Xiao Ke leaned back in his chair, a rogue grin playing on his lips as he looked at Ye Yun. "You know," Xiao Ke drawled, the teasing evident in his voice, "if I didn't know better, I'd say you were prettier than any woman in this godforsaken wasteland."
Ye Yun, usually the picture of composure, faltered. A rare flush crept up his neck, staining his pale, refined features.
Nearby, Duan Canglong and Luo Hou stood at attention, their eyes fixed rigidly on the middle distance as if the wall opposite them contained the secrets of the universe. To the naked eye, they appeared deaf to the conversation. Internally, however, a storm of panic was brewing.
It's over, Duan thought, stealing a microscopic glance at his comrade. It's actually over. Ye Yun is objectively beautiful—more delicate than most women we've seen—but if the Commander is actually swinging that way now...
In truth, their apprehension stemmed from Ye Yun's aura. He carried himself with the grace of a scholar—modest, polite, a true gentleman. Yet, that very politeness created an impenetrable wall. He was "virtuous as water," adaptable and flowing, but water can be cold and ungraspable. Rough-and-tumble men like Duan and Luo found it impossible to bridge that gap. In the entirety of the Iron Wheel battle group, only Xiao Ke possessed the charisma to dismantle Ye Yun's defenses and joke with him so casually.
Seeing the usually unflappable strategist turning a shade of crimson, Xiao Ke decided to show mercy. He cleared his throat, shifting gears instantly from banter to business.
"Let's talk about Song Jiongyang," Xiao Ke said, his voice dropping an octave.
Ye Yun exhaled, grateful for the reprieve. He composed himself, the blush fading as his eyes sharpened with tactical intellect. "Song Jiongyang has taken a heavy hit. He won't have the capacity to retaliate in the short term. However, the die is cast. We've humiliated him, and a man like that doesn't forgive. A life-or-death battle is inevitable."
Ye Yun moved to the map spread across the table, tracing a line with a slender finger. "Since war is coming, we must dictate the terms. Our next strategic objective must be the Canyon Mine. If we can strip him of that asset and eliminate him, we will finally have a true foothold in the Lawless Lands."
Xiao Ke nodded, his expression grim. "He was mauled last night, true. But 'Guns & Roses' still outnumbers us. He just needs time to lick his wounds and rally his forces. The Iron Wheel fought well, but we are few. The Emperor has authorized us a strength of ten thousand, yet we are operating with a skeleton crew. It's a waste of potential. We need to begin recruitment in Anping Town immediately."
"Agreed," Ye Yun replied. "Ling Feng and I will oversee the selection personally. Quality over quantity. We'd rather leave spots empty than fill them with trash."
"Good."
The meeting seemed to be winding down, but a thought nagged at Xiao Ke. He remembered the previous night—the crack of the sniper rifle, the brush with death, and the sudden intervention of a hidden protector.
"Third Brother," Xiao Ke asked, his tone serious. "Is your family still shadowing you? Do you have a guardian in the dark?"
Ye Yun looked genuinely surprised. "I... I'm not certain. It's possible. Why?"
Xiao Ke recounted the events: the sniper, the imminent danger, and the mysterious expert who had driven the assassin away before Xiao Ke could even react.
As he listened, Ye Yun's brows knit together. Based on the description—the timing, the skill level, the method—a name floated to the surface of his mind.
Ye Tianlong.
Ye Tianlong was an anomaly in the Ye clan. An orphan adopted into the family, he had been granted the prestigious surname and raised alongside the blood descendants. He was a prodigy, reaching the level of a Rank 9 Warlord in his twenties, eclipsing many of the "true" heirs.
But there was a complication. Two years ago, Ye Yun had sensed a shift in Tianlong. The man harbored feelings for him—or rather, her, given Ye Yun's disguise—that went beyond sibling affection. Tianlong was paralyzed by his status as an adopted son and his own crushing inferiority complex, never daring to voice his affection. Ye Yun, despite her polite exterior, possessed a core of aristocratic pride. She viewed him as a brother, nothing more.
"What is it?" Xiao Ke asked, noting the dark look on Ye Yun's face. "Is the protector not from your family?"
"If my guess is right, it's Ye Tianlong," Ye Yun said slowly. "He is... complicated. Solitary. Unpredictable. Brother, if you encounter him, do not assume he is friendly. Keep your guard up."
Xiao Ke nodded, though he found it strange. If he's your brother, why would he be a threat to me? Still, he trusted Ye Yun's judgment implicitly.
Five kilometers outside of Anping Town, the wind howled across the desolate plains.
Under the gnarled branches of an ancient, dying tree, a man sat alone. His face was a mask of cold austerity, his eyes sharp and devoid of warmth. This was Ye Tianlong.
In his hands, he held a block of ironwood and a razor-sharp dagger. His hands, usually instruments of death, moved with breathtaking tenderness. Chips of wood fell like snow, revealing a face within the grain. It was a woman—a beauty capable of toppling kingdoms.
If Xiao Ke had been there, the resemblance would have stunned him. The wooden sculpture was a perfect, lifelike replica of Ye Yun, stripped of the male disguise, revealing the feminine grace beneath.
Ye Tianlong stared at the finished piece. For a moment, the cold mask cracked. His eyes filled with a terrifying depth of adoration, the look of a man starving for something he can never taste. He ran his thumb over the wooden cheek, lost in a fantasy.
Then, reality crashed back in.
His expression twisted. The love curdled into bitterness, then agony. "No," he whispered, his voice cracking. "No. It's impossible. I cannot... I must not."
He gripped the carving until his knuckles turned white. "I cannot betray my adoptive father. I cannot shame the Ye family. I am dirt compared to her. I am nothing."
He looked like a man possessed. Dropping the knife, he began to claw at the dry earth with his bare hands, tearing open the ground. He dug a small grave, placed the beautiful carving inside, and frantically shoveled the dirt back over it. He was burying his heart. He was burying the secret that threatened to consume him.
When the ground was flat again, the madness faded from his eyes. The glacial indifference returned. He stood, brushed the dust from his robes, and walked away, disappearing into the heat haze like a mirage.
Moments later, a distortion in the air materialized under the tree.
It was Shadow, the assassin sent by Qiao Zhennan.
He had been watching. He had seen the protector, Ye Tianlong, thwart his attempt on Xiao Ke the previous night. He knew that to kill the target, he first had to remove the shield. But a frontal assault on a Rank 9 Warlord was suicide. He needed leverage.
Shadow stared at the patch of disturbed earth. A weakness, he thought. The Iceman has a secret.
If he could recover the object and understand Ye Tianlong's vulnerability, he could exploit it. Greedily, Shadow stepped forward, ready to exhume the buried secret.
"You ignored the open gates of Heaven," a voice chilled the air, "only to pry at the doors of Hell."
Shadow froze. He spun around.
Ye Tianlong stood there. He had returned.
"Is that so?" Shadow quipped, his eyes darting behind his mask, calculating escape routes. "Well, I hate to intrude. I'll just show myself out."
As he spoke, Shadow stomped his right foot. A surge of Origin Power blasted through his soul, traveling underground like a shockwave.
Thump.
The force erupted beneath the fresh grave, launching the buried wooden statue into the air.
Shadow's plan was simple: create chaos, grab the object mid-air, and vanish. He would analyze the weakness later.
But he had underestimated Ye Tianlong's desperation.
The moment the statue flew into the air, Ye Tianlong moved. There was a snap—the sound of a high-frequency energy ignition. His light sword materialized, a beam of pure lethality. He didn't strike at Shadow.
He struck the statue.
The blade of light hissed through the air, intercepting the wooden figure. With a violent burst of energy, the carving of the beautiful woman disintegrated into sawdust.
The secret was gone. Destroyed by its creator to keep it from profane hands.
Ye Tianlong didn't pause to mourn. He was a blur of motion, closing the distance instantly. His light sword was a thunderbolt, slashing toward Shadow's throat.
"Tsk. A pity," Shadow mocked, drawing his own weapon in a reverse grip. "I really wanted to see what you were hiding."
Clash.
Two Rank 9 Warlords collided. The air shrieked as their energy fields ground against each other. Ye Tianlong expected a deadlock, a test of strength. Instead, he felt no resistance.
Shadow had used the impact not to fight, but to propel himself backward. He rode the kinetic energy of the blow, flying backward like a kite with a cut string, before turning and sprinting into the wasteland.
"Coward!" Ye Tianlong hissed, watching the assassin shrink into a dot on the horizon. He lowered his sword, frustration warring with relief. Without the statue, Shadow had nothing. But the assassin was still alive, and the threat remained.
In the days that followed, the Iron Wheel solidified its grip on Anping Town.
It was a slow, grinding process. They bolstered the crumbling city walls and set up recruitment stations. The town held two hundred thousand souls, a quarter of whom were tough, original residents of the Lawless Lands. It should have been a fertile recruiting ground.
However, Ling Feng and Ye Yun were ruthless in their standards. They turned away hundreds of eager thugs, looking only for disciplined potential. After a week, they had barely accepted a hundred men, just enough to replace the losses from the battle with Song Jiongyang.
On the surface, the town was peaceful. The black market thrived, merchants haggled, and coin changed hands. But beneath the surface, a deadly game of cat and mouse played out.
Shadow tried to infiltrate the town three more times. Three times, he was intercepted by Ye Tianlong before he could get within striking distance of Xiao Ke.
Frustrated and exhausted, Shadow finally sent a transmission to his employer, Qiao Zhennan. He explained the stalemate: the Ye family expert was an impenetrable wall.
Qiao Zhennan's response was cold and brief. Continue. Do not return until Xiao Ke is a corpse.
Meanwhile, in the fortress city of Storm, the atmosphere was suffocating.
Song Jiongyang paced his war room, his boots echoing on the metal floor. He was a man accustomed to taking what he wanted, and the loss of Anping Town gnawed at his ego.
"That bastard Xiao Ke," Song spat, his face twisted in a snarl. "And that traitorous whore, Liu Feifei. Helping him? If I ever get my hands on her, she'll pray for death."
His lieutenants exchanged nervous glances. Finally, one cleared his throat. "Boss, anger won't retake the town. We have bigger problems. The Double Eagle Merchant Alliance is encroaching on our borders. Qiao Zhennan sent his stepson, Qiao Zi'an, to take command. They want the Canyon Mine. If we focus on Xiao Ke, the Qiao family will stab us in the back."
Song Jiongyang stopped pacing. He took a deep breath, forcing his rage down. The subordinate was right. The Qiao family was an Imperial high-noble clan. Their merchant alliance was a massive threat. The mine was his money tree; Anping Town was just scraps in comparison.
"Fine," Song growled. "We watch the Double Eagle Alliance. But I'm not letting Xiao Ke off the hook."
A cruel light entered his eyes. "We don't have the men to fight both. But what if we made them fight each other?"
The room went silent. "Drive the tiger to swallow the wolf?" a lieutenant asked.
"Exactly," Song grinned, showing teeth. "Think about it. Xiao Ke represents the Imperial faction. The Qiao family represents the Cabinet. They are natural political enemies. More importantly, Xiao Ke is broke. The Cabinet cut off the Iron Wheel's funding. He needs to feed his army."
Song leaned over the table, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "If Xiao Ke knew exactly when and where the Double Eagle Alliance was moving a high-value shipment... do you think he could resist?"
"He'd rob them blind," the lieutenant realized. "And that would start a war."
"Correct," Song said. "But we can't tell him directly. It has to be subtle."
He stood up, confident again. "Liu Feifei runs that tavern. It's a hub for gossip. Send two men disguised as merchants. Have them get drunk and 'accidentally' discuss the route and timing of the Double Eagle's biggest shipment within earshot of her spies. She'll run to her new master with the intel to curry favor."
Song Jiongyang laughed, a harsh sound in the quiet room. "Xiao Ke is hungry. I'm just going to ring the dinner bell."