Yang Mi took a deep breath, steadying herself.

  Then—

  "Alright… I will do it."

  Her voice was firm, yet beh that resolve was a flicker of vulnerability.

  "If it's to uhe truth about my brother's enemy and to protect him—because I trust my brother—then I take a Blood Oath."

  Reon's gaze sharpened.

  "That's very like you, Yang Mi," he mused inwardly.

  Reon had a strong feeling that Yang Lie no longer saw him as a threat—perhaps, in his eyes, Xue Taiyang wasn't even worth a passing gnymore.

  But caution was a habit Reon wouldn't abandon.

  Yang Mi, if she revealed the true extent of her cultivation, was strohan Yang Lie at this moment.

  If things ever took a wrong turn, at least he would only o deal with Yang Lie—not both of them.

  And at this early stage of the story, the protagonist had yet to befriend any powerful allies.

  If by some ce Yang Lie wao eliminate him, Reon was fident he could protect himself.

  Pushing those thoughts aside, he focused on the present.

  "Alright then, it's settled," he said aloud.

  "Now, plete the oath, and I will answer your questions. Quickly. I have more pressing matters to attend to."

  Yang Mi nodded.

  Without hesitation, she bit down ohumb. A droplet of crimson welled up and trickled down.

  With graceful precision, she began drawing an intricate magic circle upon the ground, her blood f delicate yet ominous patterns.

  Her voice was steady as she ted:

  "I, Yang Mi, take a Blood Oath, staking my very life upon these words—"

  "I shall not take Xue Taiyang's life after acquiring the information I seek, so long as he does not stand in my way.

  "Furthermore, I swear to protect him from my brother, Yang Lie, should my brother attempt to take his life without just cause.

  "Should I betray this oath… may I perish in the most excruciating way imaginable."

  The moment she finished, she pressed her bloodied fingers against the ter of the circle.

  A pulse of power erupted.

  A crimson glow radiated outward, illuminating the dim room with an eerie light.

  The energy surged upward, a thin stream of blood-red essence shooting toward Yang Mi's forehead.

  It lihere—h, burning—before vanishing into nothingness.

  Reon watched in quiet fasation.

  "She did it without hesitation."

  That, more than anything, proved how deeply she trusted her brother.

  "A noble woman true to her word… though, perhaps a little crazy."

  Still, a thought flickered across his mind.

  "If she ever wanted, I wouldn't mind making her my sed friend in this world."

  Yang Mi turo him, her eyes sharp and expet.

  "Alright, Xue Taiyang, you got what you wanted. Now, answer my questions."

  Reon's smirk deepened.

  "What I wanted, you say?"

  His tone yful, teasing, but his eyes glinted with something else—something sharper.

  "And what exactly do I gain from answering your questions?"

  Yang Mi's expression twisted in fusion.

  Then—

  BAM!

  Her palm smmed against the table, shaking the entire room.

  "What?! Are you bag out now, after making me swear a Blood Oath?!" she demanded, her voice ced with disbelief and fury.

  Reon chuckled, raising his hands in mock surrender.

  "No, no, you're misuanding me," he said smoothly.

  "I never said I wouldn't answer."

  His gaze turned calg.

  "But let's be clear—you swore your oath for what happens after you get your answers, not before.

  "So tell me, Yang Mi…

  "What are you willing to offer in exge for my information?"

  Sileretched between them for a heartbeat.

  Then—

  "Y-You…!"

  Yang Mi sputtered, eyes narrowing.

  Her voice dropped.

  "Say what you want."

  Reon's smirk widened.

  "K," he thought.

  "If she went so far as to make a Blood Oath, she won't back down now."

  His words were clear, sharp, and pletely merciless.

  "Two thousand gold s per question."

  A deep pause.

  Then—

  "W-What?!"

  Yang Mi's fists ched.

  "You bastard! That's robbery!"

  Reon only shrugged, utterly unfazed.

  "Well, what I say? I'm expensive."

  Yang Mi's brows furrowed.

  "A hundred gold s could keep a family of three living fortably for three months in the mortal world!" she snapped.

  "A her of us are mortals, are we?" Reon tered.

  "A single Mid-tier Grade-2 herb costs more than their ehree-month ine. A's not fet—your Yang Family, a Superior just beh the Royal Family, is filthy rich."

  His smirk returned, sharp as a bde.

  "So for you, this is nothing more than pocket ge."

  Yang Mi's lips curled in frustration.

  "Ugh! You bastard! I was pletely wrong about you—you're an absolute scumbag!"

  Reon shrugged once more, unfazed.

  "Say whatever you like. If you were a oner like me, you'd uand… Just seg a proper meal each day, without the stant fear of what tomorrow holds, is a battle in itself."

  Reon's voice carried the weight of his own experieinged with a distant nostalgia that seemed to echo in every word.

  I still don't know whether Xue Taiyang was born a noble or a oner in this world.

  For now, I'll stick to the strategy from my past life:

  'Seize every opportunity—make money whenever you .'

  Yang Mi flinched.

  A simple phrase—"oner like me"—unlocked a door in her mind.

  A door she had long since locked away.

  A door she had sworn o open again.