Sprawled in the snow, the blond-haired Peng Ernst showed none of his earlier arrogance. His crotch was cold and wet, tears and snot streamed down his face, and he trembled like a leaf as he watched Loa approach, as though he were seeing a demon coming to claim his life. Loa barely even had to interrogate him. One icy glance, and the fellow spilled everything he knew like beans pouring from a bamboo tube. His spineless cowardice left even Loa speechless-he had only just prepared to bring out the Ten Great Tortures of the Qing Dynasty and had yet to get serious, and this fellow had already confessed everything? In modern times, he would definitely have been among the first to become a collaborator.
According to the blond's stammering confession, the strange map was one of his father Balk's "treasures," as well as the key to the secret behind his rise to wealth.
Anyone of any standing in Fenlai City knew that Balk, commander of the Black Fang Mercenary Group, had been born a commoner. He publicly claimed to have climbed to the peak of the seventh rank through exceptional talent as a warrior and diligent effort. But his own family knew his talent was nothing special; otherwise, he would not have failed to advance to an eighth-level warrior. Years of indulgence wearing down his body had certainly played a part, but at its root, the main reason was the limit of his talent.
His true rise had begun with an utterly chance adventure in his youth. He and several brothers who had been his teammates at the time had stumbled into a concealed ancient chamber. On a stone platform at its center sat a long-weathered skeleton, cross-legged. Lying flat across its knees were this map and a thick book.