บท 58: The Everlasting Blood Pill
But for some, tomorrow had yet to arrive. Within the darkest depths of the night, there were some who worked as if it was still the afternoon. Those that did so usually had no other choice than to let the shades drape over their machinations and hide what should not be found.
The City Lord was a good example of that. He touched his glabella and rubbed his tiredness away. "Have to others already arrived," he asked his personal secretary, as he walked down the dark hallway, enveloped in darkness. The sparse torches did little to drive out the shadows. The place appeared to be somewhere underground as it had no windows. Together with the sturdy stone bricks, this place had the same vibe as a dungeon.
"Yes, that appears to be the case." The woman next to him was carrying a few stacks of paper. She wore a short dress, matching her somewhat short hair, and had a studious look, giving her a scholarly vibe.
"We should not leave them waiting any longer then, right, my dearest secretary?" The City Lord laughed while waving. He wore a long robe that hid his hands, thus, as he moved around, it wildly flapped in the air.
Arriving at one of the many rooms, the City Lord opened the door and greeted everyone in there. "Thank you for meeting me this late in the night, my friends."
A spacious table stood in the middle of the room, decorated by only a single candle flame. There were neither paper nor food, indicating what kind of gathering it may be. Interestingly, no guards accompanied the City Lord, even though he was one of the most prolific figures within the Extended Delight.
The few people that attended this unofficial meeting weren't of less stature though. A familiar face, Fu Hao, the leader of the Golden Dragon Circle sat at the opposite side of the table. This time, his colleagues did not accompany him. He had his arms crossed, annoyed. "Usually, it's others waiting for me."
An older woman, in her mid-thirties, spoke, as she warily glanced over her shoulders. "I don't really care about the pleasantries, but staying in this city for too long gives me the creeps." She spat on the ground. "Especially here in this prison where my brethren have been held captive for countless years," she grumbled.
She was the Leader of the Windy Peaks Clan, her name Tai Lin. If this was the capital, she would have lost her head the moment she stepped her foot through the border. The imperial soldiers would surround her, and before she could even take a breath, she'd be in the afterlife. However, this was the City of Extended Delight. No one cared about the politics of the mainland here. In this place, it was money that mattered the most, as such she felt no fear strolling around this place.
"You are absolutely right, we should move on to the important bits," the City Lord said, not minding her attitude. "After all, you don't have much time, don't you Lady Lin?"
"Tsk." Tai Lin gnashed her teeth in hatred but did not rebut.
After the Waning Principle Sect had collapsed from within, it was her that stopped the news from spreading. If those in the empire had found out about it, they'd definitely besiege the sects in the outskirts of this city. Though the various sects, clans, and cults competed with themselves, they work surprisingly well when facing a common enemy. The woman had taken the vacancy left by the Waning Principle Sect to secure a place at the top, even though their clan was mostly known as second-rate lineage. And now, with stability returning within the sects outside the city, people have naturally started aiming for her.
The last person within this room was a man the same age as the sect leader. He had black hair that he slicked back and a long beard. The man wore a white robe, with blue embroidery, symbolizing expensive porcelain. He frowned, every time he laid his eyes on Tai Lin, but chose to withhold his thoughts. If the Li Yinyi or Li Yangyi was here, they'd have been shocked by that to see an acquaintance.
That man was the younger brother of their father, in other words, their uncle. His name was Li Won. He was also the father of their eldest cousin Li Bufang. "The Li family has started suspecting your intentions, City Lord. I am afraid that even I cannot stop them any longer. If they march into your residence, demanding an explanation for all these arrests, what will you tell them?"
Fu Hao and Tai Lin stared at the City Lord, waiting for his answer. Evidently, it was an important topic.
"That's simple," the City Lord spoke with a smirk. "I just won't open the doors."
"Preposterous!" Li Won slammed his hand on the table, and the candle shook. "Do you think this is some kind of joke? We have placed our faith in hopes of you fulfilling our goals. I have done my utmost to support whatever nefarious scheme you are planning, and you treat this like it is a game. What will you do if the northern region, or even worse, the capital gets involved?" His face was as black as the bottom of a well-used pot. The spiritual Qi emitted by him caused the table to crack.
"But they won't. Don't you know how long it will take for a substantial army to arrive from the north to here? They have enough stuff to do with the Emperor's sudden illness. And with these undecisive fools within the three families, by the time anything substantial happens, I'd have died of old age." The City Lord remained relaxed. "Or what? Do you want me to tell these morons the truth?" He paused. "That we are gathering all these innocent people to wring out their blood and use them as a sacrifice to create the Everlasting Blood Pill from the Demonic Realm?"
His words shut Li Won up. There was a long silence that came afterward, and if it weren't for the flickering candle, one may even suspect that time had stopped. The expression of everyone was grave.
Fu Hao spoke. "Will it really work? I don't even know if such the Demonic Realm truly exists. It sounds more like a fairy tale quite honestly, and a dubious one at best." He stroked his beard. "To use more than 10.000 innocent people is. . ."
"Well, it's not like they are all going to die. If they have no prior health conditions and aren't too old, they will be just fine. Probably. They are donating their blood for the greater good." The City Lord shrugged his shoulders. "But even then, who cares?"
"If that pill helps me rise through my current bottleneck, I don't care what happens." Li Won scoffed. "Even if in my generation I cannot be the family head, that doesn't mean that Li Bufang should not get a chance. He's the oldest one within the new age. If not him, should it be Li Yangyi, that weakling only thinking about his sister?"
"I honestly do not care about that occult stuff. But when the time comes, you better hold your promises about helping my clan obtain the treasures and manuals of the Waning Principle Sect." She threw out her hands.
The three of them laughed sinisterly. The City Lord felt his eye twitch. 'Man, this group really looks like a collection of bad guys.' He kept his thoughts close to his heart. "What's with all these doubts today? It's not like we just started working together today, right? Fine." The City Lord stood up and patted his clothes. "Everybody, why don't we take a short trip?" He opened the door and pointed his hand outside.
Walking down the hallway, soft moans and cries grew increasingly louder. No one in the group was surprised. After all, this was a prison. Passing into the main hall, the space turned much more spacious, with several floors and jail rooms, where they suddenly saw thousands of people, all behind bars. Like zombies, they reached their hands out, calling for help, everyone explaining their story. The rooms were stuffed to the brim, leaving no room to even sit.
Tai Lin held her nose and frowned. The whole place reeked. No matter how often she saw this spectacle, she could not get used to it. "It seems that we are infinitely close to completing our goal."
"I think we've collected about 90% of the needed blood? But the last few li are always the hardest to traverse as the idiom goes." The City Lord chuckled wryly. "Well, we humans aren't immortal, and if we wish to keep the deaths to the minimum, this is the best we can do."
Li Won hid his face behind his sleeve. "Why are we here again? I hate coming here, what if someone recognizes me? That would be bad for my image."
"This time I am showing you guys something new." He walked into the middle of the hall. Soon, the others realized there was a faint reddish glow radiating from that space. Something, they had never seen before. "What I am about to show you will wash away your doubts, at least it so did for me."
The group, anticipating what they would see edged closer until all they saw was in the shade of red. The whole room felt demonic. That was when their eyes shot wide open.
"This—"
It was sacrilege! There was no other way to describe it. None of them could fathom what exactly they were witnessing. Their mouths failed to close, as they remained speechless.
The City Lord spoke. "And now, you too will have no other choice than to believe."
They no longer held any doubts about this mission.
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