Chapter 100

Chapter 15: The Special One Among Twenty Children

The treehouse, damp and gloomy from last night's autumn rain, emitted a thick smell of blood and feces as soon as the door was opened, making anyone who smelled it feel nauseous. Ye Qi followed the knife fighter inside with an unchanged expression—contrary to its narrow appearance from the outside, the treehouse was spacious. Along both walls, six dog cages were neatly arranged; of course, they did not contain large dogs, but people...

Even in death, their faces clearly expressed their final moments of fear, struggle, and anger...

"No survivors, very clean work!" Glancing at the corpses in the cages, Ye Qi stepped forward, dipped his finger in the blood around the bodies, and sighed as he felt its thickness: "These people were already silenced last night!"

"Disguised as water monkeys, but the real purpose was to keep the 'blood bags' fresh!" The knife fighter looked at the corpses in the cages, clenching his fists—being a demon hunter was not an enviable job, battling dark creatures daily with the constant risk of disability or death, yet it still existed. There were people who wanted revenge for their family and friends killed by dark creatures. The knife fighter looked at Ye Qi and said firmly, "Vice President, I request to join this mission!"

"Hmm!"

Ye Qi nodded and turned to walk out.

...

Amidst the white-robed priest's prayers, the treehouse and the corpses inside were reduced to ashes by the raging fire. As the SUV's engine roared, the ashes scattered in the wind.

"Chasing the water monkeys led us here. Ciri, did you find anything else?" On the way back, the white-robed priest drove the SUV, with Ye Qi in the passenger seat and the knife fighter, carrying a saber, in the back. After careful thought, the knife fighter shook his head: "No, the other side was well-disguised and thorough. Since I arrived in Sase Port, I haven't found any useful clues. If it weren't for a drunkard mentioning a strange large bird flying this way a few days ago, I might still think the water monkeys were responsible!"

"We can ask Miss Lilith for help with the description of the person..." The white-robed priest, eager to make up for the failed search, interjected. However, Ye Qi interrupted him before he could finish: "No need, we demon hunters have our own methods!"

...

In the second floor of the bar, even in the absence of Vice President Ye Qi, the demon hunters continued to chat. Of course, Ye Qi had already instructed the mercenary leader to set up drinks on the first floor, which could be taken freely for the right price.

"Vice President!"

"Ciri!"

...

Seeing Ye Qi and the knife fighter enter, the demon hunters greeted them—regardless of their official status, they naturally showed the respect due to two apostles.

"Now, I have a mission to announce: last night..." Ye Qi briefly recounted the events of the previous night. As the vice president of the Gulf Demon Hunters' Union, he had the authority to issue missions up to the Moonlight Apostle level—of course, he had to pay for it himself, as the headquarters would not contribute a cent. Tapping the bar lightly, Ye Qi took out the sketch he had drawn in the car and hung it on the bulletin board next to the bar: "Anyone who can find his whereabouts or obtain reliable information about his location will be considered to have completed the mission!"

Demon hunters, operating on the fringes, each had their own network of contacts. While they could not compare to professional intelligence agencies, if they shared information, they would not be inferior to any faction. However, they would never do so under normal circumstances; after all, information equals money, and one unscrupulous merchant had taken this principle to the extreme.

By doing this now, Ye Qi was clearly buying information.

"Give me a Flame Ice Lake, on the tab!" The knife fighter, watching the departing demon hunters, found a chair and sat down, comfortably stretching his legs on the low table in front of him. Ye Qi glanced at the knife fighter, poured a beer from the keg, and placed it on the bar: "Flame Ice Lake is limited..."

By the time the knife fighter finished his fifth beer, he waved at Ye Qi and staggered out—although he had seemed indifferent when Ye Qi announced the mission, Ye Qi understood that the knife fighter, who had volunteered to join the mission in the treehouse, was more concerned than anyone else; he just didn't show it. However, the speed at which he had downed five beers in just three minutes, more like gulping than drinking, clearly revealed his anxiety...

"Boss, there's a problem with the children!" The mercenary leader's words made Ye Qi, who had been resting his eyes, open them. Under Ye Qi's inquiring gaze, the mercenary leader answered cautiously: "One of them is a girl..."

...

The courtyard Ye Qi had rented was not far from the bar, a ten-minute walk away. The cold autumn wind had stripped the branches and leaves from the trees around the courtyard. At the mercenary leader's call, a mercenary opened the newly painted gate from the inside. Apart from the cook who came to prepare meals at fixed times, the entire compound housed only one resting mercenary and twenty children. Although Ye Qi called it a compound, it had a lawn and other features, but it could not compare to the vast estates of the Nord family, or even the Deko family. Apart from being larger, the decoration and furniture were quite ordinary, even old and refurbished.

In the brightly lit hall, twenty children stood timidly and uneasily—despite the training by three mercenaries over the past few days, the effect was still not significant. The children still showed fear and panic, especially the girl standing in front of the others. Her eyes, filled with unease, and her panicked expression, fixed on Ye Qi as he entered the hall, made her seem as helpless as a trapped fawn.

"What's your name?"

Ye Qi smiled gently and placed his hand on her head. The softness of her brown hair surprised him, and he couldn't help but stroke it.

"Rynx..." The girl's voice, slightly reassured by Ye Qi's unexpected lack of anger, was a low plea: "Sir, please don't send me away, okay?"