Gao gritted his teeth as he was fuming more and more as his hand trembled as he still clutched Zareth on the wall, as his thoughts were wondering how does he even know, and what is he to do with this situation."Don't even think of killing me, Gao," Zareth said at that moment as he forced his voice out through the suffocating clutch on his thin neck. The cold, unyielding iron in his tone chilled the thug to the bone. "I am more valuable than you think in the Red Panda Gang, so the Red Panda himself values me more than anyone else. Hence, he wants me to live more than anyone else." Zareth forced his raspy voice through his tight throat, his eyes locking onto Gao with terrifying intensity. "And thanks to me, your Red Panda Gang profits from the Blood Mandrake. So think carefully, if you kill me now, you will follow me straight to the grave."Gao trembled more and more, horror draining every last drop of blood from his face. Finally, his fingers uncurled, and he released his hold, letti

Day one of work after awakening as Zareth Crow was finally over as the crimson sun dipped low beneath the horizon, casting long, bruised shadows across the alleys. Later that day, Gao returned to the corner near the pleasure house where he had left Zareth, roughly scooping up the paralyzed youth and carrying him back in the exact same manner he had brought him there.Nothing more of immediate consequence occurred for the remainder of that afternoon, despite the dangerous assassination plot brewing against the Red Panda. However, Zareth had gained something invaluable: he got to experience firsthand how things truly functioned around this desolate place. Rather than relying merely on fragments of the original Zareth’s memories, he had personally observed, felt, and processed the living layout of the world around him.Through his observations and also memories, Zareth confirmed the socio-political structure of Blackwater Town. The entire settlement was divided into five distinct regio

With his breathing perfectly being regulated, the condensed sphere of raw Wind Aether Qi continued to rotate within the darkness of his inner sea, unstable and turbulent beneath the immense pressure of his soul power.Zareth focused his consciousness upon it with absolute, unwavering intensity, carefully extending his spiritual perception around the spinning sphere.He could not simply push it forward with brute force.The moment he attempted to force too much of the raw Aether Qi out at once, the entire condensed sphere trembled violently, its liquid boundaries distorting and threatening to scatter apart into useless, wasted atmospheric energy.Zareth gritted his teeth, his jaw clenching so hard his teeth groaned under the strain."Slowly..." he commanded his own mind.He controlled his breathing once more, establishing a rhythmic, meditative cadence.Inhale.Hold.Exhale.With his exhalation, he delicate-handedly separated a thin, single strand of raw Aether Qi from the rotating sphe

When Zareth answered suddenly, the Red Panda had been about to turn away, his heavy head already shifting back toward the direction of his grand arhat bed.!!!The moment those startling words struck his ears, the gang leader's head snapped back around with terrifying speed!"What did you just say, kid?! What did you just say?! I dare you to say that again!" the Red Panda barked, his voice booming through the room like thunder.His ferocious temper flared instantly, filling the private chamber with a dense, suffocating pressure. In that exact second, even Zareth felt a sudden, instinctual wave of primal terror ripple through his veins, a lingering trauma embedded deep within the biological memory of the physical vessel he now inhabited. The old Zareth had been thoroughly terrified of this man."Oh... I didn't mean it in a disrespectful way," Zareth said suddenly, smoothly adjusting his tone. "While I was bedridden in that shack, I had a great deal of time to think about many things."

"This is the place, young brother. I hope you will like it," Gao said, holding Zareth carefully in his massive arms.A few hours had passed since their intense audience at the Roaring Panda inn, as the new quarters had to be thoroughly arranged, cleaned, and made suitable to the liking of the newly appointed Blackhand.Zareth’s new residence was situated along the very same bustling street as the Roaring Panda inn, located on the upper floor of a prominent pleasure house known as the Divine Damsel Pleasure House. The room itself had originally belonged to one of the cooks of the establishment, but it was now officially turned over to Zareth. In fact, Zareth himself had specifically suggested this location to the Red Panda with a dead serious expression.Positioned on the front upper floor, the room provided a supreme vantage point: through the open window near his desk, Zareth could easily observe the entire street below, monitoring everyone entering and exiting the pleasure house, p