Misunderstanding

Amalune was stunned when Ye Weian bluntly pointed out her thoughts.

"Disrespectful? I—" she instinctively wanted to retort.

Ye Wei'an interrupted her: "I saw your secret and chose to remain silent. You were in trouble, and I stepped in to help you out. I did all this not so that you would speculate that I'm 'no different from those people,' nor so that you would use this... hostile and transactional tone to hastily draw a line, as if I would use this help to blackmail you."

He shook his head slightly, and his exceptionally handsome eyes revealed a rare hint of disappointment.

"I thought there should at least be one chance for a calm and rational conversation, instead of treating me like a potential kidnapper or extortionist—you wouldn't even call me 'friend'."

Amarun was speechless at his words.

"...I didn't mean that." She turned her face away, her voice lowered. "I'm just... used to it. That's how the world is; no one will help you for no reason... I really can't trust a stranger."

She took a deep breath and looked at Ye Weian again: "But you did help me... so consider it a favor I owe you."

"A favor?" Ye Wei'an raised an eyebrow.

"You know what I do," Amalune said solemnly. "I can promise to do something for you, without violating my fundamental principles, such as helping you gather certain intelligence, or... 'getting back' something."

This is the maximum return she can offer.

Ye Wei'an smiled as he watched her eager to draw a line and put a price tag on the debt of gratitude.

"A very fair offer. However, I will soon be leaving Susar to expand my territory. I'm afraid there won't be any missions that require the 'Shadow of Silence' to handle."

"If you absolutely must repay this favor... you might as well think about how to return the favor now..."

"Now?"

Amarun seems to have misunderstood something.

She scanned Ye Wei'an from head to toe; his unrealistically handsome face now appeared frivolous to her.

"Ha! You look respectable enough, but I never imagined you were exactly the same kind of show-off man, reeking of perfume and full of nonsense!"

She retorted sharply, "You think that just because you helped me twice, I should be eternally grateful and repay you with my body? Is that all you people have on your minds?"

As she spoke, she stepped forward, grabbed Ye Weian's wrist, and dragged him into the alley.

"Alright, you want payment, huh? Come with me if you dare!"

Ye Wei'an was pulled so hard that he stumbled, somewhat bewildered, but he didn't immediately break free.

He wanted to see what this "Silent Shadow" was up to.

Of course, he wasn't afraid of Amarune turning against him.

Firstly, the label representing Amarune on the minimap is always slightly red, which means that she doesn't actually harbor any hostility towards me.

Secondly, he has mastered the "gift of nature's whispers," which allows him to sense any danger in advance.

Amarun clearly knew the alleyways of Susar's lower city like the back of her hand.

She pulled Ye Weian along, nimbly weaving through alleys piled with clutter, permeated with the smell of musty and cheap liquor, avoiding the occasional drunkard and the prying eyes from the shadows, twisting and turning until they finally squeezed into a dilapidated three-story wooden building.

Upon reaching the top floor, Amarun took out her key and opened an inconspicuous wooden door.

Inside the door was a small but exceptionally tidy room.

The furniture was pitifully simple: a hardboard bed, a wooden table with a crooked leg, two chairs, a chest, and a dilapidated wardrobe.

The walls were mottled, and the floorboards creaked when stepped on.

But the items placed here were out of place with this impoverished environment. A few brooches or earrings inlaid with gemstones were scattered on the table. In the wardrobe, gorgeous silk dresses and coarse linen clothes hung together, and the reflection of gold and silver utensils could be vaguely seen in the chests.

Amalune released Ye Weian's wrist, walked straight to the bedside, and then, to Ye Weian's astonishment, quickly removed her equipment...

The outer garment slipped down, revealing a faded linen shirt underneath. Then came the silk undergarments…

Soon, she became like the masked dancers in the Dragon Knights Club.

But unlike the voluptuous allure of those dancers, Amarune's body presents a wild and elegant beauty.

Her skin was a cool-toned wheat color, firm and elastic, with smooth and distinct lines in her shoulders, back and arms, and muscles that undulated slightly with movement.

What is most striking is her slender yet powerful waist, which contrasts sharply with her full hips and long, strong legs, making her resemble a lithe and dangerous female leopard.

She lay on her back on the bed, her black hair spread out like a black flower.

Throughout the entire process, she never looked at Ye Wei'an, only staring at the low ceiling, and said in despair, "Didn't you want 'immediate reward'? Here, this is my reward, and then we're even—"

But Ye Wei'an did not rush forward as she had expected; instead, she stood there, earnestly admiring the magnificent creation of Shuni (the goddess of love and beauty).

Seeing that he made no move, Amarun felt even more embarrassed.

"Why didn't you come?" she demanded. "What? Do you look down on me? Do you think my body is dirty because I worked at the Dragon Knights Club?"

Before Ye Wei'an could speak, she hurriedly added, "Let me tell you, I only worked there to find out the details of those fat sheep! I never flaunted myself like those women! My body... is much cleaner than those ladies!"

Ye Wei'an sighed: "I think... you've misunderstood. Miss Amalune, I've never thought you were 'dirty.' But I've never said that this is the kind of reward I'm seeking."

"Not for that?" Amalune said as if she had heard the most absurd joke. "Then what do you want? Or perhaps..."

Her gaze deliberately shifted downwards, sweeping over a certain part of his body. "You're actually 'impotent'? So you have to pretend to be a gentleman?"

This is a blatant insult.

When accused of being "impotent" by a woman, Ye Wei'an did not defend himself, but instead walked straight up to her.

Amalune realized she shouldn't have provoked the other person and instinctively tried to shrink back, but unfortunately her bed was too narrow and there was already a wall behind her.

"Bang!"

Ye Wei'an placed his palms on the stone wall near Amarun's ear, completely sealing her between his chest and the cold wall.

Amarun could see him as soon as she looked up; she could see his excessively handsome face and smell the scent emanating from him—a mixture of perfume, expensive red wine, and… something that stirred her heart.

The other party was clearly just a weak spellcaster, while he himself was a nimble wanderer.

But Amarun felt that the guy in front of her was a dangerous predator, and she was just a pitiful prey who had fallen into his hands.

"You're saying I'm not good enough? That's not a very clever way to provoke you." He spoke, his magnetic voice ringing in Amalune's ears, sending a shiver down her spine. "However... if you really have doubts, I can reluctantly let you experience it for yourself."

"...What...what exactly do you want to do?"

Amalune, who had been so aggressive just moments before, was now panicking.

She abruptly pulled up the coarse cloth robe that was lying to the side, wrapped it tightly around herself, and curled herself into a ball, revealing only a pair of panicked black eyes. Her previous coldness and provocation had vanished without a trace.

"You came here with me... if not for that? Then what was it for?"

Seeing this, Ye Wei'an took half a step back before saying, "That's the question I should be asking you. You're the one who dragged me here. As for what I want to do..."

His tone became more serious. "I just want to understand why your attitude towards me changed so drastically at the club. I clearly helped you. Was it because of my association with those nobles? Or my business dealings?"

Upon hearing this, Amarun suddenly became excited.

"Business? You call that business? I saw it! Those Suizi Valley jewelry, those fabrics of dubious origin, and those aphrodisiacs! That's smuggled goods! You're a smuggler, aren't you!"

Ye Wei'an could hear the hatred in the other person's words, a hatred far exceeding the feelings that ordinary people have for smugglers.

Needless to say, she herself is a habitual thief, so there's no reason for her to dislike smugglers who are also criminals.

Could it be... a personal grudge?

"I see... I understand where this misunderstanding came from." Ye Wei'an suddenly realized, raised his hand to rub his temples, "Miss Amalune, I must protest my innocence. Those goods were indeed smuggled, but I am truly not a smuggler."

"A misunderstanding?" Amarun didn't believe it at all, her tone laced with sarcasm. "I saw you two make the deal with my own eyes, what misunderstanding could there be?"

"The goods are indeed smuggled, I don't deny that," Ye Wei'an readily admitted, but then added, "But who told you that someone who trades smuggled goods is necessarily a smuggler?"

Amalune scoffed, "Not a smuggler? Then where did your jewelry and goods come from? They couldn't have been 'seized' from smugglers, could they?"

Hearing this, Ye Wei'an nodded seriously: "Hey, you're right. These goods really were seized from the Santalin Society."

"..."

Amalune was speechless for a moment, then seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, "Seizure? Do you know how heavy the stuff you handled was? That's not something one or two smugglers could possess! Even an experienced smuggling team might not be able to get the quantity and quality of goods you showed tonight on one trip! You alone 'seized' tons of smuggled goods? That's not funny at all."

Clearly, Amarune is very knowledgeable about smuggling.

Ye Wei'an was not surprised by her reaction, and explained, "I don't just have a few men—I have an entire army. And the Santarin camps I've breached aren't just one or two—but all the Santarin transit points and warehouses within a hundred miles of Firefall Valley."

"The Santal Forest Society?!"

Upon hearing this name, Amarune's expression changed.

"It seems you know them."

"The Santalin Society isn't some local thugs... Are you sure you really wiped out the Santalin Society? And... all the Santalin Society camps within a hundred miles?"

Amarune did not deny it, but she seriously doubted Yevian's abilities.

"Words are no proof." Ye Wei'an opened his system inventory and casually tossed a bunch of random things onto the table.

Amalune's gaze was immediately drawn to it.

Most striking are several iron badges, each etched with a winged snake biting a coin. Next to them is a broken belt buckle, also bearing a simplified version of the snake biting a coin motif. There is also a rough, torn armband, on which a jet-black scepter is embroidered in dark thread, standing upright on a golden disc, which is gripped by a black dragon claw.

All of these items were stained with dark brown grime—clearly, Ye Wei'an had not obtained them peacefully.