162 Chapter 161: Sacrifice (1/2)

As expected of a genius. Within just two days, Tang Qi Hong succeeded in combining the Castellax-class battle-automata component with my Snow Aegis and even personally inscribed the Spirit Engravings in it. Thanks to that, my Snow Aegis was finally completed.

”I even added a new defensive mechanic,” Tang Qi Hong told me proudly. When she saw the hurt shock on my face, she quickly rectified her mistake. ”No, no…your qi barriers and defensive mechanics are perfect. They are impervious to most physical and qi attacks. Nothing short of an actual meteor can break through them, or someone with overwhelming brute force, but there's nothing I can do to improve that aspect. What I did was add in spiritual defense.”

”Spiritual defense? Is that different from qi defense?” I asked, confused. Tang Qi Hong nodded eagerly.

”Of course it's different! Even though the spirit is related to qi, it's more mental. Like a psychic attack. You know, like illusions? Or attacks that go straight to the mind and spirit? That sort of thing. It's different from conjuring fire or lightning or creating ice!”

”Oh…” I nodded in comprehension. Wait, that meant…!

My eyes widened as I held my newly completed Snow Aegis, I ran through the possibilities in my head.

”Thank you so much!” I cried out, grabbing hold of a stunned Tang Qi Hong's hands. She blushed a little, and yanked her hands out of my grip.

”Um, you're welcome.”

”No, seriously! Thank you so much!”

”I got it, I got it!” Tang Qi Hong sighed and then shook her head. ”Now let's go see Father and the Great Elders. If they learn what you've created…”

”Hey, you deserve credit as well,” I reminded her. My partner giggled, feeling delighted.

”Okay. If they learn what we have created, they'll definitely kick up a fuss!”

”Right.” I hardly thought they would do so, but whatever. I had could just imagine Sect Leader Zi and the Great Elders looked nonplussed and unimpressed as Tang Qi Hong bragged to them what we had produced while I stood back and cringed, wondering where I should hide myself. ”Um, you want to show them right now?”

”Then when?” Tang Qi Hong placed her hands on her nicely curved hips.

”Tomorrow?” I suggested. Tang Qi Hong looked a little annoyed, and she sighed and shook her head impatiently.

”Fine, tomorrow then.” She brightened up. ”I guess it's better to surprise Father and the rest early in the day instead of this late at night. They'll be fresher tomorrow. Right now they might be too tired to appreciate the wonder of your invention.”

Again, I honestly doubted that they would be impressed by something as insignificant as a gun or the DRAGOON system – which Tang Qi Hong had a huge hand in finishing, but I didn't want to burst her bubble.

”I'll escort you home tonight,” I told her as I packed everything up in the workshop and locked the door. Tang Qi Hong was practically skipping as I accompanied her back to her home. Or to be more precise, her parents' home.

”Oh, hey, Fei Wu.” Sect Leader Zi was waiting on the porch, and he stood up when he caught sight of us. ”Thanks for looking after Qi Hong again today. Care to join us for dinner?”

”I'm afraid I have to pass,” I refused politely. ”I have Blood Blades duty. I need to report to Elder Zhao.”

Sect Leader Zi smiled and shook his head. ”Another time then. I'll ask Elder Zhao to let you off so that you can join us for a meal someday.”

”Uh, please don't trouble yourself…”

”It's no trouble at all.”

Sometimes, I felt as if the sect leader was just as stubborn as his adopted daughter. Forcing a smile, I merely nodded humbly.

”Speaking of which, Father, you'll be in for a surprise tomorrow!”

Tang Qi Hong was unable to contain her excitement and almost let the cat out of the bag. Sect Leader Zi raised an eyebrow.

”Hmm?”

”You'll see! Fei Wu will tell you tomorrow!” Tang Qi Hong was beaming. ”He'll show you what he has been working on all this while! You and the Great Elders will be in for a big surprise!”

”Ugh…you're not supposed to tell him that…” I groaned. Sect Leader Zi burst out laughing, but to my relief, he merely nodded without pressing for further details.

”I'll look forward to it tomorrow then,” he said. I nodded and cupped my hands reverently.

”I'll take my leave then.”

Then I hurriedly left Sect Leader Zi's manor and hurried down Flame Volcano, heading right for the base where Elder Zhao resided in.

”Any news regarding the Divine Shadow Sect?” I asked when I stepped through the door. Elder Zhao raised his head and glanced at me before shaking his head.

”Nope. Despite employing our best interrogation techniques, Gray Shadow refused to utter even a word.” There was a note of grudging admiration in his voice. ”He is really tenacious.”

”He'll crack soon enough, though.”

One of the Blood Blades walked out, wiping his hand on a stained cloth that was dyed crimson in blood. He shook his hands and smiled bitterly. Even though this wasn't a job he enjoyed, he excelled in it, and knew it was necessary.

”I've removed another couple of his molars today, and I can see the fear in his eyes. Just a little more, one more slight push, and he'll spill everything he knows.”

”Good.” Elder Zhao nodded. ”Keep working on it.”

I couldn't help but curiously peer behind the door. Despite having been a victim before, I felt my stomach drop a little when I saw the horrendous sight of a bloodied Gray Shadow hanging from his arms. Manacles bounded his wrists and he hung helplessly a few inches above the ground, his arms clearly dislocated out of their sockets. His fingers were bent the wrong way, and fingernails were gone, leaving delicate, pink flesh exposed to the air. His chest and torso were bare, revealing freshly clotting scars and a myriad of other wounds that made me a little sick. It was especially because I had suffered through a similar torture session before that I was almost unable to stand the sight, unwanted memories of my suffering under Ba Yun of the Chinese Parasol Tree Sect drifting to mind. I swear, that was a form of post-traumatic stress disorder. And to be honest, Gray Shadow wasn't that much worse off than I was. His head lolled on his chest limply, blood dribbling from his mouth and other wounds, and his eyes were blank.

The Blood Blades senior was right. Gray Shadow was not far from cracking. The defiant glint in his eyes were gone, leaving hollow, gray, lifeless orbs that stared blankly at the dried pool of blood below him.

Trying not to throw up as the horrifying sight and excruciating memories combined to make me sick, I shut the door and turned back to Elder Zhao.

”Is there anything I can do?”

”Not unless you want to torture the guy, but I know you don't have the stomach for it.” Elder Zhao regarded me grimly, noting the pallor of my face. I sighed and nodded, and he smiled gently. ”Just remain on standby. We'll be raiding the Divine Shadow Sect base in Tushan City soon enough.”

Apparently, the Divine Shadow Sect had moved once Gray Shadow had been captured, as a precaution. They didn't know we already knew of their base in Water Margin Town, but they were smart enough to know that it wouldn't be a good idea to remain there when one of their own had been captured and could potentially spill their whereabouts.

Fortunately, Senior Shen Cha had been keeping an eye on them and tracking their movements. He had followed them to another dilapidated warehouse in Tushan City itself, and was watching them as we spoke.

”We'll need your strength when we launch an attack on the Divine Shadow Sect members there. We're just waiting for evidence.” He narrowed his eyes as he glanced at the torture chamber where Gray Shadow hung out. ”I also have Du Yan keeping an eye on Liang Shao Yang, but so far he hasn't made any suspicious moves.”

The senior responsible for torturing burst out laughing. ”Yeah, after that stunt Junior Liang pulled when he tried to frame Elder Tang for attacking him the other day, he ended up embarrassing himself. After that, he has shut himself mostly inside his apartment, only coming out for training and stuff. He's been avoiding Senior Tang ever since.”

”That's good.” I sighed in relief. Elder Zhao nodded toward my direction.

”Great job looking after Qi Hong all this while. Keep it up.”

”I will!” I saluted. Elder Zhao chuckled.

”For now, just go home and take a rest. I'll call you when there's anything.”

*

”You're too reckless!”

Hu Mei Er crossed her arms as she glared at Liang Shao Yang. He merely stared at his feet as he sat on the edge of the bed they shared.

”I came back after a few days from a mission on collecting Spirit Materials, and what do I hear? You shooting yourself in the foot when you tried to frame Junior Tang? What are you trying to do?”

”I'm trying to secure the position of future sect leader,” Liang Shao Yang retorted coldly. Hu Mei Er hesitated when she heard that.

”Even so, you have to be more patient,” she said, her tone softening. ”Right now you're being suspected of ordering an assassination attempt on her and the Blood Blades are keeping an eye on you. Some of the Great Elders are even reevaluating their opinion of you.”

”There's still a few of them on my side,” Liang Shao Yang replied confidently. ”They've spoken up against Sect Leader on my behalf.”

”Only because you're a male and they're misogynistic old bastards who cling to their patriarchal ways and believe the sect should only be run by men.” Hu Mei Er shook her head bitterly. ”But if you keep this up, you'll cause more trouble for them.”

The way she said it, it was obvious she didn't think it was a bad thing. Of course, as a woman, she wasn't pleased with those misogynistic Great Elders. She was one of those more liberal girls who fought for the feminist cause.

”I know what I'm doing,” Liang Shao Yang said shortly. Hu Mei Er shook her head in disgust.

”I'm sure you do.”

”I'm serious.” Liang Shao Yang reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her down onto the bed next to him. Hugging her, he whispered into her ear. ”I'm going to need a favor from you.”

”What is it?” Hu Mei Er couldn't resist him when he was like this. She obediently pressed her beautiful head into his chest, listening to his pounding heart. It was slow, methodical and regulated. Despite the current setbacks, Liang Shao Yang hadn't panicked. He was still scheming in that cold, calculative, methodological manner of his.

”There is a Blood Blades member watching over me right now.”

”You mean Du Yan?” Hu Mei Er raised her head and glanced outside the window. ”What about him?”

”I need you to distract him for me. A minute…no, just thirty seconds. I need you to distract him for half a minute.” Liang Shao Yang gently held Hu Mei Er at arm's length, gazing seriously into her blue eyes. ”Can you do that for me?”

”That…” Hu Mei Er swallowed for a moment, and then she nodded. ”Yeah, that's a piece of cake.”

Du Yan, who was monitoring Liang Shao Yang's villa from outside, couldn't hear what they were saying. Even though the Blood Blades were allowed to monitor him, bugging his house and setting up listening devices had been prohibited. That would be a blatant violation of Liang Shao Yang's privacy, and even the sect leader couldn't allow that.

Even so, Du Yan doubted that the couple would be discussing anything important. Most likely they were having pillow talk. Liang Shao Yang and Hu Mei Er had an active sex life, often engaging in Dual Cultivation.

This was most likely going to be another of those nights. Obviously, he wasn't privy to that. That same protection of individual privacy applied now, and he didn't have security recorders or close-circuit video cameras filming whatever the two did in their room. He couldn't even see anything through the window, just sense their presences inside their houses. For almost a week now, Liang Shao Yang hadn't done anything, and Du Yan doubted he would do anything tonight.

However, he hadn't become a Blood Blade by being careless. Elder Zhao had personally assigned him to do this job, and he would carry it out to the letter.