Chapter: Chapter 178
“I feel like the amount of exercise today is equivalent to a month’s worth for me usually,” Leticia said, lying on the soft grass, looking completely exhausted.
Beside her, Bai Ling showed no outward signs of strain, but upon closer inspection, one could see tiny beads of sweat forming on her forehead.
The battle that had just concluded was quite taxing for both participants.
“You said we’d just spar casually, but you went all out! Have you no shame?” Leticia panted for a moment before starting to settle the score.
Bai Ling blinked her eyes. It was Leticia who had actually gone all out first, wasn’t it?
“It was you who went first!” she retorted.
“No, it was you first! I hadn’t even changed my move when you did.”
“Nonsense!”
In fact, both of them had the same idea – to quickly defeat the other by using their full strength to establish dominance.
However, they never expected their opponents to have the exact same thought, leading to a clash of titans.
Aside from their most secret techniques, Leticia and Bai Ling had practically used all their skills, yet neither could secure a victory.
In the end, it was Leticia who first retreated from the battlefield, declaring she was too tired to continue.
This battle had also left the two girls watching from the side wide-eyed.
“So amazing, Miss Bai and Miss Qianqian’s swordsmanship is so superb,” Mo Zili’s eyes sparkled with admiration.
Xiao Ya, on the other hand, looked proud, as these were her sister and her Qianqian-jie. “Sister and Qianqian-jie are truly evenly matched.”
Yes, they were evenly matched, but for these two girls whose swordsmanship skills were not particularly strong, it might have been more accurate to describe it as a battle of novices pecking at each other.
“Ha, I haven’t exercised like this in ages. I feel like all my bones have rusted shut,” Leticia rolled around on the ground, instantly smudging her clean white sportswear with black dirt.
“Your clothes are dirty,” Bai Ling couldn’t help but remind her.
“It’s fine, I’ll take a bath later and change into something else.”
After all, this was Leticia’s own home. She could change clothes three times a day if she wanted.
The Demon King’s wardrobe contained so many clothes that even she didn’t know the exact number. She only knew she had an abundance, enough to wear a different outfit every day of the year without repetition.
“Xiao Ya, Xiao Mo, why don’t you both join me for a bath too? You’ll feel uncomfortable if you don’t wash off the sweat,” Leticia sat up from the ground and said to the two girls by the chairs.
Mo Zili hadn’t broken a sweat, but to provide close protection for her, Leticia didn’t intend to let her stray far from herself or Bai Ling.
It was just a soak in the pool, and Mo Zili had nothing else to do, so what if some time was wasted?
However, upon hearing the word “bath,” especially when Leticia uttered it, Mo Zili’s face immediately turned pale.
She recalled the agonizing experience from the night before the day before yesterday, where Leticia’s examination felt like scraping every bone in her body with a small knife.
She had only lasted a short while before losing consciousness. The next day, she could still feel the lingering pain within her body.
Now, she had a slight aversion to what Leticia called a “bath.”
“Sister Mo, why are you shaking?” Xiao Ya asked curiously.
“It’s nothing, just remembering some unpleasant things.”
Hearing this, Leticia knew exactly what Mo Zili meant. “Don’t worry, this time it will be a very simple bath, we won’t do anything else.”
This time? A simple bath?
Did Sister Qianqian’s words imply that the previous bath was not a simple one?
Detective Xiao Ya felt she had found a flaw in Leticia’s words. She lifted her little head and asked, “Then, was the last bath not a simple bath?”
“Uh, it’s not what you’re imagining as ‘not simple,’ but the main task last time wasn’t exactly bathing,” Leticia fiddled with her hair. “Miss Bai was also here. Xiao Ya, you should ask your sister.”
Sister was also here, so it was fine. Xiao Ya had thought Sister Qianqian had done something unspeakable with Mo Zili behind her back.
Since her sister was present at that time, Sister Qianqian couldn’t possibly have done such things to Mo Zili in front of her, right?
Even if Sister Qianqian had the audacity for it, Sister would definitely knock that audacity out of her.
“Sister?” Xiao Ya looked at Bai Ling, who had followed Leticia.
“It was just a physical examination, likely a painful one,” Bai Ling explained concisely, dispelling Xiao Ya’s doubts.
Pulling the constantly trembling Mo Zili along, they headed to the bathroom.
Slipping into the pool like a fish, Leticia narrowed her eyes, a look of immense enjoyment on her face.
At the same time, Xueer entered with several cups of iced drinks. After placing them within the girls’ reach, she reminded them, “All the drinks are non-alcoholic, so you can enjoy them with peace of mind.”
“Yay!” Xiao Ya immediately ran to the edge of the pool, grabbed a cup, and took a sip. “It’s delicious!”
“Of course it’s delicious,” Leticia laughed. Xueer’s cooking skills were always trustworthy, after all.
She also reached for a cup of drink, but she didn’t like the color, so she casually handed it to Bai Ling, who had approached her.
“You drink this one, I don’t think the color suits me.”
Looking at the green drink that Leticia had forcefully thrust into her hand, Bai Ling felt that Leticia might have a serious problem.
However, she couldn’t say anything, so her gaze fell on Mo Zili, who was huddled alone in the corner.
“Here, she asked me to give it to you.” Bai Ling walked over to Mo Zili and handed the drink Leticia had given her back to Mo Zili.
Mo Zili blinked her eyes. She hadn’t heard what Leticia had said to Bai Ling earlier and genuinely thought Leticia had asked Bai Ling to deliver it.
“Then, please thank Miss Qianqian for me.” The girl held the green drink and sipped it slowly.
The drink tasted quite good, which also calmed Mo Zili’s slightly fearful mood.
Meanwhile, Bai Ling had returned to Leticia’s side and picked up the last remaining drink for herself.
“Good heavens, you just dumped what you didn’t want onto little Mo Mo, didn’t you? Have some dignity, Miss Bai,” Leticia clearly expressed her displeasure at Bai Ling’s actions.
“This is called ‘wisdom.'”
…
While the girls were having a good time, the malicious troublemakers on the other side appeared somewhat disheveled.
“Ugh, *cough cough cough*.” The middle-aged woman, who had vomited a mouthful of black blood and looked slightly better than the day before, glanced at the window tightly covered by curtains.
The short-haired woman had said she was going to check the situation around the manor, but a full day had passed. She began to suspect that the woman might have been captured by the Demon King’s forces.
Just checking the situation shouldn’t take that long.
Unless the short-haired woman had something else to do, such as obtaining the item herself.
The trust between the middle-aged woman and the short-haired woman was already fragile. In fact, they hadn’t even met each other until recently, their only connection being through letters.
And their cooperation was based solely on having a mutual friend and a common goal.
The middle-aged woman hated demons, and naturally, she hated the short-haired woman, who was also a demon.
“Can you truly help me destroy the demon race?” Her gaze fell upon the black staff placed in the corner.
A few days prior, when she was about to be defeated by a divine envoy from the Divine Throne, the deity residing within the staff had granted her power and made a promise.
If the woman could release it, it would fulfill her wish and destroy everything related to the demon race.
The woman was unsure if this being, which called itself a god, could do as it promised, but it was at least a glimmer of hope. Moreover, the short-haired woman seemed to have unwavering faith in this matter.
After all, it was the short-haired woman who had told her to find this staff.
“You cannot defeat the Demon King through normal means. Only with abnormal power, power that goes beyond common sense, can you defeat the Demon King,” the short-haired woman had said.
Deities, she believed, belonged to such power.
Going beyond common sense was something the woman believed. Whether it was the divine power used by the divine envoys of the Divine Throne or the power that deity bestowed upon her after reaching an agreement – both proved how immensely powerful deities were.
If the bestowed power was already so potent, she dared not imagine the true power of a deity’s true form.
Perhaps, it could truly achieve the destruction of the entire demon realm.
*Crack*. A faint sound reached the woman’s ears. She immediately rolled off the bed and grabbed the staff.
Only after the short-haired woman opened the door and entered the room did she slowly put down the staff.
“I thought you were captured by the Demon King’s people,” the woman said coldly.
The short-haired woman wore an expression of helplessness. “Indeed, I was discovered. It took some time to shake off the pursuers.”
“By doing so, aren’t you alerting them?” the woman raised her voice. If she was discovered, the Demon King would surely strengthen the guards around the manor, which would inevitably have a negative impact on their future actions.
The short-haired woman rolled her eyes. Alerting them? There wasn’t even any grass, so where would the snakes to be startled be?
“There’s no need to go to that place anymore,” she said.
“Didn’t you say that the method to cultivate a new Mo’er was hidden there? Why don’t we need to go anymore?”
“That place is gone. The area where the manor was located has turned into a huge pit. I don’t know what exactly happened.” The short-haired woman helplessly recounted everything she had seen. “I saw the Demon King’s subordinates clearing the ruins there. Perhaps, the items within the manor have already been taken by the Demon King.”
This was undoubtedly the worst-case scenario. A slightly better scenario would be that even the Demon King didn’t obtain those items.
Then, at least the Demon King wouldn’t know their specific objectives.
“But if those things are gone, how can we break the seal on the staff?” the woman asked, somewhat unwillingly.
She had asked the deity within the staff if she could sacrifice herself to release it, but the deity’s answer was no.
“You are not qualified enough,” the deity’s reply was cold. “Only with the sacrifice of a talented individual can my seal be broken.”
As for who was qualified, the deity had also provided the answer: Mo Zili.
“From the blood you carry, I smell a familiar scent. That girl’s ancestors were once my subordinates. My mark was imprinted in her bloodline. Sacrifice her, and my seal can be broken.”
But the problem was, Mo Zili was unique, and her bloodline was also unique.
“There’s no other way. Either we take a gamble and go to a more remote place to slowly search for potential sacrifices, or we find Mo Zili.” The short-haired woman replied.
Although the first method was safer, it would undoubtedly consume a very, very long time. Not only would finding a sufficiently qualified sacrifice take time, but also luck.
There might only be one Mo Zili in the entire demon realm who possessed the qualifications to break a deity’s seal.
The second method, however, was more dangerous. Mo Zili had been taken away by someone quite powerful. The short-haired woman and the woman didn’t know the purpose of the person who took Mo Zili away. But the worst-case scenario was that the person who took Mo Zili was from the Divine Throne, and Mo Zili had now fallen into the hands of the Demon King.
“I hope this isn’t the case,” the short-haired woman sighed. “Give me some of her blood, and I’ll check her current location.”
With Mo Zili’s blood in possession, the short-haired woman had several ways to ascertain Mo Zili’s whereabouts, as she was a true master of magic.
Although it would take some time to prepare the magic, the woman also needed to recuperate from her injuries right now, so spending some time wasn’t an issue.
…
“Someone is probing Mo’er’s location.” Late at night, Leticia knocked on Bai Ling’s door and said to the sleepy, white-haired girl.
Leticia had placed a comprehensive set of defensive magic on Mo Zili, which naturally included anti-reconnaissance magic.
Being tracked and cursed through blood or personal belongings was a problem every demon had to learn to face, and as the Demon King, Leticia’s mastery in this area was naturally profound.
The moment the other party began casting spells, Leticia immediately detected it.
Concurrently, the magic she had placed on Mo Zili also began to operate, hindering outside intrusion.
“Hmm, so what are you planning to do?” Bai Ling, wearing pajamas and not fully awake, yawned. She didn’t quite understand why Leticia had woken her up.
She was just a bodyguard and didn’t handle other matters.
“I plan to play along with their scheme and let those little mice fall into their own trap,” Leticia chuckled. “Listen to me, I plan to do this…”
