Chapter 0: 81. It’s me, it’s me
“How can there be mosquitoes making noise in the Demon Lord’s high tower?”
“Ding? Sacrificing oneself for righteousness and dying as one deserves is the host’s lifelong pursuit…”
“You little bug dare to bite me, you’re asking for it!” Qin Gou said, swinging a palm at the air.
“Ding!!”
“Alright, only the two of us dare to mess around in such a dangerous place.”
Qin Gou chuckled lightly, put on his Desireless Bracelet to conceal his aura, and cautiously began to advance along the stone wall. While exploring vigilantly, Qin Gou also took the Nas treasures from the corpses of some spectacularly dressed demon cultivators from wealthy backgrounds, thinking he could use them to tease the Little Gambler later.
After a long while, he finally found the exit to the cave. Qin Gou knew he must be underground in the Demon Lord’s Tower and stepped directly onto the upward staircase.
He walked through one long corridor after another, as if he had entered a huge maze, completely unable to find a way out of the Demon Lord’s Tower. Although he didn’t encounter any guards, each corridor ended with only a new staircase awaiting him.
“Bang bang bang…”
Suddenly, footsteps sounded, and Qin Gou instantly hid in a corner. He was truly unlucky, as his shadow was exposed by the candlelight.
“Who is playing a joke on this seat?” Lu Changli, from the Wind and Snow Returnee clan, calmly looked at the unmoving shadow in the corner, a smile playing on his lips.
He never imagined that an outsider could sneak into this Demon Lord’s Tower without anyone noticing.
Qin Gou’s eyes trembled slightly, but he knew he absolutely couldn’t panic at this moment. He immediately altered his voice slightly, making it sound calm and composed, “It’s me.”
“Who are you?” Hearing a completely unfamiliar voice, Lu Changli frowned and asked suspiciously.
“After hearing this voice, you still can’t recognize who I am? Fellow Daoist, don’t joke around, or I’ll get angry!” Qin Gou laughed heartily, using his clever words to “scam” his way through.
“Could it be Brother Wusheng?” Lu Changli asked with a smile. He truly had no impression of the voice in front of him, and it was impossible for any other Demon Lord to be so idle as to deliberately alter their voice to play a joke on him. After much thought, it could only be Death’s Halt Demon Lord Ying Wusheng from the Soul Plunderer clan, that madman who loved soul possession.
“That’s right!” Qin Gou had been waiting for this.
“Didn’t Brother Wusheng go to the Abyss Palace before?”
“It was a minor matter, and it’s naturally been taken care of.”
“Strange,” Lu Changli suddenly sensed carefully, “Why can’t this seat detect Brother Wusheng’s aura at all today?”
“How can a beast walking in the forest see the eagle soaring above?” Qin Gou said impolitely.
This was because he noticed that the other party kept addressing him as “Brother.” There could be no blood relationship between the Ten Pillar Demon Lords. In the fierce demon clan abyss, calling an outsider “Brother” was definitely not because he was older or more knowledgeable, but because this “Brother Wusheng” of his was much stronger than him!
“Has Brother Wusheng finally broken through?” As expected, Lu Changli did not show any displeasure.
Just as Qin Gou was about to find an excuse to leave, Lu Changli appeared before him like a ghost.
“Changli congratulates Brother Wusheng… You!”
Upon seeing Qin Gou’s appearance clearly, Lu Changli’s expression changed slightly. He immediately took out a jade slip from his Nas treasure and unfolded it. A semi-transparent male figure emerged from the jade slip, lifelike and vivid.
“Brother Wusheng, you actually possessed the husband of our clan’s Mo Ning, Qin Yuan, when you went to the Abyss Palace?!” Lu Changli asked, both surprised and suspicious. At the same time, he glanced at the numerous Nas treasures Qin Gou had just dug out of the pile of corpses on his hands, not yet sorted. Besides Ying Wusheng, that soul-possessing madman, what sane person would wear so many Nas treasures at once to show off?
And his short sentence provided Qin Gou with a lot of information… This person was Lu Zhili’s ancestor, Fanyin Demon Lord Lu Changli. And he mistook Qin Gou for a Demon Lord skilled in soul possession, likely Death’s Halt Demon Lord, who was addicted to it. However, even Xiao Ling’er didn’t know his real name.
“So what? Speaking of which, that Mo Ning is quite an interesting little girl. Although she has reincarnated into the Human Race, her Natal Spirit Tool ‘Ghostly Divine Intervention’ is incredibly profound.” Qin Gou’s confidence grew, but he knew he couldn’t reveal his identity unless absolutely necessary. Otherwise, who knew if Lu Changli would insist on finding out how he managed to sneak into the Demon Lord’s Tower.
Lu Changli frowned and said, “What does Brother Wusheng mean by that?”
“I’m just expressing some admiration.” Naturally, this was to subtly prove that he had indeed been to the Abyss Palace and had had a lot of contact with Mo Ning, by going along with Lu Changli’s words! To flesh out his persona, Qin Gou had gone to great lengths.
“Right now, this seat only wants to know why Brother Wusheng possessed Qin Yuan?” A dark glint flashed in Lu Changli’s eyes.
Qin Gou feigned confusion, “He’s just a junior, why make such a fuss?”
“Junior? How is Qin Yuan just any ordinary junior? He is Ning’er’s only husband, and he is the outstanding young talent this seat admires the most!” Lu Changli’s tone was filled with grief and regret… Today, he would make Ying Wusheng understand the principle of “taking someone’s hand makes one short.”
“Are you sure?” Qin Gou asked with a strange expression, “This person is merely a weak and incompetent Faceless Hermit.”
“Does Brother Wusheng think this seat is still joking with you? This seat has already had contact with Little Friend Qin!”
Lu Changli’s expression showed genuine sorrow and regret. He beat his chest and stomped his feet, arguing earnestly, “Although his background is humble and his cultivation is low, it’s only because his clan is in decline and he hasn’t had access to good resources! However, he is intelligent, beautiful and wise, shrewd and capable, and eager to learn. With this seat’s guidance in the future, he will surely soar like a dragon entering the water! Brother Wusheng, how could you easily destroy this rare and peerless elite of our clan!”
My goodness, no wonder he’s a Ten Pillar Demon Lord! He can talk nonsense without batting an eye, completely shameless! Even Old Qin was stunned!
However, he maintained a calm expression and said, “How could this seat have known this before? I’m afraid it’s too late now.”
“This seat naturally knows! But doesn’t Brother Wusheng intend to make amends in any way? Even for Ning’er’s sake, this seat will never let this matter go easily!” Lu Changli changed his tone, speaking righteously and forcefully.
Qin Gou suddenly realized why this guy was praising him so highly. He had been waiting for this!
“How do you plan to make amends?”
Hearing this, a look of success flashed in Lu Changli’s eyes. He said persuasively, “This seat plans to give that newly appointed Demon Lord some special congratulatory gifts. I don’t expect Brother Wusheng to completely stand on my side, that would be too difficult for you. I only hope that Brother Wusheng will not obstruct at critical moments and occasionally speak a few words in my favor.”
Lu Changli’s words were not particularly subtle. He intended to bribe the newly appointed Demon Lord in some way, making him stand on the same side as him in the future. It seemed that the Ten Pillar Demon Lords were not united.
“What kind of congratulatory gift is it? Is there one for me?” Qin Gou asked with a relaxed tone, trying to be playful.
“Haha, ‘that’ won’t do!” Lu Changli laughed meaningfully.
Qin Gou pretended to be envious, “So mysterious? It seems that the newly appointed Demon Lord is indeed blessed!”
“Of course, this seat will not treat Brother Wusheng unfairly. This seat can offer Brother Wusheng some more Naihe Stones!”
“If that’s the case, it’s agreed.”
His primary goal now was to get rid of Lu Changli quickly and escape. Naturally, he readily agreed on behalf of someone else.
Moreover, Qin Gou was determined to obtain the position of the newly appointed Demon Lord, so he wished that the mysterious congratulatory gifts Lu Changli planned to give him were as generous and as rare as possible!
