Chapter 173: Brother, You Understand Me

As night deepened, the manor grew quiet.

The mercenaries weren't exactly diligent; even though regulations required them to stand guard through the night, a sizable portion chose to sleep peacefully.

"Ha ha, we're mountain mercenaries; it's already good if we don't have to smash someone else's venue. Who dares to mess with us?"

"Brother's right, everyone can relax!"

"No more talk, sleep!"

Just after they lay down, a muffled, massive crash rang out in their half‑asleep state.

At first some thought it was just thunder, but the successive bangs shattered that hopeful notion.

And following the sound, my god, the explosion happened at Captain An De Lu's small villa!

In recent times, rampaging beast incidents have intensified, and almost everyone knows it's only a matter of time before they spread to Inner City.

So they instinctively assumed ferocious beasts had broken in, and in terror and anger they all began to arm themselves.

Even though the organization had previously drilled how to respond if enemies launched a strong assault from outside,

they had never considered how to react if the enemy appeared inside.

Thus.

Those who wanted to huddle indoors, those who wanted to charge out in one rush, those who wanted to don armor and rush to rescue the master…

The mercenaries scrambled into a chaotic heap, a mess of porridge.

It wasn't until Xie Erdun blocked the doorway, using his sword hilt to knock over a panicking, screaming mercenary, that he unleashed a deterrent infused with blood and vital energy.

"Silence! All of you, freeze in place and await orders!"

Only then did the chaotic troops finally cease their panic and regain some order.

Although Xie Erdun didn't know what had happened, the well‑read man was not completely helpless.

After dispatching the overwhelming majority of mercenaries into squads to guard the manor's various exits and thoroughfares,

he immediately led his most elite men to Captain An De Lu's villa.

In the dim firelight, the elegant two‑story cottage appeared rather bleak.

Several charred, blast‑scarred patches were glaringly obvious, like unsightly scars on an otherwise graceful face.

At the doorway, An De Lu sat upright in a high‑back chair, his eyes tightly shut.

His complexion was ashen, yet he still strained to preserve the cool composure typical of a noble.

But the faint tremor of his goat‑stubble revealed his inner turmoil.

The three other squad leaders of the mercenary corps stood helplessly beside him, heads bowed respectfully, each flanked by their close subordinates.

—No matter what happened, the captain was ambushed; as his subordinates, we should have rushed to aid him at once.

Yet I was delayed handling official matters, lagging far behind my peers—a grave taboo within our circle!

Damn…

Xie Erdun muttered under his breath, then forced himself forward.

Before speaking, he offered a bow.

"Apologies, Captain, I am late,"

Only after he finished explaining his actions during that interval did An De Lu's expression improve slightly.

"I see, at least you had the intention,"

Yet rubbing the hilt in his hand, he clenched his teeth, his knuckles turning pale.

Damn, after finally acquiring a new pet with a lovely cry and having fun, it got bombed right at the door.

And one blast wasn't enough; he had no idea how the enemy managed it, as deafening explosions reverberated throughout the villa.

Even though the force wasn't as massive as he imagined and the house, reinforced specially, didn't collapse, the sheer commotion still startled him.

Moreover, when An De Lu, frantic, tried to rush outside, a sudden cramp in his calf caused him to tumble hard on the steps at the doorway.

Worse still, his stomach gurgled, and he couldn't hold it, letting out a loud fart.

If the earlier events merely made him fume, now he was truly incensed.

By then the explosions had been going on for a while, and mercenaries kept arriving.

As the captain of the Mountain Hammer Mercenary Corps, a distinguished noble descendant, the future Marquis, An De Lu Qunshan.

He actually fell in front of so many people and then let out a loud fart!

Falling, farting, in front of everyone!

How embarrassing…

How embarrassing!!!

If not for the sheer number of witnesses and the urgency of the situation, he would have wanted to kill everyone who saw it.

But now, after calming down, a lingering dread kept rising in his mind.

Someone managed to infiltrate his manor, even the villa interior, and trigger such concentrated explosions with something—magic or otherwise—unknown…

What level of cultivator could the opponent be?

Could it be the same silent thief who stole the supplies stored in his underground pass?

Wait… supplies!

"Xie Erdun!"

"Here!"

An De Lu steadied his breath and asked as calmly as possible,

"Have you sent anyone to inspect the underground warehouse?"

"Um…"

Although Xie Erdun knew there was a secret passage underground leading outside, the key lay in a drawer. He had never left the office, so an intruder couldn't have exited there, nor could they foolishly hide in a dead end to die, so no manpower was allocated to that area.

"You! Forget it, you all continue the search; I'll take some men to take a look."

An De Lu hurriedly led his own guards down, but as soon as he reached the second underground level, he felt the temperature rising gradually, and a smell of burning drifted in.

"... Quick, move faster!"

He quickened his pace a few steps, only to see the massive iron door on the third underground level already opened.

Scalding tongues of flame rolled and churned, revealing the scene he most dreaded.

Perhaps An De Lu's design of the underground fortress was indeed ingenious, but he overlooked a crucial point.

—The more solid and deep it is here, the harder it is to extinguish the fire.

Moreover, after wasting too much time, the original several fire spots had easily merged into a blaze, devouring the goods inside piece by piece.

"Quick, bring down more water!"

"I think we should quickly hire a mage who can wield water magic; the fire is too fierce."

"No, the elder said everything that happened here is top secret!"

Thus the entire mercenary corps labored for half a night before finally managing to extinguish the last blaze.

And rather than saying they extinguished it, it's more accurate to say there was nothing left to burn.

In the silence, the heavy aristocratic burden became the final shackles binding An De Lu's reason.

He stood for a moment before a pile of ash, dismissed everyone, ordered his trusted guards to secure the stairs, and then proceeded to the far end of the corridor.

There was no place here that could burn, so everything was normal—so normal that he instantly spotted footprints on the floor and obvious marks of the iron door having been opened.

"Pfft, hahaha…"

He bowed his head in thought for a moment, then let out a suppressed, low chuckle.

Amidst heavy breathing, An De Lu twisted open the iron door and hurried down.

After a long while, he calmly adjusted his belt and returned to the third underground level.

He flexed his slightly stiff fingers and wiped away a drop of blood from his collar.

"How is it, finished the inspection?"

The loyal guards remained silent, handing him a small bag of items.

An De Lu opened it, glanced inside, let out a soft sigh, and nodded wearily.

"Very well, go inform them, and come to my meeting room immediately for a meeting."

If it were usual, the reckless mercenaries would already be rushing out to seek pleasure.

But after a night of tension, the atmosphere in the manor became unusually gloomy and solemn.

Everyone wore a tight expression, not a hint of a smile, and none dared slip away, fearing they'd become the scapegoat.

In the meeting room on the third floor of the small villa, the four captains sat as if on a bed of needles.

"Since everyone is present, let's begin this emergency meeting."

Although An De Lu appeared calm, those who knew him understood this was a summons of his fury reaching its peak.

He tapped the table, a grim smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

"Before the discussion begins, allow me to inform you all of our losses tonight."

"First, our warehouse was deliberately set on fire; although thanks to your brave rescue we achieved some results, we saved less than a tenth of the supplies."

Xie Er Dun immediately stood up.

"Sorry, Captain, my strategy was weak, I..."

An De Lu didn't even lift an eyelid.

"Sit down."

Xie Er Dun opened his mouth, but as a knight he dared not defy the noble lord's order, so he bowed his head and sat down.

"Second, according to subsequent inventory and reports, including the common property of the mercenary building, many mercenaries' personal belongings suffered varying degrees of loss."

An De Lu took out a small stack of papers and casually spread them on the table.

"Oh, and one more thing, my residence was also attacked by an unknown force..."

He finally could no longer maintain his feigned nonchalance; his voice rose while trembling.

"They infiltrated by unknown means, triggering a series of explosions in an unknown way! Then..."

His voice cut off abruptly; An De Lu relaxed his jaw and let out a long sigh.

"In short, I need an explanation; Shan Min Tie Chui needs an explanation."

"Anyone here who has a clue or insight to catch this or those bastards, speak up now."

As soon as the words fell, Jia La Mi, eager to claim credit, spoke first.

"Captain, I think we have a mole inside!"

The moment he said that, the meeting room's atmosphere instantly grew tense.

Jia La Mi's forehead was covered in sweat, but he forced himself to keep speaking.

"I, I am willing to share the burden for you, Captain, and help you root him out!"

Bitterly, as the most slack captain in the organization, he would never have spoken up before.

But last night he drank too much in Liu Ying Alley; everyone knew he came back drunk, clutching a woman.

Normally, after being reprimanded by the captain, he'd just say 'next time for sure', but who could have imagined such a huge incident last night!

If this were investigated seriously, even if he were not at fault, he'd still have to drink a pot of punishment for negligence.

Now that it's come to this, the only way is to show his face, earn a merit, and perfectly cover up the incident.

Hearing this, the captain indeed nodded as he had expected.

Then, in his delighted gaze, he asked back.

"Then, Jia La Mi, who do you think the mole is?"

"Fine! Xie..."

Garami subconsciously prepared to give a big thanks, but this sentence left him stunned.

Upon further thought, even his skin began to tremble.

Who dares to say that?

If the guess is right, that's fine; if it's wrong…

"I don't know, Team Leader, hehe, how could I possibly know..."

Better to play dumb quickly and cut losses in time.

"Heh."

An De Lu didn't trouble him; instead, he shifted his gaze to Ba Er Si, who is in charge of the Self‑Discipline Squad.

"Ba Er Si, who do you think the traitor might be?"

Ba Er Si was silent for a moment, then wriggled his facial scar and said softly.

"Team Leader, the opponent managed to enter the manor silently, approach the villa, infiltrate underground, and carry out various threatening actions. Even with prior investigation and stepping on points, without internal assistance, this would be absolutely impossible."

Each word was hard to utter, as if chewing stone, because this accusation pointed at all colleagues present.

"Therefore I infer that the traitor not only exists, but must be a captain‑level figure!"

With those words, the conference room's atmosphere instantly grew more tense.

Everyone couldn't help but look at each other, for they had long suspected this possibility.

An De Lu nodded thoughtfully, then turned to Xie Er Dun.

"Xie Er Dun, what's your take?"

Xie Er Dun rubbed his temples, eyes closed, his mind a battle between heaven and man.

In the end, loyalty overrode his anxiety, and he spoke decisively.

"Team Leader, I think the traitor is Garami!"

Garami's eyes widened; he hadn't expected the usually respected elder‑brother‑like Xie Er Dun to slander him like this.

Brother, I've treated you to drinks, helped a poor girl, such a solid friendship, and you would also…

He slammed the table and immediately retorted passionately.

"You're talking nonsense! How could I possibly be the traitor!"

Since the offending words had already been spoken, Xie Er Dun returned to his composure.

"If you're not the traitor, could you tell me where the two nightingales you brought last night went?"

"With such a big incident in our team, how could I still have outsiders present?"

Garami glanced secretly at the Team Leader's expression, his words rushed.

"I paid a hush money, saying it was a tactical drill, and sent it back..."

He slammed the table again, his raised palm trembling like a knife.

"I'll silence them right now... Team Leader, you believe me, I'll silence them now!"

"No need, they've already disappeared."

The subordinates all bristled and stared, ready to act on the spot, but An De Lu kept his eyelids lowered.

He raised his hand slightly and tossed a nearly melted ring onto the table.

"Found in the fire's ashes, my eyes are poor, Yuan Han Xun? Please identify it for me."

As the only mage among the four captains, the fallen noble Yuan Han Xun is also a collector.

Strangely enough, in last night's large‑scale theft he didn't lose any treasure, but instead dropped a cardboard box.

A highly precious chest, filled with the Sun‑Moon civilization's historical crystals, as golden as gold itself...

He had been moody for half a day, so he habitually sighed before picking up the ring.

But this glance didn't matter; he carelessly pulled off his moustache.

He shivered, as if touching a hot iron, and tossed the ring.

"Captain Xie Er Dun, this is yours..."

"Alright!"

Before Xie Er Dun could react, Garami slapped the table again, this time slamming his palm on the desk.

"Xie Er Dun, no wonder you wanted to slander me; turns out you are the traitor!"

Touching his empty index finger, Xie Er Dun's face turned pale.

"How could this be? It was stolen..."

But he stopped mid‑sentence, because he had previously sworn that he stayed in the office the whole time, and the key could not possibly have been stolen.

And now...

Between the two, one must be a lie, and whichever side it is, it implies suspicion and betrayal.

"I've always treated you like an older brother, yet you betray everyone and even try to ruin a brother!"

Facing the silent Xie Er Dun, Garami naturally held nothing back, beating a drowning dog.

"Who exactly did you side with? The Adventurers' Guild? The Commercial Union? Or Fe..."

Just before the next utterance, he promptly stopped the already dangerous vehicle.

Leaning on the desk to calm slightly, he suddenly realized a problem.

"Team Leader, say something~ah!"

The final particle shifted sharply, like a white goose whose neck was being squeezed, suddenly raising its pitch.

Because An De Lu, without warning, thrust the dagger in his hand into his palm.

He lifted his head, his eyes filled with mockery.

Jia Lami, when did you betray me?