Chapter Sixteen: Murderous Intent

Tao Lu set down the work she had been doing, and the claw of the claw machine still hung suspended in midair.
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Watermark advertisement test.

“What’s wrong, Lady Tao Lu?” the winged woman beside her asked, bewildered.

“No, no,” Tao Lu shook her head and ran to the southeast, where a turning in the street and the bustling crowd hid the view ahead.

She was certain she had just seen someone familiar—someone who absolutely should not have been here.

When she reached the market’s corner, she did not stop but kept running, her gaze fixed on the man in the long black garment ahead.

A complicated expression crossed Tao Lu’s face. Though puzzled, she was touched with a flicker of joy. She hurried forward, almost reaching to touch his silhouette.

A bead of cold sweat beaded on Xia Yan’s brow. If there was one person who knew him better than anyone, it was Tao Lu beyond doubt.

Tao Lu had once spent a long time at night studying Xia Yan’s features; every detail was etched clearly into her memory. In every battle she stood behind him in support, and Xia Yan’s familiar back could not deceive her eyes.

If anyone was most familiar with Xia Yan, it was certainly Tao Lu. And the one who could spot his disguise at a glance was surely her.

Blueheart could not tell him at all—not even from within five meters. Even face to face, she still failed to notice him. But Tao Lu was different. Even from a hundred meters, two hundred meters, one crossing glance, one stray glance, and she would pick up Xia Yan.

Her hand moved closer and closer, about to touch his back, the distance between them reduced to a breath.

No disguise of Xia Yan could hide from her. As soon as he made his next move, she would recognize him.

At that moment, Xia Yan moved.

Banner only saw his face come up to her neck and then drift a little higher, his lips almost touching her cheek. The girl wanted to cry out and slap Xia Yan, but his reaction was faster; he caught her hand just before it could strike.

She tried to struggle, but Xia Yan held her fast like a steel vise.

There was no awkwardness in their movements at all. On the contrary, they seemed perfectly in sync, like a pair of lovers, the man kissing the woman’s cheek.

“Xia—” Tao Lu’s voice broke off. She reached out and then pulled her hand back. A strange feeling rose in her; then she quickly understood she had mistaken him.

She knew Xia Yan all too well. Even if he truly loved some woman, he would never do such a thing in full public view.

What was happening to her lately? Had she become weak in the nerves? Perhaps she was just too exhausted.

She gave a bitter smile, turned away, and let the distance between her and Xia Yan grow.

Inside the hotel suite, Xia Yan still took a slap on the ear, the red marks of fingers bright on his face. He was understandably annoyed, but he could not possibly explain the matter of Tao Lu to Banner.

After finishing dinner, Xia Yan called Amelia.

“What is it?” Because of the time difference, Amelia was drinking a cup of tea; it was still daylight where she was, and the girl’s expression held a teasing edge as she looked straight into Xia Yan’s eyes.

“Amelia, why did Tao Lu attend this auction too?” Xia Yan frowned, clearly displeased. “If your demon clan has been monitoring the winged folk’s movements, you should at least have informed me about Tao Lu.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t know,” Amelia said. “My intelligence is reported up from those below me; my subordinates didn’t even know whether Tao Lu was important or not, so they naturally wouldn’t bother reporting such trivial scraps to me. Xia Yan, you shouldn’t blame me for this.”

Xia Yan was startled into silence.

“Anything else?” Amelia asked.

“I cannot guarantee that I can complete your mission.” Xia Yan replied.

“Why not?” Amelia asked in confusion. “With your strength, and without revealing your identity, this should have been airtight.”

“If Tao Lu wants to kill me, I can’t counterattack. I can only run.” Xia Yan said seriously. “But her abilities are so unusual that if I run, it means I am likely to die.”

“Why don’t you just kill her, then?” Amelia said.

Xia Yan did not answer; it was a cold joke.

“Fine.” Amelia let out a light sigh. “Xia Yan, if you die, then you die. Our loss won’t be as great as you think—at most just one pawn and some diamond currency. As a pure-blood of the demon race, I can bear it.”

A flicker of apology passed over Xia Yan’s face, for he had once promised he would complete this mission.

After a brief hesitation, he said, “If I die, I’m sorry in advance.”

“Xia Yan, don’t weigh on yourself. It isn’t such a big deal—just a worthless life anyway.” After saying this Amelia ended the call. She lifted the cup of tea on the table, found it suddenly bland, and quickly poured it out.

After this conversation ended, Xia Yan had no idea that his collaboration with Banner had completely collapsed.

This was a fact he would never know: this pure-blood never communicated directly with anyone. All communications, even with pure-blood demons, had to go through Vivi. And Xia Yan was the first exception.

For Banner, it was no longer a matter of jealousy. It was fear.

Could it mean that the Master had a special feeling for Xia Yan?
She was the Master’s most loyal piece, but that did not mean she would ignore everything. The Master’s power was the strongest in the world, yet for reasons of her age she was still not fully grown—perhaps not even older than her own age.

Banner did not deny the Master’s strength, yet because of her youth her disposition need not match that strength. Perhaps Xia Yan had deceived her. That Xia Yan was the source of all evil.

If she truly were the most loyal piece, she would never allow Xia Yan to stay near the Master; she would find every way to kill him. To be precise, she would end with both of them in the same ruin. If Banner killed Xia Yan, that meant she disobeyed the Master’s command and had no reason to live.

But the task had to be completed. She had to wait—still had to wait.

In that instant, Xia Yan became in her world the person she hated most, the one she longed to kill most. Even tormenting his corpse ten thousand times, a hundred million times, would not have been enough to release her rage.

And yet she had to let this scoundrel continue living!
Even if he lived one more second, she could not help but despise him with all her heart.