“What can you tell me about the story of the Night Wolf?” Jianmen was quite satisfied with the answer provided by Natalie regarding the reason they came and their motivation: “I can actually tell you this. We have the codex and it is hidden in a safe place. But we’re currently having a little trouble deciphering its secret. We were able to find out about this poem: ‘Blessed be the blood of meek, cherished be the tome of old. Vengeance shall be cold and sweet, beware, my child, of the Night Wolf’s teeth.’ Does that mean anything to you?”

“Night Wolf’s teeth - those are the reference to the children’s tale right?” Natalie asked: “A cold and sweet - that’s - that’s probably a Hellinger family thing.”

“Oh, is it? Please elaborate.”

“I think it’s one of the stories frequently told in the Hellinger family.” Natalie sighed and said: “It’s not that original - it’s about a trick for hunters used to hunt wolves in cold places - basically they place the knife in frozen cow or pig blood and make a ‘blood icicle’ with it, and the blade is buried inside. The wolf would come and lick the frozen blood from the blade like it was a treat or a frozen meal. And as time goes by its tongue will get numb but it will get addicted to the sweet cow blood, so much so that it doesn’t even notice that the cow blood is gone already and it’s effectively licking its own blood because the blade had sliced its own tongue. Eventually, the wolf would become weak due to blood loss and become an easy prey for the hunter. The Hellinger family actually call this story the story of ‘Cold and sweet’ in some of their familial history records.”

“Okay.” Jianmen thought for a short while, and he recorded the findings with his mind into a note placed in his personal library: “So - it could be a theory that this is not a poem of encouragement or incitement, but one of caution?”

“Well - it would appear so.” Natalie wiped her eyes and said: “What - what are you planning to do with it?”

“I actually don’t plan to do anything with it.” Jianmen sighed and said: “Believe me, I don’t want my students involved in this whole mess. If your employer had asked, I think they would be surprised at how reasonable and personable my students are and it would probably be a smaller price to pay. But after this whole thing they pulled, I’m more inclined to keep it or even destroy it now. I might even go out of my way to sabotage ”

“O - okay.” Natalie was speechless for a brief moment: “Aren’t you curious on what the codex is?”

“Yes. But there are more important businesses at hand.” Jianmen said: “Now, I guess my final question for you now - did your employer cause the contaminated material incident at the Grant Academy? If not, does she have anything to do with it?”

“No - no, I don’t think she caused it. At least as far as I know, she was surprised - pleasantly surprised that it happened.” Natalie shook her head: “There are many groups of spies and undercover agents in the Grant Academy, there was a balance among these players, so - ”

“So the pre existing players would not disturb the balance willy nilly.” Jianmen nodded: “Understood. Thank you Natalie for your answer. Now take a break, enjoy the inn. I will discuss this with my students and associates.”

“Wait!” Natalie raised her voice as Jianmen turned around and was ready to leave: “What - what about saving my family? You did say that you are willing to sabotage Lady Vyn’s plans right? Saving us and our families from her hold will definitely achieve that. Plus, I am the most junior member of the team, Kate and Carmen have been under her employment for much longer. If you could prove to them that you have the ability and the sincerity to do as you promised, they will be more willing to tell you the things they know.”

“I suppose so. But are your families held in the same place?” Jianmen asked.

“No - at least I don’t think so, why?”

“Wouldn’t that make breaking your family out more dangerous for theirs?” Jianmen asked with a smile: “If I broke yours out, and Lady Vyn were well aware that your team disappeared here when you’re on your mission, couldn’t she just connect the dots?”

“I - I haven’t thought of that...”

“Well, and my answer is still the one I told you, I will discuss it with others. ” Jianmen shook his head and decided not to call Natalie out on her obviously dishonest answer: “Like I said - starting a war against a high broker is no small deal. And we have way more important businesses at hand. But I can promise you this - I will give you an answer shortly.”

When Jianmen closed the door and left the room, he did not end up in the aisle to which the door was connected physically, instead, he appeared in the lounge of the inn, as he sensed that a piece of paper mail was delivered onto the front desk.

“To: Jianmen Yu, From: Dolores Brooke, James Atkinson.”