Chapter 11

The Town Lord was voracious, but careful. After sending Mo Qing over, even though he usually called for the ladies everyday, he actually waited five days until calling them again, most likely making sure that they weren't planning something. But Mo Qing gave him no reason to doubt, he behaved himself and even started to accept being washed and clothed by the male servants. So five days later when the ladies and Ton got together to help Mo Qing carry out his plan, the Town Lord didn't suspect a thing.

They meticulously applied makeup on him and covered his face in a lace veil. With makeup on, Mo Qing was actually the picture of a beautiful maiden, even surprising all the women in the room.

It was only his figure being too tall, his bodily features being slightly chiseled, and a white streak being in his hair that kept him from fully embracing the look.

Because of this, the tallest of the ladies chose to stay behind. Then they all decided to wear elevated shoes while having Mo Qing wear flats. Doing this helped close the gap, but Mo Qing was still a bit taller than the rest.

Afterwards, they placed pads in Mo Qing’s chest and dressed him in thick, not too revealing robes. Then they covered his head to conceal his white-streaked hair and had him wear a veil to hide his face.

To finish up, they all wore the same to match his look.

The heels were usually worn during festivals and holidays and the clothing, during the winter. But because they had no other options they could only hope that the Town Lord would be too distracted to notice all the differences.

Once they were done, they marched in their usual order to the Town Lord's bedroom. As Mo Qing walked he couldn't help but think of the sad state of these women. During his time with them, he was told that when they served Lord Tincaid, they would usually try to get him so drunk that they could pretend to sleep with him.

But, sometimes, he was just sober enough to actually complete the task with one or two of them. It was only because Lady Secily was so resourceful that they were able to have some servants help them retrieve abortifacients. Or else no one knew how many offspring the Town Lord would have had by now.

Once they got to the Town Lord's bedroom, they walked inside. As always, the guards stood a bit away so as not to eavesdrop on the Town Lord's pleasures.

The Town Lord sat patiently on his bed, awaiting their arrival in a single red robe. The moment his eyes spotted the women, they took on a lustful look.

He smiled and licked his lips, “Welcome ladies. You seem to be dressed rather differently today. It isn't winter time nor a holiday, what's wrong?”

“My Lord. We were worried you have grown tired of our usual garb, since you hadn't called on us in a while. Because of this we thought it would be best to spice it up.” Lady Secily seamlessly answered.

The Town Lord angrily replied, “Shouldn’t you know to inform me before taking on such measures?! Is it that you wish to be punished?!”

Lady Secily quickly bowed to him, “Of course not, My Lord! We only wish to enhance your experience!”

Mo Qing gathered his sword energy, ready to strike.

Seeming to realize something, Lord Tincaid calmed down. “Fine. Luckily for you, I received a golden egg and I'm in a good mood. Just never let this happen again.”

Mo Qing relaxed.

Lady Secily bowed. “Of course, My Lord.”

Lord Tincaid continued, “Then let's get down to business.”

The ladies bowed and separated into lines and Mo Qing fell into step with them. One line grabbed a tray of food and the other grabbed some drinks and cups. These items sat on tables at the side of the Lord's room.

Mo Qing, who was standing at the back of the line, grabbed a cup. The women then aligned themselves on each side of the Lord.

He would ask some to fill his drink while asking others to come up and serve him. Suddenly, he turned his attention to Mo Qing.

He noted, “You over there, you look a bit different than usual. Come closer so I can see you.”

Mo Qing slowly walked over to the Lord, trying not to break his cover. Because his robes were long, he hoped the Lord wouldn’t notice his height difference.

Once he was close enough, the Lord grabbed his hands, and dragged him closer.

A moment later, he recoiled. “Ahh! Why are your hands so rough? Who are you?”

Mo Qing knew this was his only chance.

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The Town Lord yelled, “Gua…!” But before he could finish, Mo Qing had already hit a few of his acupoints to keep him from continuing.

Frozen and unable to move or speak, sweat began to cover his face and a foul odor leaked from his visage. Mo Qing took off the veil and the Town Lord's eyes widened.

“It’s time you pay for what you’ve done,” He said.

“Yes, it is.” Lady Secily coldly stated.

The woman all took out some daggers from their sleeves and surrounded Mo Qing and the subdued Lord Tincaid.

Mo Qing turned to face them. “What are you doing? Didn't we agree only to restrain him?”

“No,” Lady Secily said with a dagger in her hand. “That’s what you wanted. But it’s easy for you to say as someone who can protect themselves.”

She pointed at the Town Lord. “This man used his power to abuse us and our loved ones. All this time, no one, not even a single Swords Clan came to our aid. If we leave him alive and allow you to take the evidence, what guarantee do we have that he won't be running free a few weeks later?”

Mo Qing stood straight and answered seriously, “This is my guarantee.”

He got on his knees and kowtowed deeply. He then sat up and crossed a line over his heart.

Lady Secily’s hand shot to her mouth, “The Swordfigther’s promise! Every Sword Fighter is bound by honor to follow it, lest their sword energy attack them and destroy their martial arts…”

Mo Qing nodded, “Yes.” His eyes swept over all the ladies in the room as he said, “And I promise that if this man continues to roam free after I report him to a Swords Clan, I will slay him myself.”

Lady Secily's head dropped and tears dotted the corners of her eyes, “Stop, ladies. If we kill him now, we will only be considered as bad as him. Let's assist this Sword Fighter who has helped us get this far in seeking justice for us.”

The women looked doubtful, but after a moment, they all agreed.

They returned their knives to their places and one of them stepped forward, “Fine, we’ll help. But if it looks like anything is amiss, we will act on our own accord.”

Mo Qing nodded. “Of course.”

He heard from Lady Secily that besides his bedroom, Lord Tincaid spent the most amount of his time somewhere else.

He looked at the Town Lord who had tears streaming down his face and said, “I’m sure there's evidence in your office. You will take me to it. While there, write a letter to the mines telling them to release the workers as well. If you don't do what I say, I won't be able to stop these ladies from taking out their anger on you.”

The Town Lord vigorously nodded.

Mo Qing continued, addressing the women, “You all should return to your quarters. I’ll take care of the rest.”

As they left, Mo Qing remembered something and stated, “Wait.”

The women stopped and turned around. “Lady Secily, may I borrow your dagger?”

Lady Secily pulled out her dagger and handed it to Mo Qing. Then Mo Qing carefully stored it in his sleeve.

“Good luck,” She uttered.

Afterwards, she took a step back and bowed deeply to him. The rest of the women followed in her stead, bowing deeply as well.

When they were done, they shuffled out of the room, acting as if nothing happened.

Mo Qing picked up his veil and covered his face, subsequently undoing the acupoints keeping the Town Lord still but maintaining the ones keeping him silent.

He forced him to stand and held his arm like a lady would a gentleman, but his grip was firm, preventing him from escaping,

He whispered, “Oh and don't try to lie about the location of your office. Remember, I’ve seen it before.”

The two walked out of the room and the guards standing a ways away from it glanced at the Town Lord curiously. Mo Qing changed the tone of his voice, heightening his pitch by a few octaves.

He said, “Lord Tincaid wanted to take me to his office for a little more privacy. He would answer you himself, but I'm afraid he has had too much alcohol and laughed for too long. His throat needs time to heal. Don’t worry though, I’ll watch over him.”

The two guards gazed at The Town Lord who nodded in response. Seeing this, they relaxed and bowed to him, returning to their posts afterwards.

Mo Qing walked with Lord Tincaid through the long halls until they reached his office.

As they entered, Mo Qing made him dismiss all the guards in the area, then he closed the office doors and began to look around.

Remembering that he needed to free Li Yongzheng, Ri’en and the rest of the workers at the mine, he sat Lord Tincaid down and demanded he begin writing the letter he requested while he continued to look around the area.

He found many books, scrolls and papers, but none that looked like what he was searching for. He glanced over at the distressed Town Lord and walked over to him.

“Where are the accounts pertaining to the mines?” He asked.

Lord Tincaid gestured to his mouth and Mo Qing undid his restraints. Knowing the man wasn’t a Sword Fighter, Mo Qing quickly said, “I’m a Sword Master. If you try to contact your guards, well, you’ll have to see between the two, if my hand is quicker than your mouth.”

Forehead beaded with sweat, Lord Tincaid nodded and quickly walked over to one of the bookcases. He pulled a book from the shelf and the whole case slid to the side, unveiling a chamber that laid behind it. In that chamber were various papers and scrolls.

As Lord Tincaid returned to his seat, Mo Qing went over and picked one up. It was titled, “Meteoric Stone Mine Clients.”

Upon reading it, he saw the names of three clans that may have been involved in this case. They were The Hidden Desires Clan, the Swordsmith villa Clan, and the High Mountain Glaive Clan. Another paper under it said, “Accounts of sale for Meteoric stones.” He picked both of them up and stuffed them into his robes.

As he was about to grab another of the documents sitting in the small room, he first heard the sound of splintered wood and paper tearing, then the terrified scream of the Town Lord.

When he ran outside, he spotted a cloaked figure with a demon mask covering its face. This figure was standing across from the Lord who had fallen to the floor. Surrounding the figure was broken pieces of wood and behind it was a broken window.

It stood, appearing ready to attack.