Chapter Eighteen: Severed Hand?
With the Blackstone heavy sword strapped to his back, Lin Lei moved swiftly along the road. The sword's true weight was impossible to guess from its appearance, so hardly anyone around him paid him any attention.
"Clayde has finally arrived. I've waited so long!" Lin Lei forced down the excitement in his heart. "Stay calm. This time, I cannot afford to make another mistake."
The last time had seemed like a sure thing, but then a Saint-level magic scroll, the 'Guardian of Fate', had appeared out of nowhere, ruining everything at the last moment. This time, Lin Lei would not fail.
"Lin Lei," came the slightly hoarse voice of Derinkoort. "Remember, you were once with Sharker and his group. If Clayde returns, Sharker might report your presence to him."
"Understood."
Lin Lei had already considered this. But to find where Clayde would ultimately appear, he had no choice but to be with Sharker's group. And once they reached Hess City, he couldn't kill Sharker, because if he wiped out the whole group, Clayde might not show himself at all.
"I had no choice. But even if Clayde knows I was with Sharker, there's nothing he can do about it, because... now I know his whereabouts. He can't escape." At this moment, Lin Lei was full of confidence. And 'Bei Bei', connected to his soul, was currently monitoring Clayde's group.
As he spoke, Lin Lei arrived at Keyan Street.
To avoid being seen by Clayde's people, Lin Lei slipped through narrow alleys between mansions and courtyards, eventually entering the residence he had purchased through a back door.
A black blur shot across a dozen meters and landed in Lin Lei's arms.
"Bei Bei." Lin Lei looked down at the small Shadow Mouse in his embrace with a smile.
Bei Bei's eyes gleamed with pride as he communicated soul to soul: "Boss, I saw Clayde return not long ago. But I only caught half of his face before he went inside that mansion. Boss, the two men you hired are useless. They didn't even spot Clayde."
"Huh?"
Lin Lei was puzzled. He had ordered them to watch day and night. In theory, the moment Clayde appeared, they should have noticed.
"My lord, my lord."
The second brother of the two ran over and said respectfully, "My lord, we just saw a large group of people enter that mansion."
"A large group? Was there anyone with a missing hand?" Lin Lei immediately asked.
The 'second brother' shook his head. "No, my lord. You told us to inform you if anyone entered the mansion, and also to look for someone with a missing hand. But we didn't see anyone like that in the group."
"That's impossible," Lin Lei stated firmly. "There must have been someone with a missing hand."
Bei Bei had seen half of Clayde's face. With Bei Bei's eyesight, he couldn't have been mistaken. Since Bei Bei was certain, Clayde must have been among them.
"Must there be?" The man said, embarrassed by Lin Lei's certainty. "My lord, perhaps, perhaps there were too many people, and my brother and I missed them?"
Lin Lei's brow furrowed.
Too many people?
When Clayde was in the palace, he had been reduced to fleeing with only a dozen or so people after Lin Lei and Bei Bei's attack. And there were so many Magic Beasts along the way. It would be lucky if Clayde's group still had ten people. How could that be considered many?
"How many people, exactly?" Lin Lei demanded.
"A lot. At least seventy or eighty," the man said, unsure. "Anyway, there were many people. That large group suddenly appeared and all went into the mansion. My brother and I couldn't see each person clearly. Maybe one of them had a missing hand."
Lin Lei was confused.
Seventy or eighty?
Even in the palace, when Lin Lei hadn't killed Clayde's people, Clayde's 'Thunder Squad' only had thirty-something members. And after being slaughtered by Lin Lei and Bei Bei, how could there still be so many?
Lin Lei couldn't make sense of it.
"Boss, there really were a lot of people," Bei Bei's voice echoed in Lin Lei's mind. "By the time I noticed Clayde, he was just entering the mansion. I only saw half his face, but there were at least fifty people behind him. As for how many went in before him, I don't know."
Lin Lei completely trusted Bei Bei's words.
"So many people?" Lin Lei remained perplexed.
"Alright, you can go now. This is a reward for you brothers. Keep watching for me." Lin Lei tossed out a half-full bag of gold coins. The bag held at least fifty coins.
The man took the bag, peeked slightly through the opening, and saw a golden gleam. They were definitely gold coins. Half a bag like this held at least fifty. His heart immediately raced with excitement. He had fled to Hess City from out of town and was struggling just to eat and drink. Lin Lei had hired them only days ago, and now he was casually giving them fifty gold coins. How could he not be thrilled?
"Thank you, my lord! Thank you, my lord!" He made up his mind to help his brother watch the mansion's occupants very carefully. He immediately took his leave and ran to a small tavern outside, where he sat with his brother, keeping a close eye on Clayde's mansion not far away.
In the courtyard.
Lin Lei sat alone, deep in thought.
A beam of white light flew out from the Coiling Dragon Ring and coalesced into the figure of Derinkoort, with his white hair, white beard, and moon-white robes. The old man stroked his white beard and said with a smile, "Lin Lei, what's wrong? Are you troubled?"
Lin Lei looked up at Derinkoort. Seeing Grandpa Derinkoort calmed his heart. Having an elder like this by his side meant he could act with confidence and not panic.
"Grandpa Derinkoort, I was wondering where that large group of people with Clayde came from," Lin Lei said.