When Regg pushed the door open and returned to the room, he saw Matthew standing alone by the window. His back was quiet, yet it faintly exuded a sense of suppressed tension.
He couldn't help but lighten his footsteps, approaching a few steps before speaking tentatively, “Still thinking about Aidan?”
Matthew turned around, his face expressionless as he gave a slight nod.
Seeing his somber expression, Regg deliberately slowed his tone, attempting to steer the atmosphere toward something lighter: “Speaking of which, we haven't had a good talk since your breakthrough. How does the Silver Rank feel? Does the world look different to your eyes now?”
Upon hearing this, Matthew showed a hint of surprise.
He hadn't expected Regg to realize he had completed his promotion. After all, through his recent sessions of regulating his breathing, he believed his aura was quite stable.
It shouldn't be visible to the naked eye, especially since Regg was only at the Brass Rank.
‘A secret technique?’ Matthew wondered. ‘Is this the foundation of a great noble family?’
Regg seemed to sense his confusion and quickly explained, “You still have the very faint scent of the medicinal bath herbs on you. Moreover, the scent has already begun to dissipate, which means you’ve finished the bath rather than being in the middle of it—this usually signifies a realm that has just broken through.”
“You don't need to worry; this scent will linger for a week at most.”
At those words, Matthew’s heart settled slightly. If everyone could easily see that he had broken through to the Silver Rank, his future actions would undoubtedly face many more complications. Regg's sharp perception was unexpected, but fortunately, not everyone was like him.
After a moment of reflection, Matthew replied, “It is indeed very different. It's not just an all-around increase in strength, speed, and perception. More importantly, it's a qualitative and quantitative leap in life energy. Now, when I use the same combat techniques, the consumption is lower, yet the power is much greater.”
Regg nodded and changed the subject. “Recently, a few new potion shops opened in the inner city. They have some formulas for calming and soothing the mind. Would you like to try them? Aside from training, relaxing your spirit is also very important.”
“Thank you for the concern, but I'm fine for now,” Matthew responded politely.
The air fell silent for several seconds. The conversation seemed difficult to sustain.
Regg opened his mouth but couldn't think of anything else to talk about for a moment. He wasn't someone skilled at small talk to begin with, and now he felt even more at a loss for words.
The atmosphere in the room cooled visibly, leaving only the faint sounds of the streets from outside the window and the invisible barrier of heavy thoughts between the two of them.
Matthew also realized his response had been too dry, but he truly had no heart for pleasantries at this moment. He simply remained silent, his gaze returning to the deepening night outside the window.
Just as this silence almost became tangible—
The sound of hurried yet deliberately light footsteps came from the hallway outside. Immediately after, there was a knock on the door, and a servant walked in quickly. Holding two sealed documents, the servant respectfully handed them to Regg and Matthew respectively.
As Matthew took the document, his heart jolted. From the time Regg left to order the investigation until the delivery of the documents, barely half an hour had passed.
Was the Fiery Lion family’s power and efficiency truly this fast?
He mused, ‘So this is the ruling power of the nobility in the inner city... It seems it’s even beyond my expectations. Aidan's disappearance just happened, and they’ve already clarified the details.’
He no longer hesitated, quickly breaking the wax seal and taking out the papers within to read.
Regg also showed a hint of curiosity, quietly looking over his own copy. As time passed, his expression gradually darkened. When he looked up at Matthew, he saw that Matthew's expression was even more grave, and beneath that gravity lay a flicker of anger.
Matthew looked up, his expression heavy. His guess was correct—Aidan's disappearance was indeed related to the Blood Hand Gang.
However, the person behind the scenes revealed in the latter half of the document was completely unexpected. It wasn't an inner city middle-manager or a common noble colluding with the gang as he had originally thought. Instead, it was the Peters family, one of the three major noble families, who was pushing this from behind.
Matthew's fingers tightened around the document, causing fine creases to appear on the edges of the paper.
Regg watched Matthew’s solemn expression and the suppressed anger in his eyes, but his own heart stirred. He set down his document. He didn't show any hesitation at the mention of the Peters family; instead, a barely perceptible smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
“The Peters family...” Regg repeated the name in a low voice. There wasn't much surprise in his tone, but rather a sense of realization as if saying, “So it really is them.”
He looked at Matthew, his gaze carrying a sharp, unspoken understanding. “It seems their hands have been reaching a bit too far lately. They even dare to touch the people around me.”
“Matthew, go ahead and do what you need to do,” Regg’s voice was clear and certain. “As for the Peters family, I will go ‘have a word’ with them.”
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the document in Matthew's hand, and added, “As for the Blood Hand Gang... they’re just a bunch of low-life scum who forgot who they were just because they had someone backing them.”
“If you need, I can order some people to accompany you to the outer city.”
Although Regg spoke implicitly, Matthew understood clearly—if he just nodded now, with the family power behind Regg, resolving the Blood Hand Gang and even finding Aidan would be a matter of a single word.
But Matthew only fell silent for a short moment before slowly shaking his head, meeting Regg's gaze with a calm and firm look. “There's no need for you to step in.”
Firstly, this intelligence already clearly listed the personnel distribution, strength composition, and stronghold locations. With Matthew's current strength, he was more than capable of a swift slaughter.
Secondly, if he accepted Regg’s help now, what he would owe wouldn't just be a simple favor, but a deeper debt of gratitude. With the power of Regg's family, handling this matter would be easy, but afterward, Matthew's actions in Jin City would inevitably be more deeply entwined with Regg and the forces behind him. Matthew clearly did not want to be drawn into the undercurrents between nobles too early or too deeply; he wanted to maintain his independence of action and freedom of choice.
Furthermore, the intelligence was already in his hands. Facing a gang whose highest members were at most ordinary Silver Rank, Matthew indeed had the confidence to steamroll them.
This wasn't just confidence in his strength, but also his persistence in his own path—some things had to be settled personally to achieve peace of mind and to truly pull out the roots of any potential threats.
As for the favor of Regg providing the intelligence, Matthew had already silently committed it to heart. Some debts of gratitude didn't need to be spoken aloud, but they would never be forgotten.
He paused slightly and continued, “I will settle this matter myself. I won't let the Peters family discover your involvement.”
Upon hearing this, Regg waved his hand, clearly indifferent to being implicated. At the same time, he didn't try to persuade him further. He simply nodded, his gaze revealing a bit of praise and understanding. “I see.”
He became a bit more serious. “In that case, go ahead. If there is any intelligence that needs verification or supplementation, come to me at any time.”
“As for the rest...” He paused, lowering his voice slightly with pointed intent, “Use your own discretion. When you need to wrap things up or handle the aftermath, just let me know.”
The words were subtle, but Matthew understood. Regg was promising not to interfere with his actions while also providing a certain level of support and maneuvering room within the ‘rules.’
“Thank you.” Matthew nodded, his thanks this time more solemn than before.
The two briefly exchanged a few more words regarding the details of the operation and future contact methods. There was no redundant chatter; every sentence was practical.
A moment later, Matthew carefully put away the documents, rose, and pushed the door to leave.
His figure was like a wisp of light smoke blending into the night as he silently exited the room, hurried down the stairs, and vanished into the shadows of the streets heading toward the western part of the inner city in an instant.
...
Rate on N.U.
