Spiritual Dismemberment

Ye Wei'an walked along while recalling the image from Grumman's memories: he adjusted the angle of his greatsword and deliberately adopted a swaggering, bow-legged gait, projecting the image of a man riding high on a recent victory.

As the group stepped onto the cobblestone streets of Firefall Town, the previously noisy thoroughfare fell eerily silent for half a second.

"Look, it's 'The Butcher' Grumman..."

"That wolf is back. Looks like he made a killing this time."

"Shh, keep it down! Don't provoke him!"

Seeing this tower of a man, a figure of pure malice, the street vendors, women doing laundry, and children playing all scattered like startled sparrows. They didn't run far, however; instead, they hid behind half-closed wooden doors or in dark alleyways, whispering and pointing with an air of practiced habit.

This was hardly surprising.

Grumman was a habitual bandit, true, but he understood the principle of "a rabbit doesn't eat the grass by its own burrow."

In most cases, he conducted his "business" far away from the town, only returning to Firefall Town to squander his gold, fence his stolen goods, and purchase supplies.

To the common folk of the town, Grumman was a scourge, but he had never truly threatened their lives.

To the merchants, while Grumman was a wolf, he was a wolf that spat out gold coins.

And without the locals of Firefall Town providing information, those who had been robbed or the caravans he targeted could never track Grumman's trail.

"Haha! Don't worry, I'm in a good mood today—I'm not killing anyone!" Ye Wei'an roared with laughter, tossing a handful of blood-stained copper coins to a beggar by the roadside as he walked.

Cain, Renn, and Harold were perfectly in sync; they draped their arms over each other's shoulders, intentionally shouting about their "heroic deeds" of slaughter from the day before.

Once the copper coins were scattered, Ye Wei'an turned his gaze to the female slave beside him.

Ailian kept her head bowed, her messy hair obscuring her face. She dragged her feet with every step, looking like a discarded ragdoll that had been thoroughly broken.

"Sorry about this."

Ye Wei'an suddenly swung his large hand in a wide arc, landing a heavy, resounding slap on Ailian's firm, rounded backside in full view of the public.

"Smack!"

"Move your ass! If you don't satisfy me tonight, I'll hand you over to the boys!"

Ailian let out a perfectly timed shriek, curling into a ball in shame and frustration. Her display of unbearable humiliation and desperate struggle was nothing short of natural.

At the same time, Ye Wei'an noticed a red dot on his mini-map suddenly begin to move.

Comparing the mini-map to reality, Ye Wei'an quickly identified him in the crowd.

It was a young man who had been hiding in front of a bakery diagonally across the street.

Upon confirming "Grumman's" identity, he turned quickly, darted through several narrow back alleys, and headed straight for their target: the Dissolute Dragon tavern.

Within mere minutes, that red dot merged with the three red dots already inside the tavern.

Heh, in a rush to report back, are we? Ye Wei'an sneered inwardly.

There were three red dots in the tavern, which meant that "Gray Crow" was not alone while waiting for Grumman.

This made sense; Gray Crow was merely a black glove used by the Baroness to handle dirty work and possessed no combat prowess of his own.

When facing a savage like Grumman, whose hands were stained with blood, he likely wouldn't have the courage to face him for a trade without two professional bodyguards—not even after a long history of cooperation.

"We're here."

Five minutes later, Ye Wei'an stopped and looked up at the creaking sign—a dragon with bleary eyes clutching a wine barrel.

He kicked open the tavern's rickety door and strode inside.

It was dusk, the busiest time of day for the tavern.

The air was thick with a mixture of scents: tobacco, sweat, the greasy aroma of roasted venison, and the smell of locally produced Mist Fruit Brew.

The moment "Grumman" stepped through the door, the noisy hall fell instantly silent.

A few patrons who had been on the verge of cursing fell quiet, averting their eyes the moment they saw it was "Grumman." A few men playing finger-guessing games nervously tucked their coin purses into their tunics.

Ye Wei'an didn't rush upstairs to find Gray Crow. He planted a foot on a bench and pulled a handful of silver coins—spoils seized from the bandits—from his coat, slamming them heavily onto the bar like an upstart who had just struck it rich and was eager to squander his wealth.

"What are you looking at! Never seen a hero return from a victory?" Ye Wei'an barked. "Innkeeper! Open a few barrels of Suzar Rye Ale for me, and bring out three roasted suckling pigs! I'm celebrating today."

Seeing the patrons nearby shrinking back and peeking over, he added, "I'm in a good mood today! Drinks are on me tonight—a round of Oat Ale for everyone, put it on my tab!"

The tavern was silent for a moment, then erupted into a cheer that nearly blew the roof off.

As long as there was free booze, the patrons didn't care that the man before them was a notorious bandit. They cheered for him, and many even stepped forward to toast him.

Ye Wei'an naturally accepted every drink; he had his system inventory, so as soon as the liquid hit his mouth, he could dump it directly into an inventory slot, ensuring he would never get drunk.

Renn, Harold, and Cain played their parts perfectly, loosening their collars, tearing into the roasted pork, and letting cheap ale spill all over their faces.

Renn flirted with a passing Tiefling waitress, while Harold cracked lewd jokes.

While gorging himself, Ye Wei'an didn't forget to check his mini-map. He could see the three red dots representing Gray Crow pacing anxiously on the second floor.

More interestingly, not long after he entered the tavern, five or six more red dots surrounded the building from various directions. Ye Wei'an guessed these were Gray Crow's reinforcements, set up as an ambush just in case.

However, seeing Ye Wei'an preoccupied with drinking and eating, refusing to head upstairs, the ambushers were starting to lose their nerve.

Ye Wei'an's group had arrived suddenly, and since it was dinner time, many of the hired thugs had been called away in the middle of their own meals.

Since there were no other taverns near the Dissolute Dragon, the hired thugs had no choice but to wait for the order to retreat in the cold night wind.

They waited and waited, only to be met with the thunderous belches of the bandits.

Ye Wei'an's meal lasted a full two hours, but the thugs lacked such patience; they began to leave one after another after only half an hour.

Based on their understanding of Grumman, once that barbarian picked up a glass, he would drink endlessly until he inevitably collapsed into a puddle of mush, so there would be no surprises tonight.

It's done, Ye Wei'an sneered to himself.

He took his three drunken subordinates and rented two rooms diagonally across from the one marked as the Gray Crow's guest room.

Once the doors were shut, the plan entered its second phase.

Cain and the other two entered their room and, ignoring everything else, collapsed onto the beds; soon, the sound of snoring drifted through the room.

This wasn't because they were slacking off.

According to Ye Wei'an's plan, they were to make the act as real as possible.

After all, they had been traveling all day, and anyone would be exhausted; trying to capture the well-rested Gray Crow while dragging around fatigued bodies was a recipe for disaster.

It was better to eat, drink, and rest, recharging their energy to hunt down the Gray Crow in the dead of night, thereby turning the tables so that they were the ones waiting in comfort.

As for the room where Ye Wei'an and Ailian stayed, it was a different story entirely.

"Ah! My Lord Leader... no... I beg you!" Ailian's tearful, shrill screams pierced through the thin wooden walls, interspersed with a man's hoarse, lecherous laughter and the rhythmic, creaking thuds of the wooden bed, sounding exceptionally jarring in the hallway.

In reality, Ye Wei'an was sitting leisurely by the window, observing the street below to plan their escape route while eating a melon to cleanse his palate.

To play the part of the Butcher, Grumman, he had followed the man's habits and devoured a massive pile of suckling pig and Hurek hunter pies in one sitting.

Although he could toss the meat he couldn't finish into his system inventory, a meal consisting entirely of meat, grease, and pastry was still far too rich.

Meanwhile, Ailian was shaking the oak bed frame while screaming.

To the Gray Crow and his bodyguards next door, these sounds were nothing short of mental torture.

Before long, Ye Wei'an saw a red dot leave the room and head downstairs.

A while later, the red dot returned upstairs, accompanied by a yellow dot.

The two light dots entered a room a bit further down the hall and impatiently merged together.

Ye Wei'an hadn't expected his stakeout to yield such an unexpected surprise.

Since someone was rushing to deliver themselves to his doorstep, it would be a disservice to their kindness if he didn't accept the gift with a smile.