Never Change (Part 1)

"Motherflipper… It was hard enough to escape, yet I ran into Abels' room? The jerk doesn't pull any punches. It freaking hurts."

Song Ou: "Blame yourself for your poor decision. This is great. Back to the cell we go. Man… I should just pay the ransom."

"Don't worry, once I've healed, I w(ill)-."

"You still won't be able to escape!" River Monster brayed as she tried to hit Hong Jiu's head with a brutal palm strike.

The duo was captured in less than five minutes after their great escape - quite an amazing feat.

River Monster was under orders to ensure the two couldn't escape again. She decided she would personally force the two into submission.

Song Ou couldn't undo his meridian seal after Abels sealed it again. River Monster also restrained Song Ou using tougher iron cuffs and chains. Hong Jiu was Evil Spirits' biggest problem; but nevertheless, River Monster had an innovative idea.

"Hey, what are you doing, Lass? Why are you cuffing me up with him?" Hong Jiu complained when he tried to touch his swollen head - courtesy of Abels - but couldn't move his arms or legs.

"You two had to spoil my mood. I didn't even get to bathe because of you two, damn it."

Even without makeup, River Monster was still considered a stunner. Her flustered demeanour, thin clothing, faintly revealed legs and childish, "Damn it" were all considered lethal weapons against men. Song Ou, for some reason, gulped. Hong Jiu, on the other hand, cursed, "Wretched Lass, what is this for?!"

"What for? To prevent you from escaping!"

River Monster wrapped Hong Jiu up with a heavy chain as thick and three metres long. From a distance, one would mistake him for an iron ball that came to life. Unable to move, he belted, "Dimwit, are you restraining me or trying to make a Zongzi out of me? Who restrains people this way?!"

"Shut up. Consider yourself lucky. This is what you get for misbehaving."

After scoffing, River Monster coiled another seven thick chains around Hong Jiu. The iron chains were used to hold together massive doors. With seven chains weighing thirty-five kilograms and Abels' meridian seal, Hong Jiu was immobilised.

"Let's see you run now."

River Monster dusted her hands and skipped at the same time. The two petite globes underneath her shirt bounced as she skipped. Song Ou gulped a second time. He wanted to be a gentleman, but his urge triumphed. River Monster spared him no attention, nonetheless.

River Monster kept tabs on Hong Jiu for a while before inquiring, "You're the first person to ever escape from us, but why did you charge into Master's room when you already reached the exit? Are you missing a part of your brain?"

"You're the one missing a part of her brain! How was I supposed to know which of the seven paths to choose?"

River Monster shrugged: "Besides the one you chose, the other six led to exits."

"Huh?!" exclaimed Song Ou, almost frothing. "Why did I trust someone so unlucky? Oh my god!"

Being wrong when the chance of being wrong was a measly one in seven forced Hong Jiu to accept he was unlucky.

The fight with Abels ended quickly because he only wanted to swiftly subdue the duo without hurting them. In addition, he imbued six shots of true qi into Hong Jiu to prohibit the latter using his energy to unseal himself.

River Monster left after cursing Hong Jiu as the latter didn't respond. Song Ou's eyes were glued to her rear that swaying left and right despite her not having impressively perky glutes.

"Stop looking, or you'll lose your vision," remarked Hong Jiu.

"I-I wasn't looking!" snapped Song Ou.

"Heh, I doubt you would've looked if you still had access to your energy. I don't blame you since it's hard to resist women when your dantian is sealed."

"What? You meant she…"

"If I still had access to my energy, I would've revealed her true nature with a howl. She clearly was trying to seduce you. She only spoke to me to make you jealous. She was trying to sow discord so that we'd turn on each other if we did run. She's a sly one."

That explained why Song Ou felt himself acting out of character. He vowed to not let River Monster's sinister tactic come to fruition.

"R-Rodents!" Song Ou shrieked when he saw a black rodent race across the room.

The rodent stopped to check its surroundings before fixing its gaze on its two new inmates.

Song Ou: "Stay back! Stay back! Choose him!"

The rodent intently stared at Song Ou before turning its attention to Hong Jiu once it was bored. The rodent dashed into the black ball. Song Ou cried, "Brother Hong, the rodent sneaked into your ball!"

"Pipe down, will you? You never seen rodents or something?" Hong Jiu watched the rodent who squeezed in. Instead of freaking out, he affably asked, "Long-time no see, buddy. You doing well?"

The rodent squeaked as if it und