Trafford's Trading Club

Chapter 1016: How Could There Be a Path to Immortality in This World? (24)

Yun Hui and Lao Lang both found themselves in an extremely difficult situation. No matter what they did, it seemed impossible to escape their current predicament.

Their location was unknown, and so was the time. But it was likely nighttime.

Judging by the silence around them, it seemed unlikely that anyone would pass by anytime soon—this place looked abandoned for a long time.

Neither Yun Hui nor Lao Lang knew how long they had been unconscious.

There was no doubt—they had been restrained. Either bound tightly with ropes or confined in some other way and left here.

"My magic power is completely unresponsive, as if it's been sealed," Yun Hui sighed. The first thing he did after waking up was check his body.

But the result was utterly hopeless. He glanced at Lao Lang and noticed that the latter’s expression was even worse than his own. His condition was probably no better.

Since waking up, however, Lao Lang had remained silent, lost in thought.

Yun Hui scanned his surroundings for possible escape routes. But both he and Lao Lang had their powers completely sealed, their bodies tightly bound with ropes, and all their communication devices taken away.

To make matters worse, they had been stripped down to nothing but their underwear."What the hell…" Lao Lang suddenly muttered.

"Lao Lang?" Yun Hui frowned.

Lao Lang shook his head and said, "Whoever did this to us doesn’t intend to kill us. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have just left us here."

Yun Hui nodded. "They probably don’t want to expose their identity or location."

After all, their communication tools had been confiscated, and they were merely being held captive rather than eliminated. It wasn’t hard to deduce the captors’ intentions.

"Could this be related to the Demon Association and Daoist Association’s missing persons cases?" Yun Hui frowned. Ever since he and Lao Lang had discovered a murdered member of the White Tiger clan the other day, more people had disappeared within the last 24 hours across Mt. Tai’s two major associations.

"If we don’t escape soon, we might end up on the missing persons list too," Lao Lang chuckled bitterly. "I can’t believe I got taken down by a sixty-year-old little demon. I really have fallen."

Yun Hui hesitated—he had once secretly looked into Lao Lang’s background.

Before enlisting, Lao Lang had been the 'strongest warrior' of the Greedy Wolf clan. Generally speaking, while demon clans did send representatives for service, they rarely sent their most valuable fighters…

"At least we’re still alive. And if we don’t return, the Management Bureau will notice something’s wrong," Yun Hui said casually. "For now, let’s focus on eating first."

He glanced at the bag on the ground—it clearly contained food, though it had already gone cold.

Lao Lang, however, frowned.

The problem wasn’t just the food—it was how they were supposed to eat it. Their hands and feet were tied behind them, leaving only their heads mobile.

"You know… tonight is New Year's Eve," Yun Hui muttered, feeling an overwhelming sense of frustration.

This was probably the most unique New Year's Eve they’d ever had.

---

Mo Mo was busy crafting useful talismans using the best materials available on the market.

After finishing the last one, he stretched lazily and glanced at the still-unconscious Zhan’er lying on the bed. In another day or two, they would have to set out, whether Zhan’er woke up or not. Carrying an unconscious person would be inconvenient and increase the risk of exposure, but staying in one place for too long was equally dangerous.

The Daoist and Demon Associations had no shortage of skilled individuals…

Mo Mo opened the window, letting the cold night air in to wake himself up. The streets outside were nearly empty, eerily quiet.

Everyone’s probably home celebrating, he mused absentmindedly.

Suddenly, an overwhelming drowsiness washed over him—his eyelids grew heavy, and even his body swayed.

He barely managed to steady himself by gripping the windowsill. His lips curled in a grimace as he bit down hard, breaking the skin.

This wasn’t normal fatigue—it was an external force affecting him. But the moment he tasted blood, his drowsiness dissipated significantly.

Just then, strange noises came from the inn’s lower floor—like bodies collapsing one after another.

Mo Mo swiftly grabbed his black wooden sword from the corner and leaped out the window.

He landed in the small courtyard of the inn.

The first floor of the inn was where the landlady and her family lived. Peering inside, Mo Mo saw them slumped over their dinner table, fast asleep.

"They're just unconscious…?"

After confirming their condition, an eerie feeling crept into his heart. It wasn’t just this inn—people in the two neighboring houses had also fallen into a deep sleep.

Not daring to stray too far, Mo Mo quickly checked the nearby buildings before rushing back to retrieve Zhan’er.

He moved him to another empty guesthouse nearby—one that had no other occupants.

"Summon!"

Stacking five talismans in his hand, Mo Mo summoned a ghostly black cat from the floor.

"Stay here. If anything happens, notify me immediately!" he ordered.

Then, he rushed into the deserted streets. As he passed each house, he realized every single resident had fallen unconscious.

And in the distance, a loud noise suddenly echoed…

---

Around seven or eight in the evening, the streetlights were bright, but the streets were nearly empty. A strange-looking girl with short white hair sat alone at a bus stop, munching on a hamburger and sipping a soda.

Nero balled up the burger wrapper and tossed it toward a trash can in a perfect arc.

But just then, a breeze disrupted its trajectory, causing it to land beside the bin instead.

"Hm?" Nero blinked and looked toward the source of the wind—down the town’s main road, a thick fog was rolling in.

She took another sip of soda, set the half-empty cup aside, and slung a drawing tube over her back before stepping into the mist.

A few figures were visible within the fog—people collapsed on the ground, breathing but unconscious.

Deeper in the fog, a flashing light caught Nero’s attention. She approached and saw a black vehicle with its hazard lights blinking—clearly left on to attract her attention.

A well-dressed young man stood in front of the car.

Inside the vehicle, there were more people.

Stopping about ten feet away, Nero said nothing. She simply chewed her bubble gum and observed.

The man spoke calmly. "White hair, unusual outfit. You must be the one who stole from Crouching Dragon Estate."

"Sorry, mister, but I have no idea what you’re talking about," Nero smirked.

The man remained expressionless. "I don’t want unnecessary trouble. Just hand over the small brocade box, and you can leave safely."

Nero narrowed her eyes, glancing at the surrounding mist and the unconscious pedestrians in the distance. She suddenly chuckled. "Oh? You say you don’t want trouble?"

The young man replied indifferently, "This is necessary… Besides, Miss, you don’t seem like someone who can be reasoned with. I have no choice."

Nero shrugged, about to respond, but then—her eyes suddenly widened in sharp focus.

A shadowy figure suddenly advanced right in front of her. His palm swept across like a swinging battle blade—one that mercilessly slashed toward her neck.

That speed…

Nero instantly bent backward, barely dodging the opponent’s hand strike as it narrowly grazed past her neck. However, the swift-moving air pressure still managed to slice open a part of her collar.

The cut was so clean and precise—it looked as if it had been made with a razor-sharp craft knife.

After lightly hopping a few steps back, Nero had already created a distance of about seven or eight meters between herself and the mysterious young man.

"Phew, that was close," Nero chuckled. "Almost lost my head there… By the way, mister, you reek of blood."

"You’re not bad yourself." The young man withdrew his palm, took off his suit jacket, and rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt.

"Are you getting serious now?"

"I don’t want to waste too much time… War Soul, possess!"

With that brief and emotionless command, a white flame erupted from the young man’s body, engulfing him entirely. However, this wasn’t an ordinary fire that could burn—it was more like a manifestation of spiritual energy.

The cylindrical case on Nero’s back suddenly trembled slightly, as if whatever was inside was expressing a deep hunger.

But there was no time for distractions. The young man, now enshrouded in white energy flames, lunged at Nero with even greater speed than before, breaching her defensive range in an instant.

This speed was far beyond the last attack.

In the blink of an eye, his hand blade struck seven times toward Nero—seven visible crescent-shaped energy slashes burst from her body, shooting past her and continuing for more than ten meters behind.

The crescent-shaped slashes instantly tore apart a parked car in the distance, reducing it to scattered pieces.

Nero stood with her head slightly lowered, gripping the cylindrical case in front of her. Her arms bore fresh, bleeding wounds.

The case was almost shattered. Lifting her gaze, Nero’s eyes flickered with an unusual glint, yet she still smiled. "Mister, you really don’t hold back, huh?"

The young man’s eyes shifted slightly. Seeing that his first strike had failed to achieve the expected result, he wasted no time raising his hand for another attack.

"In that case, I won’t hold back either~"

A cold light flickered. The young man’s rigid expression finally shifted slightly as Nero leaped into the air, wielding a long blade that shimmered with an eerie radiance.

"Void Slash!"

Gripping the hilt of the Enma Blade with both hands, strands of black smoke-like energy coiled around the blade as Nero swung it downward at the young man.

BOOM—!!!

Like a giant hammer striking down, the street pavement instantly caved in, forming a massive crater.

Yet, the sudden strike had missed its target. Nero didn’t seem to mind. As she landed, she extended her left hand forward, pressing the Enma Blade against her arm, its tip resting in the crook of her left palm, aimed straight at the young man. She assumed a charging stance.

Her gaze grew even more intense, almost demonic, as she murmured with excitement, "…Dragon Fang!"

The stabbing thrust was blindingly fast, yet it wasn’t beyond the young man’s reaction speed. However, at that moment, he suddenly felt a strange sense of stagnation—his body seemed to be locked in place, his limbs momentarily unable to move properly.

In a battle of this caliber, even the briefest hesitation could be fatal.

I underestimated this woman… The young man’s heart tensed. The white energy flames around him rapidly condensed into a circular shield.

The Enma Blade’s edge struck the white shield head-on—instantly, the young man was sent flying backward as if hit by a speeding truck. He shot straight back and crashed into the hood of a black van.

The windshield of the van shattered into countless fragments.

Nero casually twirled the Enma Blade in her hand, then raised her palm to her forehead, standing on tiptoe in a mock lookout pose. "Mister, are you okay? Hellooo! Can you still hear me?"

The young man, pressing his hands on the van’s hood, pushed himself upright. Though he looked slightly disheveled, his expression remained unchanged—evidently, the attack hadn’t dealt any significant damage.

Then, from inside the van, a cold voice suddenly spoke.

"Zhishui, you’re too slow."

Zhishui…

Gongsun Zhishui stepped off the van’s hood, brushing glass shards off his clothes. He replied indifferently, "This woman is strong. Even in the Qian Department, she could probably compete for the title of ‘Golden Sword General.’"

"Then does that mean you don’t qualify as a ‘Golden Sword General’ yourself?" the voice inside the van questioned again. "Five minutes."

Gongsun Zhishui chuckled. "Too long."

With that, he raised his palm, and a long sword crackling with lightning slowly emerged, finally settling into his grip.

(End of Chapter)