Chapter 148: Stalking The Stalkers

The warm, rich aroma of roasted spirit-meat, steamed herbs, and piping hot tea drifted through the spacious reception hall of the main residence. Xiao Yun and Xiao Ru had moved with astonishing speed, arranging a generous spread of savory dishes, silver utensils, and freshly brewed tea across a low wooden table near the central seating area.

To anyone walking in unannounced, it looked like a lavish late-night feast prepared for honored guests. But the oppressive, ice-cold atmosphere hanging over the room told a completely different story.

Stalker Two, the female scout, sat tensely on the edge of a floor cushion, her hands folded tightly in her lap, her eyes fixed squarely on the polished floorboards. Despite the tempting smell of the hot food right in front of her, her throat was so bone-dry from sheer terror that she couldn’t even manage to swallow her own saliva, let alone touch a single dish.

On the long couch nearby, Stalker One began to stir.

A low, painful groan escaped his throat as his eyelids flickered open. His head throbbed like a struck bronze bell, and his neck felt stiff and inflamed where Ye Chenxue’s light backhand chop had shut down his consciousness back in the alley. Disoriented and discolored, he blinked against the warm lantern light, slowly trying to push himself upright onto his elbows.

"Easy," a calm, smooth voice echoed from the head of the table. "You suffered a sharp shock to your meridians, but nothing is permanently broken."

Stalker One froze. He snapped his head up, his vision clearing just enough to take in his surroundings.

Sitting casually at the head of the long table, resting a porcelain teacup between his hands, was Lu Feng. Beside him stood Ye Chenxue, leaning casually against a thick timber pillar with her arms crossed over her chest.

Her dark, elegant robes fell around her like shadows, and her icy blue eyes were downcast, delivering a sub-zero, unblinking glare that made the male scout’s blood instantly run cold.

Memory hit him like a physical blow, the shadowy alley, the ghostly speed, the instantaneous strike that had robbed him of his senses before he could even draw his blade.

A sudden, tight lump lodged itself firmly in Stalker One’s throat. His pulse hammered against his ribs as he looked from Ye Chenxue’s frosty expression to Lu Feng’s completely relaxed, smiling face. He realized with terrifying clarity that escaping this estate alive was going to be the absolute hardest feat of his life.

Lu Feng took a slow, measured sip of his warm tea, set the cup down onto its saucer with a quiet click, and leaned forward slightly.

"Now that both of our guests are awake and seated, let us speak plainly," Lu Feng began, his tone polite, reasonable, and utterly devoid of malice, which somehow made it infinitely more terrifying. "I am not a unreasonable man. My actual intention tonight is to allow both of you to walk out through my front gates completely uninjured, well-fed, and on your own two feet."

Stalker One and Stalker Two both blinked in disbelief, their breaths catching in their chests.

"However," Lu Feng continued, gesturing loosely toward Ye Chenxue, "that freedom comes with a very simple condition. You will tell me precisely why my friend here caught you, why you were tailing her carriage across Crimson Vale, and who put you up to it."

Lu Feng’s smile faded slightly, replaced by a dark, razor-sharp intensity that seemed to shrink the space in the room. A subtle flicker of his spiritual aura rippled outward, pressing lightly against the air.

"I must warn you in advance: do not attempt to fabricate a story, play stupid, or omit key details," Lu Feng said softly, his voice dropping an octave into an icy register. "If I sense a single lie coming from either of your mouths, you will never leave this estate again. Your stay here will become permanent—and far less comfortable than a hot meal in a lit room."

Hearing the heavy threat and catching the terrifying, lethal glint in Ye Chenxue’s eyes, Stalker One swallowed hard, his Adam’s apple bobbing painfully. He didn’t need a second warning. Staying tight-lipped for the sake of an employer wasn’t worth being buried beneath the floorboards of this estate. Leaving this compound alive was the only thing that mattered.

"W-We’ll talk! We’ll tell you everything, Young Master!" Stalker One stammered frantically, pushing himself up onto his knees and bowing his head low toward the table.

Stalker Two nodded vigorously alongside him, her voice trembling. "Yes! Please! We were only following orders! We have no personal grudge against you or Lady Ye!"

"Speak," Lu Feng commanded, picking up his tea once more.

"We... we were hired as independent eyes," Stalker One blurted out, speaking as fast as his lungs would allow. "Our instructions were strictly passive surveillance. We were ordered to post up near the avenues leading to your compound and monitor the movements of everyone entering and leaving the gates. We were supposed to log carriage times, driver identities, and trace where visitors went after leaving your estate!"

Lu Feng’s eyes narrowed into dark slits. "Monitoring my perimeter..." He set his cup down. "And who gave you these orders? Was it the Iron Fang Gang?"

Both scouts shook their heads violently in unison.

"No! No, Young Master, not Iron Fang!" Stalker Two gasped, her hands waving in rapid denial. "We know of Iron Fang, but they aren’t the ones paying us! It was a private contractor, a different person who meets us in the lower district taverns!"

"Describe him," Lu Feng demanded sharply.

Stalker One took a ragged breath, trying to recall every detail to avoid looking like he was hesitating. "He... he’s a broad-shouldered man, thick build, standing about six feet tall. Completely bald! His scalp, neck, and the sides of his throat are heavily covered in dark, detailed ink tattoos, beast motifs and ancient line work that run all the way down into his collar!"

The moment those words left the scout’s mouth, a silent flash of recognition passed between Lu Feng and Ye Chenxue.

Lu Feng’s posture straightened slightly. He remembered a detailed report from a few nights back, when Song Heng, his vigilant head guard, had spotted a suspicious man lingering around the outer perimeter walls under the pretense of being a harmless, stumbling drunkard. Song Heng had noted that exact physical anomaly in his debriefing: a broad, bald man with dark, extensive tattoos covering his head and neck.

A cold realization settled deep in Lu Feng’s mind.

Iron Fang was actively moving against him in the shadows, yes—but they weren’t the only ones probing his territory. A second, entirely separate force or hidden shadow broker was keeping quiet tabs on his compound, tracking his supply lines and visitor lists.

Lu Feng maintained his calm, unreadable exterior, letting out a faint, quiet exhale.

"I see," Lu Feng said softly. He looked down at the hot platters of food on the table, then back at the two shivering captives. "You have answered truthfully. Eat your fill. As I promised, you are free to go after you finish."

The two scouts looked at each other in utter disbelief, unable to comprehend that they were actually being spared.

"Thank you! Thank you, Young Master Lu!" Stalker One gasped, bowing his head to the floorboards repeatedly.

"However," Lu Feng added, his voice cutting through their relieved rambling like an iron rod, "when you return to report to your bald, tatted employer tonight, you will deliver a personal message directly from me."

The two scouts froze, listening intently.

"Tell him that probing into my estate and tracking my people is a very dangerous pastime in Crimson Vale," Lu Feng said, his eyes glittering with cold malice. "Tell him to pull his eyes back completely, or things between us will turn very rough, very quickly. Do you understand?"

"Word for word, Young Master! We will tell him word for word!" Stalker Two promised frantically.

Without wasting another second, the two scouts leaned over the table and began hurriedly shoveling food into their mouths, swallowing down meat and tea under the suffocating gaze of Ye Chenxue. Within minutes, they had finished, wiping their mouths with their sleeves and standing up nervously.

Lu Feng signaled to the front doors. Old Ma, who had been waiting near the corridor, stepped forward, unlatched the grand double doors, and escorted the two trembling captives out onto the front porch steps.

The perimeter gates swung open, and the two stalkers were practically thrown out onto the dark, moonlit street. The moment their boots touched the open cobblestones outside, the two scouts didn’t even look back. Believing they had miraculously cheated death, they took off into the night at a full sprint, their footsteps echoing down the deserted avenue as they fled toward the central district.

Back on the front porch of the main building, Lu Feng stood with his hands folded behind his back, watching the open gates as Old Ma pushed them shut and locked the iron crossbars.

The night air was cool, carrying a gentle breeze that rustled the trees surrounding the estate.

Ye Chenxue glided softly onto the porch, coming to a halt right beside Lu Feng. The silver light of the giant moon overhead reflected off her pale face and the polished hilt of her sword.

She didn’t need Lu Feng to spell out his true intentions. Releasing spies in broad daylight was one thing, but allowing an active shadow network to retain intel on their estate was entirely out of the question. Lu Feng had let them walk out the gate for a single, calculated reason: live, panicked scouts fleeing in sheer relief would run straight back to their master’s nest to report.

"You know what needs to be done," Lu Feng said quietly, not turning his head.

"I do," Ye Chenxue replied, her tone flat, sharp, and absolute.

"Tail them from the high rooftops," Lu Feng instructed smoothly. "Keep your distance until they lead you straight to their tatted master and his main hideout. Once you locate the heart of their operation... eliminate every single loose end. Erase the entire spy ring tonight so that not a single word about this estate reaches whoever is pulling their strings."

A cold, deadly aura flickered around Ye Chenxue’s frame. Her hand rested gently over her weapon.

"Consider it done," she murmured softly.

Without another word, Ye Chenxue bent her knees slightly and launched herself into the air. Like a ghost draped in dark silk, she cleared the high porch roof in a single, soundless leap, vanishing into the silver moonlight as she took to the high tiles.

Lu Feng stood alone on the porch, watching the dark sky where her silhouette had disappeared. He knew that tonight, Ye Chenxue wouldn’t be returning to sleep in the estate—and by sunrise, another shadow lurking in Crimson Vale would be permanently silenced.