Chapter 24 A Peaceful Night
In the dead of night, several black-masked shadows were currently lurking in the dark.
The streets were quiet, cold, and looked a little deserted.
Nonetheless, there were a few people publicly moving here and there for their own private reasons.
Some walked on the streets after leaving the bars very late at night, as they got excessively drunk on the roads, staggering about from left to right and right to left.
Some even fell in the gutters intoxicated with so much booze that they immediately passed out.
The lonely sounds of their laughter and drunken banter echoed across the silent night, disturbing the street cats.
And amidst the drunken fiasco, several many black-masked shadows spring out of their hiding places, dashing forward one street at a time.
Whenever they heard or spotted someone, they would vanish into thin air, with some jumping onto the roofs of homes and others hiding in the alleyways vigilantly.
As usual, today's operation must go well, or else they would face hell once they returned.
They jumped, rolled, ran, and crawled if needed as they stealthily avoided everyone.
Their footsteps were as light as air, as their movement produced no sounds, making the guards unaware of their presence.
And coupled with their high cultivation level, compared to the people here, their very moves were too fast for them to see.
Just like shadows, they remained undefeated in the dark.
~Whoosh, Whoosh, Whoosh~~~
Like the wind, the shadows made their way towards a small building that resembled a regular home where any ordinary couple would stay.
There was even an old lady rocking a chair outside and dozing off while holding a ball of spider silk thread and a pair of knitting needles.
She had a warm blanket over her legs, and her snoring was steady.
Anyone who saw this would instantly think that she was just an ordinary old lady who might've accidentally slept off while knitting.
But that couldn't be further from the truth.
The moment she detected the shadows, she securely opened her eyes while snoring steadily.
And soon, she pretended to wake up, wipe her saliva off her mouth, and said something playful.
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"Goodness. Just look at the time? How could I have dozed off here? Old man, where are you? Old man! Old man... Ah! Sigh... That husband of mine is probably sound asleep by now. Well, I better get a shut-eye too… ~Aiyo~~ My old back is aching."
She carefully carried her spider silk rolls of thread and placed her hand on her 'aching' back pitifully before walking into the house one step at a time.
.
Bam.
The moment the old lady stepped into the house and closed the door, she, who was previously hunched down on her back, stood up straight and walked towards the back of the house like someone in their 20s.
Following that, another old man came into the room too.
He was her supposed husband.
"Come out!"
~Swish~~
The shadows appeared out of thin air with their heads lowered and one knee on the ground.
"We greet the Elder Odao and Elder Megina!"
"Arise."
"Thank you, elders."
"Hmmm." Both Odao and Megina nodded nonchalantly before leading the shadows towards an underground chamber in the house.
There, they met several mortal children who had been tied up and gagged.
.
"Is everything ready?"
"Yes, elder. The Natarajas put the guards to sleep. We only have an hour left."
"Hmm. The wagons are ready. Load them up.”
“Yes, elders!"
With that, the shadows got to work.
With the Natarajas here, they didn't have to worry too much.
The term Nataraja was a particular occupation in this world.
Just like how there existed Alchemists, Blacksmiths and Teachers, Appraisers, and so on... Natarajas were also a great profession that many respected.
They were simply dancers.
But the key here was that their dance could put their victims in any spell they deserved, based on the type of dance they performed.
And if done well, they could make beasts and entire armies kill themselves happily.
That's why they were well sought after and highly respected.
Of course, being a Nataraja was hard.
Another profession similar to Natarajas were Tunists that could do the same thing by playing music.
These 2 occupations were very highly regarded.
Nonetheless, they were amongst the professions for one to achieve.
And Black Valley actually has many powerful ones that could make many people's tongues roll out in shock!
If word got out, many might not believe it.
.
Another thing worth mentioning was that the dance spells could only work on those weaker than the dancer.
But since this was a very tiny town, all the guards were out to sleep.
And so, the guards were out to sleep.
Why didn't they just kill them?
The reasons are simple. They didn't want to alert them since they planned to kidnap more from here later on.
If the town lord and his people saw hundreds and hundreds of guards slaughtered, he might get help from those in bigger cities or even send requests to some sects to help out if things got too bad.
And then, things would get bigger, making them stay in hiding more.
But, if they just continued like they usually do, many might think the culprits were bandits or ordinary traffickers.
Since they plan to take more children in future, they might as well keep the guards alive.
.
~Oooooooo~~~~~
The badly brutalized and beaten-up children mumbled, cried, and tried to call for help, but since they were faced up, no one could hear them.
And just like that, they were loaded up into wagons mercilessly.
The old man and old lady scratched up their faces in disgust.
They really hated children.
If not for the fact that their vitality could make them stronger, they would never want anything to do with this group of crying nuisances.
To make matters worse, the children were all mortal.
Carrying a few newborn babies in their hands, they almost dropped them in disdain.
Trash!
The elderly duo scoffed and continued what they were doing.
And with no time on their side, the wagons got loaded up, and the horses pulled them away from the back of the house.
~Gallop, Gallop, Gallop~~
Just like that, the group vigilantly left the place.
But not too long after it left, several other pairs of eyes revealed themselves.
Tonight was going to be a bloody one.