A middle-aged man sat on the stone chair, wearing a brown robe patterned with green. He was completely bald and the tattoo of a proud green wolf covered his forehead and his eyes. His eyes had a somber, murderous weight to them and he radiated a commanding aura even as he sat there idly. The three large words ‘Green Wolf Gang’ stood right behind him, making his presence even more intimidating and frightful.
This was the infamous leader of the Green Wolf Gang, Yu Sap Bat.
He sat with his right leg crossed over his left, his body leaning against his seat. He had his finger against his forehead and his eyes narrowed as he stared at the member of the Flower Thief squad in front of him. The poor man was kneeling on the ground, trembling uncontrollably. He had dozens of tiny cuts all over his body that wouldn’t stop bleeding even with the help of soul energy. The blood stained his clothes and flowed to the ground, giving off a pungent odor.
He was the person that Hung Yu Fei had chased after and failed to kill, the third brother of the Flower Thief squad. He kowtowed over and over, slamming his head against the flower. He was showing none of the bravery he had when facing off against Hung Yu Fei and Wun Fan. His voice trembled as he said, “Leader, everything I have told you is the truth.”
Yu Sup Bat tapped the arm of the chair lightly with his right finger. The room full of murmurs instantly fell silent. All the gang members present remained quiet, held their breaths, minimized their presence and focused. The leader’s tapping echoed in the vast, silent hall. Discipline was well-enforced within the gang. The leader’s authority was inviolable.
“So, the two of you ran into a woman that fit the requirements. You had your way with her but couldn’t bring her back. That was because you were attacked by another girl. Your partner died and you only managed to return because your captain saved you,” said Yu Sup Bat in a calm and measured tone, summarizing everything succinctly, “You could have brought that girl back, but you didn’t. Correct?”
“Yes, leader,” said the third brother as he lowered his head. His body couldn’t help shaking when he talked. Even the piss in his bladder were threatening to spill out. The air in the room was simply too heavy and he couldn’t read the leader’s expression at all.
Discipline was strict within the Green Wolf Gang, but it wasn’t absolute. The leader’s words could not be questioned, but sometimes you would be fine even if you talked back to the leader. However, failure to complete your task was the greatest sin of all, one that warranted death.
There was no change in Yu Sap Bat’s expression. He said nothing. He simply nodded at his adviser. The adviser immediately shouted, “Portrait artist!”
A young man walked into the hall when he heard this, with brush and paper in hand. He kneeled on the ground and said, “Leader! Sir!”
“Help him record the image in his mind,” said the adviser.
The portrait artist pulled a stone table before the third brother. He grabbed him by the hair and lifted his head up as he commanded, “Look at me. Martial soul, descend!”
“Lethality: Wolf Mate’s Vengeful Brush.”
Their eyes met and it felt as if electric was running through their bodies. The image travelled through their eyes, into the artist’s hands, then into the brush itself. The brush was imbued with soul energy and was able to paint every color imaginable without any ink. The wolf-hair brush flowed with red and green, swirled with blue and yellow and black and white and two portraits were complete. Both portraits look as if they would come alive at any moment, stepping off of the paper itself.
The two portraits were of a boy and a girl. The boy didn’t seem to be a day older than twelve. He had clear facial features, with dark brows and bright eyes. He looked like an easygoing person, but a closer examination of his eyes seemed to reveal the ambition and pride hidden within. Meanwhile, the girl was a teenager with smooth skin, bright red lips and perfect white teeth. Her eyes glimmered with life, like pools of fresh water. She was tremendously beautiful and filled with energy, so much so that the portrait almost seemed like it would start dancing of its own accord.
The portraits were complete and the artist stopped drawing.
He glanced at the third brother and asked, “Do you know their martial souls?”
“They both use very unusual powers and can…pull things. However, the girl seemed to be using…using some sort of wind-like martial soul?” said the third brother as he recalled his fight with the girl. All her martial techniques seemed to have some sort of relation to wind, but it wasn’t very clear. That was why he hesitated.
“Wind? Is she from the Fung clan?” said Yu Sup Bat. His eyes opened wide at the mention of wind. If this matter involved someone from the four major clans, it would be very troublesome. Yu Sup Bat didn’t want to get involved with the four major clans at all if possible. The best way for the gang to continue growing in strength was to remain in the shadows. The tree that stood far too tall above the forest was the first one to fall in a storm.
The third brother didn’t have an answer, but he didn’t dare to make a blind guess either. He thought for a long time and replied, “Leader, I have heard that the Fung Clan uses wind as their martial souls. Every one of their attacks is done with powerful gusts and wind. From what I’ve seen, the martial techniques of the boy and the girl do not look like wind techniques.”
“What realm are they?” asked the adviser. The more they knew about these people, the easier it would be to investigate them.
Or to hunt them down.
“Sir. The boy is a novice Martial Mortal and the girl is a peak Martial Mortal. However, the girl’s power and aura are superior to my second brother when she fights.”
“Your second brother?”
“Yes. My second brother was an advanced Martial Vassal, but he died at the hands just the same,” said the third brother. He was still terrified by the incident and felt lucky to have escaped with his life. He thought to himself, Sorry, second brother. I hope you don’t blame me for this.
“Mm,” said Yu Sup Bat. He nodded his head and closed his eyes as he gave his orders, “Take these two portraits to the Martial Artist Guild and put up a bounty of 500 silver coins for each one of them.”
The reward for a mission at the Guild was usually several hundred silver coins. 500 silver coins per person for two Martial Mortals was an excellent reward for most people.
“Understood,” said a subordinate who stepped forward and accepted the instructions. He took the two portraits and walked away. The hall immediately fell quiet once more. The atmosphere was oppressive, heavy enough to drive the third brother insane.
“You have two choices,” Yu Sup Bat’s commanding voice rang out throughout the hall. His tone seemed casual and nonchalant, but there was no hiding his overflowing murderous intent. His words were firm and final, “One, I cut off your five limbs and you eke out a living as a pathetic wretch. Two, I leave you with an intact corpse and two gold coins for your living relatives.”
The third brother could tell that the leader had made up his mind. His arms fell limply to the ground as he slumped over like a deflated balloon. It was as if his soul had left his body. He wanted to ask his big brother for help, but his big brother wouldn’t even look at him. He immediately replied in despair, “May the leader please leave my corpse untouched.”
“Mm,” said Yu Sup Bat. He waved his hand and two men immediately grabbed the third brother and dragged him out of the hall. The captain of the Flower Thief squad didn’t dare make a single sound. This was the most important and unbreakable rule of the Green Wolf Gang— those who failed their missions would be summarily executed.
“And the messenger squad?” asked Yu Sup Bat of his adviser as he tapped his forehead.
The adviser bent down when he heard this and replied respectfully, “My leader, a member of the messenger squad has returned. The recipient has requested for them to stay and wait for his reply.”
“Very well,” said Yu Sup Bat. He then stood up and leisurely walked out of the hall with his hands behind his back. The adviser immediately stepped forward and shouted, “Dismissed!”
“Yes, sir!” shouted the wolves in unison. They did as told and left the hall. They were an army of tremendous discipline.
Only poor third brother was left behind, unable to escape his fate in the end.211Please respect copyright.PENANAr5kh2qjijK
The three of them continued on the main road for another two hours. Hung Yu Fei didn’t ask for any breaks along the way. She didn’t even complain at all and was instead, very quiet. Wun Fan thought something was up with the girl and turned to look at her. Her complexion wasn’t the best. Her lips were pale, her cheeks were a little gray and her eyebrows were knit together. It seemed like she was trying to sort out her feelings.
After all, this was the first time she had killed someone. It was not a good feeling.
Hung Yu Fei didn’t make a big fuss about murder. She didn’t show any hypocritical feelings of guilt, nor make any hollow speech about mercy. This was beyond Wun Fan’s expectations.
He left her alone. Time would heal everything.
More and more people appeared on the main road as the two horses continued galloping. About seven of every ten people were men and the others were women. Most of them were martial artists of advanced Martial Mortal realm and above. There were quite a few Martial Vassals as well. One or two of them were only slightly weaker than Fung Ching.
Mos of these travellers were over twenty years old. Once in a while, they would see a teenager like Fung Ching, but there were no children as young as Hung Yu Fei and Wun Fan.
However, Hung Yu Fei’s looks attracted the attention of many men. They couldn’t help but think to themselves, Where did a pretty girl like that come from? She certainly seems like she’s headed to the Martial Artist Guild.
A few of the more crass martial artists tried to flirt with and tease her, but Fung Ching simply let loose his aura and scared them off, saving Wun Fan the trouble of dealing with them.
In the end, with Wun Fan and Hung Yu Fei sharing a ride and Fung Ching riding beside them, they looked like a pair of siblings out on training, with a personal bodyguard looking out for them.
As they continued to ride, they finally saw the signpost they were looking for. The Martial Artist Guild was just two kilometers away.211Please respect copyright.PENANAJv4SDaPRb4