Awakening the Divine Spark
Chapter 204: Revenge stinks.

Chapter 204: Revenge stinks.

The sect master’s residence was the most secure place in the Celestial Abyss sect, and that’s not even accounting for the man himself, whose strength Lee couldn’t fully grasp, no matter how well developed his imagination was.

But the complex of several large buildings not far from it, across the tree-lined park, was a completely different matter. In fact, it would be better described as a prison, because from the outside world it was separated by a tall wall and, from the gossips Lee heard in the outer sect, he knew that people were brought in here, but never left.

These people were the concubines, the playthings the sect master collected, as did his son. Everyone knew there were hundreds of them, maybe even thousands, and while there were some who condemned the lecherous lifestyle, most could only envy the careless life of the women inside.

They lacked nothing and had everything, probably except for the freedom. But millions and millions of girls would gladly give up on it to switch places with the chosen ones and live the rest of their lives without worry. Lee, of course, knew that Victoria wasn’t thrilled to be there, but he was about to relieve her from her suffering.

***

The following morning Lee left his office and marched around the inner sect with a stack of papers in hand. Unsurprisingly, he spent the most time in the vicinity of the sect master’s residence, mapping out the entrances to the sewers.

He was pleasantly surprised to discover that severs under the central part of the inner sect weren’t guarded at all. Only the pathways leading to the inner sect were the ones considered to be threats.

More importantly – it seemed that no one was worried about the danger of potential assassins infiltrating the inner sect – there were hundreds of guests visiting in addition to thousands of inner sect disciples and elders. If anyone wanted – they would’ve long gotten in.

The place was huge and random nobodies would’ve been quickly picked up by sect’s enforcers. And if there was a mentally challenged individual who decided to take his chances, and came here to pickpocket someone – may the god have mercy on their soul. The crowd of elemental lords was a guarantee the poor criminal would’ve been burnt to crisp in an instant.

What Lee considered to be a huge hurdle in the beginning, turned out to be a subtle tactic to keep opportunists like him at bay. After getting inside the inner sect, no one payed him any attention, especially since he made it obvious he worked here.

He spent the whole day figuring out the plan how to get inside the compound where the concubines lived, and afterwards began to plan the potential escape routes. No matter how he wrecked his brain, the best option was to get back to the Sect Affairs hall and lay low for a period of time, and in the end Lee decided to go with it.

During the next two days he left his office only to have a quick meal a couple of times and borrow few items from his colleagues. It included a small bag, a dagger, a dress, and a hooded cloak. He would’ve loved to get a real weapon, but stealing a good sword without drawing attention was impossible.

***

It was the big day for the junior sect master and his redhead bride. Or rather, it was early morning of the big day.

Lee used the time when the sect was still sleeping to enter the sewers. He intended to wait here till noon, the time when the wedding ceremony was held and then enter the compound with concubines with the least risk of getting noticed.

His resolution for the revenge took a great hit when he realized the reason why no one bothered with the potential infiltrators coming through the sewers. He had to crawl though a dark, three foot tall and wide tunnel, elbow-deep in shit. He had literally chosen the worst way to infiltrate the place, but now it was too late.

He couldn’t get back out on the street, covered in feces, but it was questionable whether he wouldn’t be killed on the spot when he showed his face on the other side. It was too late to go back, but his chances of success were more than questionable as well.

On the way throwing up countless times, Lee crawled through the tunnel. Two hundred yards straight, then he had to turn left and crawl close to two hundred more. He tried to get his mind off the present predicament while trying to figure out what kind of torture was worse – the pain he felt after swallowing a spark or swimming in shit like he currently was. In the end, him being honest with himself, he couldn’t come to a definite conclusion.

The only upside of the current situation was that Lee knew when it was about to end. Unfortunately, even after he arrived to the spot beneath the concubines’ baths, he had to wait a long time till he was certain that they all left.

The damned madams took their time gossiping about the junior sect master and his bride. From the undisguised jealousy, Lee judged that many were Mo Qingsha’s toys. They criticized the young bride, but at the same time didn’t hide that their current position was better than anything they could’ve achieved in their lives.

Lee didn’t care whether it was true or not – he only prayed for the morning procedures to be over sooner, but it took an eternity for the damn sex toys to finish. When finally the waves of urine and feces subsided, he carefully climbed up, threw a quick look around the empty bath hall, and directly plunged in one of the bath tubs.

He scrubbed himself with the dagger he brought, knowing the stench would never truly come off, but he had to try. In fact, he wasn’t really against someone noticing and killing him for trespassing now on the spot, if he was allowed to properly wash first.

Luckily it didn’t come down to that. After getting out of the tub and rinsing away the last bits of shit that somehow was still sticking to his skin, Lee picked a dress from a larger pile – probably the spot where the concubines threw their dirty clothing. He wore it, cursing the idea of taking female appearance again, and threw a towel on his head, hiding his face.

’Alright! So far so good ...’ Lee said to himself bitterly, trying to forget the earlier experience, and proceeded to explore the place.

Turns out this was the most dangerous endeavor he had ever attempted in his lives. One scream and he would’ve been done. With how chatty the madams were in the bath, it was surprising how private they became in the hallways.

Lee couldn’t find a remote room to take a refuge in and roamed the residence for a while, until loud explosions outside forced everyone to rush to the windows. Those likely were the fireworks announcing the happy union, although Lee couldn’t understand why they were launched during the day.

But he didn’t care for the local traditions. He used the moment to hide in one of the rooms and change into more comfortable robe he found there, a hooded one. Now, with the dagger hidden in his sleeve, he was finally ready to face Victoria.

It was much easier to look for her as well. Every single concubine in the compound was glued to the window, watching the fireworks in admiration or jealousy. If he was looking for anyone else, it might’ve been a challenge, but there weren’t that many thirty year old redheads here.

The junior sect master did have a type. Lee found around a dozen pale-skinned women, but only a couple were with crimson hair. He even almost stabbed one, but at the last moment she threw a glance over her shoulder and he noticed he was about to kill the wrong person.

Unfortunately, no matter how he searched, he couldn’t find his target. After searching two largest buildings, he almost gave up, but then noticed a bunch of fatties sitting on a lawn in front of a smaller house.

’Right! Maybe he has turned her into a cook or a cleaning lady!’ Lee grinned to himself, and walked over with a casual step.

The fireworks were still going off, filling the sky with smoke and color. Everyone’s eyes were turned upwards, and no one noticed a lone hooded figure strolling about.

And this was where Lee found her, standing next to the window, staring at the fireworks like everyone else. He didn’t need to see her face or hear her voice, he knew it was Victoria, but when he clenched the dagger’s handle, for some reason, he hesitated.