Caught :

Rigel stood by the door gazing at a young woman who sat alone in one corner of the tavern. The men around were unconsciously trying to act a little more mature and were trying to show off their good points. Their plan was as plain as day but unfortunate for them; the young woman didn't even bother to appease their efforts with a glance. She kept her eyes on her papers the entire time.

Minutes slowly passed and finally a man rose from his table and walked towards the young woman. Men were strange creatures; they love to woo women, and unless they gain the object of their desire, their lust can't be satiated easily. The men in the bar knew next to nothing about that young woman, but the glimpse of her beautiful face was enough to pique their curiosity.

Lust is a part of love. Love with lust is the natural component of any stable relationship between men and women, but lust alone is a sin. These men were now filled with lust and with a single woman in the middle of men. No more words are necessary to describe their thought process.

Rigel, who stood there waiting for his orders, did notice these lustful gazes, and he also saw the man moving towards the young woman. He sighed in his mind but kept quiet because he knew that no matter what happens in front of him, he was in no position to intervene.

Suddenly Rigel caught sight of something under the woman's robe which made him wonder if the woman was vulnerable. A small shiny object was visible through the robe from his position and Rigel could almost guess its identity but as said before, he was in no position to intervene no matter what happens.

"Hello Miss, I am Luther. I was just wondering what kind of an angel you are? Knowing your station, I should probably stay away but my heart pains to see that you are here without a company. Men are fools aren't they? How can there be a man who lets you wander alone like this? Miss, why don't you join me? I will make sure to entertain you." The man said with a gentle smile on his face.

His voice was soft, and so were his words. However, his intentions weren't. That much was clear from his actions. A gentleman would never touch a lady without her permission, but this man directly put his arms around her as he sat beside her.

The young woman who heard the man and saw his actions closed her eyes for a second and then casually flipped the pages on the table. The next second a horrifying scream rang out in the room as Luther shouted at the top of his lungs before stumbling away from the young woman in horror.

The lady didn't even bother to look at Luther, but the people in the bar did. His face was twisting in pain as he gazed at his hand. His right hand which he had put around the young woman now only had four fingers.

"I took a finger as a warning. The second I hear one more word out of your vulgar mouth, you will lose more than just a finger. Believe me; I am far more adept in killing than in keeping you alive." A cold voice resounded in the tavern's bar as the young woman spoke without lifting her head.

Rigel stood still with a fearful face, but his eyes glittered with excitement. Knowing what was going to happen, he kept a close eye on the knife within the robes of the young woman and what he saw made him tremble with excitement. In that instant, when the man uttered those words, the young woman moved her jade like hands like a whip and accurately cut off a single finger without wounding the other four.

What Rigel found to be even more unbelieving were her swift actions. As she cut off the finger, she caught it with lightning fast reflexes and put that severed finger in Luther's pocket. Everything happened in a split second, and Luther only registered the pain a second later.

Rigel would never be able to see the woman's actions with such precision had he not concentrated from the very beginning. The woman who he thought to be a prey in the middle of men turned out to be a lioness.

Luther, who heard the young lady's voice, didn't even make a squeak. He silently got up and ran out of the bar without turning back. He had suffered enough humiliation in her hands and considering the skill she displayed earlier; he was sure that the longer he resisted, the more he would suffer.

All the men in the bar silently dropped their heads. Fear overshadowed their lust and once again, silence returned to the bar. Rigel who saw this had an unconscious smile on his face.

Laws of the world are nothing but a joke in the world where people of great power made up laws. If the young woman were weak and vulnerable, then she would have fallen prey to Luther's approaches but now, with her strength, she made all the men bow their heads before her.

Rigel, who saw this, smiled bitterly in his heart. He was not a fool to lose himself in dreams, and he was not ignorant enough to not understand the difference between reality and illusion.

The young woman clearly was a great cultivator and her speed can only be achieved after treading far on the path of cultivation. She was most probably a spark formation stage cultivator who has perfected her Qi emission to a level that people in the bar didn't even notice her strength or her identity as a cultivator.

The events of the past month once again played in Rigel's mind. The mysterious cultivator, and his helplessness. Rigel involuntarily or voluntarily began to feel an intense desire he had once felt two years ago. The desire to gain strength. The desire to gain power.

But then again, he lost all his means when his dantian was destroyed. Dantian is the core of any cultivator. There is no cultivation without a dantian, and there will be no future without power. Rigel knew this, but he also knew that the....

"The future is limitless, and the possibilities are infinite."

Rigel's aim wasn't to gain strength which surpassed everyone in the world. He only needed enough strength to win against the mysterious man and find out the whereabouts of Frank. If he can't possess such power by himself, then he would gain such power by authority, by bribery, or by betrayal. Means were infinite. What mattered was the result and Rigel didn't care about the process in between.

Several minutes later, Rigel began to wipe the floor upon receiving the orders. While passing the woman's table, he glanced at the papers due to curiosity only to find complex chemical equations on it.

The alchemy of poisons didn't only rely simply on mixing ingredients. It was a complex science which explained the intricate details of the components used within it. One component can be used in ten thousand formulas, and it reacts in a hundred thousand different ways to give millions of possible results. None can master the alchemy of Poison in one lifetime.

Rigel's face lit up as he saw the formulas of various pills and poisons on the sheets. For two years, he relentlessly learned many poison concoctions from Frank so he could recognize many of them at a glance. Lost in thought, he didn't notice the gaze of the woman on him.

The young woman who was thinking hard was drawn by a gaze of another soul. With irritation, she glanced at him ready to whip out but instead of stinking men; a boy stood beside her, and he was instead looking at her papers with intense concentration.

She could see enlightenment in his eyes as he moved from one formula to another. She could tell instinctively tell that the boy in front of her, a waiter was capable of deciphering the meaning hidden behind the complex texts, and this piqued her interest.

Rigel only glanced for a mere ten seconds and withdrew his gaze knowing that he had overstepped his station in his disguise, but the harm was already done. The young woman was now staring at him with intense concentration.

"What is your name?" She asked out of the blue startling Rigel.

"My lady, my name is Rigel." Rigel tried to be as careful as he can, but the young woman rose from her seat and said in a loud voice, "Master, I have some work that I have to take care. I want this kid for assistance. I will pay you later."

Alarms rang like sirens in Rigel's mind as he heard that. He was pushed into a corner in one stroke by the young woman and then before he could even respond, she collected all her papers and ordered, "Didn't you listen to me? Follow me."

Rigel couldn't open his mouth to say any objections because he couldn't think of any. What kind of objections can a mere servant make to a customer who is paying for his services? He can't. Any excuse will blow his cover, so Rigel collected his bearings quickly and followed the young woman as she walked out of the war.

Following her, he slowly climbed the stairs. No matter how Rigel thought, he could see no path of escape. The woman before him was strong, sharp and attentive. He can not attempt an escape, and the best thing he can do in that situation was to bluff his way through her questions.

Though the possibility of fooling her was little, it was still the option with the highest probability of getting out unharmed. He still didn't know why she asked for him, but he was aware that she decided to do that only after she caught him staring at her papers.

A few minutes later. Rigel stood still like a statue as he uncomfortably stared back at the young woman who had been staring at him for one whole minute without saying a word. Finally, Rigel sighed in his heart and admitted defeat. So he asked in a conservative voice,

"My lady, what can I do for you?"

The young woman licked her lips and said in a calm voice, "You can drop your act boy. I can say for certain that you are not an ordinary servant. Who are you?"

Rigel gulped his saliva nervously and said, "My name is Rigel, My lady."

The young woman smiled as she heard Rigel. She leaned back in the chair and asked in a low voice, "So Rigel, How about we come to an understanding?"

Rigel still kept a plain face as he asked in a calm voice, "What kind of understanding, My lady?"

"A mutually beneficial one." The young woman answered and then said in a low voice, "For keeping your secret, you will share your secret with me, Rigel."

Her body suddenly disappeared from her place as she appeared before Rigel in a flash. Catching his chin in her jade like hands, she leaned down to look straight into Rigel's eyes and said, "I, Ravel have a lot of interest in you Rigel. I hope that you won't disappoint me. Remember, I am not a kind person when I am disappointed Rigel."

Rigel face still was calm as ever but inside; his heart was beating with high intensity. No matter how much he tried to control his thoughts, he couldn't help but think, "Just what did I get myself into?"

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