Chef in the Apocalypse

A small figure made her way through the winding walkways of the Vermilion flame sect, with the hood of the crimson robe hiding their features. There were a few disciples around that saw the figure, however after seeing the color of the robe, they quickly went about their business.

"What’s a Core Disciple doing up here?" One of the disciples whispered to his friends.

"Shhh! Don’t draw attention to yourself." He whispered back, turning to make sure the hooded figure had not heard anything.

Thankfully, the figure ignored them and headed further towards the buildings in the distance. He let out a sigh of relief, before turning to his friend to chastise him.

"You idiot. We can’t even speak in front of Core Disciples unless spoken to. Some even take offense to such things, you’re lucky you didn’t get punished."

Yet only now did he notice that there was something wrong with his friend, who suddenly fell to the ground.

"W-What’s wrong!?" He yelped, kneeling on the ground to check on his friend.

He eventually saw a silver needle sticking out the back of the youth’s neck, causing him to jump back in fright. However, thankfully the boy still had a pulse. It seemed that the needle had only caused him to lose consciousness.

The perpetrator continued on as if nothing had happened, heading into one of the larger pagoda’s upon the rocky surface of the mountain. It wasn’t until the figure walked through the front doors that they unveiled the hood upon their head.

The hood came off, revealing her soft and pretty features, along with her shiny black hair which was tied into a bun. If it weren’t for the scowl adorned on her face, one might get lost in her beauty.

She was Xia, one of the Core Disciples of the Vermilion Flame sect.

Xia walked forward and ascended the staircase with a sense of familiarity. It was clear that she had visited this place often in the past.

She continued until reaching the top floor of the building, opening the large double doors without so much as a knock.

"Father I need to spe—"

Xia stopped in her tracks upon seeing there was another visitor in the room.

"It seems your child knows no manners." A man who looked to be in his late 60’s with evident wrinkles on his face muttered, clearly unimpressed with the interruption.

He was wearing a gray robe with slicked back gray hair and an almost sickly appearance.

The man standing opposite him was Xia’s father. A large man with a bushy black beard and a scar running down the right side of his face, making him look stern.

Xia’s eyes locked onto her father’s, only to see the fury hidden beneath the surface. He had never looked at her like that before, always pampering and fawning over her at every chance.

She was so shocked that all she could do was stand in place dumbfounded.

"It’s no matter, I’m sure that Wei will be able to force some manners into her." The sickly man continued.

’Wei?’ The unfamiliar name seemed to cause alarm bells to ring in Xia’s head, for some unknown reason. What did he mean by that statement?

"Leave us." Xia’s father said, his voice stern.

"No no, this is the perfect time to introduce the two betrothed." The sickly man interjected.

"Betrothed?" Xia exclaimed in shock.

As if summoned out of thin air, an unfamiliar person draped in a black robe appeared from the corner of the room. He appeared pale like the sickly man and also had slicked back hair, although it was black.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that the two shared a lot of similar features, most likely meaning they were father and son.

Xia’s father seemed to have a bit of an internal struggle, before he finally spoke up and addressed his daughter in the room.

"Xia, this is Wei. He is now your betrothed."

Xia’s face faltered for a moment as she heard the news, and felt her throat begin to seize up. "B-But Father."

He quickly cut her off, "The matter has already been decided."

Xia stopped in place, not knowing whether to scream or cry, feeling as if her whole world had crumbled around her. She didn’t understand why her father was acting this way, nor who these people were in front of her.

She stared at the pale man in front of her with disgust.

"I will never marry a man that is weaker than me." She stated plainly, regaining some of her usual haughty attitude.

Xia’s father frowned and was about to chastise her, however the sickly man held out his hand and stopped him.

"Let’s leave this part up to our children Feng." He said to Xia’s father, causing a flicker of emotion in the latter’s face.

"Wei, it seems like you’ll need to beat her into submission."

"Yes father." Wei said, a sickening grin appearing on his face.

Xia felt her whole body shudder from that expression alone, filling her with dread and shame.

Yet anger soon prevailed. She decided to take the initiative, since the man had not made his move yet. She was one of the strongest Disciples in the Vermilion Flame sect and had her pride as the number one beauty. How could she give herself to such a creepy man without putting up a fight?

This time she drew a rapier from the spatial storage within her token, flourishing it in her right hand before charging forward. Despite not knowing his strength, she decided to hold nothing back.

Wei stared at Xia with the creepy grin still tugging at the corner of his lips. Even though she was wearing a robe, it could not hide her voluptuous curves beneath.

Seeing the sword coming towards him, Wei moved his head slightly to the side, dodging the lunge with ease. He circled to the right and sent out a palm.

SLAP

The palm held no Qi within it, turning into a slap as it smacked Xia’s well-rounded bottom, producing a sound that echoed throughout the building.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!?"

A roaring voice bellowed in the room.