154 Let's exchange

Inside the Palace, Nick placed the unconscious Shadow Three down with Shadow Four.

Nick then turned to Shadow Two and gave him a thumbs-up. "You run pretty well."

"…" Shadow Two just kept panting. The run wasn't what tired him though, no, what tired him out was cursing Nick out, while he was running!

Nick kept a close watch on what the two remaining shadows outside were up to.

"Shadow Five, stay close! For some reason, I think the enemy is trying to divide us!" Shadow One remained vigilant.

"Are our brothers dead?" Shadow Five asked, worry evident in his tone.

"I don't know." Shadow One still felt like the Hog staring at them from the side was the root of all this, and he kept his eyes training on it.

"What do you want from us, senior? We belong to Master Crow's faction, and we are the five assassins under his personal care! It wouldn't do you any good to offend our Master, senior!" Shadow One spoke to the little piggy who was busy inspecting the clothing Nick had made her wear. She didn't like wearing this because she felt like the clothes made her look even cuter, which she didn't need. Her goal in life is to be fierce, so being cute would only get in her way.

"What now? Shadow One won't be easy to take down." Shadow Two tied up the two captives with the chain Nick gave him and asked.

"Now, you should apologize," Nick replied.

"Huh?" Shadow Two was confused for the second time today and just as he was about to ask Nick what he meant he found out he was already in the outside world.

"Shadow Two, are you behind this?! What have you done to our brothers?!" Shadow Five unleased his energy and his cloth swayed in the air. Like every one of the other Shadows, his cultivation was at the peak of the Transcendence realm, but the gap in power between each of them was like heaven and earth.

This was true except for Shadow Two and Three, whose powers were nearly equal. And although Shadow Five was ready to battle it out with Shadow Two and their cultivation levels were at the same level, he knew full well that he wasn't his match.

Pa!

"Calm yourself! Didn't you see how Shadow Three turned out?!" Shadow One smacked Five at the back of the head to stop him from having any foolish thoughts.

"Shadow One, how have you been?" Shadow Two didn't run this time. He didn't want to run away against Nick's instruction for fear of being abandoned. After all, Nick's palace was the only sanctuary capable of hiding him from Master Crow. But one could tell from the way he spoke and the tone he carried just how much respect he held for his Eldest brother.

Because that was what they were at the end of the day, brothers! And although he had joined the family later, and the others were together since childhood, he didn't love them any less. Especially his Eldest brother, who always covered for him no matter what troubles he caused.

"Shadow Two, is it really you?!" Shadow One frowned. He didn't know if this was an illusion or not.

Nick realized that this will take too long if he let Shadow Two, handle it. Usually in movies, the scary bosses like Master Crow won't say away from their secret layers for long. Most of the time they would forget something important and hurry back to fetch it. And if Master Crow really did return, then his chances of surviving were close to none.

So, after making sure his monkey mask was in order, Nick left the palace and appeared right beside Shadow Two.

"Enough chitchat, you have someone of mine and I have someone of yours! Let's trade!" Nick proposed.

"Sorry senior, but you must be mistaken. We only have one person locked up in our cellar and we are almost certain that the person should have no connection with you." Shadow One spoke courteously, but there was no fear in his tone. He was the second deadliest assassin in the organization for a reason. His powers couldn't be underestimated.

"Who are you to judge that I have no connections with that person?! Loyd and I go way back. We attended the same kindergarten." Nick responded nonchalantly.

Kindergarten? Was that some kind of hidden sect? Shadow One didn't know what this kindergarten was, but he felt like they must be a powerful force if they could produce someone so powerful. And he also didn't want to offend a power and cause trouble for his Master.

"Senior, forgive me be for being rude, but can I ask? What kind of power is this Kindergarten you speak off?!" Shadow Five was curious as well. He wondered how powerful these people were to actually dare shelter someone like Shadow Two and offend Master Crow in the process.

"Huh?" Nick nearly slapped himself. His little unfunny joke had backfired because these people didn't even know what a Kindergarten was. "Kindergarten is a place of nightmares! Where children's screams and cries echo throughout the day, peeing and pooping everywhere!" Nick summarized what he had seen in most kindergartens.

"What?!" Shadow One grew anxious. Such a disgusting and scary power! These must be dark cultivators who bathed in the blood of babies, which explained the cries and screams this senior in front of him mentioned.

"Anyway, are you willing to trade, or do I have to kill some of you first?!" Nick got a little annoyed. He had to be so cautious now because he didn't have the trump cards he did outside this secret ream, otherwise killing these bastards would have been as easy as drinking tea.

"Wait here for a moment senior." Shadow One looked at Shadow Five and gave him a wink. Which translated to, go and fetch him.

And soon, a man who looked ragged and unkept got carried out of the mountain kicking and screaming.

"What the fuck are you people?! Do you even know how many friends I have in high places?! I know two Alchemists, one boy, and the other a girl. I know a huge beast that can swallow this mountain in a few bites! I know the awe and fear-inspiring Harem King! And I know a scary girl who can turn the world upside down in the name of chocolate!" Loyd's bragging nearly made Nick turn back to his palace and leave the lying bastard here.

Since when could Silver swallow an entire mountain with a few bites?! First of all, Silver wasn't that big, at most he was a large as a tiny mountain, he couldn't compare to the enormous mountain right there. And didn't he know that Silver was a strict meat lover?!

But Loyd had just turned to look around where he was being taken to when he noticed someone that looked a little familiar. Even though that person was wearing a mask Loyd could still tell who it was.

Nick could see that Loyd had recognized him, so he extended a finger and made a shushing gesture. And although most people would be quick-witted enough to realize what this meant, Loyd proved that he wasn't smart enough to be like most people.

"Brother Nick?! You came to save me?! Haha, I told you guys that he wouldn't abandon me!" Loyd looked at Shadow Five with an 'I told you so!' look.

"…" Nick covered his face in disappointment.

"Brother, is this man really worth it?" Shadow Two couldn't help but ask Nick.

"You're Nick?!" Shadow One looked a little shocked.

"It doesn't matter who I am. I have your people, and you have mine. Let's trade." Nick tried to remain calm. Being angry at Loyd right now wouldn't solve anything.

"Brother Nick, I haven't told them anything! I kept my mouth shut even though they tortured me! I spat on their faces every time they asked me something about you and told them to kill me if they dare!" Loyd began crying tears of happiness as he spoke.

"Is that true?" Nick calmly asked Shadow Two, who was standing beside him.

"No, he told us everything about you except for where you are hiding. That was the only question he refused to answer, and he repeated something about going against the contract whenever we asked him that. Other than that, he told us anything we asked, and we didn't even have to torture him. According to him, you took away all his worldly possessions and you deserve an ass-whooping." Shadow Two's voice wasn't too loud, but since most of those here were cultivators hearing it wasn't a problem.

"Huh, who are you?! You're one of them! Why are you standing close to brother Nick?! Brother Nick, don't let him trick you! He's one of these assassins! I didn't tell them a goddamn thing!" Loyd screamed in desperation.

"Shut up! You have embarrassed me enough!" Nick snapped. And then he took out the other shadows, who were still unconscious and chained up.

"Let's exchange," Nick swore that this would be his last good act for the year. He was saving someone even though they had betrayed him?! So what if he took away everything of Loyd's, isn't sharing common among brothers? Why did he have to be so selfish?! Nick hadn't reacted this way when Loyd stole his sandwiches, did he?

"No. We don't have the authority to do this exchange. Only our Master can." Shadow One suddenly changed his tune when he realized that the person in front of him wasn't a senior Master but just a rat they had been trying to catch. So, he quickly took Loyd from Shadow Five's hands and ran towards the direction his Master left in. The fact that they had distracted and then waited for Master Crow to leave before they came here showed how much they feared the Master.

Nick couldn't let Shadow One contact Master Crow, so he hurriedly sent the two chained up shadows back into the palace. Before chasing after Shadow One.

"You take care of the other one. Try to knock him out and wait for me!" Nick ordered Shadow Two and chased after Shadow One.

Shadow One didn't fly in the air. Instead, he chose to run on the ground but every time his feet touched the ground, they made a slight ripple in the air without making a sound. His speed technique was just the picture of perfection!

Snap! Snap! Snap!

Meanwhile, Nick's feet made snap sounds as he ran, which frustrated him to no end. This technique didn't fit someone of his status at all.

"Hey, buddy! Let's exchange Movement techniques, I will give you my Snappy feet technique in exchange for yours! I can even let you keep Loyd if you agree." Nick proposed while chasing.

Loyd nearly cried tears of blood. The Snappy feet technique was his, to begin with, but Nick was selling him with it, off for another technique?! Oh, the cruelty!