Chapter 104: Brother Liang, Help Me Take a Swing
The sky gradually darkened, and the cicada song was ceaseless outside. Ye Anping sat cross-legged on the bed, gritting his teeth, sweat continuously beading on his forehead. He was currently mobilizing all his spiritual sense to confirm the status of the sixty-four “humanoid mobile surveillance cameras” he had sent into Chi Long Mansion. With the Chi Long Convention less than half a month away, he had to start making his move. His objective was to eliminate as many of the five demonic cultivators assisting Li Feng in activating the blood sacrifice formation as possible, before Li Feng could fully unleash it.
The blood sacrifice formation Li Feng had set up in Chi Long Mansion was called the Crimson Refining Five Lotus Formation. It was an origin formation that required six people as formation eyes. For every formation eye lost, the formation’s power would decrease by approximately fifteen percent. Therefore, by reducing the number of formation eyes beforehand, ordinary cultivators could use the Soul Shocking Pills sold by the Dragon Slaying Society to withstand the formation’s power. Even if they sustained considerable injuries, they would at least avoid becoming immediate sacrifices.
However, there were still problems. The five demonic cultivators assisting Li Feng consisted of one in the Core Formation middle stage and four in the early Core Formation stage. They were the first five bosses of the Chi Long Mansion instance. With just him and his junior sister, facing them head-on would be almost impossible. Thus, Ye Anping planned to use the same tactic as when he killed Wu You: striking when they least expected it. This was why he had sent sixty-four “mobile cameras” into Chi Long Mansion. With them, he could monitor the movements of the five demonic cultivators almost constantly. As soon as he found an opportunity when they were alone, or when they were drinking, visiting courtesans, or playing dice in Chi Long Mansion, he could have his junior sister and Liang Zhu transform into hunting hounds, barking and rushing in for a “hit-and-run.” In other words, they would take a swing and then leave without looking back. If they could kill them, great; if not, they could at least leave a mark. Those five would not be able to participate in the Crimson Refining Five Lotus Formation as formation eyes if they were injured.
“Hu—” After confirming that all the “monitors” were in order, Ye Anping quickly withdrew his spiritual sense and began to regulate his breathing. The moment Ye Anping opened his eyes, he saw his junior sister’s face right in front of him. She had leaned in close, and he could even feel her breath.
“…”
“…” Pei Lianxue took a moment to react before quickly pulling her head back. She pursed her lips and asked in a low voice, “Husband, are you done?”
“Mm…” Ye Anping frowned slightly, asking in confusion, “What were you doing just now? Leaning so close.”
“Mm… I wanted to…” Pei Lianxue averted her gaze, her cheeks flushed. After a pause, she simply giggled, “Hehe…”
“Hehe!” Ye Anping frowned and grabbed her face, scolding, “I never taught you to play dumb. Who did you learn that from? Feng Yu Die?”
“No…”
Hearing this, Ye Anping pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. Then, he placed his hands on her cheeks and squeezed gently. Pei Lianxue’s face was squeezed into a duck face. After a moment of hesitation, Pei Lianxue suddenly frowned and cupped Ye Anping’s face, mimicking his action and squeezing his cheeks.
“You can fight back now!”
“Hmph!”
They continued to squeeze each other’s faces, their strength increasing. In the end, both of them had duck faces. Although their heads hadn’t moved forward, their protruding mouths drew closer and closer. With a little more force, they would have kissed.
At that moment, two knocks sounded at the bedroom door.
Bang bang—
Bang bang—
“Please, come in,” Ye Anping replied, his speech unclear.
Creak—
Liang Zhu pushed the door open. However, upon seeing the couple holding each other’s faces, he froze at the doorway, not even stepping fully inside, like a statue.
“…”
Liang Zhu’s gaze flicked between them for a moment, then he took a deep breath and, completely ignoring their actions, asked with a blank expression, “You asked me to come, what is it?”
Ye Anping finally released his junior sister’s face and then gently took her hand off his cheek. “Good news.”
“Oh…” Liang Zhu responded and turned to leave. He was certain that when Ye Anping said “good news,” it usually meant no good news at all.
Seeing this, Ye Anping sighed helplessly and added, “Ten thousand Spirit Stones.”
“…”
Liang Zhu, who had just turned away, hesitated for a moment upon hearing the amount. He turned back halfway and re-entered the room, closing the door behind him.
“Specifics?”
“Cut someone.”
“Name?”
“Yao Yuanhua.”
“Age?”
Ye Anping said uncertainly, “About three hundred? …Four hundred?”
Liang Zhu nodded and continued, “Cultivation?”
“Core Formation early stage.”
“…”
Upon hearing the cultivation level, Liang Zhu paused and turned to leave again. Ye Anping sighed again, feeling that communicating with this guy was exhausting. He quickly added, “Just one cut, no matter if they live or die.”
Hearing this, Liang Zhu stopped after a couple of steps and looked back. “No matter if they live or die?”
“Mm.”
Liang Zhu was silent for a moment. For ordinary clients, he wouldn’t inquire about the target’s identity, but for Ye Anping… to be safe, he still asked, “Yao Yuanhua?”
“The subordinate protector of the Prison Hall of the Tian Mo Sect.”
“Demonic cultivator…” Liang Zhu frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then held up three fingers. “Twenty thousand.”
“Only ten thousand.”
“…”
Liang Zhu fell silent for a moment and then immediately turned and walked out of the room. Ye Anping paid him no mind. If he didn’t go, it was fine; this time was just an attempt to see how the other demonic cultivators would react after he cut one of them.
Following this, Ye Anping stood up and walked to the wardrobe in the room, taking out the Xuan Xing Sect uniforms for himself and his junior sister. “Madam, change into this. Also, use the Spirit Sword provided by the Xuan Xing Sect when you cut someone later.”
“Oh…”
Ye Anping stood there, contemplating for a moment. Finally, he hugged the clothes and pushed open the room door, intending to change outside. However, as he opened the door, he saw Liang Zhu leaning against a pillar in the hallway outside the bedroom, waiting for them. Liang Zhu had already changed into the Dragon Slaying Society’s attire, with a straight sword he, as a Law Cultivator, wouldn’t use, hanging from his waist. He had indeed been quick.
Ye Anping raised an eyebrow and asked, “Weren’t you not going?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“…”
Ye Anping, somewhat helpless, flicked his fingers in a sword stance and took out a slightly larger Xuan Xing Sect uniform from his Storage Bag, tossing it to Liang Zhu. “Change into this.”
“…”
“I had it custom-made at the apparel shop a few days ago. The details are slightly different, but if you follow us, the Mansion Guards won’t check your Identity Token.”
Liang Zhu looked at the clothes he had just changed into and asked, “Do I have to wear this?”
Ye Anping gave him a look. “If the demonic cultivators come looking for the Jiang Mansion, you’re going to fight them?”
“Oh.”
…
Everyone, rest early~~
Taking another day off.
I’ve had a recurring fever, and this morning I woke up with a temperature of 39.3°C. At this point, I can barely keep my eyelids open, so I really can’t write.
I’ll resume updating tomorrow night.
I’ll try my best to make up for it.
I apologize to all readers, and please don’t put the book aside.
—Katena
December 21, 2022, 19:00
