Way of the Devil
chapter-158

Scarlet District.

In the main courtyard, the umbrella girl sat by the well, staring silently at the water rippling inside and her reflection in it.

She had been like this for a long while.

In the past few days, she would come and wait by this well, hoping for the District Mistress’ return. Although she knew this was an extravagant hope, she did it nonetheless.

In the chambers surrounding the courtyard, the wandering ghosts began wailing again. Only over a dozen red lanterns were left hanging in the manor, and most of them were lit with only a dim glow.

There were only few lanterns which remained brighter, but their masters had not yet returned from outside.

Now, the umbrella girl was all that was left of the entire Scarlet District. The rest of the beings there were not even able to communicate.

"Wuu wuu… Wuu wuu.."

The ghosts wailed incessantly.

Soon, however, faint footsteps approached amidst the wailing.

They were the dull thuds of leather shoes stepping on thick soil.

Umbrella girl’s body trembled. She turned her body sideways towards the entrance of the Manor.

"Little… Bing?" she called out softly.

"Creak…"

Slowly, the manor’s doors were pushed open.

A tall human silhouette cloaked in black robes, with its head covered under a hat, walked in slowly.

"So this is Scarlet District? Rather hard to find I must say…" A deep male voice rang out, low-pitched and powerful.

"A living human? How dare… how dare you… trespass?!" Umbrella girl rose in fury. "Little Bing!!" she called loudly. It was an Anomaly responsible for guarding Scarlet District’s Manor. Although it did not have much in way of intelligence, it was powerful.

"Little Bing? Is this who you’re looking for?" The black-robed man walked into the center of the courtyard and tossed out the long, white leg of a woman.

"YOU!!" Umbrella girl retreated by a step involuntarily, frozen in alarm and anger. She knew Little Bing’s strength well; although she wasn’t as strong as her, there wasn’t a large gap between them in strength. Moreover, as the resident Anomaly of this place, there was no way she could have been defeated without a sound just like that.

But the reality before her eyes told her that Little Bing was truly defeated in a single split second without even the opportunity to make a sound.

"I’ve long since wanted to visit Scarlet District, but never had the chance to before this," the black-robed man said calmly. "But now I can finally tour this place."

"YOU COURT DEATH!!" Finally unable to contain her emotions, the umbrella girl shrieked.

"BUZZ!!"

Her shriek reverberated across the entire manor like water ripples.

"Boom boom boom boom…!"

One by one, the doors to the chambers burst open. Streaks of white, translucent ghostly figures shot out from within the chambers and pounced at the black-robed man like a school of fish.

These ghostly figures all had feminine faces and bore bitterness, viciousness, pain, and distortion in their expressions. They were the wandering ghosts and souls that Scarlet District had gathered for many years.

Red streaks also burst out from the red lanterns hung under the roof. A woman’s bitter face emerged on the top of each streak of red glow.

"AHHHHHH!!!"

The courtyard broke out in a cacophony of shrieks and screams as more and more female ghosts swarmed out. All of Scarlet District’s accumulated forces were now displayed in one stroke.

The white ghostly shadows surrounded the man all over, swimming around him and encircling him. Packed densely, they blotted out the skies and covered the ground.

The red streaks of light from the lanterns flew into the gaps between the ghosts, covering up any holes. In just a second, all exit routes were sealed, forming an absolutely inescapable siege around that man.

The umbrella girl held onto her red umbrella as she stood on the periphery. The umbrella in her hand was spinning at high speed.

"No matter… who you are… you must die…!!"

Even she could not withstand this Hundred Ghosts Great Formation. Once activated, it could not be called off until the person within it died. This man trespassed into Scarlet District and even killed Little Bing; it was absolutely unforgivable.

Massive amounts of ghostly shadows pounced and lashed at the man in a frenzy. The red glowing streaks also launched sneak attacks against him.

The entire manor was covered in a sea of ghostly wails and cries.

Strangely, however, the black-robed man stood rooted to the ground without a single budge; it was as if he had not been attacked by the swarm of ghosts at all.

A transparent layer of Qi encircled him, scorching all the ghostly shadows who had pounced at him and sending them into retreat with pathetic screams.

"Is this Scarlet District’s level of strength today?" The man’s voice penetrated the wall of ghosts. "That’s really disappointing…"

"You…!!" Filled with alarm and fury, the umbrella girl spun the red umbrella in her hands even faster. With a shriek, she was sucked into and absorbed by the umbrella as if she were some sort of liquid.

"SWISH!"

In a flash of red, the red umbrella shot towards the black-robed man like a razor-sharp spear, spinning at high speed.

The umbrella quickly reached the man. As if controlled by someone, its sharp, pointed end shook, shooting out three streaks of light aimed at the man’s head, chest, and abdomen.

This time, the black-robed man could no longer ignore the attack. Blocking an attack of the umbrella girl’s level while at the same time still resisting the barrage of ghost shadows around him in his current mode was too much even for him.

He reached out and blocked the piercing jabs of the red umbrella, lightning quick.

"Ding ding ding ding ding!!!"

In a series of metallic clangs, the man’s palm knocked against the umbrella’s tip several times. Astonishingly, his palm did not feel like flesh, but was rather as solid as metal.

With a single hand, he neutralized the umbrella girl’s assault. The two of them traded blows intensely, as if the siege of ghosts did not exist.

"FOG!"

Without warning, the red umbrella burst open, releasing large amounts of pink fog which enveloped the black-robed man.

Under the umbrella, the umbrella girl’s true body materialised, hid herself in the fog and grabbed at the man’s face.

Her hand struck with peculiar speed in the fog; she was at least twice as fast as earlier.

"Boom!"

Caught off guard, the man’s face was held in her grip.

At the same time, however, he slammed his palm into the surface of the umbrella.

"BOOM!!"

The umbrella girl fell back several steps, clutching a black cloth used to mask the face in her hand.

Wisps of white smoke billowed out of the man’s right palm. A clear, discernible palm print was indelibly imprinted on the umbrella.

"Oh…" The man seemed to realize suddenly that his mask had been pulled away. He touched his face, which was thoroughly unscathed.

He lifted his head and stared at the umbrella girl.

"Interesting…" His mouth cracked open into a grin, revealing a row of white dagger-sharp teeth.

Clutching on to the black cloth mask in her hand, the umbrella girl stared at him dazedly, the red umbrella in her hand trembling vigorously.

"You… it’s you…!!??"

"Yea… it’s me," Lu Sheng grinned. "I didn’t get to see you in Twin Eagle City, so I specially came to pay you a visit today…"

"Swish!"

The umbrella girl suddenly spun her umbrella and shot backwards at the fastest speed she could muster.

"Bam."

Before she could make much distance, however, a large greenish gray hand landed on her right leg and gripped it like a vise.

"Hey, come on, don’t go. It took me a long time to find this place…"

The umbrella girl’s body flashed black and red, then red and black, and vibrated vigorously numerous times. Yet she was completely powerless to break free of the vise-like grip. She turned around, only to see that the previously elegant and handsome Lu Sheng was presently expanding and distorting rapidly. His limbs were turning madly gigantic; not even the ugliest monster could look as savage and terrifying as he did.

"AHHHHHHH!!!" the umbrella girl shrieked without warning.

Countless ghostly shadows burst out from behind her and charged at Lu Sheng in a fit of screams.

By then, Lu Sheng had transformed into a giant monstrous freak nearly five meters tall. Bull horns had grown out of his temples, and the massive bands of muscles on him made him look deformed with his gigantic upper body but short and stout legs. Two balls of muscles protruded out of his back like tumors. In no way did he look human at all.

"BOOM!!!"

The wave of ghosts knocked into what seemed like a transparent barrier before him, and were blown away by highly compressed scorching Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies inner Qi.

Some of the weaker ones were burnt to death while still in the air, while the stronger ones attempted to charge at him again. With a slap of his palm, over a dozen ghostly shadows exploded.

In contrast to his hulking frame, these ghosts looked like flies and bugs that were flying around him; they looked totally insignificant.

"Weak! Too weak!" Still gripping onto the umbrella girl’s right leg, he lifted her upside down in front of him. "Can you tell me what did you see when you were in Twin Eagle City?"

Struggling madly, the umbrella girl’s body flashed incessantly, trying to produce a clone in an attempt escape. A pity this was the headquarters of Scarlet District. She had never expected in the slightest that anyone would dare to barge into this place. Under her complacency, she had not produced a clone beforehand.

Now, it was near impossible to escape.

"Let go of… Yingying!!" She struggled madly with all her might. Unfortunately, it was completely ineffective against the present Lu Sheng, who had achieved Yin Yang Qi liquefaction. The sharp edges of the red umbrella sliced at his skin continuously, but all they succeeded in doing was producing sparks.

"Oh, so you’re called Yingying? That’s a nice name." Lu Sheng shook the umbrella girl. "Where’s your clone? Why don’t I see her today?" He twisted his head, surveying the surroundings to confirm that he had not seen the umbrella girl’s clone.

The swarm of ghostly shadows charged at him as if they had lost their minds. Like moths flying into flames, they continued to be lit ablaze by Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies inner Qi, which burnt them to ashes.

Likewise, the red streaks from the lanterns shot at him, but were blocked by Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill’s defensive blood web.

"I beg you… let… Yingying… Yingying… go…" After struggling for a while, the umbrella girl was finally at her wits’ end and cried involuntarily.

"Your name sounds like the sound you make when you cry." Lu Sheng lifted her to his eyes as if he was examining some curiosity.

He shook her lightly. Immediately, the umbrella girl’s cry stopped momentarily, seemingly due to her stammer; she needed to rest for a while before she could continue crying. Then, as if he had discovered something fun, Lu Sheng shook her again. The umbrella girl’s cry was interrupted again, causing a moment of silence.

So Lu Sheng continued, touring the Scarlet District leisurely with the umbrella girl hanging upside down in his hand. Every now and then, he would shake the umbrella girl.

Every step his five-meter-tall body took would cause tremors through the entire Manor.

And so, this original opponent who had used to be an even match against him was now a mere bell in his hand, totally powerless to resist.

"Are there any treasures here that’ll be useful to me?" Lu Sheng walked to the largest room in the manor, the central bedroom. Standing before it, he reached for the door and ripped it off as if it was a small post-it note on a wall.

Hanging upside down with her dress falling downwards, the umbrella girl covered her lower body with her umbrella. She dared not make a word in reply to the question.

Only then did Lu Sheng lay sight on her face, which was finally no longer covered under her umbrella, for the first time.

It was a pretty face, pitiful, weak and rather pale. She looked no more than twenty years old, and had an almond-shaped face and small petite lips. Her eyes were wet, as if they might break out into tears anytime.

"D-don’t… eat Yingying…wuuu…" nervous, the umbrella girl began stammering incoherently again.

"Why would I eat you?" Lu Sheng asked, puzzled.

"District Mistress… Sis District Mistress…" the umbrella girl continued crying.

Lu Sheng shook her again and the cries stopped.

"I didn’t initially plan to visit Scarlet District so soon. But who can help it that you saw what you shouldn’t have?"

He left the umbrella girl alive instead of killing her, just for the sake of gathering intelligence. At the same time, he wanted to verify a guess that he had made while he was in solitary confinement. Anyway, Ultimate Crimson Nine Furies Skill’s terrifying Yang-attribute power could fry her in an instant. Ever since achieving Yin Yang equilibrium, his speed had drastically increased; he was no longer as clumsy as previously and was unafraid that she might escape from his clutches.