Chapter 62: Sisters (8)

Nüwa Valley.

Nüwa Palace.

A faint sound came from the underground passage; a group of carefully selected handsome male slaves knelt on the ground, using spotless handkerchiefs to slowly wipe the exquisite patterns on the floor tiles.

Pearl-sized night-lights were inlaid in the walls on both sides of the passage, their soft pearl glow lighting the passage brightly.

Several fit, good-looking girls holding long whips stood a dozen paces away, gathered together and softly chattering 'ji ji gu gu'.

They didn't look this way, but if the male slaves showed any slack, slowing their movements even slightly, the girls would instantly lash out with a whip.

A sharp 'pak' sound rang out from time to time, each lash leaving deep bloody marks on the slaves' fair, tight skin.

The male slaves' eyes filled with tears from the pain, yet they dared not cry out.

Their bodies twitched slightly as they endured the pain, knees on the ground, slowly and steadily polishing the floor until it shone like a mirror.

Wu Jin wore a battle skirt made of linked bronze scales, his bare upper body covered only by a heartguard mirror, a simple bronze sword hung at his waist, and he carefully held a blood jade skull in both hands as he walked slowly down the passage.

The blood jade skull exuded a rich vital aura; it was a variant essence of blood jade, extremely potent in nourishing the soul and repairing damaged spirits.

The small skull's top was indented, three fine wicks hovering in the depression, three bean-sized points of dim light burning quietly, and a faint muttering could be heard from the glow.

"I'll do my best..." Wu Jin lowered his gaze to the three thin wicks, smiling as he said, "Rest assured, I will find Old Four. Just stay here and recuperate; someday I will find suitable bodies for you, Old Two, and Old Three as well."

Emerging from the dim passage into the brightly lit main corridor, Wu Jin's eyes were struck by the strong light, and he instinctively narrowed them.

Under the gleaming pearl light, his exposed skin was covered in a chaotic mess of ferocious wounds.

There were knife wounds, sword wounds, gunshot wounds, and piercing injuries from arrows that had gone through limbs.

Countless wounds covered Wu Jin's body densely; not a single palm-sized patch of good flesh remained on him.

Holding the small blood jade skull in both hands, Wu Jin smiled calmly and steadily, stepping slowly down the passage, over the kneeling male slaves, and placed one foot on the floor they had just finished cleaning.

A few male slaves' faces twitched slightly; they turned their heads to look at the footprints left by Wu Tie's soles on the ground.

Several girls who had been laughing turned around, coiling their long whips around their arms, giving a strange cold smile as they closed in on Wu Jin.

"Wu Jin, you've dirtied the floor we just cleaned; what do you say we do about it?"

A tall girl with fine, long eyebrows and a soft oval face, resembling a wild lotus in its rich beauty, thrust out her chest and blocked Wu Jin's path.

She held the whip's tip in her right hand, spinning it rapidly; the tip tore the air, emitting a sharp sound.

"A road is meant for people to walk on. Do you really think that just because you've cleaned the ground, no one is allowed to walk on it forever?" More than a year had passed, and Wu Jin's stature was far more imposing than when he was at the Wu Family Shibao.

He now stood steadily over two meters tall, his build as massive as a mountain, his aura as mighty as a demon bear; the few girls blocking him, though considered exceptionally tall among women, seemed as tender as spring shoots beneath a great stone before Wu Jin.

Pressed by Wu Jin's mighty aura, the speaking girl's cheeks flushed slightly.

She snorted angrily and lashed out hard at Wu Jin's exposed right chest with her whip: "Do you even have the right to talk back here?"

The whip struck his chest heavily, tearing a strip of flesh and leaving a blood groove over a foot long; streams of blood poured from the wound and quickly ran down his body to the ground.

Wu Jin looked at her expressionlessly: "Have you had enough? Want a few more lashes? If you're done, I'll leave..."

Lowering his gaze to the blood jade skull in his hand, Wu Jin said coldly: "I have no time to play with you, Wuyao."

"Play?" The girls' faces darkened at once.

Did Wu Jin's words treat them as children looking for trouble?

Although they were indeed stirring up trouble for no reason, Wu Jin had no right to criticize them.

In Nüwa Valley, and especially in Nüwa Palace, male clansmen held no status; only women who possessed pure Nüwa Imperial Clan blood and could possibly awaken the Nüwa Transformation divine ability grasped the valley's supreme power.

"Is that thing in your hand what you earned by risking your life in battles these past days, accumulating merit points through hard work?" The lead girl, Wuyao, snorted coldly and reached out to grab the blood jade skull.

"You traded this useless junk—are you trying to raise a little demon?" Wuyao laughed brightly.

Wu Jin's expression changed instantly; as Wuyao reached for the blood jade skull, he surged like a frenzied old bear, let out a low growl, and slammed his shoulder into her.

Deep in the mountains, an old bear striking a tree with full force would produce astonishing power.

Wu Jin's strength far exceeded that of an old bear, his bones much sturdier; with a sideways thrust came a tremendous boom, Wuyao grunted, spat a mouthful of blood, and was flung dozens of meters by his shoulder, crashing headfirst into a distant wall where her body lay flat against it, unmoving for a long while.

A gust of wind swept through the passage, blowing out with a 'hoo'.

Wu Jin merely shifted his shoulder, and a tremendous force shook the air; the wind it raised left several girls unsteady, their faces paling as they stumbled far backward.

"You, you, you... you dare to hit someone!"

After finally steadying themselves, the girls turned blue-lipped and white‑mouthed with rage, trembling as they pointed at Wu Jin, not knowing what to say.

After all these years, it was still the first time a male clansman—more so, a male in‑law who had fled here for his life—dared to lay hands on the direct line of Nüwa Palace.

Wu Jin held the blood jade skull in both hands, looking at the girls without expression.

"You may hit me."

"Whoever dares to move this soul‑nurturing basin, I will fight them to the death..."

Wu Jin gave a grim grin: "I was originally a worthless wretch deserving death... so I would be glad to die together with any one of you."

The girls clamped their mouths shut, not daring to make a sound.

Even Wuyao, who had taken a heavy blow that broke several ribs, fiercely suppressed the pain in her chest and dared not utter a harsh word.

Wu Jin's words were filled with strong will; he was not joking. He truly had the resolve to fight them to the death, and he was not kidding.

No matter how lowly one's station, when a person dares to fight to the death, he can intimidate many.

Especially these direct‑line girls of Nüwa Palace—when had they ever seen such a valiant figure as Wu Jin?

A cold voice came from behind in the passage.

"You damned low‑born wretch, who do you want to die with?"

A sharp, piercing whistle rang out; Wu Jin lunged sideways a step, but could not dodge the attack from behind—a whip as thick as a little finger, entirely black, lashed out and struck his shoulder hard.

With a 'pak', a large chunk of flesh on Wu Jin's shoulder exploded, bits of skin and meat flying far away; blood gushed from a palm‑sized wound, instantly staining his back red.

Wu Jin suddenly turned, one hand protecting the blood jade skull, the other gripping the hilt of his sword at his waist.

A woman of heavenly beauty, capable of toppling kingdoms, walked slowly down the passage under the guard of several tough‑clad female warriors.

A black whip seven or eight meters long hovered in the air, like a nimble small snake, lightly twining and dancing around the woman.

The woman's long hair fell loose, its tips almost touching the ground.

Her visage resembled Wa Yao's by seventy to eighty percent, with a perfect oval face, delicate and flawless, long brows and phoenix eyes, a nicely shaped nose tip, and angular, moist red lips that inexplicably gave a sweet feeling like strawberries.

She was extremely tall, almost 1.9 meters, and wore high-heeled, high-top boots made of giant python skin, making her look a fist taller than Wu Jin.

A pure black fur long dress draped over her, making her seem like a goddess stepping out of the night, full of mysterious, noble, alluring aura.

"Xiao Jinzi, you dare hurt your cousin… Who gave you the guts?"

The woman stepped forward slowly, her phoenix eyes narrowing, cold light radiating from her pupils.

This was not a figure of speech; the woman's eyeballs really were like two gleaming night pearls, spraying out a chilling light.

The fine light sprayed out could reach five or six chi away, expanding and contracting unpredictably, like two short swords sweeping wildly through the air.

Wu Jin looked at the woman solemnly, hesitated a moment, then slowly bowed: "Aunt… it's Wa Yao…"

The long whip at the woman's side suddenly moved, crack—crack—crack three times in a row, lashing Wu Jin's waist repeatedly, leaving three half‑inch‑deep blood marks on his waist.

Fresh blood poured down, and the woman sneered: "Do you still have any justification? Hah… you really think that helping Wa Valley win dozens of duels makes you something special? Remember… a low‑born wretch remains a low‑born wretch… just like your dead father."

Wu Jin jerked his head up, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at the woman: "Aunt, watch your words and accumulate virtue."

The woman laughed: "Watch your words and accumulate virtue? If not? Besides that, you tell me, how should I punish you? You dare injure Wa Yao… shall I break your limbs?"

The woman pressed closer step by step, and Wu Jin retreated step by step.

The aura emanating from the woman was terrifying beyond compare; Wu Jin knew she was a peak expert of the Chonglou Realm, on the verge of breaking through.

And Wu Jin… he was now at most a half‑step into the Chonglou Realm.

The woman need not even lift a finger; a single thought from her could easily crush him.

After all, he was merely someone who had suffered a great upheaval, relying on the protection of his bloodline to flee back from the outer realms as a Wa Palace outsider… males originally held an extremely low status in the Wa Palace, let alone someone like him, an outsider by marriage…

"Xiuniang, even if Wu Jin remains useless, he is still my son… Do you want to help me discipline him? Very well… then I'll help you discipline Wa Yao how?"

A clear, icy voice without a hint of warmth sounded from afar.

A cool wind swirled in the passageway, and another tall woman with loose black hair, wearing a black dress, walked over slowly.

Behind this woman followed more than ten sturdy maidens in heavy armor; in both number and strength they far surpassed the woman who threatened Wu Jin. Obviously, this woman—Wu Jin's mother—held a status in the Wa Palace far exceeding that of the earlier "Xiuniang".

"Third Sister…" Xiuniang's face twitched slightly; she put on a smile, turned, and bowed to Wu Jin's mother: "What fault has Wa Yao committed that you must come to chastise her?"

"Just because she is a descendant of the Wa Emperor, a female, and even a year older than Wu Jin, yet she was injured by a single blow from him…" Wu Jin's mother walked over, saying slowly: "The women of our Wa Emperor lineage are the most noble conceivable, and their talents are the finest conceivable."

"Being injured by a male a year younger than herself… isn't that embarrassing enough?"

"Clearly, she must usually be indulging in licentious play, never seriously cultivating… How can she face the ancestral bloodline? How can she face the countless clansmen of the Wa Palace? If we don't punish her properly, how will I answer to the forefathers?"

Xiuniang's face twisted into a knot; her phoenix eyes flared wide as she glared hatefully at Wu Jin's mother.

Wu Jin's mother stepped before her, the two locking eyes in a fierce stare; after a while, Xiuniang coldly said: "After losing a man, you're full of anger, aren't you? If you're angry… go find a man… what's the fun in bullying juniors?"

Wu Jin's mother slapped Xiuniang across the face.

With a sharp, earsplitting crack, Xiuniang's body tilted slightly; she drew a deep breath, slowly straightened herself, and glared hatefully at Wu Jin's mother: "Third Sister… have you calmed down?"

Wu Jin's mother smiled faintly, shook her head: "Xiao Jiu, Sister advises you to keep fewer male consorts… look at your several children—no one can tell whose seed they are, and they keep shouting 'Dad' indiscriminately; calling the wrong person is embarrassing."

"It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt, be good… Third Sister is only afraid you'll make a mistake, so she's properly disciplining you to keep you from a major blunder. This is what Third Sister ought to do; you needn't thank me." Wu Jin's mother gently stroked Xiuniang's face, which was quickly bruising from the slap, and laughed softly.

"All right, all right, let this matter pass as it is."

"Anyway, Wa Yao didn't suffer any loss… look at Wu Jin all bloody… compared to that, he's the one who lost more."

Wu Jin's mother smiled at Xiuniang, saying word by word: "Right, Third Sister still hasn't thanked you for recommending Wu Jin to the forefathers to join the Exploration Team, to investigate the ancestors' relics…"

Wu Jin's mother said gently: "Thank you, truly, thank you so much…"

Xiuniang chuckled lightly: "Third Sister, you now have only Wu Jin as your son; if anything happens to him, as his sister… I truly mean well, for the ancestors' relics hold endless opportunities… if Wu Jin could gain even one or two of them…"

Wu Jin's mother laughed: "I still have another little son who isn't dead… I can sense he's still alive… so, thank you for your concern…"

The two stared deeply at each other for a moment, then snorted coldly in unison and left without a word, backs turned.