Chapter 86: The Stubborn Captor And His Prisoner

Chapter 86: Chapter 86: The Stubborn Captor And His Prisoner

The old bridge over the Dolly River stood in a quiet stretch outside Constance District, far from the noise of the city.

A woman had arrived well before the appointed time.

Dressed like an ordinary woman in her thirties, she waited near the bridge with a relaxed expression, occasionally checking the time.

Today was turning out to be an exceptionally good day for her.

The assignment to investigate an assassination target had been issued only two nights ago, yet Steven Holloway had already delivered the results.

His efficiency had exceeded her expectations, and she was looking forward to reviewing the information he had collected.

There was another reason for her good mood. The previous night, she had received a new order from the Bloodshadow Cult’s deputy leader.

She was to negotiate a cooperation agreement with the Dolly Bridle Evil Faction on the Cult’s behalf. If she handled the negotiations successfully and continued producing results, she might finally be promoted to lead the Cult’s information gathering team.

The position would bring greater authority, a substantial increase in her rewards, and a better standing within the organization.

The prospect alone was enough to put her in high spirits.

Her meeting with Steven served two purposes.

First, she needed to collect the information he had gathered for the Cult. Second, she intended to offer him additional compensation to keep him cooperative.

During their telephone conversation the previous night, Steven had complained about the rewards attached to his assignments.

He believed the Bloodshadow Cult was asking too much of him without providing sufficient compensation.

Ordinarily, she would not have bothered entertaining such complaints. Informants were replaceable, and the Cult had little patience for people who demanded more than they were offered.

Steven, however, had proved unusually useful. His connections in Constance District gave him access to people and places that were difficult for the Cult’s regular operatives to reach.

That was why she had agreed to meet him personally rather than dismiss his complaints over the phone.

Still, she was not foolish enough to believe that a generous reward would satisfy him indefinitely. People who discovered they could bargain for more would eventually ask for even greater benefits.

She intended to remind Steven of one important fact: no matter how useful he might be, he was still dealing with the Bloodshadow Cult.

As an 8th-Star Foundation Establishment martial artist, she was confident she could bring him under control if he became too ambitious.

A little intimidation might be necessary before their meeting ended.

Footsteps sounded from the road. The woman stopped thinking about her plans and turned toward the approaching figures.

The moment she saw Steven, her expression changed. He was not alone.

A stranger walked beside him, and there was something deeply unsettling about the man’s presence.

He carried himself without any obvious aggression, yet the woman’s instincts immediately warned her that she was in danger.

Her pupils contracted. That man is stronger than I am.

The realization sent a chill through her. She had spent years working for the Bloodshadow Cult, and her survival depended partly on recognizing danger before it was too late.

Whatever Steven had brought to this meeting, it certainly was not an ordinary companion.

Her gaze snapped toward him.

"Steven Holloway, what do you think you’re doing?" she demanded, her voice sharp with suspicion. "Why have you brought someone else here?"

They had met three times before, and every meeting had followed the same arrangement: she came alone, and Steven did the same.

She had made that condition clear again when they arranged today’s meeting. Now he had broken the rule without even warning her.

Steven avoided her gaze and stepped slightly aside, allowing the stranger to take the lead.

The woman’s unease deepened.

"Steven, have you lost your mind?" she snapped. "Are you planning to betray the Bloodshadow Cult?"

She deliberately raised her voice when mentioning the organization, hoping its reputation would make both men reconsider whatever they had planned.

"Think carefully before you do anything," she warned.

"If something happens to me, the Cult will hunt you down. Your entire family will pay for your betrayal!"

The threats did little to change the stranger’s expression.

Steven finally raised a hand and indicated the woman.

"My lord, this is Tea House," he said.

The moment the codename left his mouth, the woman understood that the situation was far worse than she had imagined.

Steven had deliberately brought an outsider to meet her. Given the stranger’s overwhelming presence, this was no ordinary dispute over payment.

There was a possibility that he had been forced to cooperate.

She had no intention of waiting around to discover what the man wanted. Without another word, she spun around and tried to flee.

She barely managed a step. A sharp impact struck her legs, followed immediately by a burst of excruciating pain.

"AAAH! My legs!" she screamed, crumpling to the ground, clutching her lower body as tears sprang into her eyes.

The bones in both legs had been shattered by the force of the attack.

Well obviously, Xavier wasn’t expecting her to even be an issue to deal with.

He was sure the woman didn’t see him coming. Gerald Sinclair, a 7th-Star Spirit Platform martial artist, had been unable to react when the same man attacked him.

How could she, an 8th-Star Foundation Establishment cultivator, possibly escape? He has skillfully stopped her attempt to escape like it was child’s play.

She struggled to lift her head, glaring at Steven and the stranger with a mixture of fury and terror.

"You two won’t get away with this!" she shouted. "The Bloodshadow Cult will hunt you down! Every last one of you will regret what you’ve done!"

But even as she shouted, her hand moved toward her mouth. She had been prepared for the possibility of capture long before today.

As someone responsible for gathering information for an organization filled with assassins, she knew exactly what could happen if she fell into the hands of an enemy.

She was not one of the Cult’s frontline assassins, but she knew enough to make her a valuable prisoner. If her captors discovered that she had a family, they might use her loved ones against her.

And if torture forced her to reveal the Cult’s secrets, her family could also become targets regardless.

She had therefore hidden a lethal poison inside one of her teeth. If her capture became unavoidable, she could end her life before anyone had the chance to extract information from her.

Her teeth closed around the concealed poison.

Bobo, you have to take care of yourself when Mommy isn’t around anymore.

The thought of her son filled her with sadness. She had imagined she would have more time with him, but at least she could still protect him from the consequences of her work.

Before she could crush the poison, something was forced into her mouth. She barely had time to react before the elixir dissolved on her tongue.

A warm current spread through her body, and the poison’s effects vanished almost instantly.

Her eyes widened.

"A 4th-Grade Purification Elixir?" she breathed, staring at the stranger in disbelief.

The poison she carried was exceptionally potent. Even a 3rd-Grade antidote would not have been enough to neutralize it, yet this man had casually used a 4th-Grade Purification Elixir on her.

Such an elixir was worth a fortune. Why would anyone waste something so valuable on an informant who had already fallen into their hands?

Her shock quickly gave way to despair. So he intends to keep me alive and make me talk.

If she could not use the poison, she still had another option.

Clenching her teeth, she bit down violently on her tongue. Blood immediately filled her mouth.

The pain was overwhelming, but she forced herself to endure it, hoping the injury would accomplish what the poison had failed to do.

Then the stranger moved again. He seized her jaw and forced another elixir into her mouth.

A powerful sensation of vitality spread through the injured area. The pain faded, the bleeding stopped, and the damage was rapidly repaired. Within moments, her tongue had returned to normal.

The woman stared at him in horror.

"A 4th-Grade Prosperity Elixir," she whispered. She could hardly believe what she had just witnessed.

First, he had used a Purification Elixir to neutralize the poison.

Then, when she had attempted to take her own life by biting through her tongue, he had used another 4th-Grade elixir to heal the injury.

Each of those elixirs was worth tens of millions of crowns.

Even wealthy martial artists would think carefully before using one, yet this man had spent two on her without the slightest hesitation.

Was she really worth that much? No. The question was whether he even cared about the cost.

She had finally begun to understand the frightening reality of her situation. The man standing before her possessed not only overwhelming strength but also a seemingly extravagant supply of rare elixirs. Whatever he wanted from her, escaping through death was no longer an option.

Mr. X looked down at her with a cold smile.