Silver Taels and Secret Letters

The gashes on his fingers had stopped bleeding, the blood congealing into dark red scabs.

The slightest movement sent waves of stinging pain through his hands.

These hands had just killed a man.

Not with a blade.

It was with his fists.

One punch after another, until the man was dead.

So, this is what it feels like to kill someone?

Chen Ye closed his eyes and took deep breaths, trying to calm the turmoil churning in his chest.

Zhang Tieyi, the Gao Family—they are hell-bent on my death. If he doesn't die, I will. Therefore, they forced my hand.

I am not wrong; the fault is not mine.

Who knows how many innocent people have died at his hands? I am merely ridding the world of a scourge.

Chen Ye repeated these words to himself over and over in his mind.

With every repetition, his hands grew steadier.

Again and again.

By the third time, his hands had stopped shaking.

By the fourth time, his thoughts had cleared.

In this man-eating world, if one's heart isn't ruthless enough, one cannot survive.

From here on out, such bloody business would be far from rare.

Killing.

The first time is strange, the second time is familiar.

If he wasn't used to it yet, he would just have to kill a few more until he was!

Chen Ye exhaled a long, heavy breath, purging the stagnation from his chest.

He pushed himself up and looked at the sky.

Zhang Tieyi's corpse would be discovered sooner or later, and the Gao Family could descend upon him at any moment.

The real danger had only just begun.

Now was far from the time to let his guard down.

Chen Ye suppressed his surging emotions and summoned the Pawn System.

[Current Remaining Lifespan: One day.]

Chen Ye stared at the line of text, speechless for a moment.

In the desperate situation earlier, he had gambled everything, pawning away his entire lifespan in one go. Now, he had only one day left.

If he didn't redeem his lifespan within that day, even escaping the Gao Family and Qinghe Prefecture would be useless.

He would surely die.

Yet, under those circumstances, even if he hadn't pawned his lifespan, he would have faced the same dead end.

At most, he would have lingered for a few more days.

He had no choice at all.

Chen Ye quickly ran the numbers in his head.

From his first pawn until now, he had pawned a total of two years, nine months, and six days.

During this period, he had used twenty-two taels of silver to redeem a total of eighty-eight days.

According to the system's calculations, the redeemable lifespan should be two years, six months, and eight days.

One tael of silver exchanged for four days; he needed two hundred and thirty taels.

Forget two hundred taels—he couldn't even produce a single one right now.

At this thought, his gaze inevitably fell upon the corpse of Zhang Tieyi.

Since this man was heading to the Xie Family, he should have been carrying travel funds.

Chen Ye quickly crouched down, reached into Zhang Tieyi's robes, and searched carefully.

He felt from the chest down to the waist and pulled out a money pouch.

Chen Ye untied the drawstring and opened it to find only some scattered silver.

He crouched on the ground, cupping the silver shards in his palm, not caring about the filth, and counted them. It added up to about five taels.

One tael redeemed four days, so five taels meant twenty days.

It wasn't much, but it was enough to give him a moment to breathe.

Chen Ye did not hesitate for a moment, using all his silver to redeem his lifespan.

"I want to redeem my lifespan."

The familiar interface appeared before his eyes once again.

[Redemption successful.]

[Current remaining lifespan: twenty-one days.]

Seeing the latest notification, Chen Ye's taut nerves finally eased slightly, and he let out a long breath.

He continued his search.

Zhang Tieyi's corpse still retained a trace of warmth that had not yet dissipated.

He could still feel some heat while rummaging through the body.

Suppressing his discomfort, Chen Ye reached downward and felt another hard object at the waist.

He pulled it out to find a secret letter, the seal stamped with the unmistakable wax of the Xie Family.

Chen Ye knew that when noble families of the Jing Kingdom corresponded, they often carried such seals alongside their name cards to verify their identity.

Zhang Tieyi carrying this letter on his person was clearly intended for his upcoming visit to the Xie Family.

Chen Ye unfolded the letter and read it word by word.

Having spent several years in the Gao Family, his predecessor had learned to read quite a few characters through observation, so it was not difficult for him to decipher.

The letter was written by Gao Yunheng and consisted mostly of polite greetings, containing little of substance.

Only at the end of the letter was he mentioned:

"Chen Ye of the Gao Family, True Yang beginning to manifest, may be sent to the Xie residence; hope you will accept him with a smile."

A mere few words, mentioning neither talent nor any secrets.

Had he not been a player in this game, he would never have grasped the deeper meaning.

But Chen Ye happened to be a player, and he understood.

He carefully folded the secret letter and tucked it into the inner lining of his clothes.

Chen Ye knew that the matter was far from over.

Gao Yunheng, Xie Family!

It was fortunate that he was still inexperienced at killing; he needed a few people to practice on.

He searched once more but found nothing else.

Chen Ye picked up Zhang Tieyi's short blade, but as he straightened up, he caught sight of Gao Qiaoniang standing at the doorway.

She was holding a wooden tray, though he did not know when she had arrived.

His attention had been entirely focused on searching the corpse, and he had been too preoccupied to notice her outside.

Gao Qiaoniang did not let out the scream he had expected.

Her lips moved, then closed again; in the end, she made no sound.

Her gaze shifted from his face to the corpse on the ground, then back to his face.

She took half a step back, her spine hitting the doorframe, and then she stood still.

The bowl on the wooden tray tilted, and a bit of porridge spilled onto the edge, slowly dripping down the side of the bowl, but she did not bother to steady it.

Chen Ye opened his mouth, his voice as raspy as if he had a mouthful of sand.

"I didn't see you."

Gao Qiaoniang looked down at the porridge bowl on the tray.

The spilled porridge on the rim was about to drip onto the wooden tray.

She picked up the bowl and looked toward the slop bucket where she dumped the medicinal dregs every day.

"I didn't see you either."

Gao Qiaoniang spoke as well, her voice very soft, before she turned and hurried back into the side room, closing the door.

Chen Ye cupped his hands and bowed solemnly toward the closed door.

Just as he was about to leave, a few words drifted out from the side room: "The two guards outside change shifts at the Chen and Mao hours; before the change, they go together to the corner of the alley to slack off and smoke a pipe, for about half an incense stick's time."

Chen Ye paused in his tracks and said in a low voice, "Many thanks."

He walked outside the courtyard and looked back once.

The window of the west side room had been pushed open a crack at some point.

Gao Qiaoniang's face was hidden behind the window.

The two of them stared at each other for a moment across the courtyard.

Then her gaze drifted past him, past the courtyard wall, and landed on the alley leading out of the estate, her expression complex and unreadable.

Chen Ye did not know what she was thinking, so he turned and walked away quickly.

His memory had always been excellent.

When he arrived over ten days ago, he had committed every path to memory.

Reaching a corner, the faint sound of guards chatting drifted from ahead.

Chen Ye immediately ducked into hiding, holding his breath and focusing his senses, peeking out with only half an eye to observe.

Up ahead, two guards were idly gossiping.

He remained still, waiting patiently.

After about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, those two guards, just as Gao Qiaoniang had said, snuck off to the corner on the other side and pulled out their tobacco pouches.

Chen Ye seized the opportunity, pushed off with his feet, and darted across the alley entrance in a swift blur, exiting the alleyway.