Chapter 128 Chapter 125 Stay True to Your Original Aspirations
Ji Ma’s heart raced, and she stopped pushing the gold coins, her greed rapidly spreading like a burst dam.
That remnant conscience, which had endured the dog’s betrayal, asked: Didn’t we agree with George to assist him in obtaining and destroying the fragments of the Demon King’s crown?
Ji Ma hesitated, recalling the moment. It seemed that George had promised to help her heal her soul injuries; he was so sincere and kept his promises. In that moment, she let her feelings get the better of her and agreed.
But killing me could count as healing the soul injuries; the disease would be gone once I’m dead, she couldn’t help but think.
Yes, he kept his promises and loved me—at least he loved my tail—but he hated evil to the bone; he could ruthlessly kill even his own mother. If he knew my true identity, would he kill me?
She suppressed the rising panic within her and tried to assess rationally.
It was likely he wouldn’t, but he would definitely judge me and lock me away for a hundred or eighty years. That would be worse than killing me. But could I voluntarily surrender myself and redeem my sins? They currently didn’t have the power to pursue absolute justice; they needed me.
But even if I think positively, the best outcome would be that I am innocent, and then what?
Would George accept me? Could he accept Ji Ma, the Demon King, disguised as a woman, in front of him, messing with his fiancée and lover?
Ji Ma recalled Xiya’s disappointed face. She was also a shapeshifter and had a man pursuing her. To test things, she secretly spread rumors revealing Xiya’s secret of being a shapeshifter. As a result, that man immediately couldn’t accept it.
Xiya was very disappointed; although she refuted the “rumors,” making her boyfriend feel guilty, the love had already flown away, leaving no trace.
Moreover, if I surrender, wouldn’t I be offering my dignity up for him to handle? Hoping he would go easy on me? If he openly insulted and spat on me, what could I do besides cry and regret that I was foolish enough to surrender?
The secret must be kept tightly!
Since surrendering would cause division, then why not betray? By stealing the fragments of the Demon King’s crown and betraying him, I could also advance to diamond and achieve a qualitative change in my life.
Just the thought of a qualitative change made her heart race like a young deer bumping against her chest.
That remnant conscience softly asked: How did it come to this? You could test his attitude.
Yes, why has it come to this? Should I test him?
Ji Ma was slightly moved.
But thinking of George’s intelligence, he was just too clever. How many times had he seen through the lies she carefully crafted?
Testing was like dancing on the tip of a knife, playing with fire in an arsenal.
He must have some vague suspicion now, though for some reason, perhaps he didn’t want to face the truth, or maybe out of his love, this layer of window paper had never been broken.
Lies cannot last; sooner or later, he will peel away the thin veil of lies covering the truth.
Not taking the first step to gain an advantage was already foolish enough, and now she wanted to test.
Then it was settled; betrayal was a must.
Ji Ma continued to push gold coins towards the entrance of the dream palace.
She opened her personal system, and the interface floated before her eyes. In the task area, she looked at a task she had already abandoned:
“Heal soul injuries, find the Demon King’s crown fragments, repair the disk”
After a moment’s thought, she deleted it and created a new one, with a title of just two words:
“Betrayal”
For the first time, Ji Ma felt how exhausting it was to type with her mind.
She couldn’t write any more words.
But “betrayal” was too vague, so she pondered how to betray.
Should she level up to diamond during the betrayal?
She opened her memo and found the content about leveling up to diamond. It contained the exact words sent to her by the Master of Deception:
“It’s very simple. Hurt and betray your beloved.”
“If he has a vast kingdom, working hard to care for his people, then you should destroy his kingdom and torment his people.”
“If he sees justice as truth, you should trample on justice.”
“Only then can you gain immense pain from him, and drink the potion amidst his pain. The more he suffers, the greater your chances of success.”
“These are the practical experiences of your predecessors.”
So, it’s about drinking the potion amidst the pain of the beloved? Destroying the world in front of George?
That’s too difficult. Can I use my ex-girlfriend from Earth as a substitute? At least she counts as my former beloved.
Ji Ma thought for a moment and shook her head in refusal.
The leveling ceremony isn’t a game where you can play word games; a former beloved isn’t a beloved. Ji Ma still remembered that in her last life, while leveling through killings in the demon realm, she had tried to play tricks and ended up with the leveling requirements being:
“A large amount of killing, creating terror, and drinking the potion amidst the terror.”
She had launched a brutal massacre on a nest of ants and drank the potion; since the terror was below standard, not only did she waste the leveling potion, but she almost kicked the bucket, suffering heavy losses.
The thing is there, how you interpret it is your own business; anyway, death is still on you.
Ji Ma didn’t want to die.
In the “Betrayal” task, she wrote:
“Obtain the crown fragments, betray George, level up to diamond, repair the disk, return to Earth.”
After writing, Ji Ma felt a slight pain in her heart, sighed heavily, and realized that her hand pushing the gold coins had stopped.
Sitting alone on the pile of coins, shadow enveloping her completely, she didn’t know how long it had been when the treasury door opened, and a loud-voiced dwarf reminded her in dwarven:
“Hey, succubus, your time to collect money is up; your team is asking you to rest.”
Ji Ma finally snapped back to reality, her emotions calming down significantly. Alone, she stood up from the pile of coins, her golden eyes gradually becoming resolute.
Against a genius like George, I have no abilities or strength, the only advantage I have is my shamelessness, and I must make good use of this one advantage.
Ji Ma dispersed the entrance to the palace and walked step by step down the pile of coins; even if the coins slipped beneath her feet, it didn’t unbalance her.
When she reached the treasury door, she discovered that her emotions were nowhere near as strong.
Determining to betray her beloved didn’t feel so painful after all—at least it wasn’t as painful as she imagined.
Of course, she still had no clue about how to make her beloved George suffer. But that wasn’t the main point; the focus was on retrieving the crown fragments.
Logically, it should be mine; this time I didn’t want it to happen like last time. Watching George empty my treasury and distribute it among everyone to rebuild the city.
As Ji Ma thought, her steps became more resolute, while the dwarf beside her spoke. Pointing at her eyes, Ji Ma took out a small mirror and looked, noticing her eyes were red. After wiping them clean with her sleeve, she smiled at the mirror.
Very satisfied—no flaws at all.
After flying invisibly back to the agreed “inn,” which looked like a bunker close to the military camp, preventing the Savior Squad from being ambushed when reinforcements couldn’t arrive.
After sharing some dry rations and bathing, they prepared to rest. The four of them rested in the hall, not separating into rooms to prevent being taken down one by one.
Before sleeping, there was a period of free time.
Eve Frostleaf, wearing casual clothes, found Ji Ma.
Rarely, she wore a long dress, elegant like an elven lady, with her hands adorned in white gloves with golden embroidery, golden metallic strips decorating her bare arms. Her silver ponytail was loosened and fell straight down, elegant and beautiful.
Eve Frostleaf approached Ji Ma, lying on the bunk, and softly said, “Ji Ma, are you free now?”
Ji Ma looked up, and from below, she saw that Eve Frostleaf’s skirt was translucent, and if looked at closely, one could vaguely see a pair of straight silver legs.
This hit Ji Ma right in the heart.
She liked it when someone looked elegant and beautiful, yet in some details, appeared… sexy.
Ji Ma sat up abruptly, and Eve Frostleaf extended her hand gracefully. The golden embroidery on her gloved wrist looked stunning.
Ji Ma grasped her hand, stood up to see her leisurely running parallel to herself, so carefully dressed, contrasting sharply with her previous indifference, as if an eagle’s claw had just shot through Ji Ma’s head.
Indeed, she was cold on the outside but warm on the inside; I thought she had no feelings for me, and I knew that rolling in the snow last time wasn’t in vain.
Ji Ma’s mind was filled with imagination, wondering what inappropriate things might be hidden under her long skirt.
Eve Frostleaf held Ji Ma’s hand and walked a few steps to the corner of the hall, saying, “Open a barrier; I need to talk to you about something.”
Ji Ma looked at George, only four meters away, his body wrapped in bandages while Jenna was tending to his wounds.
So close in this place?
Ji Ma looked at Eve Frostleaf with surprise and asked, “Really?”
Eve Frostleaf’s cheeks flushed slightly as she nodded.
No doubt she was a high elf, knowing how to play.
Ji Ma could hardly contain herself and immediately activated the “Tranquil Hidden Barrier.” Her mind was racing with thoughts about foreplay—should I set a table and have everyone eat something warm first? I still had two bottles of fine elven wine; she could drink it; I don’t like alcohol; at most, I can have sweet wine.
And who takes the first move? I’ll take the lead, let’s play footsie under the table…
Eve Frostleaf’s pale red lips parted slightly, and she said in a clear, cold voice, “There’s something I find hard to say… I don’t know if you can promise me?”
Isn’t it just whipping? Of course, I can do that.
Ji Ma blurted out, “Of course I can.”
“Good,” Eve Frostleaf said, “Can you help me steal an elven treasure?”
“Of course I can.” Ji Ma was impatient and then asked, “Wait… elven treasure? Steal?”
“Yes.” Eve Frostleaf showed a hint of sadness, “I learned by chance that the dwarf veteran who killed my kin has obtained many treasures stolen from our elven clan, one of which is a precious treasure locked in their treasury.”
The flame of desire in Ji Ma’s heart instantly subdued by half, she said, “Right now, the dwarves are gathering and hiding their treasures to prevent them from becoming loot for the ratmen; how can I steal them?”
“Ji Ma,” Eve Frostleaf tightened her grip on Ji Ma’s hand, saying, “I won’t make things difficult for you, I won’t ask you to do the impossible. I know you have a half-human friend skilled in thievery named Shadow King Arkanis. I’ve thought it over; this won’t trouble the team, and we’ll leave tomorrow; the dwarves won’t realize.”
Ji Ma felt a bit disappointed, looking at the rare sadness on Eve Frostleaf’s oval face. No matter what, she had previously agreed to help her, and it wouldn’t be easy to back down.
“Okay, I promise you.”
“Thank you so much.” A soft smile appeared on Eve Frostleaf’s face, and for a moment, Ji Ma felt immense satisfaction inside.
“I’m going to find that guy Arkanis right away.” Ji Ma turned her head but then thought of something else, turning back to gently stroke the back of Eve Frostleaf’s hand, feeling the golden embroidery on the silver silk and asked, “May I be bold and ask, do you agree to roll in bed with me?”
Very straightforward, so much so that Eve Frostleaf froze for a moment before tilting her head and nodding.
“Okay, I’m off.”
Ji Ma was in high spirits as she opened the entrance to the dream palace and stepped inside.
