Arriving at the city gate, Iyas was stopped by the guards who told her to go to the back of the line for entering the city. Seeing the carriages of the Chaoyang Chamber of Commerce getting further away, Iyas had no choice but to lower her hood.
After her rescue, Iyas had learned much from Yang Yu.
Beauty, too, was a weapon.
By human standards, she seemed quite popular.
To pass through the gate quickly, she deliberately put on a pitiful look, explaining that she had urgent business in the city and asking the guards to make an exception.
Seeing such a beautiful woman pleading, and having just received a gratuity from the Chaoyang Chamber of Commerce, the guards blushed and let Iyas cut in line.
Breezing through the checkpoint, Iyas quickly looked around the streets, and seeing that the carriage of the Chaoyang Chamber of Commerce was still in sight, she heaved a sigh of relief, pulled her hood back up, and hurried after the carriage.
Meanwhile, on the carriage, a handsome young man was discussing recent events with another passenger—a thin old woman dressed in a blue-black dress, leaning on a cane.
The old woman asked, "Hei Yao, have you heard that the order request from Red Blood Rose has been canceled? Do you know what happened?"
The man known as Hei Yao replied, "Pomegranate Granny, I heard that they’ve found what they were looking for elsewhere."
Her face, full of wrinkles, couldn’t hide Pomegranate Granny’s disappointment. "That’s really a pity, it was a rare chance to earn a favor from Red Blood Rose.
Liu Li must be feeling upset for not being able to help Gordon. Take some time to comfort her."
"That guy doesn’t need my comfort. That man took my job forcefully because of their connection. I don’t need to comfort such people."
With disdain in his eyes, Hei Yao crossed his legs,
"I’ve gotten tired of that woman bossing me around."
"She is your aunt after all, how can you talk about her that way?
At least, keep your voice down.
You ingrate. If only you could marry a high-ranking noble daughter like your brother did, you wouldn’t have to run around, hosting auctions. Wouldn’t it be nice to stay in an office where people flatter you?"
"Pomegranate Granny, I run around purely because I love the auction business.
Especially, auctioning slaves.
Even though the buyers below wear masks just like I do, I can still see the greed in their eyes.
Teasing that greed, releasing their desires, making them fight each other nastily, for me, it’s an unmatched ultimate spectacle.
The confusion, despair, anxiety, worry of the slaves being manipulated at the clap of hands, it adds a certain flavor too."
Angrily scoffing, Pomegranate Granny aggressively jabbed the carriage with her cane,
"You’re always talking in these unfathomable ways, that’s why opportunities keep getting snatched away from you."
Facing Pomegranate Granny’s scolding gaze, Hei Yao averted his eyes towards the outside of the carriage, saying indifferently,
"What can I do if someone higher ranking takes my opportunities away?"
Opportunity is such a thing; if you don’t get it, you just don’t. When it comes, it will find all sorts of ways to cling to you.
"Let it be said beforehand, even if I become a higher-up, I will not give up my job as an auctioneer."
"You little..." Pomegranate Granny almost choked on her anger, struggling to speak for a while before finally catching her breath, "Forget it, there is an opportunity right in front of you now, it depends on whether you cherish it.
I have some old connections with ’Red Blood Rose’, and Gordon will be visiting soon. That’s why I came back with you... You must cherish this opportunity and try to make friends with him."
Regarding Pomegranate Granny’s earnest advice, Hei Yao indifferently replied, "Yes."
Pomegranate Granny sighed, drew a circle in the carriage, which then turned into a mirror,
"Let’s put that aside for now. I have something else here."
In the mirror appeared a bustling crowd. It was clearly visible that a figure wearing a hood was following their carriage.
"Is someone tracking us?"
Through Pomegranate Granny’s Magic Mirror, Hei Yao immediately felt that the person following their carriage looked somewhat familiar.
"Pomegranate Granny, can you change the angle to see her obscured face? I need to confirm something."
"If there’s a mirror or glass nearby, I can use my magic to reveal her face."
Quickly, Hei Yao instructed the coachman to turn, adjusting their route to a street lined with glass windows.
Passing a clothing store displaying garments, Pomegranate Granny’s Magic Mirror instantly projected the appearance of Iyas.
Iyas only felt a brilliant light sweep across her face. She instinctively closed her eyes, then immediately reopened them, looking left and right for the Sunrise Chaoyang Chamber of Commerce’s carriage.
The carriage hadn’t disappeared from sight; Iyas breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to catch up with the carriage, a voice sounded not far from her.
The woman speaking had messy hair, a wooden Magic Wand in her right hand, and something resembling a scroll in her left arm. The eyes peeking through her hair harbored indescribable emotions—astonishment and wonder mixed together, bringing a hint of anger in her eyes.
The man next to her had an ordinary face that betrayed a unique depth. His expression was straight, but his eyes seemed to penetrate everything.
To encounter these two at this time, to say I’m lucky is undoubtedly a lie.
Looking at the carriage growing more distant, Iyas clenched her teeth and said, "You have the wrong person," before she ran after the carriage.
This was an opportunity that Iyas did not want to miss, to pinpoint her brother’s whereabouts all at once. Nor did she want Yang Yu to discover her breaking their promise.
The only way Iyas could think of was to quickly grab the man and force him to disclose her brother’s whereabouts and then, before the chaos escalated, return to the woods.
In a crisis, it’s hard for one to fully consider the consequences.
Right now, Iyas only wanted to get the information and leave, never weighing the consequences of her actions.
She was like a gambler, staking all on the next hand after a loss,
dreaming only of the glory of winning, transforming bicycles into motorcycles, dining on varied barbecues every day, enjoying models at hotels; never considering, if she lost, she would end up moving bricks at a construction site, dividing a pack of noodles, worth two yuan and fifty, into three meals.
Believing she must and can only believe in what she believed, could lead one to not see oneself clearly, to not properly assess oneself, unaware that it is a game destined to be lost.
No matter how big the bet, no matter how confident, no matter how courageous, Iyas could not win this game that was bound to be lost.
Fearless gambler, only the Abyss awaited her.