He called over one of the vassals and asked them to fetch him a carriage to return, since his meeting with her ladyship had come to an end.

The vassal didn't sense anything strange and did as asked, leaving to go get him a carriage.

"Excuse me, sir." While waiting, Su Ping was suddenly approached by one of the estate maids.

"Her ladyship ordered that I hand this to you," said the maid, who handed him a small piece of parchment before leaving.

"But didn't I just leave the Viscountess?" Su Ping wondered but unfolded the piece of parchment and read it nevertheless.

'The plan's been set in motion...' that was what he saw written on the letter, along with some coordinates and a specified time.

"I see he's been busy with work," Su Ping muttered to himself, his eyes squinting lightly. He now understood why that maid had handed this to him.

For one, he did sense his own power emanating from her, which meant she was amongst some of the servants he'd brainwashed the last time he came here. But even then, it didn't mean she was the one who wrote this. Rather, she was merely acting as a middleman to deliver it to him from somebody else—someone who just proved to be a great investment.

The carriage came about right then, and Su Ping got on.

"Where to, sir?" the coachman inquired.

"Just follow my instructions," Su Ping replied calmly.

"Alright," the coachman nodded before starting the drive.

Right after crossing the estate's front gate, Su Ping saw a lone silhouette who'd just burst through the manor's front gate. Even from such a distance, his eyes could make out every single detail on her face—especially the look of frustration and anguish on it, one he found weirdly unsettling.

Never once did he expect the very woman he wished to kill to suddenly develop feelings for him. But as far as he could remember, he didn't recall anything that might have caused her to do such a thing. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

---

"We're here, sir." The coachman brought the carriage to a stop.

"Thank you," Su Ping alighted from the carriage, which left afterwards. He then entered the building in front of him, which was none other than the bar he owned.

He approached the counter and took a seat.

"Looks like she still hasn't returned," Su Ping muttered beneath his breath after taking a look around the place.

"And what would you be having today, kind sir?" the stand-in barwoman asked. He had to admit that Vivian sure knew how to recruit workers, to think that she'd hire someone so polite and professional.

"A glass of water," Su Ping replied right after.

"Alright, give me a sec," she said before reaching behind the counter. She brought out a bottle and an empty glass, then poured the bottle of water into the glass cup and slid it to him.

"Much obliged," Su Ping caught the glass with ease and downed the entire thing in one gulp.

"Ahh..." he let out a refreshed breath.

"And how much for the glass?"

"Of course it's on the house," a voice said from behind him.

"You're finally back," he turned to see Vivian standing behind him.

"Boss, you're back," said the barwoman, her eyes filled with a hint of excitement.

"That I am, but I'm afraid I won't be accepting that title, since someone more deserving is right here," she chuckled, her words confusing the barwoman. "I apologize for the late introduction, but this man right here is actually the true owner of this establishment."

"You mean—" the barwoman stiffened, realizing that she was just about to charge the owner of the place for something that was literally his. "Please forgive me, sir. I had no idea."

"It's okay," Su Ping raised a hand to stop her. "You did nothing wrong. Quite the contrary, I was pleased with your actions—the perfect character fit for a true worker," he chuckled at the end of his sentence.

"Of course, a true worker deserves a bonus as well." Under both women's gazes, he waved his hand, retrieving a silver coin from his spatial ring.

"Here, take this." He tossed the coin to her. The barwoman instinctively caught it, her eyes filled with amazement at his blatant generosity.

"Sir, I couldn't possibly."

"A true worker should also know when to be accepting." That was the only thing he said before glancing at Vivian.

"Shall we go and discuss how your venture turned out?"

"Of course, master." The both of them left the counter and found a seat at an empty table.

Vivian then retrieved the contract he'd given her and placed it on the table. "I was able to get quite a lot of them to formally comply with the agreement."

"A lot? How many do you mean exactly?"

"Umm... several thousand, or perhaps tens of thousands."

"What?" His expression faltered due to momentary shock. 'Several thousand?' Su Ping didn't know what to say.

He never recalled meeting that many people when he went about offering them the deal, so how come she got so many people to meet her to join the agreement?

"I believe it's your reputation, master. It seems you've made quite a name for yourself, that the people have practically begun to hurry in order to get in on your deal. I bet you even some in the other districts would soon come to join your proposition as well."

"You don't say..." A light chuckle escaped his lips, while a lighter smirk bloomed afterwards.

"I do apologize, because I recruited some people to help me, since the number of applicants was quite a lot. Of course, all of this was done with my own personal funds, master."

"You needn't worry about that. Feel free to replace what you've spent with the revenue from the bar."

'If what she just said is true, then doesn't that mean I've basically covered my financial situation?'

'I was wondering how I would cater for all those abandoned hybrids, to think the solution would pop up on its own so soon.' He felt the urge to laugh out loud; fortunately, he didn't.