The breakfast table was icy cold though hot freshly brewed jasmine tea was steaming at the centre of the table. Ying Tie struggled to break the ice, pouring out some of the hot beverage into their cups. The prince pleasantly accepted the cup though averting from Rong Zian's piercing gaze. Ying Tie reluctantly extended his courtesy to Rong Zian. The idiot accepted the cup but his stare was firmly fixed on the prince as he lamented on his sore butt.

He unconsciously took a sip of the tea his gaze still affixed on his bully that he didn't realize what he was drinking. As the horrible taste flooded his poor taste buds, he spat it out in protest, "what the fuck is this?" he asked Ying Tie.

The warrior frowned as the F word reached his ear, "Do you have a death wish using that word around me?" he asked in a harsh tone.

"I am sorry brother P, it's a bad habit," he replied as he pushed the cup away in disgust.

"What is the P for? Another insult?" he asked ready to teach Rong Zian some manners.

He nervously laughed but with a wolfish appearance, "It means brother protector because you protect us all from harm so I will call you that as a sign of respect," he said feeding the mutt head's ego but his thoughts were in no way pure, 'you are such a gullible creature brother p***y,' he thought to himself finding pleasure in tormenting the ignorant giant.

"It's jasmine tea. Does it not suit your taste?" asked Ying Tie feeling good about being called a protector.

The prince glared at a sullen Rong Zian and said, "He doesn't know how to enjoy the finer things in life, pay him no mind," in a demeaning tone.

Rong Zian wasn't as stupid as people thought and so he clearly understood the prince insult but didn't indulge him, he only asked, "Why did you kick me?"

The prince took a sip of his tea and openly scorned him, "Quit being a wimp, I didn't even kick you that hard."

Irritated by his arrogance, Rong Zian raised his painful butt from the chair and gently touched it sulking, "Tell that to my painful buttocks, they are in excruciating pain." Just as he was making that comment some blushing maidens had walked in to deliver a variety of dishes for breakfast. All of a sudden the anger on Rong Zian's face instantly melted away, whether it was the women before him or the delicious food, it remained a mystery.

Rong Zian's appetite had been reborn, his flirtatious behaviour had dwindled at the sight of delicious food. He gracefully handled his chopsticks as he devoured everything like a starved lion. Even Ying Tie the so-called giant was speechless as he watched the skinny man gobble up two-thirds of the meal as though it was nothing. He turned to face the prince expecting the same reaction as his but he frowned when he saw an undeniable pleased look on Wu Yange's face.

Ying Tie had indeed seen right, the prince even though frustrated by Rong Zian, he was genuinely happy to see the man return to his old self. As if the radiant expression wasn't enough, he witnessed the prince place some pork-stuffed dumplings in Rong Zian's bowl.

To his astonishment, Rong Zian thanked the prince with his face half-buried in his bowl, the two-man had become instantly cordial.

Wu Yange took advantage of Rong Zian's weakness and said, "You have to come with us to go search for the amulet. We leave in three days."

Rong Zian simply didn't protest, he replied, "sure, I just need to gather my belongings," as he scanned through the dishes for what he wanted to eat next.

The prince smiled and placed the biggest chunk of sweet and sour pork in his bowl, "Will meet at the city gates at dawn. If you don't show up, I will hunt you down," he said in an almost threatening tone but the recipient seemed to welcome his tone saying,

"Yeah, yeah, I know what you are capable of so I will be there waiting for you."

Ying Tie's jaw dropped as he followed the conversation, it was truly a miracle how food had mellowed their differences and brought them to a place of mutual understanding. He could help but praise the prince for taming a hothead with food.

***

Wu Yinyou was traumatized after her encounter with Rong Zian, a blood cuddling incident that rendered her powerless as her soul was slowly and gruesomely extracted from her body. It was only natural that she had underestimated the man's strength because only a handful was as powerful as her and if she had known things would have ended that way, she would have never casually approached the man.

Since she was the only one in her clan to have inherited spiritual powers, her father, Wu Wúqíng, had sent her to acquire the location of the amulet pieces.

She retreated to her base camp and shut herself up for two days and two nights repairing the damage on her spiritual core.

The thought of reporting to her father was more terrifying than death itself, she almost wished Rong Zian had just finished her off. After seclusion she set off for Qinshu, quivering all the way as white as a ghost.

She gathered herself together like a confident noblewoman concealing her fright but couldn't stop her hands from trembling slightly as her envoy reached Qinshu province. A sense of familiarity calmed her nerve as the stench of death reached her senses while they rode through her hometown.

She pulled the curtain of the carriage slightly and observed the city. Houses along the street were in shambles and the streets themselves, filthy but at the heart of the city, buildings began to resemble riches and splendour. In Qinshu there were only two kinds of classes, one was either a slave or part of the Wu family.

The carriage came to a halt in front of a grim palace, though it was built with the finest of materials and designed for royalty, the resentful aura gave one a chill down their spine on sight. The whole palace was enveloped with dark magic affecting everyone who lived and worked in this place. When Wu Yinyou got to the top of the stairs her legs gave in as uncontained fright burst out of her. Her trembling body kowtowed outside the door already begging for mercy but she was dragged in by an invisible force that shut the door with a loud bang and tossed her in front of her father.

The dark figure before her was dressed in a black robe with an ominous dark fog surrounding his body as he lazily sat in an elevated seat that resembled a throne with monstrous fangs protruding from the back. The man silently watched her petting one of his vicious pets standing near him. The pets were more like ferocious beasts with wolf-like appearance but ten times larger in size. The fur on their mutated bodies was as dark as their master's hair with sharp crimson eyes that could scare one's soul enough to flee. Sensing their master was not pleased by the young maiden, they let out deep threatening growls showing off their sharp canines as slobbery thick drool oozed from in between their teeth.

The beasts were extremely horrifying but not as scary as their master. He walked over to her with his hands behind his back but she wouldn't dare look up to him that all she could see was his black brocade boots right in front of her. Her whole body shuddered in his presence but when he squatted lower and whispered, "You failed," she jumped in fright screaming. Shadowy forces picked her up like a rag doll and strangled her neck mid-air. He stood up and stretched his arm in her direction rigidly curling and twisting his fingers as though extracting something.

Wu Yinyou was in despair, her face red with veins bulging out and tears streaming down her bloodshot eyes as she flailed her legs in the air. When a small white fog escaped through her mouth she instantly felt relief as the shadowy forces let her go. Gasping for air she barely noticed her father consume the white fog and in an instant, the man saw her memories.

Wu Wúqíng took his daughter's hand helping her up to her feet and just like a loving father, he gently wiped away her tears in such a warm and tender manner. "Not to worry, I know what to do. Now go and kill as many as you want," he said with a psycho smile.

She reciprocated with a pleasant smile as though satisfied with her reward. In haste, she saluted her father and head straight to Qinshu province's prestigious brothel where all the beautiful girls, local or kidnapped from the rest of Hepeng, entertained her brothers. With cruel and murderous intent she massacred all of the girls single-handed with a wicked smile on her face.