Awakened: The Spirit King!

Chapter 24: Bandit's den!

"Who will it be today? Who will become my next plaything? Who will I be humiliating and loving to death tonight in front of all the bandits? Ha, ha, ha!"

Inside the bandit's den, a garish voice sounded. It came out from the mouth of a short-legged man with a potbelly, beady eyes, and rat-like features. Not only was his back hunched, eyes different than humans and more like an animal, and his black nails tall and sharp like claws, but black patches of fur were growing all over his body, making him look like a rat in human clothing.

The captives–some beautiful, some ugly, some fragile like flower vases, some sturdy like solid bricks–behind steel bars found his voice extremely unpleasant to hear. Hearing his voice made them feel like someone was rubbing the skin with sandpaper close to their ears.

They looked away from him, closed their eyes, and unable to control the fear enveloping them from head to toe, they trembled subconsciously.

They knew and have seen the viciousness and cruelty of this man.

They knew how terrifying he was, and they knew he liked to gouge out the eyes of every human that looked at his face for more than 5 seconds.

To not be the unlucky fellow who lost their eyes to him, they dared not look at him.

"Lord Bo, what are you doing here? Are you here to suck the vitality, energy, and blood of these poor humans and feed on their negativity to cultivate?

If so, you can pick anyone here and play them to death right here and now, but only after paying me a price in gold taels." The leader of the bandit den, a man in black robes, patted the rat-like man's shoulder and spoke those disgusting words with a broad smile on his face.

A man's words showcase his true character.

From the words he had said, it was easy for every captive to tell that the bandit leader was a disgusting person who didn't value human life and only thought about using them as merchandise to make a profit. And he was so down in the abyss of sin that he was even willing to make a deal with the devil, an evil spirit from the spirit realm!

Lord Bo was an evil spirit who had escaped into the mortal realm to sow discord and torment the helpless to cultivate and become strong.

"What? Do you think I will run without paying? Who do you think I am? A poor slave or a lord?! When have I not paid you for your services? What do you take me for, huh?!"

Lord Bo's angry outburst didn't entice a single frown from Jin's face.

Instead of lashing out at him, Jin chucked, and with a calm smile that was as calm as the gentle breeze of the ocean, he said, "Last time, you left without paying a cent. The old score and the new score, I implore you, my lord, to settle both before indulging in the joy of my paradise, and if you want to do someone in front of my people, it will cost you three taels more than the base price."

Lord Bo and Merchant Jin, who was acting like a bandit but was actually a wine and slave trader, were close acquaintances. One was a human and the other an evil spirit. The former kidnapped and sold humans to evil spirits and nobles. The latter fed on the negative emotions of humans and their blood and energy to strengthen himself and increase his cultivation.

The captives Jin sold to him; Lord Bo would humiliate them to death before stabbing, gutting, beheading, killing, and eating them. Yet, Jin never had batted an eye to his atrocities. Clearly, he was okay with whatever his customers did to his merchandise as long as they paid the price for it. But if one does not pay the fee, Jin would smile at them and, after a week, assassinate them.

Lord Bo was his oldest customer. How could he not tell that Jin's smile wasn't a smile but a hidden threat? He didn't want to become his next assassination target as they were both in the same realm and around the same level, and he knew that he would hardly survive an assassination done by Jin, so he controlled his emotions and calmed his heart.

"I will make the payment after selecting today's merchandise." Lord Bo said.

Jin replied with a pleasant smile, "Please take your time."

He had no intention of going anywhere, and he kept walking behind Lord Bo.

"Introduce them to me." He said to Jin.

"Alright, alright."

Jin was all smiles as he introduced the new beauties to the evil spirit.

Lord Bo's eyes roamed around the captives and finally stopped on a young girl with a peerless figure but an ugly face. Dozens of deep, dark scars covered her face. One look at her will make other think that they were looking at a shattered mirror that was once pristine and clear, and that thought would make them disgusted.

Her legs were long and slender, whiter than the moon and more graceful than one. Even though dust marred her skin and she was in rags, the quality of her skin and blood didn't escape the evil spirit's sight. He could tell that her energy, vitality, and pride were better than all the other slaves. Humiliating her and sucking her Yin Qi through dual cultivation would let him ascend to the next level.

She was a precious treasure, but the price tag on her neck said only three gold taels.

Lord Bo realized that Merchant Jin didn't know her true worth and thus was willing to sell an ugly woman like her for cheap.

Merchant Jin saw Lord Bo's gaze glued to the ugly girl that had fair skin but a horrifying face and couldn't help but ask, "Lord Bo, do you want her? If you are willing to purchase her, I will sell her to you for one less gold tael. The girl's face isn't good, but her skin is soft to the touch and white, and none of my men nor me had ever touched her.

After covering her face with a piece of clothing, she will be as good as the top beauties of the Golden Lion Brothel. But you will get to enjoy her for only two gold taels. The deal is good, right?"

Merchant Jin had picked up the ugly-faced woman two weeks ago from a run-down village, and till today, he had failed to earn even a penny for her. Yet, she had wasted dozens of his copper coins. He wanted to make a profit out of her, but no one was willing to buy her, and that was why he was so desperate to sell her to Lord Bo.

"I have played many mortals to death but none with a peerless body and an ugly face, a unique combination. Take these five gold taels and bring her and your men to the main hall."

Lord Bo passed five gold taels to Merchant Jin, clearing off the past debt and the new score.

After accepting Lord Bo's generosity with a smile, Jin opened the cage to get the scarred-face beauty.

All the captives stepped away from Merchant Jin, including the scarred-face beauty, huddling at the very edge of the prison.

Merchant Jin frowned and extended his hand towards her. Immediately after, around a dozen blue ropes made out of spiritual energy surged out of his palm, moved through the air like arrows, and wrapped around the defenseless girl, tying her hand to her feet, making it impossible for her to struggle. Then, with a backhand pull, he pulled her towards himself, and she fell in his arms.

He carried her like a rice bag and took her and many of his men to a wide area inside the cave. Lord Bo followed after them. The bandit's den had three places. The prison where he kept all his captives. The restroom where he slept and rested with all the other members. The main hall where he was inside of currently.

"She is all yours," Jin said to Lord Bo before turning around and walking to the corner of the room.

The thick, blue ropes tied around the scarred-face girl dissipated as Lord Bo approached her. Zhang Xiu

"Little beauty, you've sinned by having such a wretched face yet possessing a peerless figure. I will execute justice on behalf of the mortals and take every inch of you for myself!"

Lord Bo's disgusting words made her furious. Her body was aching everywhere, and she was so hungry that she didn't have the strength to move, but she forced herself to move away from the disgusting and heinous man. She had only taken three steps when the man caught her and kicked her thin legs, causing her to fall to the ground.

The next thing Zhang Xiu saw was him grinning evilly at her while taking off his clothes.

The bandits around her laughed.

They were all looking forward to seeing him humiliate her.

...

A thick spiritual energy barrier blocked the entrance to the bandit's den. Xie Yang didn't have enough strength to break it. But with a bit of time, he could nullify it. He didn't want to waste time, so he allowed his stepbrother, Xie Ye, to break it. Leader Xie Ye punched it, and the barrier crumbled apart instantly.

The two of them jumped into the waterfall and, with a splash sound, appeared at the other end of the main hall, which was empty and dark.

The first they saw after entering the bandit's den was a rat-like man trying to force himself on a girl with a peerless figure but a face covered with scars. Zhang Xiu was struggling against Lord Bo with all her strength, kicking his chest with her weak feet, not letting him take off her rags.

Xie Yang's gaze darkened. The cave was damp and hot, but Leader Ye could feel the temperature around him turning even colder than the icy northern plains.

And before he knew it, Xie Yang pulled out his sword and yanked it towards the evil creature.

Gah!

Zhang Xiu, who had closed her eyes in disgust and was considering biting her tongue to end her life, suddenly heard the sound that a pig made when getting butchered, and then she felt warm blood raining down on her face.

She opened her eyes, and what she saw filled her with so much disbelief and fear that her eyes widened so much that they threatened to pop out of their sockets.

The tip of a sword was only three inches away from her face, and it was scarlet from Lord Bo's blood. Blood seeped out from the wide hole in Lord Bo's neck and splashed on her face.

She was both happy and scared, glad to see the man who was about to torment her die and scared to see the sharp tip of a sword only inches away from reaping her life!

Lord Bo was enjoying her struggle when suddenly, a sword pierced through the back of his neck and came out of the other end; that was what the bandits in the main hall saw before hearing the sound of thunderous steps!