85: Faceless Shape Changer

East side of Oak Tree City.

This was the central area of Oak Tree City, where many noble residences were located, essentially a wealthy district.

It was already night,

Inside a heavily guarded compound with high walls,

lights were still bright, illuminating the courtyard as if it were daytime.

However, inside the main hall, the atmosphere was suffocatingly oppressive.

Kapa Claus's face was so gloomy it looked like water could drip from it.

The low pressure emanating from him made the guards standing by him silent as cicadas, even their breathing was cautious.

"Absolutely, there's a spy!"

Kapa Claus's voice was squeezed out from between his teeth, carrying a chill.

"How did that bastard Roderick know my budget?"

He slammed his hand on the mahogany table in front of him.

The delicate porcelain cups on the table jumped, making crisp clinking sounds.

An invisible, bizarre wave, like ripples in water, suddenly spread out.

"Ah... Ah..."

In the hall, the few attendants responsible for close protection,

simultaneously let out shrill screams, their bodies uncontrollably collapsing to the ground, twitching violently.

Beneath their skin, a strange fish-shaped outline was faintly visible,

madly swimming back and forth within their flesh, bringing indescribable, intense pain.

This was the contractual power of the Trout Whisper Bloodline;

once planted, one could neither live nor die.

A moment later,

Kapa Claus slowly withdrew his hand,

the fish-shaped outlines on the guards' bodies gradually faded,

leaving them sprawled on the ground, panting heavily, looking disheveled.

Kapa Claus's icy gaze, like a venomous snake, carefully scrutinized the reactions of every servant in the hall.

The Trout Whisper contracts were all in place,

everyone who knew the budget had the contract planted.

Logically, there should be no possibility of betraying him.

So, who exactly was it...?

"Where is Morgana?"

Kapa Claus's voice was extremely cold.

"Where is she now?"

A stronger Clairvoyance guard struggled to get up from the ground, then knelt down with a thud, his voice trembling slightly from pain.

"Reporting, Young Master, Morgana has already returned to the Family's stronghold first."

"Didn't you instruct her to go back ahead of time to report on the auction?"

Kapa Claus closed his eyes,

his mind sinking into the depths of his Bloodline, carefully sensing.

The Trout Whisper contract on Morgana was also completely normal, with no signs of unusual activity.

Everyone who knew the detailed information had a Bloodline contract personally planted by him.

How exactly was the secret leaked?

"Perhaps... it was through other means."

Kapa Claus frowned in thought,

methods like prophecy and divination flashed through his mind.

The anger in his heart subsided slightly.

"A bunch of useless people, why are you still standing here?"

He opened his eyes, his gaze sweeping over the disheveled servants on the ground, his tone cold as he reprimanded:

"Go pack your things immediately!"

"We're leaving tonight!"

"Transport all the supplies obtained from this auction to Yan Jin Manor outside the city."

Yan Jin Manor was an important stronghold of the Claus Family outside Oak Tree City, which had been managed for many years.

The defenses there were even more stringent, and Elder Roderick from the Family was personally stationed there, ensuring complete security.

Kapa Claus didn't believe that anyone in Oak Tree City would dare to be so reckless as to plunder the Claus Family's convoy.

It was just that he failed to secure the most important bloodline fruit at this auction,

and it would be difficult for him to explain himself when he returned to the Family.

Other aspects naturally had to be handled flawlessly to avoid any further complications.

Upon hearing this, the servants immediately felt as if they had received a great pardon.

They bowed in acknowledgment and hurried out in a continuous stream.

...

Outside the courtyard,

the Claus Family's convoy had already begun to assemble.

Inside the stable, a sturdy stableman was laboriously harnessing a restless, tall horse.

The horse occasionally snorted, exhaling puffs of white hot air, and its hooves restlessly pawed the ground.

Inadvertently,

the stableman's peripheral vision caught an unusual sight.

In the hay nearby, a pair of white shoes seemed to be peeking out from under the wooden door.

Someone seemed to be standing there.

Motionless.

The stableman paused slightly, his movements stopping as well.

"Who's there?"

He called out, his voice sounding somewhat abrupt in the stable, filled with the mixed scent of horse manure and hay.

Behind the door, there was silence.

No response.

The pair of white feet remained motionless, as if they hadn't heard his question.

A hint of doubt rose in the stableman's heart.

He put down his work, the horsewhip dangling on the muddy ground.

He cautiously approached.

His footsteps made a faint rustling sound on the soft hay.

"I'm coming in."

He stretched out his hand and gently pushed open the slightly ajar wooden door.

"Creak..."

The wooden door opened,

Behind the door stood a young man with a round face covered in tiny freckles.

It was the young servant who usually took care of the stable.

A somewhat dull-looking fellow.

"Rake?"

The stableman was startled at first, then let out a sigh of relief, his tense nerves relaxing.

"What are you dawdling here for, kid? Trying to be lazy again!"

He grumbled in a low voice, his tone carrying some accumulated dissatisfaction from daily life.

"Hurry up!"

"Young Master Kapa is about to leave!"

"The Young Master is in a bad mood right now; if you delay the journey, you'll lose at least half your life!"

However, Rake, who was behind the door, showed a very strange smile.

That smile was completely different from his usual honest and dull demeanor.

It exuded a chilling sense of unfamiliarity.

Immediately after, under the stableman's horrified gaze,

Rake's features and figure began to flip and change like sheets of paper!

His skin seemed to be torn open by an invisible hand.

What was revealed was not flesh and blood, but a lifeless pallor, with a texture like thick, soaked paper.

Before the stableman could even utter a scream,

that "Rake" suddenly lunged forward!

A cold, inhuman aura instantly engulfed him.

...

A moment later.

The stableman, leading the harnessed horse, walked out of the stable expressionlessly.

He kept his head down, slowly and calmly blending in with the busy servants in the courtyard.

Without attracting anyone's attention.

Soon, the convoy quietly left the stronghold and silently headed out of the city.

As the convoy passed a dark alley,

a stableman in the convoy, responsible for leading a horse, paused slightly and turned to look into the depths of the alley.

No one noticed that

the stableman's face silently shifted through several different countenances, all revealing a strange smile.

In an instant, it returned to normal.