Volume One, Chapter 68: Let’s Have a Contest

As soon as Su Beibei stepped out of the elevator, she realized that Su Tong and Xiao Shiyu had vanished; only the empty corridor stretched before her. Suddenly, the lights in the hallway flickered and dimmed, and the air grew cold with unnatural speed. Sensing something was amiss, Su Beibei called out loudly. Strangely, her voice echoed only within the corridor, unable to reach beyond its bounds.

Anxiety stirred in her heart; unsure of what to do, she simply closed her eyes. If Lin Feng hadn’t decisively severed the life-sharing connection, An Lin wouldn’t still be conscious now. Everyone knew tonight was anything but ordinary. They were all familiar with Lin Yuan’s condition; no one dared interfere.

“Old Yang, you’re right! Our disadvantage this time is not having a militia. When we return, I’ll make sure the neighboring villages form militia units. Our manpower is far from enough to defend so many!” Hu Dahai said.

At this point, Gao Fei was riding a tiger—unable to retreat, he could only press onward into the darkness. No matter how voracious the crystal sphere was, it had its limits; he just didn’t know how far those limits extended.

Ye Qing was, after all, Zhang Shaoyu’s elder, and he was well aware of Dai Anliu’s reliability. So when Zhang Shaoyu spoke, it inevitably sparked Ye Qing’s anger.

“I told you to draw my blood for her. Did you not understand?” Huangfu Ye’s expression darkened as he spoke coldly.

After all, to obtain the information locked within, one had to go in person; it was otherwise nearly impossible.

The two innocent security guards exchanged helpless glances when the deputy director spoke. Heaven knew they had never met any elites and knew nothing of what had happened; how could they be facing disciplinary action now? Had they misheard? Confused, they traded looks until Huang Ying’er interrupted, “Let’s go back to the standby room for our things; once we get them, we’ll return.”

“If you have a strong intuition, you can go try it. It’s not impossible—there might be some connection,” Huangfu Ye considered briefly and spoke plainly.

Years of war had drained the imperial court’s vitality. To win over and pacify the rebel generals of An Shi, the court had no choice but to grant them official titles and noble ranks.

Changing clothes, Jing Muya rubbed her rosy cheeks, checked herself in the mirror, and, satisfied nothing was amiss, headed downstairs.

The other ladies chimed in, and Sheng Qing’an followed the top scholar’s mother, Lady Li, to the other side of the gauze curtains.

“Fine! Let’s settle this at the court now!” The tall man glared fiercely at Geng Haoshi, his hands clasped together, emitting a series of cracking sounds.

Although the group owned many luxury cars, for someone his age, those vehicles felt far too corporate and somber, lacking any reflection of his sense of style.

On the way to the Association of Artisans, Ren Bo entrusted her with some items. She always carried both gold and silver needles—gold for saving lives.

Although Liu Jian had intended to do the same, hearing it from Luo Li’s mouth still surprised him.

He still hadn’t solved several mysteries. What was Chen Guanghua’s ultimate goal? If not the Sword of the Merchant Emperor, could it be the Golden Spring? From Lei Yunsheng’s appearance and their secretive behavior, it seemed highly likely.

Xiang Yuan thought he could probably inquire at the reception area of the Thousand-Leaf Talisman Sect, since he was more or less pre-approved. But then he remembered his companions; if he left, they would likely face disaster.

Jiu’er had just sent off Jing’s mother and was about to enter when she spotted a sneaky figure appearing at the gate.

Mo Chen left the room and saw that Liu Feng and his group had already rescued the other prisoners from the underground fortress.

“You? Handsome? I think the word ‘shameless’ was invented for you!” Wu Lian’er rolled her eyes so far they threatened to disappear.

Mo Lan felt her skin had grown thick indeed—from refusing milk, to starving and getting diarrhea from rice gruel, to becoming accustomed to breastmilk, and now calmly facing bedwetting and accidents without embarrassment. She had to admit, she’d lost all sense of shame.