Chapter 17 : A Dangerous Game

Chapter 17 : A Dangerous Game

"Third Young Master, you're truly… incredible!"

Mori Haizou raised his thumb high, a wide grin plastered on his face.

"As expected of a direct descendant of the Takumi family. Your valor pierces the heavens! Your aura... reminds me of General Jun in his younger days!"

Though his praise rang loud, the sarcasm beneath it was impossible to miss. In the past, Hideo Takumi might have swallowed such words whole, basking in the empty flattery.

But the Hideo of today… met the words with nothing but a calm gaze.

Mori Haizou glanced at the uneasy Dai Izuma standing beside him, then let out a voice laced with provocation.

"We were just playing dice with Young Master Dai earlier… but sadly, he gave up halfway. Perhaps… the Third Young Master would like to take his place? Or… are you too afraid to face us?"

Dai Izuma's face turned red. He snorted—"Hmph!"—but stayed silent.

"Dice game, huh…"

Hideo muttered under his breath, casting a sidelong glance at Mori Haizou before a small smirk tugged at his lips.

"What's there to fear from a handful of dice?"

Inside, he sighed.

Such a transparent provocation… how pathetic.

"I'll join."

A cheerful voice rang out—Liu Yufei stepped forward, her face bright with excitement.

Instantly, Mori Haizou's expression stiffened.

"Quick, bring tea for our guests!" Abe Ishi shouted, panic leaking into his voice.

Servants rushed forward, placing teacups before each guest. Dai Izuma downed his cup in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and turned to Hideo with hopeful eyes.

"Third Young Master… I'm placing my pride in your hands! You must avenge this insult for me!"

Hideo chuckled lightly, picking up his own cup. As he brought it closer, his gaze swept across the room—and a subtle unease pricked at his senses.

This scent…

He brought the cup to his nose and sneered.

"What kind of tea is this? You serve your guests this cheap swill? Is this place really that poor?"

Clack!

He slammed the cup onto the table, the sharp sound echoing through the room.

Just a single sip was enough for Hideo to detect the presence of a psychoactive compound. The aroma was faint, but familiar. Something like refined opium... Not meant to poison the body, but to cloud the mind. This setup was far too precise to be accidental.

He examined Mori Haizou's outfit—loud colors, clashing patterns, and a pungent scent that lingered.

Clothing, fragrance, tea… all tailored for one goal. To stir emotion and blur judgment.

There was a skilled apothecary behind this. Someone who understood how to weave illusion through chemistry.

Glancing at Liu Yufei's untouched cup, Hideo noticed it was clean. Her tea hadn't been tampered with. They knew exactly who to target—and who to avoid.

"Servants! Replace the Third Young Master's tea!" Abe Ishi quickly barked.

But Hideo merely shrugged.

"No need. I'm here to gamble, not sip cheap tea."

Then, lifting the very same cup… he took a slow sip.

Abe Ishi and Mori Haizou lit up with joy.

"The Third Young Master is… quite bold," Mori Haizou muttered with a hidden smirk.

Soon after, a servant led them to the gambling hall—a spacious, empty room, with a single large stone table and several dozen chairs.

Clearly, this had been prepared in advance. They wanted no witnesses.

Halfway there, Hideo suddenly let out a violent sneeze.

"Achoo!"

Spittle sprayed onto Dai Izuma, soaking his robes. The boy yelped, frantically wiping himself with a horrified face.

Hideo rubbed his nose, letting a bit of drool drip out. "Dai… Why do I feel dizzy? And this sneezing won't stop…"

Behind them, Abe Ishi and Mori Haizou exchanged glances. Their expressions gleamed. They thought victory was near.

But inside, Hideo was already dissecting the situation. The tea did indeed contain psychoactive elements meant to destabilize his focus. But for someone like Hideo, who had spent countless hours studying alchemy—old and new—this was child's play.

When he drank earlier, he recognized the ingredients. It was a formula designed to sedate the nervous system—a common trick among alchemists to induce mental haze or dull instinct. But Hideo knew how to counter it through controlled breathing and subtle energy circulation, learned from both texts and bitter self-experimentation.

In this world, alchemy was more than just potion-making or material repair. It was an art—one that manipulated nature's elements to produce effects rivaling magic itself. And for someone navigating a world riddled with deceit and danger, it was a necessary weapon.

"Identifying this kind of concoction is easy," Hideo thought. "But I can't rely solely on past knowledge. I need to go deeper into alchemy—to adapt my tactics with every challenge."

A soft chuckle escaped his lips.

"Alright then… if this is the game they want to play, I'll play along."

They resumed their walk into the hall. All eyes were on Hideo. But he simply smiled, calm and unreadable, as tension thickened in the air.

The Grand Residence of Abe the Advisor

Elsewhere, an old man reclined on a plush sofa, eyes half-closed. A gentle melody floated from behind the curtain, the voice of a singer weaving through the room.

"You entrusted this mission to such second-rate men?" Abe Sank asked quietly, his voice soft but sharp. "If this plan fails, we may lose a golden opportunity. Jun Takumi… is not someone you provoke lightly."

Seated before him was a young man with a serene face, features sculpted like fine marble. Dressed in pristine white, his gaze was deep and composed.

He was Abe Youran.

The Abe family's prodigy.

Their brightest star.

"This grandson understands Grandfather's concern," he replied calmly. "But there's no need to waste golden spears on stray dogs. Hideo Takumi… doesn't warrant our full attention."

He offered a faint smile.

"Even if this plan fails, we have a thousand ways to drag him down. If anything, deploying our core members against a clown like him would only raise suspicions."

"Mori Haizou and Abe Ishi may not be talented—but they're just like Hideo. Use fools to trap fools."

Abe Sank gave a nod of approval.

"Hmm… you're right. But what if… something unexpected happens?"

Youran's brows twitched. Then he chuckled lightly.

"If that happens… then that person is no longer Hideo Takumi."