Mole

The dwarf did not immediately pick up the conversation. Instead, he took the small pouch, opened it, and examined the tiny dark-green pellets packed tightly inside. He gave them a careful sniff. A sharp, pungent scent entered his nostrils, and only then did he nod in satisfaction and tuck the pouch into a hidden pocket inside his coarse linen robe.

"The intelligence in this Image Recording Pearl is enough for you to squeeze a fortune out of Viscount Jack's wife and Earl Ansel. You'll be eating till your mouth drips with grease. I never complained that I had to hide in a cesspit to get this evidence, but I have to say, Lady Angela and her boy toy have truly unique tastes."

The dwarf seemed to recall something unpleasant and instinctively shook his head.

"Didn't you just complain? You really live up to your name, Mole."

The middle-aged man gave the dwarf a helpless glance. But the dwarf was absolutely right. The contents of this Image Recording Pearl alone would let him rake in a fortune. Their line of work existed in the gray area between the black and white worlds. As long as there was money to be made, anything could be discussed.

After leaving the two-story shop, the dwarf looked back. The five words "Muddled Treasure Pavilion" gleamed under the sunlight. He turned away and entered the crowd. In the next instant, he vanished into it like a mud ox sinking into the sea, leaving no trace behind.

"That guy is as cautious as ever."

On the second floor of Muddled Treasure Pavilion, the middle-aged man opened the window and watched the dwarf depart. Yet in the blink of an eye, the other man's figure had already disappeared.

Amid the flow of people, the dwarf in his linen robe had vanished. In a blind spot beyond Muddled Treasure Pavilion's view, a slightly small figure dressed in gray-black cloth quietly emerged. A small bundle was slung across his back. His short black hair looked clean and neat, while a harvest-like joy showed on his handsome young face.

"I finally got my hands on pepper too. With this, I've basically gathered all the seasonings I need. I still haven't figured out how to make miso, and I don't know how white soy sauce is prepared either, but with these spices as a foundation, I'll have a way to establish myself even in a place where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold, like Shrek City."

The boy turned and left the crowd. His figure flickered as he scaled a wall. His right hand pressed against the eaves, and his small body easily flipped over a wall more than two and a half meters high. He then landed lightly on the other side without drawing anyone's attention.

"To enter Shrek, my current cultivation progress should barely be enough. Although I only had Rank One Innate Soul Power, I reached Rank Ten in just three years. I'm even a little faster than some Soul Masters with Rank Two or Three Innate Soul Power. The reason my Innate Soul Power was so low was probably because I never had enough to eat before I was six. That must be what they call congenital deficiency."

The boy was Huo Yuhao. His steps were light as he swiftly headed toward a two-courtyard residence outside Star Luo City. As he walked, Huo Yuhao's body actually began to turn transparent. Although one or two people near the residence were covertly watching, they simply could not see Huo Yuhao striding straight toward it.

At the entrance to the residence hung a plaque bearing the words "Fortune and Joy Fill the Home." Stone tigers more than two meters tall stood on either side to guard the house. The ground was paved with blue bricks and patterned trim, the side-room windows were edged with antique-style lines, and even the lower walls were decorated with cloud-patterned tiles. One glance was enough to tell that the owner of this residence was extremely wealthy.

It was certainly dwarfed by the majestic, palace-like estate of the White Tiger Duke's Mansion, and its size was worlds apart from that place. Even so, this was still a residence that ordinary people could strive their entire lives for and never afford.

The residence's former owner had been a wealthy merchant from Star Luo City. The reason this merchant could own such a two-courtyard residence outside Star Luo City was naturally not merely because of his own wealth.

After all, the merchant was not even a lowly baron, so he had no right to use building materials of such a standard. His former identity had been that of a front man for a Soul Saint powerhouse. That was why he could own such an excellent residence despite having neither a noble title nor cultivation.

Unfortunately, even a backer who seemed as towering as a Soul Saint could be uprooted in a storm with devastating force. To avoid being dragged into the subsequent purge, the merchant could only find someone to escort him out of Star Luo to seek refuge.

For this sort of dirty job—helping someone flee—the first person the merchant thought of was Huo Yuhao, who had completed quite a few commissions for him in the past. Of course, as far as the intermediary was concerned, there was no person named Huo Yuhao. There was only "Mole," a natural dwarf standing around one meter forty tall.

For Huo Yuhao, head-on fighting—strike that—assassinating important figures and eavesdropping on intelligence were what a Ninja did best. Still, he naturally would not refuse such a lucrative job. After safely escorting the merchant out of Star Luo City, he received not only a substantial payment, but also the promise that this two-courtyard residence would be left for him to dispose of as he wished. After losing his backer, the merchant had lost any qualification to return to Star Luo City. Keeping his life was already a blessing.

"Hmph. Keep watching this place, then. Thanks to you, I don't even need to spend money hiring guards for the courtyard."

A smile appeared at the corner of Huo Yuhao's mouth. He raised his left arm, and a cylindrical device that clung tightly to it appeared. It was entirely gray and seemed to be forged from the most ordinary rare metal, fine steel. Two Rank One Soul Guidance Cores were engraved on it. Their effects seemed to be compressing and activating soul power, and increasing the torque of a metal component.

Soul power flowed from Huo Yuhao's body into the Soul Tool on his left arm. With an almost imperceptible sound, a rare metal projectile about the size of an adult's thumb was pushed out of the Soul Tool. Huo Yuhao twisted his wrist, and the metal projectile shot out violently, precisely skimming past the Ridge Beast atop the roof beam.

Huo Yuhao relaxed his slightly twisted wrist. The front of the metal projectile suddenly burst open and became a metal claw with three prongs. The metal claw that had just been fired immediately began to retract, accurately hooking onto the Ridge Beast it had just passed by.

Next, Huo Yuhao lightened his body and gathered his breath, then twisted his wrist in another direction. A powerful pulling force immediately came from his arm, dragging Huo Yuhao into the air. His core muscles tensed, turning his body upside down with his feet pointing skyward, and he shot up onto the roof beam.

Although this series of movements looked complicated, it took only about a second. With both feet braced against the roof beam, Huo Yuhao exerted force through his left arm and pulled the steel cable with his right arm, allowing himself to stand once more upon the eaves. With another twist of his wrist, the metal claw immediately reverted to a metal projectile. Having lost the support of the Ridge Beast, the pulling force of the Soul Tool on his arm immediately reeled the projectile and steel cable back in.