Chapter 0: 72. A Tragic Opera
Emerging from Shu Yinxing’s cave manor, Qin Gou saw a bearded man standing in the sky.
“Who are you?”
The other party also noticed Qin Gou at the same moment. He twirled his beard and asked, “The guy causing trouble in the market?”
“Your information travels fast, saving me a lot of effort,” Qin Gou replied calmly, his expression unfazed.
“I didn’t expect you, of all people, to show up at the Patrol Heaven Institute so quickly, and in Big Beauty Shu’s cave manor,” the bearded man said, his tone dripping with sarcasm.
Concurrently, Shu Yinxing, who had followed Qin Gou out, spoke with a chilling voice, “Chang Xuanjian, stop spewing your filthy ideas about me!”
“I’d heard before that even among the formal residents of Bu She Tian, there were many conflicts. It seems to be true,” Qin Gou observed as he sized them up.
“Conflicts? I believe there are no conflicts between Fellow Daoist Shu and myself!” Chang Xuanjian chuckled. “I don’t have enough time to appreciate her.”
“So, you’re just a pure old pervert then?” Qin Gou stated bluntly.
“Presumptuous!” Chang Xuanjian’s eyes blazed with anger.
“I never imagined that there would be a hierarchy even in Bu She Tian. Don’t you find it utterly ridiculous that you previously used Fellow Daoist Shu’s identity as a threat?” Qin Gou asked with disdain.
Beside them, Shu Yinxing pouted under her hood… not realizing who had been mimicking him just moments ago.
“Ridiculous? Why don’t you ask Fellow Daoist Shu herself if she finds it ridiculous?” Chang Xuanjian retorted with a cold laugh.
Shu Yinxing replied indifferently, “I don’t want to attract unnecessary trouble or annoying flies. That’s all.”
“Did you hear that, fly?” Qin Gou asked Chang Xuanjian with mock concern.
“You!”
Chang Xuanjian’s tone turned extremely sinister. “I truly admire the beauty’s charm technique. To think it could make someone so fearless and eager to defend her in such a short time.”
“Who are you calling charmed? I’m merely voluntarily helping Fellow Daoist Shu with a small favor,” Qin Gou said nonchalantly.
“Is that so?” Chang Xuanjian clearly didn’t believe him.
Whether it was true or not, Shu Yinxing’s pretty face under her black robe flushed red for a moment.
“Fine. I merely wanted to say that if the beauty were to surrender to me, with your talent, you would surely increase my cultivation greatly, and the throne of Bu She Tian would be within my grasp!”
“Still calling yourself not a pervert?”
“Bastard!”
Chang Xuanjian coldly rebuked, “Fellow Daoist Shu, is this how you discipline your subordinates?”
“Are you hard of hearing, kid? I was never under any charm technique. Fellow Daoist Shu can attest to that. As for my objective right now…”
As he spoke, Qin Gou stomped his foot and leaped into the air. “If you don’t understand, let’s settle this with action.”
“Just you?”
Chang Xuanjian sneered and his aura drastically changed.
Simultaneously, Shu Yinxing seemed to sense something. She quickly formed a hand seal and exclaimed, “Chang Xuanjian, how dare you!”
Before her voice could fade, a massive rift suddenly tore open in the void behind Chang Xuanjian. Everything within – the laws and phenomena – was vastly different from their surroundings. It was clearly the domain he controlled, and he was about to forcefully draw Qin Gou into it.
In that instant, not only did Qin Gou move to resist, but Shu Yinxing also instantly stepped in front of him, using the Law/Rule Power of the Patrol Heaven Institute.
A deafening roar echoed.
The giant rift behind Chang Xuanjian closed. He himself was forced back step by step. Qin Gou immediately returned to Shu Yinxing’s side.
“What happened?!”
Chang Xuanjian’s face was filled with disbelief.
He had launched a surprise attack, his movements were clearly faster than Shu Yinxing’s, and Qin Gou was closer to him. By all rights, he shouldn’t have failed.
He immediately communicated with the Law/Rule Power of his domain. Soon, Chang Xuanjian’s expression became even more bizarre.
“It wasn’t Shu Yinxing’s strength, but that young man’s domain that actively chose to retreat before me?”
“My Law/Rule Power of the Dark Sea, what exactly is it afraid of?!”
…
“That guy wanted to drag you into his domain and then intentionally shift you into the Law/Rule turbulence!”
“It can do that? Doesn’t Bu She Tian protect challengers?”
“When you entered, didn’t anyone tell you?” Shu Yinxing chuckled helplessly. “Moreover, that wasn’t a formal challenge. That guy deliberately exploited a timing difference.”
“Cough…”
“Are you injured?” Shu Yinxing asked with concern.
“Completely unharmed.”
“You must not get injured.”
“Hm?”
“Don’t get hurt because of me.”
“What do you mean?” Qin Gou listened, utterly bewildered.
Next, Shu Yinxing took out a token from her Nas and handed it to Qin Gou.
“This is my secret token. With it, you can at least resist the Law/Rule Power of other Zone Masters for a while.”
Upon receiving the token, Qin Gou asked somewhat confusedly, “Why do I feel like Fellow Daoist Shu is inexplicably treating me better and better?”
Shu Yinxing paused upon hearing that.
“It’s just superficial affection…”
“But until I recover, I will definitely treat you well.”
Qin Gou was amused and exasperated. “I’ve never really understood what Fellow Daoist Shu has been talking about regarding my recovery.”
“I’ll explain later. For now, I need to clean up the Patrol Heaven Institute.”
With that, Shu Yinxing suddenly reached out and removed the black hood that concealed her face.
Her dark hair cascaded down, revealing her exquisite face – beautiful and elegant, with flawless skin. Her pair of luminous eyes were as clear and cold as the moon. When still, she was as ethereal as an immortal; when she turned her gaze, it was like a spring peach blossom in full bloom, radiant and resplendent.
She possessed a myriad of charms, each more captivating than the last. A single glance as she departed was filled with an unparalleled grace.
“Wait!”
Qin Gou quickly caught up.
“What?” Shu Yinxing asked, confused.
However, upon speaking, Qin Gou’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
He noticed that Shu Yinxing’s delicate tongue was like that of a human, not the unique forked tongue of the Heartstriker Snake Woman clan. He recalled Lu Zhili’s explanation: it seemed that only a snake woman who possessed a cherished love could become like this.
At the same time, with Shu Yinxing’s Cultivation Realm, she naturally noticed Qin Gou’s momentary gaze with ease. She pouted in displeasure and said irritably, “What are you looking at? Stop pretending to be confused. Don’t you already know why I don’t have the Heartstriker Snake tongue, Fellow Daoist Qin? Stop playing innocent. Don’t tease me for no reason.”
Her meaning was that she had forcefully separated The Seal of Affection back then, which caused the overly obvious feature to disappear. And Qin Gou, who had come directly for her Love Seal, how could he not know?
“Me?!” Qin Gou was utterly stunned. “I… I think I’ve lost my memory?”
“I knew you weren’t thinking clearly right now. I certainly don’t blame you,” Shu Yinxing sighed softly.
“You really know?”
Qin Gou was utterly incredulous. “Could it be… that I made some mistake before?!”
“No, no, no!”
Shu Yinxing was on the verge of tears and waved her little hand forcefully. “The one who made the truly grave mistake was me!”
Upon hearing this, Old Qin’s eyes widened. “Are you trying to frame me?”
Shu Yinxing was even more distraught. “That wasn’t my original intention… who knew…”
“Don’t be like this… It’s in the past now.”
“I’m sorry! I’ll definitely compensate you…”
“Scrap! What kind of tragic opera is this?” Chang Xuanjian, who had heard everything from afar, was dumbfounded. He gritted his teeth and cursed, “What a pair of adulterers!”
Qin Gou and Shu Yinxing exchanged a quick glance.
“Shu, completely seal off the Patrol Heaven Institute immediately.”
“It’s already done.”
“Now, I really can’t let this kid off,” Qin Gou’s gaze was extremely serious.
“Let’s eliminate him!”
Shu Yinxing wholeheartedly agreed.
