31: Chapter 31 The Collar That Was Grabbed

"There is one more thing." Her voice suddenly dropped, low enough that only the three of them could hear.

"I saw some other things at the Myriad Races Market... they might be unrelated to the Shadow Clan, but I still feel something is wrong."

"What is it?"

"Zhao Mang of the Blood Wolf Tribe." A cold light flashed in Liu Ruyan's phoenix eyes.

"He was more active on the second day of the Myriad Races Market than the first. He wasn't trading; he was having secret talks.

He held private meetings with the chieftains of at least three tribes, all in secluded corners at the edge of the Myriad Races Market. I couldn't get close enough to eavesdrop, but judging by his body language... he is rallying allies."

"Rallying allies?" Wang Sheng's brow furrowed slightly.

"The tribes in the Central Wasteland Region are not a monolith; you should have already sensed that."

Liu Ruyan's tone returned to her usual calm analysis, her phoenix eyes reflecting the firelight like two precision mirrors.

"The Blood Wolf Tribe is an upper-mid-tier power, and Zhao Mang is a Barbarian General of the first rank.

If he is rallying other tribes, he might be preparing for some large-scale operation—expansion, annexation, or... targeting a specific goal."

"Targeting whom?"

Liu Ruyan's phoenix eyes met Wang Sheng's gaze in the air for a brief moment, then she said softly:

"I am not sure. But the Bright Tribe is the newest, weakest, and most eye-catching power in the Central Wasteland Region—more than sixty young women, one male chieftain, and only at the encampment level.

For a predatory force like the Blood Wolf Tribe, we are the ideal prey."

The atmosphere inside the tent suddenly grew heavy.

Shen Xun'er's hand unconsciously tightened around the spiritual farmland plan, the warmth in her almond-shaped eyes covered by a thin layer of frost.

Wang Sheng's expression did not change, but his right hand tightened slightly on his knee, his knuckles turning white from excessive force, as if he were suppressing some emotion about to erupt.

"You mean that when Zhao Mang humiliated us at the Myriad Races Market yesterday, it wasn't just because of arrogance." Wang Sheng's voice was flat, but every word carried an unquestionable certainty.

"The arrogance is real. But he deliberately humiliated the Bright Tribe in front of everyone, which makes me suspect he has another purpose."

Liu Ruyan's phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, their smoky, misty luster turning as sharp as a blade.

"If he wants to make a move against the Bright Tribe, the first thing he must do is establish the impression that the Bright Tribe is 'vulnerable' in front of other forces.

That way, even if he annexes us, other tribes won't think anything is wrong.

After all, a broken encampment that doesn't even qualify as a village being annexed by a tribe-level power is just a small matter that happens every day on the Savage Continent."

Wang Sheng fell silent.

The afternoon sunlight outside the tent spilled in through the gaps in the tent flap, casting a golden beam of light into the shadows of the fire pit.

Dust motes in the beam drifted slowly, like a swarm of insects trapped in amber.

Liu Ruyan's report was finished. But her phoenix eyes remained fixed on Wang Sheng's face, not waiting for his response, but confirming his state.

His expression was calm, but her intuition told her that the emotions surging within him were far more intense than what appeared on the surface.

Then she did something she hadn't expected herself.

She reached out and grabbed Wang Sheng's sleeve.

Five slender, fair fingers gripped the cuff of his Savage Beast skin robe, her fingertips exerting slight pressure, as if trying to hold onto something that might disappear.

Her movement was very light, so light that the force was almost imperceptible, but the action itself was a huge contrast; Liu Ruyan never initiated contact with anyone.

The tent was silent for a moment.

Wang Sheng looked down at her hand, revealing a slender, fair wrist beneath the cuff of his grey-brown short jacket.

The wrist bone was slightly prominent, and five fingers were gripping his sleeve, the knuckles slightly white from the effort.

That hand was trembling slightly—not from cold, not from fear, but from an emotion she herself could not explain, one welling up from the deepest depths of her heart.

Liu Ruyan did not look at her own hand, but stared straight at Wang Sheng's face.

She saw the shock in his eyes, saw herself reflected in his pupils, and then saw his expression change from shock to a serious, gentle gaze she had never seen on his face before.

"Wang Sheng." She called his name, not calling him Chieftain, not calling him Patriarch, just his name.

Her voice was lighter than usual, so light it sounded like an echo from a misty rain, "You must be careful."

Four words.

Liu Ruyan never said unnecessary words; her reports were as precise as a scalpel, her analysis as calm as ice water, and her daily demeanor as silent as a shadow.

But the four words she said at this moment carried more weight than any long-winded speech.

Because these four words were not spoken as an intelligence officer of the Phantom Assassin, nor as a member of the Bright Tribe, but as a woman speaking to a man she cared about.

Wang Sheng looked at her.

Liu Ruyan's phoenix eyes were like two hazy mirrors in the reflection of the fire pit, reflecting his face in their smoky, misty luster, but in her eyes, there was not only his reflection, but also something deeper, something she had never spoken aloud.

It was not the generous passion of Shen Xun'er, nor the hidden fire beneath the ice of Frost Mage Lin Shiyun, but a quieter existence, like a lamp that was always lit in the dark night—never extinguished, never ostentatious, just quietly and continuously illuminating the path ahead for him in a place where no one else could see.

"Ruyan." Wang Sheng's voice was very light, but every word was as clear as an engraving, "I understand."

He did not push her hand away, nor did he hold her hand; he simply let her grip his sleeve quietly, as if accepting a silent trust.

Liu Ruyan's fingers, which were gripping his sleeve, slowly loosened.

It was not because he did not respond, but because she did not need him to respond.

All she needed was to confirm that he was listening, that he cared, and that he would be careful. And he had already told her with those calm and serious eyes: he knew, he cared, and he would be careful.

She withdrew her hand, and the moment her fingertips slid across the cuff, they left behind a trace of imperceptible warmth, like a wisp of smoke in the dark night, fleeting and gone in an instant.

"I will continue to monitor the movements of the Blood Wolf Tribe and the Shadow Clan."

Liu Ruyan's voice returned to its usual calm, and the smoky, misty luster of her phoenix eyes became clear as water again, as if the moment of vulnerability just now had never happened.

"Tomorrow is the last day of the Myriad Races Market, and I will go again.

If possible, I want to try to approach the entrance of that underground stronghold to see if I can obtain more intelligence on the organizational structure of the Shadow Clan."

"Be careful; your safety is the priority," Wang Sheng said.

One sentence. Not too much, not too little.

But Liu Ruyan heard the subtle, barely perceptible warmth in his tone—the same warmth as when she said "You must be careful."

Her phoenix eyes curved slightly, and a softness she rarely showed flashed through their smoky, misty luster, fleeting, like a shooting star in the dark night, so brief that one might doubt if it had ever truly appeared.

"I will."