163: Chu Yu was humiliated

There were two reasons Lu Chen spared Bai Jingjing's life.

First, this woman controlled all of Guanyin Hall's strongholds and a lot of Cihang Sect's intelligence, making her useful alive.

Second, Lu Chen always felt Bai Jingjing looked familiar but couldn't recall who she was. He needed time to investigate slowly.

Lu Chen roared, "Pei Mingce!"

"Here!" Pei Mingce quickly entered from outside the door. He had been waiting outside, and now stood with his head bowed, awaiting orders, though his peripheral vision involuntarily darted towards Bai Jingjing.

Lu Chen looked up at Pei Mingce, his tone brooking no argument: "This woman is yours to manage. From now on, she will specialize in intelligence matters. If needed, allocate funds and personnel to her so she can quickly establish an intelligence network, which will make future operations more convenient."

Pei Mingce cupped his hands and accepted the order: "Yes, this subordinate will fully assist her in building the intelligence network."

Bai Jingjing, standing nearby, spoke with deep emotion: "Thank you for your trust, Young Lord. Jingjing will dedicate herself wholeheartedly until death!" She paused, her voice tinged with a timid hope, "It's just... if I miss Young Lord in the future, may I come to see Young Lord at any time?"

Lu Chen's tone held a hint of cold mockery: "I think you're asking for a slap—how about someone else gives it?"

Bai Jingjing shook her head vigorously: "No, Jingjing only wants Young Lord's slap. I don't know why, but Young Lord's slap always makes me feel especially close, even... even like it's my mission in life to serve Young Lord like this."

Pei Mingce's mouth twitched slightly as he listened, secretly clicking his tongue: This woman's flattery is truly masterful. It's over; if this continues, his standing in Young Lord's heart might not be secure... Lu Chen decided to investigate the Silk Merchant Guild at night.

Under Bai Jingjing's guidance, Lu Chen was forced to change into women's clothes. A light, white gauze dress enveloped his muscular physique, and a translucent veil covered his face, revealing only a pair of slightly uneasy eyes.

He awkwardly tugged at the hem of the skirt; the flimsy fabric made him feel completely uncomfortable.

Bai Jingjing surveyed her "masterpiece" with satisfaction, covering her mouth with a light laugh: "I didn't expect Young Lord to have such a captivating beauty when dressed as a woman."

Lu Chen's face darkened: "Shut up!"

The two walked into the Silk Merchant Guild's main entrance, one after the other.

The guild guards immediately bowed respectfully and made way upon seeing Bai Jingjing.

Lu Chen kept his head down, cautiously following behind, afraid of being exposed.

Passing through the bustling guild hall and turning several corridors, they arrived at a secluded corner.

Bai Jingjing skillfully pressed a mechanism, and a hidden door silently slid open, revealing downward stone steps.

"Stop!" A sharp shout suddenly came from behind.

Lu Chen's heart tightened.

Had his disguise been seen through? He instinctively touched the veil on his face, confirming it hadn't fallen off.

The guard captain strode over, but upon seeing Lu Chen's appearance, his fierce expression suddenly turned lewd.

"Miss Bai," he lecherously eyed Lu Chen, "who is this pretty lady? She's truly beautiful..." As he spoke, he reached out to lift Lu Chen's veil.

Lu Chen suppressed his disgust and stepped back half a pace.

Bai Jingjing, quick-witted, blocked him, giggling: "This is my new maid. If the captain likes her, how about I give her to you to play with after we finish our business?"

The guard captain was overjoyed, rubbing his hands repeatedly: "Good, good, good! Then you two hurry up and come back!" Before leaving, he didn't forget to give Lu Chen's backside a hard pinch.

Lu Chen stiffened, almost drawing his weapon on the spot, but Bai Jingjing stopped him with a look.

This unprecedented feeling of humiliation left him both angry and ashamed, and also with a strange, peculiar sensation.

After entering the secret passage, Lu Chen finally couldn't help but pull off his veil and gasp for air. "Damn it!"

Bai Jingjing laughed, her body shaking: "Young Lord's charm is considerable; even men are captivated by you. I truly didn't choose the wrong person."

Lu Chen said coldly: "Shut up, let's get down to business!"

Lu Chen looked out, and his vision suddenly cleared, causing him to gasp.

The underground space was astonishingly large, with dozens of conveyor belts crisscrossing. Sacks oozing blood were continuously transported to a central processing area.

Workers in uniform swiftly sorted and packed, and the slogan "Deliver all living beings" on the wall seemed particularly ironic.

"What is this... doing..." Lu Chen frowned.

"This is Guanyin Hall's meat transfer station." Bai Jingjing casually kicked away a severed finger that had rolled near her foot. "Every day, 'goods' are brought in from various places, screened, processed. The valuable parts go to refine blood fiend pills, and the useless parts are made into feed." Lu Chen looked at the bulging sacks on the conveyor belt and suddenly noticed one sack was still slightly wriggling: "Those people are still alive!"

Bai Jingjing nodded: "It's better if they're alive; fresh flesh and blood have the best medicinal effect. The City Lord must offer one hundred living people to the main altar every month. As for the rest..." She pointed to a large, steaming pot in the distance, "See that? The soup made from those bones is the special high-quality broth supplied to all the major restaurants in Feiyun City."

Lu Chen watched everything before him in shock: "So many people go missing every month, and the Tianwu Dynasty above doesn't care?"

Bai Jingjing scoffed lightly: "Tens of thousands of people pass through Feiyun City daily; who would notice a few less? Besides... the City Lord is one of us, how could he manage it!"

...Inside the Feiyun City Lord's Mansion, Ge Hong stood with his hands behind his back by a carved window.

He narrowed his eyes, pointing at a burly figure on the street: "That's Chu Yu! This man comes from the wilderness, said to be a descendant of the Chu Kingdom. He truly has extraordinary talent. Act quickly! We can't let him escape."

In a shadowed corner, a figure completely enveloped in a black robe let out a hoarse laugh: "City Lord, don't worry, he won't escape." The black-robed figure slowly raised a withered finger, gesturing in the candlelight, "This man is reckless and easily angered. I've already set a trap for him to jump into himself."

In Feiyun City's West Market, Chu Yu was selecting medicinal herbs at an apothecary.

Suddenly, a piercing laugh came from behind him: "Isn't this the barbarian who claims to be from the Chu royal family?" Seven or eight dissolute Young Masters, led by Young Master Zhao, walked up, fanning themselves, with several guards following behind them.

"Get lost." Chu Yu said coldly, continuing to select herbs.

Young Master Zhao blocked Chu Yu's path with his folding fan: "What's the rush? I heard you Chu people are best at feigning madness. Come on, put on a show for this Young Master!" As he spoke, he snatched the herb packet from Chu Yu's hand, scattering the contents on the ground.

Chu Yu suppressed his anger and bent down to pick them up.

Just then, Young Master Qian stepped on the herbs: "Don't bother picking them up. Anyway, you Chu people's lives are cheap; you don't need such good medicine."

"You're asking for death..." Chu Yu's fists were clenched white.

"What? Want to fight?" Young Master Sun suddenly shouted loudly, "Everyone, come and see! The barbarian is about to commit violence in the street!" Instantly, a crowd of onlookers gathered.

Young Master Zhao taunted: "If you're really capable, go prove it at the spirit testing platform. If you don't dare to go, it means you admit all you Chu people are useless."