Night Visit to the Stone House · A Three-Day Pact

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Nan Feng returned to the stone house and had just closed the iron gate when there was a knock on the door.

Three knocks, neither too loud nor too soft. Nobody knocks like that here. In this city of Slaughter City, there are only two options: break down the door or lie in ambush outside.

Nan Feng didn't open the door immediately. The Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light first seeped out from under the door.

A person stood outside the door. His Soul Power fluctuations were suppressed at the Soul King level, but deep within his soul, dark golden patterns swirled, just like during the Heaven Dou City Soul Master Tournament.

The cursed mark of the Rakshasa God.

Nan Feng opened the door. Dim green light slanted in from the alleyway, illuminating a figure wrapped in a dark red cloak. The hood was pulled low, and a few strands of blond hair slipped out from the brim.

"Aren't you going to invite me in for a seat?"

Her voice was languid, with a confident smile, as if she already knew he wouldn't refuse.

Nan Feng stepped aside to make way for the doorway.

Hu Liena walked in and glanced around the stone house. She didn't sit down, but leaned against the opposite wall and pulled back her hood. Her golden hair fell down, and her fox-like eyes gleamed with amber.

"Long time no see." Hu Liena tilted her head to look at him. "That Tower Master who fought four-ring opponents in the Soul Master Tournament semi-finals, what brings you to the Slaughter City?"

"To relax."

Nan Feng leaned against the wall by the door, across the farthest diagonal line from her.

"And you? The Holy Maiden of the Spirit Hall isn't staying at the Spirit Hall; she's run off to a place like this. Does Bibi Dong know?"

Hu Liena chuckled, "You seem to have a good grasp of my background."

"No need to investigate," Nan Feng said. "I saw the Rakshasa Curse in your soul the first time we met in Heaven Dou City. You won't find another thing Bibi Dong planted on the entire continent."

Hu Liena's smile froze for a moment. Her fingers tightened, but her expression quickly returned to composure.

"Who exactly are you?" The voice lowered by half an octave. "Even my master thought my curse was well hidden. Not a single Titled Douluo in the Spirit Hall could sense it. You, a Soul Grandmaster— "

"Who I am is unimportant," Nan Feng interrupted her. "You came to see me not to reminisce."

Hu Liena stared at him for a few seconds, then smiled.

"That's right."

She moved away from the wall, took two steps, and stopped three steps in front of him.

"Two questions." Hu Liena held up two fingers. "First, your Martial Soul, that tower, what exactly is it? My master's report said 'suspected ancient power,' she wasn't telling the truth."

Nan Feng did not answer.

"Secondly, why did you come to the Slaughter City? With your talent, you would have been treated as a core disciple in any sect."

"You asked two questions," Nan Feng said. "Why should I answer them?"

Hu Liena took another step closer, stopping two steps in front of him, and looked up at him. The dim green light cast half of her face into shadow.

"Because you also have questions for me. Otherwise, you could have simply not opened the door."

Nan Feng remained silent for two breaths. Hu Liena's observation skills were sharper than he had thought.

The carvings on the stone wall, the Tower Spirit Fragment on the third underground level, the curse in her soul—these three lines seem unrelated.

"The Rakshasa Curse in your soul," Nan Feng said. Hu Liena's pupils contracted slightly. "What medium did Bibi Dong use when she planted it?"

Hu Liena's expression cracked. She took a half step back, leaned against the wall, and crossed her arms. Her languidness was gone.

Why are you asking this?

"I've discovered something," Nan Feng said, looking directly into her eyes. "Your cursed mark resonates with a power deep underground. Before me, there was another Tower Master who came here."

Hu Liena's amber eyes widened for a moment. She opened her mouth, then swallowed the words back. Her fingers clenched and unclenched under her cloak.

"Another Tower Master..." she repeated softly, her face pale in the dim green light.

"You know that person," Nan Feng said.

"I'm not sure," Hu Liena shook her head. "If what you're saying is true, my master sent me here perhaps not just for training."

Her hand pressed against her heart, the spot where the cursed brand had been. Her nails dug into the fabric of her cloak.

"What did Bibi Dong send you here for?"

Hu Liena remained silent for a long time. A scream came from outside the stone house, blocked by the iron gate. She lowered her head, her blonde hair obscuring half her face.

"She sent me to kill someone." Her voice was soft. "A man codenamed 'Tower Master,' he has something she wants. I first heard of that codename three months ago, when he had already disappeared. I searched for him for two months without success. Then you came."

Nan Feng's eyelids twitched slightly. Bibi Dong knew that Tower Master, and also knew that the things on him and the Rakshasa Curse originated from the same source.

"I've never seen that Tower Master," Nan Feng said, "But I found traces of him. His presence is on the third underground level, and there's also something I'm looking for."

Hu Liena looked up. "The third basement level."

"You know the entrance."

"I've looked," Hu Liena said. "There's a passage at the bottom of the Hell Slaughter Arena, guarded by the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King. I'm not enough on my own."

Nan Feng calculated in his mind. With his current Soul Power, plus the power of the Tower Realm and the Primordial World Power, it would be very risky for him to fight Ferocious Beast of the 100,000-year level alone. Joining forces would greatly increase the chances of victory.

"Let's join forces," Nan Feng said.

Hu Liena tilted her head. "You believe me."

"I don't believe you," Nan Feng said. "And you don't believe me either. We each get what we need, and after it's done, we go our separate ways."

Hu Liena smiled. This time was different from before.

"Okay." She held out her hand. "Slaughter City. Let's talk about it outside."

Nan Feng looked at the hand. Her nails were painted with dark red nail polish, which looked like five congealed blood beads in the dim green light. He took her hand. Her hand was cold.

"Tower Master," Hu Liena tilted her head and read aloud, "You're different from him. That person's aura is much colder, like he crawled out of the ground."

She let go, took a step back, and pulled up her hood.

"Your second match is in three days." She walked to the door, paused, and said, "I checked my opponent's information: Soul Ancestor, level 47, with the Black-Armored Scorpion Martial Soul. He's crushed all forty-plus matches."

Thanks.

Hu Liena walked out the door, her shadow stretched long by the lamplight. After taking three steps, she turned back, her fox-like eyes crinkling into a smile.

"Who braided that red ribbon on your left wrist?"

Nan Feng glanced down. The hairband had come loose during the fight, and the knot was askew.

"A friend."

Hu Liena snorted and turned to walk deeper into the alley. Her voice drifted back from afar.

"After that battle, that night, at the entrance to the third basement level. Don't die at the hands of that scorpion."

Nan Feng closed the door, leaned against the iron gate, and closed his eyes. The stone house fell silent. He raised his left wrist and tightened the loose red ribbon in his hair.

"What are you thinking about?" Old Huai's voice rang out.

"I'm thinking about what Hu Liena said." Nan Feng walked to the stone bed and sat down. "Bibi Dong sent her to find that Tower Master; that person carries an aura that originates from the same source as the Rakshasa Curse."

"And another thing," Old Huai said, "That Tower Master also possesses Primordial World Fragment, so why is he trapped here?"

Nan Feng nodded. Even if someone with Primordial World Fragment had their Soul Power suppressed, they should still be able to survive in the Hell Slaughter Arena.

Nan Feng recalled the two characters on the stone wall, "Tower Master." The last stroke of the character hooked to the left.

"Three days." Nan Feng lay down, hands behind his head. "The second match is the Black-Armored Scorpion. Then, the third underground level, the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King."

He closed his eyes and sank into the space inside the tower.

The third layer of the door widened slightly. He poured the devoured Soul Power into the tower, Power of Devouring of the second layer was stripped away and purified.

The Soul Power of the Bone Blade carried a dark aura. Impurities were stripped away, and pure Soul Power nourished the tower. The Power of Creation seeped out from the crack in the door, repairing the left shoulder.

"Three days should be enough for you to recover to your full strength," Old Huai said, "But that Bat King..."

"I know," Nan Feng said with his eyes closed, "Ferocious Beast of the 100,000-year level, even with its Soul Power suppressed, still possesses combat strength far exceeding that of an ordinary Soul Emperor. Hu Liena's curse restricted her, but it also granted her perception."

You believe her.

Nan Feng was silent for a moment. A sliver of light from the dim green lamplight outside pierced through the crack in the window.

"I don't believe you," Nan Feng said. "Before the Hell Road, our goals were the same. The Primordial World Power countered the Rakshasa Curse, and she wanted to understand the relationship between that Tower Master and the curse more than anyone else. After finding the fragment..."

He rolled over.

"Each relies on their own abilities."

The night the second show ended.

A dim green light flickered at the end of the passageway, ahead of which lay a thick darkness. Hu Liena leaned against the stone wall at the entrance, toying with a short dagger in her hand. Seeing Nan Feng approach, she raised an eyebrow.

"On time."

She sheathed the dagger and gestured with her chin toward the darkness.

"The Bat King is inside. Its presence is stronger than it was two months ago."

Nan Feng walked to her side, his Treasure-Appraising Spirit Light probing deeper into the passageway. In the darkness, a dark golden light was moving, its aura profound. Beside it was a faint, Primordial World.

Nan Feng's pupils contracted.

"Walk."

He stepped into the darkness. Hu Liena followed behind, her fox tail glowing and illuminating the rock face.

The roar of the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King came from the depths.

That Primordial World energy awaited him ahead.