Starforce Warriors-Chapter 472: Sincerity Behind the Sunlit Glass Window (2)

Li Xiaofei suddenly recalled something and asked, "By the way, why haven’t I seen the Haijing City station leader? What’s his codename?"

Hua Wuying’s expression darkened as she replied, “The former station leader, codenamed Bajie, perished a month ago during a mission. He charged into a Cave Beast tunnel to cover the retreat of his comrades and perished along with the Jiepeng Sakura Samurai Corps.”

Bajie? The name sounded familiar. Oh, right. He was the Dragon Group senior who had mastered the Dual Saint Body of Blade and Sword technique and the Beichen Sword Qi Meridian Severance Technique.

Li Xiaofei had long admired him. He had even thought that he could exchange insights on cultivation techniques with him had they ever met. But now, it seemed that chance was lost forever.

What a pity. To have mastered such rare and formidable secret techniques, yet to have lived such a short life.

Li Xiaofei thought for a moment and asked further, “Did you see Bajie die with your own eyes?”

“No, I didn’t,” Hua Wuying admitted. “But the tunnel he entered leads directly to the Jiepeng Empire. Later, the Jiepeng forces reopened the tunnel, which is still in use. However, the station leader never reappeared. Based on the intelligence that our comrades infiltrating the Jiepeng Empire sent back, the station leader is presumed to have died for Great Xia.”

Li Xiaofei’s curiosity was piqued. “We have operatives infiltrating Jiepeng?”

Hua Wuying nodded. “Yes, we do.”

Li Xiaofei seemed deep in thought. After a moment, he asked, “What are your plans for the Dragon Maidens?”

Hua Wuying responded, “I plan to escort them to Xiajing City headquarters.”

Li Xiaofei shook his head as he replied, “The journey is long, and delays could lead to complications.”

After a brief moment, he added, “I’ll request guidance from Captain Xiao. Until a decision comes from above, you take care of them. I can see that they don’t trust anyone else apart from you.”

Hua Wuying nodded in agreement.

A flurry of activity followed as Li Xiaofei decided to transform the Haisha Gang’s headquarters into the new Jingwu Sect base. Though taking charge meant dealing with pressure from above, it had one undeniable benefit: having subordinates to delegate tasks.

Thus, all renovations and modifications of the site were entrusted to Nan Hua. If money needed to be spent, she was authorized to spend it. If people needed to be hired, she was tasked to hire them. But there was one priority: speed!

After arranging everything, Li Xiaofei used his portable light core to contact Tsukiha Yaiba and stepped out.

***

Slap!

“Ah...”

Slap!

“Ah...”

The sharp crack of a whip and hoarse cries of agony wove an unending symphony within the dimly lit chamber.

Tsukiha Yaiba’s beautiful face was contorted in pain as she stood facing the cold stone wall with her hands and feet shackled. Behind her, a hunched, bald old man wielded a thorn-covered whip to strike her relentlessly. Her white shirt shredded under the whip’s lashes.

Terrifying scars marred the flawless, pale skin of this Jiepeng prodigy’s back as her flesh split open and fresh blood flowed freely. The crimson liquid pooled beneath her feet, forming a grim puddle on the stone floor.

“Have you submitted yet?” The hunched, bald old man barked.

Tsukiha Yaiba gritted her teeth tightly and remained silent.

Slap! Slap!

The old man swung the whip twice more. His wrinkled, leathery face twisted into a sadistic expression of nearly deranged excitement. He only seemed to grow more excited as the long long whip carved marks across what seemed like a divine masterpiece of pure white skin.

Soon enough, the twenty-one lashes were completed. The hunched, bald old man’s expression quickly shifted from sadistic pleasure to fearful trepidation.

“Miss, you’ve suffered greatly.” He said hurriedly as he put away the whip. He draped a white towel over Tsukiha Yaiba’s back and removed the shackles from her wrists and ankles.

Once the restraints were gone, her inner qi began to circulate freely. Tsukiha Yaiba let out a cold snort as her injuries began to heal rapidly. Even the gruesome scars on her back faded away at a visible pace. Her skin returned to its flawless, snow-white state; it was as smooth and supple as though it had been untouched. She stepped barefoot over her own blood pooled on the chamber floor and walked out.

The hunched, bald old man hurried after her, shouting, “Miss, please agree to the Patriarch’s request. Otherwise, how long must this go on?”

Tsukiha Yaiba’s expression darkened, becoming chillingly sinister. Yet she still said nothing and left without a word. Behind her, bloody footprints stretched down the hallway.

Twenty minutes later, Tsukiha Yaiba pushed open the door of a café across the street from the Jiepeng consulate in the Wanmao District. Dressed in a new outfit, she declined the attendant’s offer of service and went straight to a private booth by the window.

Inside the booth, Li Xiaofei, dressed in a crisp white suit, sat with one hand propping up his chin, lost in thought.

Tsukiha Yaiba took a seat across from him, picked up the coffee already prepared for her, and sipped it.

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She said, “You arrived faster than I expected, Li-kun. What do you need me to do?”

Li Xiaofei’s gaze remained fixed on the Jiepeng consulate as he asked, “How many people are inside?”

Tsukiha Yaiba froze for a moment, then suddenly understood his intention.

“Are you serious?” she asked, her breathing quickening.

Li Xiaofei nodded. “It would be ideal if you could gather all the notable Jiepeng figures in Haijing City, those with a name and reputation, for some sort of meeting. Get them all in one place.”

Tsukiha Yaiba’s mind began working rapidly as she made plans. She had witnessed Li Xiaofei’s rise firsthand. It could be said that no one in the entire Great Xia understood Li Xiaofei’s potential and audacity better than she did. And apart from her, no one would believe that Li Xiaofei was truly capable of an insane feat like slaughtering Tsukiha Tensō and every expert in the consulate.

There was no logical reason to believe it. She just did. Perhaps it was because she had witnessed this young man create miracle after miracle out of impossible circumstances back in Liuhe Base City.

As an observer at the time, she had used her intelligence channels to uncover information that even many locals in Liuhe didn’t know. She knew exactly how reckless and unrelenting Li Xiaofei was. With her options exhausted, there was nowhere left for her to retreat now. So she might as well place her bet on Li Xiaofei: the so-called Child of Miracles.

"I’ll do my best to summon them all back," Tsukiha Yaiba said, biting her lip. "I will cooperate fully with you."

Li Xiaofei nodded and replied, "Then go do it."

Tsukiha Yaiba hesitated briefly and asked, "Don’t you need me to show my sincerity?"

Li Xiaofei shook his head. "You’d better be sincere. Otherwise, at most, it’s just a minor inconvenience for me to waste a few more seconds and eliminate you as well."

A chill ran down Tsukiha Yaiba’s spine. She stood up and knelt.

She said, "I can prove my sincerity."

She moved forward on her knees until she was directly in front of Li Xiaofei. Tsukiha Yaiba knew she had to do something to bind herself, even temporarily, to Li Xiaofei. Otherwise, with the killing intent he had shown multiple times, she wasn’t confident she would survive after he carried out his plans.

Li Xiaofei was slightly stunned. The once-proud heiress of Jiepeng’s financial elite, ranked among the top high school prodigies of the Jiepeng Empire, was now kneeling before him.

Sunlight streamed in through the glass window of the private booth and illuminated her slightly upturned face. The girl’s skin was delicate and fair, and under the sunlight, a faint layer of pale yellow down could be seen. It was said that this faint layer of down was unique to virgins, and would only fade away after experiencing their first intimate union. It marked their transition into womanhood.

Li Xiaofei was a fully functioning man. Moreover, due to his recent cultivation of the Meridian Severing Technique, his inner qi had become unusually turbulent, triggering a resurgence of the excessive desires he had experienced before.

Desires churned restlessly within him. So he did not stop what Tsukiha Yaiba did next. Her delicate hands unfastened the leather belt of his trousers. The noble lady of Jiepeng used her teeth to tug the trousers downward. Her movements were awkward yet graceful.

As Tsukiha Yaiba tilted downward and slid inside, the warmth and moisture caused Li Xiaofei to gasp involuntarily. He turned his head to look out the window.

In this era, coffee was already considered a luxury. This coffee shop, situated in a prime location just a street away from the Jiepeng Consulate, could hardly claim to have no connection to the Jiepeng people. The smiling waitstaff might very well be disguised elite samurai warriors.

Outside the private room stood the highest authority of the Jiepeng Empire stationed in Haijing City, but within the private room, the noble niece of Jiepeng, a martial arts prodigy, willingly bowed her head beneath the waist of a Great Xia man. She even feared that this Great Xia man might refuse her.

Li Xiaofei leaned comfortably against his seat. He watched the bustling crowd moving along the street through the glass window. Perhaps, if one of those passersby paused and carefully studied the faint grayish glass and looked through the dappled light filtered through the swaying branches, they might catch a vague glimpse of the scene unfolding within the private room.

Li Xiaofei sighed softly.

The Jiepeng people truly are a perverse race. Their innate talents always seemed to enable them to discover intensely provocative angles to amplify already stimulating situations.

Tsukiha Yaiba’s decision to demonstrate her sincerity in such an environment might not have been without this sort of intention. She probably understood that men often reveled in the degrading thrill of conquest. But Li Xiaofei’s resilience exceeded her expectations.

After more than twenty minutes, she made a certain decision. Without hesitation, she stood up and lifted the hem of her skirt.