Chapter 324 - Charade
Chapter 324 Charade
Tang Rou walked up to Jiu You and stood beside her. Then she looked up and what she saw almost made her face changed. No celebrity, former or not, would fail to recognize what the red dot is.
That was a spy camera and someone was peeking at them.
“That’s a camera,” said Tang Rou.
Jiu You’s face turned cold. “Dammit, let’s go speak to them,” she said angrily, “I’d like to see if they have enough heads for me to behead.”
“Gods, I think they found the camera,” one of the men yelped in the security control room.
Dismayed, Feng Heng said, “Quick, use the drug powder.”
One of the men quickly jammed a red button on the console.
Whoosh!
Tang Rou and Jiu You barely reached the door when the entire bathroom was engulfed in a thick pink mist.
The two girls were caught unawares. They breathed in the fine pink mist before they realized what was going on, and they crumbled like a marshmallow.
Inside the security control room, Feng Heng broke into a wicked smile.
“You two, send them to the Master’s villa quickly. Be careful and make sure you leave no loose ends.”
“Understood!”
The two burly men stood up and went away.
When Jiu You regained consciousness, she found herself lying on a large soft bed in a very lavish room.
“Hmmm...” she tried to get up, but she just couldn’t seem to summon any strength.
“Tang Rou... Where are you... Tang Rou?” Jiu You called. But no answer came. Tang Rou was not here.
Jiu You began to feel nervous. Her physical constitution as a demon made her stronger than most humans, yet, this unknown substance managed to knock her out. And with Tang Rou missing now, she could imagine how angry Chu Xun would be if he knew about this.
Inside another similarly ornately-furnished room, Tang Rou woke up too and was flustered and worried to find Jiu You missing as she failed to use any strength at all.
Crack!
The doors to Jiu You’s and Tang Rou’s room swung open simultaneously at the same time.
A grotesquely gnarly old woman stepped through the entrance.
“Who are you?” glowered Jiu You as she struggled to rear her head. But her young impish voice could hardly frighten the old woman.
“I’m a servant of the Master. I am here to dress you,” said the old woman at a glacial pace.
“Damn your bloody master, now let go of me or I’ll kill you,” snarled Jiu You angrily.
The old crone cracked a sinister smile, “No one escapes this place. You might be a little too young, but the Master loves minors nonetheless.”
“What do you mean?” demanded an incredulous Jiu You.
“No need for that. Just get yourself all dressed and powdered up. The Master awaits,” said the old lady, taking out a white little phial and holding it up near Jiu You’s nose for her to take it its smell.
That seemed to be the antidote as Jiu You felt strength coursing through her limbs again and she lunged, punching furiously at the old woman.
Smack!
But it was futile; her thin, slender arm was swiftly seized by the old hag.
The old hag had no powers, but it was she herself, she discovered, that failed to summon any of her power. She was no stronger than any other ordinary person.
“Save your strength. This is a special concoction of our Masters. There is no antidote. With it, you can never use your Internal Breath,” said the old woman placidly.
As helpless as a frail little girl, the old woman manhandled Jiu You and forced her into a Western-style dress and applied some make-up.
On the other side, Tang Rou was also subjected to similar treatment by another old crone.
“My, oh my... Look how beautiful you’ve become,” said the old lady at the reflection of Tang Rou in the mirror.
“Come. It’s time to meet the Master.”
Tang Rou stepped out of her room, only to stumble face to face with Jiu You who was also leaving her room.
“Tang Rou!” Jiu You cried when she saw her, “Are you all right?”
Tang Rou tried to run to Jiu You when she saw her, but the old crone’s vice-like grip prevented her from getting away, “I’m all right, Jiu You. What about you?”
“I’m fine too!” Jiu You cried in return.
They were brought through a beautiful garden, into a long corridor until they finally came upon an exquisitely-furnished country house.
The doors of the big house swung open to emit them and once inside, it was another world of lavish and elaborate accoutrements and fittings and scores of beautiful ladies.
Given its sheer size of more than one thousand square meters, the big house seemed more like a palace hall fit for the gods or a celestial retreat than a mere country home. Gossamer mists swirled lazily everywhere on the floor, accompanied by swarms of scantily-clad women swaying gently to the ceaseless undulation of music.
They passed through the mist and came upon a very wide and long bed which could have easily doubled as a stage if not for the fibrous and gauzy veils covering all around it. At the far corner of the bed was a table functioning like a bed tray laden full with fruits and snacks.
On the bed was a delicate-looking young man with a deathly-pale complexion and four beautiful women huddled around him, giving him massages while feeding him fruits and snacks from the bed tray.
“We’ve brought them to you, Master,” addressed one of the old women.
The young man sat up and studied Tang Rou and Jiu You, his eyes sparkling with interest. He might have a harem full of beautiful women, but none of them could possibly hope to compete with these two specimens of perfect beauty.
“Leave us,” he ordered the two old women.
He slid off his bed and walked in a circle around Tang Rou and Jiu You, his eyes burning with carnal lust. “Damn, Feng Heng. Finally, at long last, that old slouch has managed to accomplish something to please me.”
“Come, girl,” he groped for Tang Rou’s hand.
But instead, Tang Rou stepped away from him, avoiding him.
That angered the man. “Is she not trained?!” But before anyone could answer, he broke into a gleeful smile, “Just as well. I’d rather have the fun of training such a ravishing beauty into an obedient mare myself.”
“And what an adorable little lass we have here,” the young man looked at Jiu You this time, sniggering vilely, “I guess I should start with the younger delicacy today.”
“Damn, you’re ugly,” scowled Jiu You with the outspokenness of a child.
Stunned, the man yelped, “What did you say?!”
“I said, you’re an ugly one!” Jiu You complained with the disgust like she has seen something dirty, and she drove her fist into the man’s stomach.
With a painful howl, the man crashed into his bed and it snapped half with a deafening crack.
As only a Grandmaster, the blow came so heavy that he vomited a mouthful of blood, terrifying his harem into squeals and shrieks of fright.
“Th-That’s impossible?! Your powers should have been gone because of the poison!” gasped the man.
Jiu You glared at him with pure loathing. The poison she inhaled earlier worked only on Internal Breath, and as demons rely only on demonic powers, the poison was ineffective against her.
“You should be fine now too, eh, Tang Rou?” Jiu You asked her.
The latter nodded, feeling the True Energy surging all over her. The poison failed to work against True Energy too.
They had not been poisoned nor drugged at all. When the pink powdered mist burst inside the bathroom earlier, the girls quickly held their breaths and sealed every single pore on their skin.
Knowing that this hotel must have caused much harm to many other innocent people, the two rookies decided to take things into their own hands to dispense justice.
Hence, they decided to maintain their charade as unwitting prey who had fallen into a trap until they finally met the mastermind.
“I’m wondering if these girls are also victims,” said Jiu You, looking around at the girls who were petrified with terror.
Tang Rou nodded in agreement, thinking the same.
“All of you, are you forced to be here? Leave quickly, we’re here to save you all,” said Jiu You.
The frightened girls clearly looked like they wanted to, but no one dared to run.
“Don’t worry,” said Jiu You proudly, “This fool is going to die today. Just go. No one will stop you.”
“Heh heh heh heh... Interesting,” said the young mastermind.
Swoosh!
More than ten figures shimmered into view. Men appeared out of nowhere, with two barring the exits and four standing guard around the young ringleader while the others brandished long menacing sabers at Tang Rou and Jiu You.
“What? You expect to put us down with just this ragtag bunch of trash?” muttered Jiu You smugly. These men were all Grandmasters, and not even one Human King.
Whoosh!
Jiu You charged, her long purplish hair glitter behind her as she delivered a powerful punch into a Grandmaster, blasting him to bits.
Swoosh!
A long, silvery spear gleamed in Jiu You’s grasp and as its sharp tip swung around, trails of glittering sparkles followed in its wake.
Plop!
The head of the warrior tumbled to the ground and a geyser of fresh, hot blood sprayed out of the poor man’s severed neck.
Urgh! Arghh!
Heads rolled on the ground with blood spattering every inch of the ground. There was hardly any man who could barely withstand Jiu You’s onslaught as she beheaded them with the ease of reaping wheat.
Two of the men lunged at Tang Rou.
It was the first time Tang Rou experienced the true taste of battle. Ducking and avoiding attacks hurled by the thugs was all she could do as a pair of Grandmaster gave her a hard time despite her being a Foundation-leveled Cultivator who should have been able to best low-tiered Human Kings.
“Don’t be a wimp, Tang Rou. Kill them,” said Jiu You.
But having not even the courage to slaughter a chicken, Tang Rou could hardly bring herself to take anyone’s life. If anything, she was already at her limits by ducking and evading.
Puff! Puff!
Just as the two men were not looking, Jiu You popped out of nowhere and skewered their heads with two sickening plops using her spear as if their heads were fishballs.
“Come on, how do you expect to swashbuckle and swagger while saving the day with that frailness of yours?” said Jiu You.
Tang Rou’s face was drained of all colors.
“For Heaven’s sake!” Jiu You hissed quietly to herself, shaking her head.
Redirecting her focus on the young man, Jiu You pointed the tip of her spear at him, her face smoldering with anger.
“You will die – as penance for having destroyed the lives of so many girls.”
Terrified, the man clearly did not expect Jiu You to be so powerful that she annihilated his guard in just seconds.
“Dammit, what in the world are you waiting for?! GO!” he barked at his men – the four Grandmasters acting as his personal detail.
But all four of his men were already stricken with panic. They needed no telling that they were facing a Human King and fighting her was no different than suicide.
Clatter!
The men surrendered their weapons and fell to their knees.
“Please, please spare us! Have mercy!” To any ordinary person, Human Kings remained an existence with might and power comparable to that of gods and deities just as how they were like vermin and insect.
Fuming, Jiu You swung her spear and in an arcing trail of silvery glitter, four heads fell to the ground.
“Having been accomplices in all these heinous deeds, you dare beg for mercy?” hissed Jiu You with not an ounce of compassion.
The young ringleader’s face now turned even whiter than he was before as he shivered profusely. With a voice teetering on crumbling, he begged, “P-Please! D-Don’t kill me! I have money! I’ll give you everything!”
He was nothing more than the son of a wealthy family. Through a dumb stroke of luck, he came to know a nearby gang of warriors who had been terrorizing locals and took them into his employ. Their protection fed him the delusion that he was a god-like ruler of these lands who sought to exert his domination during such tumultuous chaos where the rule of law had crumbled. Hence he built this private palace of his and had his men abduct women for his pleasure. Up until this day, he had never once seen the grisly truth of blood and battle before.
“People like you don’t deserve to live,” muttered Jiu You with ice as she pushed her spear, eager to lance it through his throat.
Boom!
A destructive burst of Internal Breath came surging at her.
The blast hit Jiu You’s spear with a deafening bang while nearly blasting it from her grip.
“Such a young age, yet no less cruel. You don’t deserve to live yourself,” a deep and sinister voice resounded.
Another man came into appearance, standing right beside the young ringleader. A gaunt and lean man with a darkened expression exuding a very powerful aura.
Warily, Jiu You stepped backwards, standing abreast with Tang Rou.
“Presbyter Kong! Thank the gods you’re here! Save me!” exclaimed the young man with just as much excitement as a child meeting his parent after a long separation.
“Rest assured, Master Wang. With me here, your safety is guaranteed,” said Kong Junde, albeit with a hint of disgust.
He would never have involved himself in this fight to save this useless runt if not for the fact that his organization still needed the patronage of the prosperous Wang Family.