Threat

Huan Wei left the house and started walking the streets. He needed to start earning money without having to leave town. There was a problem, though. No one in Bitter Sea Town would give him a job. No one wanted to have to deal with Huan Chao. When Huan Wei had taken a job before, Huan Chao had come and asked for an advance instead. When he insisted too much, his boss fired Huan Wei. Since then, no one wanted to keep him around.

This time, however, things would be different. Huan Wei believed that he could start working for Huan Zhong. Because he had been doing business with him for some time. He had always sold him the items he collected from the deads. Moreover, Huan Zhong bought all the accessories cheaply and sold them dearly. Thanks to Huan Wei, he made a lot of profit. He just didn't know that those things came from the dead. At least he didn't think they came from the people Huan Wei had killed. To him, the boy had either stolen them, found them in the forest or looted them from the dead. He could not have imagined that he would kill to get these things.

Huan Wei was trusting this. If it turned out that those items had been obtained by killing someone, Huan Zhong would be in as much trouble as Huan Wei. They were in this together. So he believed that with a little encouragement he could start working for Huan Zhong.

He was starting to feel uncomfortable with people looking at him all the time. The court case was already over. Why were these idiots still staring at him every time they saw him, as if they were seeing him for the first time? He bowed his head and quickened his pace. Occasionally he looked around to see if anyone was following him. Huan Quon might not make a direct move, but Huan Kong might even send a hitman after him.

When he came to the marketplace, he saw that the caravan traders still had not opened their stalls. "They are very coy," he said to himself. "Huan Hong is going to be executed. The streets are full of people because they haven't opened their stalls. Everyone stares at me every time I pass by."

He shook himself awake. Then he headed for Huan Zhong's accessories stall. He had seen the man. He was selling one of the customers a necklace he had once bought from Huan Wei.

"If you examine it carefully, you will see that it is of very good quality."

"How much silver do you want for it?" Huan Wei looked at the female customer. She was tall and well dressed. She had many accessories on her arms and neck. Her hair was pinned up with several silver hairpins, but she was not one of those summoned to court.

Huan Zhong rubbed his hands. "Only fifteen silver coins. That's quite reasonable for a piece like this."

The woman examined the necklace some more. Then she took out her pouch and paid the price. Huan Zhong saw her off respectfully. Then he saw Huan Wei standing in the distance, looking at him. The young man approached his stall and examined the jewelry. Huan Zhong was still displaying the few pieces he had bought from him.

"Business seems good, Huan Zhong." Huan Wei smiled.

Huan Zhong immediately looked at his hands. "Did you bring new things?" But the young man's hands were empty.

"No," Huan Wei moved closer to the stall. "This time I came to talk some business with you."

Huan Zhong didn't seem very interested. "Don't stand in front of the stall if you have nothing to sell. You're driving customers away."

The young man became frustrated. It was annoying not to be taken seriously when he wanted to be taken seriously. "I think you don't understand what I'm saying, Huan Zhong. I'm here to talk business, very good business. It will make a lot of profit."

Huan Zhong was still not interested. "I have not yet fallen low enough to talk business with someone like you. If you have nothing to sell, get lost."

Huan Wei lowered his head and took a deep breath. Then he walked over to the man behind the stall. "You saw what happened in court, didn't you?"

"I saw it. So what?"

"Then you can understand that I'm being threatened by Huan Kong and Huan Quon."

"Yes, they'll probably kill you. Fortunately, that's your problem. It's none of my business."

Huan Wei smiled. "Actually, it is. In fact, there is a part that concerns you very closely."

"What is it that concerns me?" Huan Zhong asked sarcastically. It was obvious that he didn't take the young man in front of him as a man.

"The truth is that the jewelry you bought from me and sold to others... They were stolen."

"So?" Huan Zhong was not surprised. "I already knew that. How else would a poor man like you have access to such things?"

"Yes, you even bought them cheaper than me and made a profit yourself."

"That's how it works. You are dependent on me. No one else will pay you for them except me."

Huan Wei leaned a little closer and whispered. "And did you know that I killed people to get them?"

Huan Zhong stopped. He looked the young man up and down. Then he started laughing. He even laughed until tears came to his eyes. "That was a good joke. You and killing someone? You're a loser, Huan Wei. There's no way you could kill someone in good enough shape to wear this jewelry. Even the babies in town know you're pathetic."

Huan Wei's nerves got the better of him. The man making fun of him was a simple accessory merchant. "You don't seem to understand, Huan Zhong, so let me tell you. Huan Quon and Huan Kong are giving me a hard time. I can't go to the forest anymore, so I need a new way to make money. I chose you because all this time you've been paying less than the real value of everything I've brought you. If you don't hire me and pay me daily, I'm going to report you to Huan Fu for selling stolen items."

Huan Zhong stopped and looked at the young man. "Really? What makes you think you have the courage to threaten me? Even if you really took those people by killing them, you are to blame. I'll clear myself by saying I thought you found them in the woods. And you can't prove they were stolen."

"You think so?" Huan Wei looked at him confidently. The merchant's brows furrowed. The young man said, "I have a match to one of the pieces you sold before. Even the symbol on it is the same. What do you think Huan Fu will think if I take it to him and tell him I found it in the forest from a corpse?"

"He'll think you're a corpse looter."

"Yes, but what if I told him I bought this piece because it looked like a piece of jewelry I had seen on your stall before?" He looked at the merchant with a smile. "You know, Huan Fu has been on edge lately because of the thefts. Do you think he will go to all that trouble to get to the bottom of this? Or will he simply investigate, declare you a corpse looter and have you executed?"

Huan Zhong stopped and looked at the young man's face. "You are a fool, Huan Wei. This involves you as much as it involves me. Even if I am brought to court, I will not hesitate to name you. You will be guilty too."

"Look at me, Huan Zhong." Huan Wei spread his arms a little to the sides. "I can't meditate, I live with Huan Chao, the son of a rich family wants me dead. Huan Kong wants me dead. They are trying to stop me from making money from the forest. I'm already hopeless, what have I got to lose? You, on the other hand. You have a family. You have a good life and make a good amount of money. Do you think our lives are worth the same? Do you think I will endure all these hardships alone? If I go to my death, I will drag you with me."

Huan Zhong crossed his arms across his chest. "You're not afraid of death, are you?" he said as he looked at the young man. "Good. Then go and report me. You've already given me a trump card by coming and threatening me. It's easy for me from now on."

Huan Wei's brows furrowed. "Think carefully, Huan Zhong. If you don't agree now, it will cost you more later."

"Go on, run and report it. I'm waiting."

Huan Wei looked at the man's face. He put himself in his situation. Huan Zhong loved this life. From the one piece of jewelry he sold, he earned three months' food money. He could be considered rich. He had a wife and a little son. They lived in a nice house. He did not want to lose this life. On the other hand, he had convinced himself that Huan Wei could do nothing. That was the breaking point. Huan Wei had to break his belief.

"Okay, Huan Zhong. See you at the execution site. I have nothing to lose. This life is no life anyway. Better to start the next one." Huan Wei turned around and started to make his way towards the town hall. Huan Zhong was looking after him. Huan Wei was sure of it, but he didn't turn his head to check. He walked with quick steps and turned the corner.

Being a helpless person for so long had made him familiar with the effect of helplessness on the soul. Having been in bad situations so often, he knew how to put people in them. He also knew Huan Zhong's personality. He was not someone who was not afraid of death, he just pretended to be. He just had to wait a little. The seed of worry inside Huan Zhong would take root and encompass his heart. The merchant would surely leave his stall and come to the town hall to see what was happening. So he kept walking.

"That bastard Huan Zhong. And he's pretending to be brave. It's not like I don't know that when he sees me enter the building, he'll have a heart attack before I get out."

Huan Wei kept walking without looking back once. He really had nothing to lose now. Things were getting worse and worse. It was not a situation that could be avoided without taking risks. So he had to take big risks. If he planned his steps, he could make money without having to leave town. The other possibility was that he would die, but that was life. Death was a possibility that was always there. To cower in place thinking about it was just lame. Huan Wei would not be a loser. He was going to walk through death and survive.