Ping'an woke up from severe burning pain in both palms. Her neck was sore. She knelt down and began to pray. Before midnight, her pain eased, so she stopped praying. She studied her surroundings and realized that she was locked up in a small cell with four other women. She looked from left to right, and all prison cells were divided by four logs between each cell. She didn't know about the other cells, but there were five prisoners in her cell. She looked at the other side facing her, where all male prisoners were held. She recalled in her mind that this must be the place where the bandits imprisoned the captives. The four women in the cell suddenly closed their eyes and crawled into a small group to embrace each other, terrified.
Ping'an raised her head towards the door, and a woman in a white long dress was standing in front of her.
The women in the cell screamed, "It is the woman ghost!"
The ghost floated into the cell. "You are full of yang energy. I want to absorb your energy."
"Why?" Ping'an asked.
"Once I absorb your yang energy, I can have your body, and I don't have to wait until night to go out," the ghost explained. When the ghost touched Ping'an's hand, she felt her hand burn as if it were on fire. "Impossible! What did you do?" the woman ghost screamed.
Ping'an shook her head. "I did nothing." Ping'an knew this was the effect of the magic spell on her left chest.
There was a soft whistling sound in the distance, and the ghost disappeared. Four men walked by, and the women were more scared than when they saw the ghost.
"This one," the Man Leader commanded, pointing to a woman.
The two men dragged one of the women from two cells before Ping'an's cell. One of the men cuffed her left hand to a big chain held by one of the bandits.
"These two," the Man Leader said, pointing again.
The two men dragged the women out one by one again and handcuffed them to the main chain.
The Man Leader stopped at Ping'an's cell. "Those three and her," he said, pointing to three women from her cell and herself.
The two men walked into the cell, and the women struggled hard. Ping'an knew that her fighting skills were no match for these men. Also, she had been suddenly knocked out, and without her talismans or her whip, she wouldn't stand a chance against so many bandits. She decided to obey them temporarily. She knew that Zhao Renshu and Guo Baiyu must be looking for her now. She just needed to hold on as long as possible until Zhao Renshu and Guo Baiyu got there.
The four men dragged the seven women across to the other side of the jail cells. They also handcuffed six men to the same chain with the women. The lead man walked ahead. One man dragged the chain, and two men walked behind the prisoners. The prisoners were led into a big open arena.
Inside the big cave, to one side, was the location where the prisoners were being held. Hundreds of prisoners were kept in small cells. There were twenty levels of unit cells from the bottom of the ground to the top of the cave. Each unit cell was divided into five smaller cells. There were ten unit cells on the left, ten unit cells on the right, and a staircase in the middle. The other side was neatly divided into quarters with doors, which must be where the bandits slept. The prison cells and the bandits' residence were of the same design, but the bandits' residence was better.
"Boss, here are the products," the Leader Man announced.
Li Guangli was the leader of the bandits. His complexion was darker. He was about five feet seven inches tall and very thin. The woman ghost floated beside him.
"As we have talked about, twelve people for one hundred gold ingots," Master Alagui said with a heavy accent.
Li Guangli turned around and laughed. "Ha...Ha...Ha...Perfect." He smiled at the prisoners. "Master Alagui, this time I want to give you a discount, because you came all the way from Magnolia City. I will only take ninety gold ingots for the twelve prisoners."
Master Alagui was a fat man with a big belly. He was about five feet four inches tall. He looked round, like a big ball of yarn. His head was slightly smaller, perhaps because his body was too fat, which made his arms look short.
"Thank you," Master Alagui said.
"Uncuff her," Li Guangli commanded, pointing at Ping'an.
One of the men uncuffed Ping'an.
The ghost floated to Ping'an and held her right hand again, but the ghost's hand felt like it was on fire.
The ghost frowned. "I can't. She feels too hot. I can't... Why...?" the ghost screamed.
"Don't look at me. You said you wanted her, I got her for you," Li Guangli retorted.
"You must have done something," the ghost accused.
"I didn't!" Li Guangli was very angry. "You idiot! Obey me or your spirit will be destroyed, and your soul will be lost. If you can't absorb her spiritual energy, it's your problem. It's not mine."
"Boss, she is so ugly," one of the bandits interjected. "Look at the birthmark on her face. Who will buy her? What are we going to do with her?"
When Master Alagui was about to leave, Li Guangli walked down the steps.
"Master Alagui, let's just say," Li Guangli called after him, pushing Ping'an towards Master Alagui and his servants. "She is a bonus."
Master Alagui hesitated but did not want to destroy their business relationship. He nodded, and one of his servants brought cuffed Ping'an back to the chain. The servants began to draw the prisoners out of the front door.
"Why do you give her away?" the ghost shouted.
"You can't absorb her spiritual energy anyway. What am I keeping her for? Waste of food," Li Guangli scoffed. He went up the steps and sat in a chair. "Bring in the girls to dance for me."
Guo Baiyu and Zhao Renshu went out as planned. Boss Lin had asked the guests to stay in their rooms. The group of friends stayed with Boss Lin and Ah-Tin in the main dining room.
The two Xiao sisters sat in the bedroom to lure the bandits. They sat at the table drinking tea and playing Go. The two sisters saw two puffs of white smoke coming through one of the windows.
"They are here," Xiao Hui whispered sexily, a smile playing on her lips.
The two Xiao sisters both looked at the window.
"Jiejie, I feel dizzy," Xiao Dan said, touching her forehead with her right hand.
Both of the women pretended to pass out at the dining table.
Ah Tin brought them their food and stood behind his boss.
"Can the two of them really save us?" Boss Lin asked, worried.
"Of course they will," Lee Dachin affirmed.
"Don't underestimate their comprehensive strength," Guo Longtong said, folding up his fan. "Back home, there was a wood area we called the 'Forbidden Forest.' Since little, we heard stories of the 'two-headed dragon.' If the dragon awakened, then the townspeople would have to sacrifice people as offerings for the dragon."
Everyone at the table opened their mouths in surprise and their attention fixed on Gu Longtong.
"Until about two and a half years ago when Baiyu visited me," Guo Longtong continued, "we finally learned the truth: the two-headed dragon are nothing but lies. The townspeople never actually seen a dragon; they assumed that the loud screams must be from a dragon."
"How did Baiyu meet her?" Wu Meixiang asked, curious.
"Her? Who?" Guo Longtong replied, feigning ignorance.
"The woman with Hunter Zhao," Wu Meirong clarified.
"Oh, you mean Ping'an," Wu Wangwei said. "She was a nobody since she was little."
"Let's just say, she had a tough life growing up," Lee Dachin said, not liking to badmouth other people behind their backs. Lee Dachin had a lot of sympathy towards Ping'an, because he knew how it felt to grow up as an unwanted person.
"Baiyu met her somewhere on the main road," Guo Longtong explained. "Her grandmother and she were the offerings. Baiyu and Renshu saved her, but sadly her grandmother died."
"So, Baiyu felt sorry for her and brought her home, just like when he brought Xiao Mei back?" Wu Meirong concluded.
"I... don't... think so...," Guo Longtong grinned, drawing out his words playfully.
"What do you mean?" Wu Meixiang pressed.
"Nothing," Guo Longtong said simply.
"Doesn't matter who she is, jiejie," Wu Meirong stated firmly. "The truth is you are Baiyu's fiancée."
"She is very special to him," Fang Yaoting said indifferently. "It's just the way he looks at her. She is not a maid, but more like a lover."
"I didn't say that!" Guo Longtong cut in, stopping Fang Yaoting mid-sentence. "Let's focus only on the story about how strong Zhao-xiong is." He swept his gaze across the table, drawing everyone's attention back to the narrative he intended to tell, hoping to steer them away from a budding disagreement.
"After the three of them emerged from the wood and the thick fog was gone, the townspeople went to check it," he continued. "There were bones everywhere, both human and animal. What shocked the town was a fifty-foot large worm, about two meters wide, with a cut belly. We don't know who killed the demon worm, but Baiyu later explained that it was killed by Zhao-xiong. The two-headed dragon people feared was actually a two-headed water demon octopus. If we ignore the two-headed octopus, it won't hurt anyone as long as we stay away from the mountain area. The forbidden forest was actually a portal for demons, creatures, and evil spirits to get out to harm people, but Zhao shixiong sealed it with Baiyu's help." Guo Longtong looked at Fang Yaoting. "That's why when you quarreled with him, I told you you can't beat him."
Suddenly, they heard whispers from left to right and top to bottom. Then, a woman dressed in white appeared at the front door, floating towards them.
"It... it's..." Boss Lin stammered, then passed out.
"So many places you could haunt, so many people you could plague, and you pick us?" Fang Yaoting snarled, his voice laced with venom. "You must truly not want to live."
The ghost floated closer to them. The group of friends gasped.
Then a chain of fire from behind wrapped around the ghost's waist. She struggled and struggled, but she was dragged out of the front door into the middle of the courtyard. The group of friends all walked out. They saw Zhao Renshu holding the other end of the chain, and the ghost screamed in pain.
"Let go of me!" the woman ghost screamed.
"This is your lucky day," Zhao Renshu retorted. "You met me." He pulled the female ghost closer and closer, until she stood at his feet. "I am losing my patience. Mark my words, tonight, I will annihilate you and your friends."
The woman ghost laughed. "You will never beat Li Gang."
"I will definitely kill him," Zhao Renshu promised.
The woman ghost laughed. "He is a very talented hunter."
"Is he better than Zhao Renshu?" Guo Baiyu asked, smiling.
"He may not be better than Zhao Renshu," the woman ghost conceded, "but it is not difficult for him to kill everyone here."
"I will make sure he dies slowly," Zhao Renshu threatened. Then he smirked, "Just like Lu Duyi." He gave her an evil smile.
The woman ghost's tone changed. "You...." she trailed off, horrified.
"Now, if anything happens to my Ping'an, I will make sure you pay dearly for it," Zhao Renshu vowed.
"Renshu, how are we going to deal with her?" Guo Baiyu asked.
"Renshu... you are..." the woman ghost murmured, then froze. "The... Zhao... Ren... Shu..."
Zhao Renshu smiled at her. He took out a small pouch from his waist. He opened the pouch, then the pouch sucked the ghost inside.
The group of friends stood by the doorway, watching Guo Baiyu and Zhao Renshu.
"Zhao Renshu, The Annihilator," Wu Meirong and Wu Meixiang muttered in unison and looked at each other in awe.
Guo Longtong looked at Fang Yaoting with a smile and asked, "Do you still think you can beat him?"
"If he doesn't use talismans, I can beat him," Fang Yaoting replied stubbornly.
"Ha... Ha... Ha..." Guo Longtong laughed. "Childe Fang, I admire your determination." He bowed gently to Fang Yaoting.
"Everyone, remember your position," Guo Baiyu instructed. "Yingyu, Childe Fang, and both Miss Wu, you guys stay at the inn to protect the people just in case. When you see the light signal, you can come assist us later on."
"Don't talk too much, let's go," Zhao Renshu urged, eager for action.