Chapter Five: Qi Wei

"Li Hun! You bastard! For a single Spirit-Gathering Herb, you would break the alliance pact!" The woman spat her words with fury, her breath ragged, her chest heaving with anger.

"Alliance pact? If it weren’t for your uncle protecting you, I’d have had my way with you long ago!" Li Hun, whose cultivation was at the sixth tier of the Body Tempering Realm, was a local tyrant in his own right.

Hearing Li Hun’s words enraged Qi Wei even further. The long blade in her hand was flicked aside by Li Hun, and her body was sent flying with a powerful kick.

Her subordinates, seeing their leader Qi Wei thrown aside, quickly gathered around her, retreating slowly.

Li Hun’s face twisted into a sinister grin. "Qi Wei, if you know what’s good for you, hand over the Spirit-Gathering Herb. For your uncle’s sake, I’ll let you off this once!"

Qi Wei’s delicate face was flushed with anger. "Li Hun, you scoundrel! This herb is a lifesaver!"

Li Hun scoffed. "Qi girl, are you out of your mind? Each month we’re allowed to snatch at most three Spirit-Gathering Herbs, and every time you use one for that old man. Are you insane?"

Before Qi Wei could retort, Li Hun’s expression grew even more lecherous. "You've got two choices. Hand over the Spirit-Gathering Herb, or I’ll let my brothers have their way with you before I kill you and take it anyway. And don’t think that just because your uncle is one of the Nine Dragons, I wouldn’t dare kill you!"

He strode forward, his murderous intent palpable.

A look of grim determination flashed across Qi Wei’s face. "Run!" she shouted, darting away at full speed.

Li Hun cursed and chased after her.

Chu Jie watched as the chaos approached, the group crashing through tents in his direction. The convicts around him quickly moved aside.

"The group ahead! Whoever stops them for me gets a month's worth of rations and a place in my gang! Anyone on Qi Wei’s side who restrains her gets the same reward!" Li Hun shouted, desperate for just a few more Spirit-Gathering Herbs to reach the next cultivation tier. He would stop at nothing.

Qi Wei’s few followers hesitated, their movements slowing. The prisoners around Chu Jie grew restless, tempted by the offer.

Qi Wei’s heart sank with despair. She was at a dead end. If she fell into Li Hun’s hands, she knew her fate would be worse than death.

"Xiao Chen, you take this—" Qi Wei turned to hand the Spirit-Gathering Herb to Xiao Chen, her most trusted aide, but what she saw in his eyes was a cold, sinister glint.

Without warning, Xiao Chen struck her squarely, sending her flying like a broken kite.

"Xiao Chen, you—!" Qi Wei’s face was filled with disbelief at his betrayal.

A flicker of regret crossed Xiao Chen’s eyes, but it vanished as he said, "Sorry, Boss Qi."

Li Hun laughed heartily. "Well done!" In a few leaps, he was by Qi Wei’s side.

He squatted beside her, eyes glued shamelessly to her chest. "So, Boss Qi, how does it feel to be abandoned by your right-hand man?"

"Chen Yun, you traitor! If Boss Qi hadn’t pitied you and given you a meal back then, you’d have starved to death by now!" One of her men shouted angrily, shielding Qi Wei.

Qi Wei spat a mouthful of blood. "Xiao Hui, go!"

Xiao Hui gripped his long blade, glaring fiercely at Li Hun. "Boss Qi, I’m not leaving!"

"Such loyalty!" Li Hun sneered, and with a flash, his hand pierced straight through Xiao Hui’s chest.

He flung the corpse aside and stood up. "Anyone who joins me lives. If you resist, you’ll end up just like him!"

At his words, all seven or eight of Qi Wei’s subordinates trembled and moved to stand by Li Hun’s side.

Li Hun pressed his face close to Qi Wei’s, his grin lecherous. "How does it feel to be betrayed by everyone?"

Qi Wei spat in his face.

"You shameless scum!"

Li Hun wiped the spit from his face, licking the residue from his palm. "Hmph. Tonight, I’ll make you scream with pleasure."

A loud slap rang out, reddening Qi Wei’s cheek.

With a rip, Li Hun tore off his clothes and lunged at her. The foul, hideous thing between his legs swung repulsively.

"Brothers! Get ready! After I’m done, it’s your turn!" Li Hun shouted to his men, who waited eagerly.

Qi Wei was filled with remorse and terror. How had she fallen into Li Hun’s hands? The thought of what awaited her made her shudder.

Bang!

A pale fist-light flashed before Li Hun, sending him flying.

Squatting nearby, Chu Jie grabbed Qi Wei and smiled at Li Hun. "Brother, is it not beneath you to bully a defenseless woman?"

Li Hun, bloodied, glared at Chu Jie. "Who the hell are you? What business is it of yours?"

Chu Jie grinned. "I just can’t stand bullies like you."

"Courting death!" Li Hun launched himself like a cannonball at Chu Jie. Though he lacked the protective starlight of the eighth tier, the spiritual energy in his core shimmered crimson as he struck.

Chu Jie’s face was cold with disdain. If it were the seventh tier, perhaps he’d be cautious. But this was just the sixth—he had no fear.

He stepped forward, muscles taut, body drawn like a great bow. His punch shot out like a dragon, meeting Li Hun’s fist head-on.

Boom! The impact sent a thunderclap through the air, red and white energies colliding. Everyone’s ears rang as if struck by lightning.

Chu Jie, at the fifth tier of the Body Tempering Realm, had most of his vital points opened, his strength vastly increased. With the Body of Nine Tribulations, his power exceeded fifty thousand jin.

He merely stepped back, while Li Hun was flung away.

Everyone around gasped in shock, even Qi Wei’s eyes filled with awe.

Though the Body of Nine Tribulations was called a useless body, its resilience rivaled that of the holy physiques. Sending Li Hun flying with one punch was no surprise.

Realizing he’d met a true expert, Li Hun shot Chu Jie a venomous look and fled in panic.

Qi Wei’s former subordinates stood awkwardly, unsure what to do.

"Thank you," Qi Wei said, clutching her bruised face, blood on her lips.

"It was nothing," replied Chu Jie.

"You’re new here, aren’t you?" Qi Wei asked.

Chu Jie was curious. "How could you tell?"

Qi Wei pursed her lips. "In the Nine Dragons District, I know everyone who could send Li Hun flying with one punch. You’re obviously new."

"Not the Nine Worms District?"

Qi Wei gave a bitter smile. "To us, it’s the Nine Dragons. To them, it’s the Nine Worms District."

She retrieved her long blade, ignoring her former subordinates, and approached Chu Jie. "You helped me for the Spirit-Gathering Herb, didn’t you?"

Seeing his surprise, Qi Wei smirked. "In this chaotic zone, beauty and spirit herbs are all that matter. No one acts without gain. If you wanted my body, you could have joined Li Hun. Clearly, you’re after the herb."

Chu Jie smiled bitterly and nodded.

"Interested in joining me? I can guarantee at least three Spirit-Gathering Herbs a month." She raised her head, naming her terms.

Though three herbs were far from enough for Chu Jie’s needs, he nodded. This was the only path to more.

"Come with me," Qi Wei said, leading him on.

One of her old subordinates stepped forward. "Boss, we—"

Qi Wei turned, her gaze icy. "Get lost!"

"This district has nine leaders—the so-called Nine Dragons. Each commands a handful of captains like me, fighting for territory and spirit herbs in this chaos."

"Our boss, my uncle, holds the west side. That’s where we’re headed."

As they walked, Chu Jie noticed the absence of women and children, and asked, "Why are there no elders or children here?"

Qi Wei’s expression grew somber. "In this cannibalistic chaos, how could the old, the young, or women survive?"

"You’ve only just arrived. You’ll see soon enough how cruel this place is." With her mood dark, Qi Wei fell silent, leading him toward the tent camps.

As they neared her base, she stopped and sighed. "Don’t do good deeds lightly. It will get you killed."

Chu Jie said nothing and kept walking.

Upon entering the camp, Chu Jie was stunned.

Before him was a filthy, chaotic open space. On one side, a burly man, naked, was violently thrusting into a woman. Her eyes were empty, her body limp on the cold stone, her face expressionless.

Behind the man, several other naked brutes waited, grinning lewdly.

Nearby, a man whipped a child mercilessly, blood streaming down the boy’s body.

Another brute dragged a weeping girl into the forest, paying no heed to her desperate cries and resistance.

Her father, meanwhile, gripped the mother’s hair, snarling, "Keep crying and I’ll sell you too!"

The mother finally gave in, collapsing and stifling her sobs, her eyes wide with horror as she watched her daughter, only fifteen, be dragged away.

A crowd had gathered, watching the spectacle as if it were nothing unusual.

Chu Jie clenched his fists, muscles rigid, his eyes burning with rage.

Qi Wei grabbed his arm. "Can you control all this? Can you save everyone in this hellhole?"

Chu Jie stood there as if struck by lightning.

Only now did he truly understand: this dark city called Blood Butchery was a man-devouring hell.