Chapter Eight: The Second Piece of Information

“You can’t even speak properly anymore!” Amelia grew even more furious.

“In your demon territory, I already feel doomed! Since I’m destined to die, why shouldn’t I kill her?” Xia Yan scoffed. “If I can kill her, that’s a gain. At least I won’t die without taking someone down with me.”

“I’ve said it already! If you can win, I’ll let you go,” Amelia raged. “Didn’t you hear what I said?”

“Aiyou is so powerful—if I can only defeat her but not kill her, holding back means I have no way to survive!”

“I didn’t see her being that much stronger than you. All I saw was her being killed by you in an instant!” Amelia snorted coldly. “Xia Yan, do you take me for a fool? You could have seriously injured her without killing her, but you never even tried.”

“I could never trust a demon’s promise!” Xia Yan replied coldly.

“Xia Yan, you deserve to die.” The pureblood was beside herself with rage, unable to control her emotions. With a slap in the air, her pale hand flashed brilliantly, and everything in the room—furniture, objects—was reduced to powder, scattering across the floor.

Even the bed Xia Yan had been lying on suddenly floated and crashed to the ground. Though his body was strong and he wasn’t really hurt, he was nonetheless annoyed.

“Xia Yan, change your clothes and come to the living room within two minutes. I have something to say to you.” Amelia, fuming, turned and left.

Change clothes?

Xia Yan was stunned. He remembered having a few spare clothes, but after the pureblood’s outburst, those were nothing but dust on the floor.

He was helpless—how was he supposed to change now?

In the end, Lily, the housekeeper, brought in a fresh set of clothing. It was clear that the pureblood lady, in her fury, had forgotten she’d destroyed the wardrobe.

Once Xia Yan changed, he left the bedroom. In the living room, Amelia and Lily were waiting for him.

As Xia Yan sat down, Amelia spoke. “Xia Yan, I need your help.”

Lily stood behind her, unable to hide her surprise. The lady had called a human by name—something that had never happened before.

She stole a glance at Xia Yan. What was so extraordinary about this human that he deserved such favor?

For Amelia, there were many things she could no longer conceal. From the moment she’d saved Xia Yan in the arena, perhaps to the crowd it seemed she merely disapproved of their abuse, but to Lily, she truly saved him.

Besides, many things couldn’t be hidden from someone like Lily, who was always by her side.

“What do you mean?” Xia Yan’s expression was far from pleasant.

“You can’t refuse me, Xia Yan,” Amelia said angrily. “I’ve saved you countless times, so you must repay my kindness.”

Though she had indeed saved him several times, ‘countless’ was surely an exaggeration.

“What do you want me to do?” Xia Yan, unexpectedly, didn’t refuse outright.

Amelia handed him a dossier—intelligence on the Winged Clan. More precisely, it was about a research project centered on demons and monsters.

Xia Yan frowned as he read. The research was utterly inhumane, combining demons and other individuals to produce immense combat power, but with terrible side effects: the subjects lost all sense of self, becoming mere weapons.

“I want you to infiltrate the Winged Clan, become one of them, and steal their research data,” Amelia said. “Don’t ask why you’re the one. My trained agents are unfit for this; demon clan members can’t be used—the risk of exposure is too great. Among humans, there are few usable pawns—some are powerful but untrustworthy, others trustworthy but too weak.”

“You’re different,” Amelia looked at him. “You’re strong—barely seventeen and you’ve defeated Director Aiyou. Your identity from the mixed zone is ideal; even if exposed and killed, no one would suspect me. You’re the perfect candidate, Xia Yan.”

Xia Yan’s face darkened. So saving him was just to use him! But where did this woman’s confidence come from—did she truly believe she could control him?

“I refuse,” Xia Yan replied without hesitation. “I won’t work for the demons. Don’t even think about it.”

“So this is how you repay me after all the times I saved you?” Amelia was furious, her black pupils turning deep violet, strange and terrifying.

Xia Yan remained silent. He didn’t want to argue and risk provoking Amelia into killing him.

The moment he entered demon territory, he knew he’d never truly escape; his weakness meant he could be crushed at any moment.

“Xia Yan, agree. You have no other choice,” Amelia’s tone was grave.

Xia Yan held his silence, feeling the oppressive atmosphere he was powerless to change.

“Fine,” Xia Yan nodded. Amelia’s expression eased a little—he seemed to know his place.

But then he said, “Amelia, you shouldn’t have saved me. You should have killed me sooner. I don’t think it’s too late now.”

Helplessly, Xia Yan spoke what amounted to inviting his own destruction. It was meaningless to bargain with this woman; he didn’t believe he could match her intelligence or power. Coming to the demon clan had always been a death sentence—he’d never hoped for survival.

“How dare you, human!” Before Amelia could speak, Vivi was already beside herself with rage. If not for Amelia’s restraint, she would have killed Xia Yan instantly.

“I understand,” Amelia rose, gazing out the window at the river. “Xia Yan, I have some intelligence to share with you.”

“Intelligence?” Xia Yan frowned.

“The family conducting this research is your old enemy, the Welber family. Notably, Ke Quan is one of the researchers. If you accept our terms, you can take your revenge as well.”

Xia Yan’s expression shifted. Ding Li’s death was thanks to the Welber family. Since then, he’d gained two enemies: the Welber family executive who killed Ding Li, and Ke Quan, who shed his criminal status.

But that didn’t mean Xia Yan would help the demon clan—he wasn’t a fool. He could take revenge on his own; there was no need to accept their terms. Besides, he was far too weak now—charging into a clan’s territory would be suicide.

“The second piece of intelligence,” Amelia continued, knowing Xia Yan wouldn’t be swayed by just one revelation.