The Demon Hunter who blocked Ye Qi's way went by the name of Tarn Dirk, a registered Demon Hunter with three years of working experience. His power level could only be considered middle-high but his personality was abrasive, arrogant and cruel. He was even involved in a high-controversial case of mission sabotaging that caused the lives of other Demon Hunters.
Even after these incidents, Tarn managed to still walk the path of Demon Hunter naturally was because of his background. Behind Tarn was a party that demanded respect of the Demon Hunter—The Dirk Family.
One Tarn Dirk was nothing but those Good Samaritan Demon Hunter who wanted to extricate this tumour from their ranks had to think twice about the Dirk Family shielding him.
After all, as they say in Chinese, before you hit a dog, first find out who's its master!
The Dirk Family based itself in the Autumn Forest State. According to rumours, the whole Dirk Family possessed three legendary Hallowed Artefacts, which was why they were so feared and respected. For a normal Demon Hunter, they were definitely a force to be reckoned with.
"Hey kid, where did you pick up this Vampire Wings?" Tarn demanded brusquely, "Quick, cough it up, where did you pick up this Vampire Wings? How come it look so familiar to the Vampire Wings that was stolen from me last time? Speak! You have stolen this from me, haven't you?"
If this was fainted-hearted person, being questioned by the scary-looking Tarn would probably have shut them up. However, that was not Ye Qi. He squinted his eyes to study this "knife sharpening stone" who had shown himself—Quite a muscular build but alas has a horse-like face, eyes as small as green peas, nose that grew a bit too high and a breathe that really needs a mint. Ye Qi suppressed the urge to turn his head away and asked, "And you are?"
"I am Tarn Dirk of course!"
Since Ye Qi used to patron Old Timer's Bar only after dark so he was unfamiliar with the Demon Hunters in Tarlin State. Most of them he had heard of but not met, just like this Tarn Dirk. When he realized the person standing before him was the infamous Demon Hunter, Ye Qi smirked, "I stole this Vampire Wings from you? If you're strong enough to kill a Noble Vampire, just how am I supposed to steal from someone as powerful as you?"
In actuality, all the Demon Hunters there looked down on Tarn—If this kind of hunter could take down a Noble Vampire, then all of us here would be Expert Demon Hunter already!
"Dirk, stand down! Don't think you can push your tricks while I'm still around! I might be old but I'm not blind!" The merchant who stood behind the counter yelled and lobbed a plastic ash tray at the offender.
Old Walter might be awfully sarcastic with Ye Qi but those were all in jest, after all, he was old friend to John and Ye Qi was John's precious disciple. Therefore, when he saw Tarn was ready to swindle the young Demon Hunter, he was ready to step in.
The ash tray hit Tarn on his head before he could even respond and shattered into pieces, this went to show the power Old Walter had placed behind that one toss. Most of the Demon Hunters there were experienced enough to know if this was not a plastic ash tray, but glass or metal, Tarn's brain would probably be splattered on the wall by now.
"Old Walter! Don't think I'm not privy of your relationship to this kiddo! He's John's disciple right? Hmmph, no wonder you're so partial to the kid! But the justice is with the people, if you do not handle this fairly, I will definitely bring this up to the Demon Hunter Headquarters!"
Tarn who caught the merchant's weak spot demanded and his eyes glowed brightly. Even though he was normally cautious of the merchant, Tarn tossed his caution into the wind considering the benefits that he would get after he got his hands on the pair of Vampire Wings—With the relationship cultivated from the Dirk Family, after Tarn became an Expert Demon Hunter, his chance of winning a Hallowed Artefact at the Headquarters' celebration every five years would be much greater than others.
After a short hesitation, Tarn began to shamelessly pressure the merchant by bringing up his intention to bring the complaint to the Demon Hunter Headquarters.
"What did you say, you wish to bring this offense to the Headquarters?"
Old Walter said with a smile. His eyes that were naturally narrow were not minimized into slits. The icy glow that circulated in them made every Demon Hunter at the bar shiver involuntarily like they were preys being hunted by a powerful predator. Tarn started to break out in cold sweat, if not for his hands that reached out for the table, he probably would have collapsed to the floor by then.
"What do you plan to do? I'm from Dirk Family, you know…" Tarn warned as the merchant walked from behind the counter with a smile frozen on his face. Suddenly, Ye Qi who had been standing at the side-lines said, "Hey, evil merchant, this is between me and him…"
Ye Qi's sudden words attracted the room's attention, and it was then that they realized this rookie was the actual perpetrator of this whole incident. The gaze that landed on Ye Qi was varied, there were surprise, derision but for most, it was with mocking.
For these Demon Hunters who walked the line and death every day, this was great entertainment, they would not call for peace or ask to stop. If not for the unique background of Tarn, they probably would have joined in the brawl themselves.
Without observing the crowd, Ye Qi knew how they would react, because he too would react the same way if he was in their place.
This was his plan all along, to showcase the power he received from becoming an "Apostle" so that he could enjoy the privilege accorded to the rank of Apostle.
Even though he was shocked by the impressive presence showcased by the evil merchant, Ye Qi who had not forgotten the actual purpose of his action stood up to stop Old Walter. Tarn, who saw the merchant retracted his presence, sighed greatly like he was just salvaged from an icy lake. With sweat still drying on his body, the Demon Hunter said, "Since none of us refuse to back down, then how about a Bout for Life? The winner will get the Vampire Wings and the loser, death!"
Bout for life was merely a fancier way of saying fight to the death—When an altercation couldn't be solved with words alone, then fists would have to make do. The winner would be deemed the party with the truth and the loser?
Well, the dead wouldn't be able to argue, would they?