Although Evan Yang didn't know who was behind it, he was certain that the assassination attempt on his life was connected to the butler. It was a bit of a pity—the enemy still didn't know everything, but his own strength had been partially exposed.
But after thinking it over, since someone had already made a move, he couldn't just sit and wait for death. In his mind, the butler was now his top suspect for investigation.
"Tanner Shaw, how are you feeling?" Evan Yang asked with a grin as he stepped into Tanner Shaw's room.
"Where'd you go? I wanted to talk earlier, but you just vanished," Tanner Shaw grumbled as he sat up.
Evan closed the special room door, isolating everything inside from the outside. His smile faded as he said, "I was just ambushed by assassins."
"What!" Tanner's body was still weak, but hearing Evan had been ambushed, he tried to get up to question him. Evan stopped him and said, "Calm down, let me finish explaining first."
Evan then gave Tanner Shaw a quick rundown of what happened.
"Sounds like someone hired Black Hand Gate to kill you!" Tanner concluded after hearing Evan's description—especially the part about the identical black outfits and the spike-blades.
"Black Hand Gate? What kind of sect is that?" Evan asked, finding the name odd.
"They're the number one assassin organization across the Three Great Star Systems. As long as you pay their price, you can hire them to kill anyone," Tanner explained.
"Black Hand Gate? An assassin organization? Are they really that powerful?" Evan had encountered killer groups before, but none of them were worth mentioning compared to this.
"Very, extremely powerful. Their network is tightly guarded—no one knows where their base is. Orders are always one-way: you just send the target and the payment, and the organization dispatches the right killers to handle it, then collects their fee," Tanner said, his eyes narrowing.
"So they'll kill anyone, as long as the price is right?" Evan asked, curious after hearing Tanner's explanation.
"Yeah. As long as someone offers a price they're satisfied with, they'll send someone to carry out the job," Tanner nodded.
"Doesn't the Three Palaces care? Aren't they afraid the organization will kill all their Star Lords?" Evan asked suspiciously.
"It's not that they don't care, it's that they can't do anything about it. Nobody knows where their base is. At best, a few assassins get caught, but there are so many all over the world, it's almost impossible to wipe them out. That's how Black Hand Gate became the top assassin organization—even the Three Palaces can't root them out," Tanner Shaw sighed.
"Let me ask hypothetically: say your dad is running for Star Lord, and the opposition just hires Black Hand Gate to deal with him. Wouldn't that make killing easy for anyone with money?" Evan mused, realizing how dangerous the group was.
Tanner laughed, "That wouldn't happen. They have a rule: they don't kill Three Palaces personnel or members of the major families on each star. My family isn't huge, but we're well-known on Northridge Star and one of the Ten Great Families, so they won't target us."
"They have rules like that? This assassin group really is strange," Evan said, surprised by Black Hand Gate's code.
"It's not that they're afraid of the Three Palaces, but they don't want trouble. So they only take jobs against non-Palace personnel and people outside the major families," Tanner replied.
"So basically, Black Hand Gate is tailor-made for taking out people like me—no family, no background," Evan said with a wry smile.
"Don't worry, I'll ask my dad to investigate who tried to kill you," Tanner immediately offered after hearing Evan's words.
"Can you really investigate? Didn't I kill them all, and the rest self-destructed?" Evan doubted they could find the mastermind so easily.
"Uh..." Tanner said awkwardly.
"Forget that for now, I want to ask you something else," Evan said, skipping the assassin topic and getting straight to the point.
"Go ahead," Tanner replied, curious.
"When did your butler join your family?" Evan finally asked after thinking for a moment.
"Him? What's up? You suspect him?" Tanner immediately realized Evan was suspicious of the butler and answered with curiosity.
"Yeah," Evan nodded honestly.
"Why do you suspect him? Did he do something? Did you catch him?" Tanner was shocked that Evan really suspected his butler.
Seeing Tanner so worked up, Evan explained everything that happened today, going over the details and especially emphasizing the butler's words at the end.
Tanner wasn't stupid—he caught the key points right away and snorted coldly, "Damn it! That guy dared to try to kill you? I'll skin him alive!"
"Hold on," Evan stopped Tanner as he was about to rush out.
"Why are you stopping me? I'm going to drag him here and confront him face to face—and Cyril Shaw too, so he can see the butler's true colors," Tanner Shaw said, fuming.
"Your dad brought him in?" Evan asked, curious after hearing Tanner's words.
"Yeah, two years ago. My old butler went on a trip with Cyril Shaw, and on the way back they were attacked by treasure robbers. The old butler died, and then the current butler showed up and saved Cyril Shaw. Cyril saw how loyal he was and invited him home, and eventually he became our chief butler," Tanner Shaw explained.
"How strong is he?" Evan asked, thinking that anyone who could rescue Cyril in chaos wasn't ordinary.
"Strength? Cyril Shaw said he's already Spirit-Wandering, but I don't know the specifics. We'd have to ask Cyril Shaw," Tanner Shaw shook his head.
"Then let's talk to your dad privately later. Just don't let the butler know—we need to figure out his real identity and who actually ordered my assassination," Evan said after hearing the story.
"No need for talk, just grab him and let my dad teach him a lesson!" Tanner had already decided the butler was the culprit behind Evan's attempted murder.
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But Evan didn't want to just kill him outright—he didn't believe a butler could have a personal grudge against him, especially since he'd never had any conflict with the man at the Shaw estate. He guessed things weren't that simple.
So he stopped Tanner and explained his reasoning. Just then, someone outside sent a message through the door, and the two calmed down.
"Remember what I said: stay calm," Evan reminded. He helped Tanner to the door, where a maid said, "Young master, the patriarch has prepared food and wine—please come to the hall."
"Alright, we're coming," Tanner nodded, then led Evan toward the main hall.
The hall was empty; neither Evan nor Tanner knew where Cyril was. Just as they arrived, Cyril returned from outside and said, "Sit."
"Dad, where did you go? Why are you coming in from outside?" Tanner asked, surprised because he thought Cyril had been home.
"Ah, I was originally going to call you out, but then I heard a loud noise outside, so I went to check. Just got back now," Cyril replied with a smile.
"Any idea what happened out there?" Evan asked, curious.
"Some Spirit-Wandering experts were fighting out there, and one self-destructed. By the time we arrived, there was nothing left—just a crowd watching," Cyril waved dismissively.
"Dad, where's the butler?" Tanner asked, looking around curiously when he saw the butler wasn't there.
"I sent him to investigate what happened outside. Meanwhile, I'm here to host a feast for our benefactor—if not for him, you wouldn't have woken up safely. You should thank him properly," Cyril said with a smile.
Tanner Shaw naturally wanted to thank Evan, but felt uneasy with the butler missing. Cyril Shaw noticed Tanner's expression as he reached for his wine cup and asked, "Tanner, what's up?"
Interrupted by Cyril, Tanner replied awkwardly, "Maybe I just woke up—still getting used to things."
"Oh, I see. Then you should rest more later. As for this wine, let me drink for you," Cyril said kindly. He raised his cup and smiled at Evan, "Young man, please forgive us. If Tanner ever misbehaves, just tell me and I'll set him straight."
"Patriarch Shaw, you're too kind," Evan said, raising his cup with a grin.
The two toasted, celebrating. Tanner Shaw admired Evan's composure, but couldn't help asking, "Cyril Shaw, when the butler saved you back then, was he really that impressive?"
"Why do you ask?" Cyril put down his cup and asked curiously.
"It's nothing, just suddenly remembered your story with the butler and got curious," Tanner replied with an awkward smile, worried that talking about the butler in front of so many people might expose something.
"I thought it was something serious. But yes, I owe him a lot—if it weren't for him, I probably wouldn't have made it back," Cyril said with a smile.
"So he's reached the Out-of-Body stage?" Tanner asked, pretending to be curious even though he knew Cyril had said the butler was only at Spirit-Wandering before.
Cyril quickly refuted, "No, not that. He's at the peak of Spirit-Wandering, that's for sure. Honestly, it's a bit of a waste having him stay here as a butler."
"A peak Spirit-Wandering cultivator working as a butler in the Shaw Family?" Evan thought, feeling skeptical.
If Tanner hadn't heard Evan's suspicions, he'd probably think the butler was amazing—such strength, yet serving as a butler in the Shaw family.
"Dad, has he always stayed here? Has he ever left? And what did he do before?" Tanner wanted to know the butler's background, so he fired off several questions.
Cyril, as head of the family, quickly sensed something was off and asked suspiciously, "Kid, what's with you today? Why so many questions?"
"Maybe Tanner isn't fully awake yet," Evan quickly interjected, then shot Tanner a look.
Tanner realized he was being too pushy and smiled awkwardly, "Just woke up—everything feels new and interesting."
"You should rest more later," Cyril said helplessly.
Outside the eastern city, a group of people gathered, discussing what had just happened.