Don't Look Back X Grey Elder, Drenched in Sweat X Hidden

The guard turned and strode into the villa. The iron gate closed behind him, the latch clicking back into place.

Jiang Ye didn't move, his hands still in his coat pockets, his gaze passing over the iron fence and landing on the steps of the villa's porch.

He counted his heartbeats.

one two three.

Footsteps echoed in the porch, not just one, but at least three or four pairs of shoes stomping on the hard surface. The rhythm was not hurried, but it was noticeably heavier than that of the guard from before.

The door was pushed open from the inside. Instead of Grey Elder, two men in black uniform jackets emerged, their waists bulging, and their posture suggesting they had practiced martial arts.

The two men blocked the doorway from both sides, their eyes fixed on Jiang Ye, but they didn't speak or open the door.

Jiang Ye tilted his head, looking at the two unfamiliar faces.

His Qi absorption was good, better than Iron Wall and the others, but his strength lay only in his clean foundation, without any trace of systematic refinement.

A beginner-level Nen user, good enough to handle any situation.

He withdrew his gaze, tapped the ground with his toes, and cast a thin shadow on the gravel, which then slipped into the gaps in the iron fence.

A few seconds later, a very soft sound came from the half-open window on the second floor of the villa, like someone placing a teacup on the windowsill, the sound of the porcelain bottom hitting the wooden surface, which could be heard crisply even dozens of meters away.

The two men in black in the porch exchanged a glance, and one of them turned and went into the villa.

Less than half a minute later, the iron gate was pulled open from the inside, and this time a middle-aged man wearing a gray cloth short jacket came out. He had a peaceful face, but the two lines at the corners of his eyes were the result of years of squinting at people.

"Elder Grey Elder invites you in."

Jiang Ye stepped over the threshold, not even glancing at the middle-aged man, and walked straight toward the main entrance of the villa.

The middle-aged man paused for a moment, then quickly caught up, falling half a step behind. He seemed about to say something but swallowed his words back.

Jiang Ye walked to the front steps of the porch. Two men in black were still stuck there. He turned his head and glanced at the one on the left. His gaze was calm and not oppressive. He just glanced at him.

The man's Adam's apple bobbed, and he stepped aside, making a half-step.

Jiang Ye went up the steps and through the porch. The door to the villa's hall was already open, and warm yellow light emanated from inside, carrying a scent of wood and old books.

He went inside.

The hall was more spacious than he had expected, with a dark carpet and two rows of wooden cabinets of different heights against the wall. Several bronze artifacts were placed on the cabinets, which were clean, but upon closer inspection, one could see that the scratches on the bronze artifacts were old, and they were more for display than for use.

Grey Elder sat on a single sofa at the far end of the hall. On the coffee table in front of him were a tin wine pot and two cups, steam still rising from their rims.

He had changed into a thicker gray robe, buttoned up tightly at the collar. He wasn't holding a cup; his fingers were interlaced on his knees. He watched Jiang Ye walk in with a slight smile on his face, but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"They arrived earlier than I expected."

Jiang Ye didn't reply. He glanced around the hall to make sure there was no third person hiding behind the screen or under the curtains.

He then took a half step back with his left foot, his heel sinking into the shadow cast by the sofa, and his whole body sank down, like a drop of ink falling into water, silently disappearing.

The Grey Elder's fingers tightened suddenly.

He was getting old, and his reactions weren't as quick as when he was younger, but his mind was sharp enough. The moment he caught a glimpse of Jiang Ye disappearing out of the corner of his eye, his back straightened.

The next second, a hand reached out from behind the sofa, palm up, five fingers gently spread, hovering less than an inch above Grey Elder's left shoulder.

Don't look back.

Jiang Ye's voice came from behind him, his tone indifferent.

"Don't stand up either."

Grey Elder's breathing paused for a moment, then returned to normal. He neither turned around nor stood up.

He simply untied his interlaced fingers, placed one palm on his knee, and reached for the wine glass on the coffee table with the other.

"If I wanted to make a move, you'd already be lying down."

Jiang Ye's voice fell from the shadows, as light as ash.

"Relax, I just want to sit and talk to you; standing is too tiring."

He withdrew his hand, walked around from behind the sofa, and sat down on the wooden chair opposite Grey Elder. He leaned back against the chair back, placed his hands on the armrests, and adopted the exact same posture as Grey Elder.

Grey Elder picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and lingered his fingers on the rim of the glass for a moment as he put it down.

He looked Jiang Ye over again, his gaze sliding from the twelve-year-old's face to the other's fingertips resting on the armrest, and then back to his eyes.

"Rust Remains Alliance, what a clever tactic."

The Grey Elder's voice steadied itself, unhurried and even slightly amused.

"There were four men standing on my porch, and seven sentries in the yard. None of them noticed you coming in."

Jiang Ye neither denied nor explained; he simply raised his left hand from the armrest and pointed at the empty cup on the coffee table.

Is there any tea left?

The Grey Elder looked at him for two seconds, then reached out and picked up the tin kettle, poured half a cup of hot water into the empty cup, and steam rose from the rim of the cup, carrying the astringent aroma of stale tea.

Jiang Ye picked up the cup, blew on it, took a sip, and put it back.

"The tea is good."

"Old ones aren't good."

The Grey Elder put the tin pot back down, leaned back in his chair, and placed his hands on his stomach again.

"Tell me, you didn't come a day early just to drink this pot of my stale tea."

Jiang Ye spun the cup around, then slowly ran his thumb along the rim.

"You invited me for tomorrow night, but I came today to let you know beforehand."

He raised his eyes and looked at the Grey Elder.

"How do you plan to arrange the banquet tomorrow night?"

Grey Elder's eyebrows twitched.

"Just eat whatever I set out."

"That means you haven't decided yet."

Jiang Ye put the cup back on the coffee table, his voice flat.

"Then I'll save you some trouble."

He leaned forward and placed his hands on his knees.

You know your current situation.

"The coronation process is complete, but the people below haven't fully settled in yet. You've taken over 70% of District 13's assets, and I still hold the remaining 30%. If you want to touch me, you'll have to spit out some of what you just swallowed to fund your army."

The Grey Elder didn't speak, but the lines at the corners of his eyes deepened slightly.

Jiang Ye continued speaking, at a slow pace.

"I won't touch you, and you shouldn't touch me either."

"You take the lion's share of the stuff from District 13, and I'll take the smaller share, but you don't interfere with how the smaller share is used or divided."

"Once we leave District 13, you go your way with your Council of Elders, and I'll go my way with my Rust Remains Alliance. Let's not cause each other any trouble."

Grey Elder tapped his stomach lightly twice with his fingers.

"You're a gang that's just started to establish itself, and you're talking to me about each ruling our own territory?"

"It's not a discussion."

Jiang Ye looked at him, his eyes blazing.

"It's to tell you."

The hall was quiet for a few seconds, then the whistling sound of wind blowing against the corrugated iron walls came from outside the window, and the footsteps of patrolling guards could be heard in the distance.

Grey Elder lowered his hand from his stomach and placed it on the armrest of the sofa, leaning forward slightly.

What if I don't agree?

Jiang Ye didn't rush to answer. He looked down at his shadow, where a thin layer of dark shadow lay on the carpet at his feet, as still as a pool of water.

"Then I won't leave tonight."

He looked up, and the corners of his mouth curved slightly.

"You know that the people in your villa can't stop me."

Grey Elder's pupils contracted for a moment before returning to normal, but Jiang Ye could clearly see that his fingers on the armrest tightened slightly.

"You are threatening an elder."

"I'm saving you trouble."

Jiang Ye stood up, walked to the coffee table, and looked down at the Grey Elder.

"If you think you can pin me down at the table by setting up a trap tomorrow night, then you should bring a few more people over tonight."

He tilted his head slightly and gestured towards the doorway.

"Now you have everything you can do. What tricks can you pull out tomorrow night?"

The Grey Elder didn't speak, his lips pressed into a thin line.

Jiang Ye finished the tea in his cup, put it back on the coffee table, and straightened up.

"I've said it here: whether you hold the banquet tomorrow night or not is up to you."

He turned and walked towards the entrance of the hall, but stopped after taking two steps, turned his head, and glanced at Grey Elder out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh, right."

"If that Worm of yours burrows under my workshop again, I'll cut it into pieces, dry it, and send it back to you."

The corner of Grey Elder's mouth twitched for a moment.

Jiang Ye didn't look at him again, stepped out of the hall, passed through the porch, and went down the steps.

The two men in black were still standing on either side of the porch, but this time they didn't stop him; they just watched him walk past.

The iron gate was open, and the guard stood by it, his hand on the handle of his gun at his waist, but he didn't draw it.

Jiang Ye walked out of the iron gate, onto the gravel road of the scavenging area, and glanced back at the window on the second floor of the villa.

The Grey Elder stood behind the window, one hand resting on the window frame, the other hanging at his side, his expression obscured.

Jiang Ye nodded at him, turned and walked into the shadows among the scrap metal piles. His figure sank down, and a few seconds later he emerged from behind a toppled concrete pillar fifty meters away, continuing towards the camp.

After walking a dozen steps, he stopped and looked down at his right hand.

My palms are a little sweaty, not entirely warm.

That old bastard, Grey Elder, does indeed have something hidden. He wasn't mistaken when he sensed it in the villa earlier; there was a wisp of energy behind the curtains on the second floor, perfectly concealed and motionless, yet its presence was stronger than the four people on the porch combined.

Jiang Ye rubbed his fingers together and wiped the sweat on his trouser leg.

"Tomorrow night."

He muttered something under his breath, then continued walking, his shadow stretching long and thin on the gravel.

Hundreds of meters behind him, in Grey Elder's villa, behind the window on the second floor, Grey Elder drew the curtains tightly again and turned to look at the shadow standing in the corner of the room.

What do you think?

The shadow moved slightly, its voice hoarse.

"That brat spotted me just now."

The Grey Elder didn't reply. He picked up the wine pot, poured himself a cup, and took a swig.

"The banquet tomorrow night will proceed as planned."

He slammed the wine glass down on the windowsill.

"But you don't need to sit at the table."