novelraw Chapter 918: Lady Rot Rose’s Offer
Chapter 918: Lady Rot Rose’s Offer
Han Yu stilled hearing Lady Rot Rose’s words.
"No reports. No traces. Not even their corpses," she said calmly. "It is as if they vanished."
The weight of that statement settled heavily.
Han Yu’s mind moved quickly, recalculating the situation.
"So sending me will not change that," he said after a moment. "If they disappeared without a trace, then I am no different. My strength is inferior to theirs."
Lady Rot Rose laughed softly.
It was not mocking.
But it carried a certain amusement.
"You underestimate yourself," she said.
Her eyes held his.
"I know how powerful the Freezing Abyss Glacial Art is. It is not merely a cultivation technique. It is a legacy that allows its user to withstand extremes that others cannot."
Her voice softened slightly.
"Where others are overwhelmed, you will endure."
Han Yu frowned faintly.
He did not like the certainty in her tone. Nor did he like how accurately she seemed to understand the nature of his technique. Still, he did not reject her words outright. Because he knew that refusal was not truly an option.
Not here and not with her.
He exhaled slowly.
"Then tell me something," he said.
Lady Rot Rose raised an eyebrow slightly.
"What exactly is in the northeastern border that makes this worth your attention?"
His gaze sharpened.
"You are not the type to send people to their deaths without reason. This is not about revenge. If it were, you would have already abandoned it as a loss."
Lady Rot Rose’s smile deepened slightly.
"Good," she said. "You are thinking properly."
She leaned back once more, the pipe in her hand glowing faintly as she took another slow inhale.
"You are correct," she continued. "If it were merely a matter of lost subordinates, I would not pursue it further."
Her eyes flickered briefly.
"There is something there."
Han Yu remained silent, waiting.
"A report reached me," she said. "From that region."
Her tone shifted slightly, becoming more deliberate.
"It mentioned... a treasure."
Han Yu’s eyes narrowed.
"A treasure?" he repeated.
Lady Rot Rose nodded faintly.
"Ordinary treasures do not interest me," she said. "And the people I placed there know this. They would not waste my time with trivial findings."
Her gaze sharpened again.
"If they chose to send that message... it means they believed it was worth my attention."
Han Yu considered that carefully.
"And what is this treasure?" he asked.
Lady Rot Rose exhaled softly.
"That," she said, "is the problem."
Han Yu’s brow furrowed slightly.
"The first message they sent stated that they did not yet know," she explained. "It was sealed. They were in the process of investigating it, attempting to uncover its nature."
She paused.
"And then... the messages stopped."
Han Yu’s expression remained calm, but his mind sharpened further.
"No confirmation. No follow up. Only silence."
She tapped the jade slip again, and the images of the corpses appeared once more.
"When I sent others to investigate," she continued, "this is what they found."
Han Yu stared at the images.
Frozen bodies.
Internal crystallization.
Precise bite marks.
A slow realization began to form.
Not because of what she said.
But because of what he had seen before.
A memory surfaced.
Cold.
Sharp.
Unsettling.
Of Frost Plume Town beyond the Harrow Mountains. He remembered a cold and elegant figure, Madam Cold Fang.
Han Yu’s pupils contracted slightly.
He kept his expression steady, but internally, the connection was immediate.
The same pattern.
The same kind of death.
Freezing from within.
Predatory precision.
He had suspected it back then.
And now...
It appeared again.
Far away.
In a place no one paid attention to.
Han Yu slowly lifted his gaze to Lady Rot Rose.
"I see," he said quietly.
His tone revealed nothing.
But his mind had already reached a conclusion. This mission was not simply about a treasure. Nor was it merely about investigating deaths.
Something from his past... Had resurfaced.
And this time...It was no longer hidden behind coincidence.
Han Yu did not respond immediately after hearing Lady Rot Rose’s explanation.
The information about the northeastern border lingered in his mind, intertwining with his own past experiences and suspicions. The frozen corpses, the bite marks, the eerie absence of survivors... all of it pointed toward something far more dangerous than a mere wandering beast or rogue cultivator.
Still, that was only one part of the matter.
The other part was far more important.
What he would gain from it.
Han Yu slowly leaned back, his fingers lightly tapping the edge of the table before him. The faint scent of the Rose Life Wine still lingered in the air, blending with the drifting red smoke that curled lazily from Lady Rot Rose’s pipe.
Then he smiled.
It was a composed smile, one that carried a trace of amusement, yet beneath it lay the sharpness of a seasoned negotiator.
"My Lady," he said, his tone calm and polite, "this mission sounds... rather dangerous."
Lady Rot Rose did not interrupt him. She simply watched.
Han Yu continued.
"I trust that you do not intend for this to be rewarded with a mere favor."
His smile deepened slightly.
"Surely, someone of your stature would not be so... stingy."
For a brief moment, silence hung between them.
Then Lady Rot Rose laughed.
It was a genuine laugh, rich and unrestrained, as though she had been waiting for such a response.
"A businessman through and through," she said, shaking her head slightly, her eyes gleaming with interest.
She leaned forward, resting her chin lightly against her hand.
"I like that," she added. "Far better than those who pretend to act selflessly while calculating even more than you do."
Han Yu did not deny it.
There was no point.
Lady Rot Rose continued, her voice smooth and assured.
"Of course, you will be rewarded," she said. "And not in some vague, empty manner."
She gestured lightly with her pipe.
"You may even choose your reward. Ask for what you desire."
Han Yu’s eyes flickered.
That was generous.
Too generous.
Which meant it came with weight.