Chapter 88: Stirring Up Trouble in the Dead of Night

"Disgusting."

A strikingly beautiful woman with sharp, phoenix-like eyes and a voluptuous figure stood at a distance, leaning on a katana, silently watching the scene with cold detachment.

“Miss Mei, whatever you do, please don’t provoke the master at a time like this. Even you would suffer for it!” a clan member whispered in warning beside her.

“I know, I don’t need you to teach me!” The more she was reminded, the angrier Mei Ito became.

She knew all too well that, in the end, she was merely an adopted daughter. Because of her bloodline, she could never earn Old Ito’s trust the way Ito Shin did.

And it was precisely for this reason.

Once, her adoptive father had personally severed two of her little toes, deliberately leaving a flaw in her movements as a precaution against her rebelling—a truly vicious act.

Even now that she had reached the rank of jonin, a level that, by the standards of Eastern martial arts, would qualify her to lead a faction of her own, Ito Junin still refused to grant her a shred of power.

“Stupid old man. His own blood is weak, so he covets the blood of others. Such delusion! Isn’t he afraid Tang Zhenguo will raise an army against him?” Mei Ito sneered coldly.

She had long been aware that Ito Junin had adopted her solely for the potential in her bloodline.

Barring any unforeseen events, in a few years she would be wed to that useless Ito Shin!

The thought alone made her sick.

“Mei, you heard, didn’t you?” At that moment, Ito Junin suddenly turned his gaze toward her.

“Remember, you are not to be absent at ten tonight. You must help your brother capture Tang Wanyue in one fell swoop!”

“Understood.” Without bothering to look at the old man, she waved her hand dismissively and left the meeting, leaning on her katana.

“Father, Mei seems rather displeased with you,” Ito Shin remarked, watching the graceful curve of the departing girl.

“Of course I know. But it doesn’t matter. Once we seize Tang Wanyue and obtain a superior bloodline, I’ll deal with that treacherous Mei myself.”

At that, the father and son exchanged a knowing smile.

...

After leaving the compound, Mei Ito wandered into a convenience store, bored, and began buying oden.

At the same time, a handsome young man strode in, phone pressed to his ear.

“Fish roe pouches, meat sausages, fish balls, and kelp, right…”

“Yes, yes, ten skewers of each!” came a woman’s greedy, slurping voice from the other end. “You have no idea—I’ve been stuck in a hospital bed lately, only able to drink porridge. I’m dying for something tasty!”

“There isn’t that much. Even if I took everything, it wouldn’t be enough!” Ye Tian frowned, wedging the phone between his shoulder and ear as he rummaged through the oden pot, following his senior’s instructions. Mei Ito watched, her brow furrowing.

“If you take all of those, what am I supposed to eat?” Mei Ito confronted Ye Tian, questioning him in clumsy Mandarin.

“You?”

Seeing the striking woman in sharkskin leggings draw closer, Ye Tian couldn’t help but glance at her a couple more times before returning to his search for skewers.

“Hey, can you understand human language?” When he didn’t so much as acknowledge her, Mei Ito bristled. No one had ever dared be so rude to her!

“Of course I understand, but your Mandarin is so bad it hurts my ears.”

This man had a sharp tongue!

Already in a foul mood, Mei Ito lost her temper. Without a word, she reached out and snatched a fish ball skewer from Ye Tian’s bag, biting into it without the slightest courtesy.

“You men from the Dragon Kingdom really have no manners! Don’t you know ladies come first?” She ate the fish ball triumphantly.

Ye Tian turned, gave her a glance, and spat out two words: “Idiot.”

With that, he paid and walked out the door.

“He dared insult me! I’ll kill him!” For a moment, Mei Ito lost all reason. She paid in haste and, the instant the young man stepped outside, followed after him.

As the glass door closed behind her, her figure blurred, then melted into shadow, vanishing into the depth of night.

Eastern Ninjutsu—Shadow Escape!

This technique was said to leave no trace, and those who mastered it to perfection could evade even the heightened senses of martial artists at the Beidou level and above.

Mei Ito, a prodigy in ninjutsu, was supremely confident. This brash young man, swaggering down the street, had no idea his death was imminent.

And so it went.

Mei Ito hid in the shadows, tailing Ye Tian until he turned into a hospital.

The hospital’s bright lights made it too difficult to conceal herself, so Mei Ito scaled the exterior wall to the window of the ward he had entered.

“Here you go, Senior Sister. This is all I could get,” Ye Tian’s voice drifted through the window.

“A crazy woman from the east stole one of your fish balls.”

“She even dared curse me! Looking for trouble!”

Eavesdropping outside, Mei Ito ground her teeth in fury, wishing she could flay Ye Tian alive.

But then, she heard a woman’s languid voice: “What do you know about beautiful women? She was just hungry, that’s all.”

“It was only one skewer, and you call her crazy? That’s too much~”

“Fine, fine. As long as you’re happy—it was your food anyway.” Ye Tian waved dismissively. Seeing his senior so lively, he let out a sigh of relief.

“When you’re discharged in a couple of days, call me and I’ll come get you.”

“Mm-hmm, but you have to bring me something delicious tomorrow too!”

“Alright.”

Their idle chatter drifted on. Unbeknownst to them, Mei Ito had been clinging to the window for over two hours; it was almost nine.

In an hour, the Eastern Cultural Exhibition would begin.

“Lucky brat, I’ll let you live a little longer.”

Mei Ito flexed her stiff fingers, gave the window one last resentful look, and prepared to leave.

But the next moment, she saw the young man exiting the hospital’s main entrance, then turning into a pitch-dark alley.

“Heh, if you go seeking death, don’t blame me for obliging!” Smiling coldly, she vanished into the night outside the window.

Ye Tian entered the alley and tossed the bag with Gu Qingcheng’s leftovers into a trash can.

Suddenly, a chill ran down his spine. An icy, soft arm wound around his neck, and at the same time, a kunai pressed against his waist.

“Kid, you messed with me—blame your own bad luck!” Mei Ito pressed her red lips close to Ye Tian’s cheek, voice icy.

Ye Tian remained utterly calm, replying slowly, “Is this how you people from the east behave? Don’t you ever just go to bed at night, instead of harassing strangers?”

The next instant, a large hand shot out with practiced force—before Mei Ito could react, her arms were pinned behind her and she was forced to the ground.