18 There’s no way, right?

Enraptured by the dim lighting of the room, the three Fire Spirits who had accompanied the Flame Ancestor on his vacation to the mortal world had convened an emergency meeting. As they gathered into their respective seats surrounding a knee-height table cast entirely from solid, pure gold, the raised their heads to notice the same wry, uncontrollable smile on the others' countenances.

"…at this rate, Master is going to flay us alive, ah."

Ah Xi who had immersed himself into the depths of modern society and the hidden world of business enterprise and underhanded dealings released a heavy sigh of emotion, his lower lip refusing to relinquish its unceasing twitch. The youth glanced down towards the extravagant pocket watch on his right wrist, the hints of a hollow laugh threatening to claw its path of conquest from his throat.

Witnessing his action, Ah Hu's brows sunk, and his heart quivered in an inexplicable fright.

"The… the…" he groaned, deciding to bite the sacred bullet after glancing towards the expectant expressions on the others' countenances.

"Master surely has embarked on the plane… hasn't he?"

"Brother Hu, you said it, not us. Remember that!"

Ah Mu slapped his knee in praise as he sunk into his chair, his eyes crinkling into twin crescents. As the dignified and elegant man's expression warped into that of horror and fear, Ah Xi leaned his chin against the base of his palm, a curious expression stealing onto his countenance.

"I wonder… has Master burned down that plane yet?" the youth puckered his lips into an appreciative sigh of awe.

"Under such stress, that is indeed a foreseeable possibility."

Ah Hu agreed with a solemn nod, his fingers absentmindedly trailing along the hem of his exquisite suit. Staring towards the expensive crystals suspended from the ceiling of the room, the man who played the role of the tyrant responsible for the upper echelon of the world's safety revealed a childish grin.

"…though to that effect, we did clear everyone from that plane before it took off."

"The pilots, plane attendants, and the remainder of the staff are onboard, however," Ah Mu pointed out with a cackle.

"It would be unfortunate if those beauties were to suffer from the aftermath of triggering Master's phobia. Tsk, tsk, I wanted to have some fun with them – Brother Hu, you mustn't let your brother down!"

Ah Mu pushed his bangs towards the back of his hair as he closed his eyes in regret, envisioning the beautiful and highly attractive figure of the female workers responsible of the task of remodeling Shang Xuan's appearance and public demeanor. The researcher played with a silver object clasped in his hands, a dreamy expression soon finding itself on his countenance.

Ah Hu found himself unable to decide whether to cry or laugh at the Fire Spirit's statement.

"Do you think that my Heaven and Earth organization is a haven of beauties for you to hook up with?" the dignified Fire Spirit huffed with the remaining shreds of his elegance and refined demeanor.

"Hell, if you think you can subdue those beautiful fairies who had skipped through hellish training and gruesome fights with a bright smile on their countenance, be my guest and join the organization, ah."

It was at this time that Ah Xi interjected with a playful smile, his eyes twinkling with a lustre that all men were cognizant of. The youth rolled back the cuffs of his shirt with a gentle motion, his soft voice not bothering to conceal his smirk.

"Brother Hu, your war-tainted beauties are nothing for us Fire Spirits, have you forgotten? Not even the Silent Moon Palace and their exquisite and exceedingly well-mannered beauties could resist our flame, how could a few mortal women accomplish such a feat?"

With a cruel and merciless stomp, the remaining pride of the Heaven and Earth organization's leader disappeared from the Earth's horizons. Ah Hu silently lit an incense stick for each of his female subordinates, a fleeting thought racing through his heart.

Oh, my dear subjects, do your best not to succumb to the devils of temptation that were his brothers!

I promise not to divulge your locations and information to these perverts!

Of course, if they promise to take the blame for the accident of shoving a full staff of female employees onto Master's countenance, then the future would be uncertain for you all…

"Ah, do you reckon that the unlucky souls suffering from Master's outbursts will complain to Esteemed Ancestor Meng?"

…the dignified and refined Ah Hu had fallen from the perches of moral integrity to rejoin his brothers in the deep and inviting depths of the darkness.

-

Shang Xuan had fallen into the pits of hell.

Many delicate and soft fingers trailed across his countenance, their fingertips lightly massaging at his skin. The chatter of numerous excited and delighted women barged into the depths of his ear canals, their lustrous and melodious voices wreaking havoc in his mind.

The thin, fine bristles of a brush swept across his face, and scissors snipped their sharp and menacing blades towards the fragile and delicate eyebrows and hair.

Though his vision was encompassed in a bitter darkness, the youth could easily envision the individual strands of hair that had been callously abandoned by the implements of beauty, never to join the rest of his body for the remainder of their existence.

A pair of fingertips applied a warm substance onto his cheeks, whilst another skillful pair passaged a cool liquid onto his forehead and temples. Shang Xuan even felt a light sensation grace itself on his lips, though he didn't want to think about what could possibly be happening.

He wanted to escape; the sensation was far too foreign and aversive.

The soft and delicate fingers roaming across his countenance and body caused his skin to crawl with goosebumps and drip with cold sweat. They did not belong to Na-er – instead of the flutter of warmth and comfort, the youth felt as though he was being defiled with each passing second.

To escape, all that was required was a single movement. He only needed to reach upwards and strip off the blindfold to leap from the reclining chair, and he would be free.

But then Na-er would be disappointed… severely disappointed.

The expectant gleam in her eyes was scary and effectively rendered the rebellious, reclusive, and lazy Flame Ancestor into a docile and refined member of society. Each time that gaze was used upon him, his heart would twitch with a cold tremble of anxiety.

The moment he attempted to escape from this miserable experience, his fearful heart would earnestly persuade his body to not move.

And thus… another brush found itself on its path towards liberty, by raising the corner of the blindfold and sweeping across the youth's eyelashes with a delicate pounce.

"Esteemed Guest, just a few seconds more!"

The silvery voice of the beauty specialist echoed directly besides his right ear, causing Shang Xuan to nearly jolt from his seat. As the youth fiercely restrained his quivering limbs onto the chair, the employees finished their manipulations upon his countenance.

Guided by the numerous hands suffused with a unique warmth and gentle sensation, the youth arose from his chair. The thin strip of cloth obscuring his vision continued its faithful duty of projecting the world of darkness upon Shang Xuan's consciousness.

He heard the rustling of cloth bristle at the back of his earlobes, and the cold sensation of neatly pressed and trimmed clothes sliding across his skin to fit itself to his body. The hands crawling over his figure continued their erratic yet refined motions as they adjusted the cloth, tightening the necessary portions and closing the buttons.

And with his heart singing in relief, the blindfold was taken away by a pair of hands that Shang Xuan was exceptionally familiar with.

"Ah Xuan, take a look!"

Heeding the addictive and sweet voice ringing besides his ears, the youth opened his eyes to return back to the physical world. No longer immersed into the lonesome darkness, the Flame Ancestor took one look into the platinum mirror placed before him… and smashed his jaw onto the ground in fright.

The lazily trimmed hair that had previously been allowed to sprawl across his forehead had been reeled back, trimmed into a short cut that reflected a sharp brilliance and elegance. Similarly, his side and back hair had been shortened in their lengths to establish the image of a low fade hairstyle with a medium texture at the top.

His frightfully pale complexion that reeked of a perpetually indoors lifestyle had been invigorated by the use of an unknown tonic, and had been bestowed with a fair skin coloration and graceful texture – not suppressed in its delicacy, but retaining enough masculine traits.

Under the extensive work of the beauty specialists, the consequences of Shang Xuan's careless management of his skin and appearance had been permanently exorcised to reveal the pristine brilliance underneath.

It was such… a Western appearance, but the youth couldn't find it within his heart to search for any complaints.

Ah, no, there was indeed a complaint.

Just that, what was he wearing!?

A pair of black sneakers of unknown design and composition, but was fitting and comfortable. From a simple inspection of the odd and invigorating sensation seeping through the base of his soles, Shang Xuan was certain that Ah Mu had tinkered with the pair of shoes.

He was wearing a pair of black pants made from a combination of serge and denim, creating a dull finish that was oddly relaxing to his eyes. Similarly, the black buttoned shirt on his body was of a mixture of cotton and a different material.

When combined with a black Harrington jacket…

Oh, what were these people thinking!?