Chapter 77: A Hunters Confidence and The Hunt Within the Hunt

Heaven’s Table - Late Night

Yu Liang reviewed the day’s accounts in his office while Meihua handled the closing procedures. Revenue was up again as word of mouth was proving more effective than any advertising campaign could manage.

A knock sounded at the door.

Before Yu Liang could respond, Yan Ruo stepped inside. The look on her face was enough to make him put down his brush.

"What happened?"

Yan Ruo walked over and placed three storage bags on his desk. "We caught three people watching the restaurant today."

Yu Liang glanced at the bags. "Three?"

"Yes, but in separate attempts." She took out a chair and sat down. "Two were Qi Condensing Realm cultivators using observation techniques. The third was Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator and had a formation for recording."

"Do yo know who are they?" Yu Liang leaned back slightly.

"We did questioned them and turns out they were hired by different people," Yan Ruo continued. "But they were all looking into the same thing."

"Which was?"

"They were asking about the restaurant," Yan Ruo said. "Where we get our ingredients. Who supplies us. What Master Chen does differently in the kitchen and all sort of other questions."

She paused, glancing at the storage bags. "They were also trying to figure out and that’s the intresting thing, they all had this thing in common. Turns out, it was how we’re keeping the prices this low without losing money."

Her eyes returned to Yu Liang.

"Combining this with other information, they really do have an interest in you. They were also curious about how Heaven’s Table operates."

Yu Liang leaned back in his chair, his mind racing through implications. "How long do we have?"

"Before what? Before someone tries to rob you? Kidnap you? Force you into a ’partnership’ that’s really extortion?" She shook her head. "It could be days. It could be weeks. But it will come."

"Then we should prepare, Miss Bodyguard." Yu Liang said casually.

"We’re already prepared." Yan Ruo sighed. "More than prepared, actually. I would even call it overkill. If we have to say then this whole problem is because of what you did in the first place. That thing which began as your act of kindness has come back to haunt you."

"So what would you suggest?" Yu Liang asked. "Stop? Disband? Hide? Let me tell you miss bodygaurd that same thing saved the life of one of my subordinate."

"You’re not taking this very seriously," she said abruptly, watching him closely. "Which probably means you’ve already got something in mind."

She narrowed her eyes slightly."Did you have a plan all along?"

Yu Liang was silent for a few seconds. Then he smiled though it wasn’t that soft smile he gave to staff, but a colder one.

"Yan Ruo, do you know what difference is between target and a bait?"

She blinked. "What?"

"The target gets hunted. The bait determines timing and location." He got up and walked to the window that looked out onto the restaurants. "Let them come. Let them search. Let them plan and scheme to their hearts content while thinking they have an easy prey. The more time they spend thinking they have the advantage, the easier it’ll be to deal with them."

"You’re insane." Yan Ruo looked at him as though she’d just realized how reckless he really was.

"Maybe." He turned back to her. "But if they’re already coming for me, there’s no point wasting time worrying about it. I’d rather decide how they meet me." A faint smile touched his lips. "So yes, let them come. It’ll save me the trouble of finding them later."

Yan Ruo stared at him.

This boy... He had bought slaves not only for safety, but also because he knew that at some point, he would need a loyal force. Had spent money not only out of generosity, but also to secure loyalty that could not be bought by his enemies.

"You planned this," she said slowly. "All of it."

"Not all of it. But enough." Yu Liang’s smile didn’t waver. "I told you before, I’m investing in human nature. Turns out that includes the greedy and violent parts too."

Even Yu Liang hadn’t expected that spending money would lead him to this point. He’d expected trouble, but his genuine kindness had helped him more than he’d realized.

Yan Ruo found herself smiling. "This time I am really not sure if you are brilliant or just suicidal."

"So you keep saying." He returned to his desk. "Increase the patrols and set up surveillance formations around the perimeter. I want to know they’re coming before they arrive."

"Already done."

"Good." He sat down. "Then we should just wait."

After that they continued discussing what needed to be done in the meantime. The patrols around the restaurant would be increased, while the surveillance formations would remain active throughout the day. They also went over their current stock of cultivation resources and what needed to be replenished, especially the resources required for training the people they had gathered.

Yu Liang wanted the training to continue as usual rather than letting everyone become distracted by the situation. They also discussed recruiting more reliable guards, improving the arrangements around the restaurant, and making sure there were enough resources to handle any unexpected situation.

As they went through the details, Yu Liang found himself becoming more and more impressed with Yan Ruo’s way of thinking.

She didn’t simply focus on the immediate results, she considered everything carefully from how the guards should be trained, where they should be stationed to the how they could respond if the situation changed.

If the guards were trained according to her plans, their usefulness would improve considerably. Yu Liang had ideas of his own, but there was no reason to interfere when someone more experienced already knew what they were doing.

He was willing to provide the resources and leave the actual training to her. Some things were better left to the people who understood them best.

Then for next things, nothing about the discussion sounded particularly urgent. They were simply going through one matter after another, making small adjustments to their plans while waiting for whatever came next.

In the shadows outside, watching from three buildings away through an observation technique, the man in dark robes smiled to himself.

This Yu Liang was more interesting than anticipated.

Perhaps he needs to observe a bit longer before making his move. See what other surprises the boy had prepared.

If this boy really had prepared something, he would eventually find out what it was.

After all, the best prey always thought they were the hunter.

Right up until the real predator struck.