Chapter Thirty: The Witch

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"The door lock—how can he open the door lock!" Fan Jiu’s eyes were bloodshot with fury, his heart in turmoil as he frantically pressed the remote for the main gate, yet the door did not budge an inch.

When Liang Zhi opened the door, he had deliberately sabotaged some of the internal mechanisms. Now, the main gate could no longer be closed.

This meant that once Monk Jin Yue was killed by the Hooked Serpent, the serpent would gain access to the core area and wreak havoc.

Such consequences were something Fan Jiu absolutely could not bear.

"It's you—all your fault! If you hadn't insisted on watching the battle between ability users, things would never have come to this." Fan Jiu vented his anger at Ling Ji.

Ling Ji crossed her legs, elbow resting on her knee, chin cupped in her palm. "Yes, it's all my fault. So, what do you intend to do with me?"

Looking at Ling Ji’s posture, countless thoughts flashed through Fan Jiu’s mind, but in the end, he didn’t dare to unleash his fury on her.

He dressed quickly and barked at the Blood Centipede stationed at the door, "Take your men and follow me downstairs. We deal with the Hooked Serpent first, then kill the intruders!"

Fan Jiu and his four cyborgs stormed out in a rage.

Once they left, Ling Ji reached into her clothes and pinched out a remote control with two fingers—the very same device Fan Jiu had used to release the Hooked Serpent earlier.

"That Hooked Serpent is truly intriguing. I wonder what other interesting things are hidden in this stronghold?" Ling Ji pressed the buttons on the remote wildly, a twisted smile spreading across her face.

The maids in the room witnessed everything, but none tried to stop her; instead, they felt a secret delight.

Fan Jiu had ruined their lives—the more miserable he became, the happier they felt.

Ling Ji turned and smiled at the maids. "That fat fool Fan Jiu is truly hopeless. Even with my help, he’ll never get his hands on the Fan family fortune… Let’s enjoy the show a bit longer. When I leave, do any of you want to come with me?"

The maids hesitated briefly, then nodded lightly.

Anywhere would be better than this hell.

Ling Ji moved to two of the maids, draped her arms around their shoulders, and giggled. "Before we leave, let’s make things even more chaotic here. That will be fun."

Just then, a sudden explosion startled Ling Ji so much that she shuddered.

Fan Jiu soon staggered back, looking utterly shattered. Half his wig had fallen off, and he collapsed by the doorframe, legs giving out beneath him.

"It’s over, all over! I’ve ruined everything—Fan family… Peach Blossom Spring…"

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Ling Ji, puzzled, sashayed to the doorway and peered into the corridor.

She saw the elevator on the left side of the hallway jammed full of dark green tree trunks, the entire lift destroyed. The four cyborgs lay dead, their bodies entwined with the wood—each killed with a single blow.

At the other end, by the stairs, sat Xie Zhitou in white, leisurely flipping through a novel.

A chill surged up Ling Ji’s spine. This Xie Zhitou was definitely no ordinary ability user.

She had imagined countless scenarios of meeting him, all involving her toying with him in various ways.

But she had never expected their first meeting to be like this.

She was not Fan Jiu, easily blinded by unfounded affection, so she decided to escape through the window at once.

"Witch, don’t go yet. My companions should be here soon. Why not meet them before you leave?" Xie Zhitou beckoned her with a hand.

His tone was calm, half suggestion, half command.

Ling Ji froze, obediently returning to the room, her will to escape utterly gone.

Her own strength was considerable, but she could not gauge Xie Zhitou’s depths at all, while he had already seen straight through her.

She was the Witch.

As soon as she entered, Fan Jiu, sweating profusely, brandished the remote at her and shouted, "Why did you do this? Is this your idea of cooperation?"

Now he was fully awake, seeing that the Peach Blossom Spring stronghold had ended up like this entirely because of Ling Ji’s manipulation. Under her influence, he had made blunder after blunder, leading to this disaster.

Ling Ji, cowed before Xie Zhitou, was quite bold with Fan Jiu. "Blaming women for your failures—how pathetic. And since you know who I am, you should have been prepared for this when you chose to deal with us."

Fan Jiu staggered back two steps, first bursting into laughter, then into tears. "Witch! Witch!"

...

"Let me go!"

Qiu Shilu shook off Liang Zhi’s hand, brushing at her trousers with distaste.

Leaning on his knee and panting, Liang Zhi asked, "Looks like the big snake didn’t chase after us. What on earth is a mechanical beast?"

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Qiu Shilu rolled her eyes. "Never heard of mechanical beasts? Surely you’ve heard of demon beasts."

"Demon beasts—the kind from legends?" Liang Zhi had read books in the library. This world had its own myths, much like the Classic of Mountains and Seas from his previous life.

Qiu Shilu nodded. "Actually, those legendary demon beasts are mechanical beasts. They existed in ancient times, but back then, their bodies were covered in flesh and skin.

"Later, for reasons unknown, all the mechanical beasts disappeared, and only reemerged ninety-nine years ago, with the outbreak of the mechanical calamity.

"Outside Dazong, mechanical beasts are quite active, but within the borders, they have always been rare. So it’s normal you haven’t heard much about them."

"I see," Liang Zhi clapped his hands, his understanding of this world deepening. Then he eyed Qiu Shilu curiously. "There’s something I’ve been meaning to ask. How do you know so much about cyborgs, modified humans, and mechanical beasts?"

Qiu Shilu touched the pendant at her chest and shook her head. "That’s a secret."

With that, the two continued onward.

This underground space was much vaster than the area above, most of it empty and maze-like. They walked for quite a while and still hadn’t found the core area of the stronghold.

Fortunately, they soon encountered someone.

It was Craven, who had escaped earlier!

Craven was sitting at the elevator entrance, resting. For some reason, the elevator to the upper floors remained inoperative, so he had paused here.

When he saw Liang Zhi and Qiu Shilu, his eyes widened in disbelief. "You two actually survived the Hooked Serpent!"

Without a word, Liang Zhi raised his banner and charged, forcing Craven to summon his sole surviving Scarlet-scaled Python for defense.

But after witnessing a terrifying mechanical beast, how could the two of them take this python seriously?

With a flick of the banner, Liang Zhi’s iron wire ensnared the python, halting its movements.

Qiu Shilu seized the opportunity, gripping the python’s jaws and, with a tremendous force, tore the serpent clean in two.