Chapter 763 --763

Chapter 763: Chapter-763

Madam Hua didn’t immediately step back after the deal was struck.

Instead, the towering syndicate boss closed the remaining distance between them. Moving with the fluid, predatory grace of a woman completely accustomed to absolute power, she bypassed the grease-stained table and stopped just inches from Heena.

With a slow, terrifyingly sweet smile that crinkled the heavy white powder at the corners of her eyes, Madam Hua reached out and firmly patted Heena right on the shoulder.

Smack.

Behind the black gauze veil, Ren’s entire body violently jolted. His heart slammed against his ribs, his breath catching in his throat as pure panic flooded his veins.

He knew exactly what lay beneath that heavy wool cloak. Right where Madam Hua’s heavy, ring-covered hand had just slapped down, Heena’s flesh was a pulverized, weeping mess of split muscle and torn tissue, barely held together by thick black drawing salve and tight linen bindings. A solid pat like that was enough to send a grown dockworker screaming to her knees.

Ren instinctively twitched forward to pull the Madam’s hand away, but before he could even lift his arm, Heena’s pale fingers tightened around his sleeve with a grip like a steel vise, pinning him in place.

A searing, white-hot spike of blinding agony ripped straight down Heena’s spine. The stitched muscle fibers across her shoulder blade screamed in protest, and for a fraction of a second, the metallic taste of blood flooded the back of her throat.

Yet, Heena didn’t flinch. She didn’t gasp, she didn’t sway, and her eyelashes didn’t even tremble. She stood as rigidly immovable as a marble statue, her dark, abyssal eyes looking up at the syndicate boss with absolute, chilling calm.

Ignorant to the catastrophic damage she had just struck, Madam Hua kept her heavy hand clamped on Heena’s shoulder, her sweet smile sharpening into a deadly, unmistakable threat.

"I like your ambition, little boss, and I like your product," Madam Hua whispered smoothly, leaning in so her voice was for Heena’s ears alone. "But if you dare to ever be late delivering to my pavilion again... just so you know, Three-Fingers Qiu might forgive your lateness once for thirty taels of silver. But I? I will tear you apart myself."

Madam Hua’s grip tightened slightly on the wool cloak.

"You want my syndicate to crush the East Timber Guild for you? Done," she purred, her eyes glinting with cold, underworld malice. "But remember who you are dealing with. If you cross me, or if a single drop of this scent ends up next door... you know how the timber guild is about to fall? You will follow them straight into the canal."

Up on the brick wall, the System was practically covering its eyes. "Host, your stitches are definitely bleeding again. Do not antagonize the mafia boss right now."

Heena ignored the AI, completely suppressing the fiery agony radiating across her back. She didn’t lower her gaze, nor did she attempt to step away from Madam Hua’s heavy hand.

Instead, the corners of Heena’s pale lips slowly curled upward, matching the Madam’s deadly smile with a terrifying, arrogant smirk of her own.

"I am never late to a mutually profitable arrangement, Madam Hua," Heena rasped, her voice as smooth and cold as a jade blade. "As long as your silver arrives on time, my shipments will arrive on time. You handle the timber rats, and I will handle your supply. I have absolutely no intention of swimming in the canal anytime soon."

Madam Hua stared into the girl’s pitch-black eyes for a long, heavy beat, searching for even a flicker of intimidation or weakness.

She found absolutely nothing. Only the cold, dead reflection of a predator staring right back at her.

Letting out a loud, sudden bark of laughter, Madam Hua removed her hand from Heena’s shoulder, clearly thrilled by the sheer spine of her new business partner.

"Good! A girl with guts! I like it!" Madam Hua declared, turning back toward the open iron door as Three-Fingers Qiu hurried out, carrying a heavy, polished iron plaque bearing the crimson lotus crest and an extra fifty-tael silver ingot.

Ren moved with quiet, mechanical efficiency. He transferred the four heavy silver ingots—two hundred taels of pure, government-stamped wealth—into a secure leather satchel hidden beneath his own robes, accepted the heavy iron syndicate plaque, and gave a brief, silent nod to the Madam.

"The moon is rising, Madam Hua, and I have a workshop to prepare," Heena said smoothly, turning away from the alley thugs. "I will send my attendant with the next batch in exactly seven days."

Without waiting for a dismissal, Heena turned on her heel, her heavy black cloak sweeping over the damp cobblestones, and began the slow walk back toward the main thoroughfare, with Ren trailing half a step behind to guard her back.

They walked in absolute silence until they emerged from the damp alleyway and stepped back into the bustling, lantern-lit noise of the red-light district’s main street. The humid night air was thick with the smell of roasting chestnuts and cheap perfume, but to the two of them, it tasted like pure freedom.

Waiting exactly where she promised, standing deep in the shadow of a dry-goods stall with a rusted iron crowbar gripped tightly in both hands, was Old Lady Lin.

The moment she saw them emerge from the alley in one piece, the old woman let out a massive, shuddering exhale, the tension draining from her rigid shoulders as she hurriedly stepped forward to meet them.

"You actually made it out," Old Lady Lin hissed, her sharp eyes darting over Ren’s veiled figure to ensure he wasn’t injured. "Well? Did that scarred bitch rob you?"

Ren didn’t say a word. He simply reached under his robe, pulled back the flap of the leather satchel, and let the ambient red lantern light catch the heavy, unmistakable gleam of two hundred taels of solid silver, resting right beside the iron crest of the Crimson Lotus syndicate.

Old Lady Lin’s jaw dropped. She stared at the silver, completely speechless, the iron crowbar nearly slipping from her calloused fingers.

Before the old woman could even process the sheer volume of wealth staring her in the face, Heena stopped walking.

The adrenaline that had been holding the Black Lotus together through the negotiation, the veiled threats, and Madam Hua’s brutal shoulder pat finally, catastrophically vanished.

"Ren," Heena whispered, her voice suddenly sounding incredibly small and brittle.

Ren whipped his head around.

Beneath the hood of the heavy black cloak, Heena’s face was the color of old ash. Her eyes rolled back, her knees buckled completely, and she collapsed forward like a cut string.

"Miss Lu!" Ren gasped, dropping the satchel and catching her firmly by the waist before she could hit the cobblestones, ignoring the propriety rules completely as he carefully supported her weight against his chest.

He looked down at his hand, feeling a warm, sticky dampness soaking through the thick wool of her cloak right where Madam Hua had slapped her.

"Mother, her shoulder stitches tore open," Ren said, his voice tight with panic as he hauled Heena’s unconscious arm over his neck to stabilize her. "We need to get her back to the clinic right now."

Old Lady Lin snapped out of her silver-induced shock, immediately hoisting the leather satchel into her own arms and grabbing Heena’s other side.

"Don’t just stand there, lift her carefully!" the old woman barked, her maternal instincts violently overriding her greed as they hurried back toward the quiet south alley. "Little lunatic... I knew she was putting on a brave face in that alley! Who told her to play the tough boss when she’s half-dead?!"