Chapter 32: Anti-Lee Scheme
Terrence didn’t reply and stood silent for a few seconds. That offer seemed to be purely whimsical on the surface, but upon closer inspection, there was a hidden depth to it.
"What do you mean?" Terrence raised a brow, his tone skeptical. "Do you think I will just agree to that?"
He looked the well-suited young man up and down. He felt almost bad that the guy looked so damn good and acted so polite, but the initial approach was simply too suspicious for him to agree blindly.
Terrence let out a heavy sigh. "Look... wherever you got this information about me, you should just forget about it."
"Come on..." The young man reached up and scratched his nape nervously. "Look, to be honest, I didn’t want to offend you or anything, but I really think you have to accept this."
Terrence grunted, crossing his arms. "You know, I feel like I’ve been stalked or something. Still, no thanks. I won’t accept that job offer."
The young man remained silent as Terrence turned on his heel to leave. However, the blonde youth kept pace right beside him, a warm smile gracing his face with his eyes almost completely hidden in crescents.
Terrence didn’t even know what to say anymore, feeling a strange mix of irritation and cringe. The young man seemed to know him uncomfortably well, which was the last thing Terrence wanted when meeting strangers. If the guy had just approached him properly—instead of abruptly blocking his path and pulling his wrist—he might have actually entertained the conversation.
"Please... can you just accept it?" The young man pleaded, dropping the smooth act as his posture slouched slightly. "I really need extra protection. I have to deliver an important document to Hanging City. If I lose this document, the Lee Family will really kill me."
Terrence stopped dead in his tracks and turned to face him directly. "First off... how did you even know who I was?"
The young man smiled cheerfully, not acting anywhere near his refined corporate attire. "You are quite infamous, you know. You just didn’t realize it."
He leaned in slightly, lowering his voice. "I heard about you from the local guards at the Neil Residence here in Suran City. I just thought you would fit the role since I need capable people."
’Heard from the guards...’
Thinking back, Terrence knew he had indeed exposed his abilities inside the residence. But that didn’t erase the fact that this random encounter was beyond suspicious. Out of all the tamers in the city, why pick him?
"I guess you won’t believe this, but..." The young man’s expression darkened slightly, his playful tone vanishing. "I am gathering people who are against the Lee Family. I have a deep grudge against them, and the document I’m carrying will surely put them down. But if I fail to deliver it, I will definitely be dead by next week."
That piece of information genuinely piqued Terrence’s interest. Now that he thought about it, the pieces were beginning to align.
He was already infamous across the city for being the disowned "trash" of the Lee Family. After news leaked that he had been kicked out, it likely caught the attention of this young man—especially after rumors spread that he had somehow caught and sold high-rank beasts. If everything connected like that, the approach actually made a twisted sort of sense.
"Explain why me..." Terrence demanded, his eyes narrowing.
The young man answered without a moment’s hesitation. "I know about the grudge between you and the family. I have a grudge with them too. Our interests align. But learning that you could catch and sell beasts... that only meant you had officially awakened as a powerful tamer. With that information, I knew I could safely recruit you in my plan to bring down the Lee Family. How does that sound? Putting down the Lee Family together."
"And..." Terrence cut him off sharply. "Why should I help you put down the Lee Family? And why did you offer to hire me as your temporary bodyguard instead of just being direct from the start?"
The young man hesitated, his eyes darting away toward the busy street. He couldn’t give an answer immediately. But as Terrence kept his composure, waiting with cold patience, the youth finally filled in the gaps.
"I thought you might still have some lingering attachment to the family, which was why I didn’t want to be direct," the young man admitted, running a hand through his blonde hair. "Look, I’m desperate here. I even risked info-dumping all of this on you just to get you to join me. I was originally thinking of taking things slow and recruiting you naturally, but I don’t have the time for that."
The young man became slightly breathless, a look of genuine worry painted across his face. Terrence picked up on the subtle trembling in the guy’s hands, and a brief pang hit his chest.
Indeed, their ultimate goals aligned. Terrence wanted to tear down the Lee Family anyway, though he had never expected an enemy of his former family to approach him in such a bizarre, roundabout way.
Still, the situation sounded immensely advantageous. He was already planning to travel to Hanging City, and now he could get a full breakdown of this anti-Lee scheme directly from the source.
"How about you introduce yourself properly first?" Terrence decided.
He would inspect the situation carefully and see what benefits he could squeeze out of this deal. If it turned out to be a trap or a fake, he could easily escape or sever ties with the guy’s plan. The offer was far too tempting to pass up, and he could certainly use whatever leverage this document provided.
Besides, if they were traveling all the way to Hanging City, the guy ought to have his own private transport, right?
"Finally!" The young man gasped in relief. He lunged forward, grabbing Terrence’s right hand and shaking it enthusiastically with both of his. "I am Klein Mort! Thank you, Terrence. Thank you, seriously!"
Terrence let out a quiet sigh, pulling his hand back. "I am Terrence."
Klein kept his bright smile intact as he gestured with a sharp snap of his fingers toward the curb.
A sleek, black luxury sedan immediately pulled up along the side of the road, smoothly idling near the sidewalk. The driver’s side door opened, and a man in a crisp suit stepped out to open the passenger doors.
As Terrence observed the vehicle, his brows furrowed in immediate recognition.
It was the exact same black sedan that had nearly run him down on the road just a single day ago.