Free Web NovelChapter 72: Chapter 72: That Lord
Finally, after Chu Bamboo announced the end of the Mass, the followers departed one by one, fully satisfied.
"Lao Wu, Lao Qi, Lao Shier!" Chu Bamboo called out directly.
The three men on site who hadn’t moved much stiffened. They exchanged glances, their eyes filled with confusion and uncertain suspicion.
Unlike the ordinary followers, they could be considered official members of the All-Powerful Association. No matter how they thought about everything that had just happened, they felt something was off...
But the man who had interrupted—his every action and even his aura indicated that he was definitely a member of the All-Powerful Association. And he certainly wasn’t a low-ranking one.
’In fact, if not for the lack of any memory of him, we’d almost suspect he’d worked with us for a while. Otherwise, fine, he led the Mass, but why did he sound so familiar even when calling our names...?’
’But this... it’s incomprehensible... completely incomprehensible.’
"What’s with this attitude? You aren’t even going to answer me?" Chu Bamboo raised an eyebrow. His tone then changed abruptly, his gaze turning sharp as an extremely terrifying pressure emanated from him.
"Or perhaps, you wish to defy me—the one who brings the orders of the Eleventh Apostle, Lord Li!" freewebnovёl.ƈom
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’The... Eleventh Apostle?!’
"We wouldn’t dare!"
The moment the three men snapped out of it, their bodies went ramrod straight. Without another moment’s hesitation, they dropped to their knees in terror.
They didn’t even dare to look up at Chu Bamboo now... It was as if the very name "Li" carried some kind of terrifying pollution!
Zhang Hai’s expression remained unchanged, but the fist hidden beneath his white robe trembled for a moment. ’The All-Powerful Association... the Eleventh Apostle?’
"Get out and guard the door! If there’s no movement in three hours, you can scram..." Chu Bamboo snorted. "This purge is only targeting Xue the Third. I’ll take into account that even if you have no merits, you’ve at least put in the effort! Afterward, you will report to me... and be under the direct leadership of the Eleventh Apostle."
"Of course, if you have any objections..." Chu Bamboo said sarcastically, "I wouldn’t mind recommending you to become the Eleventh Apostle’s attendants!"
The three of them visibly shuddered and forced smiles that were uglier than a crying face.
"It—it would be our honor! No, no, not to become his lordship’s attendants, we’re not worthy of that... I mean, it is my honor to accept your leadership."
"Y-yes, my lord!"
"S-same here... W-we’ll go now!"
The three men scrambled away, rushing toward the main door that the followers had opened and left ajar. However, when they tried to close it, they found that because of Chu Bamboo’s earlier kick, the bolt was broken. The door was now slightly tilted and wouldn’t shut.
Although there were other exits, they didn’t dare go back inside to find one. They could only struggle to lift the heavy door with their hands, align it bit by bit, and force it shut.
Teahouse No. 8 once again fell into dim, deathly silence.
"And scene!" Chu Bamboo clapped his hands, a smile appearing on his face.
"...Before that," Zhang Hai’s voice was hoarse, "can you please explain!"
"What’s there to explain?" Chu Bamboo said calmly. "It’s just like how I know you hide handsome boy-dolls under your bed and, relying on your excellent physique, get off an average of three times a day. It’s no big—"
"I’m just curious, that’s all! Really." Zhang Hai quickly cut him off, forcing a smile uglier than a grimace. ’Dude, where are you even getting this information?’
’Even... even Zhang Xu doesn’t know about this! You’re not hiding in my closet every day, spying on me, are you?’
’That can’t be it.’
’Before I... reward myself, I usually check the surroundings with my Divine Thought.’
’After all, a man is at his most vulnerable when he’s... getting off! It’s comparable to being on the toilet—’
In that moment, Zhang Hai felt a sense of dominated terror, extremely similar to what the trio had just experienced...
"What’s his condition?" Chu Bamboo walked over to Zhang Hai, sized up the unconscious Xue the Third for a moment, and gave Zhang Hai a strange look. "You have this kind of skill? Don’t tell me you practiced this to knock out handsome boys and then..."
"You can insult my sexual orientation, but you will not insult my character!" Zhang Hai’s neck turned red.
Chu Bamboo deduced that the face under his White Eagle Mask had probably turned just as red.
"It’s just the Great Brightness Compassion Palm." After glaring at Chu Bamboo for a good while, Zhang Hai finally relented with a sigh. "It was originally a secret Technique of the Buddhist Sect. After I joined the God Worship Sect, I made some... local modifications. I changed it from a palm to a fist!"
"After all, under the Captain’s Office’s surveillance, only Kung Fu is a power that can be displayed openly and legitimately! So, all the major powers naturally try to disguise some of their abilities under the cloak of Kung Fu, so they can be used in front of ordinary people... and this palm—er, fist—is one such example!"
Chu Bamboo was silent for a long time before abruptly asking, "Since the Captain’s Office has this much influence, can I assume its strength is enough to firmly suppress all the sects?"
’It’s a very simple principle!’
’Only when your fist is big enough will others listen to what you have to say.’
"...Perhaps?" Zhang Hai answered ambiguously.
"Got it. The Captain’s Office can’t suppress you." Chu Bamboo nodded, his face devoid of expression. He knew Zhang Hai all too well. ’But if the Captain’s Office isn’t strong enough to steamroll all its enemies, and I reason from there... then this must be a consensus among the major Orthodoxies?’
’Pollution?’
Thoughts surged in Chu Bamboo’s mind. ’Perhaps the upper echelons of the major Orthodoxies, and some high-ranking officials in the Daqian Dynasty’s Two Capitals... know part of the truth about the pollution?’
"Wake him up!" Chu Bamboo didn’t dwell on the matter and got back to the task at hand.
"..." Zhang Hai kept glancing at Chu Bamboo. He still really wanted to ask about the Eleventh Apostle, but in the end, he just grabbed Xue the Third by the collar in frustration. He was about to pull off the mask on his face but found it wouldn’t come off.
"Give up. That’s not a mask at all. It’s his second face," Chu Bamboo said noncommittally.
Zhang Hai was silent for a moment, then immediately raised his hand and slapped Xue the Third’s masked face hard. Seeing that he was still unconscious, he slapped him again, and again, and again...
Chu Bamboo: "..."
’Is this a physical wake-up call?’ Chu Bamboo wondered, watching the excitement that appeared on Zhang Hai’s face with some suspicion.
"Where am I... Stop hitting me! Stop hitting me!" Xue the Third woke up in a daze, only to be met with another hard slap. He wailed repeatedly, which only seemed to make Zhang Hai more excited. As he kept slapping him, he asked, "Are you gonna talk? Huh? Are you gonna talk..."
"But—" After waking up and tanking five more hard slaps, Xue the Third was on the verge of tears. "What the hell do you want me to say..."
