Chapter 402 - A Place Worser Than Hell (1/2)
Xiao Chen’s staggering presence swept through the floors of the plaza with the force of an unstoppable tide and the four sentries were as pale as Death. The Chamber of Chills presided by Elder Song was merely one of the lowest in the hierarchy of the Internal Sect while the Hall of Plenitude was the abode of the high chieftain, Ye Wuxin.
The knees of the four sentries were threatening to buckle with fear. Xiao Chen’s astounding aura that dwarfed even the Nascent Soul aura of Elder Song’s indicated to them that these people could be somebody with high stature and standing in the order. But never did they expected to hear that these two people were direct subordinates to the high chieftain himself. This alone made them greater than Elder Song.
They had their breaths held firmly like a nocked arrow ready to be loosed. In a shivering voice, the leader of the four bowed and saluted. “Elder Song is not at the Chamber of Chills right now. Please come with me, sirs.” This time, he spoke with the meekness of a lamb and he had even addressed Xiao Chen using honorifics.
“Lead on then,” Xiao Chen hissed as if he could almost swallow them four.
Cold sweat broke out when the men finally realized they were spared of any punishment and they hastily led Xiao Chen and Su Lianyue ahead. They traveled for about three to five miles with hardly any impediment. But the four sentries could feel their hearts racing with anxiety and foreboding. No direct subordinates of the high chieftain would trouble themselves with the menial affairs of the lowly Chamber of Chills unless it was something grave and terrible especially in such hours of the night.
The long walk persisted for another three to five miles with the ghastly breeze of the night perpetually slamming into their faces as they pressed on. Su Lianyue repressed a shiver then she saw it. A dot of light far ahead. Xiao Chen peered ahead the best he could and saw another hall, looking grimmer and deader than the rest. “I’m sure we’ll manage ourselves from here. You will all return to your posts,” he ordered.
“Very good, sirs. We’ll be taking our leave then,” the captain of the four spoke and they scurried away, tremendously relieved that they were able to escape unscathed for the impertinence they had displayed at the square. Su Lianyue waited until the four were out of sight before she allowed herself to rub her shoulders.
“Are you feeling cold?” Xiao Chen asked gently. They had become closer in their days together and his former aloofness had melted into care and concern for her, more so, since they nearly shared a bed together.
Su Lianyue shook her head, quickly raising a finger to her lips to motion for silence while glancing in the direction of the hall that stood alone in the darkness. They could see people shuffling about through the windows but they could hear nothing. Xiao Chen could not risk investigating with his Divine Sense lest somebody might discover his presence. With the howling winds to mask their approach, they drew closer as stealthily as they could.
They were close to a hundred yards when they could hear the voices inside. Through the windows, they saw several figures. Xiao Chen, with a finger to his lips, gestured towards a tree and they huddled under its shadow and watched.
There were five, including Elder Song from before. Standing together with him in a neat file was three other elderly men whom Xiao Chen had never seen before. Their heads were hanging from their shoulders, prostrating themselves humbly as if in homage to the person sitting at the head of the hall, the very same woman in red they encountered earlier!
Xiao Chen was shocked. He had felt from the woman only the power of Nascent Soul Realm that would allow her to defeat any Elders of the External Sect, but definitely not Elder Song or any of his colleagues of the Internal Sect, all of whom wielded the powers of the Nirvana Realm. Yet, they all feared her. Who is she really? Xiao Chen wondered.
The elders were all as docile and subdued as lambs before a lion under the frosty stare of the woman in red as if they were frozen by ice. Suddenly, she spoke, “What of our leader? I have not seen him in days.”
The mention of the high chieftain sent another jolt of shudder through the fumbling and fidgety Elders that they almost winced. “The Leader… he’s…” Elder Song was the only one to croak, “His transformation is at hand, so he is in solitary vigil for now.”
“Solitary vigil?! Now?! Of all times?! Hahahaha!” The woman in red guffawed wickedly. Just as swiftly, his amused outburst withdrew immediately and her sharp stare returned like a knife at the throats of the four men kneeling before her. “So, that affords you the privilege to ignore the commands of the Lords and Ladies that oversee the Chambers? Is that so?!”
The final syllable came with a roaring hiss so venomous that the four Elders threw themselves to the woman’s ankles. “Nay, My Lady,” a trembling Elder Song replied, “It’s just that we are not safe now. The Orthodox Path is keeping a close eye on us and there’s the…” His voice broke and he could not dare to go on.
“Continue!”
Elder Song forced himself to swallow hard before he raised his head and went on, “the Lady of Fort Raksasa is suspicious of us now…”
At this point, Xiao Chen looked at Su Lianyue. But she looked calm and serene as ever with hardly any shift in her expression.
“The Lady. The Empress, whatever she is,” the woman in red scoffed, “Find the man. I don’t care what interest does Fort Raksasa has in this, just find him. The Emperors of Heaven and Nether be damned!”
The final shriek sent another lurch of shock through the four Elders again. The woman in red threw her sleeves indignantly, “Strings of never-ending excuses, from the lot of you! I wonder if a trip to there might shake you up…”
The four men held their breaths and began to sweat so profusely that Xiao Chen could have sworn he saw puddles of perspiration loping from their knees.
“Or…” The woman’s glare turned insidiously sinister suddenly, “How about a visit to the Ice Keep!”
The faces of the Elders fell as soon as she finished and they threw themselves to her foot again, begging and pleading, “Please, My Lady! Have mercy on us! Send our souls there, but not bodies into the Ice Keep!” Please, My Lady! Have mercy! Please forgive us!”
Xiao Chen and Su Lianyue shared a confused and puzzled look. What is the Ice Keep? The four elderly men would rather be sent to the deepest dungeons where their souls would never once again be allowed the opportunity of rebirth but they would never want to be sent to the Ice Keep? What kind of place is that? A place worser than Hell?
“ENOUGH!”
The woman in red let loose a snarl that silenced the whimpering old men. Their heads were scarlet from their banging of their heads on the floor with blood trickling down between their eyes and noses. “Elder Song, come forward,” the woman spoke suddenly.
“Yes, yes! Of course!” Elder Song scrambled miserably to his feet and went forth with his back arched. A loud crack resounded between the pillars and eaves of the hall. The woman had given him a powerful smack on his cheek.