Path Of The Lilies

"No matter what you do, she"s still going to be a little child," Lu Wan yawned. "There"s no way you can make this ugly duckling beautiful."

"You"re the ugly one, Senior Brother Yu."

"Hey!"

Ye Jiao rolled her eyes. She felt uncomfortable sitting in one place for a long time without doing anything, but Qi Huan prohibited her from moving. She was wearing a wig that he had given to her not long ago before tying it to the side to make twin tails. He also added a ribbon on her head. 

"Done," Qi Huan took a mirror and handed it to Ye Jiao. "What do you think of your new appearance?"

In the mirror, Ye Jiao could see a young girl staring back at her. The skin was fair with slight reddish on the cheek part making her look cute. Her large eyes looked sparkling and despite only using the basic makeup that will not make much change, she looked adorable and charming.

"Is that really me?"

"Yep," Qi Huan nodded. "You originally had fair skin and a nice complexion. It"s just because you don"t usually dress up that you didn"t take notice."

Ye Jiao smiled wryly. With her days filled with training, hiding, and mission, where would she have the time to dress up? Even this was unexpected because she didn"t expect to dress up. Well, the scale this time was bigger than before, so dressing up was inevitable. It would be harder to make the governor took an interest to her if she just appeared in her usual appearance.

"Senior Brother Lu, how do I look like?"

When Ye Jiao turned around, Lu Wan nearly dropped the small blade that he was playing on his hand. His mouth opened wide as if he didn"t believe the transformation that occurred to the little lady before him.

"You…. Qi Huan, what in the world did you do?"

"I"m just using a bit of makeup," Qi Huan rolled his eyes. 

"Just a bit?"

"Yes. Ye Jiao has a naturally cute face. She just didn"t have the chance to show it since she"s just staying around a blockhead like you."

It was Lu Wan"s turn to roll his eyes. He had to admit that Ye Jiao looked very beautiful in this appearance, though. It was as if she had changed into a completely different person with just a light make up on her face. Well, her hair also looked neater as Qi Huan arranged it to make her charming.

Qi Huan moved back a few steps and looked at Ye Jiao"s face. He nodded a few times. "This should do. You look far better like this rather than your usual haggard appearance."

"…" So, my usual appearance was haggard?

Even though it was not as bad as what Qi Huan said, it was definitely rather normal. Hearing the cheer from outside, they peered from the window. A lot of people went out of their house to celebrate it.

"Seeing how the villagers are happy to see the governor, I can"t really imagine him as someone bad," Lu Wan sighed.

Qi Huan looked outside. "There are things that they still tolerate because in the face of power and authority, they couldn"t do anything. Besides, this governor is rich and uses his money to help the other villagers."

"So, this mission will directly destroy their livelihood?"

"One way or another, yes. With the change of their governor, things would never be the same again. It should be very obvious," Qi Huan replied. "This is why Bao Fu Organization is not simple."

"What?"

Ye Jiao nodded. "Yeah."

Lu Wan crossed his arm. "Hey! What are you two talking about? At least, phrase it in the language that normal humans can understand."

"You"re just too stupid, Lu Wan."

"Can you stop insulting me?"

"Come on, we have to start doing our part," Ye Jiao ran to the door, she flashed a childish smile. "Let"s play, Brother Yu."

���Got it!" Lu Wan also ran to the door at normal speed and the two of them quickly headed to the street. Qi Huan sighed when he saw the obvious nervous expression on Lu Wan"s face. That boy still had a long way to go if he wanted to do his mission well.

"Governor, it"s doing well too over here. May you pay us a visit?"

"Yes, yes, it"s good that everything is good," the Governor smiled. He was a tall man with large build. However, he had an amiable face and expression.

The children around the area were all boys because their parents already knew better than to let their girls roam around. It would be better if they just let the boys because this governor only took notice of girls. Many of them supported the governor because of what he had done, but a small portion also hated him.

Those parents who had lost their daughters still disliked him and unwilling to get out. Some others prayed that they would not get picked. 

The Governor looked at the man before him. "I heard that your daughter is 12 a few days ago."

The man"s face turned pale. "Y-yes."

"I want to give her congratulations by myself," he turned to his guards. "Take that one."

"N-no, Governor, please, I…"

The governor ignored the man"s obvious plea as he strolled on the street. From the back, Ye Jiao and Lu Wan ran on the edge. They were not too obvious since it was crowded, but several villagers were alarmed when they saw them.

"Brother Yu, please wait!"

"Come on, we have to hurry," Lu Wan replied in a loud voice, yet he looked as if he just kept on running. 

Ye Jiao ran from behind, acting as if she was unable to catch up. Her eyes stealthily watching the people around them, especially the governor. She could see that he was looking at her way, though she couldn"t be sure if he would get interested since she was a little small.

"There"s a new girl?"

"Uh, she…"

"Guard, I want her."

A guard blocked Ye Jiao"s way. Her head glanced up with eyes that purely hold confusion to the tall man before her. "Mr. Guard?"

"The governor is inviting you to a tea party. Do you want to come?"

"Tea party? Are there any delicious sweets?"

"Yes, there is."

"Really? You"re not lying right."

"No."

"Ok~."

By this time, Lu Wan had disappeared into the crowd as he regrouped with Qi Huan. The two of them watched as the governor continued making his round and gathered more girls, which the guards guarded tightly. 

It didn"t take long for them to reach the residence. Seeing the large building up close, Ye Jiao knew that it would be the final destination for most girls if they didn"t manage to find a way out. They were brought to a large hall while the governor was still busy greeting the last batch of people who greeted him today.

"Mr. Guard, can I go to the restroom?" Ye Jiao asked in a coquettish voice.

The guard nodded. He didn"t really care where these children went in the residence because there was no way out. "The restroom is over there. Return back to here after you"re done."

"Yes."

Ye Jiao ran to the other corridor and as soon as she turned around, she erased her presence completely. Rus.h.i.+ng quickly to the right side of the residence, her eyes searched for the Eon Energy Master rank 2 who stayed in this area. She quickly found one of them standing near a small shed.

"Hm? There"s a kid here? Hey…"

Swis.h.!.+ Slas.h.!.+

"One."

The man"s eyes widened and he didn"t have the chance to alarm the others. He was letting his guard down, thinking it was only a stray kid.

As she traveled the residence, she saw the next one waiting near the tree. Her legs brought her to the man"s side as she sliced his neck. Blood spurted out from his throat.

Slas.h.!.+

Pulling the falling guard, Ye Jiao hid him in the bushes. Without these two guards, it would be easier for Lu Wan and Qi Huan to sneak into the residence. After she had finished, Ye Jiao swiftly returned back to the hall and acted as if there was nothing wrong.

"Have you finished?"

"Yes!"

"Good, all of you follow after me. You stay behind."

The girl who was told to stay behind has her face paled. She knew that she was selected first and from what her parents had told her, she knew that the governor was up to no good. From outside the door, several parents were begging to let their children off, but the guards didn"t pay any heed.

"Has she taken care of the guards?"

"She should have," Qi Huan was calculating the time needed for Ye Jiao to clear up one area. He noticed that the door had closed and the governor walked inside. "Let"s move."

"Aye."