Chapter 001: The Cost

“Yes… it’s… it’s my master…”
Facing Du Fan’s almost naked gaze, Xue Lan finally gave in. She opened her mouth and replied with such an ambiguous answer.
“Your master?” Du Fan pretended to sigh. “Miss Xue Lan, that’s indeed a good answer. But isn’t it a bit too vague? If I already knew who your master is, would I still need to ask you?”
“Then… what… what do you want?”
“What do I want?” Du Fan smiled faintly. “That should be me asking you, right, Miss Xue Lan? Do you like playing these word games with me? Let’s take our time. Well, consider this your first question passed. I won’t press further about who your master is—after all, I’ve already guessed it. Knowing or not doesn’t matter much. But to reward your cleverness, I think I have to give you some reward!”
A flicker of fear appeared in Xue Lan’s eyes as she whispered, “What… what are you going to do?”
“What do I want to do?” Du Fan reached out, sniffed his own fingers, and said, “I don’t want to do anything. I’m someone who always keeps his word, especially in front of women. So since I said I’d reward you, I must give you a reward—not do anything to you. You must understand that clearly, Miss Xue Lan!”
As he spoke, Du Fan sized her up from head to toe and pretended to be surprised. “Oh, Miss Xue Lan, why are your clothes so strange? They really don’t suit the identity of an assassin! How about I have someone make you a set of assassin attire? As for these clothes you’re wearing now… just take them off!”
With Xue Lan’s shocked cries, she slowly reached up and grabbed the collar of her shirt. In one swift motion, she tore it in half. Her face was filled with panic as she tried to control her hands, but they continued to tear her clothes to shreds. Though she still wore a translucent undergarment, she was so distressed that she almost cried.

Du Fan watched with admiration, unable to hold back and saying, “Miss Xue Lan, this is truly an unparalleled weapon! Come on, lift it a bit higher… I need to take my time and see it clearly… Don’t rush, take it slow… Be careful with it!!!”

As Du Fan spoke, Xue Lan, with a look of humiliation on her face, slowly and firmly raised her chest with both hands, as if offering herself to Du Fan.

Du Fan observed her movements with interest. She already had great assets, and combined with her expression of humiliation and shyness, along with those extremely obscene gestures, it was indeed a very interesting scene!

Although he didn’t have any sadistic tendencies, any man would have to admit that this scene was incredibly tempting!

“You! You’re despicable! Shameless! Perverted!” Xue Lan was so angry she almost cried, but she had no way to control her body.

Du Fan smiled faintly and said, “Miss Xue Lan, could you change the tone of your insults? I’m already tired of hearing them… By the way, why do you think I’m despicable, shameless, and perverted? I’m just pitiful that your clothes are in such tatters, so I’m giving you a new set. Don’t worry—although you’re naked now, I’ll make sure you wear clothes again in three days. You’ll end up wearing them sooner or later, so why rush?”

“You… you… you…”

No matter how much experience Xue Lan had, this was probably the first time in her life she’d encountered someone like Du Fan. She didn’t know how to argue at all. Her chest heaved with anger, and she was on the verge of fainting.

“You can keep cursing. I’ll keep giving you rewards. After all, your underwear is quite outdated. If I’m interested, I might have someone make something called a bra for you to try!” Du Fan touched his nose.

But these words were more effective than any threat. Xue Lan immediately shut her mouth and dared not say another word.

Du Fan stepped forward, grabbed her full chest, sighed in satisfaction, then let out a low sigh and said, “See? That’s much better. But Miss Xue Lan, you’d better remember this—if you try any more tricks on me, I’ll find a way to deal with you. I can make you take off your clothes by yourself, or send you to the streets to have ‘friendly matches’ with a hundred men. Can you imagine how interesting it would be to see Xue Lan, the famous beauty of Modu City, begging for pleasure in public?”

A look of fear finally appeared on Xue Lan’s face. At this moment, she fully understood the horror of speech magic—Du Fan could make her do anything simply by moving his lips if he wished. Du Fan stepped back a few steps and sat down in a rattan chair, enjoying the “performance” of Miss Xue Lan. After a while, he said calmly, “Then let’s continue. I believe, with the lessons from before, you know how to answer whatever I ask next.”

“Let’s change to another question first,” Du Fan said, clearing his throat. “What is that magic that disappears in an instant?”

“That… that’s elf magic…” Xue Lan whispered, gritting her teeth at Du Fan.

“Oh, what a rude woman… You must always keep smiling, no matter what. Do you understand?” Du Fan sighed sadly before continuing, “What did you say just now? Elf magic, right? Are you from the legendary elf race? Otherwise, how could you use elf magic?”

Xue Lan replied in a low voice, “Humans can also use elf magic, but they must pay a certain price…”

“Really?”

“Yes… For example, that magic that disappears in an instant requires possessing an elf’s essence for a moment. That means I have to drink the moon well water of the elves to gain a bit of their essence so I can use that magic successfully.”

“Then how did a human like you get the chance to learn elf magic?”

“It was… it was taught by our trainers. They are also humans, but we can’t know why they know these magic spells!” Xue Lan said in a lower voice, noticing Du Fan’s expression.

“Is there a faction that can use magic and even train such incompetent assassins?” Du Fan smiled faintly. “Well, now I understand that question. Let’s change to another one. Why… why did you try to assassinate me?”

“Because… because… it was my master’s order…” Xue Lan whispered, glancing at Du Fan fearfully before quickly looking away.

Du Fan touched his nose and said, “So it’s just because of your master’s order? You do things without knowing any reason?”

“Yes… As an assassin, our duty is simply to obey orders without needing to know the reasons.”

“What will happen if you fail to complete your mission?”

“There won’t be any consequences. Your master only said to do my best. It would be best if I could kill you, and even if I can’t, I can at least give you a warning to keep you awake at night!”
“Is that so?” Du Fan smiled faintly. “It seems your master really doesn’t understand me. Let me think—who could he be? Bruce? Or Aldas? Or maybe Brandon?”
Xue Lan hesitated for a moment but didn’t answer.
Du Fan sneered and said, “You don’t need to rush to answer that question. Let’s continue. You said earlier that you wanted me to save your companions. So tell me, aren’t all of your companions already dead? How can I save them?”
Xue Lan shuddered. After a while, she stammered, “I… can we not talk about it…”
Du Fan said calmly, “What do you think?”
Fear flashed in Xue Lan’s eyes as she said, “I… I… I can’t betray my companions. If the mission fails, it’s all my fault. I can’t hurt them…”
“Is that so?” Du Fan nodded. “Well then, go and do some striptease at the church entrance. It might not be very good-looking, but at least you’ll learn a lesson… By the way, while dancing, unless someone tries to kill you, you must not resist no matter what they do to you!”
With that, Du Fan stood up, walked to the door, and slowly pulled it open.
With a scream, Xue Lan stood up and began walking toward the door. She seemed to be struggling desperately, but her legs wouldn’t obey her. In just a few steps, she was almost at the door. She opened her mouth and screamed loudly, “No! No! No! Young Master Du Fan! Lord Du Fan! I beg you… please don’t! Please!”
Her voice was already filled with tears. If it weren’t for Du Fan controlling her body, she would have been crying bitterly by now.
But when Du Fan heard her words, he smiled softly and said in a serious tone, “No! I’ve given you a chance, but you didn’t cherish it. You can’t blame anyone but yourself. People always have to pay a price for their mistakes, right?”