The Deceitful One

Bryan tilted his head and looked at Jamie, "Is that less than what you expected?"

"No! No!" Jamie waved his hand frantically, "This is too much for the work that I would be doing."

Bryan chuckled, "It's all right. If you do your work properly, I'll even give you a bonus."

Jamie looked at the five notes for a long time and then carefully put them in his jacket's inner pocket. He had never had so much money on himself before so he made sure to keep it safe.

He then looked at Bryan and said gratefully, "Thank you."

Bryan smiled, "No problem. Take the kids and go home. And don't forget what I said, move out as soon as possible."

Jamie nodded and then instructed the kids to follow him back to their house. The kids all thanked Bryan and waved him goodbye in a jolly mood.

Jamie suddenly looked at Bryan and asked, "I forgot to ask your name, Boss."

Bryan smiled gently and replied, "Bryan."

Jamie, for the first time today, smiled back, "I'm Jamie. By the way, how do I find you?"

"Don't worry. I'll find you. Get going now, it's not a good idea for kids to stay out of home after dark. Especially in the slums." Bryan replied.

"Understood Boss! I'll see you later." Jamie then led the kids back to their house.

'Boss, huh?' Bryan felt a little reminiscent and was reminded of how he used to address his teacher in the beginning.

Smiling, he watched them leave until they disappeared from view, amidst the crowd. And then his smile vanished as his eyes narrowed, a cold glint flashing through them.

During the entire time Bryan was talking to Jamie, he had noticed quite a few of these beggars who were eyeing the food and blanket—with bad intentions, of course.

And most of these guys were drug addicts, as could be seen from their pale skin, dilated pupils, unkempt appearance, and the way they were fidgeting incessantly.

Bryan had encountered a lot of these addicts back in the day. They would do anything for food, money, and above all else, substance.

Now that they had seen him giving food and blankets to Jamie and the kids, it was his duty to ensure that the kids were safe. Now and in the future.

If he didn't take care of these drug addicts now, they would only cause more trouble for the kids later on. And Bryan did not have a shred of sympathy or pity for these useless scums.

After all, in the past, he had been robbed by them quite a few times and in a few instances he was even almost killed.

Bryan silently entered a nearby alley and completely vanished in the dark. Night had already fallen and the lighting in the slums was poor, to begin with.

It was the perfect place for murder!

Nimbly, Bryan climbed the roof of a house beside the grocery store. He then leaped from building to building as he covertly followed Jamie and the kids.

More precisely, he was following the six men that were closing in on them.

Bryan stood at the edge of the rooftop of a one-story unit as he looked down on one of the beggars who was approaching.

Timing it perfectly, he jumped down and landed right behind the beggar. Before the latter could turn around, Bryan grabbed his head from behind. His left hand grabbed the temple and his right hand grabbed the chin.

He then viciously twisted it clockwise!

Crack!

The beggar fell limply on the snow that had accumulated on the narrow streets of the slums. Bryan didn't even cast a glance at him as he cast Shadow Concealment and ran towards the next person.

Footprints on the snow appeared out of nowhere but no one was in sight. Bryan had already completely hidden in the shadows.

Soon, Bryan reached the second person from behind. He stretched out his right hand and slammed the person's face to the ground.

The next moment, a thin blade extended from underneath his wrist and stabbed the beggar's cranium as blood dyed the snow a dark shade of red. Bryan then moved on to the next person.

His next victims moved in pairs as they ignored the surroundings and hungrily eyed Jamie and the kids who were walking while chatting and giggling. Bryan felt that he didn't even need to use Shadow Concealment in the first place.

However, it was not in his nature to take any unnecessary risks. He always liked to be prepared. No matter how weak the enemy was, he would go all out. He wouldn't go easy on them just because they were regular people.

Soon, these two beggars also shared the same fate as the one before them. Now, only two remained.

One was close by, however, the last beggar had almost caught up to the kids. Bryan increased his speed as he approached the next person.

This next person was under the influence of some substance as he couldn't even walk straight. It was another easy kill for Bryan as the narrow blade pierced the beggar's throat.

Bryan didn't bother to hide any of the bodies. This was the slum after all. People died here almost every day. These bodies would be found the next morning and thrown into the landfill.

If they were lucky, they would be buried. Here, no one cared. The people in the slums were all abandoned. This was their fate.

The last person was only a few steps away from Jamie and the kids. Even if Bryan ran at his fastest speed, he wouldn't make it in time before the beggar made a move.

Bryan extended his spiritual force inside his pocket watch and the next moment, a throwing knife appeared in his hand.

He then swung his right arm and threw the knife straight at the last beggar's neck. The knife accurately embedded itself in the latter's throat and with a thud, the beggar fell face down.

Alarmed, Jamie looked behind, afraid that someone would come and steal the food and blankets from him.

However, when he turned around, the alley was empty. Only the gas lamp that was embedded in the wall of a certain house kept flickering.

"Strange… I thought I heard something." Jamie muttered under his breath.

A little girl beside him urged, "Jamie, what are you waiting for? Let's go! I'm feeling cold."

"Yes! Yes! Let's go home and have that tasty bread. I'm very hungry." Another kid chimed in.

Jamie turned back to look at the little kids and smiled gently, "Yes, let's go home. Tonight, we'll fill our bellies and sleep under a warm blanket.

He then took the kids and entered a small dilapidated house just a few meters away. Before shutting the door, he looked around once more. He was sure that he had heard something back then.

Not noticing anything, he finally shut the door.

Bryan came out of the shadows holding the bloodied neck of the last beggar as he saw the kids get inside their house safely.

He then threw the dead person to the side and wiped his hand clean with a napkin.

Melding back into the shadows, he left the slums silently, just like he came.