Chapter 26: A Bloody Transaction

So, I was right…  

Using this Charm skill really did change my appearance.  

In the dimly lit alleys of the old town, Ren Ye, who now bore the appearance of a classical beauty, led the way ahead.  

He felt incredibly odd and deeply uncomfortable, as if something significant was missing down below—leaving him with an unsettling sense of emptiness.  

Behind him, Old Xu proved to be quite the character. Despite lugging four heavy bags, sweating profusely, and panting with every step, he didn’t waver in his commitment to the promised “passionate transaction.”  

“Young lady… for something like this, did we really have to leave the province?” Old Xu complained, his forehead drenched in sweat. “Do you even have a proper place?”  

“We’re almost there.”  

Ren Ye stopped, glancing toward a side path leading to a small factory. The road was lined with trees, and the area was desolate. “Here, grandpa. Right here…”  

“Outdoors?!” Old Xu was dumbfounded. “I’m wearing Ralph Lauren, you know. This kind of workplace environment is cutting corners too much—I’m deducting your pay!”  

“Just come over already.”  

Despite his words, Old Xu eagerly followed Ren Ye, who swayed his hips exaggeratedly as he led them into the side path, stopping by the small grove.  

Suddenly, Ren Ye spun around. His eyes shone with a seductive, otherworldly glow as he softly recited, “Desire is human nature. Who could resist my endless charm?”  

As their eyes met, Old Xu’s pupils instantly sharpened, his expression becoming glazed and fixated. A strange stubbornness settled on his face—one that reeked of lustful obsession.  

Noticing the change, Ren Ye stepped into the shadows of the grove and beckoned, “Come here!”  

Old Xu, now completely entranced, dropped all four of his bags without a second thought. Wearing the face of an utterly devoted follower, he followed Ren Ye in. “I really… want to…”  

“Silence! Call me ‘Master,’” Ren Ye snapped coldly, standing in the shadows.  

“Master…” Old Xu’s eyes burned with a ravenous gaze as he obeyed.  

“What’s your name?”  

“Xu Ye.”  

“Where do you work?” Ren Ye continued, while focusing his thoughts. He could feel a subtle bond forming between him and Old Xu.  

No wonder Liu Ling’er had so decisively taken the Second Fool into the secret chamber back then. It turned out that after charming someone, you could sense their loyalty toward you.  

“I work as a deputy editor-in-chief at a Chinese literature platform. I also run a small manuscript studio on the side,” Old Xu replied, his voice trembling as he stared fixatedly at Ren Ye.  

“Where did you get the ancient-style transmigration manuscript you asked Ren Daguo to revise?” Ren Ye asked, diving straight into the key information.  

“I collaborate with a short drama company. They wanted a story about a protagonist transmigrating into a useless prince, so I came up with the concept and outline,” Old Xu said, taking two slow steps forward as he raised his arm.  

“Slap!”  

Just as his hand was about to touch Ren Ye’s chest, Ren Ye swatted his arm away and quickly asked, “Are you a player?”  

“?!”  

Old Xu froze. “Wha—what player?”  

Hearing this, Ren Ye was completely stunned.  

He could feel the bond between them, which meant Old Xu wasn’t lying.  

Silence. A brief, tense silence.  

Ren Ye pressed further, “Did Ren Daguo play a leading role in this plot development?”  

“No,” Old Xu replied, raising his hand again. “He only helped refine certain aspects—characters, details, minor scenes… Master, I… I really can’t hold back anymore.”  

Ren Ye clenched his delicate fists and reacted swiftly, commanding, “You must obey my orders… You must forget the questions I just asked, forget the answers you just gave, forget… forget…!”  

Old Xu’s eyes slowly grew vacant as he stumbled back two steps. He gripped his head with both hands, his expression clouded with confusion. “Wait… what did I… just say?”  

“Swish!”  

Seizing the moment, Ren Ye ignored Old Xu and stepped out of the grove.  

“Rustle, rustle…!”  

As he moved, his body brushed against the willow branches, producing faint friction sounds.  

Old Xu looked up and saw his “Master” preparing to leave. Panic surged within him. “I… I can’t hold it in anymore!”  

“Get back!”  

Ren Ye turned around, frowning, and snapped at him.  

“You’re just too beautiful… too alluring…!” Old Xu shook his head incessantly, his last shred of reason battling against the raging obsession taking over his mind.  

Hearing this, Ren Ye’s “delicate figure” shuddered. A terrible premonition arose in his heart.  

He suddenly recalled that Second Fool had been lured into the grove once before. If there were other options, Liu Ling’er wouldn’t have needed to opt for… outdoor passion, unless she had her own peculiar inclinations.  

But given the circumstances back then, that possibility was close to zero.  

The only plausible explanation was that someone successfully charmed would indeed obey their “Master” unconditionally—but they also needed an outlet for release.  

Ren Ye speculated that the weaker a person’s willpower, the stronger this obsession would become.  

“…!”  

“I… I really can’t hold it anymore!” Old Xu gasped heavily, his nostrils flaring as his eyes flashed with near-madness. Suddenly, he lunged forward and grabbed Ren Ye in a tight embrace.  

The intense smell of a middle-aged man invaded Ren Ye’s nostrils. His entire body tensed up as he was hugged tightly, his face turning pale in terror. “Get back! Stand against the wall!”  

“I won’t! Just once—even if it kills me!” Old Xu opened his mouth wide, lunging at Ren Ye’s face as if trying to devour him.  

“Don’t get so worked up! What if you die on top of me? A life lost isn’t worth it! Go stand back there!”  

“I don’t care anymore!”  

“I’ll call the police!” Ren Ye was terrified and struggled desperately. However, he quickly realized that Old Xu had become much stronger. His hair was disheveled, and he was relentlessly clawing at Ren Ye.  

“Thud!”  

In their scuffle, Ren Ye tripped over his right leg and fell backward to the ground.  

“I’m coming!” Old Xu dove at him with a flying leap.  

“Slap!”  

Ren Ye greeted him with a hard slap. “I’m your Master!”  

“I’ll do it with my Master!”  

“Fine, fine! I’ll give you 500 yuan. Take it and go for a walk. Deal?”  

“Thud!”  

“Smack!”  

“Bang!”  

The two couldn’t reach an agreement. What began as reasoning devolved into a tug-of-war, and finally, outright physical combat.  

Only when pushed to the brink can one discover their true potential.  

Under the moonlight, Ren Ye beat down a middle-aged man in his fifties, while the middle-aged man, fueled by sheer conviction, endured the blows and refused to back down—insisting on completing the “transaction.”  

…

About twenty minutes later, on the main street beside the road, a disheveled young man holding a single shoe staggered forward. His clothes were in shambles, and his face was covered in saliva.  

Exhausted, he stumbled to an SUV, knocked on the window, and croaked, “Quick… get me some water.”  

“Bang!”  

Huang Wei, Gu Nian, and Xu Peng burst out of the car. When they saw Ren Ye, who was in complete disarray, their faces froze in shock.  

“What happened to you?!” Gu Nian blinked her big eyes and asked.  

“Ran into a lunatic old man… got roughed up.” Ren Ye waved weakly. “Hurry, give me some water.”  

Huang Wei, puzzled, examined Ren Ye from head to toe, taking note of his torn pants. He instinctively asked, “Which kind of ‘roughed up’ are you talking about? Should we get you checked…?”  

“What are you talking about? I fought with the old man!” Ren Ye’s face flushed red.  

“…Why would you fight an old man?” Xu Peng took a good five or six seconds to react, then slowly asked.  

“It’s a long story,” Ren Ye muttered, glancing at Huang Wei. “By the way, my dad’s around.”  

Huang Wei glanced around and nodded knowingly. “Got it. I’ll handle it.”  

…

In an ordinary apartment building:  

“Knock, knock, knock…!”  

The sound of knocking echoed through the hallway. The old man, cigarette dangling from his mouth, turned and walked to the door. As he opened it, he grumbled, “Just went to grab a few things, why’d it take so long—?”  

Before he could finish, his jaw dropped in shock, and his cigarette fell to the floor. He stared at Old Xu, whose white suit was covered in green grass stains. His hair was standing on end, his nose was bleeding, and dark circles surrounded his eyes. “What… what happened to you?!”  

Old Xu clutched his nose, gritting his teeth as he cursed, “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you! I got my ass handed to me by some chick on the street… She must’ve trained in martial arts—her punches rained down like a storm!”  

“?”  

The old man was completely bewildered. “Why were you fighting her?”  

“Do you think I started it?! She hit on me first! Dragged me over to the shoe factory and gave me the beating of a lifetime. I don’t even know what came over me—like I was possessed or something. I lost control and almost forced myself on her. What the hell kind of bad luck is this?!” Old Xu swore as he stomped inside.  

“Why didn’t you call the police?” the old man suggested.  

“Are you dumb? What would I even say? That I tried to assault her and then got beaten up for it?” Old Xu snapped, heading into the bathroom.  

The old man glanced at the door. “So… did you at least get what you went out to buy?”  

“Crap! I was so focused on the fight that I left everything at the shoe factory!”  

“You’re really something else,” the old man said, speechless. “Then go get it back.”  

“Get it back, my ass! What if she’s still there and beats me up again?” Old Xu retorted. “You go check the grove and look for it.”  

After a while, the old man left.  

Old Xu came out of the bathroom, picked up a manuscript from the table, and muttered to himself as he sat down, “How should I tweak this… to make it satisfying?!”  

…

By the roadside:  

Huang Wei arranged for three people to stay behind, then drove off with two cars, taking Ren Ye away.  

“What exactly were you doing there?” Gu Nian asked curiously.  

“Guess I’ve been too sensitive lately… overthinking things.” Ren Ye gazed out the car window, replaying the recent events in his mind.  

During Old Xu’s state of enchantment, he had been remarkably stable, and their subtle connection had remained intact. What he said… wasn’t a lie.  

This meant all his previous assumptions were wrong. The altered storyline by the old man and the Qingliang Town plotline were likely just coincidental similarities.  

In fact, such occurrences weren’t uncommon in the web fiction industry. Many writers inevitably have overlapping ideas, and the details and settings often vary.  

The recent stress from the Star Gate incident must’ve put him on edge… maybe he really was overthinking things.  

“…Do you want some medication?” Xu Peng finally gathered the courage to ask after a long silence.  

“What kind of medication?” Ren Ye winced in pain. “Does it work?”  

“Shut your mouth!” Huang Wei snapped at Xu Peng. “The old man might not kill him, but you definitely could! Let me be clear—he’s not taking any medication. Got it?!”  

“…Got it,” Xu Peng replied begrudgingly.  

Ren Ye withdrew his curious gaze, rubbed his sore face, and sighed. “Good thing I drank that turtle soup dad made earlier tonight. Otherwise, I might not have had the strength to fight him off…”  

…

In a small town in Xiangjiang City:  

Inside a performance theater, a middle-aged man sat before a mirror, applying makeup.  

Next to him, a shifty-eyed young man spoke in a low voice: “Mr. He, Wang Hong is dead. Her daughter and that kid have arrived.”  

“Let them in,” he said calmly.