Longevity Martial Arts: Obtain Golden Affixes at the Start

"What are you three doing standing there?" The demon closest to the door looked up.

It was a monster with the head of a jackal. Its two eyes darted around Hong Lang and Pu Xi before finally landing on Zhu Dachang.

"Zhu Dachang? What the hell are you doing here?" The jackal-headed man's voice was filled with undisguised disdain. "Since when has a pig been allowed to attend a beauty appreciation party?"

Several snickers rang out from inside the hall.

Zhu Dachang shrank back, a forced smile on his face: "Eighth Master, I... I didn't come to the banquet, I came to present beauties to you gentlemen!"

"Offer a beauty?" The jackal-headed man scoffed, his gaze falling on Pu Xi again, scrutinizing her from head to toe twice. "That's it?"

Pu Xi stood half a step behind Hong Lang, her face expressionless, as if she hadn't heard anything.

Zhu Dachang quickly said, "Eighth Master, this young lady is in disguise. Her real face is... well, you'll see when you see it!"

Before the jackal-headed man could say anything more, an eagle-headed demon sitting next to him spoke up: "Eighth Brother, who cares what he offers? Just tell them to get out of the way and wait. Master Huang's men haven't arrived yet. The main event tonight is yet to come."

Jackal Head snorted, picked up his wine bowl, and ignored him.

Hong Lang and his two companions were led to an empty table in a corner of the hall and sat down.

On the table were several plates of cold dishes made of some kind of meat, and a pot of wine.

Zhu Dachang sat on the far side, his obese body huddled together, trying to minimize his presence.

Hong Lang, meanwhile, observed the situation inside the hall without making a sound.

There are twelve Meridian Opening Realms, two of which are at the Perfected Meridian Opening Realm.

Although the Hidden Dragon was powerful, he wasn't sure if it could take down so many people at the Meridian Opening Realm at the same time.

Moreover, these centurions were all elite troops under Yu Huai'an's command, having spent years training in places like the White Bone Plain, far superior to the scattered soldiers outside.

Pu Xi was clearly planning the same thing.

She turned her head slightly and said in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "I can also handle a martial artist at the peak of the Meridian Opening Realm, but it won't last long."

"It's enough to keep them in check," Hong Lang said.

Just then, a commotion suddenly arose outside the hall.

Hong Lang raised his head and looked towards the direction of the palace gate.

A rich scent of perfume wafted in, and a woman dressed in red entered the hall.

The woman was indeed beautiful, with almond-shaped eyes, peach-like cheeks, and skin as smooth as jade.

But she wore a stiff smile and had empty eyes, like a puppet being manipulated.

Following behind her, seven or eight more women walked in one after another, each with their own beauty, but without exception, their expressions were all numb.

They were surrounded by a group of demonic guards and herded into the hall like cargo, where they stood in a line.

The centurions inside the hall craned their necks, their eyes scanning the women up and down.

"This one's nice, slim waist!"

"Those breasts are big, they must feel great to touch!"

"I was looking at that girl in the green dress, her ass...tsk tsk tsk..."

Jackal Head stood up, walked up to the women, grabbed one of them by the chin with his claws, and roughly turned her chin over and over to look at her.

The woman was so frightened that she trembled all over, tears streaming down her face, but she didn't dare to cry out loud.

"That's all?" The eagle-headed monster frowned, seemingly dissatisfied.

Just as Jackal Head was about to speak, a guard hurriedly walked in from outside the hall and whispered a few words in his ear.

Jackal Head's eyes lit up, and he shouted, "Brothers, Master Huang has personally delivered someone! They say this time it's a top-tier talent!"

The hall immediately became lively.

The centurions all put down their wine bowls and turned their gazes toward the palace gate.

Footsteps could be heard outside the palace gate.

The first person to walk in was a thin old man, hunched over, with a pointed mouth and monkey-like cheeks, and two bright yellow gold teeth at the corners of his mouth. When he smiled, he looked like a weasel that had come to life.

He was followed by two guards, who were escorting a woman.

The moment the woman was pushed into the hall, the clamor suddenly subsided.

She was wearing a plain-colored dress, made of rough fabric, which looked like it had been changed at the last minute and was even a little ill-fitting.

But it was precisely this shabby attire that made her appearance even more breathtaking.

Her face was small, her skin was so white it was almost transparent, and it shone with a faint jade-like luster in the firelight. Her features were extremely aloof, like a white plum blossom blooming in the snow.

Her eyes were large, with slightly upturned corners, which should have been captivating, but at this moment they were expressionless, like two dry wells that wouldn't echo no matter what you threw in.

She stood there, letting the guards behind her push and shove her forward. She staggered slightly, but there was no reaction on her face.

Like a puppet on a string, she moves only when the string moves.

Numbness, utter numbness that seeps into your very bones; it's the expression of someone who has experienced too much despair and finally doesn't care about anything anymore.

She no longer expected anything; she didn't expect anyone to come to her rescue, she didn't expect any turning point to occur, and she didn't even expect to survive.

Pu Xi looked at her thoughtfully, her brows furrowed, as if she had remembered something.

The centurions inside the hall erupted in excitement.

Jackal Head was the first to stand up, his eyes almost popping out of their sockets, and he even forgot to wipe the drool from the corner of his mouth.

"This...this..." He stammered, turning to look at Master Huang, "Master Huang, where did you get this kind of stuff?"

Master Huang grinned smugly, his two gold teeth gleaming in the firelight: "I went to great lengths to get this from Jinzhou. I lost three of my best hands for this girl."

"Worth it!" the jackal-headed man slapped his thigh. "It's fucking worth it! With looks like that, I'd be willing to take on ten, let alone three!"

The eagle-headed demon put down its wine bowl, squinted its eagle eyes, and carefully examined the woman. After a long while, it slowly nodded: "She is indeed a top-quality woman. Captain Yu will surely be delighted to see her."

The other centurions chimed in, chattering amongst themselves.

"Her skin is as white as jade; I wonder what it feels like to touch it..."

"Look at her figure. Even though she's wearing coarse cloth clothes, her waist is so shapely..."

"Stop arguing, all of you! This is a gift for the captain. Who dares to touch it?"

The woman was pushed to the center of the hall and stood in a row with the other women.

The other women were trembling or sobbing, but she stood still after she stopped.

The jackal's head circled the women once, then stopped in front of her and stretched out its claws to pinch her chin.

The woman did not dodge.

"Interesting." The jackal head retracted its paws, grinned, and said, "Not crying or making a fuss, much more interesting than those wailing mourners."