Chapter 42 - Late Night Visits

(Lian Li POV)

I tapped my foot impatiently as Manami slipped out of Master's room, closing the door silently behind her.

It was already late into the night, the crescent moon the only source of illumination within the courtyard.

She glided down the steps to meet me, her features radiating a slightly ethereal glow.

"Nothing happened, hmm?" Manami poked at me.

"Shut up… I… I didn't think it would actually happen then…" I admitted.

"Was it good?"

"... Heavenly."

"Ufufufufu~~ This big sister would really like to sit down and talk about it but… Let's leave it for next time then, are you ready?"

I checked my clothes before nodding to her, "You sure you can bring us there?"

"Ara, ara? It's a Technique Master taught us, I have full confidence in it."

I nodded, "Let's go then."

Manami waved her arms in an intricate pattern and her body began to glow slightly, a small ring of light appearing beneath her feet.

She stretched her arms out to the side, causing the circle of light to expand to beneath my feet.

With a snap of her fingers, the light glowed brighter and the world around us blurred before snapping back into focus suddenly.

"Where are we?" I asked, not recognising the place.

"The forest just behind the Fiery Flames Sect," Manami explained. "The two pieces of trash live near the back walls so this works in our favour, or so my sources say."

"Hmmm… How do we get in without anyone knowing then?"

"Fufufu… That's the most simple part," Manami giggled, waving her hand in the air.

I felt a wave of cool air wash over me as her illusion Technique took effect. Raising my hands, I could see that my hands were translucent now.

"We can still see each other, but the others won't be able to see us. Remember, this only hides our presence and sight, not our sound or smell," Manami cautioned.

I nodded in understanding, "Alright, you know where they are?"

She tapped her nose, "Of course I do, follow me."

The both of us leapt over the wall without trouble, landing silently within a spacious courtyard.

Both of us were just about to move forward when the door to the building beside us opened, an Elder stepping out into the courtyard with his legs spread rather wide apart.

Manami's concealing Technique held strong as he didn't even look in our direction.

We immediately recognised him as that trash Elder who had challenged Master back then.

"Haa… To be used by the Sect as a scapegoat and even receive such a wound from Master Lin… Truly is my bad luck…" he murmured to himself.

He hobbled away slowly with his legs spread wide apart, much to our amusement.

We would have loved to leave some malicious 'gifts' for him but we decided it would be best to leave as little trace of our involvement tonight as possible.

We crept through the courtyard, following a winding path towards what should be the Elite Sect members' courtyards.

Manami stopped in front of one such courtyard, frowning, "I smell blood… Thick..."

My frown matched hers and I prepared myself for what may be inside.

That trash might be engaged in a form of blood ritual.

We crept into the courtyard, gliding across the small garden to reach the interior building that should house his sleeping quarters.

I tried the door, but it wouldn't budge.

Manami circled her finger in the air, signalling to find another way of gaining entry.

Reaching the back of the house, we noticed a window that was left slightly ajar. Judging by its position, it should lead to the bathroom of the house.

I lead the way towards it, intending on using it as a point of entry.

That was when the thick stench of blood assaulted my nose.

I looked back at Manami who had her own nose wrinkled from the smell. Her ears twitched slightly before she gave me an assuring nod.

Readying myself, I pulled open the window slowly and peered inside.

Nothing prepared me for what I saw.

That trash was suspended upside down on the ceiling, his body swaying slightly in the breeze.

There was a gaping hole at where his abdomen would be, his innards dug out to be used as the rope to suspend him.

Manami peeked from my side, wrinkling her nose at the sight.

We climbed into the room, our senses tuned and wary for any threats.

Finding no one else, I began to inspect the corpse.

Other than the hole in his abdomen, that trash seemed to have underwent a series of torture judging by the various bruises and cuts.

A gag was also stuffed into his mouth, stained red with blood.

It seemed like he was killed while in the midst of bathing, as evident from the tub of bath water that sat directly below him, the water already stained red with the blood from the hanging carcass.

Manami's hands glowed as she touched the thing's head.

"Ara? No memories… The person who did this was very thorough. This thing should've died last night or two nights ago."

The distance between Phoenix Sect and this Sect was shorter compared to ours, so that means they should have returned to their Sect earlier than us.

"Hmm… This changes things…" She whispered. "Should we check on the next one?"

I nodded, feeling slightly annoyed that someone had ruined our plan of gaining another believer. He was probably the result of some inner feud between Sect members.

Manami led the way towards another courtyard further down the path, stopping at the entrance.

"It's the same," Manami stated, annoyance clear on her face.

We crept into the courtyard, finding the door locked as well while the bathroom window was similarly left slightly ajar.

It felt like whoever did this was taunting us.

Peeking into the bathroom revealed the other trash in the exact same position as the first one.

"This one too? How many enemies do they have?" I wondered aloud.

Manami tapped a finger on her chin, "Mmmm… Well, this is quite unfortunate… But there's nothing we can do now so let's just go back."

I narrowed my eyes at her, "You just want to crawl back into Master's bed, don't you?"

"Ufufufu~ Looks like I got caught. Do you want to join me?"

I waved my hand at her, "Maybe next time. Let's just go back, I'm tired already."

Manami invoked her teleportation technique again, transporting us back with a flash with none the wiser about our late night visit.

Neither of us cared about the two pieces of trash, the thought of disposing the bodies not even crossing our minds.

Those two were just insignificant shitstains after all, if they were killed by someone else because of a Sect feud so be it. As long as it doesn't complicate our plan or Master's life.

Disgusted by the state of their deaths?

Not really, we've already done worse.

Much, much worse.