Yi Yang stood a short distance away without moving, looking down at Han Yan.
After a long while, seeing how awkward the atmosphere had become and knowing she could not hold on much longer, Han Yan spoke first.
"Deputy... Deputy Director Yi."
Her voice was hoarse, probably from losing too much blood and nearly exhausting her strength. Every word she forced out was painfully difficult, but to survive, she still had to plead with Yi Yang.
"I thought you..."
Before she finished, her eyes reddened. Her lashes lowered and her gaze dipped slightly, making her look genuinely relieved and delighted that Yi Yang had survived.
But she never mentioned the cloth pouch she had used to ambush him.
As for the words "die in my place," she hoped even more fervently that Yi Yang would not remember them now.
Yi Yang took it all in. His face showed no particular expression. His right hand brushed Tiger Roar's scabbard as he walked over and crouched until they were at eye level, then said:
"I can put our past grievances aside and save you. But what are you offering?"
Yi Yang put the question directly, dispensing even with pleasantries, as though profit was all he cared about.
Han Yan froze at his words, apparently not expecting him to be so blunt and straightforward. At the same time, she thought with delight:
I can survive even after all that? What an ignorant fool.
Then Han Yan coughed softly, swallowed the bloody taste rising in her mouth, and stated her terms in a thinner but more decisive voice:
"Three thousand taels of silver, a handwritten copy of a superior lightness technique from my Han Family's private collection, and I can give you the credit for this mission-"
"With my Han Family's connections in the