Chapter 206: Chapter 205: What a Pity, It’s All Dead Muscle

At the foot of the mountain, in the woods.

The group of people, who had been brimming with energy and fighting heatedly just moments ago, were now all lying on the ground, their faces twisted in pain. They were curled into balls, hands clutching their lower abdomens, their throats constantly emitting agonized groans.

They were clearly in extreme pain.

Reason told them to get up immediately to face the next attack.

But the searing pain in their bellies made it impossible to move. Instead, their frantic struggles only made them squirm on the ground like maggots.

’Hiss... Am I still dreaming...?’

Standing on slightly higher ground at the edge of the clearing, Zhou Hu took in the entire scene. He stared blankly, as if in a daze.

After all, he had participated in the operation to eliminate the barbarians in Cangwu City before.

That had required a Demon Suppression Bureau Captain leading a hundred Demon Suppression Guards to hunt them down and surround them. Even then, they had lost quite a few men in the process.

And yet, these same dreaded barbarian spies had been taken down by Lord Wu—who had only recently joined the Demon Suppression Bureau—with just a single kick each.

It was over that easily?

Zhou Hu’s mind couldn’t quite process it. For a moment, he felt that his many years of training were an insult to the very concept of "Martial Arts."

"Don’t just stand there gawking."

"Go to the nearest village and borrow a flatbed cart. We’ll haul these people back to the Demon Suppression Bureau."

A voice snapped Zhou Hu out of his shock. He looked toward the source of the sound.

He hurriedly cupped his fist in respect toward the figure below who was pulling out some ropes.

"Your subordinate obeys!"

This time, Zhou Hu was utterly convinced. Not a trace of his earlier condescension remained.

He thought back on all his previous suspicions about Wu Chen and the disdain he had shown. Now, it all seemed like a colossal joke.

’Was this Lord Wu someone I was even qualified to question?’

At that thought, the old Martial Artist quickened his pace, eager to leave this embarrassing place.

"..."

Wu Chen, however, wasn’t feeling particularly emotional.

His whole reason for bringing along this man—the highest-ranking of the local guards—was to have him witness his strength, to show everyone that he was capable of handling missions of Level A and above.

Clearly, with the appearance of the barbarian spies, the demonstration had been a great success.

’Now there shouldn’t be any resistance when I go back to the Demon Suppression Bureau to pick a Level A mission!’

Wu Chen was in a good mood. With twelve silver ropes slung over his shoulder, he began to bundle them up one by one.

There were eleven people in total, so twelve ropes were more than enough.

He started by tying up the sturdiest-looking one, the most likely candidate for the barbarian spy.

The last one was the person with the rather handsome face.

By now, most of the people on the ground had recovered somewhat.

Half of them lay on the ground, resigned to their fate, knowing it was powerless to salvage the situation.

The other half struggled to their feet, glaring at Wu Chen with hatred. With rags stuffed in their mouths, their attempted words came out only as muffled "MMPH MMPH" sounds.

Wu Chen had no time to listen to whatever they had to say.

To prevent anyone from escaping on the way, he focused intently on the task of tying them up.

He was quite skilled at it. The ropes crisscrossed over the body, binding the last person’s chest and back securely.

He then grabbed the person’s struggling leg, forced it to bend, and tied a knot at the ankle, leaving them with no way to leverage their strength.

With that, he was finished.

Faced with this new predicament, the muffled cries from the others died down.

Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to look directly, as if avoiding something taboo.

’That technique... it’s too professional!’

Wu Chen himself paused for a moment. He hadn’t been targeting anyone in particular with his tying method; he’d tied them all up the same way, simply aiming for whatever was most secure.

But this one was... different.

Wu Chen’s eyes roamed up and down, scrutinizing the person before making a critical comment.

"Tsk, tsk! Brother, your pectoral muscles... are quite... well-rounded!"

The figure, who had been struggling, went still upon hearing his words. A flicker of despair crossed their face, and they simply closed their eyes and played dead.

’It’s all over anyway. As long as I get to the Demon Suppression Bureau, I’ll be free.’

But the next moment, her eyes snapped open. As if sensing something, she stared at Wu Chen in horror and began to writhe frantically, as if trying to defend something with all her might.

Wu Chen was reaching out and patting that rounded mass, chuckling.

"Too bad it’s all for show. Useless muscle!"

"When a Martial Artist tempers their body, they have to be ruthless! You have to be hard on yourself!"

"The feel of this... hmm, I have to say, it seems like you took a shortcut..."

’Huh? The feel!’

Wu Chen snatched his hand back as if he’d been electrocuted, staring at the person with even more horror than they were staring at him.

It was as if his hand hadn’t touched something soft, but rather, something soft had touched his hand.

"A woman?!" Wu Chen’s face paled in shock.

As he blurted out the words, the eyes of the person on the ground welled up, and tears threatened to spill.

It wasn’t just the shame and anger, but also Wu Chen’s expression.

’His reaction is as if I bit him, as if I was the one who rubbed myself against him!’

"Crying won’t help now. Since you’re a woman, things are about to get ugly for you."

Shaking his hand, Wu Chen didn’t dwell on the sensation. Instead, he looked at the person on the ground and muttered.

The figure, who had been shedding tears of humiliation, trembled at his words and instinctively began to shrink back.

But bound so tightly, she couldn’t move an inch.

On the contrary, her squirming movements made it look as if she were trying to eagerly accommodate something.

Realizing her actions might only excite him further, she gave up, lay still, and turned her face toward the ground as if resigned to her fate.

"Don’t worry, and relax. I’m not going to touch you."

Seeing her anxious state, Wu Chen explained, "I’m not so depraved as to do something to a barbarian spy. What I mean is, since you’re a woman, you’re sure to suffer a lot under the Demon Suppression Bureau’s methods."

The Demon Suppression Bureau didn’t care about gender when dealing with barbarian spies.

But hearing Wu Chen’s words, the figure with her head buried in the shadows let out a long sigh, her racing heart finally settling.

’As long as I get to that place...’

’As long as I get to the Demon Suppression Bureau!’

’I can be saved!’

Zhou Hu hadn’t returned yet. The nearest village was at least half an hour away.

Wu Chen certainly wasn’t going to stand around idly during that time. Besides, he still had things to do.

He had taken down a group of people; the spoils of war naturally belonged to him.

Thus, Wu Chen mercilessly reached for the storage pouch hanging at the waist of the figure before him.

Martial Arts manuals, pills, money.

He had to pocket these things. Otherwise, once they were handed over to the Demon Suppression Bureau, it would be like throwing meat buns at a dog—a total loss.

As for any other items in the storage pouch that he didn’t recognize, Wu Chen definitely wouldn’t touch them.

Those things could very well be tools for passing information, or clues about their purpose in the Great Yun nation.

Even if he took them for himself, selling them later would be a hassle.

"This..."

However, as Wu Chen took the storage pouch from the person on the ground and immersed his consciousness to inspect its contents, he fell into a contemplative silence.

Inside the pouch was a neatly folded brocade robe.

Of course, a simple robe wouldn’t have made Wu Chen hesitate, but this one was different.

Embroidered on its surface with silver thread was the head of a golden eagle with a sharp, piercing gaze.

He didn’t need to unfold it to know what it was.

A Golden Eagle Brocade Robe.

"Hiss! You really are a Golden Eagle Captain?"

Wu Chen pulled the rag from the person’s mouth, his brow furrowed.

"I am."

With the gag removed, the person spat out the dirt in her mouth twice. Her voice was now crisp and clear.

It seemed she had been altering her voice earlier.

"Sun Yuting, Golden Eagle Captain of the Demon Suppression Bureau. You can have your subordinate return to the Bureau first to confirm my identity."

She quickly stated her identity, not with an arrogant attitude, but by simply stating the facts.

She thought this would be enough to dispel Wu Chen’s suspicions, but after her explanation, she found the young man’s eyes lowered, gazing at her without a ripple of emotion. His face was a blank mask, and the chill emanating from him seemed to condense into frost.

The look in his eyes was even colder and more bone-chilling than when he had been fighting, and it enveloped her completely.

Sun Yuting’s expression tightened. She felt a刺痛 prickling on her skin. Meeting the young man’s gaze was like staring into a sea of corpses and blood.

Her entire body began to tremble involuntarily.

A thought sprang into her mind unbidden.

’He wants to kill me!’

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