremely stressful. Past experience had shown that dealing with dark races required being ready to put your head on the line. Every gold coin traded came with matching risks.

But when he held the briefcase, Qi Yue’s eyes shone with excitement. He carefully opened it, satisfied, and closed it, saying, “Let’s go. We need to return before dawn.”

The three climbed back into the truck and retraced their path.

In the night, as the three bloodkin moved like phantoms, the leading elder suddenly stopped! The bloodkin behind him, holding the briefcase, almost crashed into his back. Startled, both were shaken.

“Be careful! There’s an enemy! Guard the case!” the bloodkin elder ordered urgently.

At that moment, a round object suddenly flew from the darkness.