Qiu Yunru noticed that her bright red eyes, though beguiling, had slits at the centers, like the eyes of a snake.
With manicured hands, she picked up one of his arms and pressed a hand to his waist.
"Hmm," she said. She sounded as though she was trying to maintain a sour attitude, but she was clearly impressed. "This one is quite good-looking. Have you looked at his face yet?"
Qiu Yunru felt his insides twist into a knot.
If anyone in this room saw his face, they'd either try to turn him in to the authorities, or kill him on sight! Considering that he was mostly incapacitated and this room had four demons in it, there was absolutely no way he could let that happen!
Qiu Yunru let out a noise of protest, flopping and lolling his head away from her hand. He willed the qi in his meridians to move, pushing through the sluggish haze that was keeping him immobile.
Madame Red raised an eyebrow at his flopping. She huffed. "Is he incredibly ugly beneath? You both know I only accept so much ugliness in a face." She whirled around, huffing and trailing her long, red sleeves behind her. "That must be it. Take him away! Red Lotus Pavilion won't take him!"
Jing, the taller demon, began to panic. "Madame! Please--even though we haven't looked underneath yet, considering his figure, I'm sure his face isn't so bad! Plus, the customers don't even look beneath masks anyways--does it really matter so much?"
BAM!
With terrifying force, Madame Red slammed her hand down on her vanity, causing it to shake. When her head whipped around, her eyes were glowing ominously, and her painted lips were smiling wide.
"I'll be the judge of that, you lowly fools! Even if you lowly demons don't care for the face under the mask, I will! How can I stand to employ someone who makes my eyes sting? Take off his mask this instant!"
Cowed, Xin and Jing immediately began fumbling with Qiu Yunru's mask, trying to pull it off his face. This was made a bit more difficult by the fact that he was lolling around like a dying fish, pulling his head away from them insistently and squirming.
"You--stay still!" Xin snapped, grabbing his mask firmly. "Are you trying to get all of us killed?"
Qiu Yunru could only let out a groan in return. The qi in his veins was beginning to push through the sluggishness bit by bit, but it still wasn't moving fast enough for him to speak properly yet, nor move his limbs. It was like pushing at a dam: one must push, and push, and push, and all of a sudden water would come crashing through.
He just--needed to push a bit more! If he could--just regain movement--he'd be able to slip away--!
But it was too late. With a snapping noise, Xin yanked the mask right off his face, tossing it to the ground frustratedly.
There was a moment of silence in the room.
Every one in that room couldn't help but think for a second:
Holy shit. This is the prettiest face I've ever seen! Good figure, better face--this is the jackpot!
Then, all at once, as though doused with a bucket of ice water, everyone recognized his handsome face.
"Qiu Yunru!" Xin shouted, picking him up and shaking him by the collar. "I'd know that face anywhere! Don't you know everyone wants to kill you, you piece of shit?"
"You killed my cousin!" Jing wept, wiping at her eyes furiously. "You deserve to die!"
"Oh my..." Secretary Qing had gone white in the face, covering her mouth. "You've caught a fugitive human..."
Meanwhile, amongst all the chaos, Madame Red merely crossed her arms and gave Qiu Yunru a scrutinizing look. As Xin continued to shake him madly, she stepped forward and grabbed Xin by the collar, lifting him up and tossing him somewhere behind her carelessly. She tilted her head at Qiu Yunru, bending down to his height and scrutinizing him once more. A cold smile crossed her mouth.
"We'll all make a good sum of money tonight," she said quietly, reaching out to trace a finger over Qiu Yunru's cheek. "We'll turn him in to the Xiao Clan and make a good sum. What's more, with these looks, I'm sure they'd be willing to pay an extra fee..."
Qiu Yunru felt his stomach twisting like a rag being wrung out.
At that moment, his qi broke loose from the dam. It flowed through his meridians widely--not yet free enough to grant him his full powers of cultivation, but certainly enough so that he could speak.
"Wait!" He croaked, waving his hands wildly and stumbling backward. "Wait, ah...you shouldn't do that!"
Madame Mo was surprised for a moment by his sudden movement and speech, but she quickly recovered. She rose to her full height, leaning over to tap the vanity ominously as she looked down at him over her nose.
"Give me one reason why I shouldn't. You're a human, after all. You're wanted for thousands of golden taels, and if you stay here, your spiritual qi will stink up the place. Why shouldn't I turn you in?"
Qiu Yunru floundered. His heart was pounding in his ears as his eyes darted to the exits. Strangely, there were no windows in this room--the only way out was the door, and all four demons stood between him and it!
Suddenly, the game menu pinged out, blinding him as usual. A message appeared:
Hint: Mention Shao Lu! Best of luck, player!
Qiu Yunru didn't even have the energy to curse the menu and close it. "Shao Lu!" He burst out. "Uh...you know...Shao Lu?"