Chapter 019: Prey

Oldas glanced at Allen. Their eyes met, and both corners of their mouths curled slightly upward.
After all, most of the people present knew each other, and Du Fan’s so-called introduction was nothing but polite words.
Seeing the hint of coldness hidden behind Allen’s elegant smile, Oldas smiled and said, “Is an introduction really needed? It’s been a long time since I last saw Young Master Allen. I wonder what progress you’ve made over the years. Maybe we should have a duel sometime when we have time!”
Allen smiled faintly and replied, “What skills do I have to compete with Young Master Oldas? My mediocre skills are nothing worth mentioning—I’d only end up embarrassing myself. But I heard that Young Master Oldas is excellent at sword dancing. Would you be interested in performing a few moves to liven things up? I can’t sleep at night if I don’t see your sword dance!”
Hearing this blatant sarcasm, Oldas simply smiled and said, “Young Master Allen, you’re joking. I always heard that you were training in the northwest. How come you’re here in Modu City hunting today? What a great interest, what plenty of free time!”
Allen laughed heartily and said, “No matter how great my interest or free time may be, it can’t compare to yours, Young Master Oldas. Besides, I heard from my third brother that there are many troublemakers causing chaos in the north these days. My men haven’t seen blood in a while, so I couldn’t help but bring them out to train their skills. On another note, I heard from my third brother that Young Master Oldas has been taking very good care of our third brother in the north. Our Green family is deeply grateful and constantly thinks about how to repay you. Since Young Master Oldas is here today, we must have fun to the fullest before leaving! Young Master Oldas is known as a genius of the imperial capital, with astonishing martial skills. Surely your archery skills are excellent too. It seems you’ll definitely win this hunt today.”
Oldas smiled and said, “Although I have some reputation, it pales in comparison to the Northern Legion. Young Master Allen is the most outstanding figure in the Northern Legion, and your skills must be equally impressive. In my opinion, the winner of today’s hunt will definitely be Young Master Allen.”
After saying that, the two exchanged glances and burst into laughter.
Though their words were polite, who among the people present was a fool? The deep murderous intent hidden beneath their courtesy could be felt even by the most dull-minded.

The nobles following behind all looked pale. If the Green family and the Belinger family really fell out today, which side should they take?
Though they spoke politely now, it was all for the sake of maintaining noble dignity…
When the two had finished exchanging pleasantries, Du Fan clapped his hands lightly and said, “Enough. Second brother, Young Master Aldas, let’s stop the formalities. If we’re to determine a winner, we can invite Lord Joshua to be a witness and have a proper match. As for now… let’s first take a look at the ‘prey’…”
“Take a look at the prey…” Aldas was slightly stunned, as if recalling something.
But Du Fan just smiled, waved his whip, and snapped it loudly, then declared, “Someone! Bring the ‘prey’ here!”
As soon as he spoke, there was a shout, and a large tent was torn open. Dozens of soldiers from the Northern Legion pushed out a huge iron cage, which was soon brought before everyone.
For a moment, everyone’s expressions turned strange; they didn’t understand what Young Master Du Fan intended to do.
Yet Du Fan’s smile remained unchanged. He laughed heartily and said, “Open it!”
One of the soldiers obeyed, pulled a rope on the cage, and with a rustling sound, the cloth covering it was pulled down, revealing the “prey” inside!
Instantly, everyone’s expressions became extremely strange. A few even stared at the cage in disbelief, as if looking at some monster.
Joshua sighed deeply and couldn’t help but ask, “Du Fan, what does this mean?”
Du Fan smiled faintly and said, “Is it really that hard to understand, Lord Joshua? Isn’t this the ‘prey’ of our hunt?”
Seeing Du Fan’s calm smile, even those nobles who usually treated human lives as worthless couldn’t help but feel a chill in their hearts…
Inside that huge iron cage wasn’t some prey at all—it was over twenty young girls!
These girls were completely naked, their delicate bodies trembling in the early spring of the north. Each of them had a terrified expression, seemingly aware of their fate yet unable to resist.

Some astute nobles had already realized that these twenty-odd girls were precisely those from Miss Xue Lan’s household—the same group that had played music for Xue Lan at the governor’s residence. These nobles didn’t know that these girls should have been dead originally. Now that they saw them here, they couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. This young master Du Fan truly had a cruel heart. These girls were only suspected of attempting to assassinate him, yet they ended up in such a dire situation.

As for those nobles who knew these girls should have been “dead,” they all widened their eyes in disbelief. Even Governor Brandon was speechless. He had wanted to ask something, but seeing Du Fan’s calm smile, he remembered Du Fan’s earlier warning: “No matter what you see, just watch—do not ask.” Feeling uneasy, he couldn’t bring himself to ask.

Soldiers had already opened the gates of the iron cage. Under threats, these twenty-odd girls were forced to stand in front of everyone. Though naked, they were still handcuffed and footcuffed, making it impossible for them to move.

The girls cried bitterly, their eyes filled with tears. They had been stripped of their clothes early in the morning by Du Fan’s men and thrown into this iron cage. They had no idea what their fate would be. But after all, they weren’t fools. Under such circumstances, they roughly understood what this young master Du Fan intended to do, and they became terrified.

Filled with fear and anxiety, these girls were forced to kneel in front of Du Fan, lining up in a row.

Their naked, beautiful bodies were exposed to the wind, their full chests and the curves of their waists drawing everyone’s attention. Yet, given the situation, no one dared to think about such things.

Seeing this, Joshua felt a slight pang of compassion and couldn’t help but say, “Du Fan… what exactly is the meaning of this…?”

Du Fan smiled slightly and said, “Lord Joshua, I’m sure you know that before you came to Moduo, I encountered Tang Ci at a banquet at the governor’s residence, right?”

Joshua asked, “So… Du Fan, do you mean…”

Du Fan sneered and said, “That’s right, Lord Joshua. It must be them… Although I caught that assassin later, those fools actually let her escape… But it doesn’t matter. As long as these guys stay put, it’s fine. All these women are accomplices of that assassin… In other words, they’re all involved in the assassination of a priest in white. I think, according to the laws of the Holy Church, the crimes they’ve committed are equivalent to heresy, right?”
“Well…” Joshua didn’t know what to say for a moment. Everything Du Fan said made sense. Though he felt a bit sorry for those girls, heresy had always been a deeper sin than rebellion. Since these girls were already considered heretics, it wouldn’t be difficult for Du Fan to treat them as prey—or even send them all to the stake.
Seeing Joshua’s expression, Du Fan said calmly, “If Lord Joshua can’t bring himself to act later, then just watch.”
As he spoke, he gave Aldas a mocking glance.
Aldas’s face was icy cold. Though he wanted to say something, he couldn’t utter a word. His men also looked filled with grief and anger, but what could they do in such a situation?
With those people standing there, if they dared to go and rescue them, wouldn’t that mean admitting they were accomplices to those assassins?
It was one thing to know such things in one’s heart, but another to act on them in front of others.
Seeing Aldas’s expression, Du Fan smiled warmly and said, “Young Master Aldas, surely after a lifetime of hunting, you’ve never encountered prey like this before? Hunting lions and cheetahs may be interesting, but how can it compare to hunting humans? Don’t you think so, Young Master Aldas?”
He shouted the last part, “Young Master Aldas,” loudly. Even though the crying girls heard this title, their faces lit up with joy, and they couldn’t help but lift their heads. Their tearful looks only made things more heart-wrenching.
Aldas’s teeth chattered, but after a moment, he still said in a low voice, “Young Master Du Fan, your tactics are truly remarkable. This hunt is truly unique…”

“Unique.” Du Fan laughed heartily. “Very good, truly unique. Just for that remark, I, Du Fan, hope Young Master Aldas will have a great time later. Don’t worry; once these people are killed, I still have more… Second brother, send someone to bring in all the assassins and their accomplices captured from the cities in the North last time. We’ll hunt today, and we’ll do it thoroughly. But I only hope, Young Master Aldas, that you’ll really enjoy yourself!”