Aaron did not hurry after the two men, instead he sauntered down the road, past the embarrassed guards, who got a lecture by the man who had apologized to the Pursuer.

“I know its guard duty, I know its boring, but could you take it seriously for once?! Mahast will have my hide after this and you sure believe I ain’t gonna take the fall for all of your incompetence!”

“Oh common, who could have known he was going to go there?”

“After we blocked the road, yeah where would he go? Are you daft?!”

Aaron gave the men just a cursory glance and then was out of the red-light district. In the distance he could still hear the chase, heavy footsteps, shouting and the occasional collision. With a few quick steps Aaron moved out of sight and into a darker alleyway leading into someones backyard. He scanned the surrounding area once thoroughly for any observers and then leapt up into the darkness. Wind Steps carrying him up to the roof in a single bound. His abilities kept increasing and his leap had surprised him. He would need more time between ranks to acclimate to the differences in power. If he miscalculated something like this in an actual fight that might prove fatal. No way he would allow himself to be that careless.

But the call of power was addicting. He had sensed vessels all night, coming and going, hundreds, thousands of them. The difference between a normal human and a Vessel was minuscule, but there were some distinct differences he had been able to spot. Some people had a too soft step, moved too fluidly, others were too heavy, too strong and tall, wore ridiculously heavy armor, but even with those factors Aaron was sure he had missed more than half of the Vessels. Mages were much easier to identify thanks to his mana sense. Sure Vessels also gave off mana and they absorbed it as well. But so did normal people with their breath.

Aaron jumped from roof to roof, his thoughts trialing off as he closed in on the chase he was still following easily. The tall thug his colleges had called Mahast was closing the distance and the pot-bellied man was panicking and eventually chose a wrong turn. The backyard he ended up in was surrounded by three sides with brick walls and with a huff and an annoyed grunt Mahast stepped into the last opening and cut the man off.

“Enough, even if you could outrun me, we would still collect in due time. Why run? Now I have to teach you a lesson as an example.” the man said in a deep almost morose voice.

The pot-bellied man looked around in a panic and then finally gave up, he sat down on his ass panting.

“Please, I just need a bit more time. I swear I will pay it back. You know I am good for it. My brewery is doing well. I have the liquor in casks! T-they just need a little bit of time and I can sell them for twice as much.” the man begged in between huffed breaths.

“Mhm, right and that is why I found you on the blackjack tables. Because you are good for it. Gambling away our money.”

“I was on a winning streak, I could not just go.”

“Right, right. Of course, a winning streak. Where did the shards come from? You were broke last time we paid you a visit, which is why you got an extension last time. We are not unreasonable people” Mahast said in a sweet tone that promised the exact opposite.

“Its...just a few shards. You can’t mean to take away the money I buy food with, right?” the man replied nervously.

“Yeah, that is not how this works. In light of your...unwise usage of funds we provided to you, I believe it is time to collect.”

“But...please, I don’t have anything on me. I left my last shards on the table.”

“Its simple, instead of paying with shards, you will give us a part of your business. Lets say 70% of your brewery? That might make up for the interest you have accrued.”

Aaron smirked to himself and was actually kinda happy over this little exchange. It proved to him that the red-light district was a criminal organization who did not shy away from forcing people into bad deals. Which meant it was likely they had their hands in all matter of criminal activities. Murder probably one of them. It was always interesting to him how quickly gangs escalated from petty loan sharking or drug dealing to outright killings. A single disagreement, flared tempers and bang one more corpse to bury. And once they had a taste they usually did not shy away to intimidate people with any force they deemed necessary. The more brutal the better. But most of the violence usually came from competition. A rival gang setting up shop. Contesting territory, stuff like that. So far as Aaron could tell that was just not a thing in the Town. Which might be worrying for his plans, but he would see after he got himself some answers.

With one last sweep of the surroundings and ensuring nobody else was in the vicinity he leapt down and landed quiet as a ghost behind Mahast. The pot-bellied man saw this and his eyes went round and wide, his mouth opening as he pointed. Mahast frowned at the man, who had stopped begging and cajoling.

“Excuse me.” Aaron said and Mahast snapped around lightning quick. His fists up in a defensive posture. This man was clearly a warrior type Vessel, fairly high level too. He had brass-knuckles on two very big fists and the way he had moved made it clear this man had a lot of experience in fighting with his fists. A pugilist maybe? Aaron had a very very limited understanding of Vessel Classes. But he could see the dried blood on the metal ridges of the brass-knuckles and so he assumed that those were his primary weapons. The build of the man, broad, heavy set and heavily muscled supported this as well.

“Who the fuck are you?” the man shouted after he got over his shock of finding someone right behind him.

“I have a few questions I would like you to answer, Mahast.” Aaron said with a smirk.

“Fuck off, this is red-light district business.” The big man eyed Aaron and his fancy new clothes and Aaron was sure he was being underestimated. If he had not showcased his daggers the man would have dismissed him as no threat at all. That was what his body language told him at least. The man relaxed and yet he kept his fists up. Overconfidence maybe? Or this man was genuinely dangerous. Aaron’s smirk broadened, itching for a fight. This would be a good opportunity to test his new kata and stage in combat. This man would not call the guard. So Aaron raised his fists in a mocking of his opponents.

“No need to be so anxious big guy, all I want is for you to answer some questions, then I’ll be on my way and you can continue to intimidate this brewer.”

“Fuck off, last warning.” the man growled and took a half step forward.

“Or you’ll do what?” Aaron taunted and that finally was the straw that broke the camels back. The man’s nostrils flared and he roared, before he came at Aaron with his fists swinging.

The attack registered for Aaron and time seemed to slow as the Unceasing Palm Kata’s heightened reflexes kicked in. It was just a fraction of a second, but more than enough time to gently push the punch, a straight jab to his face, off path and make the man miss. Aaron stepped in and Mahasts eyes widened in surprise as he tried to push him back with a halfhearted uppercut that Aaron did not need any help to slip aside for. Then Aaron slapped the man and for one moment he thought he had overdone it. Mahasts head snapped to the side and he crumpled like a puppet with its strings cut. He had not even punched him. Nor used any of his fist kata Techniques. What the heck?

The pot-bellied man stared at Aaron like he was a ghost, his panicked eyes darting from him to the groaning man on the floor.

“What a disappointment.” Aaron said with a shrug. “You better get out of here quick. I don’t think the district will be very understanding of what happened here today.”

The Brewer paused and then got up and ran past Aaron like his life depended on it, looking back at him anxiously. But Aaron did not care about this guy telling anyone about this. Quite the opposite. All part of the plan. If you want sell your prowess, what better opportunity than slapping the man this Brewer had been so afraid of unconscious in an instant? Aaron studied Mahast who was getting up, his eyes glassy, but his fingers went for the potions on his belt. Aaron sighed and gave the man a gentle slap on the top of his head, sending the man’s skull bouncing off the pavement. Damn. Yeah he was not used to his new physical strength. He needed to rectify that as soon as possible. Making sure the man was still alive, he shouldered the man, which felt like trying to shoulder a paper couch, unwieldy but light as a feather. Then he jumped with the man up into the night.

Aaron debated with himself if he wanted to go back out into the wilderness, but that would not be practical really. He needed a quiet place where he could question this man and have little chance of being interrupted. He did not really know many places like that in the Town yet. Only one. And so Aaron made his way back to the attic he had hidden in and was welcomed with a barrage of smells and sounds of the red-light district at its busiest hour. The moaning and rhythmic sounds were actually quite difficult to ignore, but at least his path around the watchers and to the attic was still clear and the attic itself just like he had left it. Aaron set down the man gently and then closed the shutters as quietly as possible. The noise and smells quieted and the darkness was quite intense. Luckily Mahast carried a lamp on his belt that Aaron ignited after a short search.

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He placed the lamp next to the man and then took off the man’s weapons, his daggers, his potions and his shard pouch, which was filled with a nice sum that Aaron pocketed. Then he removed the knuckles from the man and checked his pockets. There he found a small list of targets for collection. The brewer on third place. Interesting, so apparently Mahast really had found one of his targets gambling at a table and had then chased them down. After some short deliberation Aaron stripped the leather jacket off the man, as well as the red armband, before he tied the mans arms behind his back. More of a symbolic gesture, with the man’s strength he would rip through leather like paper, but Aaron was confident that he was quick enough to ensure no accidents would occur during his little interrogation. That done he sprinkled some health potion on the man’s face and forehead and watched the liquid seep in, close the laceration on the man’s forehead and then waited until the man woke up.

Mahast blinked at Aaron with a groan and then he flinched back, eyes widening, arms straining against the leather.

“Ah, ah, ah. Stop that. I just want to have a chat, if I wanted to kill you, you would already be dead.”

Mahast hesitated for a moment and then relaxed as he looked around, clearly looking for an escape route. The man eyed Aaron’s young face with confusion, suspicion and a hint of fear. Good. But as expected a bully like him fell back on what he knew. Intimidation.

“You have no idea what you have done, kid. The district won’t stand for this. They will find you, they will find your family and they will gut them in front of your eyes before strangling you with their guts. We do NOT fuck around, kid. I don’t know what skill you used to knock me out, but it won’t help you. But it does not have to be this way, you let me go and we can forget about this incident. What do you say?”

Aaron smiled at him and nodded along his little speech, then he got the wanted poster out of his pocket, unfolded it slowly and meticulously, straightening the edges and then held up the wanted poster right next to his grinning face.

“You see, a lot of people have tried to kill me since coming to this tower and so far I bested them all.”

Mahasts face grew visibly pale and his whole body tensed.

“Oh please, don’t make me knock you out again. Like I said I just want to ask some questions.”

“What kind of questions?” Mahast asked suspiciously, his bluster visibly reduced as his eyes darted from the bounty of 50 mid grade manastones to Aaron’s face. Oh boy this guy was really a bit too greedy no?

“Would your people really do that, abduct someones family and murder them in front of that person? And please, be honest. I can tell when you lie.”

Which of course was a lie. Aaron could hear the man’s heart beat, detect changes in his posture his breath, every facial expression, but he did not know the tells of this man. A lie manifests quite differently in different people and some people have no problem lying at all.

“They have done it before.” Mahast said calmly and Aaron narrowed his eyes.

“Really? The whole gut strangling part included?”

Mahast swallowed.

“Well. Not exactly, but I heard it was bloody. You really don’t want us as enemies….Cultivator.”

“Why is that?”

“I am just a mid level enforcer, I am not even tasked with taking people out, okay? If you think my strength is that of the district then you are sorely mistaken.”

“Oh yeah? Help me out here, your thugs on the street corner were not really impressive. I assume power comes with position in your organization?”

“Those fuckwits? They are initiates. Useless idiots who are there to be seen, they are not even the tip of the iceberg.”

“Hmm, I assume the two rogues on the roof at each side of the district are some of those strong people?”

Mahast paused, frowned and then stared at Aaron for a full 10 seconds before he lowered his eyes.

“I assume that is a yes and that means, Grisha is even stronger, yes? He your direct Boss?”

Dropping that name gave Mahast a jolt and he could watch the man try to stifle his reactions.

“If you know all of that then why are you even asking me anything?”

“Because, I want confirmation. Proof. Proof of your organizations power, your influence and if you provide me with that proof I will let you go.”

Mahast gave him a suspicious look and shook his head.

“I want to make an alliance with your organization, Mahast. This little abductions entire purpose is to show you how much I can find out without anyone noticing. How strong I am and how much of an asset I could be to all of you and Grisha’s Boss. Mars right?”

There was only a twitch but Aaron was learning to read the man’s body, the racing heart, the forced control, the fear, he could smell the man’s fear like a stink in the air. It tainted the man’s sweat and made him easier to read. Yes, Mars was Grisha’s boss.

“But I don’t like to go to bed with a man I know almost nothing about. An alliance is a delicate relationship. I need to know how much Mars is willing to do for an asset or an ally.”

“I...I don’t know, okay? I have never talked to the man.”

“If you say so, but you know who he is, his influence, how much can he bring to bear for an outlaw like me?”

“Depends what you are worth.” Mahast said with a sudden boldness. He had hope to survive this after all, good. He would if everything went according to plan.

“I can fight an army, but I can’t fight the whole Town, not any time soon at least.” Aaron smirked. “I don’t know how much you know about Cultivators but we don’t age, not really. In a hundred years I will look just the same. But I will be a hundred times stronger. I have time to wait everyone out. But maybe there is a better way. Maybe I can become Mars knife. His solution to Problems his organization does not really want to solve with anyone from your ranks. I am also a talented spy and in an ambush nobody defeats me.” Aaron said with a broad grin.

Aaron could hear the shiver run down the man’s back and knew his smile unnerved people. It always had. It had that quality to it, if Aaron was not trying to be charming instead.

“So tell me, what would Mars be willing to offer me for that?”

“I-I am not the boss, okay. I don’t know. The Alchemist guild does back his plays though.”

“So they say, but would he? Has he done this before? Exonerate a wanted man? Has he even the power to do that?”

“He is the guilds supply elder, of course he could. But...I...I really don’t know if he would or has. You have to believe me. I can’t speak for him. But if you let me go unharmed I will give him your offer.”

Aaron had to calm his own emotions now. The Alchemist guilds supply elder. Which meant he was basically part of the cities ruling elite and an important one it seemed.

“You told me you have never spoken with the man. How could you convince Grisha you have any pertinent information for the Boss himself?”

That made Mahast pause and Aaron smirked at him, while he focused with all his might to summon Soul catcher and prime his right hand for the technique..

“I know, I will leave a message on you. One only I can carve into your flesh.”

Mahasts eyes widened and before the man could do anything, Aaron gently tapped his chest, activating Soul Catcher and dragging the man’s heavy soul back with more effort than he had expected. He had to strain his Qi, pull with his power until the spirit came lose. Mahasts eyes rolled into the back of his head and he fell backwards, his breath fast and shallow. But like expected the man was still alive.

What is better to a man with power than a subordinate that can kill for you? A subordinate that will terrify everyone and take away their powers. Most bosses were paranoid and for good reason. Most mob bosses did not die in prison in his old world, but by the hand of a rival or subordinate. Fear was their greatest weapon and what is more terrifying than losing your powers? Death yes, but death is a shallow threat, it is over quickly and its not a great punishment. Which is why so many criminal organizations did mutilation back in the day. The Yakuza only the most famous in pop culture, but it wasn’t unheard of in any organization to resort to this kind of act. In a way if Mars was smart then he would see the opportunity and if he wasn’t he would not be a worthy ally to begin with.

Aaron grew concerned as the vital signs of the man started to flag and he opened up the stopper of one of the man’s potions and forced it down his choking gullet. Mahasts body convulsed as if the man was having a seizure and so Aaron administered some more healing potion, which seemed to help somewhat. Mahast opened his eyes, gasping for breath heavily, his heart thumping in his chest like a drum suddenly.

“What have you done to me?” he roared, but it came out no more than a whisper.

“I took away your powers. The spirit that inhabits you, I killed it. Tell Mars this is the kind of Power I have to offer him. I can leave any Vessel powerless. But I am not his enemy and I would like to meet him and talk about an alliance. I will wait for him on a clearing due east of the city. I will mark the spot with this little armband of yours. Understood?”

Mahasts eyes darted back and forth in a panic, clearly looking for something that wasn’t there. Hm. Some sort of interface with a spirit maybe? Gently Aaron raised the man’s head and his eyes focused on him.

“Do you understand?”

“Yes..” he said with a sob in his cracking voice. Was he imagining things or had his voice just climbed a whole octave?

“Where will I meet him?”

“East...marked...with my armband.”

“Good. Good.”

“Why? Why have you done this to me?” the man croaked with real anguish and pain.

“It was the only way to send a message that your Bosses will take seriously. It was just bad luck.”

Aaron said with a shrug and then gently tapped the side of the man’s head, knocking him out. Aaron studied his victim for a moment and administered some healing potion to the man, before putting a full potion in the man’s hand. Better be safe than sorry. He really did not want to do this again. Then he grabbed the man by the cuff and noticed he had grown significantly lighter. Huh, fascinating. Aaron cleaned up the Attic carefully and then climbed out of it onto the roof, closing it gently behind him with one hand. Then he jumped down into one of the brothels backyards. He listened to what was said behind one of the doors nearby and when he found one that was inhabited by a few women chatting, he knocked rapidly on the door a few times and then pushed the unconscious Mahast against the door. That done he jumped back up into the sky. He soared away from the district and only listened for a reaction. It came after he already had 3 streets between him and the district, skirting along the curvature of the Town towards the river. Only after he jumped across the river he paused and concentrated to listen.

“He is hurt, is this a customer?”

“Its just a druggy, look, he is even clutching a flask. Leave him be.”

“Wait, I know him. That’s Mahast, right?”

“Oh shit, what do we do?! That’s a healing potion he is holding, quickly give it to him!”

“Are you sure? What if he got hooked and now we know that habit. You know how Grisha is with drug abuse.”

“Shut up, what if he dies in our backyard? Ever thought about that?”

There was some scuffling and then the weak voice of a man Aaron had never heard before, wait, no that was Mahasts voice, just much higher pitched.

“The Cultivator, he is here. I...he took...he took my powers. Tell….tell Mars...I…”

Only after Aaron had confirmed one of the women sending someone for Grisha did he put even more distance between himself and looked for a place to lie low while he waited for the fog to appear and cover his retreat over the no-mans land in between the Town and its surroundings. It was almost a bit sad his little excursion to the Town had to end, but it was better he was nowhere for the next few days. Aaron had already risked too much. But if this elder Mars was smart, he would parlay with him. For now, it was out of his hands.