Thud.
The doors to the office shut as Wu's guard left. The smile on Secretary's face disappeared in a blink, replaced with annoyance.
"Damn… This bitch definitely suspects something now," Secretary cursed as she resisted punching the wall. "I knew she isn't stupid, but I didn't expect we would be found out so fast."
Turning around, her facial expression made a drastic turn, becoming apologetic and pitiful. She walked back to the office desk and muttered softly as she stood by the master chair, "I'm sorry, Master… I failed you."
She wasn't alone in the room. Aside from her, a short fatty in fancy clothes sat down in front of the main desk but she didn't even glance at him as if he was a ghost. Fatty's face was permeated with fear. He seemed like he wanted to run away but something kept him in place. Only his eyes moved around in panic.
"It's okay… I'm not mad."
A cold yet cool voice assured her as a black smoke started coming out from the inside of the chair. A slim body of a human formed from it till it got more solid, becoming an actual figure. The only thing it lacked was a face, still blurry and black.
The man extended his arm to Secretary in an inviting gesture and beckoned with his pale finger, ordering, "Lean closer."
She didn't hesitate, but one could feel the tension in her body as her face neared his hand.
"M-master…" She pleaded, his fingers wrapping around her neck. Thankfully, he only squeezed it gently before traveling upwards, caressing her cheek with his forefinger.
"What do I have with you…? I asked you to bring her here. The task wasn't hard, right?" He asked calmly, his long black nail making a dent in her skin.
"It wasn't…" Secretary confirmed. Her skin paling more with each second.
"Then why you failed such a simple task…?" The faceless man asked again, this time more serious, his voice soaked in death.
Gulp.
"Master… I did everything you asked me to. I began taking over the Trade Union and asked Miss Wu to come over for a meeting, but—"
Her mouth got shut down by a cold finger mushing against her lips.
"Shhh… No excuses," the faceless man whispered. "Your failed your task. You deserve punishment."
Secretary blushed at his words and looked at him with a pleading look. Unfortunately, no matter how pitiful she was, her master didn't spare her.
"Master…" Secretary muttered softly, her cheeks reddening but the faceless man's nail traveled down without stop. It grazed her chin, passed her neck before meeting her uniform, a white shirt with a tight suit jacket.
Pop!
The top button popped out just as his finger touched it, revealing her collar-bones.
Pop! Pop!
Another two buttons shoot out, causing her tight chest to reveal its full size.
Just when the faceless man's hand sneaked inside, Secretary wailed pitifully, "Master… We are not alone…"
The faceless man froze and turned his head at the Fatty.
"Does he distract you? Sure, let me get rid of him first," he said casually but he didn't retreat his hand, continuing to reach forward and embraced his prize.
"Ah…"
As she moaned softly, he raised his second hand and black smoke leaked out, heading straight towards the fatty. His small figure couldn't move but his eyes were rolling and shivering at the sight of it.
"My servant said you are a nuisance," he muttered as his smoke covered fatty's body and swallowed him whole. It got smaller and smaller till the smoke returned back into man's palm.
Fatty was gone as if the smoke ate him, ceasing his existence.
"Now nothing will disturb us, right?"
As he asked, Secretary's body flew up on its own and landed on his lap, embraced tightly right after.
"Mhmm..." Secretary nodded, knowing she was unable to fight back.
Her master was shameless, so he didn't hesitate and used her body for his own pleasure.
"Master... Even if they suspect me, they won't guess our true goal..." Secretary tried to distract him. "I'm sure she thinks we are after the treasures of Trade Union."
"I only want her. Bring her to me and I will return your freedom," the Faceless man promised as he burst her shirt apart. She could feel her body getting hotter and hotter with each second.
"I will. Trust me, Master," Secretary assured. "Miss Wu is too prideful to inform her Grandpa about our scheme. She will try to stop us by herself. By tomorrow everything should be ready. When she tries to stop us, you can easily claim her."
"Good girl," the faceless man praised. "If I get what I want, not only will I free you, I will also reward you. Work hard."
Each time he repeated the word 'free', the Secretary couldn't help but brighten, recovering the lost hope. She almost forgot what it feels like being free and capable of making her own decisions.
How many years has it been?
"Master... I was wondering. You wanted me to get Fire Stone from President Wu but you suddenly switched your attention to Miss Wu. Is it because you want to use her to get both Stones at the same time?" Secretary questioned, feeling her Master's hands getting impatient.
Thankfully, she managed to halt his advance.
"Oh, my servant is pretty smart. You make me want to keep you much longer," the faceless man said impressed. "How do you know?"
"I learned from the Water Land Tournament that Miss Wu's husband has the Elemental Bracelet with Air Stone," Secretary replied, finally able to breathe at ease.
"That's true. I can kill two birds with one stone. Even if he doesn't sacrifice his life for her, he will come to fight me on my terms. That is enough for me. All those fools will fight with each other while I will simply lure him into my trap, haha!" the faceless man explained while laughing.
"Master, if you want to achieve that, I need to continue my tasks. If I don't take control of the Trade Union, we will need to face the power of the Trade Union assisting her. It will be a waste of time for such a supreme master like you," Secretary suggested. "I will not disappoint you once again."
"True… I don't wish to waste my Qi on randoms," the faceless man muttered and let go of her unwillingly. "Fine, go. Call me once you are done."
Secretary didn't hesitate and hopped out of his lap only to find out he turned into black smoke, sinking back in the chair.
A relief filled her body but then an uncomfortable pressure around her neck reminded her of her situation. She will never be free unless her Master wants her to.
A single tear dropped from her eye as she walked out, ready to finish the task and regain her freedom.
———
Swoosh! Clank! Swoosh!
Air whistled as swords clashed. Hits barely dodged and metal edges chipped away from constant strikes. Tears and sweat dropped on the dusty ground as pain numbed the muscles of the golden-haired woman.
She could barely move yet she pushed herself to the limits, striking her opponent with a constant barrage of attacks.
Ah!
A painful moan left her mouth as she defended against one last exchange which pushed her back, almost throwing her off her feet.
"Enough, Sister Jiao, you are exhausted," her opponent announced, putting the sword back to her scabbard. "We have been training for two hours already."
"Hu… Hu… I'm fine… I can train more… After a moment of break…" Jiao muttered while puffing, completely and utterly exhausted. Her head was feeling heavy, her blond strands all dusty and oily from sweat.
"You are barely standing. Your legs will give up any secon—"
Thud.
She didn't even need to finish when Jiao fell, falling down to the ground with no strength left.
"Ugh… Dandan, how can you be so strong…" Jiao grunted, staring at her Senior Sister.
If it was some normal training ground, Jiao wouldn't break a sweat but this wasn't a normal battle. The pressure force inside the training grounds was multiplied, making even walking a hard task. Even after three years of training, she could barely handle two-hour sparring but she knew she was improving.
Still, looking at her sisters who could break the walls with a single punch and didn't even need to depend on Qi to fight, Jiao had a long way to go. Her Sect Sister didn't even feel the pressure, acting like they just started.
"I have been training for almost fifteen years. You are still a newbie," Dandan called out with a smirk, brushing through her short black hair. "Let's take a shower before we are called for dinner."
Jiao sighed. Although her arts were strong, she couldn't really depend on them in the environment filled with Earth Qi. She could leave and train in the Water Land but she decided against it, wanting to improve her physique first. Once her Qi ran out, at least she could have a chance to fight back.
What's more, she could return the favor for saving her life and help the White Lotus Sect flourish.
"Come on, get up," Dandan said as she pulled her up and fed her a pill after which Jiao felt a little better.
"Ahh… Cold showers are amazing…"
When cold water dropped on her face, Jiao couldn't help but moan with pleasure. The showers in the training ground became her everyday relief. She planned to shower for a long time when someone came in while called out sweetly.
"Sister Jiao! Sister Dandan! There is a Tournament in the Water Land! Do you want to watch it with us?"
Jiao didn't budge. Nothing would make her move away early from the cold water she loved.
"Is it any interesting?" Dandan asked curiously as she flexed her muscles.
"Yes! There is one handsome boy that shocked everyone. Not only he is a hottie, but he is also super powerful! He has an Elemental Bracelet and killed his opponents with just one strike! No one can beat him!" the lady called out excitedly.
Even Jiao raised her eyebrow.
"Oh! What's his name?" Dandan asked interested.
"Liu Xuefeng!"
Swoosh!
A figure rushed out from the training grounds in a blink.
"Sister Jiao! Where you going?! You are still naked!"