Chapter 531: It’s Her Loss If They Can Call for Help

It was utterly silent.

The man in the lead stared at Su Qing, a mixture of shock and suspicion on his face. He had the strange feeling that they and the woman before them were the only ones left in the entire hotel. When they had snuck in, the young lady at the front desk had been nodding off. But this woman’s room was on the second floor, not far from the stairs. It was impossible she hadn’t heard them.

"Go on, keep yelling," Su Qing said with a grin, looking at the men. ’If they actually manage to summon anyone, I’ll admit defeat!’

"Who... Who are you?" the leader asked, swallowing hard.

"Who I am isn’t important," Su Qing said calmly. "What’s important is why you came here to capture me."

"If I said we came into the wrong room, would you believe me?" the leader muttered.

"Hah!" Su Qing sneered, her eyes fixed on the men before her. "So you’re not going to tell the truth, is that it? I’ll give you two choices: either tell the truth, or die right now. You pick one."

The moment Su Qing finished speaking, the most cowardly of the men blurted out, "I’ll talk! I’ll talk! It was our Senior Brother! He sent us to bring you to him. We’re just following orders! He’s the one who commanded us to come."

"Who is your Senior Brother?"

"He’s... he’s Master Wen’s eldest disciple. It’s Master Zhang, the one who was handing out peace charms in Youmu Forest this afternoon. You’ve seen him," the cowardly man said hastily.

Su Qing’s eyebrow twitched. ’I was just planning to look for that Master Zhang, and here his men are, finding me first.’

"Why did he want you to bring me to him?" Su Qing continued to ask.

"We don’t know." The leader refused to say more. ’If I tell the truth,’ he thought, ’this woman will never let us go.’

"Speak!" Su Qing suddenly roared.

At that, the cowardly man immediately started blubbering. "I’ll talk, I’ll talk! Senior Brother took a liking to you this afternoon. He wanted us to grab you and bring you to him... to ’get to know you better.’ He wants to make you his mistress."

"You idiot!" The leader shot his companion a glare for spilling the beans. If his hands weren’t bound, he would have taught the fool a lesson. ’There was no need to say any of that! It just makes our already dangerous situation a thousand times worse.’

’Can’t you see how strange her powers are? We’re no match for her, yet you’re still foolishly provoking her.’

Idiot!

Idiot!

Complete idiot!

The leader felt like he was about to explode with rage.

After hearing the cowardly man’s confession, Su Qing sneered. "You must have done this sort of thing more than once, haven’t you?"

Perhaps it was Su Qing’s overpowering aura, but the cowardly man didn’t dare lie. "Many... many times. Whenever Senior Brother takes a fancy to a pretty woman with no powerful connections, he has us ’invite’ her over."

"’Invite’ her over?"

"No, it’s... it’s to drag her over."

"Then what about those women?"

"Some of them died. Some of them are kept by Senior Brother."

Anger surged through Su Qing as she listened. ’I don’t even need to ask. The girls who died must have been the ones who refused to submit. Anyone who wouldn’t obey, that Master Zhang killed them.’

’Just great. Absolutely wonderful. He learns all these feng shui skills not to walk a righteous path, but just to prey on ordinary people!’

Su Qing took a deep breath, reining in her fury. She then asked, "Answer me honestly. What are those peace charms you’re handing out for? I want the truth. Don’t try to fool me with some ridiculous excuse, or you’ll get another taste of this."

The moment she finished speaking, the leader let out a bloodcurdling scream. A series of sharp CRACKS echoed as the vines snapped the bones in his arms and legs.

"AHHH—" The cowardly man’s scream was even louder than the leader’s. Even the third man, who had been quiet the whole time, turned deathly pale, staring at Su Qing in terror.

Su Qing smiled pleasantly. "Go on. I’m listening."

"I’ll talk! I’ll talk!" The cowardly man apparently knew a great deal. "These peace charms are drawn by our master, Master Wen. I don’t know exactly what they do, but I once heard Senior Brother say that Master needs them as a medium for his cultivation."

’Just as I suspected. Their intentions are malicious.’

’These so-called peace charms are bad news.’

"What about the other disciples your master recruited?" Su Qing pressed. "I heard they were sent abroad for training. Where did they go? What kind of training is it? What do they do?"

"That... I really don’t know," the cowardly man said quickly. "Senior Brother never mentioned it. We’re just responsible for staying by his side and helping him with things. As for the other disciples, Master and Senior Brother have other arrangements for them. Senior Brother forbids us from asking about it privately; otherwise, we’d be punished."

Su Qing frowned. ’They’re being this secretive!’

’It seems that if I want to find out more, I’ll have to start with Master Zhang and Master Wen.’

Su Qing asked a few more questions. The cowardly man, eager to please, told her everything he knew without reservation. The other man, aside from the still-screaming leader, chimed in with supplemental details. Through them, Su Qing learned a great deal, including Master Zhang’s current whereabouts.

Apparently, Master Zhang didn’t usually live in the wooden cabin in Youmu Forest, but in a villa by the pond behind it.

Seeing that she couldn’t get any more information, Su Qing had the vines snap all three of their necks. She then tossed the bodies into her storage space. Of course, she cordoned off a small, remote corner just for the corpses; she had no desire for her stockpiled food to be contaminated by such filth. Now that her Wood Ability had reached the Sixth Rank, her space had expanded as well—it was now the size of three football fields.

After dealing with the three men, Su Qing slipped out of the hotel through the window and headed toward the villa they had described.

Meanwhile, in the villa by the pond, Master Zhang was lounging on the living room sofa, waiting for his three junior brothers to deliver Su Qing. In high spirits, he poured himself a cocktail, sipping it with a smug, self-satisfied grin.

’It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a girl this beautiful,’ he mused. ’The last one was that Su Qing in Beijing. A shame, really. Beijing isn’t my turf, and it’s inside Hua Country. Besides, that Su Qing had a powerful background, so I couldn’t be too brazen.’

’But thankfully, today’s girl is just as stunning. She’s easily on par with that other Su Qing.’

The more Master Zhang thought about it, the more excited he grew. Just then, he heard a noise at the entrance. Without even turning to look, he asked cheerfully, "You brought her back?"