"Who was that?"
As soon as the door opened, Feng Yan asked Ikasa. He believed he had heard his daughter behind the door.
Ikasa had nothing to hide and admitted it frankly.
"It was Xin Ruo. She was here to berate for colluding in a foolhardy plan with you."
Ikasa turned the tables on Feng Yan. He raised his eyebrow at Feng Yan to accuse him of not disciplining his daughter enough.
Feng Yan's hard stance imdiately softened. He cleared his throat to prevent the atmosphere from becoming awkward.
"Ahem. I brought her here for the introduction," Feng Yan said, indicating the figure covered in black behind him.
His attention was drawn to her right hand wrapped in a splint that hung before her bountiful chest. Her face was still covered by a black scarf leaving only her eyes visible.
When his eyes t hers, he saw dejection and resignation in them. Still, he couldn't sympathize with Yin Ying because she was the number one henchman of his foe.
"Hello, Yin Ying. I heard you've decided to work for ?"
Ikasa asked while sitting on the bed comfortably while she was still awkwardly standing by the door. He had not even invited her inside.
Feng Yan, who waited outside, gave him a stink eye for behaving like a dick to the pitiful woman. Yet, he did not say anything. He understood this was a power play to make her understand her new position.
Yin Ying sighed and accepted her new fate. She answered Ikasa's question with a nod of affirmation.
"What was that? I didn't hear you?"
Ikasa turned his head and cupped his ears. The action was obvious in its intent to humiliate Yin Ying, who did not accept defeat and still clung to her pride.
Anger and embarrassnt bubbled inside Yin Ying. Even Feng Yan wanted to hit this obnoxious Ikasa with a solid punch.
Ikasa repeated the question earlier. He made it clear that he wouldn't stop unless he heard a vocalized answer.
Yin Ying finally let go of her last shred of dignity and answered, "Yes, Sir."
A teardrop rolled down from her eye unknowingly. It hurt her much more than the pain in her broken arm.
And Ikasa knew this. But he also knew that to build sothing new, he had to tear her down to her foundations. To start a new relationship with him, she had to first accept her loss.
Ikasa straightened his posture. He was no longer leaning lazily on the stack of pillows. His deanor had changed entirely from before.
If he was mocking her before, now he was serious. He invited her in and offered her a seat by the table.
"I appreciate your skills, Yin Ying. However, I am also biased against you because you attacked my people and twice with your late master."
He stood up and looked down at her seated figure. His eyes bored into her as he asked, almost hissed his question.
"So, tell , why should I believe your act of surrender?"
This was the first ti she saw the fierce and domineering side of her new master. She peeked at Feng Yan, who was standing guard outside.
The puzzle of why a Sense realm martial artist followed this weak-looking guy was solved in her mind.
His act was genuinely fearful, but it had yet to have substance behind it. He couldn't pressurize her when he could not utilize his presence as a high-level martial arts master.
However, it was only a matter of ti before this tiger cub would grow up and beco the king of beasts.
While she was lost in her thoughts, Ikasa grew impatient from her lack of attention.
He was reminded of the pressure Feng Yan had exerted on him when he had first t him. The pressure he had seen from the master whose body he had inhabited when learning the chop.
He channeled his rage at her disobedience and focused it on her. His thod had an imdiate effect.
She was jolted out of her reverie. The thought of no substance was discarded as her face was drained of blood. She looked fearfully at Ikasa, who was glowering at her.
She was reminded of the question he had asked. Without thinking, she said the things in her mind.
"Because I have nowhere else to go! My n and I were bought by Li Fan from a slave trader. He controlled us with our Soul Shards. Had we betrayed him, we would not be alive to speak to you."
She sobbed hard as her cold facade crumbled. She had hidden this information from Feng Yan and others, afraid they would find her soul shard and bring her under control.
Yet she had given in after the combination of humiliation, anger, and fear.
"We have found a new lease on life now that our bonds with the soul shards are weakening. At this ti, going back to Li Family without their Young Master is the sa as committing suicide."
Once the gates to her dam of frustrations were opened, she let out all she had kept in her heart.
"Then your woman ca and tempted my n with more powerful Cultivation thods and Battle techniques. She claid she could defeat because of her superior techniques. And the foolish people fell for it."
The derisive snort told how she felt about the whole event.
"They begged to accept her offer to serve you. Serve under you. And I was forced into accepting her conditions. So don't think I am serving you because I want to! I am doing this for my n, my foolish colleagues."
She glared pointedly at Ikasa and portrayed her weakness as her strength. She threatened that if he pushed too hard, she might retaliate.
Ikasa was taken aback by her outburst. He gleaned much valuable information from her uninterrupted rant.
'There are ways to enslave soone through the Soul shards or whatever that is.' Then his thoughts turned to the aggrieved woman.
'I can only control her if I threaten her n. To make her work for wholeheartedly, I need to win her respect.'
"I understand you have been through so very tough tis, and you don't want to be enslaved again. So, I will give you an opportunity to break free of those shackles."
Yin Ying looked up at Ikasa, half skeptical and half hopeful. Her distrustful nature was evident from her ever-covered face. Even after it was drenched wet from her tear drops, she had not removed her facial covering.
"Work for . I don't care if you keep your guard up against as long as you complete assigned tasks to my satisfaction. You will not be a slave but a paid employee. And when you feel you can trust , remove that mask and show your face."
Then he called Feng Yan in.
"Can you please ask Xin Ruo to give her a spare set of clothes and take her to dicine Master Hao in the morning?"
Yin Ying knew of the reputation of dicine Master Hao. She was touched by the gesture, but it was not enough to make her believe Ikasa. And neither did Ikasa expect her to disclose her closely guarded secrets.
But this was just a gesture, a first step to building a bridge of trust.
Once Feng Yan had sent Yin Ying away, he returned to the room. Ikasa was pacing, his steps erratic. Sotis he moved in a straight line; other tis, he moved like the knight on a chess board.
He turned to his most reliable support and began to tell him about his plans for the future.
"Old man, we failed in Sal City because we didn't have a force that could contend against the Prestigious Families. I don't want a repeat of the sa in Birch City. We need enough power to make the City Lord treat us seriously."
Feng Yan listened attentively. He had a vague idea of where this was going. Still, he waited for Ikasa to finish.
Ikasa made another round around his bed and looked into Feng Yan's eyes.
"Can you form a militia of a hundred strong n for ? I will provide a Top Grade Cultivation Manual and any type of Battle Technique you want. All I want in return is their undivided loyalty."
Feng Yan was having trouble believing what he heard. He could not digest the fact that Ikasa promised to provide a Top Grade manual, not a High-Grade manual.
Ikasa snapped his fingers to bring him back to the present.
"Yes! Of course, yes! I am willing to train such a force for you."
His energetic voice bood in the silence of the night.
"Calm your horses, Old man. You have to find those hundred n yourself..." Seeing Feng Yan ready to jump on the fresh new people joining them today, Ikasa forbid his ambitions from gaining ground.
"... And no, you can't take n from Yin Ying's force. I have different plans for them."
Feng Yan reigned in his enthusiasm. Just the thought of how powerful the battle force made with top-grade cultivation technique had sent him over the moon.
"Also, keep an eye on our newest mber. I don't trust her. And don't fall for her pitiful looks."
Ikasa warned Feng Yan. God knows how starved he was for a won's company after his stay in the slums. And Yin Ying certainly had a figure to spark soone's imagination.
Feng Yan opened his mouth to refute.
"I would never…."
But Ikasa shut him up with one single sentence.
"I saw you glaring at before."
Feng Yan gave him another stinky eye and turned to leave. Before he could go out of the door, he heard Ikasa's voice.
"Be ready to go to the slums in the morning. I need to see how capable your brothers are."
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