Trouble brewing

After extracting information from the guard, Ximen Wei found himself at a dilemma... What should he do with the guard? Certainly, at least at the moment, he can't be let free... After all, loose mouths can and WILL bring problems. If they found out that the prison escapee was a Cultivator, then naturally the Song Family or even the Green Lotus City authorities will dispatch Qi Cultivators as pursuers.

The difficulty of escaping will increase ten-fold, making it almost impossible for Ximen Wei to regain freedom... And killing the guard, after being showed kindness in some form, is definitely an unethically and morally wrong choice, Ximen Wei doesn't have the heart to do that.

When the guard saw Ximen Wei hesitating, sweat trickled down his forehead, he dared not underestimate this little demon, who at the age of 10 mercilessly slaughtered his companions in a brutal and savage fashion. He opened his mouth but found that no words could come out, he was trembling from top to bottom, fear overwhelmed him as he started overthinking about his fate, what would happen to him.. He feared the devil in front of him would end his life just like his companions.

Ximen Wei sat there, playing with his new dagger and contemplating his choices, he knew that his escape would be noticed eventually, but he wanted to delay the matter. A diabolical idea flashed by his mind, his face paled and he quickly shook it off..

That idea was far too malicious, far too evil.. Far too horrifying...

'How come I came up with such an idea?' - Panting, Ximen Wei thought to himself.

Although the idea he came up could be considered stupid, it was brilliant in this day and age.. But it was far too brutal, far too vicious... After weighting down the pros and cons, Ximen Wei clenched his fists and decided to through it!

'FOR SURVIVAL!'

Yes, for survival! This is all done for Ximen Wei's survival! And to increase his chances of escaping from this place and stripping him off his slave status!

Tears welled up inside Ximen Wei's eyes as he grabbed the guard and dragged him back to his old Prison cell. It pained him to do this, he didn't even know if he have the heart to do it but, it is what it is, and if he doesn't take action now, then he will encounter a fate worse than death.

...

A team of four armored guards were passing by, when suddenly, one of them halted in his place. He frowned, and even took out a napkin to cover his nose and mouth.. A nasty odour, something so foul and disgusting, permeated his nostrils.

"I think I smell something..."

The other three stopped in their tracks and looked at the guard with fear and veneration, some tried sniffing the air but, since this dungeon was already bad smelling, found nothing out of the ordinary.

"That old fart Song Peizhi should be busy with the mission assigned to him by the Family Patriarchs... He shouldn't be down here playing with his new toys, right?"

This guard who noticed the smell was kinda special, he wore a crimson uniform unlike his peers, indicating that his rank is higher than a mere patrolmen or a guard. And most importantly, the Qi undulations that came off of him clearly indicated that he was no mere mortal, but a Qi Cultivator.. A Level 1 Qi Trainee!

Since the Song Family hired a Level 1 Qi Trainee to watch over their dungeon, that family must not be a force that is easily trifled with.

Not just the Song Family, but all the Noble and Prestigeous Families of the Green Lotus City are all powerhouses among powerhouses! Their lineage dates back to thousands of years and they must have at their disposal at least a Rank 1 Qi Expert.

"Stay on alert, I smell blood, follow me."

The guards unhesitantly unsheathed their swords, spread out in a formation, and followed the red robed cultivator surnamed Dongfang.

After spending quite a bit of time walking, they arrived at what appears to be the fresh corpses of the guards slain by Ximen Wei.

The smell here was awful, bits of blood and brain matter were splashed all over the place. The way these guards died was done in a merciless and brutal fashion, and clearly required superhuman strength. From the hole in the head to the hole in the chest, all these clues indicated that the culprit must be a Qi Cultivator.

After studying the corpses, Dongfang's eyes shone with a strange light. This was a serious matter, especially for the Noble, long-standing Families that value face and prestige. After all, a Qi Cultivator is running amok and free in their backyard, how could they let this happen.

One guard was sent to inform the others and request for backup, the other two followed Dongfang as they searched for the culprit.

Very soon, alarm bells rang out in the Song Family's mansion as numerous men were dispatched, amongst them were 3 Qi Cultivators, one of them was Old Mao.

Unfortunately, Song Peizhi was still in the Criminal District, cleaning up the filth that infested the city...

Meanwhile, multiple Rank 1 Qi Experts and Qi Trainees were searching all over the city, looking for Long Gen. The Green Lotus City Lord was on high alert, after all, he's up against another Rank 2 Qi Expert, and more importantly so, this Rank 2 Qi Expert possesses a Qi Artifact!

In a far away place, deep in the Tang Mountains, an old man with white hair and white beard sat cross-legged in meditation, suddenly, his eyes opened and shone dangerously as he looked in the direction of the Green Lotus City. He waved his hands and multiple figures sprang out of the shadows, after he gave his orders, he closed his eyes as he fell back into his entranced state.

The Green Lotus City Lord felt things were going out of his control, although Long Gen escaped and no casualties occurred, he had this ominous feeling that something very bad is going to happen.

He even regretted his rash decision of attacking Long Gen back then, although his plan was thorough and encompassed alot of stuff, he didn't expect the mastermind behind the Criminal District to possess a Qi Artifact... It didn't matter whether the Qi Artifact was powerful or not, what mattered was the force behind Long Gen that supplied the Qi Artifact.

It must be said that Qi Artifacts are incredibly rare and valuable, they're practically priceless. Not anyone can possess them, not even the Green Lotus City Lord himself, someone who presides over and regulates a prosperous and merchant city.

That is why the Green Lotus City Lord is having doubts, he knew that the Criminal District must be a recruitment ground for a sect, but he did research and found no sect nearby. Even his interrogations led to nothing.

The sect may be the Criminal District itself, and the Sect Leader may even be Long Gen as well... However, the possession of a Qi Artifact changes everything. if Long Gen was the Sect Leader, then they're in a losing battle and the sect will counterattack very soon, leading to immense losses.

After all, just the fact that the Sect got that kind of tool in their arsenal means they have more and better resources than the Green Lotus City.

But.. If the Criminal District was merely a recruitment ground for a sect.. And Long Gen was merely someone who was sent there to preside over the matters and manage it... Then the Green Lotus City is in unprecedented danger.

After all, if a sect can easily deploy a Rank 2 Qi Expert, equipped with a Qi Artifact, then they're a force that is not to be trifled with.

Even if the entire Noble Families and the Generals of Green Lotus City banded together and fought back against the counterattack of this particular sect, they may not survive.

The Green Lotus City Lord sat there in contemplation, thinking deep and hard what actions should he take, he even considered requesting for reinforcements from Western Wen's Imperial Forces or Army. After all, they're pretty close.

...

Meanwhile in the Song Family's dungeon, Dongfang, accompanied by two guards, arrived at Ximen Wei's cell... What they found there, was something shocking, something horrifying, something undescribable.

One of the guards couldn't even handle the sight, he went to a corner and started madly vomitting. What he saw was a sight so unforgettable and haunting, he wouldn't be able to forget it for the rest of his life.

What he saw there was paste.. More specifically, meat paste.

Mangled bones, flesh, ripped intestines, muscles and arteries protruding out, brain matter, hair.. The sight was gory to the extreme, the iron smell of blood was super strong that even Dongfang, a man who went through numerous battles and bloodshed, couldn't handle it.

This isn't even the corpse of a human being anymore, it was a blob of meat and bones. One of the guards shakingly took out a paper and crossed Ximen Wei's name off... Then turned towards a corner and proceeded to vomit everything in his stomach out.

The guards looked off towards the hallway that leads to the children's section.. The place where Song Peizhi keeps all his "toys".. And knew that, something inhuman must've happen.

... They had a bad feeling.

Meanwhile, Ximen Wei, face pale, was fighting a squad for four. It took him quite some time but eventually he managed to pull it off by using his Qi Techniques.

He looked down at his red, bloodied hands and started laughing manically.. Today, he did something horrible and unforgivable.. In a single day, not only did he committed his first murder but... He murdered over 10 people, and almost 5 of these 10 people were innocent children who were kidnapped and forced to be here.

Ximen Wei knew that, in order to not leave any trace behind, he had to "die", and he had to make his death look believable. If only he died in his prison cell, and the rest of the children didn't die.. Then people will pick up on the matter and initiate a thorough search to confirm the matter. After all, if a Qi Cultivator was running amok in the Song Family's dungeon, why would he "kill" Ximen Wei specifically? And leave the rest of the children unharmed or untouched?

That's especially so since they know Ximen Wei is from the Criminal District, and even a part of the Long Gang, the personal gang groomed by the mastermind and father of the Criminal District itself.

Plus, the fourth guard is a loose end, his whereabouts are unknown, all they knew that he's out there, dead or alive... If only Ximen Wei "died", then with proper investigative methods, they'll eventually find out that the blob of meat in Ximen Wei's prison cell is not that of Ximen Wei, but of the missing fourth guard. After all, the Qi World is mystical and mysterious, Qi can do a lot of wonders, and there's definitely profound methods for investigation and information gathering, something the humans of modern Earth can't even fathom to comprehend.

That's why Ximen Wei took it upon himself to mercilessly turn the rest of the children in prison cells into meat paste. So even if they find clues that the body in Ximen Wei's cell is not that of him, but of the missing fourth guard, they'll be in doubt and mistake the missing fourth guard as an accomplice for the Qi Cultivator who infiltrated the dungeon. After all, the Song Family's dungeon is heavily guardad and can not be infiltrated easily, surely, an insider must've helped the culprit enter, right?

Ximen Wei guessed Prestigeous and Noble Families such as the Song Family got their ego and face to maintain, even if they find out the truth eventually, they'd rather say a formidable Qi Expert, accompanied by an inside accomplice, infiltrated their dungeon than say a 10 year old kid escaped their dungeon.

Currently, Ximen Wei was speeding off towards the exit's direction, he knew the place inside and out thanks to the interrogations earlier, and now, he possesses the keys necessary to exit this damn place.

Right now, the place is heavily guarded because of the alarm earlier but.. Despite the risks of getting caught are higher than ever, Ximen Wei knew that if he emerged unscatched from this crisis, he will enjoy the freedom that he always seeked.

And even more so because right now, he's a Qi Cultivator! His future prospects are unlimited! He finally got a chance, even tho it's quite miniscule, to go back to his former world, and untie the knots in his heart.

Dongfang's face was dark, the guards alongside with him were trembling from both fear and anger. They just finished checking up on all the prison cells, and the things they saw would haunt them for the rest of their lives.

It was the same sight in every prison cell, all the children there were mingled pieces of flesh and meat, a blob of red matter that emanated an odour so disgusting that even these veteran and trained guards couldn't handle it.

Dongfang clenched his fists as he swore he would find the culprit behind this matter... And deliver justice to these poor, lost souls.

His aura soared madly as he made an incantation gesture.

"Qi Technique - Envision Aura!"

Magically, the world in his view turned ethereal and unreal. He started seeing all sorts of mists and gases... These were the auras of all the people who went by, some were strong and some were weak.. But what stood out the most was an aura whose height isn't even past 150cm, yet despite that, it brimmed strongly with vigour and lifeforce, it emanated the fearsome undulations of a Level 1 Qi Trainee.

Dongfang's eyes sharpened..

"We're dealing with a rogue Level 1 Qi Trainee, height is around 140-150cm... Possibly a Dwarf but according to his aura, he's a human. Keep an eye out."

After telling his companions, he spat out a mouthful of blood due to the backlash of using a Qi Technique way above his cultivation base, he quickly wipped his mouth off before making his way towards the exit.

He had to inform the Song Family and even the Green Lotus City's authorities about the horrendous acts and the rogue, demonic Qi Cultivator that is on the loose.