Chapter 668: Chapter 668: The Culprit (2)

"Enough. I’ve already taken care of everything that could expose us."

The middle-aged man leaned back in his chair, a confident smile returning to his face.

"But now that you mention it... there’s only one thing left that could cause trouble..."

"...The contract with the Rain Pavilion."

He glanced toward the locked drawer beneath his desk.

"Originally, I kept it as insurance in case those bastards decided to betray me or deny our agreement. But now that they’ve failed their mission, there’s no reason to keep it anymore."

He let out a cold snort.

"I’ll burn it after this. Once the contract is gone, there won’t be anything left connecting me to the Rain Pavilion."

The young man’s expression grew slightly more relaxed.

"Then... we should be safe, Elder?"

"Of course!" the middle-aged man replied confidently.

"I’ve already erased every other trace of our involvement. Even if Meng Wan suspects someone within the family, she won’t find anything that points to me."

He sneered.

"Unless she decides to soul-search every Elder, there’s no way she’ll find me. And she wouldn’t dare do something so reckless. Soul-searching all the Elders would cripple the entire Meng Family just to uncover one traitor. She might be ruthless, but she’s not stupid enough to destroy her own family for that."

He waved his hand dismissively.

"Now, stop worrying about Li Feng and do as I told you. We’ll lie low for a while, and once this matter blows over, everything will return to normal."

The middle-aged man leaned back in his chair, thoroughly satisfied with his own reasoning.

He had accounted for Meng Wan’s suspicions, the Rain Pavilion’s failure, and even the possibility of an investigation.

As far as he was concerned, every path leading back to him had been cut off.

After all, what could Li Feng possibly discover if there was no evidence left to find?

With that thought, his smile widened.

Just as the middle-aged man was basking in his own confidence, he suddenly noticed his subordinate walking toward his desk.

"Huh? Hey, what are you doing?"

The young man didn’t answer immediately.

Instead, he opened the drawer beneath the desk and rummaged through its contents before pulling out a document.

He turned around, holding it up for the middle-aged man to see.

"Elder, is this the contract you were talking about?"

The middle-aged man’s smile froze.

For a moment, he simply stared at the document in the young man’s hand.

Then his expression filled with confusion.

"Yes, that’s the one. Why did you take it out?"

He frowned slightly before waving his hand dismissively.

"Never mind. Give it to me. I’ll burn it myself."

However, the young man didn’t hand over the contract.

Instead, he held it a little closer to his chest and bowed respectfully.

"There’s no need, Elder. I’ll take care of it for you."

The middle-aged man blinked.

For some reason, he found his subordinate’s behavior rather strange.

This fellow had always been obedient, but he had never been this eager to help with such a trivial task.

Still, the middle-aged man didn’t think too much of it.

After all, the slave contract controlling the young man’s life was still in his possession.

No matter how strange his subordinate’s behavior seemed, the man had no reason to believe he would dare betray him.

Even so, this particular contract was far too important to leave in someone else’s hands.

The middle-aged man was a cautious person.

He had survived for so long by personally handling anything that could threaten him.

"No need. Give it to me."

He extended his hand, his tone leaving little room for argument.

"Since this matter is so important, I’ll destroy it myself. I don’t want any mistakes."

The young man hesitated, still clutching the document.

"Elder, I really can—"

"I said, give it to me."

The middle-aged man’s expression darkened slightly.

’What’s wrong with this fellow today? Has he suddenly forgotten who his master is?’

He stared at his subordinate, growing increasingly suspicious of his strange behavior.

Then, to his surprise, the young man let out a long sigh.

"I’m afraid I can’t do that, Elder."

The middle-aged man’s eyes narrowed.

"What did you say?"

The young man lowered his gaze to the contract in his hands and gently stroked its surface.

"After all... this is my ticket to a blessed night tonight."

Silence fell.

The middle-aged man froze.

For a brief moment, he couldn’t make sense of those words.

Then his eyes widened as he finally realized something was terribly wrong.

"...You!"

Just as the middle-aged man reached for a talisman to escape, a terrifying force suddenly descended upon him.

BOOM!

An overwhelming gravity crushed his entire body against the floor.

The ground beneath him cracked with a deafening sound, sending spiderweb-like fractures racing across the tiles.

"Gah—!"

His knees buckled, and his face slammed against the floor before he could even activate the talisman.

No matter how desperately he struggled, he couldn’t move an inch.

The talisman slipped from his fingers and fell beside him, completely out of reach.

"What... what is this?!"

His eyes bulged as he desperately tried to circulate his spiritual energy, only to find that even the slightest movement had become incredibly difficult under the immense pressure.

Strangely, he couldn’t sense any spiritual energy coming from his attacker, nor could he detect any sign of a technique being activated.

It was almost as if the crushing force had appeared out of thin air.

’How is this possible?!’

Before he could make sense of it, a calm voice sounded from above him.

"Oh? So this is the gravity from the Starfall Domain..."

The young man examined the middle-aged man pinned to the floor, his expression turning thoughtful.

"Damn, I didn’t realize I could use it on such a small area, too. That’s pretty convenient."

The middle-aged man struggled to lift his head, his neck trembling under the immense pressure.

With great difficulty, he managed to look up at his trusted subordinate.

Only then did he notice the faint smile on the young man’s face.

Something was wrong... Terribly wrong.

"Who... who are you?!"

His eyes widened as he stared at the unfamiliar expression.

He could somehow tell that... this wasn’t his subordinate at all!

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