"Damn it! He deserves to die, to be flayed alive!" Zhou Fugui, leading his troops into Xiao Ningshan's secret chamber, was consumed by fury. "Where is the little Taoist? Have you captured that demon?"
"You, go find Daoist Ge at once," Pí È, the commander of the personal guards, hastily ordered a soldier upon seeing Zhou Fugui's rage.
The soldier acknowledged the order and hurried out of the secret chamber.
"Master, what... what about... them... how should we accommodate them?" Pí È stammered as he addressed Zhou Fugui.
Here was a general, as imposing as a mythological conqueror, yet he appeared as timid as a young bride when Zhou Fugui was angry.
"This..." Zhou Fugui looked at the girls and then at Murong Huiying, finding himself in a dilemma.
Just moments before, Zhou Fugui had led his men into Xiao Ningshan's secret chamber.
The secret chamber was located within Xiao Ningshan's residential pavilion. Inside the room was an opening, not large, but leading to a hidden world. Upon entering, a series of dozens of downward-sloping steps, made of flagstones and wide enough for three people to walk abreast, appeared.
The cave walls were also quite spacious. Standing upright, there was still a distance of three to four feet between one's head and the ceiling.
Numerous torches were lit on both sides of the cave walls, illuminating the secret chamber as brightly as day. What astonished Zhou Fugui and his men was that despite it being winter, the underground chamber should have been exceptionally cold and damp. Yet, within it, Zhou Fugui and his men felt no chill. Instead, they felt a slight warmth, a comforting sensation, as if it were springtime.
One couldn't fathom what method Xiao Ningshan had used to create this environment. It was clear he truly knew how to enjoy life. In the northern winter, hiding in this warm underground chamber, with a few beautiful concubines and some wine, wouldn't that be a life fit for immortals?
Descending the steps, they reached an exceptionally spacious secret chamber, which surprised and delighted Zhou Fugui and his men.
The chamber contained ten rooms. Three large pieces of jade were embedded in the walls. Sunlight filtering through the jade cast a soft green hue throughout the interior, creating a dreamlike and ethereal atmosphere. Most astonishingly, behind the jade, faint outlines of fish could be seen swimming slowly.
The secret chamber was filled with young girls, numbering around twenty to thirty. The oldest were eight or nine, and the youngest were six or seven. They were nearly unclothed, with only a few strips of cloth wrapped around them. Although it was spring or summer, the spring and summer in the north were as cold as winter in the south. Consequently, many of the girls huddled together, seeking warmth from each other's bodies.
When the girls saw people entering, they looked at Zhou Fugui and his men with fear. Some were even so frightened that they began to cry softly.
"Fugui..." Li Qing spoke to Zhou Fugui. "According to the captured minions, these girls were all for his pleasure. The minions confessed that only through such acts did they receive food and clothing; otherwise, they would be starved or frozen to death."
"Beasts! He... he could lay hands on such young girls?" Zhou Fugui's speech became fragmented with rage. "Where did these people come from?"
Zhou Fugui felt as though his chest would explode, the oppression was unbearable.
Zhou Fugui could not stand to see such a scene. These pitiful girls, barely a few years old, had left their parents and arrived in this den of depravity, subjected to inhuman treatment and endless torment, forced to offer their bodies for pleasure at such a tender age. The tragedy was beyond words.
When Zhou Fugui and his men entered, these girls looked at them with fear, but a fawning smile appeared on their faces, which only made Zhou Fugui and his men feel more sorrowful.
These were the sins of that beast, Zhou Fugui raged inwardly.
Zhou Fugui found it unbearable to see such young children abused. It was no exaggeration to say his heart was being cut like a knife.
"He abducted them," Murong Huiying answered for Li Qing. "Fugui, how to accommodate them, the one who tied the knot must untie it."
"What do you mean?" Zhou Fugui asked, hearing this.
"The people of Xiaojia Village," Murong Huiying replied, gently pressing Zhou Fugui's slightly trembling arm.
"Mmm..." Zhou Fugui nodded, immediately understanding Murong Huiying's meaning.
Although such evil deeds were committed by this beast in human form, Xiao Ningshan, the people of Xiaojia Village, every single one of them, were complicit. At the very least, they were aware but turned a blind eye or failed to report it to the authorities.
At this moment, Zhou Fugui was exceptionally angry, wishing to exterminate all the people of Xiaojia Village, to avenge his fallen brothers and bring justice to these suffering girls.
But Murong Huiying's meaning was very clear: the army on the march could not possibly take these girls with them. Furthermore, the Xue Pi Army would only stay in Xiaojia Village for a day before departing and could not properly care for them. Therefore, how to properly accommodate them or find their relatives would fall upon the people of Xiaojia Village.
"Great... General... you... you're not going to eat us, are you? Great General, our flesh doesn't taste good, please don't eat us?" At this moment, an older girl, trembling, said to Zhou Fugui.
"Come here," Zhou Fugui said, turning to Pí È.
"Master?" Pí È, surprised, walked up to Zhou Fugui and asked.
"Rrrripp!" With a sound, Zhou Fugui tore off half a sleeve from Pí È, and after wiping his face vigorously, revealed a handsome visage.
Zhou Fugui's body was splattered with blood when he led his men into Xiaojia Village.
"Little sister, what's your name?" Zhou Fugui then transformed his fierce and terrifying face into a kind and amiable one, crouching down with a smile and asking.
"My name is Hong Yu..." the girl named Hong Yu replied softly.
"Yes, Hong Yu, where are you from?" Zhou Fugui nodded and said, "Don't worry, my surname is Zhou, my given name is Fugui. I am a person, an upright person, a person who understands propriety and shame. I am here to save you, not to harm you."
Zhou Fugui then took a padded jacket, squatted down, and draped it over the girl. He clasped the collar of the jacket and gently asked, "Hong Yu, do you remember where you are from?"
"I don't know where I'm from. I only know it's very cold here, much colder than where I'm from. Great General, big brother, I'm so scared..." Wrapped in the padded jacket, Hong Yu felt much warmer. After drinking a bowl of hot congee handed to her by one of Zhou Fugui's subordinates, she felt exceptionally comfortable. After finishing the congee, when Zhou Fugui inquired, the girl honestly replied.
Zhou Fugui nodded. For such young girls, Zhou Fugui did not expect them to explain things clearly. All he needed was to get some clues, which would then allow them to send these poor girls back to their parents in the future.
"Drink slowly, don't drink too much," Zhou Fugui said, handing another small bowl of hot congee to Hong Yu. "I've already said, don't be scared anymore. I, Zhou Fugui, will ensure your safety."
"Big brother!" The girls increasingly found Zhou Fugui kind and approachable. Another girl pointed to a room and said to Zhou Fugui, "Big brother, please save them."
Zhou Fugui turned and looked at this room, asking his personal guards, "What is this room? Why hasn't it been opened?"
"Replying to your Lordship," a personal guard answered, "the door to this room is locked shut. We tried with all our might but couldn't open it."
"Open it, no matter what! Pí È, Hu Ju, you two go and help," Zhou Fugui ordered.
Everyone agreed with a roar and prepared to find some crowbars, battering rams, and other tools to pry open the iron door.
"Everyone get aside, I'll do it!" Pí È, holding his vajra pestle, made the guards step aside and then swung the pestle, smashing it against the iron door.
Pí È was powerful, and with a loud "boom," the iron door collapsed.
"What is this?" As Pí È smashed open the door, Zhou Fugui was the first to enter. Inside the room, he saw many large and small earthenware jars. Something seemed to be floating within them.
"Man-eating demons, heaven will destroy them!" Zhou Fugui, upon seeing clearly, angrily punched the wall.
His fist broke the skin and bled, but Zhou Fugui was oblivious.
"This is a secret demonic technique. After soaking for a hundred days in medicinal water, one can then absorb Yin to supplement Yang, achieving immortality and becoming an immortal," said the little Taoist Ge Rufeng, arriving like the wind.
"Nonsense!" Zhou Fugui roared, glaring at Ge Rufeng. "Sorcery, evil arts, immoral practices, defying heaven and humanity! He deserves to die!"
"Brother is right, he deserves to die..." Ge Rufeng, startled, shrunk his neck and hastily said, "But he's already dead."
It wasn't me who did it, why are you glaring at me? Ge Rufeng muttered to himself.
"Dead?" Zhou Fugui, hearing this, continued to glare at Ge Rufeng and said angrily, "Why didn't you capture him alive? I wanted to have him publicly flayed!"
"Fugui, Immortal Ge has already done his best," Murong Huiying said, pressing Zhou Fugui's enraged arm again.
"Yes, Sister Murong is so understanding..." Ge Rufeng nodded repeatedly, "Unlike you, why are you yelling at me? You're being unreasonable! This immortal fought him and barely managed to defeat him..."
"I'm not targeting you?" Zhou Fugui asked, glaring at Ge Rufeng. "And then he was killed?"
"Mmm, specifically..." Ge Rufeng nodded. "He wanted to escape by 'corpse-release,' so this immortal made a decree to turn him into ashes."
"You're amazing. Corpse-release? What is this corpse-release thing?" Zhou Fugui asked, surprised.
"It's an evil technique from a branch of Shamanism," Murong Huiying said.
"Mmm, Brother Fugui, he wasn't human, or rather..." Ge Rufeng seemed to be speaking with lingering fear, "he wasn't a living person, but an ancient demon who had lived for hundreds of years. Here, after he turned into ashes, only this remained."
As Ge Rufeng spoke, he handed a jade pendant to Zhou Fugui.