Chapter 74: The Unhappy Boss
This cave is responsible for part of the underground waterway. On the walls hang tattered alchemical lanterns, a mix of old and new, emitting a firelight-like orange glow.
It illuminates the solitary boat below.
George, clad in full plate armor, and Jima, dressed in a black silk and white gauze gown, look out of place here.
As soon as Jima stepped onto the smooth deck, she heard at least three malicious whistles. The shirtless gang members, armed with various weapons at their waists, stared at her.
One of them shouted:
“A gift for the boss?”
“Which family does she belong to? Introduce her to me.”
The male servant shouted:
“Shut your mouths; this is the boss’s sister. If you don’t want to feed the tiger shark, keep your eyes to yourselves.”
The threat was powerful; the gang members immediately averted their gaze, as if Jima had become four hundred pounds heavier.
After Jima submitted George’s finely crafted greatsword, the three entered the hold, finally arriving at a room resembling a hall.
The hall floor was covered with an intricately patterned carpet. Unfortunately, the long-dried bloodstains marred its beauty.
There were twenty fully armed gang guards in the hall. In addition, a long bench was filled with gang leaders who had come to pay their respects. The atmosphere was somewhat oppressive, with no one speaking, just silence.
It was as if a quiet, invisible assassin was watching them. Whoever dared to speak would have their head crushed by the assassin.
An old man with graying beard raised his head and whispered to the male servant:
“My old friend, your timing is quite poor.”
The male servant lowered his voice:
“Is the Shadow King hunting gang leaders again?”
“The leader of the Dog Gang suddenly died under the watch of thirty henchmen; he was stabbed in the heart with a dagger from underneath his arm. You know, he wore the precious armor the boss gifted him day in and day out, never taking it off.”
“Did anyone see the killer?”
“Not a single person, and it’s not even certain that it was the Shadow King,” the old man said, “No one clearly saw what happened.”
“But he was a good brother of the boss.”
Jima interjected:
“The boss seems to have quite a few good brothers. Are they bought wholesale at fifty bucks each from the market?”
“Hahaha.” The old man chuckled weakly and looked at Jima, “Pretty young lady, if this were half a month ago, I would have laughed nonstop. Who are you two?”
Jima replied:
“We are good brothers of the boss. At least that’s how he referred to us.”
The old man fell silent for a moment and said:
“Right now, the casualty rate among the boss’s good brothers is very high. The earliest good brother to die this year was the Demon King Jima; I heard he was stabbed to death in bed by a brave warrior.”
Jima’s face stiffened.
Great, every topic seems to revolve around me. When will this society’s persecution of the Demon King ever stop?
The male servant lowered his voice again:
“What is the boss busy with now?”
“He is personally interrogating the members of the Dog Gang; he suspects someone is a spy.”
The male servant turned around immediately and sincerely said to George:
“Brother, today is really not a good time. Can we come back another day? Today, I’ll show you the beautiful scenery of Shalin City. There are entertainment spots for our upright people that only locals know about, different from the traps for outsiders. I guarantee you’ll be happy.”
Jima really wanted to agree on behalf of George.
George thought for a moment.
If they went back now, he’d probably first experience the view from the hefty four hundred-pound face. If he could delay the meeting, that would be better. Perhaps after a while, the four hundred pounds would get impatient and leave.
Compared to the four hundred pounds, the unhappy boss was nothing.
“Right now.”
The male servant sounded somewhat pleading:
“I’ll treat you.”
“Then you go ahead.”
“No, according to the rules, I have to take you with me.” The male servant hesitated for a moment before resolutely saying, “Forget it. Since you insist, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
With that, he walked toward the small door of the hall. His posture was no longer as reckless as before; instead, he looked like a shy young girl.
Jima and George followed behind him, under the funeral-like gazes of the gang leaders.
The guard at the door glanced at the three of them. Above the door hung a glass bottle containing a green liquid with a few eyes, which stirred to life. The eyeballs looked at the three and then stopped moving after a while.
Seeing this, the guard tugged the copper bell three times, and a small window opened on the iron-clad wooden door, revealing a vigilant face.
“Password?”
“Open sesame,” the guard said. “They are real; open the door quickly. The kind master has always been impatient.”
The door was opened from within.
It was very dim inside, with a faint orange light. After walking a short distance down the narrow corridor, the male servant stopped and politely knocked on a door.
Jima said:
“I just want to know if this is the final destination.”
“Be patient; otherwise, the little black hole will be your final destination.”
The door was pushed open, and a grandfather with a goat beard and a kindly smile appeared before the three. He was bare-chested, revealing his bumpy muscles, and he cheerfully asked:
“Password?”
“Those who eat sweets are heretics.”
“Welcome, friends.”
The grandfather with the goat beard smiled warmly, opened the door like a hospitable elder, but the male servant shivered.
George and Jima stepped inside, and a wave of bloody smell mixed with murky air hit them.
It was a dimly-lit large bedroom. There were a ship, a toilet, a mirror, and a bathtub; the floor was wet and smelled of mildew. The most eye-catching thing was the torture instruments occupying half the room.
The abhorrent torture devices were just laid out in the bedroom. Two strong men were hanging on the torture rack, their heads submerged in a basin filled with clear water.
Boss Fulis was moving to pull the suffocating man’s head out of the water.
The wet hair left marks on the edge of the basin. The man gasped for air, painfully spitting out water, and said:
“I… I did not betray.”
“It seems you haven’t endured enough torture.”
Boss Fulis’s plump face lost the flattering smile from the banquet; the short stubble on his thick lips was stuck to his skin. “You all swore to defend the boss with your lives; how did the boss die? You don’t even know how he died.”
“He just suddenly collapsed on the table, blood oozing from his body.”
“Do you take me for a fool?” Boss Fulis shouted. “Thirty of you, and none of you died. Either the killer is among you, or you all betrayed him.”
“I really didn’t betray. Please, I beg you.”
“It seems I need to change up the flavor.”
Boss Fulis pulled out a whip woven from braided hemp soaked in chili water and swung it, leaving several bloody welts across the man’s back.
“Ah!!”
Jima was watching with great interest when George covered her eyes with his hand and said loudly:
“Fulis, I’m here, and there’s a woman present.”
Boss Fulis dropped the whip and turned to George, his face flushed with anger and madness, staring at George like a man-eating ogre.
The male servant was frightened and lowered his head to look at his toes.
Jima used her hands to pry George’s fingers open and peeked through the gaps to see Boss Fulis.
What a joke.
It seems that Boss Fulis’s face brightened suddenly, sensing Jima’s impatience.
“Ah, I remember you, the brave knight Barto from yesterday. The kind master asked me to help you; you just need to send a letter; my den is not a good place for guests.”
George said, “The kind master can’t even catch the Shadow King.”
“My kingdom, my rules,” Boss Fulis said. “Isn’t the Shadow King able to transform into others? I want to see if he’s among these thirty people.”
With that, he paused the torture and washed his hands at the basin. His gaze lingered on Jima for a moment before asking:
“Is there anything I can assist you with? Of course, that doesn’t require a gathering.”
Jima took the opportunity to speak:
“In Shalin City, is there a master who knows about slave contracts?”
“This little matter? I can introduce you, though the price is quite high.”
“My lord doesn’t just want simple services.” Jima’s face revealed a suspicious blush, “But that kind of… that kind of…”
“Oh~~.” Boss Fulis’s gaze turned suggestive as he smiled at George, “I see, it’s that kind of personalized service.”
Jima clasped her hands behind her back, fingers entwined tightly, her face flushing as she turned away.
George felt a surge of guilt; he sighed internally and said:
“I need a mage familiar with slave contracts.”
“I understand, I understand.”
Boss Fulis was smiling. If one overlooked the gruesome sight of two bloody bodies hanging behind him, he was quite amiable.
“I have a candidate; he has personally crafted custom contracts for the Demon King Jima. I remember, there’s one where just a thought from the master makes the slave’s legs weaken and body powerless. There’s another contract that fully controls the slave’s body at night; hee hee, the Demon King Jima signed a contract with a mature and beautiful woman, and her husband never knew. He thought his wife had a sleepwalking condition.”
A chilling sound suddenly reached Jima’s ears.
Jima turned her head to see George’s fists clenched in righteous fury. She felt a pang of guilt, fearing George might suddenly unleash a righteous roar and deliver an uppercut to her.
But then she thought.
No, wait.
I don’t think I’ve ever signed a slave contract with anyone’s wife. I merely had an affair, secretly putting a green hat on someone.
Did Boss Fulis say this on purpose, or did he hear something?
It sounds rather interesting. Alas, what a pity. If only slave contracts could be issued earlier.
The beloved fiancée of a husband, unable to control her body every night, wandering into the garden… shedding tears as she gazed at the bedroom window.
Just thinking about it gives me such excitement. I need to hurry up with my revenge, and after that, experience it immediately.
Just as Jima was lost in her fantasies.
Boss Fulis said, “His name is Orlando Dolan.”
A super long name.
George was about to ask a few more questions.
Boss Fulis turned to the male servant and said, “Do you have something to say?”
The last sentence was directed at the male servant.
The male servant, like a student called to the blackboard in class, approached with fear and said:
“When we arrived, we saw the sweet food gang leader was eviscerated, hanging in an alley.”
Boss Fulis’s face immediately darkened.
George, afraid that Boss Fulis wouldn’t give him a chance to speak, hastily said, “Introduce a few more; he might not satisfy me.”
Jima facepalmed in dismay, and Boss Fulis’s expression grew even darker.
