A Pawn's Passage

By using a simple little scheme and with the cooperation of the Ziguang Society, Zhang Yuelu successfully identified the exact location where the Nanyang United Trading Company was holding slaves. It was right in the central district of Lion City.

However, Zhang Yuelu understood very clearly that the small trick she used to make that woman fall ill would not withstand close scrutiny. It could easily alert the Nanyang United Trading Company and prompt them to relocate the captives early. Thus, she had to act immediately. There was no room for the slightest delay.

Thus, as soon as Zhang Yuelu ended her communication with Qi Xuansu, she set out at once. She followed the trace of aura she had left inside that woman’s body and arrived outside the Nanyang United Trading Company’s warehouse.

From the outside, this warehouse resembled an ordinary Western-style villa. According to intelligence from the Ziguang Society, it was not registered under the Nanyang United Trading Company but under the name of a Westerner. Thus, from appearance alone, this “villa” had no connection to the Company.

Simply destroying the warehouse held little meaning for Zhang Yuelu. She needed to link this place directly to the Nanyang United Trading Company, catch the thief with the stolen goods, and expose their wrongdoing with undeniable proof.

Only when both the perpetrators and the incriminating evidence were present could she secure airtight proof, leaving the Nanyang United Trading Company with no room to deny anything.

Naturally, formations had been set up around the residence to prevent slaves inside from escaping and to stop enemies from intruding.

But this posed no problem for Zhang Yuelu. With just a slight activation of the Six Void Tribulations, she silently broke through the formation and slipped inside with ease.

In truth, having a Wuliang-stage Heavenly Being handle such a task was excessive. However, if an ordinary Xiantian Being were to attempt breaking in, these formations would have fully displayed their intended defensive effect.

Concealing her presence, Zhang Yuelu moved through the villa like a fish in the water. She followed the faint strand of aura and soon found a hidden downward passage.

Clearly, the villa aboveground was merely a disguise. The real warehouse lay underground.

Zhang Yuelu did not bother trying to find the mechanism that opened the passage. Instead, she directly used the Five Elements Escape Method to burrow through the ground and enter the underground passage below.

There were many guards in the passage as well, who were private soldiers of the Nanyang United Trading Company. After all, a company this large functioned like an independent kingdom and naturally cultivated its own armed force. Even without mentioning the dirty work, these private troops were essential just for defending against pirates.

Zhang Yuelu moved like a silent wisp of smoke. Wherever she passed, the guards collapsed one by one. She did not take their lives. She only incapacitated them, quietly dismantling their defenses step by step without alerting anyone.

Soon, the downward passage came to an end, where Zhang Yuelu heard the voices of two people conversing.

A voice asked, “How much stock is left in the warehouse?”

An elderly voice replied, “Most of the Grade-A goods have already been moved. There’s about half remaining. They’re not Grade A, but they still count as Upper Grade B, so they shouldn’t be hard to sell.”

The first person said, “We need to speed up. The order from above is to clear out all stock within half a month, stop taking in new goods, and shut this warehouse down.”

Zhang Yuelu frowned. Judging from their conversation, the Nanyang United Trading Company was already starting to cut off parts of its operations. If she and Qi Xuansu acted any slower, the Company might really slip away unscathed.

The two continued talking for a moment before one of them left, leaving only the old man behind.

The old man was about to take advantage of his position to enjoy an upper-grade Grade B “merchandise” when a chill rose behind him. He turned sharply and saw a figure standing behind him. He had no idea when the figure had appeared.

At his peak, the old man was once a Heavenly Being. But years ago, he was grievously injured by people from the Heavenly Court and barely survived. Thus, his cultivation level fell to the ninth level of the Guizhen stage. Since then, he relied on the Nanyang United Trading Company for shelter.

Though he no longer had his former strength, he still possessed the pride and insight of his past. He showed no fear and threw a punch. His strong fist intention surged forth like a great river, thunderous and overwhelming.

Zhang Yuelu did not wish to create too much noise. With a light tap of her finger, she employed the Six Voids Tribulation, dissolving the old man’s fist intention.

Shocked, the old man hurriedly withdrew his punch and protected himself as his body slid backward. But he did not expect the mysterious woman to press her advantage. She flashed forward again, with fingers curved like hooks, grabbing straight for his head.

Anger rose in the old man’s heart. He had once been a Heavenly Being. Fallen or not, few dared show him disrespect. When had he ever suffered humiliation at the hands of a junior? With a roar, his body spirits flared to life. He intended to use his physical strength to withstand her grab, then counter with a killing punch to finish her off.

But Zhang Yuelu shocked the old man yet again. With just one grab, his body felt as soft as clay, unable to withstand even a single move. She clutched his throat, not allowing him to move. He could not even think of counterattacking.

Dragging the old man with her, Zhang Yuelu retreated into the shadows and disappeared from sight.

This underground warehouse was vast, large enough for Zhang Yuelu to maneuver and conceal herself with ease.

Earlier, the noise from the old man’s punch had alarmed others. Shortly after Zhang Yuelu vanished, two stewards each led a team of men to the spot.

Steward Sun spoke with a heavy expression. “Someone infiltrated this place. It should be a Heavenly Being.”

Steward Chen’s face darkened visibly upon hearing this. “It must be one of Qi Xuansu’s men.”

Steward Sun muttered, “It seems this location is already exposed. The Spirit Guards and Black Robes might already be on their way.”

At that thought, Steward Sun’s eyes went blank, his mind slightly scattered, and he slowly turned to look at Steward Chen.

Steward Chen said, “Old Sun, with the situation as it is, you need to decide quickly.”

After gradually recovering his focus, Steward Sun spoke resolutely. “At this point, it’s already a matter of life and death. We might as well go all the way...”

Steward Chen instinctively lowered his voice to a whisper. “You mean...act ahead of schedule?”

“The original plan was to clear out the stock slowly. That clearly won’t work anymore,” Steward Sun said coldly.

Steward Chen nodded.

“How much stock is left in the warehouse?” Steward Sun asked.

Steward Chen paused for a moment before replying, “There weren’t many to begin with. Now, there are about forty-odd remaining.”

“These goods can’t be kept any longer. Even those that have already been ordered can’t be delivered anymore.” Steward Sun’s expression was grim.

A vicious glint flashed in Steward Chen’s eyes as he said, “Alright. We’ll kill them first, then use chemicals to dissolve the bodies, and finally set a big fire. There won’t be a single trace left afterward.”

Steward Sun nodded, approving of the plan. “I’ll report to the higher-ups. You must handle the remaining goods personally. Make sure it’s a clean job.”

The two stewards were of equal rank, but Steward Sun had a slightly higher status due to his family background.

Steward Sun added, “A Heavenly Being has infiltrated this place, and Old Gao has already fallen victim, so don’t move alone. There are many of us. One Heavenly Being is nothing we can’t handle.”

Hearing this, Steward Chen nodded in assent.

The two stewards split up. Steward Chen prepared to gather more men to deal with the remaining slaves and to bolster his own sense of security, since a Heavenly Being was still lurking in the dark and the area was no longer safe.

At that moment, someone suddenly shouted, “Where are Old Zhou and his men? Why are they missing?”

Steward Chen was startled. “That Heavenly Being acted again. No one must be alone! We have more than a dozen Xiantian Beings here, so we can crush him, even if it means physically piling on top of that Heavenly Being!”

The people around him responded quickly, though their tone sounded more like they were trying to reassure themselves.

Following Steward Chen, the group headed toward the area where the slaves were held. The place was huge. At its peak, it could hold several hundred people. Now, only a few dozen remained, so most of the cages were empty, with the remaining slaves concentrated in the innermost section.

Normally, they felt that locking people deep inside the warehouse was the safest arrangement. But today, they regretted that decision. Why had they put them so far inside? A group of weak women couldn’t possibly escape. Now, it only made things harder for them.

The path that usually felt short seemed especially long today, and the unlit areas felt even more eerie.

Sure enough, before they had gone far, someone shouted, “Where’s Xiao Luan?”

Everyone turned back. Even moving in a group, there had to be someone at the front and back. Xiao Luan had been at the rear of the group, but now, he had vanished silently. No one knew when or how he disappeared.

Such silent methods terrified the group even more, because no one had seen anything. They had only heard Steward Gao’s punch that created some noise and one shout from him before he disappeared. Now, it felt more like there was a millennial ghost haunting them. Could it be that their daily evil deeds had finally drawn vengeful spirits to claim their lives?

Some of the timid ones had already begun praying desperately to every deity they could think of—the Primordial Daoist Ancestor, the Buddha, the Heavenly Empress, as well as Wu Luo, True Lord Siming, and even Golden Patriarch—completely ignoring whether these deities should even be mentioned together.

Steward Chen barked, “Enough! Praying to gods is useless now. Stay alert, watch your companions on both sides, and don’t fall behind!”

With that, the group continued forward.

They had barely walked a few meters when a large swarm of paper butterflies suddenly swept toward them. This was completely beyond everyone’s expectations. How could butterflies—paper ones at that—appear in an underground dungeon?

The paper butterflies swarmed fiercely, engulfing the entire group in an instant. All they could see was a vast white blur as the paper butterflies fluttered everywhere like a plague of locusts. No one could spare attention to watch their companions. They could only flail wildly to fend off the pests.

When the paper butterflies finally passed, Steward Chen did another headcount. Five more people were missing.

Steward Chen felt his limbs go weak, thinking, Is a millennial ghost really haunting us?