Chapter 314: The Fool's Trap and the Pope's Judgment
Although a feeling of unease still lingered in his heart, Huang Mu brushed it off.
After all, the very nature of his business—human trafficking—was never safe. Hesitation, he believed, was weakness. His instincts, sharpened over decades in the underworld, had never failed him before. So, in the end, he made the call.
Just as his subordinates had assured him: once the target was secured, the rest would be taken care of. Nobles could be paid off. Loose ends could be cut. He'd always avoided the families with true influence.
And right now wasn't the time for any major soul master competition across the continent. There was little chance of foreign elites suddenly visiting Xingluo City and disrupting the situation.
Besides, the girl didn't even have a single guard with her.
Seventeen or eighteen years old, dressed modestly yet exuding natural elegance—Xiao Lan didn't look like someone from a family with powerful protectors.
To Huang Mu, only two possibilities existed:
One, she was a rare prodigy, a Soul King or even a Soul Emperor at her age.
Two, she was from a weak background, with no one strong enough to protect her.
He smirked at the thought. The first option? Extremely unlikely. In the vast Xingluo Empire, even in its capital, Soul Emperors under twenty were so rare they could be counted on one hand per century.
And besides, Huang Mu wasn't defenseless. As a seasoned five-ring Soul King, he possessed high-level fixed soul tools—more than enough to subdue even a precocious young Soul Emperor if it came to it.
No. This girl clearly belonged to the second category. And that made her the perfect target.
Using practiced efficiency, Huang Mu's men lured Xiao Lan into a quiet little shop they secretly controlled—an innocuous storefront on a crowded street.
It looked clean, well-lit, and even welcoming. There were over a dozen people inside, milling about. The perfect illusion of safety.
The true danger, however, lay beneath the glow of lantern light—the darkness beneath the lamp was always where Huang Mu struck hardest.
Watching Xiao Lan enter calmly, Huang Mu slapped his thigh in excitement.
"Old Zhao! You did good this time. A girl this perfect, so naïve… I would've regretted missing her for the rest of my life."
His second-in-command, Brother Zhao, wasn't as thrilled. He glanced at the scouts.
"You're sure she's alone?"
"Absolutely," one of them replied confidently. "She was with a few other girls earlier, probably from some academy. She's the youngest and prettiest—clearly the best pick. The others are being watched too."
Brother Zhao nodded, relaxing a little.
"Good. If we're lucky, we might keep one of the others around for our own fun."
As far as they were concerned, this was the ideal setup. Even Xingluo Royal Soul Master Academy, the capital's top institution, rarely sent soul saints out as chaperones. The worst they might face would be a 60th-level teacher—not enough to scare Huang Mu's crew.
And so, the trap closed.
Inside the black shop, Xiao Lan stood quietly, calm and composed.
But something didn't go according to plan.
Huang Mu had expected her to pass out from the incense laced with knockout powder. Instead, she stood there—completely unaffected.
He frowned and glanced at the shop manager, who shook his head in confusion.
"The incense was lit, but she's still standing…"
"Damn it… Is she immune to poison? Or a poison-type Soul Master?" Huang Mu muttered. "If so, she'll be harder to sell."
He sighed. He hadn't wanted to use force. But if subtlety failed, there were other methods.
Huang Mu turned to a middle-aged woman in his group. She understood immediately, and stormed toward Xiao Lan, screaming curses.
"You filthy slut! How dare you seduce my husband! I'll kill you, you wretched whore!"
It was a dirty tactic—but a proven one.
In the conservative culture of the Douluo world, a woman accused of infidelity could be captured or punished without much opposition. If Xiao Lan reacted, even just to defend herself, she would be framed.
And the thugs would swoop in—heroes righteously "rescuing" a husband from disgrace.
It was crude. But effective.
Huang Mu had used this trick many times.
But this time…
It failed. Spectacularly.
The moment the middle-aged woman reached for Xiao Lan, the temperature dropped violently—thirty or forty degrees in a heartbeat.
Everyone inside the store felt it.
It was like they had fallen into the heart of a frozen abyss. Breath caught in throats. Limbs turned stiff.
Then—crack.
The woman's outstretched hand, just inches from Xiao Lan's shoulder, froze instantly—and snapped off at the wrist, shattering like crystal.
Screams rang out.
Xiao Lan slowly turned her head, her icy gaze sweeping across the room.
Frost bloomed on the walls.
Windows iced over.
And Huang Mu, powerful Soul King though he was, collapsed to his knees under the sheer pressure.
His body trembled. Sweat froze on his brow. He had no strength to even stand, let alone fight.
"Mi… Misunderstanding!" he croaked desperately. "Senior! This is… a misunderstanding!"
Xiao Lan didn't blink.
"Misunderstanding?" she repeated, voice colder than snow. "They followed me. Drugged me. Brought me here. Tried to frame me."
Her words hit like icy daggers.
"Tell me—how big does a 'misunderstanding' have to be before it becomes intentional malice?"
Huang Mu's face went pale. He wanted to deny it—but her next words struck true fear into his heart.
"…You knew everything?"
He choked on his breath. That was it. She hadn't been fooled for even a second.
She knew. All along.