Chapter 263 - 263 - A Sinister Deal and a Deadly Ruse_Rise of The Abandoned Husband

The night air felt unusually cold against Anthony Harding''s flushed skin as he stumbled from the Verdant Pavilion restaurant. The celebration had gone on for hours—too many drinks, too much boasting about his impending victory over ra Vance.

 "Three days," I mumbled to myself, fumbling for my car keys. "Just three more days."

 I could already picture her face when she lost the race. The way her proud expression would crumble. The sweet surrender in her eyes when she realized she''d have to fulfill our agreement. The thought alone was intoxicating.

 I reached my luxury sports car and awkwardly jabbed the key at the lock, missing twice before finally hitting the target.

 "Need some help there, young master?"

 The voice came from behind me, raspy and ancient. I spun around, nearly losing my bnce.

 An old man stood there—no, not just old. Ancient. His skin looked like cracked leather stretched over bone. His eyes were sunken but held an unnatural gleam that pierced through the darkness. He wore simple gray robes that seemed to absorb the moonlight.

 "Who the hell are you?" I demanded, trying to sound authoritative despite my alcohol-addled brain.

 The old man smiled, revealing teeth filed to sharp points. "A messenger from Earth Fiend Valley."

 My blood ran cold instantly. The name cut through my drunkenness like a knife. Earth Fiend Valley wasn''t supposed to exist outside of whispered legends—a ce where practitioners of forbidden arts gathered, where experiments too vile for the martial world were conducted in secret.

 "That''s—that''s impossible," I stammered, backing up until I hit my car. "Earth Fiend Valley is just a story."

 "Is it?" The old man moved closer, and despite being half my size, he suddenly seemed to tower over me. "Then perhaps this is just a story too."

 He extended one gnarled hand, palm up. Something dark and writhing materialized above it—a mass of shadowy tendrils that twisted and coiled like living smoke.

 "Do you know what this is, young master?" he asked, his voice deceptively gentle.

 I shook my head, unable to speak.

 "Soul poison," he whispered. "If it enters your body, it will devour you from within. First your memories, then your will, until nothing remains but an empty shell that breathes and eats but is no longer human."

 Terror gripped me. I wanted to run, to scream, but my body refused to move.

 "What do you want from me?" I finally managed to ask, my voice barely audible.

 The old man closed his fist, and the writhing shadow disappeared.

 "ra Vance," he said simply. "After your race, you will bring her to the northern entrance of ckpine Mountain. Alone and unconscious."

 "ra?" I repeated, confusion momentarily overriding my fear. "What could you possibly want with her?"

 The old man''s eyes narrowed. "That is not your concern. You will deliver her, or you will experience firsthand what soul poison does to the human mind."

 To demonstrate his point, he flicked his fingers toward a stray cat that had wandered into the parking lot. The animal froze mid-step, then began to convulse violently. Within seconds, it copsed, its body twitching before fallingpletely still, eyes wide and vacant.

 "Do we have an understanding, young master?" the old man asked pleasantly.

 I nodded frantically, sweat pouring down my face despite the cold.

 "Good." He stepped back, beginning to fade into the shadows. "Remember—northern entrance of ckpine Mountain. Don''t disappoint me."

 Then he was gone, as if he''d never been there at all. Only the dead cat proved I hadn''t imagined the entire encounter.

 I slid down the side of my car and vomited onto the pavement.

 ---

 The next day, I walked quickly through the university courtyard, my mind still reying the conversation with Adrian Whitlock. While his absence had created a strange anticlimactic tension at the War Zone, I was secretly relieved. It gave me time to focus on my true goal—reaching the Monastic Stage of cultivation. MyVirtualLibraryEmpire(MVLEMPYR)appreciatesyourreadershipatthesource.

 "Liam! Hey, Liam!"

 I turned to see ra Vance jogging toward me, her dark hair bouncing against her shoulders. The sight of her made me tense involuntarily. I hadn''t forgotten that she''d somehow inserted herself into a challenge meant for me.

 "ra," I greeted her with a nod.

 She stopped in front of me, slightly out of breath. "I''ve been looking everywhere for you."

 "What is it?" I asked, keeping my voice neutral.

 "I just wanted to make sure you''re okay with me taking your ce in the race tomorrow," she said, her eyes searching mine. "You seemed upset when you found out."

 I sighed. "It wasn''t your decision to make, ra."

 "I know, but—" She bit her lip. "Anthony Harding is dangerous, Liam. More than you realize. I couldn''t let you face him."

 Before I could respond, Maia appeared beside ra, her expression instantly hardening when she saw me.

 "Come on, ra," she said sharply. "We have training to do."

 ra gave me an apologetic look. "I have to go. But please don''t worry about tomorrow. I know what I''m doing."

 As they walked away, I heard Maia mutter, "I don''t know why you even talk to him."

 I watched them disappear around a corner, a strange feeling of unease settling in my chest. There was something about this whole situation that didn''t sit right with me, but I couldn''t put my finger on it.

 ---

 Later that afternoon, I sat cross-legged in a secluded clearing in the university''s bamboo garden, my eyes closed in deep meditation. The path to the Monastic Stage required absolute focus—something I''d been sorelyckingtely.

 Too many distractions. ra''s race. Adrian Whitlock. The mysterious Divine Needle.

 I took a deep breath, trying to clear my mind. The world around me began to fade as I turned my attention inward, focusing on my dantian where my cultivation base resided.

 A soft golden glow pulsed within me, stronger than before but still not at the threshold of breakthrough. I needed more time, more concentration—

 My phone vibrated violently against my leg, shattering my concentration. I opened my eyes with a frustrated sigh and pulled it out.

 Maia''s name shed on the screen. I nearly declined the call, but something—intuition perhaps—made me answer.

 "What—"

 "This is all your fault!" Maia''s voice came through, high-pitched and frantic. I could hear the sound of wind and traffic in the background. "If anything happens to ra, I swear I''ll never forgive you!"

 I sat up straight, instantly alert. "Maia, calm down. What''s happened to ra?"

 "She raced against Anthony today," Maia sobbed. "In your ce! She crashed her car, Liam! She''s unconscious and now Anthony has her because of their stupid agreement!"

 My blood ran cold. "What agreement?"

 "They made a bet before the race. If she lost, she had to do whatever he wanted for twenty-four hours." Maia''s voice cracked. "And now he''s taking her somewhere, and I don''t know what to do!"

 I was already on my feet, moving quickly toward the parking area. "Where are you now?"

 "I''m with them," she whispered. "Anthony said he''s taking ra to a hospital, but we''ve been driving for almost an hour, and I don''t recognize where we are."

 "Share your location," Imanded. "Right now."

 There was a pause, and then my phone pinged with her GPS coordinates.

 "Keep your phone on," I instructed, breaking into a run. "I''ming."

 ---

 Anthony Harding gripped the steering wheel tightly, his knuckles white despite his outwardly calm demeanor. In the rearview mirror, he could see Maia in the back seat, cradling ra''s unconscious head in herp.

 The race had gone exactly ording to n. A small, nearly undetectable modification to ra''s brakes had ensured her crash would happen at precisely the right moment—dramatic enough to render her unconscious but not severe enough to cause permanent damage.

 "How much longer until we reach the hospital?" Maia asked, her voice tight with suspicion.

 "Not much further," Anthony lied smoothly. "This route avoids traffic."

 He nced at his navigation system. Twenty more minutes until they reached ckpine Mountain. Twenty minutes until he fulfilled his obligation to the terrifying old man and freed himself from the nightmare that had haunted him since their encounter.

 "You''re heading north," Maia observed, her eyes narrowing as she looked out the window. "The nearest hospital is southeast of the racetrack."

 Anthony forced a reassuring smile. "Trust me, this clinic is better. My family owns it."

 Maia didn''t look convinced. She pulled out her phone, her fingers moving quickly across the screen.

 "What are you doing?" Anthony asked sharply.

 "Checking our location," she replied, not looking up. "Something doesn''t feel right about this."

 Anthony''s heart raced. If she figured out where they were headed...

 "Reception''s spotty out here," he said, casually reaching back as if to adjust the air conditioning. In one swift movement, he snatched her phone and tossed it out the window.

 "What the hell!" Maia shouted, lunging forward between the seats.

 Anthony shoved her back, harder than he intended. "Sit down and shut up," he snarled, his carefully cultivated charm evaporating. "You''re going exactly where I want you to go."

 Fear shed across Maia''s face as realization dawned. "You nned this," she whispered. "The crash wasn''t an ident."

 Anthony didn''t bother denying it. They were almost at their destination, and it didn''t matter what she knew now. In fact, he realized with a cold rity, it might be better to deliver both girls to the old man. A bonus, perhaps, to ensure his own safety.

 "What do you want with us?" Maia demanded, her voice trembling despite her effort to sound brave.

 Anthony nced at the unconscious ra, her face pale and vulnerable.

 "It''s not what I want," he said quietly, turning the car onto a narrow dirt road that wound upward into the dense pine forest of ckpine Mountain. "It''s what they want."

 "They?" Maia''s voice had gone very small.

 Anthony didn''t answer. Through the trees ahead, he could see a figure waiting by the side of the road—tall and impossibly thin, standing perfectly still in the gathering darkness.

 The old man from Earth Fiend Valley had arrived to collect his prize.

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Chapter 263 - 263 - A Sinister Deal and a Deadly Ruse