Chapter 25 – Tang Clan’s Sly Snake

The servants escorted them into the inner area of Tang Clan's manor where there were a large number of martial artists hanging around here.

Leo also recognized the name Tang Soso. She was the first daughter of Tang Clan's leader who was called a martial genius after reaching 3 Stars at a young age of 16. Now, with her being 27 years old, she was already a 5 Stars martial artist at her prime.

Aside from the previous information about her, there were other rumors circulating about her as well. But they were all often exaggerated with a grain of salt. For example, she was born under the Heavenly Body Constitution which explained her early awakening of Qi at such a young age.

However, as for whether or not that rumor was true, no one knew.

When they arrived at the main hall, there was a young man sitting on the front with a beautiful woman beside him. They were Tang Yao and Tang Soso.

Upon seeing them, Leo smiled softly and imitated people in Murim, cupping his hands together as he bowed.

"Greetings, Young Master Tang Yao, and Young Miss Tang Soso, it's an honor to be invited to your party."

Anya looked confused but followed what he did regardless. A mercenary group would do this before a potential employer as a sign of respect before getting the job. It was one of the rules made by him to keep their image.

"Raise your heads, both of you." Tang Yao spoke with a gentle tone as he stood up and walked toward them.

The young man had an average face and average stature, yet he carried an air of confidence about him with his gait and mannerism. He was different from his naughty and cocky younger brother. Leo had a good impression of him.

'A rich person.' He thought.

"I apologize for my brother's rude action yesterday. Please accept my sincere apology." He bowed deeply until his upper body was almost parallel with the floor while looking at Leo.

Tang Clan's members situated inside the room were surprised at their master's behavior. Some of them wondered why Tang Yao was bowing in front of this black-haired man in front of him as if they were strangers who just met for the first time?

Even if the other party was suspectedly someone who could use Elemental Change, which was only possible for 5 Stars martial artists or higher, it wasn't enough for him to do something like this. Even their Young Miss, Tang Soso, was able to control poison too and was a proper 5 Stars martial artist.

Wasn't he afraid of losing his face in front of the crowd?

Other people simply watched everything without doing anything except murmuring among themselves quietly while glancing at Leo who kept smiling at Tang Yao. Instantly, he recognized the second Young Master's personality pretty well.

'Ah, a freaking snake.' 

Leo had always been wondering about why the genius Tang Soso decided to stick with the second son instead of the first son? 

It wasn't too uncommon in Murim that the first son would be the heir and the second son would be training to become an elder, but it depended on what type of character they were.

And right now, Tang Yao's behavior matched his identity perfectly. He was a snake in Leo's eyes.

"I accept your apology." He said, "Now, may I hear why I was invited here?"

Tang Yao immediately raised his upper body before smiling faintly and gesturing Leo to the table that had various kinds of dishes and drinks on it.

"Please, enjoy. Let us talk while enjoying the feast that we prepared."

"That would be nice. I haven't had any breakfast yet." Leo nodded as he glanced at the table and sat down.

Sitting beside him was Anya. She already eyed the meat dish prepared on the table eagerly with a sparkle in her eyes before picking up a plate and starting to fill it with a large amount of meat as if she hadn't eaten for months.

She gave him a bright smile as if she was saying, "You can do whatever you want while I eat, Leader."

Sighing, Leo looked at Tang Yao.

"My apologies, my friend here really loves meat. You can think that my decision is also hers."

"Very well." The second Young Master smiled calmly before waving his hand at the servants who served more plates of meat on the table. "You're a very interesting individual. I have never heard of you before yesterday. Young Lady Peng Li-Yue said you were some kind of soldier or an escort. She was right?"

Leo took a sip of the tea on the table before replying to him in a flat tone.

"No. We're not soldiers. Our profession is being a mercenary band with all kinds of services available, although we will reject any request that we don't agree with morally or we think not worth it. But, as long as someone pays us, we will do anything, including wars."

"Mercenaries?" Tang Yao muttered with interest. "That sounds... different."

"It's normal if you haven't heard of it yet." He smiled at the Tang Clan's young master. "We're probably the first ones in this world. Our goal coming here is to escort Young Lady Peng Li-Yue. As for the details, I am afraid that I can't disclose that. She has paid us quite a hefty sum."

Giving enough clues while hiding the actual reason was part of his plan. This way, the Tang Clan would think that there was no deeper meaning to his visit to Qin City than protecting the Young Miss from the Tang Clan. But this snake of a young master would still connect the dots that they were the ones hiding Peng Li-Yue when she went missing for the last few days.

'That will guarantee our ability.' Leo thought, 'Also, this will make us seem trustworthy as well as more mysterious since our band doesn't really exist in Murim yet.'

Tang Yao kept smiling as he asked, "I see. That's very impressive. You accepted a request from anyone even if it's from a person you don't know about and hasn't seen her before? What if you are employed in a war by two different sides?"

"We side with the highest bidder." Leo answered honestly while a plate of stir-fry vegetables was brought to him.

"Even if they are evil?" Tang Yao's voice was colder than before.

Raising his head, Leo just smiled without saying anything. The guards around the area instinctively moved their hands to their sword, but were stopped by Tang Soso. She glared at them and they lowered their arms while waiting for an order from her.

"That's a bold statement." She said while touching her lips gently before looking at Leo who stared back at her with an indifferent expression on his face.

Silence ruled the room for a brief moment before Tang Yao suddenly laughed out loud while shaking his head.

"Your answer is good enough for me!" He exclaimed while smiling brightly. The 25-year-old Young Master was a handsome man when he smiled like that. "Since you said that you will do anything for money, I have one proposal for you. Would you be interested?"

"Let's hear it." Leo said, relaxing his position.