“Oh? Young master, you were so mighty just moments ago—why’s your tongue tied now?” I slowly walked toward Chelse. He could only stand there dumbfounded, not daring to move an inch.
The magical pressure crushing him left him no choice.
“Answer me! Who are you? How do you wield such immense power? Could it be… you’re the nation’s guardian magician?” Chelse’s voice trembled violently. With every step I took closer, the pressure intensified.
“Mm. Yes. I am that magician. I used a disguise spell—traveling incognito. Never expected to run into a disgrace like you among the nobility.” Amused, I played along, claiming the title though I didn’t even know the real magician’s name.
“Bold! Even if you *are* Magician Jielie, you can’t lay a hand on me—a member of the—"
SLAP!!!
Before he finished, my palm cracked across his cheek.
“You… you *dare* hit me?!” Clutching his stinging face, Chelse stared in utter disbelief. As the Cher family’s young master, he’d never been struck before.
SLAP!
I ignored him and slapped the other side—using only one ten-thousandth of my strength. Any more, and his head would’ve vanished.
“Earlier, you said *I* should lick *your* shoes to beg mercy, right? Wait—no. That’d disgust *me*. How about this: you lick every single sole of your subordinates’ shoes clean. With your tongue. What do you think?”
“What did you SAY?!” Chelse shouted, face twisted. This humiliation cut deeper than death—licking his own men’s filthy soles? What the hell.
“I’m not joking. Live or die—this is your only path.” I yanked him up by the collar, voice low and sharp, eyes glinting with killing intent.
Refuse? His life was forfeit.
This…
Staring into my eyes, Chelse understood: he was finished here.
“I’ll do it.”
After a choked silence, those two words were all he could manage.
“Wise choice.” I tossed him toward his sprawled subordinates. “One by one. One speck of dust left? I’ll kick your head like a ball.”
---
Ugh… bleh…
Finally finished, Chelse collapsed, gagging violently from the stench and shame. His face twitched, pale and grotesque.
“Not bad. Take your men and go.” I smiled, thoroughly satisfied.
*Is this guy a devil?* a nearby beastman thought, watching me uneasily.
“Go!! Young master!” Guards lifted Chelse and hurried away.
“I… won’t… forgive you… ugh… Jielie…” Chelse choked out between retches, tongue spasming. I didn’t even hear him.
“Um… Magician Jielie, are you sure you’re safe? Because of us, you’ve angered the Cher family—they’re deeply tied to the royal court.”
“Yes! Even you can’t fight the whole Cher family alone. They’ll use dirty tricks to frame you!”
After Chelse vanished, the beastmen gathered around me, worried. They clearly believed I was Magician Jielie.
“I’m not Jielie. I lied. My name is Ling Xie. Never even heard of him.”
“Ah… but just now you—"
“He assumed. I played along.”
“I see… Thank goodness. Young brother, we’re just glad *you’re* safe.”
They nodded, relief softening their eyes.
“One question,” I said. “Why leave your homeland to suffer here in the human realm? Give me a reason.”
*Sigh…* The tiger-eared beastman spoke calmly. “Since you defended us beastkin… we’ll tell you. We’re here for one thing: to ransom our Holy Maiden with human magic coins. Bandits kidnapped her in an accident… sold her to a slave trader here.”
