After returning to Melina he calmed her from being missing for so long. They returned home with the young master couldn't stop himself from yawning. So he excused himself to go to bed early. Seeing that, the other servants quickly finished their work and rested early to not disturb to young child's sleep.
That midnight, when the moon was at its highest and no one was awake in the manor, Sa Lim rose from his bed with his mercenary brain at full force. If anyone saw him right then, they wouldn't recognize him as Bai Ly. His eyes had become much more sharper and colder, and his presence was suffocating. He got out of bed and changed himself into a black outfit he secretly made himself throughout the year. The outfit fit his body well and had good protection against weapons while still allowing the flexibility he needed.
After changing and bringing the necessary equipment, he rearranged the pillows to make it look like he was sleeping before leaving the room through the window.
He left the manor with no difficulty, aside from a few guards patrolling around the garden. He was able to easily hide himself away from them. After all, none of the servants could have thought their young master would sneak away at night.
He quickly moved. His destination was Deluxe, where he had suspicions about the injuries and scars he detected from the employees there. Jumping on a selling cart and launching himself to the roof of a low shop, he continuously moved to higher and higher roofs until he could reach the top of Deluxe. The whole motion was swift and soundless. At the roof of Deluxe, he removed one of the tiles. Looking inside, he saw two between about to start a conversation. One of them stood out from their flamboyant outfit.
"Manager Jill, how are things doing?" the flamboyant man asked while taking a seat, showing a bit of his arrogance
The other person, manager Jill, replied with a nervous smile, "Everything is going well, young master Syrus. Our business is booming. There are endless customers every day!"
"No no," Syrus shook his head slightly, his action quite exaggerated. "Of course, I know our business is doing well. What I mean is the other shop," he hinted, but both Jill and Sa Lim knew full well who he meant by the other shop.
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"Ah yes!" Jill realized and quieted down his voice, but Sa Lim was still able to hear it. "The other shop is not doing well. I kept an eye on them myself. They barely have any customers. Brilliant, young master! Just as you predicted!"
"Of course!" Syrus exaggerated his excitement. "I did not predict, but calculated. How can a peasant like you understand my genius that selling high-quality items for cheap will make customers flock to my shop!"
Manager Jill joined into the mood even though he didn't seem to like being called a peasant. "Truly brilliant, young master. Only you can understand and come up with that idea."
"Isn't that obvious?" Syrus said. "I even ensure the plan goes accordingly to stealing their suppliers by paying more."
On top of the roof, Sa Lim chuckled to himself.
- Stupid kid. You are going to go bankrupt Deluxe if this goes on for longer.
Jill continued, "Indeed, Master will be very proud of you once he heard of your effort to defeat Classic."
"Father has been waiting for the downfall of the Lua family. If I do this well, he will see me in a good light."
As the two people below continued bouncing their words back and forth, Sa Lim glanced around the shop to see if he could catch any more info. There was nothing worth noting at first glance, but on his second look, he found a small sight at the corner leading to the backrooms of the store.
What he saw was a corner of something rectangular. It looked like metal with a bit of rust covering it. As someone who had seen many of the darkest sides of human cruelty. Sa Lim knew exactly what he was seeing.
- A cage.
- But what kind of animal would they keep in a clothing store? I didn't see or smell any animal this morning.
- Unless what's inside…
He couldn't finish the thought, because one of his feet slipped the moment he was lost in thoughts. He was still not used to this body even after years of coming to this new life.
The slip caused a noise on the roof, and that caught the attention of the two men below.
"Guards!" Syrus yelled. From outside, two big men stormed in, waiting for his order. "Check the roof. No, if someone is eavesdropping, they must be running right now. Call the rest of the guards and check for any suspicious people around here. Quick!"
His guards followed their master's order, but they couldn't find anyone around Deluxe at all that night. Sa Lim had cleverly hid himself before leaving after their search was over.
As he was running back to his home before morning came, he thought.
- I'll play clean with them if this is just a business conflict between two families.
- But if it is not if there's something else going on…
He quietly returned to his room and put away his expression and black suit before heading toward his comfy bed. He laid his head down on the soft pillow and relaxed his body. The last thought he had before meeting his dreams was.
- Even after all of this. I thought you would, but you haven't changed at all.