Chapter 59: Fulfilling the Bargain

“I… I wasn’t bothering him.” Zen said, holding Shibi to calm the beast down.

“Really?” Xu Hau said, raising an eyebrow. “Then I guess you were just emanating a killing intent for kicks.”

“Such a dirty liar,” Xu Hau’s boyfriend, Hao Meng said as he walked into view. “I think you took it too easy on him.”

“Oh, I’ve only just begun to deal with him.” Xu Hau said before looking at Chen Jian. “Are you okay? Was he bothering you.”

“As much as a fly can bother me,” Chen said and Zen gave him a loaded glare. “Thank you for your assistance, Hau Jie Jie. I’ll be taking my leave now.” Chen bowed to the girl.

She nodded to him with a smile but as soon as he was gone, the scowl had returned to her face. A look Zen suspected that she kept reserved for him. “Now you were explaining how you were not bothering Chen Jian.”

“I… I wasn’t.” Zen said as he got to his feet. “I was looking for you actually.”

“Really?” she said in scepticism.

“Yeah.” Zen said. Shibi climbed onto his shoulder, occasionally hissing at the two seniors, as if acting out on what Zen wished he could do. “I need to speak to you privately.”

“Is this about the bargain you two made?” Hao Meng said.

“What?” Zen said before looking at Xu Hau accusingly. “You told him?”

“Well, the other option was to let him beat you to a pulp after hearing all the rumours concerning you, me and the bathhouse.” Xu Hau said.

“The fact that such rumours exist makes me want to beat you to a pulp anyways.” Hao Meng said in passing.

Zen gulped in fear. The two seniors before him were far from the most powerful people he has met, however, they were far more powerful and talented than he was. He clenched his fists, making a secret vow to himself that one day he would grow to be more powerful, so that he would not need to take as much crap as he usually did, not from the seniors and definitely not from Chen Jian, who was under their protection.

“So, what do you have to report?” she said. “Whatever you have to say to me, you can say it in Hao Meng’s presence.”

Zen was snapped out of his internal musings. He made an unsure sound in his throat as he looked at the two seniors.

“Spit it out!” Hao Meng said.

“Fine,” Zen said after a few moments more of thinking. “But, I have conditions.”

“Conditions?” Hao Meng said. “Your being quite brave.”

“Let’s hear him out,” Xu Hao said.

“Alright, first, when I tell you what I tell you, we’re done.” Zen said. “Meaning you no longer hold this whole bathhouse thing, which was a misunderstanding, over my head.”

“Fine, if what you’re telling me is good enough.” Xu Hao said.

“And no one can know that I am the one who told you this.”

"Now your asking for too much.” Xu Hao said.

“Well, I am the one with the information.” Zen said, Shibi hissing at his side giving hi a little more courage to stand up a little to Xu Hao.

“Fine.”

Zen nodded, clenched and unclenched his sweaty palms as his mouth wrestled with the words. “There were some medicinal pills stolen recently.”

“Yes, we know.” Xu Hao said. “Sometime last night.”

“Well, the people who stole them… they… they are planning to frame Chen Jian for it.” And with that, Wang Zen had betrayed his friends to mostly save himself.

“Really?!” Xu Hau was in disbelief. “You and your little group are getting real brazen.”

“Hey, I wasn’t there!” Zen said.

“Yeah, you were too busy getting your ass kicked.” Meng Hao said, looking at his face.

“Fine then, if you weren’t there, then tell me who was.” Xu Hao said.

Zen looked down. This betrayal was hard enough, so he could not bring himself to go a step further and name names.

“Well?” Xu Hao pressed. She rolled her eyes when he did not answer and fished a black stone form her person. “It doesn’t matter,” she said as she touched the shiny black surface of the stone and white dots of light appeared above her palm, ending in a small collection of tarot sized cards. “I have bingo cards of you and all your little friends. So it shouldn’t be hard to figure out.”

Zen looked at the bingo cards. He had long suspected they existed but now, it had been confirmed. Hui Yi had really collected data on him and his friends too apparently.

With that Xu Hao and Hao Meng left Zen, who felt sick at the pit of his stomach, unsure if was because of the betrayal he had just committed or if his injuries were acting up.