The two Huo family experts at the eighth level of the Shenyou Realm wore awkward expressions. They wanted to explain to the Young Master that it wasn't their fault they'd been discovered, but the words simply wouldn't come.
Even now, they had no idea how they'd been exposed. The whole thing reeked of something sinister.
"I'm done for now. Truly dead with no grave to bury me in — no way to turn this around," Huo Xingchen sighed heavily, shaking his head repeatedly.
"What happened?" The two experts turned pale. They'd followed Huo Xingchen for years and had never heard him say anything so dire. The moment the words reached their ears, they assumed something must be wrong with his body. How could they not worry?
"Your Young Master has to run naked around War City ten times. Tell me, isn't that a death sentence?" Huo Xingchen said irritably.
The expressions on the two experts' faces turned extraordinarily peculiar. They privately mused that while their young master was skilled in drinking, whoring, gambling — you name it — he'd never exactly been nurtured into such an indecent habit from childhood onward.
They exchanged a glance and somehow found themselves picturing Huo Xingchen sprinting through War City bare-bottomed, setting off screams from every woman in sight.
For reasons they couldn't quite explain, both had to suppress a laugh, nearly breaking into open amusement.
They hastily composed themselves. One of them ventured, "Young Master, what exactly happened? Why would you need to… ahem… do something like that? Did someone force you?"
"No one forced me. It's just that I got carried away this afternoon and made a bet with that bastard Yang Kai!" Just recalling the scene of the wager made Huo Xingchen's teeth itch with rage.
That bastard Yang Kai had clearly had it all planned out. And here he'd been, foolishly thinking Yang Kai would have no power to resist tonight, only to get suckered by a golden-feathered hawk and eagerly agree to the wager.
At the time he'd thought the fool was being wildly unrealistic. Now it was clear the real fool was himself, not Yang Kai.
He gave a brief account of the daytime bet. The two Huo family experts were rendered speechless.
They all too well understood their young master's character. Huo Xingchen had a terrible reputation on the outside — dissolute, unrestrained, a notorious philanderer. But for all his roguish ways, when he said something, he followed through. No exceptions.
In other words, his gambling honor was impeccable. Sure, he was a bit of a scoundrel, but he had never once gone back on a bet.
The fact that he'd mortgaged the Xuan Guang Association to Yang Kai when he didn't have enough silver on hand said it all — he was a proud man who didn't like owing anyone anything, including debts from wagers.
Since the bet was made and he'd lost, he really would have to strip down and run ten laps through War City.
The two Huo family experts could almost picture the scene when word reached the Huo household — old Master Huo Zheng dying of apoplexy from sheer rage.
"So, any brilliant plan to get your Young Master out of this? I'm all ears." Huo Xingchen walked over to the side, plopped down on a large boulder without a shred of decorum, and looked at them sideways.
The two experts exchanged another glance. One of them coughed lightly and said, "Young Master, I don't think Young Master Yang Kai truly intends for you to run naked ten times around War City. You are, after all, something of an ally to him. He'll surely want to save you some face. Why not go to him directly and explain? He'd likely do you the favor and let the whole matter drop."
"Bullshit!" Huo Xingchen snapped. "I haven't spent much time with him, but I've more or less figured out what kind of person he is. That bastard is ruthless and cold-blooded — even harder to deal with than yours truly. If I don't give him something, he'll absolutely make me run those ten laps. He's probably out looking for me right now."
As he spoke, he ground his teeth. "Damn it — if that bastard weren't personally so powerful, I'd just beat him up to blow off steam."
He thought back to that night, then to the impressive manner in which Yang Kai had defeated Xiang Tianxiao with a single move, and his frustration only grew.
They were both young masters from the Eight Great Families, so how could Yang Kai be so terrifyingly strong?
"What does the Young Master intend to offer, then?" One of them caught the hint in Huo Xingchen's words and couldn't help asking.
"I don't know, which is why I'm asking you," Huo Xingchen said, playing the part of someone who'd washed his hands of the whole affair.
The man pondered for a moment and said slowly, "How about this — you've already publicly declared yourself Young Master Yang Kai's ally. Old Master opposed it, but to no avail. Besides, Yang Kai's manor seems short on both manpower and supplies right now. Our Huo family has deep pockets and no shortage of talent. Why not ask the old master for some people and resources to send over? That way, Young Master Yang Kai probably won't pursue the bet any further."
Huo Xingchen broke into a sly grin and pointed at the expert. "Those were your words, not mine. I didn't say a thing. When we get home and my old man asks, you can report that verbatim."
The expert stared in blank surprise, then broke into a bitter smile. He now realized Huo Xingchen had already had this plan in mind — he'd merely been goading him into saying it out loud.
That way, when Huo Zheng demanded an explanation, there would be a proper reason to offer.
Huo Zheng was furious at his son's reckless behavior and had refused to let him mobilize any resources. But if these two experts served as intermediaries, they might actually be able to get the Huo family to send people and supplies.
"Alright, let's head home. This needs to be settled before sunrise — can't have that bastard accuse me of being a liar who doesn't keep his word," Huo Xingchen said, clasping his hands behind his back and striding with exaggerated swagger toward Zhongdu. The two eighth-level Shenyou Realm experts trailed behind him.
From an angle where no one could observe, Huo Xingchen's expression turned grave and serious, every trace of his earlier debauchery and nonchalance gone.
Tonight's battle, everyone had marveled at the powerful defensive capabilities the two Blood Guardians displayed and been distracted by his own shameless antics. It seemed no one had stopped to wonder how those two Blood Guardians had gone from being gravely injured to peak condition in just a single day.
Huo Xingchen admitted he had underestimated Yang Kai. Before nightfall, he had truly believed Yang Kai was doomed to fail tonight. Even if Yang Kai had some hidden trump card, it wouldn't be enough to turn the tide.
But he had never expected that Yang Kai could defend his manor so effortlessly — and even go for a leisurely stroll outside while he was at it.