I Can See Your Combat Power

Chapter 909: Chapter Two Hundred and Three: Siblings

“Big brother, it’s not like that.”

The little girl, sobbing, tugged at her brother’s sleeve and wailed, “Sanglu doesn’t want to go, Sanglu doesn’t want to become some holy maiden, doesn’t want to serve the statue, to ascend to the heavens. Sanglu just wants to stay with big brother, and if big brother has a sister-in-law in the future, Sanglu will sleep in the firewood room. Please don’t drive Sanglu away, okay?”

The gaunt boy, seeing his sister sob with such heartache, felt a wrenching pain in his chest. But he knew that becoming the holy maiden was the only way for his sister to escape her fate in this life. He had been a robber in his past life, having killed who knows how many people, and was thus condemned to atone as a lowborn for three lifetimes, not even allowed to step foot in a temple. But his sister was different; she was a lotus reborn, destined to become a holy maiden, she couldn’t waste away amidst the lowborn!

Those ruffians on the streets had been inquiring about his sister these days. If they saw his beautiful, kind-hearted sister, God knows what they would do.

A person as pure and kind-hearted as his sister should live in the temple of Inner Virtue, worshiped by the faithful, not in a place as hellish as this. He must send her away, send her to Inner Virtue!

With this thought, the boy clenched his teeth, forcibly suppressing the reluctance in his heart, and resolutely said, “Tomorrow is the day for choosing the holy maiden. Sister, you should rest early!”

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With that, the boy pulled out the curved blade from beside his pillow and left the inner room. When the door curtain fell, it cut off the sobs from inside.

Suddenly, a barely discernible tinkle of bells sounded, and the boy’s sorrowful face instantly turned cold. He silently drew his curved blade and floated to the back of the door like a wisp of smoke, listening intently to the movements outside.

“Dongzhi, Dongzhi.” A hushed voice of a comrade came from outside the door, “There’s someone in the tavern looking for a guide who can speak the official language. Are you taking the job?”

“I’ll take it!” With a decisive response, the door of the small abode was opened. The slim, dark boy sheathed his knife and slipped out, locking the door tightly behind him, fastening several large locks.

“Dongzhi, every time you leave, you lock the door so tightly. Are you afraid someone will steal your precious possessions?”

After making sure the door was thoroughly locked, the skinny boy called Dongzhi inserted the curved blade into his belt, turned around, and said indifferently, “There are too many traps in my room. I’m afraid some reckless thieves might stumble into them, and I don’t have spare bedding to waste.”

The young man who had just been teasing him shrank back, clicking his tongue and said, “Man, you’re really ruthless.”

“In this hellish place, if you’re not ruthless, you won’t survive!” The gaunt boy adjusted the curved blade to the most comfortable position, patted it, and then looked up, “Why are you so generous today to hand over such a good job to me? Why not pay respects to your master?”

“Hahaha, of course, I look out for you with good opportunities…”

Before he could finish his sentence, a curved blade was unsheathed, its cold light blinding, and the young man instinctively closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he felt a chilling sensation on half of his neck. A brightly polished curved blade was resting on his throat, accompanied by Dongzhi’s fierce eyes, sharp as a hawk’s.

The young man, his neck stiff, pleaded, “Dongzhi, let’s talk it out, put the curved blade down. That knife’s too sharp, my neck’s about to be sliced open.”

The skinny boy, expressionless, pressed the curved blade tight against the young man’s throat, and demanded coldly, “Tell the truth, there are people in the tavern who can speak the official language. Why did you come looking specifically for me?”

“I’ll tell you, just put the knife down!” The young man, not even daring to swallow his saliva, spilled out the situation of the tavern like pouring beans, “This morning a stranger wearing a mask came to the city, and he had a conflict with Master Keluda. It’s said that Master Keluda was subdued by him, which caused a big commotion. God knows how this man found our tavern, and he even knew we had people who spoke the official language here, saying he wanted a guide and translator to Inner Virtue. But as you know, we’re all lowborn, we can’t get close to the holy city. And this man, daring to act against Master Keluda, might be up to no good in the holy city. So no one in the tavern dared to take this job. But this man was truly terrifying, his presence as dominating as a demon, crushing everyone’s spirits. I couldn’t bear it any longer and mentioned that I knew someone who spoke the official language.”

“Is my life not as valuable as yours?” The lean and dark youth sheathed his curved knife, puzzled. “You don’t seem like a fool, so why didn’t you run when you had the chance? Do you really think so highly of your bargain of a master as to consider him your father?”

“Brother Dong Zhi, it’s not that I don’t want to run, look at the sky.” The young man pointed gloomily at the sky, and as the lean and dark youth looked up, two Fallen Imperial Magnetic Beads floated above their heads.

The lean and dark youth was startled and tried to dodge, only to find one bead stubbornly following him. He was about to search for cover when a bolt of lightning struck beside his foot, blasting a hole in the ground.

“Brother Dong Zhi, there’s no use running, I’ve tried. Those beads are more agile than humans. I saw one pierce through a thick slab of stone with my own eyes.” The young man gestured with a mournful face, “If we don’t return within half an hour, we’ll never need to go back again.”

Dong Zhi’s face turned ashen as he realized the extent of the disaster his companion had brought upon them. If the masked weirdo could subdue Master Ke Ludat, killing them would be no different from crushing two ants.

Without the courage to fight desperately, the two despairing young men walked into the tavern with heavy steps. As soon as they entered, a chill rushed up from their feet to their heads.

In the tavern, the tough characters from Hyderabad lay scattered about, and the tall, thin man seated amid the “corpses,” wearing a Gou Chen Mask and a Star Robe, turned his gaze towards them.

“Are you the guide?”

The grating, metallic sound of his voice made their scalps tingle. The lean and dark youth’s mind went blank, his legs shaking uncontrollably, a warm sensation in his lower abdomen as something seemed ready to flow out. He opened his mouth, but there were only gasps and the chattering of teeth.

Tang Luo frowned in dissatisfaction at not receiving a response. If they could understand him, they should at least show some sign.

Dong Zhi could almost sense the displeasure of the man behind the Gou Chen Mask, but he couldn’t utter a single word, just a “heh heh heh” sound in his throat.

I’m going to be killed, I’m going to be killed!

I can’t die, I can’t die, if I do, who will protect Amei!

From somewhere, the lean and dark youth mustered the strength to squeeze out two words: “It’s… me!”

Suddenly, all the pressure vanished, and the two young men collapsed to the ground like they’d been pulled from water, gasping for air.

Have we…survived?

Both couldn’t help but think so, yet neither dared to raise their heads. The sight of the bodies sprawled across the floor was too horrific, far surpassing their understanding of brutality.

Just for failing to find a guide, he was willing to kill everyone in the room—what kind of devil was this masked man?

As the two were inwardly condemning, the young man’s cheap master’s calf suddenly twitched and he struggled to rise.