Chapter 419 - Heart of Darkness

In the brightly illuminated villa, a woman was taking out wads of banknotes from her safe, as well as some U.S. currency and a passport. There was a suitcase by her side, filled with cash, valuable jewelry and luxurious watches.

This woman was around 50 with ordinary looks and figure. She was plainly dressed and resembled a common street sweeper, but her small eyes gave one the impression of sinister cunning. Anyone who knew physiognomy could see that she was no kind soul.

She was Hou Meiling.

Knock, knock, knock…

There were knocks at the door.

Hou Meiling swiftly threw the last few wads from the safe into her suitcase. Then she locked the suitcase and pushed it under her bed. Only then did she walk to the door. When she reached the door, she asked in a low voice, “Who is it?”

“Sister Hou, it’s me.” From outside the door came the voice of a man. “Something cropped up.”

Hou Meiling opened the door, revealing a savage-looking man with a brawny build. The man gave one a feeling of intense oppression.

He was Hong Li, another desperado. Before Qian San died under Ning Tao’s Sacred Needle to Nasty Diseases, he was still only a lackey of Qian San. After Qian San’s death, he naturally replaced the man’s position.

“What’s up?” Hou Meiling asked.

Hong Li said, “The new girl bit and wounded Master He. He was so angry that he smashed a vase on her head. She’s very badly injured.”

“That girl you brought here from the station?”

Hong Li replied, “Yes, she’s the one. She hasn’t been trained properly, but Master He insisted on having her. He said that he preferred new girls. Then this happened. Our client’s lip was bitten off and he’s now making a scene.”

Hou Meiling said, “Take me there to have a look. If you really can’t subdue that girl, you know what to do.”

Hong Li nodded and said maliciously, “I’ve got a meat grinder and a few pure-bred pit bulls. They will enjoy the extra food we feed them. There won’t be any trace left.”

“Do you handle Qian San this way too?”

Hong Li answered, “Sister Hou, this is the Beidu suburb. Burying a body anywhere here will run the risk of getting discovered. It’s the best way to do things.”

Hou Meiling said, “Well done. As long as you do your job, you will get to enjoy wealth and luxury.”

Hong Li cracked open his mouth and grinned. His grin resembled that of a pit bull’s opening its mouth wide.

The two of them walked out of that villa to another. They took just a few steps before a golden-furred Native Field Dog suddenly scampered out from the green belt at the roadside. It was lifting its head a little, observing Hou Meiling and Hong Li.

The Howling Celestial Dog had arrived.

Hou Meiling froze momentarily. “Where is this dog from?”

Hong Li answered, “Maybe from the village. Let me slaughter it.” He moved his hand to his waist. There was a pistol there, and a military knife.

Hou Meiling stopped him. “Are you going to shoot? It’s just a dog, just drive it away.”

Hong Li pulled out his military knife. Under illumination, the knife gleamed coldly and seemed extremely sharp.

“Woof, woof, woof!” The Howling Celestial Dog suddenly opened its mouth and barked.

Hong Li’s figure suddenly flashed, his tall and burly body showing incredible agility. His entire person seemed like a ferocious tiger pouncing swiftly after its prey. His kung fu could not match Qian San’s, but his physique and momentum surely exceeded the latter’s.

However, Hong Li’s combat prowess was very mediocre in the eyes of the Howling Celestial Dog, a cultivation dog. If Hong Li had used a gun, it might still have reason to fear. But a knife would not frighten it at all. It bared its rows of titanium alloy teeth, his canine eyes showing disdain and expectation.

But just when Hong Li was about to stab the Howling Celestial Dog’s neck, and the dog about to bite off Hong Li’s arm, there suddenly resounded from inside that villa a woman’s scream.

The Howling Celestial Dog seemed to have remembered something, and leaped to avoid Hong Li’s attack. It raced headlong into that green belt by the road and disappeared.

Hong Li did not make his strike. His triangular eyes showed a tinge of astonishment.

“Forget it. Let’s go over there and take a look.” Hou Meiling walked quickly to that villa.

Hong Li sheathed his knife back into its scabbard. He followed Hou Meiling’s footsteps into that villa.

In the green belt, the Howling Celestial Dog poked out its canine head, watching Hou Meiling and Hong Li’s silhouettes. Just now, it had almost decided to bite off the man’s arm. But in that instant, he suddenly remembered his dad’s instructions. It was only to scout, not act rashly. So at that moment, it decided to avoid confrontation.

“Woof, woof, woof…” The Howling Celestial Dog barked a few times.

In less than a minute, three figures appeared in its sight.

Ning Tao, Qing Zhui and Jiang Hao had also arrived.

“Celestial Howling, you said you saw that woman. Where is she now?” Ning Tao asked. Although the Howling Celestial Dog was giving canine barks, the Whisperer could do the “translation” and Ning Tao could hear the translated human version.

The Howling Celestial Dog raised a paw and pointed in the direction of Hou Meiling and Hong Li, who had just entered the villa. “She and a thug just walked into that villa. I also heard a woman scream.”

“Let’s start work,” Ning Tao said.

The three of them and the dog separated, each sneaking into the villa from different directions.

In the villa, a young man wearing only a pair of briefs was wiping blood off his mouth with a tissue. A portion of his lip had been bitten off, and fresh blood from that wound was dyeing his neck and chest crimson.

A girl of 18 or 19 was lying before that young man. Her clothes were torn and her head broken, as blood trickled down her head. Broken pieces of porcelain were scattered on the floor, with a few still stained with her blood.

There were two other men in the room, both underlings of Hou Meiling. But they merely looked on coldly without stopping the violent young man.

By the time Hou Meiling and Hong Li walked into the room, the young man had gone hysterical again. He grabbed a broken porcelain shard and pounced at the wounded girl, one hand grabbing her hair and lifting her head, the other stabbing the shard at her face.

“Don’t—” The girl begged.

But her pleading did not win her a trace of sympathy. The porcelain shard on that man’s hand stabbed brutally in her face. The young man slashed and another frightful gash appeared on her face. Fresh blood gushed out. Her immature, delicate and pretty face was ruined.

“You damn whore! You dare to bite me— try again!” After ruining the girl’s looks, the young man was still furious. He punched a fist on that girl’s lower abdomen.

The girl opened her mouth wide, but could make no sound.

Hou Meiling started to frown. “Enough, Master He. She has already been badly beaten by you. If you go on, you will kill her.”

“She bit off my lip. Damn, my looks are ruined. How can I pick up girls again in the future?” The young man called Master He fumed. After his speech, he kicked again at the girl’s abdomen.

A muffled thud.

The girl’s mouth opened, but she still could not emit a groan.

Master He turned to face Hou Meiling and Hong Li, his manner ferocious. “Tell me, how will you settle this score?”

A smile appeared on Hou Meiling’s face. “Master He, you’re our regular client. All this is unexpected. I can see you have vented enough. Why don’t you give me face and forget the whole matter? In the future, when you visit us, I will give you a 50% discount, alright?”

Master He sneered. “Damn, do I look like I lack money? I don’t care for that 50% discount! If you don’t settle this satisfactorily today, I won’t rest!”

The smile on Hou Meiling’s face disappeared. “So Master He, how do you want to settle this?”

He said, “Let your men f**k her. I will watch. Do it until she dies, then I will treat this matter as resolved. If they can’t satisfy me, I will call the police. I’m sure you know who I am. One call from me, and you and your men will be finished!”

At this moment, the girl finally recovered her breath. She said tremblingly, “Don’t… don’t do that… I was only here to find my dad… Please release me… I have a sick mother whom no one is looking after… Sob…”

“Shut up!” Hong Li cursed.

The girl shivered but could not control her tears and sobbing.

“Come on!” Master He growled. “I want to watch you fellows kill her!”

Hou Meiling glanced at Hong Li.

Hong Li nodded and pulled out his military knife, walking towards the girl.

The girl was terrified, her feet pushing the floor and her body crawling backwards. But she had been so badly beaten and wounded that she suffered from pain each time she moved. She could not crawl or run away.

Hong Li came to the girl’s side and pulled her up by the hair, his military knife pressing against her throat.

Master He said hideously, “No, that’d be too easy for her. I want you to torture her. Torture her!”

Hou Meiling remarked blandly, “Master He, why don’t you do it yourself? She won’t dare to resist this time.”

Master He started a little and then walked towards the girl, his eyes full of bestial lust and ferocity.

“No… no… Mother…” The girl pleaded, tears falling down like threads.

But her mother could not hear her at all.

“I’ll kill you!” Master He reached out and grabbed the girl’s torn skirt.

But at this moment, a voice suddenly resounded from outside the door. “How wicked is a man who can do this deed! Even if you have done some good before, I won’t let you see the light of day.”

The eyes of the people in the room all converged at the door.

A man and two women walked into the room.