Chapter 104 No Survival in Desperate Circumstances

And every rebuke, imbued with the legal authority and majesty of the Great Wu Dynasty, channeled through the Luck of the official seal, struck directly into the depths of Chen Mu's Divine Soul. Each echo made his Divine Soul tremble, causing his Qi and blood to flow in reverse, nearly making him vomit blood.

"Shut up!"

Chen Mu gritted his teeth and roared lowly, activating the Soul-Loss Art with all his might in an attempt to resist the mental oppression. But the power of Luck from the official seal originated from the entire Great Wu Dynasty; how could his personal Soul Power possibly contend with it?

At this moment, he only felt an excruciating pain in his Sea of Consciousness, as if it were about to be torn apart by the golden light.

"Kneel!"

Xu Changze's voice came through the black cloth, carrying a cold sense of satisfaction.

The golden light condensed, forming a massive, illusory seal that pressed down directly upon Chen Mu's head.

Chen Mu exhausted all his strength, thrusting the soul-slaying blade upward in an attempt to break through this suppression of Luck.

But the moment the blade touched the illusory seal, he suddenly felt as if he had stabbed into the entire earth. The counter-shock force caused the webbing between his thumb and forefinger to split, and blood flowed freely.

"Bang!"

The illusory seal finally pressed down solidly onto Chen Mu. His Protective Aura shattered completely, and his entire body was forced down onto one knee, his back hunched, his bones emitting an unbearable creaking sound.

The soul-slaying blade also flew from his grasp, clattering to the ground. Yet he still held on stubbornly, refusing to collapse.

Xu Changze walked over slowly, crouched down, and looked at Chen Mu's face, which was twisted in pain. A flash of surprise crossed his eyes, immediately replaced by an even deeper coldness.

"Tough! I like tough bones like you."

"But tough bones always need to be broken to become obedient."

Chen Mu trembled all over, cold sweat pouring down. Every inch of his skin felt as if it had been scorched by a branding iron, the pain piercing his heart. Even worse was the mental humiliation. It felt as if he were not fighting one person, but the majesty of the entire Great Wu Dynasty's officialdom.

Xu Changze snorted coldly, looking at the young man who had caused him to miscalculate time and time again, every word he spoke dripping with mockery.

"Chen Mu, last night you slew the Ghost King and were the great hero who saved Yunmeng."

"If all the commoners in the city knew that their great hero actually had a penchant for the Dragon-Yang, was fooling around with men in the Peony Pavilion in the dead of night, and even got into a fight over jealousy, only to be caught on the spot by government officials."

"Guess... what their reaction would be?"

Chen Mu struggled to lift his head, his eyes bloodshot.

"Xu Changze! You..."

Xu Changze laughed, the sound appearing exceptionally sinister through his mask.

"Chen Mu, don't look at me like that. If you want to blame someone, blame yourselves for being unappreciative."

"This official gave you a chance: be content as your heroes, take your rewards, and don't meddle in other people's business. But you insisted on investigating, insisting on walking down this path to death."

"Since you chose this path, don't blame this official for being ruthless."

Just then, a middle-aged man with thick powder on his face and fine lines at the corners of his eyes walked over with a swaying gait. This person was the manager of the Peony Pavilion. His eyes darted between Chen Mu and the direction of Qi Huan upstairs, and a fawning smile piled up on his face.

"My Lord."

He bowed slightly to Xu Changze, his tone respectful yet probing.

"What do you think should be done with these two troublemakers? Quite a few items were broken, and other honored guests were disturbed."

Xu Changze glanced at him, standing with his hands behind his back, his voice returning to the deliberately altered hoarseness.

"The rules of the Peony Pavilion state that if you cause trouble, you must be punished, but..."

He paused after speaking and surveyed the surroundings. At this time, many guests who were still shaken but filled with prurient curiosity had gathered on the second and third-floor corridors and the edge of the first-floor hall. Xu Changze's gaze swept over them, and the corners of his mouth under the black cloth seemed to curl up.

"My honored guests were startled tonight, and that is due to the poor hospitality of my Peony Pavilion."

"How about we have a little fun to liven things up? Consider it a token of apology from the Peony Pavilion to calm your nerves."

The manager was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood, a flash of shrewd and cruel light passing through his eyes. He cleared his throat and raised his voice, his shrill tone sounding exceptionally jarring in the silent hall.

"Honored guests, honored guests, please calm down. I am truly sorry for disturbing your refined interests just now."

"However, since our Peony Pavilion has opened its doors for business, we pride ourselves on being lively. While this current situation is a small accident, isn't it also quite interesting?"

He deliberately kept them in suspense, waiting until he had attracted more curious gazes, before pointing at Chen Mu, who was kneeling on the ground unable to move under the suppression of the golden seal, and the direction of the private room on the second floor. From there, Qi Huan's exasperated cursing and struggling could still be faintly heard.

"I'm sure some sharp-eyed gentlemen have already recognized these two; they are no ordinary hooligans looking to stir up trouble."

"Especially the one on the ground—that is our Yunmeng City's newest great hero, Squad Leader Chen Mu!"

A commotion immediately broke out in the crowd.

"What? Hero Chen?"

"Didn't he just kill the Ghost King? How could he..."

"Oh my, you really can never judge a book by its cover."

The manager was very satisfied with this effect and raised his voice a few notches.

"Heroes are people too, and they have some unique hobbies. It's just a pity he played too hard and broke the rules."

"According to the old rules of our establishment, if you cause trouble, you must accept punishment. Since all you gentlemen are here today and have seen this spectacle, why don't we add a little wager?"

His eyes flashed with the calculating light peculiar to merchants, and he waved his hand.

"While these two aren't professional Xianggu from our establishment, their status is special, and they have a unique flavor. Especially this Squad Leader Chen; not only is his appearance decent, but this vibe of a hero in distress is a rare commodity."

"Today we will auction them on the spot, to the highest bidder. Tonight, whichever gentleman takes them home can discipline them properly and have a deep chat. The starting price is... one hundred taels each. Let's start with that Officer Qi upstairs."

As soon as these words were spoken, the hall fell dead silent, followed by an eruption of strange cries, whistles, and jeers. The guests who had been frightened by the fight were now hooked by this twisted auction, and the atmosphere instantly became feverish and distorted.

"One hundred and twenty taels! I want the one upstairs; he's a high-ranking official, that's exciting!"

"One hundred and fifty taels! Officer Qi is mine!"

"Two hundred taels!"

Bidding voices rose one after another, accompanied by filthy language and lewd comments.

Qi Huan's angry cursing from the second floor had taken on a desperate hoarseness; clearly, he had heard the commotion below and understood what kind of situation he was about to face.

Chen Mu knelt on the ground, his heart ice-cold. He closed his eyes and desperately activated the Soul-Loss Art, attempting to break through the suppression of the official seal. But that Dynasty Luck was like a wall of copper and iron; no matter how hard he tried, it only resulted in more intense, piercing pain in his Sea of Consciousness.

Was he really to suffer such a great humiliation? To be auctioned off like cargo, and then... He could not imagine the scene that would follow. If that were truly the case, he would rather die!

"Three hundred taels, Banner Officer Qi goes to Master Wang from the north of the city!" the manager announced loudly.

"Good!" Master Wang beamed with joy, and flanked by several sturdy men who looked like servants, he impatiently pushed toward the second-floor staircase, while ambiguous laughter and whistles rang out all around.

The manager's gaze turned back to Chen Mu, his smile even brighter.

"Now for the main event of our night."

"Our great hero Chen, starting price one hundred and fifty taels!"

"Gentlemen, this is a rare opportunity. Just think about it: this hero who is usually high and mighty, who slew the Ghost King, now in this state. Tonight... hehe, start!"