Chapter 350 - 192: Mutual Deception, Momentum Becomes a Tiger Ride

Chapter 350: Chapter 192: Mutual Deception, Momentum Becomes a Tiger Ride

"I can join Dragon Eagle, really! I can do anything! Run errands, do odd jobs, be a lookout—whatever you tell me to do, I’ll do it, no questions asked!"

Wan Ze heard this but didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he tilted his head to look at Zhai Jia.

"Did you use lethal force?" he asked.

Hearing those four words, Xiao Yunkai’s face went deathly pale on the spot.

Zhai Jia immediately denied it, spreading his hands innocently. "How could we? Brother Xiao has been very cooperative. We’ve treated him with courtesy the whole time, serving him fine tea and refreshments. It’s just that there are still some things we need to confirm... You know about that case a while back. Brother Xiao is a bit of a suspect, but if he can clear things up..."

As he spoke, Zhai Jia put down the paper cup and turned to Xiao Yunkai. His tone softened, as pleasant as a spring breeze. "I can definitely push for lenient treatment on my end. You know the policy: leniency for those who confess, severity for those who resist. Brother Xiao has been so cooperative, we’re well aware of that."

But Xiao Yunkai’s face turned green.

His lips trembled. ’Confess?’

’When the fuck am I supposed to stop confessing?’

"Boss, I can’t..."

Before he could finish, Wan Ze cut him off. "Don’t worry. Just think of it as a vacation. It’ll be over in a few days."

Xiao Yunkai shuddered.

’A few days?’

’How many is a few? Three? Five? Or thirty?’

The vague statement was like a knife hanging over his head, and he had no idea when it would fall.

’I would’ve been better off just dying last night!’

Xiao Yunkai opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but in the end, nothing came out. He forced himself to swallow the words on the tip of his tongue.

He knew he was in no position to bargain.

Wan Ze looked at him and suddenly asked, "Where’s that pendant of yours?"

Xiao Yunkai froze.

In that instant, his expression changed ever so subtly.

A hint of alertness appeared.

He forced himself to remain calm. "Brother Wan, that pendant was my mother’s..."

"Cut the crap and hurry up!" Zhai Jia barked.

His naturally imposing aura made Xiao Yunkai flinch, his shoulders shrinking back.

You could chat and joke with Zhai Jia when the time was right, but kidding around with him when he was serious could genuinely get your head chopped off.

To Zhai Jia, this kid Xiao Yunkai, when compared to someone like Zhou Hai, seemed honest but was actually anything but.

A guy like Zhou Hai was overtly arrogant. You knew what he was thinking, so he wasn’t hard to guard against.

But Xiao Yunkai was different. On the surface, he was meek and submissive, cooperating with and agreeing to everything, but he couldn’t hide the shrewdness and calculation in his bones.

He was too obedient—abnormally so.

For someone to maintain such a level of "cooperation" while being detained, they either had to be genuinely carefree or be plotting something much bigger.

Zhai Jia leaned toward the latter possibility, but he was biding his time, wanting to see what other valuable information he could pry out of the kid’s mouth.

Xiao Yunkai unfastened the Jade Pendant and held it out with both hands. The pendant was strung on a cord. It wasn’t large, about the size of a thumbnail, and it had a greasy-looking sheen under the fluorescent lights.

Wan Ze took it in his hand.

Zhai Jia leaned in, examining it curiously. He thought there might be something special about it, but after staring for several seconds, he saw nothing. It was just a jadeite pendant.

Wan Ze merely glanced at it. "Glassy-type Imperial Green. No wonder it’s so captivating."

Xiao Yunkai gave an awkward laugh, the corners of his mouth twitching upward. "Brother Wan, would a big shot like you be short on something like this? With just a flick of your finger, you could get jadeite way more impressive than mine."

His words were flawless, simultaneously flattering Wan Ze and devaluing his own possession in an attempt to downplay its worth.

Zhai Jia clicked his tongue in amazement from the side, looking Xiao Yunkai up and down. "Brother Xiao, you really hide your talents well. Glassy-type Imperial Green... this piece has to be worth hundreds of thousands, at least, right? Who would’ve thought Brother Xiao was a rich man."

Xiao Yunkai waved his hands frantically, a fine sheen of sweat beading on his forehead. "No, no, that’s not it. This is a memento left by my mother. It’s not worth anything, it’s just... just a keepsake."

He knew that being held here by Wan Ze and his men made him nothing more than meat on the chopping block.

Even Brother Tian, Tian Guipu, had died at Wan Ze’s hands. What reason would Wan Ze have not to kill him?

Tian Guipu’s Cultivation was higher than his, his background was stronger, and what was the result? He was killed just like that.

At this thought, the back of Xiao Yunkai’s shirt was soaked through with cold sweat.

That was why he was willing to obey in all matters. Whatever Wan Ze said, went. Whatever Zhai Jia said, he’d listen. He would never say a word he wasn’t supposed to say, and never do a thing he wasn’t supposed to do.

He only hoped that Wan Ze and his men would be willing to let him go and spare his life.

Wan Ze watched him for two seconds, then suddenly handed the pendant back.

Xiao Yunkai froze, subconsciously reaching out to take it. The red cord coiled in his palm. He looked down at the Jade Pendant in his hand, then back up at Wan Ze, his face a mask of bewilderment.

Wan Ze had asked for his pendant, only to give it back.

’What was the point?’

Xiao Yunkai’s mind raced, possibilities flashing by like a carousel.

’Was this a test? A warning? Or... did he simply look down on it?’

Suddenly, Xiao Yunkai thought of a possibility.

’Perhaps Wan Ze was telling him... Your life is in my hands. The most valuable thing on your person is still just something I can take at any time. But I didn’t take it. Not because I couldn’t, but because I don’t care to.’

’If you want to live, you’d better be more obedient.’

Xiao Yunkai staggered, nearly falling to the ground. He felt like he was about to cry.

’He understood! He understood it all!’

He lowered his head, remaining silent, not daring to utter a single word.

’Is this what they fucking mean by ’accompanying a ruler is like accompanying a tiger’?’