Chapter 466: Little Dragon Maidens

How could Jiepeng catch up so quickly?

This time, she had gone to great lengths to conceal herself. It was impossible for anyone to know where she was. Hua Wuying quickly considered her options, searching for a way to deal with the situation.

The knocking on the door rapidly turned into loud banging, accompanied by a few angry curses in Jiepeng’s language.

Hua Wuying made a quick decision. Her snow-white left hand lightly brushed the bowstring. Her jade-like palm was cut open, and fresh blood gushed from the wound.

She pressed her hand against the dust-covered ground. The crimson blood spread across the floor at an unnatural speed, quickly covering the entire surface of the basement storeroom and even climbing up the walls.

She activated an illusion spell using blood as the medium. A second later, the blood vanished entirely and the storeroom appeared unchanged, as if nothing had happened.

Boom!

The door to the storeroom was violently smashed open. Several Jiepeng soldiers clad in armor rushed in and scanned the room carefully. What should have been a storeroom where Hua Wuying sat with four petite, snow-white beauties was seemingly completely empty. They could see every corner at a glance.

“There’s no one here.”

“Search elsewhere.”

The Jiepeng warriors swiftly departed.

Hua Wuying let out a sigh of relief. The excessive blood loss made her elegant and spirited face even paler. Every time she used the Blood Illusion Technique, it inflicted severe damage on her body.

Given her current physical condition, this one was the last one she would be able to perform. Fortunately, she had temporarily evaded the pursuers. However, Hua Wuying knew she could no longer remain hidden here.

The Jiepeng forces must have obtained some sort of lead, which explained why they had come to search Lijing Hotel. Although this search had yielded no results, if they failed to make progress elsewhere, they would undoubtedly return to comb through the area again.

When she glanced back at the four exquisite young girls who were still sound asleep, a trace of relief crossed Hua Wuying’s face. Thankfully, they were in a state of dormant transformation and had not yet awakened from their developmental phase.

Had they been startled awake earlier, it would have created a significant problem. Hua Wuying exhaled deeply once more and began treating the wound on her palm. In the dim light of the storeroom, her left palm revealed six deep cuts from the bowstring. These wounds, due to the nature of the secret technique, could not heal quickly. She pondered her next hiding spot.

The good news was that, as the deputy leader of the Dragon Group, she knew the locations of several safe houses in Haijing City. Her familiarity with the city from years of activity gave her an edge. On the other hand, the bad news was that she would have to activate a few members again while everyone was currently lying low. This would inevitably lead to sacrifices she could no longer prevent.

But when she thought about the origins of the four sisters and the secrets they carried, Hua Wuying understood that no matter the cost, she had to deliver them into the hands of the organization.

A sudden soft moan startled her. Hua Wuying froze for a moment, her expression shifting to one of urgency. But it was already too late.

One of the four deeply sleeping girls slowly opened her eyes. Large, round pupils as black as an abyss and devoid of sclera stared blankly around. The sight was both eerie and terrifying.

She sat up slowly, her jet-black pupils contracting rapidly. The blackness condensed to a needlepoint before spreading outward again, transforming into a pale golden vertical slit.

This was not the eye of a human being. It resembled the cold, predatory gaze of some kind of reptilian creature. The girl slowly opened her mouth.

“Ah...”

A strange, piercingly sharp growl burst forth, filled with an otherworldly resonance and startling intensity.

***

"Not on the first floor."

"Not on the second floor."

"Not on the third floor."

The warrior squads conducting the search reported back one after another.

Seated boldly in the center of the hotel lobby, his hands resting on the hilt of his katana, the Jiepeng consulate military officer, Yagyu Jueichiro, narrowed his eyes as he listened to their reports.

"Not in the basement either."

The last squad returned to deliver their findings.

Yagyu Jueichiro's narrowed eyes snapped open suddenly. His sharp and venomous gaze sent a chill through everyone in the lobby. Afraid of being targeted, they quickly looked away.

"Mr. Yagyu, shall I lead another team to conduct a more thorough search?" A middle-aged man in a Police Department uniform approached with a sycophantic smile.

This was Tie Shi, Deputy Director of the Anjing District Police Department.

"No need, Tie-kun," Yagyu Jueichiro replied, shaking his head. His command of the Great Xia was stiff and unnatural. "My men have searched the place thoroughly. I trust their work. Perhaps the criminal has already blended into the crowd in the lobby."

His cold eyes swept across the people gathered in the lobby.

"You, you, and you." Yagyu Jueichiro raised his hand and pointed at several women in the crowd. "All of you are suspicious. You resemble the criminal. Take them away. I will interrogate them personally."

The women he pointed at were all young beauties with fair skin. Panic instantly spread across their faces, and fear filled their eyes.

"No, it’s not me..."

"My father is the owner of Derongxiang."

"I’m a hotel staff member. My colleagues can vouch for me. I’ve been working here for two years..."

The young women frantically tried to explain, their voices trembling with fear. A look of hesitation appeared on Tie Shi’s face. How could he not understand the Jiepeng people's intentions? It was clear they were using this as an excuse to abduct these innocent girls for their own indulgence.

For a moment, Tie Shi hesitated, unsure of how to respond. But the Jiepeng ronin standing nearby burst into laughter and dragged the terrified girls out of the crowd. Anyone who dared to intervene was ruthlessly beaten and left bleeding on the floor.

The lobby erupted into chaos, filled with screams and cries. Tie Shi clenched his fists tightly and lowered his head, unable, or unwilling, to speak out.

"Move," Yagyu Jueichiro commanded with satisfaction as he turned to leave.

From the shadows, Huang Fulai, who had been observing everything, could no longer hold back. Just as he prepared to step forward. Suddenly—

"Ahhhhh..."

A strange, chilling roar echoed through the hotel. The sound was bizarre, as if it bypassed the air entirely and penetrated directly into the mind, clawing its way into the body through every pore. Everyone instantly turned pale, struck by dizziness and nausea.

What is happening?

Huang Fulai felt a flicker of doubt and unease. Yagyu Jueichiro halted mid-step and spun around abruptly, his face lighting up with ecstatic joy.

"Dragon Maiden! That’s the sound of the Dragon Maiden completing her evolution!" Yagyu Jueichiro tilted his head, listening intently, and immediately pinpointed the origin of the sound.

It was coming from the basement.

"Quick! Seal off the basement! Someone, go and drag her out for me! Hahaha!"

Katana in hand, Yagyu Jueichiro made a sharp gesture. The ronin surged toward the basement like a tide.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, an invisible arrow shot out from the basement. The translucent arrow curved mid-flight, defying logic. It pierced through the leading group of ronin, skewering them like candied hawthorns on a stick. Their steps froze, and they tumbled down the stairs with heavy thuds.

Only after they collapsed did the sound of the arrow cutting through the air reach the ears of those present. That single arrow had surpassed the speed of sound.

Standing in the lobby, Yagyu Jueichiro felt a sudden chill run down his spine. Instinctively, he drew his katana and slashed, unleashing a powerful burst of blade energy.

Boom!

The formless arrow's energy collided with the blade's energy. The impact was so tremendous that Yagyu Jueichiro was blown out of the lobby of the Lijing Hotel. His feet carved two massive ditches into the ground as he struggled to maintain his balance.

In the next instant, a graceful figure burst out from the basement. She was followed by four young girls, their tattered clothing fluttering as they moved.

The moment Huang Fulai laid eyes on the four girls, he was utterly struck by their ethereal beauty.

Autumn waters for their gaze, jade for their bones.

This line of poetry sprang unbidden to Huang Fulai’s mind. They looked like celestial beings or fallen spirits, with snow-white skin that seemed to emit a faint glow. It was as though their entire beings were sculpted from divine white jade.

Thrum. Thrum. Thrum.

The sound of a vibrating bowstring thrummed in everyone’s ears. One after another, the Jiepeng ronin collapsed like wheat beneath a scythe. The female archer led the four girls in a daring breakout attempt, moving with astonishing speed.

They were on the verge of escaping the lobby when suddenly, an unexpected turn of events unfolded!