Not allowing the official or the guard to do more than turn to look at him in confusion, Theodore strolled past them, decapitating them in a smooth motion. Only when their heads hit the floor and puddles of blood began to spread out in the study did the enslaved women react.
Most of them wordlessly fell to their knees, whilst others stumbled backwards, growing incredibly pale. There were few who could retain their composure in front of his very casual taking of life.
"... those bastards! How could they do su-such things to them?!"
Staring at the horrendous states which the slaves were in, tears began to gather at the corners of Xie Mei's eyes. She couldn't help but ball her hands into fists, an uncontrollable fury boiling inside of her. Many of the women were missing limbs or eyes, and all of them had clearly been scarred in their most intimate places. She couldn't even comprehend what kind of sick and twisted mind would commit such atrocities, and then parade these gruesome acts around by forcing them all to remain naked.
"Such depravity is commonplace amongst the Imperial Han Family and its lackeys. While not too many of them are this ruthless to their slaves, there are still some with considerably warped minds who rejoice in such acts of cruelty. Yet, even the slaves who are being treated quite well usually have to endure untold humiliations."
Shuddering at his honest words, she grasped the hilt of her own blade, clenching her teeth. But then, she snapped out of her bloodlust, remembering that there were still innocent victims before them–taking care of them was now of utmost importance. With worry written all over her face, she cautiously approached them.
"Don't be afraid! We're not here to hurt you. Can you walk? We'll get you out of here, don't worry!"
In response to her soothing, kind words, just one of them raised her head, a glimmer of hope sparkling in her gaze. Although she also bore a fair number of scars, she could be considered amongst the more well-off of the bunch. It was very likely that she had only been captured relatively recently, which is why she had not yet fully descended into hopelessness.
"Will you really? If so, allow me to serve you from here on out!"
Respectfully bowing, the young woman glanced at Theodore, waiting for his approval. She was very clear that he was the one who would ultimately be calling the shots here.
"... and what about the rest of you? What do you want?"
Instead of responding, he first looked at the others, who had remained silent throughout it all. As he patiently waited, eventually, one of them spoke up.
"Death. We just want death."
Those around her shivered, then nodded along with her. All of them had long wished for it all to end, but they had not found the courage to do it themselves. And who could blame them? Coupled with the overwhelming numbness and pain which constantly assaulted them, their minds had turned very sluggish for a long time.
"What!?"
Staggering backwards in shock, Xie Mei couldn't believe her ears. Initially, she could not comprehend why these women, who had only just been rescued, would ask for a permanent release from life. Yet, when she put herself into their position, she realized that she likely would feel similarly, so she fell silent, the hatred in her festering a smidgen more. Those who were responsible for this absolutely had to pay!
"As you wish. Rest in peace. May your next lives be more fortunate."
Nodding calmly, Theodore ended it swiftly and as painlessly as possible. None of them even had the opportunity to realize that they had just died. Afterwards, the turned to scrutinize the only woman left.
"Do you still want to serve us?"
Smiling brightly and shedding tears of joy for her sisters, who had now been freed forever, she bowed once again, this time with even more sincerity.
"Yes! Please allow me to pay you back!"
Glancing at his lover, who was repeatedly sending him pleading gazes, Theodore sighed and pulled out a spare set of clothing from his backpack. Amongst the various fancy outfits, they had also bought regular, practically unisex ones which would allow them to fit in–just in case doing so was ever necessary.
"Wear this and follow us closely. The two of us will clean up this place, then find somewhere to settle down. By the way, what's your name?"
"It's Li Shuying, my Lord!"
Acknowledging her words with a slight nod, he sauntered out of the study, soon followed by the two young women. As he was calmly walking straight to his next prey, Xie Mei happily introduced the two of them.
"He is Theo, and I'm Xie Mei! Just call me Mei'er, alright? It's nice to meet you, Ying'er!"
Her smile a bit helpless, quite resistant to referring to her masters in a casual manner, she squeezed out a response.
"Alright, Mrs. Mei'er. As you wish. It's my honour to meet you!"
Before the girl could unhappily clarify that she didn't need to be so distant, Theodore had led them to a room full of soldiers. While most of them were simply resting, some of them were engaged in acts of procreational nature with the one or two slaves who they had managed to snatch for themselves.
"... we'll talk more later."
Her expression turning incredibly cold, Xie Mei hurriedly followed behind her 'husband', her blade seeking to end the lives of any and all scraps which he left behind.
Eliminating every single person in the garrison was incredibly easy. With Theodore detecting where they all were well in advance, he had managed to plot an optimal route which allowed them to not have to care much about making a bit of noise. With him eliminating the stronger ones and leaving a handful of weaklings for Xie Mei to vent her anger on every now and then, they were systematically mopping them all up.
Unfortunately, most of the rescued slaves practically begged them to end their suffering, while but very few asked to be brought to safety. Contrary to Li Shuying, though, they did not offer up their services on the spot. As they had only recently been taken here, they still retained a will to live freely, so naturally, he wouldn't bother to force them to do anything.
In less than half an hour, the entire garrison of hundreds of guards and officials had been cleaned up, their various valuables stashed away. Accompanied by about ten freed slaves, they made their way through one of the secret underground passages connecting the garrison to many other places in the city. Even if the highest ranking official in charge hadn't kept a map of these hidden areas in his safe, Theodore would have still found them without breaking a sweat. But the map certainly made them easier to navigate.
There were a few routes leading outside of the city, so after having ensured that they were safe, the women were handed enough money to live the rest of their lives in peace, then they bade each other farewell.
Returning to the city using the top secret tunnels, they cleaned up all of their remaining traces before re-emerging in an unremarkable residence. Once they had made certain that nothing was amiss, they slipped outside and into the crowd of regular people, following the flow of the masses for a while.
Recalling the recommendations of the merchant caravan leader, they eventually contacted one of the man's old friends, buying one of the most bog-standard residences in a quieter part of the city. They weren't asked any questions at all, just like the elderly gentlemen had reassured them would be the case.
Having obtained the keys, they went on a bit of a grocery shopping spree, also buying a few outfits for Li Shuying along the way. For her, any clothing was already a significant step up, so she didn't fuss over every little detail. However, she insisted on getting at least two sets of traditional servant attire somewhat reminiscent of very tame maid uniforms.
When they arrived at their new residence, Xie Mei and Li Shuying busied themselves with checking out the entire property, cleaning up wherever necessary and turning it as homely as possible. At the same time, Theodore left most of his luggage with them, only carrying a small bag with various odds and ends on him as he carefully scrutinized the property.
For a while, he was busy deducing the exact position of this place in relation to the overarching Energy Gathering Array, as well as the intricacies of that Array in particular. All of a sudden, he raised an eyebrow and stared downwards, far into the distance.
'Not too shabby. There are actually two Energy Gathering Arrays, with the subsidiary, but significantly stronger one being hidden underground. Is it the personal cultivation chamber of this city's top expert? Oh well, it doesn't matter. As long as I don't make too much of a fuss, nobody should notice.'
Sorting through all of the available materials, he eventually pulled out a few different kinds of metal sticks before pushing them down and into the ground at intervals which to an outward observer would appear to be random.
After the last one had been placed, a slight ripple spread out in the air, but it disappeared just a few meters away, as if it had been blocked by something. Then, the Energy which had been gathering primarily in the Inner City and in that underground hideout, had a small part of it siphoned off, focusing it on this yard–and this yard alone.
Using the simplest of materials which he had picked out along their travel route from various market stalls, he had made use of the already set up Energy Gathering Array to create yet another subsidiary Array. Then, he had combined it with an Isolation Array and a Concealment Array.
To put it simply: Nobody would detect the rising Energy concentration here, and they could cultivate in peace. Additionally, anyone viewing this place from the outside would far more easily overlook it.
"Mei'er, come here for a moment!"
Responding to his call virtually immediately, the lovely maiden hurried over to his side within a minute, with Li Shuying dutifully following behind her and waiting at an appropriate distance.
"Dear husband, what's the matter?"
Coquettishly winking at him, Xie Mei came to a halt in front of him, curiously observing her surroundings. Even though she hadn't been told anything yet, she still implicitly felt that 'something' was different.
"I've just set up a couple of Arrays, which will enable us to cultivate here. And no, there will be no danger of being found out."
Widening her eyes in surprise, then hugging him tightly, completely overjoyed, a wide grin stole itself on her face.
"Is it finally time? We can cultivate!? Awesome! My Theo is so amazing!"
Amused at her over-the-top enthusiasm, he returned the embrace, but rolled his eyes.
"Yes, yes. Your Theo is the best. Now focus on finishing up everything else first. I'll be teaching you once you're done."
Remembering her presence, he turned to look at Li Shuying at the side, shooting her a mixture of a cautioning and reassuring gaze.
"I can give you a few pointers as well. But never tell anybody about anything you see or encounter while you're with us, alright?"
Hastily kneeling and bowing her head, exhibiting no hint of resistance at all, the servant girl expressed her gratitude.
"Of course, my lips are sealed! Thank you, my Lord. I will never forget this grace for as long as I live!"
It would have been rather simple for Theodore to ensure that she could never become an issue or divulge a secret, yet he didn't bother to do so. The reason for this was rather simple–he didn't intend to bring her along after leaving this city, and while being here, he wouldn't be revealing anything of substance or importance. Therefore, whether or not she was properly silenced did not matter. There was absolutely no risk.
"Don't worry, I'll be quick! I can't wait to get started!"
Beaming cheerfully, Xie Mei hurried into their new home, eager to get the last remaining bits of housework out of the way.