Chapter 402 - A Place Worser Than Hell

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.

Not even Xiao Chen could see this coming. A mage of the Nascent Soul Realm disgracing another mage of the Nirvana Realm with a slap to the face in the presence of his three colleagues? This woman must either be recklessly stupid or she must be extremely powerful here.

“Do you know the reason behind me doing this?”

Elder Song’s face reddened, although Xiao Chen could not tell which was more unbearable, the pain or the shame. The old man nodded copiously, blubbering under his breath, “Of course, My Lady. I do. I understand full well the extent of my transgressions and I vow to never repeat them ever again…” He sounded relatively relieved; the slap to his cheek, however embarrassing it might be, meant that he would not have to pay for his mistakes with his life. However, the same could not be said for his three colleagues still disquiet with fear.

“And you’d do well to remember this lesson today,” the woman in red hissed like a snake, “Find the man. Go to the Human World if you find no trace of him here in the Violet Manor. Find him or suffer the consequences! Understand!”

“Yes, My Lady! We do! Perfectly, My Lady!” The three old men stammered and muttered hurriedly, realizing that their lives were being spared too.

“Hmph!” The woman snorted and flailed her voluminous sleeves, “Bring your heads back to me on the seventh day of the seventh month this year should you fail again!”

A surprised Xiao Chen and Su Lianyue outside among the brushes yelped softly with shock. But this did not escape the notice of the woman in red. “WHO GOES THERE!” Her voice thundered.

With hardly a moment of hesitation, Xiao Chen yanked at Su Lianiyue’s arm and escaped into the dark with his Immortal-override Steps. He managed to put a distance of several hundred yards in the blink of an eye and finally stopped when he was satisfied that they were not pursued. But it was not safe to loiter around and they returned quickly as they could back to their temporary quarters.

They reached just in time to meet a returning Shen Qing. The latter was about to push past the doors of his room when he heard footfalls behind him. He turned and he saw the faces of the Han Brothers staring back at him. “Why are you still out here at this hour?” He frowned.

Xiao Chen bowed and put on a silly smile, “It’s the first time we’re here, Senior Brother and we got lost looking for the washroom. Heh heh heh. I’m sorry for the trouble…”

Fortunately, Shen Qing noticed nothing suspicious. “This is the Internal Sect, not the Chang Yin Cavity. Stay indoors after dark.” He was about to walk in when he swiveled back again, “Ah, yes. Both of you will return with the two other orderlies that came with you first thing in the morning. I still have some business here.”

“Understood…”

Xiao Chen breathed more easily. But it was strange. Shen Qing was not present when the Elders were convening. Yet he returned so late in the night. Where had he been for so long?

…

Xiao Chen made sure the doors and windows were closed once he got in and cast a sound barrier spell for good measure. He tore off his mask, revealing his face now glistening with sweat. The mask was ruined and Su Lianyue had returned to her true appearance, panting for breath.

They shared a long, deep look when they finally regained themselves. So it was true, the disappearances that occurred annually on the seventh day of the seventh month was the doing of the Corpse Refinery Sect. But who was this woman in red and whom was she serving? She seemed to be looking for someone.

Something is terribly amiss, Xiao Chen thought, a strange foreboding building in his gut, Weiyang… She was born also on the seventh day of the seventh month so many autumns ago… And these people are scouring the lands for people born on that very same date…

“What should we do now?” Su Lianyue asked softly.

Xiao Chen’s eyes looked at her in the dark. He was here to investigate the strange disappearances. Is she also here for the same reason? And he had heard Elder Song mentioning the Empress… Despite growing more familiar with each other in recent days, Xiao Chen felt it inappropriate to ask especially a question about business. Fences make good neighbors and it was essential to maintaining a good cooperative relationship.

“I don’t think it’s safe to venture out again tonight. Tomorrow morning, perhaps. We can come back here again after leaving here. Then we’ll need to get to Yu Yangzi. I assume he knows a great deal.”

Xiao Chen sighed when he was finished. The foreboding dread in his gut merely grew instead of subsiding. Everything about this mystery seemed to relate more to Weiyang the more he brooded about it and he was dreading a devastating conclusion if the end should come. Oh, the fair Weiyang I once loved… Would he be able to face it if somebody were to really resurrect her as a powerful and abominable undead, he wondered.

He would rather she was dead. Or a mere vessel devoid of her soul. But definitely not a reanimated undead monster reeking of death, decay, and grudge…

“Master Xiao?”

“Hmm?” Xiao Chen dispelled his thoughts and found Su Lianyue staring at him oddly. He must have drifted off due to fatigue and weariness. Impossible, he told himself, No one would turn the fair and graceful Weiyang into a horror of unspoken terror and monstrosity.

“You’re tired, aren’t you?” Su Lianyue asked gently.

“I guess I am.” Xiao Chen ruffled his hair. The pangs of tiredness were getting more and more overwhelming by the second. “Are you not tired?”

Su Lianyue nodded. Their gaze moved in unison to the little lone bed sitting at the corner of the room. There was indeed only one bed this time.