"How about it? Have you decided?"

The masked man had returned. The jailor stood beside him, like an attendant.

"We have decided." Mu Chen took a deep breath and calmed his nerves. "We will do what we can to complete the task you give us―but only this once. If you think you can force us again, we can only fight to the death." Mu Chen put forth their condition.

"Of course." The masked man nodded.

"Once the task is complete, you will be free. Not just that, I will reward you." But whether his words were true or not, only he knew.

"Hey, since we have reached an agreement, shouldn't you set us free?" Li Kun said to the jailor. The jailor didn't talk, instead looked toward the masked man for his agreement.

"Open the gate." The masked man ordered, and the jailor stepped forward and unlocked their cell. Mu Chen, Li Kun, and Xia Ping stepped out of their cell and stood in front of the masked man and the jailor.

"What about these?" Mu Chen rattled his shackles.

"There's no hurry." The masked man sneered. "We have only reached a part of the agreement. I've shown my sincerity by letting you step out of the cell—it's time you show yours."

Mu Chen was annoyed. "You expect us to complete your task like this?"

"Of course not," the masked man said. "But spoken word is of no guarantee. So before I remove your shackles, you have to sign the contract."

"Contract?" Mu Chen, Li Kun, and Xia Ping's eyes widened as the masked man removed a cream colored scroll from within his spatial ring.

The masked man unfurled the scroll. "This is a Blood Oath scroll. Perhaps you have heard its name."

"Blood Oath scroll!" Mu Chen, Li Kun, and Xia Ping were shocked and couldn't help but look at the scroll.

The scroll was made from the hide of some unknown beast. Several inscriptions and designs were engraved on it, giving it a sinister appearance. It was their first time seeing the scroll in person. Before this, they had only heard rumors about it. As expected, the masked man came prepared.

"Once you sign the scroll using your blood, both parties will be bound by its terms," the masked man explained. "You guys have to sign it before I can release you."

"You haven't even told us what you want us to do and you expect us to sign the contract just like that?" Mu Chen raised his eyebrows.

"To avoid exposing the secrets, I can't tell you the details of the task before you sign the contract. Besides, you don't have a choice." The masked man shook his head. But after a pause, he added, "But I can tell you that it involves entering the secret realm."

"The secret realm!" Mu Chen, Li Kun, and Xia Ping were enlightened.

"Do you want us to bring you something from the secret realm?" Mu Chen asked.

"Indeed." The masked man nodded. "You should be able to understand my difficulties. I can't enter the secret realm, so you guys have to do it on my behalf."

"What is it?" Li Kun asked, excited. "What do you want us to get from the realm?" Something that a Dividing Earth realm expert coveted, shouldn't be ordinary.

"I can't tell you that yet." The masked man gestured at the scroll in his hand. His meaning was clear. Sign the contract first, then they could talk about the details.

Mu Chen, Li Kun, and Xia Ping hesitated and looked at each other.

"Hurry up! Sir hasn't got all day!" The jailor urged.

"Alright! I will do it first. Give me the scroll now." Mu Chen sighed and raised his hands to take the scroll. His movement was slow and reluctant, showing how unhappy he was with the entire deal. The masked man didn't find it abnormal.

But just as Mu Chen's hands were a few inches away from touching the scroll, his speed increased. Like an arrow shot from a bow, Mu Chen grabbed the masked man's wrists with both his hands, instead of the scroll.

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Click! Click! The sound of metal hinges interlocking echoed.

The masked man's eyes widened in shock. "You—" But what welcomed him was Mu Chen's kick into the abdomen. It knocked him back into the wall. The man's head slammed against the wall and he passed out.

Around the same time Mu Chen made his move, Li Kun also moved. A bolt of thunder flashed and paralyzed the jailor who was confused and slow to react. Xia Ping was ready and jumped onto the jailor tackling him to the ground. The sound of clicking followed and the jailor was also shackled.

"Aargh! You bastards! Do you know what you've done?" The jailor screamed. "You are seeking death. You―"

"Noisy!" Li Kun harrumphed and kicked the jailor, breaking his nose. But it only made the jailor cry out more in pain. He cursed even as blood and snot dripped from his broken nose. His curses grew louder and even more elaborate. Finally, Mu Chen stepped in and knocked him out.

"Next time you want to knock someone out, hit the head, not the nose." Mu Chen chided Li Kun.

"That," Li Kun's face turned a bit red. "I wanted to teach him a lesson, who thought it would backfire?"

"It went much smoother than I expected." Mu Chen turned his attention back to the masked man, his eyes full of doubt. "Come on, let's see who this guy is. Xia Ping, you go and get our stuff back."

Xia Ping ran off to get their stuff, while Mu Chen and Li Kun dragged the two men into their former cell. After searching the bodies of the two men, they found a spatial ring and a pouch.

Li Kun checked the spatial ring. "There is not much in here. Just some regular healing pills and medicine. There are some spirit stones, but they don't even cover what we already spent. Not even a single treasure." He shook his head in disappointment. "Was this guy spouting bullshit when he said he would reward us generously? Or did he never plan to pay us?"

Mu Chen dumped the contents from the pouch. They were even more disappointing.

"So this scroll is the most expensive thing here?" Mu Chen frowned and looked at the scroll he had picked up.

"Maybe he has hidden his stash somewhere else?" Li Kun said.

"Maybe." Mu Chen shrugged.

"Ah! Brother Chen, Brother Kun, I found our stuff." Xia Ping, who had gone, had returned.

Mu Chen took his sword and checked his pouch. Nothing seemed amiss.

"Phew! At least none of our belongings seem to be missing." Li Kun also checked his ring after taking it from Xia Ping. "That's good."

"They wanted us to cooperate, so they didn't touch our stuff." Mu Chen said drawing his sword and inspecting it. The familiar feeling returned and Mu Chen felt calm and relaxed. He sheathed his sword and turned to the two men who were still unconscious. "Let's interrogate them."

Mu Chen first removed the mask from the masked man's face. The face underneath was unfamiliar, which they had expected. What they didn't expect was that the guy was very old. His hair was silver and the face wizened. The skin was so taut that it seemed to be plastered over the skull. The eye holes had caved in. He was so thin they could see his bones.

Li Kun was surprised by the man's appearance. "Wow, this guy looks like a mummy."

"No wonder he kept his face hidden. So ugly." Xia Ping snickered.

"He looks really old." Mu Chen thought a bit and said, "That must be why he got taken out so easily. Anyway, let's wake him up."

Xia Ping brought some water from the cell and sprinkled it on the old man's face. The old man's eyelids quivered and he slowly opened them in a daze. He looked at Mu Chen, Li Kun, and Xia Ping who were staring at him like vultures and jolted into wakefulness. He attempted to stand, but Mu Chen pushed him back, preventing him from moving.

"Cough! Cough!" The old man coughed blood and fell back. Only now did he become aware of the situation. "You...how did you get rid of the shackles?" he gasped. Not even in his dreams did he imagine that Mu Chen and his friends could get rid of the shackles. He was caught completely off guard.

"We will be the ones asking the questions now." Mu Chen smiled, but didn't answer the question. "I say, it's time we reintroduce ourselves to each other. Why don't you start with who you are and who you work for?"

The old man fell silent upon hearing Mu Chen's question.

Mu Chen frowned when the man didn't speak, "You know, my mother taught me to respect the old. So I don't want really want to torture an old person like you. You look like you already have a foot in the grave."

"Don't pretend as if you care about my wellbeing," the man sneered.

"Hmph! You were the ones who first kidnapped us. We are just acting out of self-defense, so don't make it sound like we are the bad guys here!" Xia Ping roared.

"So what?" The old man sneered. "Since you have already captured me, it doesn't matter anymore. Do what you want! You think I'm afraid of some pain?"

"Damn you! You are asking for it!" Li Kun roared and was about to smack the old man. Mu Chen held him back.

Xia Ping was also glaring at the old man. "Brother Chen, let's break a few of his bones."

Mu Chen shook his head. Sure they could break a few bones, but the old was someone who had cultivated for decades. That level of pain might not even affect him. Moreover, his constitution was very weak―they might end up accidentally killing him. After all, torturing someone in order to force a confession without killing them was a skill in itself. But none of them had such experience, leaving Mu Chen at a loss.

Mu Chen looked at the old man who was being uncooperative with their questioning, and said. "Old man, you see how angry my friends are―I am also in a bad mood. We didn't offend anyone but were forced into such a situation, just because you wanted us to do your bidding. So either give us an explanation or―"

"Or what?" the old man sneered.

"Or I will give you a quick death." Mu Chen said in a firm and heavy tone. "Although you are old and it looks like you might die at any moment, I bet you still want to live. I am willing to give you a chance. It's your choice."

The old man looked at Mu Chen's determined expression and realized he wasn't interested in dragging things. Mu Chen had given him an ultimatum.

"Youngsters these days," The old man looked at Mu Chen and sighed, "are getting more and more impatient―"

"Are you going to talk or not?" Mu Chen snapped.

"Ai! It's a sin to be old―wait! I-I will talk."