The young Demon Hunter tapped Tatum's hand that was reaching towards his dagger and shook his head imperceptibly. Then, he walked to Darien's side and patted his shoulder as a sign of thanks before telling Noah, "I shall abide by the headquarters' ruling!"
Even though Ye Qi knew he was on the right side in the whole incident, assault on an instructor and the loss of Hallowed Artefact were serious business. If not for the fact he had dragged the whole hall of new Apostles into the mess, Ye Qi doubted he could even walk out of this hall alive. Furthermore, one week of confinement was an extremely light punishment, it was something the Demon Hunter headquarters had to do to appease Dirk family and maintain its own authority.
After all, the young Demon Hunter had nabbed all the benefits available, why pushed his luck when he didn't need to? One had to always look at the big picture and pick one's battle, Ye Qi knew that lesson well.
Ye Qi tossed the crowd of new Apostles an appreciative look before following the guard that was waiting at the door. The Demon Hunter headquarters was built in such a way that the castle in the middle was surrounded by six other spires. Ye Qi was led to one of the spires.
Tower of Governance, Tower of Hallowed Artefacts, Tower of Moon and Stars, Tower of Arena, Tower of Knowledge, Tower of Thorns—John had explained them to Ye Qi their individual purposes and meaning. They encapsulated the Demon Hunter headquarters' daily administrative function and accommodation for everyone at the headquarters.
Each tower had its own keeper and the six keepers formed the upper echelon that ruled over the Demon Hunter headquarters.
Ye Qi was led to the Tower of Thorns—the punishment quarters where infamous criminals were kept behind bars or executed.
Standing before the tower, Ye Qi studied it closely—the tower wall was covered with thorny vines that climbed from the bottom of the tower to its top, it was also probably where the tower got its name.
As expected, the Tower of Thorns was not a particularly welcoming place. The guard knocked on the small door and before getting any answer from beyond it, he dropped the goatskin parchment on the floor and ran away as fast as he could. It gave the young Demon Hunter a sense of how much the residents of the headquarters feared this place.
The rusted door swung open with a yawn. The person who walked out of it was a youthful teen with a bright smile, very much unlike the image of an executor Ye Qi had in mind.
"Such rudeness!" The young man grabbed the parchment off the floor and grumbled at the escaping guard's back before flashing a bright smile at Ye Qi, "Hello, I'm Mo Lei, Tower of Thorns' Tower Guardian. I take it that you're Ye Qi?"
"Sorry for the disturbance, Sir!" Even though the person before him was just a young teen, Ye Qi didn't dare to show any sign of disrespect—there was too many knives hidden behind smiles, especially at a place like the prison where everything was often not it appeared.
Furthermore, Ye Qi's instinct to run kicked in the moment he laid his eyes on the young man. Even though the young Demon Hunter could sense no malice from the man, a sense of pervading fear still gripped Ye Qi's heart.
Is this the true power of the headquarters? Even a Tower Guardian is enough to make me shiver with fear?!
Defeating Noah, racing Titan, killing Carlos, plotting against Paki, in just half a day at Summer Crinkle, Ye Qi had done plenty of unimaginable things. Since Ye Qi had a pre-transmigrated life, as well as experience and warning from John and Old Walter, he felt he had a leg up over the people at the headquarters. The fact that all his plan had gone smoothly also stroke and inflated his ego. However, the appearance of this young man was like a splash of cold water over his confidence, it awakened the young Demon Hunter to the reality of the situation.
"Tsk, boring!" The young man shook his head with disappointment facing the polite Ye Qi. He then waved his hand at Ye Qi and said, "Follow me! Your detention room is at the underground first floor!"
Ye Qi didn't dare to dawdle. He immediately followed the youth and entered the tower—a Demon Hunter like Ye Qi was used to foraging through locales like tombs and cemeteries, so logically speaking, he should be used to dark and humid places, but when the stinging smell of some sort of mold assaulted his nostrils, it still made Ye Qi frowned with discomfort. However, the young man before didn't seem to register the smell and bounced down the stairs happily.
Eventually they stopped before a steel door. The youth said, "We're here! Please hand over anything on you that can be used as lighting or communication… Okay, thank you. Enjoy your stay here for a week! There will be lunch delivered every day at noon, and if you don't have any more question, you can go in now!"
"Yes, Sir!"
Ye Qi nodded and headed into the room that was going to be his area of activity for a week. As Ye Qi walked in, the steel door slammed close.
Picking up the burning candle on the wall, Ye Qi looked around his cell. The young Demon Hunter nodded. Even though the smell needed some getting used to, the place was relatively clean, there wasn't any sign of "guests" like rats or cockroaches. Ye Qi was satisfied that there was a single bed and toilet. Despite the lack of mattress, Ye Qi still believed it was much better than Old Walter's private room.
Ye Qi tossed his windbreaker on the bare wooden floor and he laid on the floor to go over his day—other than the youth who guarded the tower, the rest of the tower, or at least, the parts he had seen seemed to be perfectly fine.
But who or even what is that kid? Even in a non-combative situation, I was afraid of him. My natural instinct told me to run. He must be more than he appears…
"Kid, congratulations! You are so lucky that you knew to be polite earlier!"
The weird wolf appeared in his mind without warning again.
"Is that so?" Ignoring the weird wolf's congratulation, the young Demon Hunter chided, "Maybe you'll be lucky too if you learn to be a little bit more polite like I am!"
"Looks like I'm not welcome here! But don't you want to know why you would feel so afraid earlier?"
"What is there to tell? It's obvious that it's because he is so much more powerful than I am!" The young Demon Hunter concluded with a shrug.
"If you say so… But don't you want to know the exact reason why… I would tell you… for a little trade."
The weird wolf drawled.