Chapter Fifty-Six: What Did You Feed Him?

Mayan finally left, but in order to maintain the hard-won trust, he did not tie up Yun Key but merely assigned three young underlings to guard them. There was no reason three young lads couldn’t keep watch over a child and a young girl. Before leaving, Mayan specifically instructed them: if the captives did not try to escape, they were not to disturb Yun Hao and Zhang Miaoke.

“Boss, didn’t you say we just needed to get some money? Why do you suddenly want the kid dead?” Mayan stood before Lei the Tiger, speaking with utmost respect. His expression betrayed nothing of his true feelings toward Lei the Tiger. If there were an Oscar for the best lead actor, Mayan would certainly be a top contender; his performance was flawless.

A streetwise rogue always has his ways. Who knows how he managed to slip out of the city after the gates closed!

“It won’t do. This kid’s a bit of trouble—somehow he’s connected to the Duke of Tang’s household. There’s a citywide manhunt, and if we keep him, it’ll bring disaster on our heads one day. Huh, why is this wine so astringent?” Lei the Tiger took a sip, frowning. Whether it was worry for himself or genuine distaste for the wine, it was hard to tell. Yun Hao must die, but not by his own hand. For all his years in the underworld, Lei the Tiger had learned to watch his step.

“Oh, it’s just that there’s no good wine in the countryside, big brother. Please make do,” Mayan hurriedly replied.

“Get it done now. After that, let’s have a proper drink together,” Lei the Tiger said, taking another swig.

“Yes, big brother. I’ll go strangle the boy right away.” With that, Mayan headed outside.

“Kid, you really guessed it. So, what’s next?” Mayan looked at Yun Hao as if seeing a little demon. He’d never met a child with such cunning—what kind of monster would he become when grown? For a moment, Mayan genuinely considered strangling him right then. The kid was too dangerous; it was a rogue’s instinct.

“He’s been drinking?” Yun Hao lay atop a pile of straw, nestled beside Zhang Miaoke. He had little choice—it wasn’t about taking advantage. Any girl would be frightened in such a situation, and as a man, he ought to offer her a shoulder to lean on.

“He has. I’m just worried the arsenic I used wasn’t enough. Lei the Tiger’s famous for his robust health,” Mayan said with concern.

“More? If you add any more, the wine will turn into porridge. Your boss is Lei the Tiger, not Lei the Pig,” Yun Hao doubted his intelligence. Had he ever seen wine thick as porridge?

After about half an hour, Mayan crept back to the main hall. Food and wine were scattered across the floor, and the overturned table lay on its back in the center. Lei the Tiger was sprawled motionless on the ground. Mayan, still wary, approached and called out softly, “Boss? Boss? What’s wrong?”

There was no response. Summoning his courage, Mayan nudged Lei the Tiger. Still nothing. He felt a surge of delight—no matter how fearsome Lei the Tiger was, he’d finally fallen for Mayan’s trick. Reaching out to grab Lei’s hair, he wanted to see just what a dead tiger looked like.

“Lei the Tiger, you finally got yours. Back when you took Nana, I wanted to kill you. Heh, now I’ve done it—tomorrow I’ll have your wife and daughter. Did you know, Nana and I were childhood sweet—” His words froze mid-sentence. Lei the Tiger was glaring at him with eyes full of cold hatred, and a sharp ox-ear dagger had already slid silently into Mayan’s chest.

“Mayan, you’ve got some nerve, trying to take me out! So Nana was your lover—no wonder you looked at me so strangely when I took her. How did it feel, watching me with your woman, eh?” Lei the Tiger twisted the dagger viciously, and blood gushed from the torn wound.

“You… How…” Mayan tried to reach for Lei’s throat, but his arms felt limp as noodles. Lei the Tiger was a man who lived by the blade—this stab went straight for the heart. Mayan lost all strength in an instant; he couldn’t even raise his hand to strangle his enemy. As he spoke, blood began to pour from his mouth.

“You wonder why I’m not dead from your poison? Truth is, I knew you’d spike the wine. You think you can outsmart me?” Lei the Tiger’s ox-ear dagger stabbed in and out of Mayan’s body, blood spurting everywhere, filling the hall with a sharp, metallic stench.

Mayan’s body finally collapsed like an empty sack, his mouth no longer spewing blood. His innards were so mangled, who could tell how many times he’d been stabbed?

“Well, well, Lei the Tiger is as fierce as ever!” Lei the Tiger panted heavily—not from exhaustion, but from nerves. Suddenly, a voice sounded from the doorway. By the light of the candle, Lei the Tiger saw a handsome, clear-eyed boy. What the devil? What was a child doing here?

“Who are you?” Lei the Tiger stood, dagger in hand. Whether it was a person or a ghost, anyone who saw him kill would have to die as well.

“My name is Yun Hao. You told Mayan to bring me here, remember? You have a short memory, don’t you?”

“You’re Yun Hao? How did you get out—didn’t he strangle you?” Lei the Tiger’s eyes narrowed to slits, a sense of foreboding prickling his skin. He gripped his dagger tighter. Though the boy was just a child, Lei the Tiger sensed real danger—a survival instinct honed by years of living on the edge.

“Of course he didn’t strangle me, otherwise you’d really be seeing a ghost. In fact, you owe me a favor, Lei the Tiger. If I hadn’t told Monkey to warn you, you’d have died from the poison by now. But…” Yun Hao’s words trailed off as three figures appeared behind him: none other than Hou Junji, Lai Shun’er, and Qi Biao.

The three had entrusted their younger siblings to a wealthy family, secretly observing for days. Satisfied the children were well-treated, with no signs of abuse or intent to sell them, they set out for Jinyang to find Yun Hao’s mother and son.

Yun Hao had not left the house in days, and their inquiries yielded no trace of his whereabouts. With their silver nearly gone, the three had no choice but to become Lei the Tiger’s underlings.

That day, Wu Yuanshuang and Lei the Tiger were secretly plotting when Lai Shun’er happened to overhear them. Before they could warn Yun Hao, he was captured. Fortunately, Mayan had picked the three strangers themselves to guard Yun Hao!

“Heh, kid, you think the four of you can take me? Go ask around—Lei the Tiger earned his reputation by the blade!” Lei the Tiger sneered. Four children were nothing to him; he could kill them as easily as chickens.

“Don’t boast. Are you feeling dizzy now? Is your body going numb?” Yun Hao stopped midsentence, for he saw the flesh on Lei the Tiger’s face begin to twitch unnaturally. Even a trickle of black blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. Impossible—he’d told Hou Junji to use a sedative, not poison!

“Monkey! What did you give him?”