A night passed without incident.
The next morning, Zhou Hong arrived at the City Lord's mansion. As expected, thousands of people were gathered outside the mansion. These individuals were at least first-rank demons, with some even being fifth or sixth-rank. Undoubtedly, they were all there to participate in the City Lord's recruitment.
"Please form a line, it will begin shortly," a short while later, an elder emerged from the City Lord's mansion and shouted. The noisy crowd immediately fell silent.
"Excuse me, what are the rules for recruitment? Is it based on strength or talent?" a young man at the front asked loudly.
"Yes, the rules haven't been announced, we don't know what to prepare," others quickly chimed in.
"There are no rules. As long as you meet the requirements, that is, above first-rank demon, you can participate. Later, our young lady will personally come out to select. She will choose six people, and those chosen will become her personal guards."
"Is that so." Everyone was momentarily bewildered. Who would be chosen depended entirely on the City Lord's daughter's preference.
After another half hour, a masked woman finally emerged from the City Lord's mansion.
"Everyone be quiet, stand still immediately. Our young lady is about to make her selection."
Everyone immediately straightened up, like goods being inspected for selection.
The City Lord's daughter started from the front, scanning everyone one by one. Who would be chosen depended on her preference. If she liked fat people, then fat people would undoubtedly have a greater chance. If she liked ugly men, then ugly people would undoubtedly have a greater chance.
Just then, the City Lord's daughter pointed at a young man and said, "Him."
"You, what is your name?" the City Lord's mansion steward quickly asked the chosen young man.
"Reporting to senior, my name is Liu Ya Nan," the young man appeared very pleased.
"You have been chosen, step out."
"Thank you, young lady."
Everyone immediately looked at the lucky man and found that his appearance was very ordinary. This made everyone even more unable to guess. What criteria was the City Lord's daughter using for her selection?
Zhou Hong also saw the young man. He was indeed ordinary in appearance. Zhou Hong had thought that the City Lord's daughter would choose handsome men, which would have given him a good chance. But the first person chosen was surprisingly very ordinary.
"You." A few minutes later, the City Lord's daughter walked up to a second man and successfully selected a second person.
Everyone quickly looked at the second man and found that he was emaciated and sallow, a first-rank demon.
Everyone became even more confused. There was no discernible pattern. The second man chosen probably had very low talent, as he looked quite old.
And so it went, one by one they were picked. Each chosen individual defied any discernible pattern; some were ugly, some were fat, and some were thin and weak.
Soon, five had been chosen, with only one spot left.
At this moment, the City Lord's daughter arrived in front of Zhou Hong. She glanced at him and said, "You."
Zhou Hong felt a mixture of surprise and disbelief. In such an arbitrary selection, he had actually been chosen.
At this moment, others looked at Zhou Hong, seemingly with some jealousy. However, among the six people chosen, one handsome person had finally been selected.
Everyone seemed to have come up with a pattern: the City Lord's daughter had chosen six people – an ordinary one, a fat one, a thin one, a tall one, a short one, and a handsome one.
"What is your name?" the City Lord's mansion steward walked up and asked Zhou Hong.
"Reporting to senior, my name is Zhou Hong."
"Step out."
Zhou Hong excitedly moved out of the crowd.
"You six have been chosen by our young lady. Now, follow us into the City Lord's mansion immediately. As for the rest, please disperse at once."
The thousands of others who were not chosen could only leave with regret, leaving only Zhou Hong and the other five chosen individuals.
"Come, follow me inside."
Zhou Hong and the other five followed the steward into the City Lord's mansion. They didn't ask any questions, just followed the steward. However, as they walked, they found themselves heading towards increasingly remote areas, eventually entering the basement.
Zhou Hong felt a bit confused. Why was the City Lord's mansion steward leading them to the basement? If they were to be the young lady's bodyguards, they should be going to where she lived.
As Zhou Hong was wondering, they arrived at a place in the basement that resembled a prison.
"Creak, creak!" Before Zhou Hong and the other five could react, a creaking sound suddenly echoed through the air.
The next second, Zhou Hong and the other five were bound by their hands and feet. Because their legs were also bound, they fell over like zongzi (rice dumplings).
"Ah?" Zhou Hong was utterly dumbfounded.
"Senior, why is this happening?" the others also frantically shouted.
The steward let out a cold laugh and said, "Consider yourselves unlucky, the six of you."
"What do you mean?" Zhou Hong and the other five were utterly bewildered.
"Did you really think our young lady was looking for guards?"
"Then what else?"
"Haha, considering you are about to offer yourselves to our young lady, I will tell you the truth. The demonic art our young lady cultivates is a special kind that requires the marrow of demons of the same attribute periodically. The six of you will be offering your marrow for our young lady to consume."
"What?"
Zhou Hong and the other five were stunned.
"Hahaha, wait here obediently," the steward said and instantly left the underground.
Zhou Hong and the other five lay on the ground like zongzi, struggling with all their might. However, no matter how much they struggled, they remained like zongzi.
"How could this happen? We were told it was recruitment, how could this be?" Seeing that they couldn't break free, several people were on the verge of tears with anxiety.
Zhou Hong was also extremely frustrated. He had thought his luck was so good, having just left the Black Orchid Great Demon King's mansion and now entering the City Lord's mansion to become the City Lord's daughter's bodyguard.
To be honest, Zhou Hong had just been thinking that if this City Lord's daughter was beautiful, he might have a chance to sleep with her.
But it turned out to be a harsh slap in the face. He never expected the City Lord's daughter to be a man-eating monster.
Zhou Hong also struggled desperately, but his hands and feet were tightly bound. He didn't know what kind of demonic artifact it was, but no matter how he struggled, the binding material showed no signs of loosening.
Zhou Hong's heart turned cold. In his current bound state, he couldn't even enter his sub-world, as entering it required complete freedom from any restraints.
"Grandfather, what should we do?" Zhou Hong called out to his grandfather in his mind.
"Alas! How could your luck be so bad? You thought it was a good thing, but it turned out to be a life-threatening ordeal," Zhou Hong's grandfather also sighed deeply, feeling extremely unlucky.