Strong River left the elder's cabin through its back exit, activating the Dusk Aura Concealment as he did so. Taking special care to avoid notice, the dark-clad young man soared over the compound walls, avoiding the gates and their watchers.

Under the guidance and direction of Mister Black, he soon closed to a visual range of the other person leaving the Flowing Water clan compound: Elder Wave. Putting together the clues offered by Elder Cloud, River had already guessed that he was about to witness a meeting of Elder Wave with his contacts from the Dragon's Den.

With the effect of Dusk Aura Concealment and a little care to not make too much of a racket, River could observe Elder Wave while avoiding detection. The young warrior did find some difficulty in navigating tall grass versus the trees of the Primeval Forest, but with some pointers from Mister Black, he was able to adapt to the change.

After half an hour of following the elder, he finally caught sight of the man's destination: a large mound with an entrance dug into the side, a single torch lighting its door. Elder Wave walked up to the door and knocked in a peculiar pattern. After a moment's wait, the door swung open and he stepped inside.

Under Mister Black's guidance, River found his way to an outlet on the side of the mound, a place where a hole had been dug to provide ventilation to the interior. Sidling up to the aperture, he was able to hear the conversation going on inside the mound.

"...brings you here, Mister Wave? You know we're not due any new deliveries for you." The voice was deep and held a peculiar emphasis when he said the word "deliveries."

"How would you like to earn double--no, triple the usual commission while also cleaning up a problem of your own that'll earn you some credit in the Den?" Elder Wave started his sales pitch immediately.

"For you to offer this much makes me suspect this is a bit more complicated than your usual acquisitions, Mister Wave. What's the catch?" The man spoke with familiarity, stabbing right into the heart of the matter.

Elder Wave snorted. "This particular catch is a young man inside the Flowing Water clan itself, one who is under the eye of the other elders. His physique tempering is somewhere at the fifth-grade level, so he shouldn't present a challenge to you gentlemen, but my hands must remain clean."

"Oh, finally given up on waiting on that one?"

"No, not that one. It's not time to kick that hornet's nest yet. This one is the River boy, the one everybody thought was a total waste. The Ripples have been concealing his actual value until now, it seems."

"Hmmm..." the deep-voiced man hummed as he considered the picture. "You said there's a problem we'd be cleaning up if we handled this boy."

"If I'm not mistaken, you had a couple men that did your running to the village disappear recently."

River almost gasped in shock at that announcement. How did Elder Wave know about that?

"That's not a difficult guess to make, those kinds run away all the time. Are you telling me they are hiding inside the Flowing Water clan, then?"

"No, they're dead, and the boy had something to do with it." There was an edge to Elder Wave's voice as he made his play.

"Oh? You sound very certain about this. It's conceivable since they weren't very strong for their grade, but what proof do you have of this?"

"I have their bodies. Their manner of death was very... distinctive." Elder Wave took a deep, ragged breath. "My nephew was just killed in the same way while out hunting with that boy as the only witness."

The hairs on River's arms stood on end as he realized had made a severe miscalculation in leaving the bandit corpses where they died. The Blood Devouring Palm's characteristic desiccation of the body was unmistakable, but he hadn't imagined that Elder Wave would put the pieces together like this. As the elder had retrieved the bodies, this meant that there was now a link between the mysterious "black-clad devil" and someone closer to the clan. Since River was the only witness to the alleged devil's actions, this would immediately cast suspicion on him even among those most inclined to believe him.

The only saving grace he had was that Elder Wave was not yet inclined to release this information to the other Elders. The old man coveted whatever had helped River advance so quickly and had no inclination to share it.

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"My condolences for your loss, Mister Wave. That's quite a stretch to make if I do say so myself, though. It's not like a killing method is something that can't be duplicated." The bandit negotiator looked to be quite a practiced hand at fishing expeditions as he engaged in one of his own with the elder.

"A method that thoroughly drains all the blood from a body, even? I suspect the boy has a helper, a stronger one. That is the other reason I am coming to you gentlemen; with your numbers, you can deal with any such problem."

The sound of fingers tapping on a table's surface was the only noise coming from that underground chamber for a minute before the deep-voiced man responded. "Six times as much."

"Four."

"Five, no less."

"Deal. The boy must be intact though. I have many things I want him to be able to experience before you can haul him off."

"Of course, Mister Wave. We'll use the usual accommodations with some added reinforcements, just as we had discussed before for the Ripple boy. And we'll take your payment in advance."

"Half in advance," Elder Wave countered, followed by the sounds of coins clattering on the table. "This is your deposit. I'm not going back to haul more coin over, and I want the job done right before I pay you all of it. I need to arrange the opportunity so you will get the rest of that half once I return with the details for you."

"You're making it sound like that's difficult for a man in your position."

Elder Wave sighed. "The boy is not only hiding behind Ripple's skirts, but for some reason, that old statue Cloud has taken an interest and is currently housing him. None of us want to cross that old monster, so I have to get him out of that house before we can make a move."

"You already know we have to stay out of your internal politics, Mister Wave. Our Lord does not want us sticking our noses into local affairs."

"Which is why I need to arrange this just so. Once I have all the details managed, you'll be informed."

"Very well. You know where to find us, then."

"That I do." The sound of a chair sliding out could be heard as Elder Wave stood.

River pressed himself against the side of the mound and maintained the Dusk Aura Concealment state as he heard the mound's door open and spotted the elder leaving. He considered following the man, but a whim hit him, and he instead bent back to the air hole to listen.

"Boss," another man was addressing the bandit in charge at the mound, "are you sure 'bout this? Wave parted with that coin awful easy."

"Elder Wave has another angle in this," the deep-voiced man surmised, "but that's not our problem. Our business with the esteemed elder has nothing to do with the Den's business here. It's a nice fat bonus for us all here that we don't have to share."

"And what if the boy talks once he's done with him and we've sent him off to the Big Boss?"

The deep-voiced man chuckled. "There are ways to make sure that doesn't happen."

"I ain't liking dealing with that creep, though." The complainer made a spitting sound. "'Specially 'cause he's using our turf to do it."

River almost choked on his own spit as he realized what exactly the man was referring to.

"You don't feel that way when it comes time to spend the bonuses he provides us with, my friend."

"Well, that's different."

The deep-voiced man laughed. "Listen, we just need to handle this cleanly and without letting that old bastard drag us into his clan politics. As long as our noses are clean at the end of this and we send the boy to the Den to show we're protecting our assets and not writing them all off as desertions, we can milk this for rewards all around."

"I guess."

River had heard more than enough. He stood and checked his surroundings before beginning his return trip to the clan's compound. At this moment he was somewhat grateful for not having eaten much recently; hearing rumors about Elder Wave's possible activities was one thing, but getting confirmation and on top of that hearing that he was slated to be the next target? That was plenty enough to make a man's gorge rise.

"So, young man, you hear enough there?" Mister Black broke the silence.

"Oh, yes. I guess I should feel flattered that Elder Wave values my assets so highly." River still felt a bit queasy about the whole thing.

Mister Black sighed. "So is the way of the world, my young friend. The strong lord it over the weak. It just so happens in this case that who is strong and who is weak isn't as they think it is."

"Yes, and now I see how I screwed up in handling affairs with the Blood Devouring Palm. That bastard... how did he find those bodies?" River was still perplexed about how the elder could have done that without anybody else knowing.

Mister Black again sighed. "Well, I did a little peeking, and I may have an answer, but your stomach may not be in it."

"I think I'm good. What was it, Mister Black?"

"Well, my young friend, people like Elder Wave like to keep mementos. In Elder Wave's case, he keeps a book. As we heard them discuss in that room, he certainly also keeps an eye out for future prospects and makes plans for them... so, while he may not have every movement of yours recorded, he might have enough to know you were out in the general area that day."

River nodded. "Fair enough. Now if I could just use that against him..."

"Thinking of throwing that into the ring and exposing Elder Wave in front of his peers?"

River shook his head. "Never. They already know, anyway. Cloud said it himself, everything in the clan is layered in mud. If I involve myself in their kind of contest, I'd only dirty myself. Besides, it would be stupid of me to do so; I can't read so much as my own name, how would I know what the elder's book said? I don't need to give them more reasons and an opportunity to take me apart and find out what makes me tick."

"I take it you have another idea then, River?"

River smiled. "Of course. Since everybody is so kindly arranging for me to disappear from sight, why don't I oblige them and go along with it?"