Chapter 143 - Open Season (Part I) (Patreon)

Lucian blended into the nearby crowd and faced the darkened Broken Maze alongside Wang Chen and a thin, trembling man. The poor guy was dirty with soot and smelled of garbage.

Despite what Wang Chen had previously thought, Lucian was not angry about Hao Bang’s condition. He appreciated the ex-smuggler’s loyalty and effort, sure, but he also believed that fighting was merely a means to an end, and Hao Bang had chosen the most foolish path possible in an attempt to help.

What had made Lucian angry was that he felt he was being played.

I have to make a decision, he thought, frowning. I don’t believe this is a coincidence. A small force, unaware of the hidden pawns of the major players, making such a bold move in broad daylight? It’s too much.

He was struggling to decide whether he should simply take revenge in kind or whether he should treat the Broken Maze as a temporary hunting ground.

If the City Council is ignoring the Broken Maze, I can hunt here without consequences, Lucian thought. On the other hand, if this is a plot meant to provoke either Grandmaster Miao or me into acting, it could be dangerous to be unruly.

There was a reason he was being so cautious. Knowing this could be a trap was one thing, but he needed to understand what their true target was. If someone wanted to steal the Merchant Chamber's business, for example, Lucian couldn't care less. He would gladly drain some people as payment for that.

However, there could be more concerning motivations behind this supposed trap.

It’s impossible for the other factions not to know about our dealings with the Military Faction and Verdant Creek, he thought, clicking his tongue. The City Council or someone else is bound to make a move. This could be the start of it.

On the way here, Lucian had devised several plans for how he would probe the Bo Merchant Chamber if he were one of the other City Council factions. He had to think like his enemy to better respond to their moves. Then, after much consideration, he concluded that the first hit the City Council would deliver should be the least damaging one.

Someone called Grandmaster Miao, taking him out of the picture while dealing with a few of his lesser underlings, Lucian thought, shaking his head. Whoever called him did so to show that they were the ones making a move. It could be either the Noble Faction or the Sect Faction of the City Council.

To Lucian, it was all a demonstration of power. The City Council could overlook anything, command the other forces, create problems for its enemies, and aid its allies. Even if the city guards belonged to the Military Faction, Lucian was not a child. He didn't believe that a few squads and captains were not on the payroll of other factions.

Not to mention the forces absorbed after the Tidal Massacre, which the nobles would almost certainly devour to increase their own influence.

All in all, Lucian was about to step into a trap, aware of it. However, he believed it was not one designed specifically for him, but for other fish.

They couldn’t possibly know I would come here personally and cause a disturbance. Lucian's eyes flashed crimson. Whoever planned this expected things to escalate slowly, with minor forces clashing before involving the bigger players.

He was confident in that conclusion. After all, nobody knew where Obsidian Sea’s bottom line truly lay, so for a major faction to make a large move was akin to taking a huge risk and benefiting the others in the process.

The proof, for him, was that neither Hao Bang nor Chen Yuan had been killed inside the Broken Maze, despite being gravely wounded. Certainly, they were still at risk of dying, but whatever happened to them now would happen within the territory of the Bo Merchant Chamber.

No one wanted to draw first blood without a good reason.

Too bad I need blood livestock. If they aren't brave enough to escalate this, I am.

Thinking that, he smiled and glanced at the guide and Wang Chen.

Noticing the look, Wang Chen coughed and said, “You can go ahead. We’ll pay you as promised.”

A gold coin flashed into Wang Chen’s palm, and the thin man nodded while biting his lip. Trembling and stumbling forward, he repeatedly glanced over his shoulder, only to find Lucian and Wang Chen following behind with expressionless faces.

In Lucian’s case, that was simply his usual expression. He was busy analyzing the scents and sounds reaching his senses, while also monitoring his Qi perception for any unusual presence entering its range.

Wang Chen, however, was forcing himself to remain calm. The journey here had been long, and Lucian had made them wait outside for several minutes before entering the maze of alleys and dilapidated houses. That had given Wang Chen far too much time to think.

Truthfully, he was scared.

He was not like Hao Bang, who had spent his life as a thug and smuggler, fighting since childhood. He was a pampered young master from a merchant family who had grown stronger and participated in a handful of mock battles to gather followers.

Wang Chen was not a fighter, despite having killed a few people to satisfy his need for blood. He was just a young man, afraid of the battle ahead.

However, he did not allow fear to win.

Whenever uncertainty surged within him, he was reminded of Bai Xiaomeng. She was still there, trapped within the Sailor School, waiting for him to rescue her. And if he could not even walk into the Broken Maze, how could he ever hope to invade the mysterious school?

He wanted nothing more than to save her, but after hearing Lucian's warnings again and again, he understood that rushing in recklessly would only get them both killed. He would rather die than become the reason for her death.

Amidst his thoughts, insecurities, and silent lamentations, they arrived at a dilapidated house with three beggars standing in front of it.

Seeing the thin guide nod fearfully toward the beggars, Lucian stepped forward and shouted, “Bring out the ones who hurt my people, and I’ll spare the rest."

The beggars glanced at him, then immediately stood up and scattered toward different houses. Even the thin, unkempt guide did the same after hearing Lucian’s shout. He screamed in fear and ran away without getting his golden coin.

“Was that necessary?” Wang Chen asked with a frown. “Now they know we’re coming.”

Smirking, Lucian answered, “You worry too much. I want them to check on us.”

Smacking his lips after speaking, Lucian circulated the Two-Leaf breathing technique, accelerating the flow of Qi through his middle-stage Qi Gathering cultivation.

Take the bait, he thought. You should think that I'm exactly the kind of small fry who would come personally to solve a problem like this. Yes, just a Qi Gathering bug. Come on.

Lucian had deliberately used his natural cultivation rather than the one tainted by Qi deviation, mostly because he wanted to lure in a few good fish. And, as he expected, moments later, patches of Qi appeared at the edge of his perception, people approaching and retreating in batches.

They were probing his capabilities. They wanted to see if they were being deceived, based on his reaction.

When he sensed a Qi flow stronger than that of the Qi Gathering realm, Lucian made his move.

“Follow me,” he said, kicking off the ground and bursting through a wooden shack.

Flinching in surprise, Wang Chen followed a second later, and dozens of figures moved toward their location less than a minute after.

“Don’t let these brats escape!” someone shouted, enhancing his voice with Qi. “They dared kill one of ours!”

Hearing the accusation, Wang Chen looked puzzled, while Lucian smiled. They hadn't touched anyone!

A justification to act, and a convenient one at that, Lucian thought as he ran in a wide arc toward another exit of the Broken Maze. Such an obvious plot. But don't worry, you won't die as a liar.

Controlling his speed so Wang Chen could keep up, Lucian stopped a minute later, surrounded by nearly twenty people. Half of them were cultivators, and three emitted the Qi flow of the Qi Refining Realm.

Soon, a lean man stepped forward, holding a metal pipe. He removed a cigarette from his mouth and smirked in Lucian’s direction.

“Your daddy is here,” the man said, prompting laughter from the surrounding thugs. “Bow down, give me the artifacts you have, and castrate yourselves. Then, maybe I’ll let you live.”

Lucian was indeed wearing the orange and crystal ring. After listening to the leader, he pointed at three men and a woman standing at his side and looked at Wang Chen.

“Those are yours,” he said, snapping his fingers to get Wang Chen’s attention. “You have one minute to deal with them.”

After speaking, he shifted his gaze to the thin man holding the pipe. Inwardly, he was very happy that so many people had come.

“I heard you would let us live. Well, I’m afraid I won’t be extending the same courtesy," Lucian said with a smile that showed his elongated fangs.

His teeth glinted beneath the moonlight and the scattered lanterns hanging throughout the maze, while his crimson eyes hungrily swept across the crowd.

Looking at Lucian, everyone except Wang Chen felt a chill run down their spine. They felt that death had come to embrace them, and they had just hugged it back.