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(Ye Chen POV)
I stared at the back of that immaculate woman for a while, even after she had vanished into the crowd of people I gazed in the direction she went off into.
When I blocked her way I finally caught a full glimpse of her face. Those striking eyes of hers and her mature features affirmed my first thought of her.
'T-that was her! It was that Big Sister who occasionally appeared behind Sister Xue! It was definitely her! There's no way I could mistake those facial features for anyone else.
But why was she here? Before she left she even tore off my mask, luckily I had been wearing two. Even more so that she only stopped there.'
That wood mask only had the effect of deepening my voice, but this facial mask is able to perfectly mold and alter my appearance with it on. The mask was only held by a string though, unlike the mask which fully encompasses my head.
How would she react if she found out who the masked man was I wonder? I wonder what kind of expression she would have made, so far the only ones I've seen are disgust and indifference from her, but if she knew surely she would show shock or surprise right?
'She was beautiful! She got so close to me when she took my mask off. My heart was beating and even felt like it would explode out of my chest. For a moment I even wanted to come out and reveal it was actually me, but I couldn't delay her.
Damn that evil bastard! How dare he capture these two women for his own use! I'll make sure he pays!'
I took a final glance in her direction before I looked down at the mask she handed back to me. On the floor I noticed a piece of paper which she probably left. I picked it up and flipped it to see one of the posters I asked someone to draw.
'Huh? Why does she have this poster? Wait, now that I think about it, what information could she want to acquire here? Does it have anything to do with this? Maybe she wants to meet me! But that's dangerous for both of us and I couldn't do that to her.'
"Um, Brother Ye I'd like to talk to you. It's about that woman just now."
"Yes Branch Manager Jin?"
"Come with me, we shouldn't speak about this in public, just in case."
I followed him up a few sets of stairs into the suit room.
"Brother Ye, that woman just now was looking for your whereabouts!"
"Really!? She was?"
"Yes, but of course tell on you. You owe me a favor! She's a VIP customer so I didn't want to tell her any lies, but in exchange I have to take down all your posters about that man."
'Damn she really was looking for me! But I don't know if I would go so far as saying I owe him, after all I kind of wanted that to happen.'
"My posters? She asked for them to be taken down?"
"Yes, I had to comply. Anyone who has that token is recognised by our house master. To offend her simply means to disregard my entire life and betray this organization. The house master has the final say, even if he isn't present at the moment his decision will be final if he returns."
"When is the last time he returned?"
"I don't believe I've even met our house master, he is a very elusive man. But who knows if that woman has a way to contact him or not? I can't take that risk, I'm simply a small-time Branch Manager in this city."
"Branch Manager Jin, I can take it."
"Don't worry Brother Ye, I won't forget this debt of mine toward you, I'll help out as long as it would ruin my life by doing so."
"Thank you, Branch Manager Jin."
'Tch! So saving that daughter of yours isn't enough for you to put your neck on the line?'
A few days ago I happened to be walking around the town at night, pondering on how to deal with that man. I had a fw posters up, but it wasn't nearly enough with such a large city as this one. I had a feeling that if I just kept walking around that night I would find some sort of solution.
I walked around the city for perhaps half an hour before I stumbled upon an awful scene taking place. At first I started hearing screams of a woman from a distance at which point I headed off in that direction.
As I came closer and closer to the origin of the noise it began to lead me farther away from the main path. I began to walk through several small and narrow alleyways before reaching the scene.
There a young girl was just about to be defiled, luckily I arrived just in time. Hearing my arrival the men all turned their heads to me. Their focus was entirely on me at this point, but they still had a hold of the girl. All together there were 3 of them, one of them held the girl by her shoulders and the other two began walking towards me while cracking their knuckles.
The girl closed her eyes in anticipation of my aftermath, but seeing that I took it as a sign to kill the men. She wouldn't see death and gore with those eyes shut tight.
As the men approached I whipped a side of my large robe open, revealing the handle of my sword. The expressions of the two men quickly changed once they saw it, but I couldn't give them any leeway and as such I quickly unsheathed my weapon and cut towards them. With how easily I rendered their flesh in only a few slashes I quickly determined that they weren't Cultivators, but mere mortals.
The two men fell with a heavy thump as their carcases hit the floor. The final man looked frozen with absolute horror. I walked up and it seemed he finally regained some reason, but it was too late for him as a second later his head rolled across the floor.
I took the girl whose eyes were still tightly shut with me out of the alley and only then did the girl finally open her eyes. Her eyes made me feel like she was the reason I should have come out. She said she wanted to show her gratitude for saving me and took me to her father, who happened to run this city's largest information network branch.
It was he who helped me finally post up all the posters I had made and now he is also the very man who's taking them all down. At the very least he's made it so I could get any information he has for free and even makes time so he could personally answer my questions.
"Branch Manager Jin, have you found out any information about that man yet?"
"I'm sorry Brother Ye, it seems this man is very elusive. The only information we have is that he occasionally comes into the city at night for supplies and sometimes during the day with those two women. As for his schedule it doesn't seem that he has any set days for coming in."
"So nothing new at all? Damn it!"
'Well, I suppose I could put it off till later. That banquet is coming up soon, so I should prepare for it. Hopefully that High Ranking member of the Azure Sky sect is a good looking woman! A female teacher and their male student getting along well is a good thing.
Maybe our relationship could even become beyond that, even if a little immoral it's fine isn't it? Increasing our bond and trust in one another is what will truly be taking place in those copulating sessions!
Wait, but what if it's a guy? Damn, then I guess I'll have to think of a whole different way of bonding then.'
"Actually we did find some new information about that man, but I don't think you'll like it."
"Any new information will help. What did you find out?"
"Just a little while ago I heard about 3 guys who had actually found and confronted him. They found him walking in the streets with a bag of groceries. They followed him for a while before confronting him in an alley.
Before I mention what happens next I want you to know that these 3 people consisted of two people at the peak of Body Tempering and one at the 3rd layer of Median Opening.
In the end apparently he had been able to freeze all their movements simultaneously before putting them to sleep one by one.
Brother Ye, are you sure you want to mess with this person? Anyone able to control Qi outside their bodies, let alone others, are masters. You have to rethink that original estimate you had for him. Forget Median Opening, Essence Gathering, and even Foundation Establishment. You'll have to at least start with the fifth realm, Core Formation, and that would be the bare minimum for learning external Qi control.
I'm saying this for your own good, but Brother Ye, you should give up, at least for now. Accumulate your strength and wait for a better time in the future."
Hearing those words about that man only increased my resolve to train and cultivate. I was currently at the Peak of Body Tempering, but I know I can quickly rise through the ranks. I could already start killing those of a higher cultivation level then me so I knew I was a genius of some kind.
By the time I reached that 5th realm I should completely overshadow that man. If I'm not able to save those women before then that will be the time I will finally rescue them!
'Once I'm ahead by meaning that High Ranking Elder I'll have so many resources that I'll be in the 5th Realm in no time! I'll leave that man in the dust'
"Thank you Branch Manager Jin for this information. I have to go back now and reflect upon myself."
"No problem Brother Ye, good luck on your endeavors. If there's anything else you need just ask!"
'Tch! Clearly not just anything! It can't involve any harm to you or even have a mere chance of doing so.'
I left the building with the wooden mask back on my face. I shuffled through the streets before exiting the underground in its entirety through one of the numerous passages available. Back onto the surface the streets still had a few people wandering around especially since this was the night market part of the city.
When I made it back to my home I walked in only to be greeted by a woman lying on my bed, waiting for me, but it seems she had already fallen asleep. That woman was Lin'er, the youngest lady of the Hao family.
I've actually grown a little fond of her, before she was only a tool for me to use to help myself. But now I even seem to share a bit of the affection she's shown so much to me. Ever since I've saved her she's been nothing, but helpful. Always trying her best to help out, although her attitude and personality is a little off perhaps that only adds to her charm.
She isn't up there with Sister Xue and that Big Sister, but I feel she definitely has carved out a little spot for herself.
It almost makes me not want to take advantage of her, after all it might take too long if I let it wait its course. I won't do it now though, another day perhaps. Maybe I thought so since I began to have a little affection for her.
Quietly, I went up to her on my bed. She had actually been on top the bed so I moved her in a bit and tucked her in before Tucking myself in and going to sleep.